Ignoring the ultimate goal, everything was quite simple as far as the situation in Sundown Alley was concerned.
Kalpas was the cicada in the open. He was powerful, irritable, and perfect for attracting hatred. The Fire Moth was the mantis, led by Andevich, the Ice Breaker, who had been deceived the night before. Now, he was preparing for revenge with eyes full of fire. Aponia acted as their bait, and Kalpas would certainly come to fish out his companions.
But in Ryan's eyes, the Herrscher waiting to take advantage of the mantis was the oriole, and he intended to catch that oriole.
"Here, finally here."
A vague feeling crept into Ryan's mind as he stopped at the clock tower, looking down at the mostly intact Sundown Alley.
There were very few pedestrians on the street. Most of them were bounty hunters, those who didn't care about their lives. The rest of the population had been evacuated to the North District, as Andevich, leading the team, was a regular army officer with his own methods of handling things.
Boom——
The muffled sound of thunder came from the mountains, accompanied by the distant roar of machine guns, getting closer to Sundown Alley with each passing moment.
"You want to lure Kalpas into a fight and then surround him with heavy troops, but do you think he's just a grumpy old man?" Ryan couldn't help but sneer. Kalpas was actually quite intelligent in combat, with an amazing intuition.
From the aftermath of the battle, Kalpas clearly had no intention of attacking with full force. Instead, he had focused on the fusion warrior squad luring the enemy. Even though those lower-level fusion warriors were wearing the latest combat exoskeletons, it was still extremely difficult to fight Kalpas.
A brush against him could lead to injury, and a direct confrontation would result in death. Ryan had even seen a small black dot being blasted into the air a hundred meters high, with the alloy armor, several centimeters thick, being turned into a discus.
"He didn't take the bait, so it's time to take action."
Ryan, perched on the clock tower, was like a spectator. He waited for another two minutes, then suddenly, a gorgeous red cosmos bloomed on the edge of the town.
From Ryan's perspective, the thousands of petals bloomed like lasers, slicing through everything in their path—buildings, steel, anything.
"It's that red-robed man. Even Mei can hardly find any information on him. Is this some cutting ability?" Ryan's pupils reflected the magnificent flowers, knowing that the other party had to make a move now.
The two fusion warriors didn't know there were Herrschers ready to take advantage. Without the protection of their subordinates, it would be difficult for the two of them to take down Kalpas—especially with a pseudo-Herrscher cooperating.
Andevich was still waiting, afraid that Ryan would take the opportunity to slip into Sundown Alley. He was at a disadvantage and kept thinking of ways to turn the tide. He was indeed a capable warrior.
Ryan nodded slightly, recalculating the enemy's combat strength.
"Pardo and Aponia can be ignored. Kalpas has already fought hard and won't follow the plan. The enemy has two upper-level fusion warriors, three squads, and several regular troops. The most troublesome thing is I don't know how many Herrschers and pseudo-Herrschers are involved."
The combat power was undoubtedly at a disadvantage, but fortunately, Kalpas wouldn't run away, so there was no risk of being sold out by his teammates.
They had to outsmart him.
Ryan made up his mind. He stretched out his hand, and invisible air currents gathered in front of him, swirling dust that formed a human-like figure.
The black shadow quickly enveloped the airflow, making it look like a real person—one not much different from Ryan's current appearance. The shadow couldn't simulate facial features or body details well, and it required support, but there was no better alternative than the power of wind and pure collapse.
"As for the appearance, why do you think I use a black-skinned monster like 'Venom' as a disguise? Isn't it cooler this way?"
Ryan grinned, moving his palms. Another version of himself did the same, almost without delay. This was the nature of "shadow."
Shadow Puppet.
It was Adam's proud skill in the beginning. This technique was far more useful than the abilities Ryan had obtained from the collapse beast, though it consumed a lot of energy.
Ryan had practiced it several times in private and concluded that while it was good for crushing weak opponents, it wouldn't hold up against someone of equal power.
"But it's still useful for deceiving people. Anyway, they don't know what the real Adam can do."
Snap.
With a snap of his fingers, Ryan's body merged into the air, controlling the puppet to jump off the clock tower.
Ding Ding Ding.
The clock struck twelve, and the black-skinned monster, over two meters tall, was running wildly down the street, heading straight for the port, leaving the bounty hunters stunned.
"The monster is out!"
After they realized it, they fled in all directions, not even attempting to stop it, and began frantically dialing bounty numbers.
Ryan paid no attention to them, charging ahead in a straight line. His footsteps left deep prints in the cement road, and the salty sea breeze hit him. He stopped suddenly and raised his hands.
Shadow Blade.
His arms turned into two swords, rapidly slicing through the air, leaving behind dark, sharp marks.
