On the sand dune, a fierce wind swept past. Grains of sand pelted the massive body standing atop the dune, creating a dense, rustling sound only audible up close.
A colossal figure, its color a sandy yellow that blended with the environment, radiated a single, two-character message: "Invincible."
And today, it had met its match—
"Boss, this is as far as I go!" After riding his sand bike closer, Akman lost his nerve.
He had seen a Chariot-class Honkai Beast before, but he hadn't had Emile's "good" fortune of admiring one up close. He had only seen the monsters from a distance while following the main forces to clean up scattered Honkai Beasts.
Just looking at those pale monstrosities was enough to fill him with terror, and it wasn't even the kind of gruesome, disgusting horror...
If they were slimy, festering creatures with twisted, bulging muscles, perhaps Akman would have gritted his teeth and charged in to die alongside Siegfried.
But Honkai Beasts weren't ugly. They possessed a kind of streamlined beauty, exuding the brilliance of a divine creation from every angle.
For people like them, who grew up in various religious environments, how could they possibly fight back against that? The fact that they weren't screaming about gods bringing about the apocalypse like those fanatics was already a result of their own personal renaissance!
Siegfried knew why most of the residents here didn't resist. People like Susanna, who willingly volunteered for the front lines, were a rarity. If it weren't for the vast, open desert and the low density of Honkai Beasts, it was questionable whether these people would have survived this long.
Why were those elites still in high positions at a time like this, instead of being dragged down from their pedestals by sand bandits like Akman who were willing to risk it all? Besides the fact that these elites weren't just useless freeloaders, it was also because they genuinely had no reverence for the gods.
When someone takes the lead in resisting, the mental burden on others is lessened. And if those leaders were willing to hold a knife to their own throats before taking action, the burden would be even lighter.
Surviving is what matters; there's no shame in it.
Siegfried, being an outsider, had no need for such theatrics. He couldn't bring himself to do something like holding a knife to Akman's neck. All he needed was a ride to the Honkai Beast. So, he simply waved his hand and jumped off the sand bike.
Akman spun the bike around and fled, but he didn't leave completely. Instead, he watched the battlefield from a safe distance.
At least when it came to being a sand bandit, he was loyal. He couldn't bring himself to abandon his boss and run for his life.
Besides—who said the boss would definitely lose?
The boss had that "Sacred Fire of something," that "Star of something." Taking down a Chariot-class Honkai Beast should be a piece of cake, right?
Having found a good spot, Akman kicked open the storage box on his bike, pulled out two colorful pom-poms, and started waving them wildly.
"Boss is awesome! One shot to the head! Boss, I'm your biggest fan—blargh~"
Siegfried, who had just struck a cool pose, ready for action, heard the cheer that ended in a retch. He slipped, nearly tumbling head over heels down the dune.
With a hint of resentment, he glanced back before hastily resetting his combat stance.
The haste was necessary because the Honkai Beast had lost its patience.
The Honkai Beast's upper body, grotesquely out of proportion with its lower half, reared back and then slammed down onto the dune.
The mound of sand, already loosely packed, erupted like a body of water struck by a massive impact, sending a towering wave of sand surging towards Siegfried.
A huge section of the dune collapsed in an instant. Akman, who thought he had run far enough, was jolted by the tremor. Terrified, he scrambled back to his bike, twisting the throttle before his butt even touched the seat.
"You got this, boss! If you're in trouble, fire a shot in the air! I'll definitely come back to save you!" Akman managed to shout into the wind before he sped off.
Truly worthy of his nickname in these parts, "Akman the Cowardly"...
This time, Siegfried didn't stumble. Once he entered a true combat state, such distractions could no longer affect his mind.
His brain, which normally operated on sporadic bursts of thought, was now as calm as thousand-year-old ice. All the information from his surroundings was filtered rapidly, leaving only the few crucial details.
The moment the Honkai Beast reared up, Siegfried had already analyzed its attack, the potential impact, his escape routes, and several avenues for a counterattack.
Leaping at the first opportunity, Siegfried used the shockwave created by the Chariot-class to launch himself high into the air. He flipped, positioning himself for a perfect landing, and raised his hands, lifting his Star of Judgment.
Only, Siegfried's aim seemed a bit off...
He was holding the gun with both hands, one on the grip, the other cupping the back of the slide.
This unconventional grip served only one purpose: to help someone without immense physical strength handle the recoil of a large-caliber handgun.
The straight, angular lines on the Star of Judgment began to glow. The small core floating silently within the gun's open frame started to spin rapidly.
"Face your judgment!"
There was no deafening roar, only a blinding beam of light. Siegfried's body, still in mid-air, was violently thrown backward, clearly propelled by the recoil of the beam fired from the Star of Judgment.
...A beam of light?
With recoil?!
Who said a high-energy particle stream doesn't have recoil!
The searing beam instantly vaporized the swirling sand. The recoil shifted the barrel's direction, allowing the beam to pierce through the vision-obscuring sand wave with precision and graze the Chariot-class Honkai Beast as it was about to leap in pursuit of Siegfried.
Before that beam, the Honkai Beast's tough hide was no better than tofu. The spot it grazed was instantly obliterated, sending the entire beast flying backward.
After flipping several times in the air, Siegfried shook his aching hand. He looked up and couldn't help but grind his foot into the sand beneath him.
"This soft sand is still hard to get used to..." After a grumble, he quickly adjusted his stance and raised the Star of Judgment again, aiming at the partially damaged Chariot-class in the distance.
Though a small part of its head was shattered, the Honkai Beast's body was unharmed. It was clear that Siegfried's last shot had been aimed squarely at its head.