Chapter 27: Planting Suns

Honkai Beasts proved more challenging than anticipated.

With twelve floating warheads and the main cannon mounted on Zeke's vehicle, thirteen concentrated beams of high-energy particles nearly razed the entire small town—of course, Zeke had increased his altitude and avoided areas where people were hiding, striving to minimize collateral damage as much as possible.

Despite these efforts, they managed to clear only about one-third of the smaller Honkai Beasts.

As for the colossal beasts measured by floors rather than meters, even when directly hit, they merely stumbled back momentarily. Once the barrage ceased, they would shake their massive heads, appearing undeterred and unscathed, continuing their rampage unabated.

"Couldn't penetrate the armor? Indeed, our firepower still falls short."

Zeke glanced at the stunned crowd nearby from his seat inside the vehicle.

"What are you all waiting for? She risked her life to save you; she didn't do it so you could stand here dazed. Keep running! I'll draw the main forces away; whether you survive now depends on yourselves."

Without waiting for a response, Zeke grabbed two iron chains from his vehicle and bound Kiana to himself securely. Then, with a twist of the throttle, the massive tires crushed debris beneath them as they charged straight toward the leading giant Honkai Beast.

"Boom!"

The force of impact hit the beast's hooves, staggering it and sending its bulk crashing to the ground.

Zeke maneuvered the powerful Colossus bike up along the fallen creature, swiftly ascending and smashing into another Honkai Beast's head nearby.

Under Zeke's control, the seemingly bulky motorcycle moved like a nimble cheetah, weaving effortlessly between the giants' bodies and attacks while striking again and again without sustaining any counterblows.

With focused fire support from the floating warheads, Zeke finally shattered the head of one giant Honkai Beast, obtaining crucial data on their armor strength. At the same time, he had successfully drawn enough attention onto himself.

Zeke decisively turned the bike's direction, noticing the horde of Honkai Beasts hot on his trail. He then accelerated away from Yordle City, heading deep into the snow-capped mountains.

"Thud!"

The vehicle flew over a small bump, jolting Kiana awake with its impact and the cacophony of nearby Honkai Beasts' roars.

"Hmm?"

"Zeke..."

"Where am I?" Kiana mumbled groggily before being overcome by a violent coughing fit, tasting a metallic sweetness rising in her throat.

To avoid worrying Zeke, she suppressed the urge to spit out the blood welling up inside her.

"We're in the mountains."

Zeke glanced down at the girl whose once porcelain-like face was now smudged with messy stains and blood. Despite the filth, he could still see her pallor and frailty.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm feeling... alright, I guess. Thank you for saving me."

"Tell me the truth."

"...It hurts! Everything hurts so much! Am I going to die, Zeke?"

In response to Zeke's stern tone, Kiana seemed to lose her protective armor, instantly shedding her facade of strength. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth as she asked weakly, fear evident in her voice tinged with tears.

Zeke looked ahead nonchalantly and replied:

"No, you won't. You have a long life ahead of you; you won't die here."

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"No, I trust you, Zeke."

In truth, he had deceived her before—often, for amusement or various other reasons.

But Kiana seemed to forget those instances and smiled with relief.

Honestly speaking, with her grimy face and bloodied teeth, she didn't look particularly appealing from any angle.

Yet, to Zeke, it was fine.

Perhaps because she was his child, he didn't mind her messy appearance.

"Icarus, report on battle damage ratios."

"Our side: Two floating warheads lost, remaining units can withstand 43 full-power shots; main vehicle's damage at 11%, not affecting primary functions yet. Enemy side: Twenty-three giant Honkai Beasts remain, along with 406 non-giants. Analysis suggests we are at a significant disadvantage. Recommending immediate withdrawal."

"Detach six floating warheads for conservative attacks, aiming to slow down the beast herd. The remaining four, standby at coordinates (x396,y993,z1123), (x1217..."—four locations in total—"prepare for full-power bombardment."

"Yes, my lord."

The Colossus, like a wild beast, moved effortlessly through the snow, maintaining a speed that surpassed the herd yet kept them close enough to follow as it circled around several isolated peaks.

