I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

"...Ken, Himiko, you have the most experience in command here, so tell me your thoughts."

"As it stands, the only option is to organize a scout team to launch an air raid and kill Gabriel in one fell swoop. However, it's not feasible for all of us to go. Someone must remain on the ground to keep watch and command."

Himiko spoke quickly.

"Nozomi, Sakura, your combat styles are not suited for aerial combat, and staying on the ground is more helpful for the defense line. Therefore, you need to continue to stay on the ground, mainly to deal with areas with high defensive pressure, and focus on finding high-threat targets to contain and annihilate them."

"I can/understand." x2

Xi Wang and Ying nodded, unsurprised by the arrangement.

"Hen, you know more about the battlefield than I do. Can I ask you to take command and provide support? I'll also need you to handle any emergencies that may arise."

"While I'm glad you came up with a nicer reason, there's no need to beat around the bush to assign me rear-area tasks. Even though I'm married, I'm still a soldier."

Hen said helplessly, feeling that everyone had been taking care of him ever since he got married—he was a soldier too! He was a soldier too!

However, he still accepted his responsibilities.

"But I understand. I will take responsibility. If there is an emergency, I will immediately lead the team to provide assistance."

"Alright, I will lead the team to launch an aerial assault and try to clear a gap in the airborne Honkai Beast horde. Then I'll ask you to arrange for someone to launch rockets to kill [Gabriel]."

Himiko nodded and made this arrangement.

"Wait, rockets? Didn't you guys try those before and they didn't work?"

Hen immediately frowned and asked.

"It was just brought over by the higher-ups; it's the experimental kind, you understand?"

"...No, this is too dangerous."

After thinking it over carefully, Hen shook his head and rejected the suggestion.

“A member of my team has already been injured due to the instability of the new weapon… You know, the new weapon is filled with [Honkai energy], so it’s no surprise that he was infected.”

"........."

"But don't worry, I... took care of him. He's lying with the fallen soldiers now... I hope to take him back later and give him a proper recognition for his sacrifice."

"Even if you don't say it, it will happen. I don't think the people in charge would be so heartless in such a major event."

Himiya sighed.

No, actually they will. Anyway, it's a Honkai infection, and it's on the battlefield. They can just blame it on the Honkai Beasts and save on extra compensation. —Xi Wang thought subconsciously, but didn't say it aloud.

Moreover, high-powered weapons like "Honkai Energy Rockets" that haven't been tested are being used on the battlefield without any regard for the consequences. It's unclear whether the higher-ups have lost their minds. If the warriors of the Fire Moth don't die fighting the Honkai, but instead die from their own weapons, then the Herrschers will applaud, and even the Honkai Beasts will laugh out loud.

“...Okay, I understand what you mean. After all, rockets are different from individual firearms. If a collapse of that scale could be triggered, the entire defense line could collapse as a result.”

Himiko agreed with Kon's suggestion and promptly revised her own strategy.

"Then I'll just bring the Honkai energy bombs up there. These bombs have specially designed safety devices, so they should be more stable than rockets. I can throw the bombs into the mouth of Gabriel's horn and detonate them, which should kill him."

“But that would make your mission much more dangerous, Captain Himiko.”

Kevin suddenly spoke up.

"That's true, but it's something that has to be done, and others are facing just as much danger as I am."

Himiko simply responded calmly.

Whether it's the Honkai Beast tide and continuous high-intensity combat that Xiwang and Ying have to face, or Hen's overall planning of the entire defense line, analysis of the battle situation, and preparation for support and backup, everyone has their own dangers and responsibilities, which is something they cannot avoid.

"No, what I mean is that you need a helper."

Kevin shook his head, his eyes resolute.

"I will go with you."

"...Ha, that's right. With a little more effort, you'll start to look like a captain."

Himiko laughed, then quickly stood up.

"Alright, since that's the decision, let's get moving! Let's try to kill Gabriel before the next bugle call! We must win this battle!"

After the brief meeting, everyone quickly dispersed and headed in their respective directions.

