My Faith

The first practical combat exercise filled the newly born Constantine with a mix of excitement and nervousness. He tried to suppress his unease deep within, but the emotion swelled against his will. Constantine's thoughts began to churn, his subconscious dragging his attention elsewhere, sketching a figure in his mind. The blurred face, after constant refinement, finally settled into that of his creator.

The face of his 'Father' appeared in his mind's eye, his far-sighted and exceptional gaze seeming to pierce through Constantine's taut nerves. He smiled at him, calm and authoritative. He asked a series of questions at an extremely rapid pace, and Constantine answered them just as quickly.

"Your objective."

"To complete your test."

"Friendly information."

"Body is still undergoing growth; Law-Ruler Core grants rapid physical repair, but no other special abilities; no weapons equipped, no reliable armor."

"Enemy information."

"T-X, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast Terminator, composed of Soul Steel and the Tenth Law-Ruler's core. T-X is the first Terminator to utilize Honkai energy, with combat effectiveness 28.93% superior to an A-rank Valkyrie standard. Revised simulations estimate that no fewer than 28 T-X units would be required to coordinate with strategic forces to eliminate an Emperor-class Honkai Beast."

"Counter-strategy."

"Enemy possesses lethal force, excellent defenses, and excels at camouflage; the type of the Tenth Law-Ruler core is unknown, thus its abilities are unknown. Direct confrontation offers no chance of victory. A tactical strategy must be employed to seize the Law-Ruler core in a single blow and deplete its emergency energy reserves to achieve victory."

Constantine organized all the known information within seconds, but at the same time, this information allowed him to keenly perceive that the panic within him wasn't solely composed of nervousness; beneath its surface lay fear.

'Father' spoke again, asking Constantine, "Then why are you timid?"

Constantine felt a deep shame wash over his mind. He hesitated, saying, "Because of your wisdom."

"I cannot find a reasonable strategy with only the knowledge I possess, as it is you who gave me this knowledge."

'Father' did not blame him for this but said once more, "Use your knowledge."

Constantine opened his eyes. He finally realized that 'Father' had created him and, more importantly, bestowed upon him precious wisdom. He believed in his Father—and in 'Father's' creations.

The model city began to become intricate. Simple machines simulated pedestrians and vehicles, along with various objects placed throughout the city. Colors spread from a single point at the center, like a colorful tide dyeing the entire city. The previously stiff robots and vehicles now appeared lifelike. Finally, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and rain began to fall—real rain, not simulated.

This was the effect of the Tenth Law-Ruler core within the simulation equipment. It meant T-X's camouflage was enhanced. Constantine, however, was now completely exposed. His 2.4-meter height and powerfully built physique, which adhered almost perfectly to human aesthetic standards, made him stand out starkly against his surroundings.

He stood in the center of an intersection, where vehicles and pedestrians waited for the traffic lights. Towering skyscrapers and office buildings surrounded him.

This was the stage of information warfare. T-X could easily know where he was and what he was doing. But Constantine knew nothing about T-X.

So Constantine chose to abandon hiding. He would openly display his thoughts and intentions to the outside world. T-X would surely follow; this was a pure gambit.

And T-X would reveal a weakness the moment it moved. As a Law-Ruler, Constantine could vaguely sense the presence of Law-Ruler cores. The Honkai energy pulses from his two brothers' Law-Ruler cores were pure and clear, like the sun in the sky. T-X's Honkai energy pulse was intermittent, like a faint flame flickering in the mist. There was no possibility of confusing the two.

Constantine leaped lightly, leaving a spiderweb crack on the ground, and soared to the height of the third floor. He punched through the floor-to-ceiling window at the edge of the building, sending glass shards flying. With speed incomprehensible to ordinary people, he raced along the edges of the skyscrapers' windows towards the rooftops.

Upon reaching the top of the building, Constantine remained motionless, simply waiting for something. He closed his eyes again, using his Law-Ruler senses to capture T-X's faint Honkai energy fluctuations. His perception now was even more indistinct than before, indicating T-X was nearby.

Constantine stood on the rooftop, looking down. The behavior patterns of pedestrians and vehicles were completely unaffected by his series of actions. The window cleaners on their suspended platforms continued to wipe the windows.