The pursuing beasts entered a low valley with protruding solitary peaks to the east, south, and north, and steep snowy slopes to the west.

"Now! Open fire!"

"Boom!"

At Zeke's command, four floating warheads already positioned at critical points activated at full power. Snow and massive chunks of rock tumbled from high above, triggering a roaring avalanche that cascaded down the western slope with earth-swallowing force.

The Honkai Beasts wailed pitifully, some even panicking and trying to scatter. Zeke couldn't tell if they felt fear, but he knew his own fury was boundless.

"Floating warheads, sequences 7 to 12, deactivate reactor limiters. Deploy electromagnetic reflective force fields."

"Yes, my lord."

In response to the cold order, invisible ripples spread around the colossal beast-like vehicle, deploying a force field capable of resisting radiation particle streams. Simultaneously, its speed surged to maximum, swiftly racing away like lightning across the wind.

Zeke put a pair of earmuffs on Kiana.

"Boom!!"

Behind them, a blinding white light erupted like a second sun rising from the earth. The snow it touched melted instantly and then vaporized, as if transitioning abruptly from a freezing winter to scorching summer heat.

The intense shockwave swiftly followed, causing fissures to spread outward, tearing through the ground and crumbling mountainsides.

Simultaneously, a massive mushroom cloud billowed up, heralding the arrival of doomsday—and demonstrating how humanity's mightiest force, by conventional standards, had bared its vicious claws at this very moment.

This spectacle stunned countless observers worldwide.

For instance, a certain blond archbishop crushed his teacup, momentarily unable to maintain his composed demeanor.

Meanwhile, halfway around the globe, a renowned red-haired scientist accidentally sprayed soda all over the face of another celebrated blue-haired scientist while muttering incredulously, "No way," "You've got to be kidding me," and "Holy sh*t!"

The explosion's yield was not significant; its design considered reactor efficiency and radiation control.

This time, the radiation would affect Mondstadt and Ulu Town but only mildly. Compared to allowing Honkai Beasts to carry out massacres in both towns, this outcome was undoubtedly the best possible.

Within three to five months, most of the residual radiation would dissipate. After that, barring someone foolish enough to reside at the blast center, it wouldn't pose any major hazards.

Thus, although made in anger, Zeke did not believe there was anything fundamentally wrong with this response measure.

On the speeding black steel motorbike, Zeke glanced through his blue-tinted lenses at Kiana, concern now openly visible in his eyes.

The displayed values read: 177.12 - 1578.35 - 99.84 - 1785.43...

Honkai Energy is inherently unstable, so fluctuations in readings were expected, but such extreme variations were decidedly abnormal.

So far, the highest value Zeke had encountered exceeded the limit of 9999, displaying as "???", while the lowest was 0.71... It couldn't rule out the possibility of even lower values causing measurement failures.

"Damn it, I'm too late!"

Zeke had already pushed his speed to its limit but wished he could go even faster. The underground research lab at the manor was equipped with sufficient tools; at least there, he could attempt something constructive instead of fretting helplessly on the road.

Perhaps, should he have spent less time addressing the Honkai Beasts threatening Uru Town and Yordle City?

Shaking his head silently, Zeke dismissed those thoughts. It was done now, not the time for regrets.

Fortunately, the fluctuations in Honkai Energy concentration gradually diminished, approaching Kiana's typical stable levels.

This might indicate that her body finally adapted, and the impact from the surge wasn't as severe as initially feared.

Suddenly, scattered shadows appeared before Zeke.

"Skrrrt!!!"

With a screech of tires against asphalt, Zeke made an abrupt turn, veering off the highway onto an uncharted forest path nearby.

While maneuvering through obstacles, Zeke glanced back briefly.

"The car emerged quickly from the direction of Yordle City, and I can see fresh scratches on its body... No way!"

His pupils contracted as a grim suspicion cast an additional shadow over his already anxious state.

"Icarus, can we establish contact with the manor now?"

"My lord, at our current speed, it will take 1 minute and 43 seconds to enter the effective coverage range of the manor's signal tower."

"Once within range, immediately connect me to the manor's communication line."

"Yes, my lord."