I am a hero of the former civilization.

boom--

A giant tank nearly ten meters tall emerged, kicking up clouds of dust and broken bricks. Who knows how such a behemoth could move underground?

Several soldiers were propelled into the air, jetpacks allowing them to glide briefly, countless bullets blasting the Honkai Beasts into sparks, and dozens more 'knights' burst out of the burrow.

Da da da......

The firepower suddenly reached its limit, and more than a dozen Honkai Beasts were knocked off their feet. However, the lances in their hands also pierced through several soldiers. The stimulants began to take effect, and the soldiers with lances on their hands pulled the triggers like madmen, turning these monsters into sieves.

Bullets were everywhere, and flames were all around. Ryan, who was at the back, stopped and looked at the two knights charging towards him, gripping his gun in a backhand.

Slap, spin, pick!

The movement was swift and decisive, faster than the thrusting spear. The Honkai Beast on the left was sent flying, crashing down on its brethren behind it, while the one on the right was tossed into the air, spinning like a ball.

Ryan stared straight ahead, watching the dense swarm of 'mosquitoes' approach. Without even thinking of dodging, he thrust his spear upwards, piercing right through the falling Honkai Beast.

Then, let's dance.

The Honkai energy roared, enveloping him in light, and then he began to spin like a top.

dong dong dong.

The muffled thuds continued, and the smaller, rushing-class Honkai Beasts couldn't withstand the force at all. Any touch sent them flying everywhere like baseballs, smashing through walls and the ground.

The sound and light suppressed the gunfire, drawing the attention of the soldiers who were fighting and retreating.

They couldn't see clearly, only a red vortex moving forward along the road, forming a wall in front of them, with Honkai Beasts being thrown back everywhere.

“The combat exoskeleton depends on who’s using it. This guy is like adding wings to a tiger.” Himiko remembered what she’d said before and changed the magazine on her smoking rifle: “Firepower! Don’t let the Honkai Beasts get back up!”

Iron rain poured down from all directions, and some Honkai Beasts that were thrown back were shot dead before they even hit the ground.

Just then, the giant tank blocking the street took a step forward. The movement seemed slow, but this step covered dozens of meters. Then it raised its fist high and smashed it into the crimson vortex at the front.

Boom!

The whole town shook, some houses collapsed instantly, and a canyon stretched forward.

Himiko covered her face, turned her head, and thought to herself that this punch could flatten even a warship, so that bastard should back down now.

Swah——

The thought had barely formed when a figure burst forth from the dust. With a flick of his spear, he shattered the corpse into pieces, then charged forward, leaping onto the right arm of the tank. His speed was so great that even the friendly forces markers couldn't keep up.

Ryan's legs had already left afterimages as he ran. With this combat exoskeleton, he was even faster than usual. It was like he was climbing a hill. He turned his head to look at his other hand, which was sweeping towards him like dust.

The movement was slow, but it was overwhelming, with sparks flying all over the hard shell, and the moths chasing the flame were desperately trying to cover themselves.

"That Kevin guy, he probably pulled the trigger so hard it sparked, actually—" Ryan held his breath, suddenly stopped, and then jumped up just as the 'giant pillar' swept towards him.

With the Honkai energy gathering, the two-meter-long gun seemed to expand many times over. Ryan stepped on the suddenly appearing rhomboid light body as if he were stepping on the ground, and his whole body suddenly accelerated.

Extreme Power: Yaksha Explores the Sea!

To onlookers, it was like a meteor that suddenly appeared and disappeared; the gun and the person were gone, only the Honkai Beast's head and most of its chest cavity were gone, and its massive body slowly fell backward.

Ah this...

Kevin stopped reloading a magazine abruptly. He only saw the man standing in the middle of the road, white smoke billowing from his exoskeleton due to overload, and a huge corpse lying behind him.

Ryan glanced at the spear that had melted due to Honkai energy, listened to the heavy thud behind him, and then gently clapped his hands.

"No need to bother."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Where exactly is his limit?

When the Honkai Beast's massive body collapsed, the outcome of the battle was already decided. This was just a medium-sized Honkai attack, not even comparable to the one at Chiba Academy.

Without powerful individuals, ordinary Honkai Beasts are no match for the Fire Moth. Their only chance of winning is to let this tank type push into the crowd, but unfortunately, it was killed by Ryan at the very beginning.

