Jun An bound the assassin tightly with his shadows, then crouched down. "One of the three MANTISes from the Lion Mercenary Corps, codename Chameleon, right? I've seen your file."
"You... you're also a MANTIS!"
Upon hearing Jun An's words, the man instantly reverted to his original form – a well-built man of African descent wearing a white shirt. "How did you see through me?! My transformation should have been seamless!"
Disguise. That was the ability of the Honkai Beast he had fused with.
Though lacking destructive power, it guaranteed the success of his assassinations every time. Even his own boss couldn't see through his disguises!
But Jun An had clearly acted before he even used his ability.
"Your ability isn't bad, but the problem is your brain doesn't work too well."
Forget Jun An sensing him; even Helia had noticed something abnormal. It was just that her reaction speed was far too slow compared to a MANTIS, hence the delay.
"You didn't even bother hiding your Honkai Energy. I could tell you weren't an ordinary person just from the scent."
"Hide Honkai Energy?"
Chameleon was visibly taken aback. Wait, Honkai Energy could actually be hidden?
But he didn't want to dwell on it. He immediately said, "Kid, you're a MANTIS too, right? Since that's the case, how about coming to work for us?"
"Whether you want money or women, even becoming a high-ranking official in a country is no problem!"
"Just let me go, come back with me, and you can have whatever you desire!"
"I'm no saint, but sorry, I'm not interested in anything you're offering."
After all, Jun An already had all those things. He patted Chameleon's shoulder. "What I want right now is to immediately strip you of your ability to cause trouble."
With that, Jun An's shadow morphed directly into sharp blades, preparing to pierce Chameleon's limbs.
Chameleon felt the shadows change and struggled, pleading, "Wait, wait a minute! Let me say a couple more things!"
"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to kill you."
Jun An wasn't averse to killing, but Helia and Himeko were present. Besides, this person's power level wasn't high, and his skill in using Honkai energy was a mess. Jun An and Himeko could handle him easily.
However, since they had arrived in a hurry and hadn't brought any Honkai energy suppressant serum, Jun An planned to disable his limbs first, then impale him with a few Honkai energy weapons to drain his energy and temporarily prevent him from making mischief.
"If you have something to say, say it quickly." Jun An ultimately gave him the time to speak.
"Kid! We have more than just one MANTIS on our side. I'm only recruiting you because I admire you!" Chameleon declared with an air of arrogance. "You just don't realize yet that you are actually far more noble than these ordinary humans! We MANTISes are beings similar to the legendary thirteen gods! We have received their blessings, their heritage!"
"As long as we join forces, there's nothing in this world we can't obtain! No enemy we can't defeat!"
Jun An understood instantly. Damn it, the consequences of Gray Serpent's brainwashing!
World Serpent had once functioned somewhat like a religious organization, maintained by faith in the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. It had numerous believers who worshipped the Flame-Chasers; Gray Serpent had even searched for the Flame-Chasers seeking such a specific god.
Eventually, Kevin became the Sovereign of World Serpent.
Raven had also mentioned in the Elysian Realm storyline that Gray Serpent wrote piles of incomprehensible books just to proselytize.
Furthermore, places like Africa often had strong beliefs in ghosts and gods. Combined with the fact that World Serpent could genuinely provide food and protection against the Honkai, its influence in Africa far surpassed that of Anti-Entropy or Schicksal. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it World Serpent's base.
Just as Mei witnessed after leaving World Serpent, the organization truly had believers, some even willing to voluntarily join the Stigma Project and fall into eternal dreams.
And Chameleon here had obtained power far exceeding mortals from World Serpent. Lacking the benefit of nine years of compulsory education, he naturally bought into World Serpent's brainwashing completely.
"So, kid, come join our Lion Mercenary Corps!" Chameleon invited sincerely. "Our power is unmatched! Even that white-haired Valkyrie next to you is nothing before us MANTISes!"
"If we wished it, forget mere countries, even Schicksal wouldn't be our opponent! We are the true masters of this world!"
Helia immediately bristled, retorting instantly, "Nonsense! I admit my skills are lacking, but Lady Durandal could definitely take care of you! She's the strongest Valkyrie; dealing with you would be effortless for her!"
