Lu Xing was about to cry his eyes out.
The primary reason was naturally the ruin of his mission plan; the secondary factor was...
He had initially thought the updated System had greatly reduced the "playability" of missions, but who could have imagined that the seemingly "scummy" parts of the System were actually pure, unadulterated benevolence?
Lu Xing glanced at the few remaining Tactical Machines around.
Based on his belated understanding.
He actually only needed to eliminate a sufficient number of "Honkai energy-driven machines piloted by humans" to complete all three mission objectives simultaneously.
He had merely obtained an ordinary...
Actually, it wasn't ordinary at all!
The [Ice Dash] used by Knight-class beasts was a charge-type skill with an added attribute.
But for Lu Xing, [Dash] was a continuous state-type skill. When [Dash] advanced to [Ice Dash]...
Was equivalent to gaining an "ice attribute enchantment" effect:
While under the buff of [Ice Dash], all of Lu Xing's attacks (including skills) could, by consuming additional Honkai energy, be imbued with or directly converted into ice-attribute damage.
Lu Xing could finally unleash ice-attribute attacks using his own abilities, without relying on [Frost's Lament]—a certain affix that had been entirely ineffective through pure inheritance finally lived up to its name.
As the saying goes, good things come in pairs.
Some might ask: since the damage dealt by Cheche was also counted towards Lu Xing's progress bar, why did Lu Xing get off Cheche in the first place?
After all, although the battle between Cheche and the Tactical Machines was intense, the enemy's attacks clearly couldn't harm Lu Xing.
The bumpiness and all that...
Compared to the mission rewards, it was hardly an issue!
That was indeed the case.
The most important reason Lu Xing chose to get off Cheche was actually—
At the same time the System prompted that the main mission was complete, the progress bar for the newly appeared second mission had shot up by a large chunk almost immediately!
Cheche's combat was extraordinarily destructive.
The things that were "cleaned up" incidentally helped Lu Xing complete more than half of the new progress bar.
It was neither "Variant Honkai Beasts" nor "Non-natural Humans"—Lu Xing hadn't had time to study these two categories; just going by their names, they probably referred to advanced Honkai Beasts with affixes, and humans who had been modified and used "Honkai energy" as weapons—but rather the last one, "Sapient Machines."
Lu Xing had personally confirmed with his knight lance; it referred to those highly agile Armed Dolls on the ground.
Lu Xing could complete it entirely on his own.
He needed to defeat a total of 100 Armed Dolls—although the opponents were stronger, the number required by the mission was greatly reduced.
If he hadn't joined the legion.
Completing this mission would probably have taken a massive amount of time. Check latest chapters at novel·fiɾe·net
These Armed Dolls, very likely originating from the "Mu Continent," although many appeared at once this time, were usually impossible to find.
But on the battlefield.
With the legion's support, the difficulty of this task plummeted.
The "mission" of the Armed Dolls was to eliminate the small and ranged Honkai Beasts within the legion—low-flying Rotor-class, Acid-class, and Floater-class beasts were all their designated targets.
The Knight-class Honkai Beasts, who hadn't been seen for a while, weren't slacking off.
To guard against infiltration attacks by elite enemy units (and incidentally, to preserve their effective strength as much as possible, as well as for a certain ulterior motive that had already failed), Lu Xing had specifically assigned them to protect these small and medium-sized Honkai Beasts.
Though few in number.
The knightly order, composed entirely of Lv.40 "Death Horns," whether fighting individually or in coordinated attacks, could very easily intercept several times their number of Armed Dolls.
As for the four powerhouses Lu Xing had trained into Magic Knights—there really wasn't a fifth one—he had named them "War," "Pestilence," "Famine," and "Death."
Because their external appearances were indistinguishable (in the Bible, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse rode "red, white, black, and pale green" horses respectively), and even their weapons were completely identical (the four horsemen originally wielded a longbow, a great sword, a pair of scales, and a scythe respectively (modern interpretations)), Lu Xing could only differentiate them by level.
As for the two that were the exact same level, or if their levels changed in the future... that would be discussed later.
The Magic Knights, whose strength far surpassed the Death Horns.
Played a crucial role in the counter-ambush.
Any Armed Dolls that occasionally broke through the Knight-class blockade were pierced by the Magic Knights' lances and flung far away before they could initiate their suicide attacks—this combo was a specialty of the Knight-class. Unfortunately, Lu Xing, as the supreme leader of the Knight-class, hadn't even learned [Thrust] yet, let alone any subsequent techniques.
This awkward situation would completely end in this battle.
The moment he threw his Radiant Star, impaling more than three Armed Dolls with a single spear thrust, Lu Xing finally experienced that long-lost, exhilarating feeling, like continuously turning in quests in an MMORPG until the "L" list was cleared—
"Your mission (Kill a total of 100 Variant Honkai Beasts/Non-natural Humans/Sapient Machines) has been completed."
"Your level has increased to Lv.43."
"You have unlocked the new skill [Thrust]."
As Lu Xing pulled the Radiant Star, which had been thrust diagonally into the ground, free.
The "Dubbo City Annihilation Battle"—the human side might call it the "Dubbo City Massacre"—officially ended.
The transportation hub connecting central and eastern Australia was completely destroyed.
The Australian local forces fighting in the west were now only a matter of time away from being annihilated.
What Lu Xing didn't know was.
At the same time the "Vanguard Legion" flattened Dubbo City.
The Emperor Guard Warlord-class, responsible for rearguard duties, had already led the second wave of Honkai Beast legions—newly born from the Great Rift and having just arrived through the portal. This force was larger in number, but due to their recent birth, their combat effectiveness wasn't very strong. Using overwhelming swarm tactics, and coordinating with another Honkai Beast legion that was already confronting that force in the central region, they had completed the encirclement and cleanup.
The entirety of Central-Western Australia had fallen under the iron hooves of the Honkai Beasts.
And next, the closest city to the legion was the star of Australia's east coast—
A cold wind blew past Lu Xing.
The ice crystals forming on the Radiant Star reflected the sunlight pouring down from the sky, creating a serene and brilliant shimmer.
The Chariot-class beast's massive body stopped beside Lu Xing.
Lu Xing patted Cheche's sturdy and smooth forelimb.
A casual swing of this arm, the impact it generated, could easily take the lives of thousands.
Lu Xing stomped forcefully on the ground.
The explosive sound masked the emotion in his voice.
By the time his figure became clear again, Lu Xing was already back atop Cheche's head.
The only difference was, his right hand gripping Cheche's horn didn't seem to be holding on quite as tightly as before.