Fragments of dark armor scattered and flew.
The right side of its body, already shattered and constantly leaking Honkai energy, was torn open more than twice as wide by Lu Xing's attack, building upon the existing damage.
Dense Honkai particles spewed out wildly.
Like the sparks from handheld fireworks bursting on a summer night beach, his and her heartbeats trembled even more intensely.
In the instant they crossed paths.
Lu Xing was certain he had indeed inflicted damage on the Knight Captain—if he couldn't even pierce its damaged defenses, then this fight wasn't worth continuing.
But just as his wings sliced through to the end of its torso.
Something unexpected happened!
It was impossible for the Knight Captain's body to rotate 180 degrees in such a short time and attack Lu Xing from the completely opposite direction.
The force behind its thrusting lance was at its peak; there was absolutely no time to retract it now.
However, as explained previously.
The main body of a Knight-class Honkai Beast wasn't the twintail figure riding on the horse's back, but the beastly form underneath!
"Swoosh!!"
A sharp, muffled sound of something cutting through the air echoed by his ear!
Horse, camel, deer, ox—the ultimate technique possessed by all hoofed animals to counter predators attacking from behind—
A powerful backward kick!
This was a long-planned counterattack.
The moment its body was hit by [Dash], the Knight Captain had already prepared its follow-up move.
To ensure a solid hit on Lu Xing, the Knight Captain's body had angled inward by nearly 25 degrees relative to the Great Universe's predetermined charge path—if the angle had been reversed, Lu Xing's earlier [Dash] wouldn't have caused such severe damage to the Knight Captain.
For the sake of this surprise attack.
The Knight Captain had been prepared from the start to trade injury for Lu Xing's life!
"Bang!!"
Smoke and shockwaves bloomed simultaneously in mid-air!
The Knight Captain's attack hit, but it didn't strike Lu Xing's main body. Instead, it hit the [Ballista] instantaneously constructed along the edge of his wing!
To maximize killing power.
Lu Xing, having broken through the obstruction, madly condensed the Honkai energy used for propulsion towards the edges of his wings in the shortest possible time—this large-scale mobilization of Honkai energy prevented Lu Xing from making high-G aerial maneuvers for a brief moment.
How could he maintain flexibility while ensuring output?
Lu Xing's answer was: blow himself up—use a small amount of Honkai energy to condense a small [Ballista], trigger it upon "being hit," and use the resulting explosion to manipulate airflow, passively forcing his high-speed body to change course.
The precision still needed work.
But the general effect wasn't beyond Lu Xing's expectations—the explosion triggered behind him successfully pushed Lu Xing aside. The Knight-class's rear hoof swept past beneath him by a hair's breadth.
The sneak attack was successfully dodged.
The initiative was back in Lu Xing's court!
————
"Swoosh!"
Wings spread wide.
Lu Xing actively reduced his flight speed.
Maintaining high-speed flight, especially near the ground, required intense concentration—the slightest lapse could result in plowing headfirst into the earth or crashing into a building that hadn't even been in his field of vision a second ago.
Don't be fooled by how swift Lu Xing's reaction seemed just now.
If he tried to replicate it again within a short period, his mind would likely collapse on the spot.
He had no choice.
After disengaging from the Knight Captain, Lu Xing could only regroup while there was still distance between them.
If he could inflict two or three more wounds of that magnitude, even the negative effects caused solely by the leaking Honkai energy would be enough to wear down the Knight Captain opposite him until it died!
Unfortunately, things didn't always go as planned.
Just as Lu Xing braked in mid-air, the Knight Captain, with nearly half its body torn into fragments and smoke, had already turned around and reacquired Lu Xing's position.
It didn't attack with [Honkai Lance Projection]—Lu Xing had been constantly wary of this move—instead, facing the ice layer before it, which had frozen the cratered, moon-like surface into smooth flatness, it thrust its lance, churning with grimly cold air, forcefully downwards!
"Bang!!"
Deep cyan ripples spread beneath the ice layer.
In just an instant.
With the Knight Captain at the center, a deep cyan shadow with a radius exceeding 500 meters had already enveloped the vast space directly below—
"Boom!!"
Massive ice spikes erupted from the ground!
A dense forest of ice lances left no blind spots. The nearly 10-meter length of the ice spikes completely sealed off all three-dimensional space within the height of a three-story building from the ground!
"Dodge..."
Dodging was pointless!
No matter how agile his movements were, these ice spikes, growing continuously like giant trees, even if they didn't pierce him, would inevitably form an sky-obscuring ice prison in 1.5 seconds, trapping him firmly inside.
This move wasn't listed in the Knight Captain's abilities.
The only thing Lu Xing could think of was a combination move using [Thrust], [Honkai Lance Projection], and [Domain Aura: Ice]—the information obtained from the system wouldn't be wrong, but different Honkai Beasts had their own unique understandings and applications of skills!
The Knight Captain had taught Lu Xing a lesson.
But!
This move might be exceptionally effective against ground targets or cumbersome giant aircraft, but using it against him—
"Swoosh!"
Thrusters angled upward!
Before the ice spikes could converge into a solid ceiling.
Lu Xing performed a simple upward pitch. Accompanied by a surging jet of energy, he instantly broke out of the forest of lances' encirclement.
But it didn't matter!
The one who could say this now was clearly not Lu Xing—if the Knight Captain's sanwu face could form expressions, it would definitely be a "wicked smirk" fitting those words perfectly.
"Swoosh!!"
The same sound of tearing through the air.
But sharper, denser, more resonant!
The ice spikes below that had formed the forest of lances didn't become the world-freezing prison Lu Xing had imagined. Instead, following the Knight Captain's second thrust into the ice layer, under the effect of a fleeting energy ripple, they transformed into countless javelins streaking across the sky—
Soaring towards the heavens!
"Boom!!!"
Exploding ice crystals obscured the sky. Even the most agile movements couldn't evade explosions of this density.
Since evasion was impossible, then break through head-on!
"Whoosh!!"
The instant the explosions and buzzing reverberated through the clouds, a majestic storm, like rolling thunder, abruptly arose.
"Combination move..."
Above the ground, amidst the ice fragments, beneath the dome of the sky.
Spinning rapidly without regard for damage, whipping up a tornado that spanned the horizon.
The intense friction caused the core temperature to rise, mixing and churning with the surrounding cold, damp air, allowing Lu Xing to harness the power of science to create this awe-inspiring scene.
"...Who doesn't know how to do that!"
[Power Strike]!
[Spinning Slash]!
[Dash]!
Trinity!
"Take this—"
A drill forged with his entire being, a crimson spiral descending from the far reaches of the sky!
"—Tengen Toppa!!!"
————