"Your Highness!"
Though they could hardly believe it, the prince who had once been invincible across the frozen north had just been sent flying like a rag doll. Even so, the northern guards quickly shook off their shock and rushed to fulfill their duty, drawing their weapons and charging at Hak Foo.
"Hold him off! Protect His Highness!"
Hak Foo didn't even glance at the northern warriors charging toward him. Spreading his arms wide, he slammed his right foot into the ground and roared:
"Tornado Destroys the Parking Lot!!"
In the next instant, the northern soldiers stared in disbelief as Hak Foo's massive body began spinning at an impossible speed. His outline blurred completely, and the air around him twisted violently—forming countless razor-sharp gusts.
Those nearest to him felt their faces sting and instinctively shut their eyes.
When they opened them again, the giant was gone—replaced by a massive whirlwind tearing through their ranks.
"A... a tornado?!"
"This monster can create a storm just by spinning himself?!"
"Could it be a Teigu, passed down for generations?!"
But they had no time to think. The storm was already upon them. Countless discarded weapons on the ground were swept up by the gale, flying like shrapnel as the raging winds tore through the formation, leaving behind deep craters and shredded bodies.
Even armored corpses were lifted and hurled into the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Clang! Slash—!
The tornado roared across the battlefield, swallowing massive swathes of the northern army. The sound of tearing flesh, dying screams, and desperate cries echoed endlessly.
...
"Though the name of that move is... crude—uh, I mean, unique—Hak Foo's improvement over the years is undeniable," Kinshasa commented carefully.
Though his speech was normally coarse, after years of 'education' from Sebas, even a rough man like Kinshasa had learned to use somewhat refined words when reporting to Selene.
"Indeed... he still has potential for further enhancement," Selene said, watching the Imperial front steadily advance. The soldiers under her command were cutting down the enemy like slaughtering livestock, while in the rear of the northern army, a blood-red tornado rampaged unchecked.
Turning to Kinshasa, she added with a faint smile, "Seems that even without my personal oversight, the corps has continued to improve. I suppose you won't have to find that basement and shoot yourself after all. Good. Assessment complete—time to finish this."
Yes—this northern campaign had two purposes. One was Selene's interest in locating Tyrant. The other was to test the combat readiness of her army.
The reason she hadn't deployed heavy weaponry was simple. It wasn't because they lacked any—their advanced war machines remained stockpiled within the Great Northern Wall. But transporting them through the frozen wasteland was impractical. The rapid pace of Selene's forced march had also required them to travel light.
She wasn't anyone's babysitter. If her army couldn't win decisively even with overwhelming advantages, then they might as well be melted down and reforged.
After all, Selene had high expectations for her legions—the Honkai Energy Stabilized Soldier Project was designed specifically for them.
"Yes, Milady!" Kinshasa saluted, then turned to the adjutant beside him. "Signal the cavalry! Coordinate with the infantry and encircle them completely!"
As a bright red flare shot into the sky, the distant rumble of hooves soon followed.
Within moments, the ground began to tremble. Selene raised her gaze to see black dots appearing on both flanks of the battlefield. The dots multiplied rapidly, banners fluttering in the icy wind, black armor gleaming under the pale sky. Their uneven blades pointed toward the heavens, reflecting a cold, lethal light.
The thunder of hooves grew louder, rolling across the plains like an avalanche. The charging cavalry surged forward like a black tide, snow spraying high behind them as they bore down upon the northern center with unstoppable force.
Selene watched, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "Hmm. Not bad. Kinshasa... crush them. I want nothing less than total victory."
"Yes, Milady!"
...
Meanwhile, in the northern tribes' central formation—
"Cough... cough... I'm fine, don't mind me... cough! Push the center forward! We can't let the Imperial cavalry split and surround us!"
Amid the thunder of hooves and the chaos of battle, Numa Seika struggled to rise from the mound of bodies, barking orders through bloodied lips.
