Boom!
In the northern sea region of the Mu Continent.
Upon the tumultuous waves, a colossal whale breached the ocean's surface.
"Awooo!"
More than sixty Cruise-class Honkai Beasts, ranging from Lv.45 to Lv.55, soared through the vast, turbulent waves!
Cruise-class Honkai Beasts were not common.
They were inherently a rather rare type of Honkai Beast—those gathered here represented the entirety of what the Great Whale had managed to collect by scouring the globe.
Though not as formidable as the Old Emperor's personal guard.
This scale... a single coordinated volley of their beam cannons would leave no trace of any city; even without using their ultimate weapons, the sheer number of Spicula-class Honkai Beasts—small, numerous, and launched from the mouths of the Cruise-class—whitening the entire sky, was enough to overwhelm an entire fleet.
And they weren't the only ones filling the sky.
While gathering aquatic Honkai Beasts, the Great Whale had also "collected" an extremely unique [Variant · Acid-class]. This creature was formed from the combination of two Acid-class Honkai Beasts. Due to its recent awakening, it hadn't even mastered communication yet, but its level, exceeding Lv.50, was enough for the Great Whale to incorporate it into the legion.
Now.
The Acid-class Honkai Beasts, led by this Variant, were responsible for the mid-to-close-range interception combat for the entire squadron.
Splash!!
A gigantic spray of water erupted from the sea surface!
Cheche's hundred-meter-tall body slowly emerged above the water.
Under the cover of a typhoon and heavy rain, the entire legion's appearance had yet to be detected by humans. The Cruise-class legion would launch simultaneous attacks on four cities along the northern coast of the Mu Continent, aiming to conclude the battle within two minutes. The Mu Continent was vast, but the number of cities distributed across it was remarkably scarce; the vast majority of humans and armed automatons resided in the continent's central region.
These four cities.
Were all the human settlements on Mu Continent's northern shore.
————
Swoosh!!
In the southern sea region of the Mu Continent.
Two "small" Temple-class beasts materialized from the void first.
Immediately following.
The entirety of the massive 'Crimson Cherry' Legion descended, deploying at maximum speed behind the two Temple-class leaders, directly entering combat readiness!
The Four War Temples were the Emperor's personal guard.
The 'Crimson Cherry' and 'Frozen' Legions, however, were units directly subordinate to the Four War Temples. Even though the southern flank was not the primary offensive zone, to create the illusion of a surprise attack, this legion needed to exert its full strength.
The initial assault.
Would consist of Temple-class, Drifter-class, and Assault-class Honkai Beasts, with all other units on standby.
Om!
Honkai energy slowly lit up on War and Famine.
The Emperor's will was conveyed through their bodies to the entire 'Crimson Cherry' Legion.
Clack!
Lances vertical, swords sheathed, wings spread, shields retracted!
A full one hundred 30-meter-class Temple-class Honkai Beasts fully deployed their forms. The Drifter-class and Assault-class beasts, suspended in the air, moved with extreme orderliness, rapidly flying towards their "partners" according to the original plan!
The vast Honkai Beast swarm.
In a mere 180 seconds, completely transformed into 25 enormous crimson phalanxes!
This was a tactic Lu Xing had learned from his departed old comrades, improved upon with his own understanding: a Temple-class Honkai Beast at the center, its surface then covered by a total of 120 3-meter-class Drifter-class Honkai Beasts; in the gaps between these Drifter-class beasts, thousands of Assault-class beasts were responsible for completely filling every void!
Such Temple-class units then further formed quad-cell formations, operating together as a single entity for breakthrough operations.
Four giant shields formed an unfolding "Flower Shield" above the heads of the Temple-class beasts.
By having the four Temple-class units continuously execute the [Shield Stance] ability, they could maximally block attacks from the direct front; their lances, held vertically towards the center point and coordinating with each other, could tear apart anything in their path of advance!
The presence of numerous Drifter-class.
Provided dual reinforcement for the "Temple-class" units: [Honkai Lance Projection] and [Honkai Energy Crystal Wall], leaving no blind spots in either firepower or defense.
Then.
These "New Four War Temples" combinations, comparable to "Floating Fortresses," not only relied on a large number of Assault-class beasts for speed and maneuvering assistance but could also launch them directly like carrier-borne aircraft when needed!
Incidentally.
All Assault-class beasts in the legion were variants; or rather, there were no ordinary Honkai Beasts in the 'Crimson Cherry' Legion at all!
These [Crimson Cherry Assault Beasts] all possessed a skill called [Hellfire].
[Hellfire: Detonates self upon death, releasing Honkai energy in the form of fire.]
In short.
When necessary, the Assault-class beasts, serving as "carrier-borne aircraft," were all heavy bombs.
Om!!
Numerous points of light flashed on the Temple-class units.
The Assault-class beasts, after activating their own Honkai energy, coordinated with the Temple-class units to slowly lift their entire bodies.
Next—
Fshhhh!!!
Flame-attribute power intertwined with jets of Honkai energy, erupting simultaneously from the rear of the Temple-class units!
Like 25 giant spacecraft slowly ascending.
Zzzt!
War and Famine simultaneously raised the lances in their hands.
"For the Emperor!"
Crimson flames ignited at the tips of their lances!
"Legion, advance!"
————
Thud!
Thud!
The 'Frozen' Legion advanced across the ocean surface.
Indeed, thanks to the ultra-low temperature cold wave brought by a massive amount of ice-attribute Honkai energy, a vast "[Frozen Domain]" spread across the entire sea region.
Treading upon the solid ice surface.
The legion's pace showed not the slightest hesitation; no obstruction was permitted in their path forward.
As the "main force" dispatched from the Australian continent, the 'Frozen' Legion's combat power ranked first among all legions. In addition to over 300 50-meter-class [Frozen Chariot Beasts (Chariot-class)] and over 100 30-meter-class [Azure Beasts (Temple-class)], what was even more eye-catching were the over 20 [Frozen Emperors (Honkai Emperor-class)], level-locked at Lv.55, suspended in the air.
These Honkai Emperors, possessing an appearance similar to the Old Emperor's initial form, were the absolute mainstays of this force. A total of 30 Honkai Emperors had been born from the Great Rift; the vast majority had been teleported to Antarctica for "special training," which resulted in their current attributes and strength.
As for the remaining 10 [Magma Emperors], they were assigned to the 'Crimson Cherry' Legion, responsible for the second wave of assault after the initial bombardment.
Zzzt!
The 'Frozen' Legion, advancing entirely on foot, was not slow.
By the time the other legions were all in position, they had already reached a location less than 50 nautical miles from the Mu Continent—for both humans and Honkai Beasts, this distance signified entry into the enemy's engagement range.
Zzzt!
Plague and Death simultaneously raised the lances in their hands.
"For the Emperor!"
A biting cold wind swept through the surroundings!
"Legion, advance!"