"Hmph, a Valkyrie like you would struggle even against my underlings. Looks like Valkyries aren't all that impressive!" Chameleon sneered, then turned his gaze back to Jun An. "How about it, brother? What's there to hesitate about?"
Jun An was rendered speechless for a moment. "Himeko, is Schicksal's PR work really this bad?"
By now, Schicksal's fight against the Honkai was hardly a secret that needed hiding from the public. Their combat strength could be roughly looked up.
Jun An remembered his own deeds could be found with a simple internet search. Forget showing them the earth-shattering battle he had with Kevin on the moon; even seeing footage of him fighting Chiyou should prevent them from being this arrogant, right?
Taking a huge step back, even if they didn't know about him, they should at least know about the Strongest Valkyrie Durandal, or the Goddess of Earth Kiana!
Where did this fearless ignorance of the world's heights come from?
"This is Africa! It was already mostly under World Serpent's jurisdiction to begin with, and even televisions aren't widespread yet. Propaganda is inherently difficult here!" Himeko protested her innocence, simultaneously shifting the blame. "Besides, Theresa is Schicksal's Overseer! This is all her fault!"
"Good point. When we get back, I'll have Amber give her overtime."
Having made up his mind, Jun An crouched down again to face Chameleon, who was trussed up like a turkey by the shadows. "Your proposal is interesting, but you haven't understood one thing yet. Let's not even talk about whether you can beat Durandal. Let's just address your view of MANTISes."
"Did you really think that just because you gained something extra, you stopped being human? Became something else entirely? Let me tell you, being a MANTIS is just one way for humans to exist. Neither superior nor inferior to humans. Even the 'gods' you speak of – Kevin, Elysia, them – they were the same."
"How can MANTISes be compared to mere humans! You..."
Chameleon didn't finish his sentence before feeling the pliable black shadows turn razor-sharp! This kid is serious!
"You refuse to appreciate kindness!"
Instantly, Chameleon's body was replaced by white, silicon-based scales. His form rapidly began to swell, tearing through the tent fabric as he transformed into a dinosaur-like Honkai Beast.
Jun An and Himeko immediately grabbed Helia and Atali, slinging them over their shoulders and rapidly retreating out of his attack range.
"Kid, since you refuse to cooperate with us, then I must eliminate you before you mature!"
Though Chameleon hadn't undergone nine years of compulsory education, he knew that if this teenager could control him in his base form to the point where he needed to resort to Artificial Collapse just to break free, then he must possess extraordinary talent!
If Jun An was given a few more years to familiarize himself with his abilities, Chameleon dreaded to think how strong he could become.
He had to be eliminated before becoming an obstacle, leaving no future trouble!
Giant claws immediately shredded the surrounding tents. Nearby soldiers, noticing the attack, instantly opened fire, but their bullets clearly had little effect.
"Pesky insects!"
Chameleon slammed his massive claw into the ground, digging up a chunk of rock and earth, crushed it, and then hurled the debris directly at the soldiers.
Even though it was just a simple physical projectile attack, its power was no less than that of an armor-piercing round!
Jun An immediately used his shadows, forming a black wall to block the attack, preventing the soldiers from being turned into sieves.
"Atali, have everyone evacuate immediately! This isn't something conventional firearms can handle!" Himeko shouted urgently.
Chief Atali, still slung over her shoulder, immediately grabbed the device in his hand, connected to the broadcast system, and yelled for the soldiers to fall back.
"Schicksal support has arrived! All personnel, immediately retreat to a safe distance! Do not approach!"
"Repeat! All personnel, immediately evacuate to a safe perimeter and leave the battlefield to Schicksal! All personnel, evacuate to a safe perimeter! Leave the battlefield to Schicksal!"
Only after relaying these orders did Atali look back at Chameleon, who was relentlessly attacking Jun An and Helia. The sight of the four-to-five-meter-tall colossal Honkai Beast instantly brought back memories of the despair during the Great Honkai Eruption.
"Lady Himeko... can we win?"
"Ask the Captain." Himeko, having brought Atali to a safe spot, turned and asked, "Captain, we will win, right?"
"Yeah," Jun An affirmed, effortlessly dodging while still carrying Helia. It seemed Chameleon truly intended to kill him.
"We will win!"