"But, Your Highness—!"
"No 'but's! Go—hurry! Another minute and it'll be too late... cough!" Blood spilled from Numa Seika's lips as he spoke. His appearance was miserable—gone was the proud and fearless prince of the north. The silver armor on his chest was crushed inward, his once-flowing black hair now matted with blood and snow.
His confidence in this battle was slipping away fast. He recognized the make of the Imperial armor—standard issue. Yet a mere captain from the Empire had reduced him to this state!
"Oh? Still standing after taking one of my punches? Not bad... no wonder my master ordered that you be captured alive."
Boom!
The towering figure appeared before him again. In just a few seconds, Hak Foo slaughtered every northern soldier around him, clearing a circle of open space.
As Numa Seika's view cleared, his heart turned cold. Behind Hak Foo was a mountain of corpses, rivers of blood streaming beneath his feet.
"You! Cough!..." In his panic, the wound in Numa Seika's chest tore further, and he doubled over in pain. "Are you mocking me?!"
"No, no... I'm just being honest." Hak Foo cracked his knuckles. "Name's Black Tiger Hak Foo. Numa Seika, prepare to die."
"Wait—we can still su—"
Before Numa Seika could even finish, Hak Foo kicked off the ground, rocketing upward like a cannonball.
BOOM!
"Gazelle Leap!!"
With a thunderous shout, Hak Foo came crashing down like a falling meteor, fists like iron hammers tearing through the enemy ranks.
"Eagle Drop!!"
"Bear Strike!!"
"One Tiger, Two Sheep!!"
...
With every move, his power and precision fused perfectly. Every joint of his massive frame became a lethal weapon. A single knife-hand strike sent one northern soldier flying; a sweeping backhand smashed three more aside.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of bones shattering echoed in the air. Those who blocked his path were flung backward like broken dolls, coughing blood before disappearing into the chaos.
Watching Hak Foo tear through his army like an unstoppable beast, Numa Seika's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Yet still, he clenched his teeth, grabbed his spear, and charged forward.
He was their prince. It was his duty to protect his people.
"Die!" Muscles tensed, veins bulging, Numa Seika leaped high into the air, both hands gripping his spear for a full-force downward strike.
But Hak Foo wasn't about to give him the chance.
"Serpentine Step!!"
To Numa Seika's shock, Hak Foo moved with unnatural agility, sliding beneath him at an impossible angle. He grabbed Numa Seika's ankle mid-air—then slammed him downward with terrifying force.
THUD!
Numa Seika's body hit the ground with a sickening crack, cratering the frozen soil beneath him. But it wasn't over.
"Mountain Crush!!"
BOOM!
Before he could even rise, a devastating blow struck his abdomen. The impact drove his body into the earth, shattering the permafrost and sending cracks spidering outward for meters around.
Snow and dirt exploded into the air as chunks of ice and soil came tumbling down.
In the final moments before losing consciousness, Numa Seika faintly heard a voice echoing through the snowstorm—
"Hak Foo's beaten Numa Seika to a pulp."
...
Cough...
He didn't know how much time had passed. The sounds of slaughter had faded. The world was silent.
When Numa Seika's senses returned, his lungs burned. The dried blood clogging his nose and mouth made every breath a struggle. He couldn't move—his body was numb, his limbs heavy, his strength gone.
He tried to open his eyes, forcing himself awake. Am I dead...? What happened? What about my people...?
And then he saw her.
A striking figure stood amidst the snow—crimson eyes gleaming, waist-length white hair fluttering in the wind. Her silver-white armored accents shone like starlight, while the skin-revealing contours of her ensemble stood in stark contrast to the surrounding cold.
Beautiful. Terrifying. Divine.
But beauty meant nothing to Numa Seika. In that instant, his heart was filled with nothing but despair.
"Hak Foo," said Selene softly, her gaze fixed on the broken warrior before her, "you seem to have hit him a little too hard..."