The suspended platform slowly ascended, and Constantine could feel T-X's Honkai energy fluctuations growing clearer. The platform eventually reached the rooftop. The window cleaners, tools in hand, moved to disembark. Constantine gave these poor simulated robots no chance to react; he ruthlessly punched through their chests.

Constantine tore apart the robots without sensing any abnormality. T-X did not seize this moment to attack. A strong alarm blared in his mind. He quickly turned his head to look behind him, but there was nothing there.

"Error."

A sudden word appeared in Constantine's mind. He instinctively rolled to dodge and then looked back at the suspended platform. He saw that the handle of a long mop held by a deceased worker had sprouted a sharp silver spike. In just a fraction of a second, his head would have been impaled.

Constantine quickly got to his feet. The anger at being tricked did not cloud his intellect. He charged towards T-X, with a resounding boom. He smashed through the fixing devices and the surrounding wall. The unsupported suspended platform, carrying Constantine and T-X, began to freefall towards the ground.

The golden-haired giant could clearly sense the location of T-X's Law-Ruler core. He punched towards the Terminator's torso, but T-X, having reverted to human form, kicked him towards the guardrail of the suspended platform. Red flames instantly erupted around T-X, forming an impenetrable wall of fire that obscured its figure.

"Flame Law-Ruler's ability," Constantine whispered.

A blue blade of light shot through the fire wall, heading straight for him. He dodged left and right, but every time he evaded one, another blade followed, leaving him no room to breathe. He casually broke off a guardrail, snapped off an iron pipe, and in the brief interval between T-X's attacks, threw the pipe like a javelin towards the source of the light blades.

As expected, T-X and the broken pipe collided with a loud crash. Constantine immediately charged towards the source of the sound, but he hit nothing. Instead, he broke through the guardrail on the other side and fell off the descending suspended platform.

This situation made him realize that T-X had deliberately created the sound to lure him out, then used the Flame Law-Ruler's ability to create visual obstruction, disappearing from Constantine's sight and regaining the information advantage.

Constantine had already memorized T-X's information thoroughly. How could T-X, composed of liquid Soul Steel, make such a sound? Unless it was intentional. So, as he broke through the fire wall, he held another iron pipe in his hand.

Constantine quickly turned around in mid-air and hurled the iron pipe in his hand at T-X. It was instantly pinned to the exterior wall of the office building. In its normal state, T-X would not have been vulnerable to a mere iron pipe, but at this moment, T-X was in the process of changing form. Its dense, hard structure became soft and porous in this state, allowing it to be pinned by the pipe.

T-X instantly pulled the iron pipe from its chest and threw it back at Constantine. It leaped onto the wall towards a tool shop across from the office building. Constantine, unwilling to give up the only chance he had to capture T-X, abandoned his chance to dodge, letting the iron pipe pierce his thigh.

With a thump, the sharply broken iron pipe pierced his femoral artery, and blood gushed out like a geyser. Constantine endured the intense pain and pursued T-X towards the tool shop. T-X tore open the shop's metal roll-up door. Sensing Constantine right behind it, a silver spike instantly grew from its elbow, stabbing directly at Constantine. He dodged lightly and, from beneath the spike, rammed T-X through the gap in the roll-up door into the tool shop.

Constantine casually grabbed a chainsaw from a shelf in the tool shop and pulled the trigger. He found the buzzing, noisy sound incredibly beautiful. He punched T-X, who was struggling to get up, with all his might, knocking it down again. He then plunged the screaming chainsaw into T-X's liquid-flowing chest.

The high-speed rotating chain continuously tore at the liquid Soul Steel, which was trying to regain its form, keeping T-X's chest in a soft, liquid state. Constantine located the position of T-X's Law-Ruler core and ripped it out, thus declaring his victory.

"Finally..." Constantine panted heavily.

"Test complete. Congratulations, Constantine." Qin Su's figure instantly appeared before Constantine. He extended a hand to the giant. Constantine grasped the hand and stood up with his own strength, a smile of victory on his face.

His two brothers also appeared behind Constantine. They smiled and said, "Congratulations, Valdo."

"Thank you, Doom, Mercer."

"Father," Constantine looked at Qin Su and made a request, "I wish to keep this Law-Ruler core."

Qin Su readily agreed, "Of course. You have proven yourself. Also, I think you might like weapons similar to a chainsaw."