True Combat

Uesugi Shuu didn't hide as he dashed in the direction of the sniper. This time, nothing stopped him as he soon reached the peak at the top with two figures awaiting him

Arriving behind the cloaked figures standing at the edge of the cliff. He could sense an ominous presence within them as they stood above a pile of corpses

Facing each other in silence, no one said anything before the sniper morphed his hands to become pistols, shooting at Uesugi and forcing him to dodge.

The fire rate was average but the skill was impeccable, with Uesugi's stats that rival a weaker A-Rank Valkyrie, he can be considered an elite of the world but he struggled to dodge them all

The other cloaked man entered the battle and summoned a Chakram as he flung it towards Uesugi. 

A combination between the bullets and chakram wasn't ideal but the duo's tacit understanding was strong enough that Uesugi had to block the bullets while carefully dodging the chakram's sharp edge

The pistol user charged up slightly before a rain of bullets covered his Uesugi's eyesight

Left, Right, Up, Down, at this point all paths of retreat were blocked. With a deadbeat face, Uesugi closed his eyes and activated [Focus].

The world became still as he saw a world filled with glittering light. Observing the paths the bullet took and the chakram that sneakily tried to pincer him from behind

While the option of jumping was plausible, it felt a little too obvious as a trap. 

Besides, the battle had been passive for him and Uesugi decided to enter close combat at once. 

Concentrated breaths that emitted cold air like Karate breathing. He tensed his muscles and coordinated a mind-muscle connection. Honkai Energy of 3 units condensed into his fist as he used 1 unit to pounce from the spot

*Zoom*

He rushed into the bullets where it was less concentrated, letting the rain strike him without a fatal blow dealt. Scrapes and tears appeared on him but he ignored it

He instantly covered the distance between them, causing the cloaked figures to flee backward as they wanted to retreat. 

But they were too slow, striking at the weapon user, a bang was heard as he was sent flying to many mountains to count

However, Uesugi Shuu frowned as he felt the impact was mitigated. 

The other cloaked figure reacted as his chakram was retrieved, this time, he engaged in close combat with Uesugi.

Fists against chakram, they both aimed to penetrate each other's defences but the difference was immediately shown

Uesugi's previous foes were quickly fought regardless of difficulty, he never experienced a high-paced fight and it was against someone stronger than him

Unlike the cloaked Chakram user whose weapon and skills allowed full coverage of defense, Uesugi had a lot of gaps, causing more lashes of blood to appear on him

However, he didn't retreat and continued to fight head-on

The other cloaked figure remained unseen but the two men's clash ignored any outsiders. 

After seconds became minutes, a noticeable shock appeared on the cloaked chakram user, "This kid... He's improving drastically against me!"

Despite being crude in tactics, Uesugi managed to slip past his defense and nearly injured him sometimes. 

A look of interest could be seen from the hints of his eyes. He didn't underestimate Uesugi and fiercely increased the rate of attacks

The pressure on Uesugi became stronger, he already activated [Focus] but he still couldn't surpass the figure in front of him. It wasn't about stats or weapons, it was battle experience.

Suddenly, a ray of light charged in their direction, aiming to pierce Uesugi's head.

The chakram user instantly changed tactics as the weapon in his hands teleported and surrounded Uesugi. 

Gravity increased, forcing him to almost kneel before he stabilized.

However, this momentary pause was about to cause his death. 

Never had he felt death was so close to him, but he wasn't afraid. 

Not because he was indifferent to life, it was because of his companion whose potential was at the pinnacle of this world. While she may still be young and inexperienced, her talent remains within her

Like a shooting star, another ray of light charge collided with the sniper's bullet.

Nothing otherworldly happened as the lights derailed from its course, causing it to collide with the nearby mountains.

If one were to focus on the dot, they would realize the penetrative power struck through many layers from the mountain to ground level surface

Besides having skills, Bronya needed the same level of power to deflect it which is impressive considering only recently she came in contact with Honkai Energy

A smile appeared on Uesugi's face, feeling proud about the growth of the protagonist. He focused his attention back on the battle, not using his new trump card

He never forgot that another group was here and he wanted to temper his strength in combat.

