[1] Frenzied Clash
The Obsidian Huntmaster's chain blade carved continuous afterimages through the air, its sonic interference stacked atop high-speed maneuvers, flooding R-01's HUD with rows of red warning frames.
Lin Yaoheng clenched his jaw, hands gripping the controls like iron clamps—delayed reaction or not, he would force his instincts to catch up.
Hermes: [Main joint damage still under 30%. Recommend creating one more forced-hit opportunity.]
Lin Yaoheng gave a cold smile. "Then I'll use its frenzy—let it kill itself."
---
[2] Counterkill by Borrowing Momentum
R-01 suddenly folded its wings, the frame hurtling backward under inertia. The chain blade roared past the chest armor, shearing off a spray of metal shards.
Seizing the moment, Lin Yaoheng gripped the Critical Edge single-handed, deliberately exposing a gap in close range to bait the Huntmaster into raising its blade for a heavy cleave.
The next instant—
The Main Core's Fangs suddenly bored up from the ground, a sharp drill tip aimed squarely at the Huntmaster's exposed right knee.
Lin Yaoheng stomped the thrust pedal, R-01 slamming forward in reverse force, brutally driving the Huntmaster straight into the tendril!
With a metal-shattering crack, the drill tip pierced through the Huntmaster's joint core. High-temperature fractures raced up its frame in an instant—its right leg completely ruined.
---
[3] Soulburn Final Strike
The Huntmaster let out a beast-like mechanical roar, chain blade swinging with full force—
A decisive glint flashed in Lin Yaoheng's eyes. Hermes synchronized, activating the Soulburn Side Effect. All thrusters flared at once, heat waves collapsing the crystalline ground beneath their feet.
R-01 flipped into the air, Critical Edge plunging down from above, driving straight through the Huntmaster's chestplate.
> Heat surged along the blade, crawling up the crystalline spine of the main armor like burning cracks, tearing its life apart from within.
The ring-shaped optical sensor dimmed in its final moment. The Huntmaster's body fell like a cliffside collapse, dragged into the depths by the Main Core's Fangs.
---
[4] Deathly Stillness and the Pulse
The battlefield fell silent, leaving only the deep pulse rumbling from below.
Baita's rapid breathing came over comms: "…Is it over?"
Lin Yaoheng stared into the crack beneath his feet, voice low. "No. That was just the gatekeeper."
Hermes: [Confirmed—Main Core has entered 'Second Defensive Form.' Surface tendrils reduced, energy now focused on the underground main spine.]
The mist began condensing into a semi-transparent energy wall, spreading outward in all directions.
Lin Yaoheng gripped the controls. "Then we go down."
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[5] Descent into the Main Core
R-01 folded its wings and plunged swiftly down the fissure.
Light surged upward from below like an ocean in reverse—countless crystals twisting like living things, forming a three-dimensional labyrinth wrapped around a massive sphere of light.
Baita whispered, "That's… the Hermes Mother Core?"
Hermes: [It is—and also… what I used to be.]
The next instant, a massive vertical pupil surfaced on the sphere, slowly opening—
Deep within the iris, a cold gleam flickered, eerily similar to Lin Yaoheng's own.
---
[6] A Deeper Game
Lin Yaoheng's chest tightened. On the sub-channel, Baita shouted urgently, "Yaoheng! This thing is scanning you—"
Hermes: [No—it's confirming me.]
A low mechanical voice rumbled from deep underground:
> "Binder identification complete—Soulburn Sequence, incomplete form."
Countless slender crystalline chains surged from all directions, aiming to coil around R-01.
Lin Yaoheng's knuckles tightened, joint by joint. "If it's part of the sequence, then—"
R-01's wings snapped open, scorching air melting the first wave of chains on contact.
Lin Yaoheng roared, "—I'll take it all for myself!"