Lu Xing quickly verified this idea.
Although it was somewhat disrespectful to the deceased Knight Captain, he had to admit, [Frost's Lament] was surprisingly effective as a shovel for digging earth.
After a flurry of削ging, smashing, cutting, and chiseling at the ground beneath his feet.
Lu Xing successfully uncovered a layer of solidified Honkai energy covering flowing, crimson rock.
Even without much knowledge.
Lu Xing could identify what these rocks, continuously emitting white steam, and the faintly visible orange-yellow fluid beneath them were.
Magma!
This was an underground space of unknown depth!
"..."
Thinking of this.
Lu Xing couldn't help but look up at the boundless, vaulted ceiling.
Varying shades of purple constituted the main color scheme of this space. The Honkai energy, which made him feel so comfortable, had almost made Lu Xing forget the original color of the sky.
A vast underground cavern constructed by Honkai energy... Without a doubt, this was a forward outpost for Honkai Beasts to attack the surface.
And that fissure, capable of releasing such a massive tide of Honkai energy, the "other shore" it connected to... The only thing Lu Xing could think of was the Imaginary Space.
Directly connecting to the Imaginary Space.
Such immense power was not something the Ice Emperor could achieve, not even Parvati, the Ice Emperor's deceased boss.
As mentioned before.
This was an ability exclusive to the Second Herrscher, the Herrscher of the Void.
A fissure of this scale directly connecting to the Imaginary Space... Lu Xing glanced at the distant celestial pillar—the Ice Emperor was merely a turtledove occupying a magpie's nest; this place was very likely a Honkai Beast staging ground before the "Great Honkai Eruption"!
The Ice Emperor's portal-like ability must have strict requirements regarding travel distance and energy consumption.
This place was probably still within the confines of the Australian continent.
By simply combining the words "Australia" and "Great Honkai Eruption," Lu Xing didn't even need to think hard to immediately understand what event he was about to face.
"This is really..."
"What was Cao Cao's horse called again? I'd quite like to get myself one of those..."
————
A bit troublesome.
But it didn't matter!
Although the appearance of the Ice Emperor had caused a considerable deviation in his plans, it was basically still within controllable limits.
The overall strategy of fighting monsters, leveling up, and fleeing across the sea remained unchanged.
Moreover.
The space he was currently in could absolutely be called a treasure land—compared to risking simultaneous attacks from humans and Honkai Beasts while spending a great deal of time on the surface to complete his mission progress bar, implementing his plan here was far, far simpler.
A thousand or so Knight-class beasts weren't an exaggeration, but he was still far from completing the mission.
But one had to know.
Before the "Great Honkai Eruption" fully broke out, the number of Honkai Beasts here would continue to grow explosively.
The number of Knight-class beasts alone would surely meet Lu Xing's needs, not to mention the other types of Honkai Beasts present in this space.
Lu Xing felt a little embarrassed about turning on his own subordinates.
Therefore...
He'd first take a stroll through the territories of other Honkai Beasts and pay a visit to his new neighbors!
————
30 minutes later.
Lu Xing scurried back from the territories of other Honkai Beasts, looking rather dejected.
Initially.
He thought the three Lv.55 Honkai Beasts near the Honkai energy fissure were already outrageous enough.
But only after seeing his "colleagues," who were also "regional potentates," did Lu Xing witness what true exaggeration meant.
A colossal lance, a giant shield, wings that blotted out the sky.
A "Temple-class Honkai Beast," over 30 meters tall, far exceeding Lu Xing's understanding, its entire body a deep, inky cyan like abyssal ice, appeared in his vision.
Race: Variant Legion Leader Tree of Sighs Frost Lightning
Level: 55
Other: Unknown
This was the first time Lu Xing had seen such a large Temple-class Honkai Beast.
The "Frost Lightning," possessing a triple affix just like Lu Xing, exuded a pressure far exceeding the three "Emperor Guards" he had seen earlier, perhaps not even much weaker than the Ice Emperor itself.
This behemoth.
Simultaneously commanded several Honkai Beast species.
Ranger-class, Rotor-class, Floater-class, Shuttle-class, Acid-class, Temple-class—six major types of Honkai Beasts were all under its control.
Incidentally.
Two of these Honkai Beast types were also new to Lu Xing.
The Shuttle-class were relatively diminutive in size, their forms resembling flying fish, even "smaller" than Ranger-class beasts. However, their agility and speed were far more exaggerated than Ranger-class, not suited for direct combat—in fact, these Shuttle-class Honkai Beasts could be released by Cruiser-class beasts like "carrier-launched aircraft" for large-scale operations, though Lu Xing hadn't witnessed this.
As for the Acid-class... they were very peculiar-looking Honkai Beasts, like a combination of a wind chime, a hairdryer, and a showerhead.
Their individual strength was only slightly greater than the Shuttle-class, but they excelled at ranged combat, especially large-scale ranged attacks—gathering Honkai energy into "rain clouds" to corrode large areas was the Acid-class's specialty.
After feasting his eyes on the Temple-class's domain, Lu Xing could only choose to beat a hasty retreat.
After all, their Legion Leader didn't look like someone to be trifled with. "Foraging" here was akin to a mouse trying to play games with a cat—
Courting death.
————
As for the other area.
The Honkai Beasts here were much friendlier.
To be precise, they looked much friendlier when they weren't active.
The big fellow in charge of this area was only slightly weaker than the Temple-class leader—
Race: Variant Legion Leader Heavy Crush Ice Chariot Beast
Level: 51
Other: Unknown
As a leader, this Chariot-class Honkai Beast was even more massive than the Temple-class—they prided themselves on their size—the Honkai Beasts it commanded weren't numerous in quantity or variety, but their sheer territorial scale was quite staggering:
Ballista-class and Chariot-class.
When it came to destruction, especially large-scale urban destruction, no Honkai Beasts were more proficient than them; whether it was the Ballista-class's genuine [Ballista] shot or the Chariot-class's [Pounce], both possessed the ability to paralyze an entire street in one go.
Lu Xing circled among these quiet behemoths.
In the end, he decided not to disturb their "tranquil" lives—compared to the lively Honkai Beast community in the Temple-class area, the Chariot-class zone was decidedly stable.
But if he really wanted to treat them as experience points...
Lu Xing glanced at the massive Ice Chariot Beast leader and decisively abandoned this unrealistic idea—he wasn't a greedy person and definitely wouldn't "eat from his own bowl while eyeing what's in the pot." He would wait until he had "settled" his "own" Knight-class forces before coming to freeload off his neighbors!
At that time.
These Legion Leaders would no longer be a threat... probably.
And when the second hand had ticked 600 times, and Lu Xing finally saw his subordinates, his thoughts had changed to—
"So many horses!"