Speedrunning Emperor-Class

Qin Hong'an's expression was grave as he stood in the command center with numerous staff members.

On the large screen were images from various combat zones. To better direct the operations, he had asked Li Shi to enable visual sharing.

The changes in the Bohai Sea were unexpected. The threat posed by the Kui Niu was clearly on a different level than other monsters. Failure to treat it seriously could result in immense losses.

"Li Shi, ensure the warships at the scene maintain distance from the monster. Don't act rashly for now; observe its movements."

The Bohai Sea's current combat strength was insufficient, so provoking the monster was unwise.

"Who is that Ability User? Have him retreat back to the ship immediately."

Before Li Shi could reply, Qin Hong'an saw Gu Yan dive towards the Kui Niu.

"Quick, make him come back! Who approved him acting on his own initiative!"

Qin Hong'an was shocked. He saw someone launching an attack on the monster through the shared feed.

"That's Gu Yan. Senior Xu instructed the Bohai Sea's combat units to cooperate with him, so he technically has command authority. The order for the warships to withdraw was given by Brother Gu, which is why we've minimized our losses."

"Even so, he shouldn't be so reckless. That... Senior Xu? Gu Yan?" Qin Hong'an's voice trailed off, his initial shock and anger largely dissipating.

So it was Senior Xu's decision!

Who was Gu Yan? Was he that S-Class support? If it was him, then there was hope of dealing with this monster.

Qin Hong'an fell silent, content to watch the battle unfold via the visual feed.

Meanwhile.

Gu Yan clenched his right fist and charged towards the Kui Niu.

Why are you roaring so loud? I'll punch you to death!

Human-like anger flickered in the Kui Niu's eyes. Its tail lengthened, whipping towards Gu Yan like a long lash.

You disturbed my sleep, you damn fly!

The tail whistled through the air, striking with a whoosh. Gu Yan halted his charge. While his physique was robust, it didn't mean he was invincible. That whip could snap a warship in half.

But he didn't intend to dodge. His right hand transformed into a blade, its cutting power formidable under the enhancement of Honkai Energy. Using his momentum, he flipped halfway, his body facing the long, slender tail—though it was as thick as a poplar tree.

His hand blade slashed down, a purple stream of light tracing a semicircle, conspicuously visible between the sea and sky.

Clang!

With Gu Yan's hand blade, the tail was severed. The Kui Niu roared in pain.

"Beautiful!"

Qin Hong'an's eyes lit up. Seeing Gu Yan withstand the attack and injure the monster, he felt their chances of victory had increased significantly.

"Tsk, still roaring? Are you a reincarnated screaming chicken?"

Having landed a blow, Gu Yan didn't stop. He stomped on the Kui Niu's upper jaw, then delivered a heavy kick, knocking out a few teeth from its maw.

He clenched his right fist, and with a thrust of his left knee to the Kui Niu's cheek, the massive bull's head was forced back by the powerful impact. Its unprotected neck was exposed, and Gu Yan seized the opportunity to punch hard.

"I'll make you shut up!"

Bang!

Gu Yan put some of his anger into this punch. After all, this damned bull kept opening its mouth for no reason. While the physical damage was minimal, the psychological torment was immense.

Gu Yan: What are you mooing about?

A crater was punched into the Kui Niu's "tool of offense" with that single punch. Its body writhed and twisted in agony, churning the seawater into waves. The Kui Niu itself was temporarily unable to make its annoying noises, only low groans emanating from its nostrils. Its dark bull eyes, filled with malice, glared venomously at Gu Yan.

But Gu Yan detected a trace of fear in them.

After all, Gu Yan was unharmed, while it had been severely beaten.

However, if it had a health bar, the Kui Niu's HP had only dropped by about 10%, and it was constantly regenerating. Emperor-class regeneration was not something ordinary creatures could match.

Gu Yan was aware of this. The location of the crater he had attacked was the Kui Niu's largest core. Besides this, it had over eighty more cores, large and small!

As long as these cores weren't destroyed within a short period, the Kui Niu's damaged body and destroyed cores would be completely restored!

Fortunately, Gu Yan could pinpoint the locations of the Honkai Energy cores without needing to actively sense them.

However, Qin Hong'an and the others were unaware of this. Seeing the Kui Niu "severely wounded," they thought the battle was about to end.

"Good!"

Although Senior Xu had mentioned Gu Yan's considerable combat prowess before, Qin Hong'an had initially dismissed it as a polite understatement. Now, it seemed Gu Yan was truly a top-tier fighter.

"Li Shi, the monster has lost its ability to roar. Prepare to move in and support him!"

Meanwhile, Gu Yan was facing a dilemma.

Leveraging his agility, he constantly moved around the Kui Niu, occasionally striking it with his hand blade. While his attacks seemed random, only he knew that every strike landed on a core.

Oh, right, the bull knows too.

However, the cores were regenerating faster than he had anticipated. The largest core he had destroyed first was about to fully recover. He still had over thirty cores left to destroy.

Even with Honkai Energy enhancement, abilities like Ice Cones struggled to penetrate the Kui Niu's defenses. He could only resort to "butchering" the bull manually.

Glancing sideways, he noticed the ships were actually approaching his location!

"Quick, evacuate! The Honkai... the monster is about to regain its ability to attack!"

The Kui Niu's mouth opened, and a cyan light flared. Just as it was about to roar, Gu Yan, who was on its back, didn't have time to attack its throat.

Gu Yan's expression hardened, and he lifted his right foot, stomping down with all his might!

Still want to roar?

"Moo—Gurgle, gurgle."

The hill-sized Kui Niu, after suffering agonizing torment, was stomped down into the sea by that kick.

In the brief moment the Kui Niu lost its balance, Gu Yan moved with a speed so fast that even Li Shi's eyes couldn't track him. He plunged his blade into its massive body again and again, Honkai Energy ravaging its form with brutal force. In an instant, almost all of its cores were destroyed.

However, a few cores were located too deep for Gu Yan's acupuncture-like wounds to reach.

If that was the case, then he would split this beast in two!

Leaping off the Kui Niu's body, Gu Yan brought his fingers together. He recalled Xu Muchi's strike that opened up the temporary airfield. If he could replicate that, concentrating his destructive power into a line and enhancing its penetration with Honkai Energy, then splitting the Kui Niu in half wouldn't be difficult!

If he had used this earlier, with too many intact cores, Gu Yan would have worried about the Honkai beast splitting into two, given its monstrous regenerative abilities. But with only a few cores remaining now, it was no longer a concern!

His fingers emitted a faint purple glow, the energy so dense it was almost tangible, causing everyone to feel a sense of dread. The Kui Niu even attempted to submerge itself.

With the enhancement of his extremely high-level Ancient Martial Arts Mastery, Gu Yan's use of cold weapons had reached a state of perfection. Even with just his fists and feet, he could wield them as deadly weapons!

Li Shi and everyone else focused their gazes here, about to witness history unfold.

Gu Yan moved. Though he paused for only an instant, in this intensely oppressive atmosphere, it felt like hours.

He brought his fingers down in a chopping motion, unleashing a purple sword light. As it struck the sea's surface, it tore through the water and hit the Kui Niu's body with unstoppable force.

Its colossal body, like a mountain, was severed as if the mountain itself had collapsed!