Ryan listened to the continuous gunfire and machine gun fire, watching one soldier after another rush up and cut down the remaining enemies. He had no intention of stealing kills, and simply threw his wax-like alloy spear to the ground.

He used Honkai energy to cover his weapons to increase their lethality, but apart from certain special alloys, ordinary metals simply cannot withstand the erosion of the energy.

'I wonder when they'll be able to get Soul Steel. It's such a hassle to have to change weapons every time we fight a battle.' Ryan shook his head as he heard the gunfire abruptly stop.

"The team was divided into three-person groups to clean up the battlefield, eliminate the remaining enemies, and notify headquarters to handle the aftermath once it was safe to do so."

Did we win? But not entirely.

Ryan looked up and saw a dilapidated town before him, with hundreds of corpses piled up, blood flowing down the slope, buildings leaning precariously, and walls riddled with bullet holes.

Those dozens of Honkai Beasts were indeed wiped out, but humanity paid the price with the loss of an entire town.

"Ah, that's it. It's been a long time since I've had such an easy battle." Himiko hugged her helmet, stretched, and finally smiled when she saw Ryan: "Thanks. I didn't expect there to be a giant tank here. If you hadn't been here, it definitely wouldn't have been just a matter of two or three casualties."

That's a frank statement. If that tank type gets going, no one can stop it. We can only fight and retreat, waiting for the air force to drop heavy bombs. Maybe a few people will have to rush up and hold it off like suicide.

“You’ve forgotten about the armed helicopter, and this town,” Ryan reminded her, then noticed Himiko’s left side was slashed open and her combat suit was stained red. “And you, you’re injured too.”

"I took a knife for some kid, don't worry, my Honkai energy is very adaptable. As for the other losses you mentioned, there's nothing that can be done about it." The woman seemed oblivious to the still-burning town, first laughing heartily, then her expression turned expressionless: "If we think too much, all we'll have left is despair."

You can't overthink things when fighting the Honkai; this is a lesson we're taught during recruit training because every battle is a potential defeat.

What is Honkai? How many monsters are there? How many soldiers and towns does humanity have left to withstand the onslaught?

If these issues are investigated thoroughly, even the strongest warrior will break down. Even if Ryan goes all out and clears the level without taking any damage today, humanity has paid the price of a small town and nearly a thousand of its own kind.

Ryan moved his lips, unsure how to comfort her, while Himiko, who had been expressionless, suddenly became cheerful.

"Don't worry, we'll wipe these monsters out sooner or later. If only there were more strong people like you."

Himiko clearly remembered that at that moment, the Honkai energy in her helmet detector surged dramatically, exceeding 100 HW, surpassing all the lower-ranking Honkai Beasts. If there were ten thousand, no, one thousand, such powerful beings, scattered and stationed, humanity could also maintain the peace of a continent.

And judging from his appearance, he wasn't using his full strength.

Ryan clearly saw that longing, but he didn't respond, because the Honkai also had high-end combat power, such as the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts that had not yet been found.

"Adiedo isn't here, what are we going to do?"

"Let's take a short break and continue cleaning. You know that too much destruction in one area can have a clustering effect, right?"

Ryan nodded, took out his information terminal, and zoomed out on the map. He could see several red dots within a radius of 200 kilometers. Based on the experience of the Fire Moth, if these radiation sources spread out and gathered together, they would give birth to even more terrifying Honkai Beasts.

I think I've fallen for Edwin's trap.

That man treated him like a beast of burden. Even if he couldn't find Adiedo, he could still help clear out the swarms of soldiers. With him around, the casualties would be much smaller.

Coincidentally, I also want to settle scores with the Honkai Beasts.

He glanced at Kevin, who was keeping watch on the rooftop, and silently turned around: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's head to the next location."

This time, it was Himiko who was taken aback. She hadn't expected Ryan to be so easy to talk to. Looking at his back, she realized it wasn't just fighting spirit, but also—

A strong desire.

......

Hua Hua Hua...

The helicopter rotors spun, and the vast forest swept past beneath the fuselage. Ryan remained seated by the cabin door, inhaling the strong smell of tobacco and sweat, and looked at the others in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Half of the people in the cabin were gone, and the rest were slumped over and dozing off. Their armor was covered in wear and tear, and it was clear that they were all exhausted.

