"Submission or death."
In the eastern part of the Australian continent, the Tide-class Honkai Beast stared dumbfoundedly at the "angel" before it. The angel was pointing a knight lance at it—a weapon that, even without a closer look, it knew could effortlessly pierce its Honkai Core.
Mere minutes ago, at a critical juncture between life and death, the Black Knight had appeared like a savior. He had effortlessly destroyed the Honkai energy corrosion bomb that had pinned it down, then, grabbing it by its tentacles—it had no idea where the other party got such strength, but it certainly hurt—he had tossed it directly into a portal that looked vaguely familiar.
And then…
And then, the moment it materialized, still disoriented from the long-distance teleportation, the angel had pointed that very same knight lance—the one that had obliterated countless bombs—at it, forcing a choice:
Either submit to him, or be devoured by the Judgement-class Honkai Beast perched on his shoulder.
That was right.
Although the tiny Honkai Beast on his shoulder exuded a frail aura, the Tide-class, with its extensive culinary research (as a Variant, the Big Crab had consumed many Honkai Beasts for its own evolution), knew with absolute certainty that it was a genuine, bona fide Judgement-class Honkai Beast.
A Temple Knight who kept a Judgement-class as a pet…
To this moment, the Big Crab still hadn't figured out the true identity of this individual who had rescued it from dire straits.
But one thing was certain:
This individual definitely had a profound connection to the Ice Emperor!
Whether it was the remarkably similar ice-attribute abilities or the familiar fluctuations when opening the teleportation portal, these were powers it had sensed back when it was still a member of the legion.
There was one thing the Big Crab knew for sure.
The Ice Emperor, its leader who had both cared for and constrained it, was gone. For the Tide-class, which had awakened its own consciousness, this was undoubtedly a good thing. Yet, amidst the joy, it couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
But who could have imagined?
The Ice Emperor actually had a successor!
Though it was a Temple-class, the fact that it wasn't that fellow "Frost Lightning" truly surprised the Big Crab. That being said, this individual, whose aura felt faintly familiar yet whom it had definitely never seen before, was undoubtedly far stronger than "Frost Lightning."
Coupled with this individual's style of conduct, so vastly different from the Ice Emperor's…
For the sake of freedom, the Tide-class had refused to rejoin the legion, even when the Ice Emperor had battered it until its shell cracked!
To make it submit…
Absolutely impossible!
Unless someone pointed a gun at its head!
Was someone pointing one now?
Ah! Never mind then—
"I submit!"
"Having been away from home for so long, I truly feel the warmth of the legion! I am willing to return to the embrace of the legion!"
"…"
Lu Xing lowered the knight lance in his hand.
Were all aquatic Variants this… mentally agile? No, that wasn't right. The Cruiser-class and Quillspike-class back then didn't seem to be this talkative.
One could only say…
As expected of a creature daring enough to defy an Emperor-class; truly full of personality.
The legion had finished assembling.
But its current shabby state… one couldn't say it was of significant use, merely that it was better than nothing.
Within the entire legion, the only one truly capable of fighting was this newly re-subjugated Big Crab by his side:
Race: Legion Leader · Variant · Tide-class
Level: 60
Abilities: Heart-Protecting Claw, Dizzying Eye, Heavy Pincer Impact, Spinning Ram, Continuous Slicing Slash, Rising Dragon Fall, Bewildering Eye
Attack: 115
Speed: 100
Constitution: 160
Evaluation: Leader of the Aquatic Tribe
Setting aside other aspects, while this Tide-class had a very short affix (it had just acquired [Legion Leader]), its strength was undeniable. Disregarding the Lv.60, a level only Honkai Emperors should reach, and how the Big Crab managed to achieve it, its Constitution stat, as high as 160, and its average triple-digit attributes… Although there was still a considerable gap, it was as if half a crab leg (with 5.5 more to go) had already stepped over the threshold of the Emperor-class.
Incidentally, this Big Crab possessed two pincers—a significant distinction from ordinary Tide-class beasts, which had only one claw to gnaw on… to use.
Aside from the Big Crab…
The strongest in the entire legion turned out to be a Knight that Lu Xing himself had "promoted" back in the day:
Race: Emperor Guard · Variant · Magic Knight
Level: 50
Abilities: Omitted
Attributes: Omitted
Evaluation: A Workhorse for Workhorse Tasks
That was it.
Apart from the Magic Knight and the three other "Personal Guard" members who had miraculously survived, there were no Honkai Beasts in the entire legion above Lv.40.
There weren't even any of slightly larger size. Those that managed to survive the Battle of Australia were typically smaller, less destructive, and thus not priority targets for The Flame-Chasers' cleanup operations.
Besides the Knight-class, the remaining Honkai Beasts in the legion were only the most basic Ranger-class!
After all, the Knight-class at least had a temporary commander (the Magic Knight) and knew to evade human pursuit. Among the smaller Honkai Beasts that had lost their leaders, the more valuable ranged types (Floater-class and Acid-class) had all been eliminated as priority targets by humans.
The current legion…
The only piece of good news, perhaps, was the type of Honkai Beasts that survived. The weaker, vanilla Honkai Beasts didn't even have a chance to escape. The surviving Knight-class and Ranger-class mostly appeared in the forms of [Frost Knight] and [Space-Time Rend (Guardian)].
Though not particularly strong, they at least warranted an evaluation of "promising future potential."
After regrouping with the legion, Lu Xing's initial plan was to bring all the wild Honkai Beasts on the continent under his command. Over the past few months, a considerable number of Honkai energy rifts had appeared across Australia. These rifts didn't provide much energy (by Lu Xing's current consumption standards), but they could serve as breeding grounds for Honkai Beasts.
Although the probability was low, it didn't mean there was absolutely no chance of powerful Honkai Beasts emerging. The moment Lu Xing stepped out of the teleportation portal, his infinitely extending [Super Perception] had already received numerous feedbacks: he had detected the auras of at least three Temple-class beasts.
Admittedly, they were vanilla types, so weak they might not even have mastered [Teleport].
But having reached this point, Lu Xing certainly wasn't in a position to be picky. It was better to address the issue of "having" versus "not having" first.
However, this plan had to be temporarily shelved after Lu Xing saw Ange.
At first, it was curiosity.
The portal had indeed opened at the anchored location of the Magic Knight, as expected. But who could have imagined… humans and Honkai Beasts were actually "living" together, with neither side interfering with the other, like well water not mixing with river water.
As for the girl leading the human group, she had indeed been marked in Lu Xing's spiritual world long ago:
Ange had actually survived the catastrophe that swept across Australia and, moreover, had chosen to continue living on this land.
However, Lu Xing's perception wouldn't be mistaken.
These humans led by Ange… even those who appeared perfectly healthy, the aura they exuded was all just one step away from becoming Deadmen.
As for Ange herself—
"Pseudo…"
"No, a Herrscher Body, perhaps."