Xi Wang and Ying rushed to the defense line again to clear out the Honkai Beasts that kept pouring out.

Hen rushed to the rear to coordinate with the other soldiers' commanders and to get as much information as possible about the real-time situation of the entire defensive line.

Himiko, along with Kevin, the "temporary captain," headed towards the aircraft.

Soon, accompanied by the roar of artillery fire, the number of aerial Honkai Beasts on the defensive line began to decrease, in an effort to reduce the pressure on Himiko and Kevin as they approached [Gabriel].

Xi Wang glanced at it once and then looked away. After all, he and Sakura also had heavy responsibilities. In addition, perhaps sensing the threat, the Honkai Beasts' attacks became much fiercer, forcing him and Sakura to keep running around the defensive line.

The sudden pressure left Hen overwhelmed, as he directed his team to provide support in various locations, helping to rebuild the damaged defenses.

The battle in the sky was even more intense. Hordes of flying Honkai Beasts were as numerous as mosquitoes in a jungle. The aircraft providing cover crashed one by one. The crew members inside were thinking about how to eliminate a few more Honkai Beasts before they died, which led to the complete sacrifice of all of them. Even Kevin and Himiko's aircraft had one of their engines destroyed.

Fortunately, they eventually managed to get close to Gabriel.

Then, Gabriel moved.

It trembled with its shattered six wings, and its massive horn-like body slowly descended, approaching the sea surface. At the same time, the seawater below surged, revealing that many Honkai Beasts were lurking beneath the surface.

This left Kevin and Himiko stuck in mid-air, unable to go up or down.

Ascending would allow them to avoid danger, but the entire operation would be wasted. Going down, they might be overwhelmed by the Honkai Beast horde before they could even shove the bomb into Gabriel's mouth (even though its true form is a horn).

"That's why I wanted to use a rocket... Now all that effort has been wasted."

Himiko gritted her teeth, remained silent for a while, and then stopped Kevin, who wanted to jump down with the bomb to forcefully carry out the plan.

"Put away your sadness and pointless desire to sacrifice, Kevin. I know you're sad and confused because of the squad's annihilation, but this is the battlefield. Stay calm, analyze the situation, fight seriously, and don't make unnecessary sacrifices."

Himiko stared intently at Gabriel below, clearing away the Honkai Beasts around the aircraft with her weapon as she spoke.

"You're just like that boy you rescued before, you know? Besides, you shouldn't sacrifice yourself for this level of danger, given your ability to [single-handedly kill a Herrscher]... Keep a close eye on [Gabriel's] movements."

After giving Kevin a slight hint, Himiko immediately turned and shouted to the pilot.

"Turn around! Return to the defensive line! Tell Nozomi and Sakura to prepare to engage the enemy! Have Hen lead the reinforcements!"

"understand!"

The aircraft immediately turned around and wobbled towards the defensive line.

"........."

Kevin noticed that after Gabriel approached the sea surface, it began to move slowly, then gradually accelerated, rapidly approaching the defensive line, seemingly intending to launch an attack. Moreover, its speed was much faster than the aircraft they were traveling in, and at the same time, the entire horn began to tremble—a prelude to the sounding of the horn.

"cherry."

"Ah."

Upon receiving Himiko's reminder, Xiwang quickly called out to Sakura, who nodded knowingly. After adjusting her breathing slightly, she distanced herself from Xiwang and positioned herself to his side and slightly behind.

Meanwhile, Xiwang held her breath, watching the sea churning due to the Honkai Beasts and the rapidly approaching [Gabriel].

Take a deep breath, and then... strike!

Two figures, one in dark skin and the other in cherry blossom pink, rushed towards the sea at a speed too fast to see clearly. Then, the others saw a very absurd scene—the two were walking on the sea surface, and even used their unseen swordsmanship to carve a path through a group of Honkai Beasts.

Thank goodness the weapons were updated this time; if it were the old weapons, they would have been worn down after only a few uses.

