Into a pitch-black rift, identical in hue to the night, Lu Xing solemnly stored his two weapons.
The damage to [Ravenwing] was unexpected, and coupled with the prior damage sustained when he used [Frost's Lament] to deflect the artillery shell, it all indicated one thing.
These pieces of equipment were not as durable as he had imagined.
As for the results of this battle...
Looking at the crimson stream flowing beneath his feet, and the corner of the city that had been intact when he walked in but was now reduced to rubble and ruins.
Although Lu Xing had long figured out the answer to the "trolley problem."
When it came to actual execution, he still found himself unconsciously wavering.
Fortunately.
He was quick enough to compose himself.
The losses in this operation were not small, but there were gains as well:
"Your level has increased to Lv.39."
The system notification in his mind was simple and unadorned, but for Lu Xing, it represented a tangible improvement, placing him just a step away from Lv.40. Every time his level reached a multiple of 10, the system always introduced some new changes.
Lu Xing was very curious.
What surprise awaited him this time?
After all, his main quest was about to be completed: currently 3171 Honkai Beasts / 1021 Humans / 131 Mechs killed.
There was still a large deficit in humans and mechs.
But when the Great Honkai Eruption arrived, these would not be a problem at all—whether humans or armed vehicles, they would, at an extremely rapid pace, turn into progress for Lu Xing's main quest.
Only one point was worth noting.
That was the control over his Knight-class subordinates. If any Knight-class inadvertently got greedy for damage output and caused a mishap in the mission, Lu Xing would definitely cut off that guy's horse head and hang it on a lamppost.
Lu Xing's objective had been achieved, or more accurately, exceeded.
Never mind Honkai Sickness.
An entire elite unit, well-staffed and equipped with advanced gear, had been buried in a corner of the city by a single Honkai Beast.
Even an exaggerated number of "ordinary people" had been buried alongside them.
For those humans who had never directly faced the Honkai, there could be no more terrifying encounter. No one could guarantee that if they continued to stay in this city, such a thing wouldn't befall them next time.
"Enough."
Lu Xing extended his arm again.
However, every time Lu Xing prepared to activate [Anchor Return], some kind of trouble always seemed to pop up. This made Lu Xing suspect that the Ice Emperor might have placed some strange curse of misfortune on this item.
After all, the other party was quite adept at mental attacks.
Just as Lu Xing was mentally "slandering" his direct superior.
Four dark red points of light slowly brightened in the night sky. The end point of their trajectory perfectly coincided with Lu Xing's current position.
"Still coming?"
A few seconds later.
Lu Xing had already captured the shape of the incoming targets in his perception.
Undoubtedly, another four air-to-surface missiles... No, although the type was extremely similar, the model of these things was vastly different from the "Hellfire" missiles previously launched by the Apaches.
AGM-65 "Maverick" air-to-surface missiles!
As for the one launching these... As the engine noise behind the missiles grew louder, the fighter jet, cloaked in the night, was rendered in minute detail in Lu Xing's eyes—
F-18 "Super Hornet"!
"Is that all?"
Lu Xing looked at the incoming missiles.
The Apaches had already proven through practice.
Air-to-surface missiles were completely meaningless against agile Honkai Beasts.
Lu Xing wasn't sure if there was a long-standing conflict between the Australian air force and army that led to poor communication.
In any case.
The beyond-visual-range, super-long firing distance was indeed enough for the missiles to achieve their maximum terminal velocity.
But such a straightforward attack method... Apart from Chariot-class beasts, probably no Honkai Beast would be foolish enough to take it head-on!
Annihilating the entire armored battalion had consumed less than half of Lu Xing's Honkai energy.
Dealing with a mere two "plastic bugs"—
"Crrk!"
His pale right palm slowly rose.
As the Honkai energy halo rapidly lit up, a vortex of particles began to spin behind him.
Four crystalline lances, their radius reduced severalfold but their length far exceeding the usual, slowly materialized from the void in the center of the energy vortex, accompanied by the sound of grinding glass.
"Whoosh!!"
With a flick of his wrist, the lances shot forth!
[Honkai Lance Projection], like arrows loosed from a bowstring, tore through the air towards the air-to-surface missiles that were less than half a kilometer from Lu Xing!
"Boom!!" x4
The wave of fire dissipated about a hundred meters in front of Lu Xing.
That all four missiles were intercepted simultaneously was clearly beyond the F-18 pilots' expectations. The two jets, which had been diving towards Lu Xing at high speed, instantly pulled up their noses and began to rapidly retreat.
But...
"Still trying to run?"
Two new crystalline lances condensed once more.
Although fighter jets had a speed advantage, unlike the Apaches, they couldn't achieve seamless fire suppression.
Lacking the cover of snipers and special ammunition types.
Lu Xing was confident he could directly pluck them from the sky...
"!?"
Their action of pulling up the nose wasn't to retreat!
The F-18, as a multi-role fighter with numerous variants, possessed a relatively massive payload capacity for its takeoff weight, allowing it to be used as a bomber!
As they flashed past above the wave of fire, a full four bombs were ruthlessly dropped at that instant!
The [Honkai Lance Projection] was already poised to strike.
But Lu Xing hadn't anticipated this move from the enemy. Compared to the Army Aviation pilots, these fighter pilots, belonging to Naval Aviation, possessed a more daring combat style.
Two CBU-71 cluster bombs!
Two GBU-12B laser-guided bombs!
The former's area coverage and the latter's automatic tracking both had the capability to achieve results without resorting to World War II-era "dive bombing" tactics.
But the enemy had deliberately chosen "close-quarters combat"—increasing their own risk while reducing the possibility of their attack being intercepted!
Lu Xing believed.
If it weren't for the fire and shockwaves from the previously destroyed missiles, which obstructed the flight path and the pilots' vision, they would have absolutely dared to fire a burst from their cannons at Lu Xing!
Changing tactics was no longer possible.
Lu Xing didn't dare to gamble on whether these four bombs contained some insidious payload. Although anti-Honkai equipment was extremely expensive, the unit price of things like missiles and bombs could easily exceed a million US dollars.
As long as reliability could be guaranteed, a slightly higher price seemed acceptable for troops fighting on the front lines.
Now.
The pressure was on Lu Xing.
Facing four bombs at point-blank range, Lu Xing only had time to redirect the aim of his [Honkai Lance Projection]. Detonating them at this distance was clearly unwise. He aimed them at the ground beneath his feet and plunged them down hard!
"Boom!!!"