In a flash, Lin and Sakura reacted simultaneously, both pulling out their weapons and aiming at the core of the Honkai Beast that had roared.
Not dead?
This was impossible. Lin had fought countless Honkai Beasts, and his strikes were always swift, accurate, and lethal. Aside from Shesha, the Judgment-class Honkai Beast whose whereabouts were still unknown, he had never failed. And subsequent analysis suggested Shesha survived only because it possessed two cores. Lin was certain he had completely destroyed this Honkai Beast's core.
It was also unlikely that Sakura had missed. Lin had witnessed her final blow, which definitely destroyed the core.
Could it only be a special factor inherent to the Honkai Beast itself...
The supposedly dead Honkai Beast stirred back to life, but before it could fully stand, Lin shot through its supporting arm. Then, Sakura slashed the fragmented Honkai Beast core again, completely cutting it in two.
"Roar…"
Seeing this Honkai Beast die again, Lin immediately turned and leaped onto the other Honkai Beast's corpse, further damaging its core to prevent the same thing from happening to it.
This time, both of them waited vigilantly until both Honkai Beasts were completely still before finally letting down their guard.
"Roar!"
However, a strange roar erupted, not from the corpse of either Honkai Beast.
The ground in the crevice between the two Honkai Beast corpses suddenly shattered. A giant hand grabbed the Honkai Beast corpse under Sakura feet. Simultaneously, the Honkai energy detector inside Lin helmet began flashing at high frequency.
There was another High-Tier Honkai Beast—why hadn't it been detected initially?
This strange phenomenon was definitely not normal.
But there was no time to think now. The monstrous force of the giant palm lifted the enormous Honkai Beast. Sakura had no choice but to retreat from the corpse.
"Gulp—"
A bloody maw filled with tusks swallowed the Emperor-class Honkai Beast corpse whole. The chilling sound of chewing filled the air.
...
"Emperor-class Honkai Beasts? At this time?"
The information from the detection room made Kevin feel troubled. A Honkai energy reaction from two High-Tier Honkai Beasts appeared not far from the Shenzhou Branch. According to the jurisdiction, the 1st and 13th Squads of the Shenzhou Branch should carry out the subjugation.
However, the Shenzhou Branch was currently accommodating the Starlight. It hadn't shown any unusual activity so far, but Kevin couldn't simply trust them.
Furthermore, the destruction of the data library terminal—such an anomaly was enough to make Kevin suspect that special circumstances would arise in the near future.
But the problem was, there were two Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. Relying on only one squad might not be enough for the subjugation, and losing any more troops during this period would be too much...
"Kevin."
Just then, Mei's communication arrived. His tightly furrowed brow relaxed. It seemed Mei had noticed the situation at the Shenzhou Branch and was personally taking command.
"Go and carry out the subjugation mission," Mei instructed Kevin simply and directly.
"What about the Shenzhou Branch?"
"Armed Dolls."
"…"
Armed Dolls...
Essentially, the Armed Dolls, like the Titans, were autonomous weapons, scaled-down versions of Titans. Moreover, the Armed Dolls were more intelligent and could indeed fill the troop void at the Branch.
However, Kevin, like others, didn't fully trust these small humanoid weapons and mostly overlooked their role.
"Don't worry, I will have Prometheus II pay special attention to the situation at the Shenzhou Branch." Mei also understood Kevin's concerns; the Armed Dolls could only serve as support after all. "Fifteen Emperor-class Honkai Beasts have appeared in a single day today."
"Fifteen?!"
This number was the total number of Emperor-class Honkai Beasts that had appeared in the entire period from the First to the Fourth Honkai Eruption, approximately four years! And now, that many Emperor-class Honkai Beasts had appeared in just one day?
"Hoo... I understand. Mei, monitor the movements in other regions, and deploy the Titan forces if necessary."
What he didn't know was that the phenomenon of suddenly increasing Emperor-class Honkai Beasts was far from over.
Mei quickly summarized the reports returned from various Branches. Every region where Emperor-class Honkai Beasts appeared had at least two of them, which couldn't be explained by coincidence.
The Australian region, where Lin and Sakura went for the subjugation, was particularly unique. The two Honkai Beasts there were the weakest in terms of Honkai energy reaction among those that appeared today. However, the latest news indicated... there was another Emperor-class Honkai Beast hidden there.
"Are they being controlled..." Mei tapped her finger on the desktop. "But how is that being done... and by whom..."
This phenomenon undoubtedly had a puppet master behind it, but how was someone able to deploy Emperor-class Honkai Beasts to designated areas? And in such large numbers?
...
"51, it's time to leave."
Elysia called out to the girl walking toward the cafeteria. The girl looked back at the combat gear Elysia was wearing, thought for a moment, and said, "Elly, I... I'm sick."
"...Huh?"
"Yes, I'm sick, so I can't go on the mission."
Elysia was stunned. She looked the girl up and down. Where was she sick? She looked healthy enough to punch an ox to death.
"What kind of sickness?"
"Stomach sickness."
Elysia looked again at the direction the girl was heading, confirmed that only the cafeteria was there, and nodded hesitantly: "Alright…"
She hadn't expected the excuse she used to deal with Mei would now be used by someone else to deal with her. Although she didn't know why the girl didn't want to go on the mission, Elysia chose to trust her. She would ask her why later.
The girl calmly watched Elysia back disappear, then walked into the cafeteria, ordered two large bowls of noodles. After finishing them in less than three minutes, she sat blankly in the cafeteria.
Elysia and Kevin were both out on missions. The Shenzhou Branch suddenly became empty, with only Armed Dolls patrolling back and forth. However, the small and cute Armed Dolls were not annoying.
The girl was motionless, like a robot that had lost its battery. She did nothing.
She was waiting.
Waiting for what?
She didn't know. Only she could see the screen inside her helmet, and what it was displaying was also unknown.
The only thing known was that she was no longer as carefree as before.
"Tick-tock…"
The cafeteria clock passed a quarter of an hour.
The girl stood up. The moment she left the cafeteria, her figure vanished into the air.
The timing had to be precise.
Neither too early nor too late.
A blurred figure crawled along the ceiling of the Shenzhou Branch corridor, finally stopping in front of a room.
The Starlight's room, the one who came to inspect the Shenzhou Branch.