Chapter 6 - A True Warrior Dares to Face a Bleak Honkai Life
Lu Xing's injuries were more severe than the Ranger-class's.
He knew from the very beginning that his body was definitely not as sturdy as his opponent's—this was an anticipated and acceptable level of damage.
And after that—
"Swoosh!"
A sharp sound of something tearing through the air.
A pale purple crescent moon cut through the dispersing airwaves, and a purple lightsaber flashed past Lu Xing!
It missed!
The Ranger-class's fully charged attack missed!
Lu Xing had long since tensed his nerves, prepared for the inevitable arrival of [Spinning Slash]—his levitating body abruptly retreated!
He had seen this "reversing" ability many times; it wasn't strange for Lu Xing to use it himself.
The long-awaited opportunity was within reach!
[Spinning Slash] was a skill, a skill with a cooldown, just like [Dash]!
Both sides were in complete close combat.
Whether it was to execute [Dash] or wait for [Spinning Slash]'s cooldown to end, the Ranger-class only had these two moves. For a short period, it had no other means to counter Lu Xing!
His right wing was raised high again.
Wandering Honkai energy focused on a single point, and the purple lightsaber slashed straight down!
This was no French military salute, but a genuine "One slash to sever, As-You-Will Divine—"
"Swoosh!"
"BOOM!!"
"My fluids are leaking everywhere!!"
————
"Damn it all!" (豈可修 - Qǐkěxiū, Japanese 'Chikushou!')
Lu Xing was facing a veritable bloodbath.
His injuries this time were truly not light. If not for the sudden developments just now—two sudden developments appearing at once—Lu Xing might have really ended this short Honkai life.
Firstly.
Little bro... correction, big bro's use of [Spinning Slash] was completely different from their first encounter. After Lu Xing successfully dodged the first strike of the Honkai energy-formed lightsaber, who would have thought the Ranger-class didn't stop its wing movement at all, immediately following up with a second slash!
Dual cut, a two-hit combo!
Fortunately, Lu Xing was no longer the rookie he was at the beginning.
Facing the Ranger-class's two-hit combo, Lu Xing, while retracting his wings to cross them in front of him, rapidly retreated, minimizing the force of [Spinning Slash] to the greatest extent.
Paying a price was inevitable.
The sturdiness of his wings was far inferior to his torso; using them to block [Spinning Slash] would inevitably result in them being directly severed.
But it was acceptable.
When not in high-speed flight, wings were more like "posture stabilizers" than "locomotion organs" for a Ranger-class Honkai Beast—even if both wings were broken, it wouldn't prevent Lu Xing from escaping back to the healing spring to save his life. His movements might just not be as graceful.
And things weren't as bad as imagined.
Lu Xing's action of concentrating Honkai energy in his wings had paid off.
The process of switching from offense to defense was a bit rushed, but he had managed it just in time—
"Bang!!"
Amidst a sky full of scattering light particles, Lu Xing successfully blocked [Spinning Slash]!
The Honkai energy on his wings completely dispersed, and numerous fine cracks appeared at the point of the wide-arc convergence, but his wings didn't break!
This move was—
This move wasn't over yet!
Before Lu Xing could react, while he was preparing to bail, intending to "Boku no turn, draw!" (My turn, draw!)...
The third strike of [Spinning Slash] followed closely!
"BOOM!!"
Along with a crisp and distorted shattering sound.
Lu Xing's body was almost bifurcated by the lightsaber—the Honkai energy, having penetrated deep into his body, severed half his torso. If it had gone just five centimeters further, it would have reached Lu Xing's core.
Death lay within those short five centimeters.
Hopping and skipping.
Fleeing in utter disarray.
Lu Xing, terrified, the moment he reached the healing spring, his entire Honkai being completely lost its vitality and instantly fell silent—it was extremely rare for a Honkai Beast to completely lose consciousness, mostly happening when on the verge of death.
In other words, Lu Xing was...
Dead.
————
Just kidding.
The healing spring, as always, didn't disappoint Lu Xing. When he opened his eyes again (for real this time), he once again clearly felt the changes in his body.
The short exchange had allowed him to level up again.
The current Lu Xing was already a Level 7... white-grade Ranger-class Honkai Beast.
One could only say he had narrowly escaped death.
After his condition recovered, Lu Xing cautiously crept towards the central plaza.
When he once again arrived at the "Ranger-class's old haunt," all his doubts were resolved—when the Ranger-class had severely injured him, it had actually been holding back a [Dash] it hadn't used. Considering Lu Xing's injuries at the time, if the opponent had come up to finish him off...
This book would have ended there.
In summary.
The awakened Lu Xing first felt a wave of lingering fear, then, consumed by curiosity, he decided to come to the plaza to see what had happened—
A deep purple, spindle-shaped pattern.
Magenta, slender lines.
A staggering size, with a wingspan more than double its original.
The sharp edges of its body flickered with an intimidating, cold light.
"..."
"Gulp."
Lu Xing's throat bobbed (if he had one), and cold sweat slowly trickled down the curve of his body (if he had any).
If he wasn't mistaken.
That Ranger-class Honkai Beast he had considered his nemesis... had evolved!
Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast!!
The skill types hadn't changed, nor had its overall appearance.
But!
Compared to a Ranger-class, a Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast had significantly improved all its attributes!
Although Lu Xing couldn't see the specific values.
He would absolutely not deny its power, at least its power relative to himself—Lu Xing, who couldn't even defeat a Ranger-class, now had to face its evolved form...
This could no longer be described as a "little surprise."
Among all the sudden situations he had to face, the only part that could be considered good news was probably the lottery function, whose cooldown had just finished.
————
"Draw!"
An ordinary gacha pull in his mind, the usual golden normal.
The difference was, this gacha pull actually connected with the previous context—
Name: Magazine
Type: Weapon
Grade: White (Common)
Effect: Contains 7 special M4A1 rifle bullets.
Quite stingy.
Because his level had risen to Lv.7, it provided 7 bullets. If he had drawn when he was Level 3... forget it, no point dwelling on it.
Regardless.
The appearance of these seven bullets provided Lu Xing with new possibilities.
Through the top of the magazine's feed opening, Lu Xing could clearly see bullets with a spiral design, faintly exuding a pale purple hue.
Before that.
He first had to return to the healing spring, retrieve the M4A1 he had carelessly tossed into some forgotten corner, and give it proper maintenance—this thing wasn't rugged like an AK-47; weapons used by Lighthouse GIs were quite delicate.
And so.
Lu Xing, temporarily avoiding the brunt of the danger, began new research:
How to use human weapons with a Honkai Beast's body, and...
Using his own body.
To test just how powerful human weapons really were.