Seeing Ming Yu charge again, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast grew furious. While flinging out several sword-shaped Carapace Leaves, it let out a piercing shriek, summoning the nearby lower-class Honkai Beasts to attack Ming Yu.
It shouldn't be forgotten that this was its home turf; it was the king here!
Sidestepping the two rapidly approaching Carapace Leaves, Ming Yu paused, his gaze fixed grimly on the four Knight-class Honkai Beasts charging toward him.
In the process of subjugating a Superior-class Honkai Beast, Valkyries had to consider not only the extraordinarily powerful Superior-class Honkai Beast itself but also the large number of lower-class Honkai Beasts that served their king.
After all, this was a war, not a duel. On the battlefield, there were no fair fights of king against king, or general against general, only one side using all its means to kill the other.
Therefore, every operation to subjugate a Superior-class Honkai Beast was a large-scale campaign requiring immense manpower and resources.
And when finally facing an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Valkyries would rarely choose a foolish one-on-one fight; having several squads attack together was the normal course of battle.
The principle of ganging up whenever possible was a rule applicable in any world.
Clearly, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast before him understood this as well.
The earlier exchange had let it know that Ming Yu was not an ant it could simply crush, but an enemy that could genuinely threaten it.
Therefore, it didn't need to insist on a decisive battle with Ming Yu; only a fool would do that.
On the battlefield, there is only the distinction between life and death.
Taking a deep breath, Ming Yu slightly lowered his body. After a brief charge-up, he stomped his feet hard on the ground, and his entire body shot toward the leftmost Knight-class Honkai Beast.
With so many lower-class Honkai Beasts interfering, no matter how much killing intent filled his heart, he wouldn't be stupid enough to ignore them and only attack the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Doing so would be nothing more than suicide.
Since his use of the Divine Key hadn't reached the point where he could control all the lower-class Honkai Beasts with a single glance, he had to be prepared to fight against many.
Fortunately, however, the Honkai Beasts under his control were fearless of death and, despite being outnumbered, managed to tie down twice their number of enemies.
After all, they had already died once, so they naturally didn't care if their bodies had one hole or three. As long as their motor systems could still function, Jizo Mitama would issue attack commands in place of their central nervous systems.
If Ming Yu himself weren't so weak, he could even directly corrupt the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
And this terrifying power of corruption was what made this Divine Key truly fearsome.
Facing Ming Yu's attack, the Knight-class Honkai Beast only had time to raise its white spear, attempting to halt the human's advance.
But with the enhancement of the demon armor, Ming Yu had long since disregarded such attacks.
With a slight sidestep, he used his left-hand demonblade to guide the white spear, using it as a pivot to leap toward the body on the Honkai Beast's mount.
The next second, a black longsword pierced through the Honkai Beast's body, and an ominous blackness spread out like ink, covering the Honkai Beast's white exterior in the blink of an eye.
Even the grotesque warhorse beneath it was not spared, its red eyes instantly turning a night-like, deep black.
Although Ming Yu couldn't directly corrupt living Honkai Beasts, at such point-blank range, a mere lower-class Honkai Beast had no chance of survival.
After a successful strike, Ming Yu didn't pause for a moment, immediately pouncing on another nearby Knight-class Honkai Beast, his crimson demonblade and pitch-black longsword emitting a cold, eerie light.
Just as he steadied himself on the Honkai Beast, Ming Yu subconsciously prepared to thrust Jizo Mitama in a backhand strike.
But as soon as the sword was swung, his heart skipped a beat, and an extremely oppressive feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.
Although he didn't quite understand why, Ming Yu reacted immediately. He abruptly retracted the thrusting sword, tapped his toes on the Honkai Beast's back, and shot out like an arrow released from a bow.
The next moment, a pillar of scorching fire erupted from the ground, enveloping the Honkai Beast and half of Ming Yu's body.
In the nick of time, Ming Yu only managed to activate the Crimson Demon Armor's defense before his vision was filled with a dazzling bright red.
And in the corner of his eye, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast was plunging three crimson Carapace Leaves into the ground, a vast amount of Honkai Energy continuously flowing into the earth with the flashing red light on the leaves.
Hot! So hot!
This was Ming Yu's only sensation. Infinite heat emanated from the flames, as if his entire body was being roasted.
Although only half of his body was engulfed in the sea of fire, the scorching temperature made Ming Yu feel like he was being barbecued from all 360 degrees.
He didn't know how long he was being roasted; maybe a second, maybe a minute. Just as Ming Yu felt he was about to lose consciousness, his body, which had been blasted away by the flames, finally started to fall.
With his eyes slightly open, Ming Yu flipped his body and plunged his demonblade into the ground. Leaning on the Florid Sakura, he knelt on one knee, just barely stopping himself from collapsing completely.
"Gah!"
Spitting out a mouthful of scorching blood tinged with purple, Ming Yu finally felt a bit better.
Looking at the Honkai Beast not far away, which had been completely turned into charcoal, and the pitch-black crater on the ground, Ming Yu couldn't help but feel a wave of lingering fear.
Looking again at the pool of blood in front of him, still steaming, the demon armor on his body glowing bright red, and the residual heat still within him, Ming Yu felt that surviving under such circumstances was indeed a stroke of luck.
This was the power of a single strike from an Emperor-class Honkai Beast!
If Ming Yu had only been wearing Cold Night, his fate would have been no better than that of the charred Knight-class Honkai Beast.
Perhaps he would have been carbonized even more thoroughly? After all, compared to Honkai Beasts, humans are carbon-based life forms.
It could be said that among the standard-issue armors for B-rank Valkyries, none could defend against an Emperor-class Honkai Beast's attack.
This is also why A-rank Valkyries must be deployed whenever a Superior-class Honkai Beast appears.
Against Honkai Beasts of this level, if they cannot be effectively contained, the only option is to use human wave tactics and pile up lives.
That terrifying destructive power could become a weapon of devastation on the battlefield, like a cannon.
Panting heavily, Ming Yu looked up at the somewhat fatigued Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness.
He hadn't even gotten close, and he had already expended so much effort, even sustaining serious injuries.
Taking the enemy general's head from within a mighty army was truly no easy feat. Especially when that general was particularly skilled in combat.
But even so, he had no thought of giving up.
The battle was not over yet...