Desperate Struggle

There were no traces of Mortals in the sewer, just as he had predicted. Aside from a few scattered Assault-type Honkai Beasts along the way, there was nothing else.

After attempting a surprise attack, Su Qing'an successfully identified the visual system of the Assault-type Honkai Beasts. If a human's field of vision was limited to about 150 degrees vertically and 230 degrees horizontally, then the vision range of an Assault-type Honkai Beast was approximately 360 degrees, similar to that of an insect. However, their reaction speed did not match that of insects.

Even so, surprise attacks were not entirely meaningless against Assault-type Honkai Beasts.

The reason was that although the Assault-type Honkai Beasts could see almost everything around them, their reaction to Honkai Energy was prioritized over their reaction to living beings.

To put it another way, theoretically, a Valkyrie with Honkai Energy within their body and an ordinary human would likely focus all their attention on the Valkyrie. This was like an automatic AI set by the Honkai consciousness, with predictable patterns in their actions.

The Void Sword Qi controlled Honkai Energy existed between heaven and earth, what is known as using heaven and earth as a dan tian. Therefore, Su Qing'an himself did not possess Honkai Energy.

He used this pattern and his own unique traits to create a diversion.

He killed most of the Assault-type Honkai Beasts on the way with almost no injuries during his surprise attacks.

He was getting closer to his destination. His stamina was still well-preserved. Even though he had encountered many dangers along the way, Su Qing'an, in his first life-or-death struggle, had managed to reach this point step by step using his intelligence and strength.

If he proceeded cautiously for about ten more minutes, he would reach Senba Academy.

But in the next second, the unexpected happened.

A deafening roar pierced his ears, and the road ahead of him was blocked by dust and debris from shattered buildings.

Before Su Qing'an could even react, the colossal figure he saw emerging from the dust made him realize the current situation.

This was a hell mode on the brink of death.

It was more terrifying and insurmountable than the Assault-type, which relied on numbers, and more terrifying than the massive Temple-type.

It was a power that completely surpassed that of lower-level Honkai Beasts.

An Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Ganesha.

It was this colossal beast, so large it made resistance seem impossible, that shattered the darkness and tranquility of this underground sewer.

Its appearance resembled a mix of an elephant and a wild boar, but it was far larger and much more dangerous.

It was not incomprehensible that such a monster could be born from the dual Honkai outbreak that activated the Herrscher core.

There was no time to lament his bad luck. The existence of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was far beyond his ability to cope.

Run. Without any hesitation, as the giant beast broke through the surprisingly strong and thick upper ground and appeared before Su Qing'an, he turned and fled.

Ganesha's size meant its speed wouldn't be too fast, but at that mass, even slow movement was far faster than a normal human's sprint.

Just as a human can cover hundreds of steps of an ant in a single stride, it wasn't that exaggerated for Ganesha, but the principle was the same.

Because Japan experienced frequent earthquakes and long rainy seasons that caused many floods, decades ago, whenever a heavy rain came, the entire city would turn into mud.

The urban flooding interrupted transportation, halted businesses, and in severe cases, caused serious safety accidents.

For this reason, Japan's underground drainage systems today are as vast as a massive underground castle.

Such a grand scale of engineering is standard for every city in Japan.

Changkong City was no exception. Therefore, even with Ganesha's size, it could move its body freely without restraint. Su Qing'an's speed, even enhanced by Honkai Energy, was far inferior to a Kawasaki H2R.

The human body has limits. If a Kawasaki H2R were beside him, he would have some confidence in shaking off Ganesha by understanding the terrain.

But now, with just a few steps, Ganesha's tusks were already close to Su Qing'an's back. With the strength of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, touching it would basically guarantee a death sentence.

When size becomes a disadvantage, the right choice can, to some extent, turn it into an advantage.

Su Qing'an nimbly dodged around a load-bearing pillar, while the charging Ganesha, due to its immense inertia and kinetic energy, could not make evasive maneuvers.

