Their reinforcements had arrived, dragging along heavy thermal weapons. The cannon shot just now had come from them.
When those people saw that Kiana had noticed them, they hurriedly tossed a black walkie-talkie in her direction.
The missiles and flames had damaged the spider. Clearly, although it was immune to bullets, it couldn't completely withstand this kind of heavy firepower.
Taking advantage of the moment when the spider had just been attacked and hadn't continued spewing webs, Kiana leaped up and caught the walkie-talkie, wanting to know what they planned to do.
"Warrior! Lure it into the red circles!" The voices of those people came through the walkie-talkie. "We'll conduct a targeted bombardment on the red circles with our firepower. Whatever you do, don't stay within the red circles for more than three seconds."
Red circles?
Only then did Kiana notice that near the building the spider had reduced to ruins, there were three red circles marked by something.
"No need to go to so much trouble. Feel free to bomb it. You can completely blanket both me and it with firepower—don't worry about hitting me!" said Kiana, who had the Phase Shift skill.
The people on the other end of the walkie-talkie fell silent for a moment.
"...Warrior, our ammunition reserves are limited. We've only managed to bring fourteen rounds over so far."
At that number, they'd be gone after one round of bombing.
"Fine."
Kiana sighed. After seeing how powerful the artillery was against the giant spider, she felt that she could buy some rocket launchers or similar equipment too.
One rocket launcher could fire more than a dozen rounds.
They were genuinely effective against large creatures like this.
Thirty-Second Chapter: Triple Kill! (Third Update)
The red circles, huh?
After memorizing the locations of the three red circles, Kiana told the people on the other end of the walkie-talkie to cancel them. She had already memorized all the locations.
After all, this thing could talk.
If it saw the red circles, there was no guarantee that it would fall for the same trick and continue taking the bombardment after being blown up once.
The spider shook its enormous body several times, extinguishing the flames on its body, then once again pursued Kiana relentlessly.
This time, Kiana noticed.
This thing wasn't pursuing her relentlessly because it held a grudge. This disgusting creature wanted her!
She cursed inwardly.
Kiana quickly led it around in a circle, luring it to the previous location of the red circle.
And when the spider arrived, cannon fire erupted, once again blasting into its body.
Kiana entered Phase Shift and wasn't even affected by the shockwave.
She carefully examined the spider's condition, then noticed the strange patterns on its body.
"What are those...?"
Kiana's pupils trembled.
No way. It had less than ten percent Honkai energy, and it still got infected by Honkai?
The spider's desire for her was incredibly strong. Even being struck by cannon fire repeatedly couldn't stop it from coveting Kiana.
Kiana used the same trick again, leading the spider to take several more artillery strikes.
After taking several solid hits, the spider's white body had been blasted black. Only then did it finally calm down from its frenzied state.
It controlled its offspring to attack the armed personnel while continuing to pursue Kiana.
But its frail offspring failed to accomplish what they were supposed to. They were slain halfway there by Raiden Mei.
Without overwhelming power to crush a powerful enemy, the best approach was to work together. Relying on that method, they temporarily gained the upper hand.
If this armor exoskeleton can be maintained indefinitely, why doesn't the spider keep it active all the time?
Kiana was certain it couldn't hold out for long.
Several spider legs pierced through the spot where Kiana had just been standing. Kiana flipped backward, putting a large distance between them, and another artillery shell fell onto the spider and exploded.
"Why does this feel like I'm playing some kind of action game..."
Kiana grumbled, then keenly noticed that the spider's condition was looking bad. Her eyes narrowed. On her way to escape, she stepped onto a section of wall that hadn't collapsed, used it for leverage, and suddenly launched a counterattack.
The baseball bat in her hand smashed into the joint between one of the spider's legs and its body, actually breaking the leg off in one blow.
"It worked?!"
Only then did Kiana, who had been running away the whole time, realize that this giant spider was probably already strong on the outside but weak within.
It had taken the full force of her descending strike, then been gravely wounded by Mei's One-Sword Style. Its transformation afterward had indeed been frightening, but just as she had suspected, it couldn't maintain this state for long.
It was time to counterattack!
Ignoring the tentacles, Kiana dodged while moving nimbly around the spider and striking it.
The giant spider thrashed about in place, trying to grab her as quickly as possible.
But with Phase Shift allowing her to evade fatal attacks at any time, how could Kiana be so easily defeated?
She tore off several more of the giant spider's legs.
Kiana flashed through the dense webbing and appeared directly above the spider.
"Want to use me as fusion material? You monster aren't worthy!"
A punch containing all her strength!
Kiana discarded the baseball bat and slammed down with a vicious punch. The force not only knocked the spider flat but also smashed its body into another shallow crater on the spot.
After throwing that powerful punch, Kiana finally vented her frustration and felt the gloom in her heart disperse completely.
She jumped onto an open patch of ground and flexed her fist. Why did it feel like her fists were getting harder and her strength was growing greater?
