Seeing the familiar red behemoth, even Ming Yu's usually calm face changed color. An intense and undisguised killing intent erupted from him.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the change in Ming Yu, Ajifu, who had caught up, couldn't help but ask in confusion. Since Ming Yu had joined Squad 7, he had always been calm during missions. This was the first time she had seen him so openly display his emotions.
Following Ming Yu's gaze, she also saw the tall red behemoth in the distance. At the same time, information about Ming Yu's past missions suddenly surfaced in her mind.
If she remembered correctly, the very first mission Ming Yu undertook was an encounter with an Agni, which looked very similar to this Honkai Beast. And it was during that mission that his squad at the time, Squad 16, suffered a devastating blow, nearly being wiped out.
"That's just a Molten Emperor. Don't be impulsive!" Thinking of what Ming Yu might do, Ajifu quickly shouted in a stern voice.
Although the two looked so similar, one was a Molten Emperor, at the peak of the lower-tier species, while the other was the upper-tier Emperor-class Honkai Beast Agni. They were ultimately two completely different beings.
Besides, even if they were the same species, they were two different individuals and couldn't be treated as one and the same.
"I understand." Taking a few deep breaths, Ming Yu suppressed the boiling killing intent in his heart and didn't charge in alone.
Although with his current strength, killing an Emperor-class Honkai Beast wasn't a difficult task, he wasn't alone now. He was a member of Squad 7 and couldn't completely disregard his comrades.
Moreover, with the help of the other squad members, killing this Emperor-class Honkai Beast would be much safer.
Even though either Ming Yu or Ajifu possessed the power to kill an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, fighting one-on-one was still an extremely dangerous affair.
A creature like an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was no sheep that wouldn't fight back; it was a powerful existence capable of killing an A-rank Valkyrie.
But regardless, it was beyond doubt that this Honkai Beast was going to die a miserable death.
"Plan C, execute!"
Seeing Ming Yu had regained his composure, Ajifu commanded loudly.
As soon as her voice fell, the beast horde surrounding them and the Emperor-class Honkai Beast was instantly hit by artillery fire, preventing the Honkai Beasts from immediately reinforcing the central battlefield.
As the sound of cannons roared, Ming Yu also charged towards the Molten Emperor. His black combat boots kicked up gravel from the dry ground.
"Burst!"
Ming Yu shouted in a low voice. The Honkai Energy Reactor in his chest spun rapidly, continuously generating a large amount of Honkai Energy that was transported to all parts of his armor, providing him with powerful enhancements.
As the Honkai Energy flowed, blue patterns lit up, adding a splash of bright color to the black armor.
But that wasn't all. Ming Yu's right hand gently twirled his longsword, and he mentally commanded, "Divine Key · Jizo Mitama · Second Rated Power · Mitama Demon Armor!"
In the next moment, a suit of ancient-style crimson armor covered him completely from bottom to top. A black and red ghost-faced mask slowly materialized, completely concealing his face, revealing only a pair of crimson eyes underneath, which fearlessly met the molten lava-like eyes of the Molten Emperor.
Seeing Ming Yu charge over, the Molten Emperor met him without any sign of weakness, firing several red, sword-shaped carapace leaves towards the human.
Looking at those few carapace leaves, a slight curve formed on Ming Yu's lips under the mask.
Compared to Agni, the attacks of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast were a notch lower in both speed and power. To him now, they were nothing special.
Stomping his right foot hard, Ming Yu spun lightly, narrowly dodging two of the crimson carapace leaves.
Immediately after, the crimson Spirit Blade in his left hand swung quickly, causing the remaining two carapace leaves to lose their aim and fly far past Ming Yu's body.
Effortlessly neutralizing the Molten Emperor's attack, Ming Yu leaped high into the air without pause. His right leg, after a spinning wind-up, slammed hard onto the Honkai Beast's massive body.
"Boom!"
The human limb, clad in red armor, collided with the Honkai Emperor's hard, silicon-based shell, creating a dull thud that almost drowned out the constant cannon fire.
But completely disproportionate to their sizes, the Honkai Beast's nearly thirty-meter-tall body was sent flying, knocking over two Templar-class Honkai Beasts in its path. Even its naturally formed red shell showed several fine cracks.
Looking at the red behemoth that was sent flying for tens of meters, Ming Yu couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
With the dual enhancement of his armor and the Divine Key, his strength was now on par with a base-form Kiana. It had to be said that this was quite a significant improvement.
After all, as an ordinary human with neither Stigmata nor a special bloodline, he had put in a great deal of effort to reach this stage.
Seeing Ming Yu's attack take effect, temporarily moving the Molten Emperor away from the central battlefield, Ajifu, who had charged in, was not to be outdone. She raised the red dual pistols in her hands and aimed at the dozen or so isolated Templar-class Honkai Beasts.
"Although your Holy Relic is indeed very strong, my 'Blaze' is not weak either!"
As she spoke, the Blaze dual pistols in Ajifu's hands continuously shot out one red pillar of fire after another, completely piercing through seven Honkai Beasts that couldn't react in time.
With Theresa's endorsement, the Key of Corruption in Ming Yu's hand was allowed to be used publicly as the 18th Holy Relic. As long as he didn't display its corrosive power, the standard form of Jizo Mitama wasn't much stronger than other normal Holy Relics, so it wouldn't attract too much attention.
Furthermore, the dual pistols used by Ajifu were Blaze, one of the Pantheon series. The explosive particles generated through Honkai Fission reaction could rival the breath of a legendary dragon in power. In terms of destructive power alone, they were even superior to the unreleased Jizo Mitama.
With such a companion, even the light of Jizo Mitama would be largely overshadowed.
Although Jizo Mitama itself was a Divine Key with some utility functions, not relying purely on destruction to display its power, in a certain sense, the Blaze dual pistols were indeed not weaker than Jizo Mitama.
Seeing both of her teammates play their part, Giovanna also pursed her lips, similarly unleashing the power of her armor, and engaged the remaining Templar-class Honkai Beasts with her red greatsword.
Even among the numerous lower-tier species, the Templar-class was considered a tricky one. Their broad shields could block most frontal damage, and their speed, which belied their size, was quite troublesome for Valkyries.
But the few present were all seasoned veterans with rich experience against this type of Honkai Beast. The resistance of mere Templar-class Honkai Beasts was rather feeble in front of Squad 7.
So, when the Molten Emperor got back on its feet, there were only a few Templar-class Honkai Beasts left by its side. In terms of relative strength, it was clearly isolated.
It was foreseeable that what came next would be a simple battle, wouldn't it?