Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinions

A deafening roar shook the heavens and earth, kicking up a massive cloud of dust like a missile explosion, the sound echoing for miles.

But soon, the thruster exhaust of the Titan mechs swallowed the dust. In the clear view, the giant serpent's head exploded, yet its massive body still trembled in the scorched earth, making a futile, last resistance against death—this scene was imprinted in the eyes of all Executors.

"Hiss, Colonel Kuerla is surprisingly bold."

"Talent from the military? Tsk, Cocolia really has more good things than I imagined."

"The previous Executor representing the military recently passed away from illness..."

"Not enough, but she's a talent worth looking forward to."

Through Cocolia's sharing, Kuerla heard the Executors' high praise for her.

However, Kuerla wasn't in the mood to pay attention to that right now.

She and her two teammates hovered above the giant serpent's corpse, casually dropping the already cracked greatsword. The greatsword shattered before the serpent-shaped Honkai Emperor's corpse, but Kuerla felt no joy of victory. Instead, her brow furrowed.

"Strange?"

"Captain, what's wrong?"

"The combat situations of each squad are going smoothly. Although not as efficient as ours, they are steadily suppressing their opponents. Decapitation is just a matter of time."

"Isn't that good, Captain?"

"Too smooth! Compared to the energy intensity detected near an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, these Emperors are too weak!"

Kuerla said, unable to hide her confusion, and subconsciously looked up at the sky.

Behind her, a Titan mech scratched its head in a dazed manner, and the pilot's slightly smug voice came through:

"Isn't it because we're too strong?"

"Idiot! That's the thinking of a romance novelist, not ours! Right, the blizzard shows no sign of stopping, and so far, we haven't seen any Honkai Emperors using cold and wind abilities!"

Kuerla tilted her head back in the rapid wind and snow, maximizing the Titan's long-range observation capabilities, then her pupils suddenly constricted.

"Captain! The support squad is under attack! Under attack!"

"There's something in the snow!"

"That's not snow! That's—Honkai Beasts!"

Scattered support squads suddenly transmitted chaotic messages.

And Kuerla saw countless finger-sized, elongated Honkai Beasts swirling in the wind and snow, rapidly flapping their wings and weaving through the air in swarms. Or rather, they were the true form of this blizzard, creating the snow and forming the wind!

"All mechs, move closer to your teammates and activate Adamant Shield!"

Kuerla only had time to issue such an order.

The next moment, countless white arrows rained down like falling snowflakes, piercing down from high altitudes with terrifying kinetic energy.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Groups of Titans, five or six, or two or three, huddled together, protecting themselves with blue energy shields. Countless white, elongated Honkai Beasts shattered against the shields, like continuous small cannonballs, while sharp chirping cries continued to echo everywhere.

The Iron Pilot's squad temporarily lost visibility.

Unfortunately, one mech from the scattered support squads failed to regroup with its companions, becoming the only straggler.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The screaming little Honkai Beasts, seemingly endless, slammed against the blue shield.

Being alone, Evans Farhandral had to deploy two shields and maintain them with the efficiency of a single unit's power supply. However, the hardness and impact force of these small Honkai Beasts were unexpectedly strong. If not for the shield's protection, they would have been enough to penetrate the armor of the Titan BT72. Their numbers were too great, and the continuous strikes rapidly depleted Evans' energy, exceeding the amount that Anqi could supply through Dominion Authority.

"Evans!"

"Captain, I'm fine! Don't worry about me, they can't break through, but I can't move for now. You guys figure out how to break through first!"

Evans responded loudly to Kuerla's communication.

However, his expression carried a hint of a sigh, and he smiled with a relaxed look.

"Hey, BT, how much longer can we hold out?"

"According to system calculations, at the current consumption rate, the Adamant Shield will shatter in 23 minutes and 16 seconds. Evans, we must seek a breakthrough and return to the collective."