I should clearly be someone who uses guns. What exactly sent me down the path of solving everything with a violent punch?
"Kiana, don't let your guard down!"
Raiden Mei rushed to her side and attacked while the monster was seriously wounded by Kiana and temporarily unable to flee or resist.
"Mei!"
Kiana's face lit up. She gripped her baseball bat and followed behind Mei, charging forward once again.
Whatever the method, any way of knocking all the enemies flat was an absolutely excellent method!
In game terms, this monster had already been staggered by Kiana and beaten into a weakened state.
It had not only temporarily lost its ability to resist, but its defenses had also been greatly reduced.
Strike while it's sick and finish it off!
Without the spider silk interfering this time, and with the spider's defenses greatly weakened, it could no longer block Raiden Mei's blade.
Bolts of lightning flashed as she violently chopped off all the giant spider's remaining legs.
Where was its weakness?
She would know after splitting its entire shell open!
Raiden Mei concentrated all her strength into her blade. The current surging along it grew increasingly violent, and then she slashed out a massive lightning arc several meters long.
"One-Sword Style: Break!"
The several-meter-long lightning slash crackled as it swept forward for dozens of meters, only disappearing when it struck the distant building.
The giant spider's entire body was torn in half by Raiden Mei's terrifying slash.
"Mei, when did you learn that?!"
Kiana's eyes widened. She looked at the giant spider split in two and the distant building, then at the baseball bat in her hand.
What step did I fail to keep up with?
Why can Mei already unleash such terrifying sword energy and kill this Kishin with a single slash?
"Just now."
Noticing with her sharp eyes a mass of writhing tentacles inside one half of the spider's body, Raiden Mei sent out another, smaller sword arc, ending the life of the Kishin that had obstructed them for so long and that even the heavy weapons they had brought over had failed to completely eliminate.
"It should be an improvement brought about by battle. I felt a new power from the Stigma, and it happens to be enough to realize the idea I've always had."
To unleash enormous sword energy with a single slash.
That was indeed every swordsman's dream.
The mass of tentacles was disintegrated by Raiden Mei's sword energy. The giant spider's body and severed legs, like the two Kishin she had slain earlier, transformed into a strange aura and tried to enter the samurai sword in Raiden Mei's hand.
Raiden Mei activated the power of her Stigma and covered the blade with it, once again rejecting the Kishin's power.
The rejected Kishin power twisted and boiled before condensing into a black crystal. Kiana stepped forward and grabbed the spoils.
[Inferior Energy Crystal (B): Energy crystal, usable for upgrading the 'Cursed Sword' series of equipment] [Suggestion: Recycle and dismantle]
There was nothing to say. Sell it!
Following the same process as before, the ominous crystal in her hand shattered into countless points of light and disappeared.
[Inferior Energy Crystal (B) recycled. You obtained one thousand Honkai Crystals. Honkai Crystals can be exchanged for items in the shop]
One thousand!
Wasn't that enough to buy ten rocket launchers?
Thirty-Third Chapter: The End (Fourth Update)
Kiana had already suffered from a slight fear of insufficient firepower. After what happened today, her fear of insufficient firepower had become even worse.
If only she had a long-range weapon.
She wouldn't have needed to go through so much trouble!
One thousand crystals were only enough to buy one piece of equipment with a three-star limit. She might as well save the money to buy ten pieces of equipment with a two-star limit.
But she couldn't spend the money now.
Kiana had gained a profound understanding of the importance of stockpiling crystals.
"Mei, Mei."
Raiden Mei, who had been preparing to negotiate with the armed personnel who had just assisted them, looked at Kiana in surprise.
"Has the sacrifice ended?"
Kiana nodded, then shook her head. "Let's talk about this after we get back."
There were still people nearby. Moreover, although the giant spider was gone, the spiderlings and webs covering the area hadn't disappeared.
But someone else would handle the cleanup. Those people's bullets could deal lethal damage to the small spiders.
"What I wanted to say is..." Kiana said awkwardly, fidgeting. "Could you let me land the final blow next time?"
"Okay."
It wasn't a big deal. The final strike wasn't dangerous either. Since Kiana wanted it, Mei would let her have it every time from now on.
"I knew Mei was the best!"
Kiana happily hugged Raiden Mei.
Her two assists hadn't triggered the system. She had been wondering whether it was because she hadn't landed the final blow.
She planned to test it next time.
Her strength was still too low. Especially after discovering just now that this Kishin showed signs of being eroded by Honkai energy, she felt an even greater sense of urgency.
"Kiana..." Mei froze after being suddenly hugged. She glanced uneasily at the people walking toward them and reminded her softly, "Someone's coming."
"Oh, right."
Kiana released her arms from around Mei and obediently stepped aside.
Mei doesn't seem to dislike hugging at all. Does that mean I can hug Mei whenever I want from now on?
Before you continue