Flames surged.
Shockwaves repeatedly scoured the confined space.
The attack from the F-18s had genuinely injured Lu Xing—the laser-guided bombs and area-denial cluster bombs simultaneously ensured both killing power and coverage radius.
More crucially.
The warheads of these two types of bombs were not filled with common TNT or its modern variants, but with fuel-air explosive agents.
In other words.
The type of bombs dropped by the F-18s should be categorized as fuel-air explosives!
Fuel-air explosives are an extremely inhumane weapon.
But undeniably, the power of fuel-air explosives using special formulas can approach ten times that of conventional bombs of equal mass.
One could glimpse this from the military's term for them: "sub-nuclear weapons."
The instant the bombs arrived.
Lu Xing chose what he considered the safest method—using his crystalline lances to carve a passage beneath him, attempting to "burrow" into the earth.
Australia's sewer design was passable.
Although not comparable to Germany's or Japan's, in the eastern regions, to prevent damp and mold erosion caused by abundant groundwater resources, the quality of the sewers could indeed be called "decent."
At least the space was relatively open.
In the previous battle, several sections of the underground passages had already collapsed due to explosions, exposing parts leading to deeper levels.
This gave Lu Xing the inspiration to deal with the bombing.
It needed to be reiterated.
Lu Xing was no military enthusiast; the fragmented military knowledge he'd gleaned from movies and TV shows couldn't provide very good guidance.
For example:
Explosions are three-dimensional, not planar (fireworks are like this too).
Some bombs, although not stated in their names, are indeed "earth-penetrating" weapons.
The lethality of fuel-air explosives in relatively confined spaces is several times greater than in open areas—this point was probably useless to him, as the "lethality" here, aside from ultra-high temperatures, also relied heavily on the "suffocation" effect.
And Honkai Beasts don't need to breathe.
In short.
Although Lu Xing reacted quickly, his method of dealing with the bombs had a small problem.
So... he became covered in soot.
His body surface was pitch black.
This wasn't a huge problem—even his twintails, which looked like they'd ignite at a touch, were actually formed from a composite condensation of Honkai energy and silicon-based materials.
As everyone knows.
High heat resistance is a notable characteristic of silicon-based materials (though it was mainly the Honkai energy).
With a light shake, the black soot covering his entire body vanished.
The lethality of the high temperature was just so-so.
But the explosion was a bit nasty—the CBU-71 cluster bomb, which aimed for area coverage, didn't inflict much damage; its submunitions merely flattened the surrounding ground, at most giving an on-site cosplay of the moon's surface.
However, the two GBU-12B laser-guided bombs were different.
Their armor-piercing effect might not have been that strong, but their sheer "tonnage" was indeed somewhat exaggerated. The high pressure released by the detonation wave created a scouring effect in the underground area with its many reflective surfaces; repeatedly superimposed energy caused the overpressure value to surge dramatically.
Simply put.
These two bombs received an epic attack bonus buff.
"Kachak."
The cracked armor and the body that had almost been dismembered both rapidly returned to their original state under the effect of the energy gushing from the Honkai Core.
"So that's how it is."
This injury was due to a lapse in awareness.
Lu Xing understood his own body fairly well, but his understanding of the enemy was far from sufficient.
Know oneself and know the enemy.
Lu Xing had only achieved half of it... perhaps not even half.
"Bang!!"
The rubble burying him was blasted away with a punch.
The immense force from [Power Strike] blew away all obstructions.
Even conventional weapons, if their yield was large enough or if specific conditions were met, could still heavily injure Lu Xing. In a situation where a large amount of Honkai energy was consumed and couldn't be quickly replenished, it could even endanger his life.
Large-caliber sniper rifles.
Main battle tank cannons.
Attack helicopter rocket barrages.
The above were all top-tier among conventional army armaments.
Lu Xing had already tangibly experienced all of these with his body and skills—their lethality and defensive capabilities, whether they could pose a threat to him... there was no better test than actual combat.
Yes.
During his initial engagement with conventional forces, Lu Xing had consciously suppressed his speed. Although he did use [Dash], it was more for preventing unexpected situations, not at full power.
Otherwise.
With his strength, sufficient to single-handedly crush his thirty "Death Horn" subordinates, if he were to unleash [Dash] by pushing his Honkai energy to its full potential...
Setting aside open plains.
Trying to lock onto and hit him in complex urban terrain environments would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
And after Lu Xing had ascertained the threat level of ground armaments, the ultra-high efficiency in annihilating the entire armored battalion became understandable.
Lu Xing now had a certain understanding of human ground armaments.
As for the air force...
Lu Xing didn't have many long-range attack methods at present; the only conventional move capable of threatening flying units was [Honkai Lance Projection]. While its power could ensure a fighter jet was shot down in one hit, the problem was its effective range wasn't very reliable.
Within 500 meters, it hit where aimed; within two kilometers, the error margin exceeded a hundred meters.
Any further... and it could only randomly send some fated person plummeting.
But!
Lu Xing never worried about confronting aerial units, after all—
"Who says I can't fly?"
"Tzzzzla!"
Purple electric light enveloped his entire body.
The scene looked somewhat terrifying—starting from his shoulders, waist, and the points where his twintails were tied, Lu Xing's entire body seemed to be dismembered into seven parts!
Melting, liquefaction, reconstruction.
Apart from the incredibly brilliant Honkai energy halo above his head, the body constituting the "Knight Captain" directly transformed from its humanoid state into a streamlined, pointed shuttle!
[Variant Legion Leader Big Universe]
"I should..."
He felt out this familiar form.
Although his overall capabilities had dropped quite a bit, Lu Xing's speed attribute hadn't weakened.
Having gained the ability to fly and regained control of "jet propulsion," the sky was his best stage!
"...I haven't lost my touch yet!"
"Rumble!"
The roar of engines came from the night sky.
The F-18s, having just launched their first wave of attacks, were now lowering their altitude again—they needed to confirm if the attack had achieved the desired results.
Neither of the two F-18s detected any anomalies.
The thick smoke caused by the fuel-air explosives obscured their vision.
Until purple streaming fire erupted like a tide!
"Whoosh!"
The wave of fire left a light trail hundreds of meters long behind it!
Lu Xing, transformed into his Ranger-class form, engaged full "jet propulsion," ignoring all obstacles before him, and shot out towards the F-18s that were lowering their altitude!
The cold light flowing from his twin wings was the sharp blade that would cut down the eagles!
"Zzzt!!"
Gem and metal.
Two silver streams of light intersected.
The next instant—
"Boom!!!"