"Clack."
Arno's stride faltered for a mont.
A broken bone, while the pain could be endured and eventually subside, definitely affected control over the body, especially when the damaged part was a leg bone.
Therefore...
"Zing!"
With a swift motion, the blade fell.
The bolt-action rod, with a tactical bayonet mounted on its tip, was swung lightly, and half a leg was neatly severed.
It looked sowhat grueso.
But for Arno, such a minor event was all too common—his two arms and his other leg had been amputated by himself in the exact sa fashion.
He had originally wanted to keep one human limb as a nto.
Now, it seed...
"Click-clack!"
It was best to use whatever worked.
A plug-and-play chanical prosthesis—Arno had carried this thing on his person for quite so ti, precisely for situations like this.
To be honest, this thing was genuinely not cheap.
After all, it was sothing that could save a life on a battlefield where life and death were decided in an instant. And considering the extrely high replacent frequency—even with corresponding anti-Honkai energy asures, chanical equipnt was still corroded at a "very rapid" pace compared to a Fusion Soldier's body, basically needing replacent every two months—if it weren't for the status of Arno's squad, they truly might not have been able to afford it.
With that kind of funding... it would be more than enough to arm an entire flight squadron.
Moreover.
If used as an "ergency consumable," even if he managed to return alive, the高达 2000-word report would be enough to give him a headache.
Ethan used to handle this task.
Now... he had to do sothing for Ethan.
————
An unusually quiet late autumn.
After a few last words of instruction to Xiū, Arno set off for the city's central park.
"Clink."
tal scraped lightly.
The dog tags of his comrades were all in his close-fitting inner pocket.
What Arno took out from his chest, clinking against his own dog tag, was the Honkai energy detector.
This device also served as a tipiece and, as the driving force for his will to live—inside its rust-streaked casing, whose surface had faded more than one layer of color, was an image projector, exactly one centiter in diater, which had cost Arno a great deal of money.
An almost perpetual bio-energy battery.
16646400P ultra-high-definition stereoscopic projection.
Inside was a recording of his daughter and wife singing him a happy 35th birthday song—
Before they died.
"BOOM!!"
White smoke traced a long trajectory in the air.
The explosion from his 35th year completely overlapped with the one before his eyes.
The incoming missile, without any warning, slamd into the ground less than 5 ters in front of Arno—the ambusher clearly had little confidence in their aim, not expecting to hit the target with a single shot, but rather intending to obstruct his advance with flas and shockwaves.
"Rookie."
This was Arno's first reaction.
"Ethan is dead."
This was the fact Arno reconfird in the second instant—the missile model was clearly from the Biological Research Institute, and indeed one of the few Ethan had been carrying.
Honkai Beasts wouldn't use human weapons.
To be precise, Honkai Beasts weren't "unable" to use them, but rather disdained to.
Most civilized creations would be rapidly corroded upon contact with Honkai energy. Even the specialized equipnt of the Fire Moth was only a matter of how long it could last.
The only exception.
Perhaps, were the terrifying creations never before seen by him, known as the "Keys of God."
Even that [Variant] with considerable intelligence had the more reliable [Honkai Lance Projection] as a long-range strike thod; there was truly no need to use human-made weaponry.
Therefore, Arno's third reaction was—
Humans were involved in this operation!
————
How do humans react when they encounter their own kind?
At least for Arno, Honkai Beasts were, in many aspects, far more "lovable" than humans—they wouldn't leak secrets, and although they killed without rcy, at least they didn't do so with a smile that was hypocritical, mocking, or like that of a damned riddler!
"Clang!"
Arno's actions were without a hint of hesitation.
Already very accustod to his chanical prosthesis, he pushed off hard against the ground with his left foot. His entire body, like a bowling ball thrown by a professional player, rolled rapidly ten and a half tis towards a position with cover, instantly evading the subsequent explosion—
"BOOM!!"
The opponent had chosen the wrong warhead.
Of course, it was more likely that the enemy was simply unsure of the type of warhead they were using.
The previous shot was a [Directional Demolition Grenade] used against Honkai Beasts with extrely high defenses—the sa type used against the Floater-class earlier. Its explosion range and impact direction were relatively fixed, making it a precision strike weapon. Anyone who understood its principles wouldn't find it too difficult to dodge.
"Hiss!"
Boiling coolant turned into steam, spraying out from the gaps.
The Honkai energy reactor within the [Steel Arm] had long been ready. The thick arm aid far towards the direction the missile had co from. The "Drill Spike," perfectly fitting the rifling, began to accelerate along with the high-speed rotating barrel, like tightly shed gears.
Within the full-load operational accelerator field, surging electrical energy transford into sci-fi-esque light blue currents, continuously linking and leaping across the surface of the [Steel Arm].
The next instant—
"BANG!!"
"BOOM!!!"
The sounds of firing and explosion completely overlapped.
The [Drill Spike] was the most powerful strike thod in Arno's arsenal. Each launch would plunge the [Steel Arm] into a two-minute cooldown period—the extre heat not only accelerated the "softening" of chanical structures and internal components but also conducted throughout Arno's entire body via his "true half-arm."
Even with corresponding protective asures.
The negative impact on his body was hardly better than an ordinary person suffering from heatstroke.
In contrast, however, was the [Drill Spike's] terrifying destructive power—although its power would rapidly decrease with distance, as long as it was within 50 ters... whether it was the Floater-class's [Honkai Energy Crystal Wall], the Chariot-class's [Frontal Armor], or the Temple-level's [Shielded Defense], all were no different from paper mache before it!
If it hit a human body... there wouldn't even be a chance to be skewered; they would be震成碎肉 (zhèn chéng suìròu - shaken into minced at) by the intense shockwave generated by the impact.
Of the total three [Drill Spikes] loaded, two were of this type, specialized for anti-Honkai Beast combat.
The remaining one, however, was specifically designed to deal with humans—this type of ammunition, made of less robust material than the other two, would lt itself due to the high temperatures generated by friction after hitting a hard object or flying at high speed for a period.
This would rapidly disperse the "Nerve Paralysis Toxin" payload contained within.
"Click."
He lightly pressed a knob on his right chest.
A dark green chemical suit, along with a gas mask, quickly enveloped his entire body.
Amidst the continuous, faint "thudding" sounds coming from the opposite direction, Arno slowly walked over—
He needed to capture soone alive.
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