Uesugi realized that martial arts are helpful but not learning it was alright. The other two protagonists had their gun arts and sword arts. On the other hand, the antagonists relied on battle experience, honed instincts, and pure power to obliterate their enemies

A decision arose in his mind, forcing him to make a choice. Not realizing that in battle, his eyes were closed as his movements became more fluid and forceful

A shocked expression appeared on the chakram user, "He's going through enlightenment in battle!". The number of surprises from the boy in front of him was endless.

Knowing that Schicksal and Anti-Entropy could never produce such a monster otherwise they'd be protecting him 24/7. But that made things more shocking as he believes that Uesugi grew with his talent alone

Hesitance stumbled his attacks causing him to take two blows that forced him back.

While he was following orders, he never unleashed killing intent toward the two targets. He could disobey Dr Brain since they were borrowed personnel.

This was shocking, it meant that 4 parties were involved but disregarding Brain who could only ask for help, Uesugi attracted some major figures at the beginning of his transmigration

The battle on this side became stagnant and repetitive while the other side was more silent and intense

After the sniper's bullet was deflected, he immediately traced back to Bronya's position in an instant.

However, there were no traces, not even footsteps or tree branches to conclude anything from

*Beep* *Beep*

Stepping on an empty ground, he saw a pile of landmines stacked in the ground, "Oh no" was his first thought but he was unfazed since normal weapons have minimal effects on Honkai users

*Boom* An explosion blew the mountaintop as the figure flew out of the black smoke

At this moment, another bullet shot towards him in midair, forcing him to take the blow unless he could fly

Disdain can be seen in his eyes whose face was covered by the cloak as it seemed like he stepped on air, causing the bullet to fly past him

It was similar to Uesugi's Weapon Creation maneuver but it was more invisible to the eyes.

This time, he saw Bronya's figure. A sniper is usually traceable after the first shot, the fact that she could hide so smoothly after her first attack was because it was sudden, and she was simply skilled

It's also because of this that when she entered Shicksal, she relied more on her cannons than sniping, especially when the enemies were Honkai Beasts

Rising from her crouching position, the sniper rifle in her hand materialized into a pair of cannons that floated beside her head

Facing the floating figure miles away from her, she remained cold-hearted and rational as she concluded her chances of winning were zero to none

The only chance of winning was... Glancing towards the boy who was near her age, she let out a small smile as she decided to stay until he beat his opponent

Initially, she was merely a supporter until she became the Herrscher of Reason, but delaying an enemy was also her specialty when her teammates could not afford to protect her in time

The floating figure landed before her as his hands became pistols. Their stare-off was like the Middle West waiting to see who would shoot first

Silently, Bronya charged her cannon while the cloaked figure's pistol was doing the same thing

*Bang*

At a speed that surpassed sound, the bullet seemed to be concentrated on the penetration and speed aspect.

Bronya had no means of defending this and could only shoot the cannons in fluster. One of them 'accidentally' hit the bullet while the other went towards the cloaked figure

A blow for a blow. The cannon intercepting the bullet was instantly pierced but its rotation was noticeably reduced

Blood spurted from Bronya's shoulder as her arm became limp without strength, if it weren't for her effort then her arm would have blown apart. Luckily, the bullet didn't cause her powers to decrease as she didn't require her arms to fight

On the other hand, the weapon user was blown away once again as he wondered what was the meaning of life.

The impact was more withdrawn compared to Uesugi's strike as the flying cloaked figure created a platform in midair before leaping towards Bronya again

Shooting at the figure, Bronya knew that he would dodge again. Without a Battlesuit, her options were limited to her weapon and experience, 'Shuu, hurry up'

Uesugi's enlightenment reached a threshold, choosing a systematic method like martial arts would allow an incredible increase at the early stages but he would stagnant at some point

Fu Hua whom he was planning on visiting became a practitioner who reached the peak due to the combination of her fighting capabilities and modifications to her body

The majority of end-game characters weren't full-blooded humans as the minority either relied on inheritance or Honkai Beasts to increase their strengths

While he was avoiding reliance on the system, Uesugi realized that without its help, unless he discovered some Previous Era's inheritance or became a loyal figure of the major organizations then he would stagnate at some point

And so, the choice was before him