4. Madness
Even after becoming a "MANTIS", he was still one of the weaker ones among the "MANTIS".
Although they are both Emperor-class Honkai beasts, Kevin seems to have cheated, and his strength increases day by day.
Ling has never confronted Kevin head-on, but he knows very well in his heart that the current Kevin is far from being someone he can fight against.
Even Kevin and Elysia can form an army by themselves and carry out missions alone to eliminate the Emperor-class Honkai beasts.
This is the difference between a genius and a mediocre person. No matter how hard Ling tries, he cannot surpass Kevin and Elysia.
But Elysia still kept Ling by her side as a comrade-in-arms.
Ling and Kevin seem to be the same type of people, but the difference is that Kevin is more dazzling and more successful than him.
Under the increasing pressure of honkai, the atmosphere inside the Fire Moth became increasingly oppressive.
Some of his less sociable teammates mocked him, calling him a "turtle", but Ling didn't care, or rather, there was no need for him to care.
The only person he cares about is Elysia.
Ling continued to develop his potential and squeezed out every bit of his free time for training, but the improvement in his combat effectiveness was still very limited.
With the development of technology, the frequency of Honkai attacks is increasing, and Honkai beasts are becoming more terrifying.
"MANTIS" seems to have become just a simple noun.
Ling is a MANTIS, but he cannot change any battle situation and can only do logistical work, such as transportation and treatment on the battlefield.
But most of the time when I arrived, Elysia had already resolved the crisis.
During this period, Ling met a girl named Pardofelis.
Coincidentally, she is also a MANTIS, and weaker than Ling...
But she lives a much more transparent life than Ling. Her optimistic and cheerful personality helps Ling relieve a lot of the depression caused by putting too much pressure on himself.
And this... also strengthened Ling's determination to become stronger.
Everyone has a different way of living. Pardofelis's goal is just to get some sunshine and take a nap every day.
But all Ling wanted was to be able to follow her and have enough power to protect her.
Until the eleventh Herrscher arrived, after Hua successfully used "Fenghuang Down" to penetrate the protection of the Herrscher of Binding, Kevin's full-strength attack froze everything around him.
Almost all the fusion warriors lost their lives in this attack.
The defensive ability that Ling had never valued actually saved his life at this moment.
It's a sad and funny scene...
Everything around was covered in ice, but the ice was infused with blood and turned bright red.
After this battle, only 14 MANTIS warriors were left, and Pardofelis escaped because of illness.
Elysia gathered everyone together, discussed together, and formed a team called "Fourteen Heroes of Flame-Chasers".
Elysia ranked Ling at fourteenth place because she hoped that Ling would serve as the "solidest shield" to withstand all damage from behind.
Give it the inscription of "preserve and protect".
Ling, of course, chose to accept Elysia's proposal in its entirety.
However, even though Elysia tried her best to maintain the existence of the small group, under pressure from the top leaders of the Fire Moth, the "Fourteen Heroes of Flame-Chasers" existed in name only.
Alicia also proposed the "Elysium" plan, funded by Eden and built by Mobius, to back up the memories of the heroes.
Ling also participated.
Although Ling was given the title of "Protector", it was euphemistically said that he was protecting his teammates from damage from the rear.
But Ling knew very well that this was just an excuse used by Elysia to comfort himself; he couldn't do it...
So Ling made a bold attempt.
He took the initiative to find Mobius, the only person who could make him stronger.
Of course, Mobius had no reason to refuse the experimental materials that were delivered to her doorstep.
At this point, Ling fell into a deep sleep, and this sleep lasted for three years!
No one knew what Ling had been through in the past three years, but when he woke up, he felt stronger than ever before.
A lot of things have happened in these three years. The Twelfth Honkai Eruption happened, the sisters Sakura and Rin died, and the Herrscher of Corruption launched three nuclear bombs, almost wiping out the few remaining humans.
And Elysia...is also dead.
When Ling heard the news, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and almost fainted again.
However, according to Mobius's narration, Alicia was the 13th Herrscher, but she willingly chose to die so that the remaining humans would still have the confidence to fight against the Honkai.
Ling couldn't believe this fact, but he could only face the yellow earth. A gorgeous crystal flower bloomed on her grave.
He gained great power, but the person this power was meant to protect had disappeared.
He sat in front of Elysia's grave for a day and a night. He did not cry, he did not get angry, he was only calm.
As calm as dead water.
So calm that it seemed as if nothing had happened.
Afterward, he participated in daily training, familiarized himself with his own strength, and carried out the tasks issued by the Fire Moth.
He even managed to fight Kalpas head-on and defeat him in a conflict...
Perhaps his strength is already on par with Kevin's, but all this seems to have no meaning to him.
Soon, the end came, and Ling set foot on the battlefield called the Moon.
Less than ten minutes after the battle started, Kalpas and Kosma were killed.
Ling's friend Pardofilis also died on the spot while trying to open a "door".
Ling blocked the fatal blow for Mobius, which prevented her from becoming the fourth person to die.
In the end, with the full power output of the Moonlight Throne and the full-strength attack of Kevin and Ling, the End was successfully shut down for twenty-four hours.
This also means that humanity has completely failed.
As the operator of the SELENE, Vill-V used the SELENE at full power to burn the entire battleship.
Her body drifted in outer space, becoming the fourth person to die in the End War.
The surviving Flame-Chasers returned to the surface. Dr. Mei suffered irreversible damage to her body due to forcibly using the "Blank Key" in the battle with the Tenth Herrscher. Kevin didn't even have time to see her for the last time.
Before her death, Dr. Mei warned Su not to let Kevin go astray, and also... to be careful of Ling!
Kevin and Ling were unaware of this.
Ling buried Pardofelis in the place where she buried her treasure, and went to the Elysian Realm, deleting the backup of his memory left in the Elysian Realm.
Then he sat alone in front of Elysia's grave. In the last twenty-four hours, he just wanted to stay in this place.
Mobius seemed grateful for Ling's final help and asked if there was anything she could do. Mobius would fulfill his wish.
"I... want full authority over the Void Archives."
This was Ling's request, and Mobius was very confused about it, but she agreed.
Because in the current situation, the Void Archives had no meaning anymore.
Not long after, Mobius handed "Void Archives" to Ling and then left quietly.
Ling successfully obtained all the permissions for "Void Archives".
The most precious thing in "Void Archives" is never its ability to transform weapons, but the knowledge contained in it.
A crazy idea came into his mind, an idea that no one dared to think about - to resurrect Elysia.