In three days, they cleared all sources of Honkai within a 200-kilometer radius. Apart from returning to base for supplies, they were either on the move or fighting, and even the accompanying aircraft squadrons were changed several times.

Their gaze toward Ryan shifted from rejection to shock, then from shock to numbness, and finally even to fear.

This man was simply a born warrior, fighting relentlessly without sleep. Even the most valiant warriors seemed like lazybones compared to him, which made one wonder:

Don't you get tired and bored killing those monsters?

"Of course not. I feel feedback in every battle, and every kill propels me forward a small step."

Ryan sat up straight, his eyes filled with nothing but longing and excitement. This time, he had hitched a ride on the Fire Moth, a feat he had accomplished in the previous years.

Firstly, the Honkai is occurring more and more frequently, so there's no shortage of battles. Secondly, with the Moth of Fire's intelligence network and helicopters, the efficiency is more than ten times higher. Thirdly, with so many people providing cover and fighter jets bombing from the sky, he's no longer afraid of being beaten to death by a mob and can specifically hunt down powerful individuals.

"Twenty tank-type, five temple-class, and two Honkai Emperors. I used to encounter so many Honkai Beasts in a year, and even if I did, I wouldn't dare to touch them."

Ryan grinned. The Honkai was a whole region, and these monsters had tens of thousands of assassins and hundreds of ordinary Honkai beasts as their underlings. Even if they lined up to be killed, he would be too tired to handle them.

But things are different now. With the help of the Fire Moths, I can pick and choose to kill the high-level enemies.

He clenched his fist, roughly estimating that he could control nearly 300 HW of Honkai energy. The only drawback was that these Honkai Beasts were either not high enough in level or lacked mutated individuals, preventing him from gaining abilities. Furthermore, the potential for expansion would diminish as materials were repeatedly used.

"The same Honkai Beasts have reduced their efficiency from 0.8 to 0.4, while the tank type is almost at its limit and has become useless. I'm actually a little envious of 'Hunter' and 'Devourer'."

These two destinies can achieve a qualitative leap from quantitative change, becoming more efficient and convenient. If that's the case, Ryan could hunt globally, from morning till night, from Mu Continent to Black Africa, accumulating tens of thousands of Honkai energy that he can control.

With her immense strength, she could even wear down a Third Herrscher to death, even without any special powers or abilities.

"Forget it, you get tired of doing the same thing too often." Ryan chuckled self-deprecatingly, calculating his trump cards, when he heard a familiar voice again.

"Ryan, what are you muttering to yourself about?" Kevin rubbed his eyes, his handsome face full of fatigue and numbness.

His original group, Group A, had already gone back to rest, but Kevin insisted on staying, so he was merged into the group.

"Do some post-battle debriefing. Hey, don't look at me like I'm a monster. I'm actually very tired too."

You're not tired at all!

Kevin's lips twitched, barely managing to hold back his curse. He glanced at the snoring in the cabin, then scratched his messy hair: "How come I never noticed you were so energetic before? Oh, wait a minute, you often get up in the middle of the night to write novels and stay up until morning."

He suddenly noticed some details: Ryan seemed to only sleep two or three hours a day, which had long shown a difference from normal people. He scratched his head even harder, thinking that he was too stupid and should have noticed the problem long ago.

"By the way, are you still writing that novel?"

"I don't have time, and I don't want to give Mebius any leverage over me."

"Isn't your book friend urging you to read it?"

"I told her I was going to save the world and then I turned off my phone."

Ryan shrugged. He really was saving the world, believe it or not. Seeing Kevin about to continue, he quickly raised his hand to stop him.

"Alright, don't set any 'I'll go back and update after this battle' flags for me. We're still fighting. By the way, aren't you curious why I can fight continuously?"

"I'm curious, will you tell me?"

“What’s wrong with saying this?” Ryan thought for a moment, then smiled. “It’s probably the feeling of victory that excites me.”

It was indeed a series of victories. The Far East Branch hadn't fought such a satisfying battle in a long time. With the right forces, they could just crush everything in their path. Now, only two or three Honkai sources remained to be dealt with.

Kevin couldn't laugh. His numb mind flashed through many images, each one so similar.