"When I had to land, I took a look. The closest gathering point is 13 kilometers away. Normally, it would take a blink of an eye to fly there, but now... I'm afraid it's impossible."

"Evans, don't give up, I will protect you."

Titan Anqi focused its attention on this Titan, encouraging it with the emotionless electronic voice of a young girl.

Kuerla was also trying to find a solution.

After a few minutes of observation and thought, Kuerla's eyes suddenly widened, and she said, "They have no sight! They have no visual or auditory organs, so they can't distinguish direction or targets at all. That's why they've been wandering in the sky and didn't attack us from the beginning—there must be some factor, there must be something guiding them! All mechs, report any unusual situations you discovered before the attack, don't miss any clue!"

"Captain, everything seemed normal for us. Oh, the Honkai Emperor we attacked suddenly let out a long roar towards the sky where there were no mechs, does that count?"

"Coincidentally, our target also roared at the sky!"

"Yes, ours too!"

"And ours is the same!"

Before the small Honkai Beasts fell from the sky, all the Honkai Emperors, except for the giant snake-type Honkai Emperor whose head Kuerla had blown off, roared towards the sky.

"So, the Honkai Emperors are their eyes and commanders?"

Kuerla guessed. Logically, it was a common and very reasonable pattern for higher-ranking Honkai Beasts to command lower-ranking ones.

"We can only guess that for now..."

"Captain! The Honkai Emperors have attacked us, and it looks like the shields won't hold!"

When it rains, it pours. Surrounded by small Honkai Beasts, the Honkai Emperors attacked the Titan gathering points closest to them.

If the shields were removed, the small Honkai Beasts would quickly pierce through the Titans' bodies. If the shields were not removed, movement would be extremely difficult, and it wouldn't take long for the Honkai Emperors to shatter the Adamant Shields. In short, the situation was dire.

In the emergency, Kuerla reached some conclusions through the Titan's calculation system, gritted her teeth, and made a decisive statement:

"Let's take a gamble! According to calculations, with the mecha's strength super-enhanced, it can withstand the current attack intensity for 6 minutes... Analyzing the current distribution of each gathering point, the most favorable is 8 mechs against 1 enemy, and the most difficult is 2 mechs against 1 enemy. The assigned targets have been marked for you. Resolve your Honkai Emperors within 6 minutes!"

"I don't know if my previous guess was correct, nor do I know what these little things will turn into after the Emperors fall, but there's no other choice! Evans, stay put. I'll reinforce the 2 vs. 1 teams. All other mechs, enter Quantum Stealth, activate super-enhancement—Kill!"

"Kill!" x n

The figures of the snow-white Titans suddenly vanished without a trace. The defenses of each gathering point were withdrawn, and the only images transmitted back to the distance were those of densely packed arrow-shaped Honkai Beasts shuttling at extreme speeds.

At this moment, all the observing Executors either leaned forward or stood up. Although they couldn't provide support, they felt the imminent life-or-death crisis as if it were their own.

"Go for it! Don't you dare die!"

Far away in North America, Tesla bit her lip, worrying and murmuring anxiously.

1

Today, the sixth person in the office collapsed. I'm also starting to get headaches and arm pain, feeling a bit dizzy and unsure if I've been infected... Without PCR tests, it's really agonizing, nothing is certain. Anyway, I hope tomorrow isn't the day I collapse; I still have tasks, and I'm the only one left who can do this job (laughing and crying) 4

Chapter 44: Kuerla Demonstrates Her Selling Points

"Go for it! Don't lose!"

"Bang!"

Dr. Special Lobster Head Tesla, in his excitement, slammed his right hand, clad in a mechanical arm guard, through the tabletop.

Dr. Einstein, sitting beside him, flinched from the sudden vibration, nearly spilling the red tea in her cup. She sighed and said in her usual listless, emotionless tone:

"Dr. Tesla, the table, it's very expensive."