Bang——
Gunfire reached his ears, and several large-caliber armor-piercing shells, moving several times the speed of sound, were turned into debris before him. The shrapnel splashed out, demolishing houses in the vicinity.
"As expected, there's a backup plan."
A four-man team appeared in front of him, clad in full black heavy armor, with long nozzle tails blooming as they retreated and fired.
Da da da da…
The sound of machine guns was continuous, but they were swiftly cut to pieces by Ryan's swinging shadow blades. He sprinted forward, and as he closed the distance, the four men dispersed.
Two flew into the air to provide fire support, while the other two drew molecular vibration knives to meet him head-on. Their thick legs stomped the ground, and the exoskeletons amplified the external honkai energy—
Charge!
They accelerated in an instant, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. Ryan leaned back, almost touching the ground, watching as the two swords sliced through the air in front of his face. He raised his shadow knife horizontally.
Click.
The Honkai energy was cut off, leaving a deep mark on the armor. Ryan didn't have time to assess the damage, as the Honkai energy expanded.
He turned into a black ball, rolling forward. Sparks exploded on the surface of his body, and then the ball bounced into the air, growing in size as it moved toward the two fusion warriors, who were now in full view.
Piercing!
Dozens of shadow needles protruded from the surface of the black ball, and the rebound's inertia sent the lead warrior flying. But the remaining fusion warrior was unfazed, raising his arms to gather energy less than ten meters away.
Boom-bang!
The air rang with a shockwave, and the dust below exploded as a three-story house was turned into a deep pit. Ryan landed on his back in the middle of the pit.
'The super-mutation factor of a crossbow-level Honkai beast? There are definitely more and more abilities.'
He seemed to be lamenting the progress of Fire Moth's work, but this was a good thing.
Ryan instantly stood up, pressed his palms together, and transformed them into a black knife as thin as a cicada's wing, but more than ten meters long. He swung it behind him, twisting his body.
Silent, shadowless, the knife sliced through everything in its path. It was blocked by a light shield flashing with arcs, but the fusion warrior holding the shield was thrown back.
The mutant temple seed factor, if it were a human body, would even be paralyzed by the rebound.
Ryan felt the power wane, but before he could react, a warrior charging like a chariot barreled toward him. The giant shadow knife retracted instantly, forming a wall behind him.
Boom!
A cloud of dust erupted, mixed with ice chips, and surged into the sky. Ten nearby houses collapsed, and a straight trace extended a hundred meters.
"I've been waiting for you, pseudo-herrscher!" Andevich maintained his punching posture, his square face filled with murderous intent. As the dust froze, his eyes flared with even more malice.
The ice trail extended a hundred meters, but at the end, the monster knelt on one knee, holding his subordinate's body, suppressing the force of his punch.
"Terrible reaction, but I must kill you."
The puppet didn't have vocal cords, and Ryan was too lazy to simulate sound through air friction. He simply stood up silently, stepping on the struggling warrior below him.
With his hands spread wide, the shadow formed a sickle. Andevich's body rapidly expanded into a frost giant, standing five or six meters tall before him.
The crystal ice armor covered him completely. At just a hundred meters away, Andevich raised his right leg, preparing to strike.
Bang——
The right fist unleashed a round of ice rings, followed by dozens of ice cones mixed with a storm that roared toward Ryan, like heavy armor-piercing bullets.
The test was done. Ryan had used all his strength on the field. The storm blew against the shadows, and the ice cones were closing in.
Do you want to see it with your own eyes? Ryan spread his legs and swung the sickle, forming a ten-meter-long "pendulum" that sliced through the ice cones.
Swish.
The pendulum sliced through the air in an instant, splitting the ice cones in two. The remaining inertia swept across the block, causing rumbling thunder.
The temperature plummeted to below freezing. Ryan shattered the ice debris covering his body, raised his head, and saw the giant charging toward him, right leg raised, preparing to sweep.
As the cold air exploded, an ice wall stretched across the center of the ruins. Andevich raised his head, saw Ryan in the air, and swung his sickle down.
Shadow Cut.
In the blink of an eye, the black moon sliced through the frost giant's crossed arms. Dazzling sparks burst out, cutting through the hard ice armor and almost severing the forearm.
But the energy collision stopped there. Andevich gave a grim smile and clenched his fists.
Explosion!
The forearms exploded, releasing countless ice knives, crackling across the ground, smashing shallow pits as the ice mist thickened.
The ice ball fell to the ground, and Ryan stood silently.
'It's impressive—this first batch of fusion warriors almost completely controls their power, merging it seamlessly with free fighting techniques.'
The shadow puppet lacked flesh, but large-scale freezing had dulled it. When Ryan landed, the shadow engulfed it.
The frost giant jumped into the air, the re-condensed right arm looking like a massive mountain ready to strike.
Just like a falling ice star!