However, the cherry-colored figure soon stopped, using the help of several Honkai Beasts leaping out of the sea to jump back to the shore, while the dark-colored figure continued to move towards [Gabriel].

That's understandable, since Sakura is literally "walking on water" and can't keep going for long. So her main job is to clear out the Honkai Beasts around her while Xiwang is focused, thus relieving Xiwang's pressure.

Xi Wang, on the other hand, advances by "stepping on Honkai Beasts." Through observation, he uses his excellent memory to record the number and magnitude of the sea's surging, thereby deducing the location of the Honkai Beasts beneath the surface of the sea in various locations. He then advances on the sea surface by stepping on the bodies of the Honkai Beasts.

Well... I can only say that both of them are pretty outrageous.

Soon, Xi Wang and Gabriel met.

Just as Xi Wang had anticipated, he stepped onto the surface of the sea (actually onto the Honkai Beast hidden beneath the surface), leaped directly onto the large horned body of [Gabriel], and then lightly touched the ground with his toes, quickly arriving at the location of its shattered six wings.

While a Honkai Beast's ability to fly is unrelated to whether it has wings (since Honkai Beasts are composed of Honkai energy), current research suggests that Honkai Beasts capable of flight will temporarily lose their ability to fly after losing their wings (if they possess them), but will quickly regain it afterward. It's speculated that this is due to a deficiency or disruption in the energy within their bodies responsible for maintaining flight. Therefore, making a flying Honkai Beast fall is quite simple: just break its wings, like a bird. —Excerpt from "The Moth Chasing the Flame: Key Points for Honkai Combat, Part Three"

Without hesitation, Xi Wang swung his sword and slashed down.

A strong sense of obstruction came from his hand, and the energy glow on the blade began to flicker. Clearly, this prototype alone was not enough to sever the opponent's wings—no wonder this guy could still float in the sky. If Honkai energy weapons were like this, ordinary weapons would really be no match for them.

Fortunately, Xiwang's actions did indeed "injure" it, causing its flight ability to malfunction and its entire body to pause. The body, which was trembling and about to emit a horn, seemed to be forced to stop and come to a halt.

The Honkai Beasts hidden nearby leaped out of the seawater and attacked Xiwang.

Xi Wang suddenly pushed the blade down, lowering her body to further damage Gabriel's wings while dodging the first wave of Honkai attacks. Then, with a sliding step and a half-body spin, she drew her sword and counterattacked, using the blade, which was about to malfunction due to overload, to kill the attacking Honkai. She then plunged the sword back into the wings.

"Look! Get out of the way!"

Kevin's voice rapidly approached from above, followed by the sound of gunfire. Several Honkai Beasts trying to leap out of the sea were hit and fell back into the water.

Xi Wang quickly abandoned the knife in his hand and withdrew—since the knife was almost broken anyway, he might as well leave it in Gabriel's wings to do some good.

Boom! ! !

Kevin, carrying the bomb, landed directly on Gabriel with a dull thud.

Kevin is pretty outrageous; he jumped straight off the aircraft and acted like nothing happened.

"Why did you jump straight down?! Aren't you afraid of falling to your death?!"

Amidst the rapid gunfire, Himiko's shouts came from not far away, then turned into urging.

"Detonate it while it's still immobile!"

Kevin quickly activated the bomb, securing it to the horn opening within Gabriel's body. He then joined you in grabbing the ladder extending from the aircraft, while Himiko used her weapon to clear away the surrounding Honkai Beasts, ensuring your safety.

The aircraft quickly flew you to the shore, trying to get you to a safe location before the bomb exploded.

then……

BOOM! ! !

A massive explosion occurred, accompanied by flames, and the seawater was whipped up into a huge wave.

It's no wonder it's made of Honkai energy; the bomb's power is outrageous. Ordinary bombs of the same yield would never have such power.

As the explosion subsided and the splashing water gradually calmed down, countless people gazed at that spot, eagerly awaiting news.

But unfortunately... it's not enough.

With a splash—accompanied by the sound of flowing seawater—Gabriel's battered body slowly emerged from the water, reappearing before you.