"Boom!!"

A colossal pillar of water surged skyward!

With her mental perception shielded, precise control over her abilities had become exceedingly difficult. Faced with this, Destobier decided to go all out, directly raising her hand towards the great river before her and unleashing a psychokinetic bomb!

This was an ability Destobier used when dealing with large numbers of enemies.

Its single-target damage was only average, but its amplified area of effect was exaggeratedly vast, absolutely capable of forcing any hidden entity out of concealment.

Her objective was indeed achieved.

Amidst the waves crashing towards the riverbank, an enormous, golden-green figure abruptly burst forth!

"Caw! (Bastard!)"

The bird's cry was somewhat grating.

But the aura emanating from it instantly put Trace and Destobier on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Undeniable!

The one hiding here, who had inadvertently revealed itself, was likely the prime culprit responsible for transforming "Heng He Li" into its current state:

An Emperor-class Honkai Beast never before documented in any records!

"Caw!! (Humans, you are seeking your own doom!!)"

Moyuli was incandescent with rage!

Anyone, while enjoying a little nap and humming a tune at home, only to have their door suddenly kicked open and a bomb tossed in, would probably not be in a very good mood.

At this moment.

Moyuli had no time to ponder why "its home" had been discovered by humans, nor how they had managed to evade the mental perception networkblanketing the city and arrive here unharmed.

It only wanted to pulverize these two humans into dust!

"Shhh!"

The peacock plumes, previously folded behind its back, fanned out like an elaborate screen.

From the center of the feathers, which resembled a myriad of eyes, an incandescent white light, symbolizing mental power, began to radiate an eerie glow!

"Careful!"

The instant Moyuli appeared.

Trace had already, with utmost speed, retrieved his weapons: a one-handed sword and shield!

Well… that being said.

The weapons in Trace's hands were not so simple. In terms of sheer volume, this set of armaments should be referred to as a "greatsword" and a "tower shield."

Two foldable weapons.

They were combined and compressed into a suitcase weighing approximately 130 kilograms—wherever Trace went, he would never be more than 20 meters away from this case, ensuring he could access his weapons at the earliest possible moment.

The scene returns to the present.

The unidentified Emperor-class Honkai Beast's opening move was clearly some kind of large-scale attack.

As a warrior, Trace raised his shield and prepared to charge in front of Destobier—using his body as a shield for his teammate was the source of his myriad scars, the reason his teammates trusted him implicitly… and even the reason Trace had managed to "poach" Blanka from Mobius.

"Whoosh—"

A blinding light, eclipsing even the sun.

Countless beams of light, unleashed from Moyuli's tail feathers, swept madly towards the two figures below!

"BOOM!!!"

———

The riverbank was gouged with a thousand ravines.

The rushing current was sliced apart for an instant by the light, only to transform into a sky-full of water vapor, scattering with the wind.

Within that…

"So strong."

Moyuli's attack had failed to pierce the Soul Steel.

But Trace's left palm, gripping the shield's handle, and the outer side of his forearm, pressed against its inner edge, were already coated in a layer of carbon powder—the attack consisted of common thermal energy beams, but the energy they contained… Trace had faced more than one or two Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, yet the power of this creature before him was on an entirely different dimension compared to the previous ones!

"But!"

He was no longer the man he once was, who could only rely on flesh and blood to fight against Honkai Beasts.

"Hiss!"

Steam rose from between his arms.

The bulging muscles on the back of his arms, gripping the sword and shield, turned a crimson red, as if seeping blood—it was impossible to tell if this was due to the high temperatures generated by the attack. As faint Honkai energy trickled from the corners of his eyes, Trace's gentle yet resolute irises transformed into vertical pupils, strikingly similar to those of a reptile!

"Bang!"

The riverbank beneath his feet exploded as if collapsing!

Destobier, whom he shielded behind him, had to raise a hand to block the splattering mud and sand—accelerated by an extraordinary recoil, Trace's body shot like a meteor, straight towards Moyuli's head!

"Kch-la!!"

The beak, gleaming with a golden luster, stabbed down from directly above like a long spear!

Amidst the exploding sparks and electric flashes, the motion of raising his shield to protect his heart successfully defended against the attack aimed to pierce it—the rectangular tower shield, positioned over his left chest, took the killing blow… no, the shield was sent flying by a single strike from the beak!

However!

This was no miscalculation; it was an opportunity Trace had specifically prepared for!

The action of charging forward with the shield angled allowed Trace to deflect the greatest force of this "pecking" attack at the critical moment; the timely act of abandoning the shield, furthermore, allowed him to gain a second leverage point in mid-air while simultaneously enabling him to wield the greatsword with both hands, unleashing its full destructive power!

The Honkai Beast's weakness was laid bare!

Turn, twist the abdomen, tense the sinews, raise the arm.

An incomparably ferocious slash, aimed directly at Moyuli's neck!

"Whoosh—"

"CLANG!!!"

———

[Mental Barrier]

Moyuli's most prided defensive ability.

It could instantly solidify psychokinetic power into a robust shield, possessing the dual effect of blocking both physical and mental attacks.

It was this invisible wall that helped Moyuli block Trace's killing blow.

But what Moyuli hadn't anticipated was that [Mental Barrier], its strongest defensive measure, though it blocked Trace's cleaving strike, also shattered into countless fragments amidst the explosive impact and fierce flames!

A backlash from the mental plane.

This forced interruption of Moyuli's next prepared attack—it had intended to use its mental abilities to suppress, or even obliterate, the two humans!

"Crack."

A crack appeared on the gemstone embedded in the tip of Destobier's staff.

While Trace engaged Moyuli, Destobier, protected behind him, her eyes shimmering with flowing light, had already accumulated the necessary energy.

When facing an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, especially an unfamiliar one.

The best method was to unleash a powerful finishing move to take it out in one fell swoop before it could fully unleash its combat strength, giving the enemy no chance to perform.

An invisible cone materialized before her.

Devoid of any elemental enhancements, purely relying on mental power to solidify the intangible into various "weapons"—this was Destobier's method of combat. The cone, extremely similar in construction to [Mental Barrier] but brimming with aggressive intent… no, the conical form, already whipping up fierce winds, looked more like a rapidly spinning drill!

Whether animal or Honkai Beast, the empty eye sockets were always the most vulnerable part of a hard skull.

Their seamless coordination allowed Destobier to seize the fleeting combat opportunity Trace had created for her, fiercely driving the drill,凝聚了 (condensed with) twice her usual mental power, straight into the enemy's head!

"Shhh—"

"BANG!!!"