The tusks easily pierced the load-bearing pillar, and Ganesha's head plunged in, breaking a part of this world-class engineering in just a few seconds.

A large amount of collapsing stones rained down on Ganesha, but to this terrifying giant beast, it was as if only a few grains of dust had settled on it; it sustained no damage.

Su Qing'an, who had anticipated this, had already darted out. While in mid-air, he twisted his body sideways and slashed out with the [Calming the Tempest] in his right hand, condensing a circular sword wave with all the Honkai Energy he could control.

The vibrating sword wave exploded, repelling all the approaching stones.

"Bang!" The overflow of kinetic energy from the collision formed a gust of wind that became Su Qing'an's propulsion. In an instant, he had created distance between himself and Ganesha.

This was Sword Defense from the conceptual form of Void Sword Qi.

With each precise control of Honkai Energy, his Sword Heart gradually moved towards the state of Dustless.

At this cost, he could already initially use Sword Defense, and even the force of the airflow caused by the overflowing Honkai Energy was perfectly calculated and executed in reality, just as he had rehearsed it in his mind.

Not only was his body under control, but his Mind Lake began to freeze, and his control over Honkai Energy became increasingly refined.

But that was all.

Only the weak meticulously calculated their strength, like farmers in a field cautiously counting their harvest for the next year. It was precisely because they were too weak that they needed to control every bit of their strength.

True powerhouses did not need to.

They didn't even need to think. Ordinary progress alone forced the weak to desperately use their full strength and meticulously calculated power.

As Su Qing'an expended his mental energy and used his ninth Sword Defense to once again create distance from Ganesha, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast seemed to be getting impatient.

It lowered its head, and Honkai Energy continuously gathered in its mouth.

Sensing Su Qing'an's abnormal concentration of Honkai Energy behind it, Su Qing'an understood almost instantly what it intended to do. The moment Ganesha lowered its head, his body rolled to the left.

A skilled roll narrowly dodged the Honkai Energy shockwave that blasted down like a laser.

This won't do.

Controlling his body to keep running, Su Qing'an realized that if the situation continued, Ganesha would eventually catch and kill him.

So annoying, so annoying, so annoying. Why is he so unlucky? Damn it, damn it, damn it.

So scared, so scared, so scared. Why is it targeting me? Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Unable to care about these emotions flooding his mind, he desperately thought of a way to escape.

He was close to the reservoir in the drainage channels on the outskirts of Changkong City. If it was the Changkong City reservoir, which was said to be the largest in Japan, could he use it to help him escape?

All the underground water in the city converged here, and the computer calculated the capacity based on the water flow.

When the capacity reached a certain height, the computer would automatically control the water pumps to discharge the water into the sea.

Calculating the date, if Ganesha was guided to unleash an attack like the one just now, the kinetic energy generated by the water gushing out would be terrifyingly immense.

No! He instantly rejected the idea. Even such enormous kinetic energy might not be enough to kill Ganesha, and in contrast, the city would be devastated by a massive flood, submerging and destroying most of the buildings.

Moreover, this was a mutually destructive tactic. Even if he didn't want to live, he had to consider Kiana and Satou Yunona, who might survive.

After countless thoughts raced through his mind, a plan finally emerged.

However, the conditions required for the complete plan were not present in the sewer. For this reason, Su Qing'an began to consciously construct a model of his current route and the surrounding space in his mind.

While desperately fleeing, his body was inevitably injured by constant extreme movements and collapsing buildings. Small and large bloodstains covered almost his entire body. Under advanced force-dispersing techniques and judgment, these were merely ordinary scrapes.

But with blood inevitably flowing, his stamina was also being consumed at an alarming rate.

To achieve a successful escape, other conditions had to be met first.

Flying pebbles scratched the young man's cheek. Without regard for the messy flow of blood, Su Qing'an began to adjust his escape route, heading towards his destination.