"What time is it, and you're still talking about that? Did you see it? A type of Honkai Beast we've never encountered before, on this scale, with a combined energy level approaching that of an Emperor-class. If they reach the city, it would be a horrific massacre!"

"I know. That's why Silver Bullet has been deployed, and Cocolia seems to have other contingency plans. Please rest assured, the situation is under control."

"What I'm worried about is that Iron Pilot squad! It's over, it's over. The distance is too great, and Cocolia's Titan legions are still in transit. There's no force that can provide support! Ah, damn it, if only my Alahato Giant Robot were here!"

Tesla frantically ran her hands through her hair.

Even if the people on the screen were ordinary civilians, Tesla would have felt heartache. How much more so for the brave warriors who belonged to the same organization?

Einstein was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply:

"Let's trust them, Dr. Tesla. I believe they've already come to terms with this possibility."

Beyond that, they, the Executors far away, could do nothing for the moment.

"Captain, there's a weak spot on its neck, it's yours!"

The two Titans, fighting two against one, weaved through the hail of bullets formed by the swarm of insects, like being in turbulent, chaotic waves. Still, they managed to trip the giant bear-type Honkai Beast and sent it towards Kuerla, who was heading in their direction.

Kuerla controlled her mecha, and a sharp blade extended from her right arm's interior.

"Iron Pilot, according to calculations, our propulsion is insufficient to generate effective attack power amidst the encirclement of small Honkai Beasts."

"I know, trust me, BT!"

"Follow Protocol Two: Uphold the mission. Mecha safety restrictions lifted, extreme propulsion mode activated. Iron Pilot, I will always trust you."

"Me too, BT. We... Kill!"

The brief and resolute exchange, transmitted through the wide-area communication channel to the team members and the distant Executors, made everyone's hearts tighten.

"Clang!"

The arm blade sliced through the bodies of countless insect-like Honkai Beasts and plunged straight and precisely into the lower neck of the bear-type Honkai Emperor. It passed through the narrow furred area unprotected by armor and deeply penetrated the giant bear's body.

"Roar!"

The giant bear roared and struggled, flinging away the other two Titans struggling to control it, and wildly swung Kuerla's Titan in the air.

"It's over!"

"It wasn't a one-hit kill!"

"Captain, are you alright?"

"Captain!"

Panicked voices came from the pilots of the two Titans engulfed by the swarm.

Then, through the perspective of Kuerla's Titan, everyone saw Kuerla, clad in a silver-white exoskeleton, leap out of the cockpit. She charged through the ubiquitous, bullet-like small Honkai Beasts and powerfully punched the rampaging giant bear in the eye.

"Roar!"

As it roared furiously, Kuerla landed on one of its teeth, grabbed a section of black cylinder from her back, and threw it into the bear's throat.

"Nano Fusion Battery, kid!"

Kuerla chuckled lightly inside her helmet, leaped up, and landed on the Titan's outstretched palm.

"Pilot, without the last fully charged battery, the mecha can no longer maintain effective protection."

"It's fine, BT, our mission is complete."

Kuerla, held within the Titan's fist, spoke nonchalantly, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Excited shouts from her teammates came over the comms. Kuerla patted her head and sighed, saying, "Stop yelling, I'm not dead yet, what's all the fuss about? I'll leave the rest to you guys. BT, block out their voices, they're giving me a headache."

"Pilot, the mission is not yet complete."

"Huh?"

"Kuerla, trust me... Execute Protocol Three: Protect the Pilot!"

The Titan said this in a flat, emotionless voice, placing Kuerla back into the cockpit in its chest. Then, it extended its left arm, drawing a blade, and severed its right arm, which had been caught in the giant bear's fur.

The one-armed Titan began to fall.

At the same time, the giant bear's body suddenly expanded, and a dull explosion ripped its massive form apart, scattering smoke and flames.

Through the perspective of the two nearby Titans, the last image everyone saw was the one-armed Titan falling with its back to the bear's collapsing body, buried under the shattered corpse of the Honkai Emperor, face down.