"Eleanor Schariac..."
Eleanor: Dazzlingly brilliant.
Schariac: The Saintess lineage of the three great houses of Schicksal.
Savoring this name with special significance, Bianka carefully observed the girl before her.
Her brown hair reached her waist, the ends subtly tinged with a frosty white. Her emerald green eyes were innocent and bewildered, her long eyelashes fluttered in confusion, and her fingertips unconsciously fiddled with the gold trim of her uniform cuff.
Amidst the shimmering light, there was not a trace of the sharpness of an S-rank Valkyrie, making her seem like a pure and innocent child entering the world for the first time.
"Hello, you can just call me Durandal."
Bianka would never be so arrogant as to say that Eleanor would be a burden on this trip just because of her harmless appearance. At the very least, the Divine Key, "Abyss Flower," which the girl was holding affectionately, had a mist of death gently swaying from its tip, as if breathing.
Ella's reply also confirmed her judgment. "Don't worry, Eleanor is strong. Even if you were at full power, it would take you at least a day and a night to take her down."
"To contend with that ancient divine authority, just the two of you are still not enough," Otto clapped his hands. "Hurry up and set off. You must reach the battlefield before Shuhu deals with the Luofu Sword Champion and the Zhuming Baiye."
With four people fighting a Grand Sequence Authority, especially all top-tier S-ranks, with good teamwork, being evenly matched should not be a problem.
"I understand," Bianka replied solemnly, then extended a hand to the bewildered Eleanor. "Senior Eleanor, please take my hand."
The latter tilted her head in confusion, her large emerald eyes turning to the two overseers.
"Go," Otto raised his wine glass. "I wish you a triumphant victory."
Ella patted her head. "I'll be waiting for news of your victory."
First transformed into a Honkai Beast by the Herrscher of Corruption, Rin, in the Divine Key Box, her body was then resurrected by Rita Schariac after being killed by Kallen, and she was tasked with guarding the Mars Temple. Even then, Eleanor was already extremely strong.
In the subsequent five hundred years, Otto, with the mentality of "since we're already here," performed countless modifications on her. Now, Eleanor's normal combat power even surpasses that of Theresa, who cannot activate the Divine Grace barrier.
The only minor flaw was her memory loss and shattered personality. However, in the eyes of the unscrupulous duo, as long as a tool could fight, it was fine. The lack of thought was even more conducive to control.
"Mm!"
Eleanor, completely unaware of this, nodded like a chick pecking at grain. Her small, pink fists clenched tightly, and an invisible flame seemed to burn around her.
Bianka had already opened the window of the Overseer's office. Just as she turned to say something, a stream of brown light had already shot into the sky, turning into a meteor and rushing towards Shenzhou.
Seeing this, the girl immediately took off, a dreamlike stream of plasma shooting from the hem of her armor. The unfolded wings allowed her to follow Eleanor at a divine speed far exceeding that of a sky battleship.
Bright Knight: Excelsis, a prototype of the fourth-generation Valkyrie Godsbane Armor, a self-propelled armor for tactical conflicts developed to deal with any kind of sudden combat situation.
To this end, adhering to the "more is better, bigger is better" style of the Kassel equipment department, the researchers in Schicksal's fourth district loaded it with tactical modules from different armors such as Moonlight, Lunar Eclipse, and Moon Soul. This made its structure too large and complex, forcing the project to be temporarily shelved.
According to the subsequent plan of the Milchkefir Laboratory, they needed to reduce and adjust the functions of the Bright Knight, trying to find a way for the Excelsis's self-contained drive to handle the balance between the various tactical modules.
However, due to the suddenness of the Shuhu crisis, Otto had to prematurely end the laboratory's reduction of the armor's functions, allowing it to descend upon the world in its theoretically full-power state.
The reason it was said to be "theoretically" was that the energy output of the Excelsis's design far exceeded the total demand of the various modules, but the system's collaboration efficiency still could not meet the standard. Not only could the tactical modules not reach their original operating power, but they would also interfere with the armor's operation.
Even if its user was Durandal, who could use the Holy Sword to act as an intermediary to connect the various tactical systems, handle the energy flow, and perform real-time micro-operations, she could only maintain the full power of the Bright Knight: Excelsis for a very short period of time.
In exchange, during this period, she was an exceptional S-rank who could briefly contend with a Sequence Grand Authority.
"Even if it's a temporary boost from an external force, an exceptional S-rank at the age of 16 is truly amazing."
Looking at the two-colored lights streaking across the sky, Ella crossed her arms and said teasingly, "By the way, is our Lord Overseer not planning to throw a dozen Honkai fission bombs at his precious daughter's head to eliminate her, just like he dealt with Siegfried at the end of the Second Honkai War?"
"Of course not," Otto withdrew his gaze. "I don't deny that I was wary of Siegfried in his Honkai-corrupted state, wielding the Judgment of Shamash, when I launched the Honkai fission bombs at Siberia. But you and I both know that the reason I was so panicked and reckless back then was also inseparable from the fact that I had just come face to face with the 'Will of Honkai' and my mental state had suffered a great shock."
On a normal day, even if he was wary of Siegfried, this man would never use such a stupid method to finish things.
Siegfried was a good person, and there were countless ways to handle a good person.
Ella snorted lightly, noncommittal.
She then asked, "I just found out that you registered Eleanor as the fourth current S-rank Valkyrie on the Schicksal official website. What, you're finally not going to hold on to those three tight positions and act pitiful?"
"The world is changing, and the impact of the Third Honkai Eruption is gradually becoming apparent." Otto, who was sitting back in the Overseer's seat, tapped his index finger rhythmically on the armrest. "Anti-Entropy and the Taixu Frontline are eyeing us on the surface, and there are many forces like the World Serpent stirring in the dark. If we don't innovate, and someone really thinks Schicksal is easy to bully and comes knocking, we can't expose more of our secrets just for a few small fries."
In other words, he had a plan to awaken the Valkyries sleeping in the Key of Stagnation, just as the god-king Odin summoned the Einherjar from Valhalla to march into Ragnarok.
"Don't just call the fighters. Can't you also activate some spare Soulium bodies?" Ella teased. "Didn't you claim to have a powerful body comparable to the first Herrscher of Reason hidden away? Hurry up and take it out for everyone to see."
"That would overlap with your persona, wouldn't it?"
The golden-haired beauty who walked out of the shadows had a smile on her face.
"Tsk, this pervert really plays around!"
Noticing that the Soulium body's appearance was almost identical to her own, Ella couldn't help but click her tongue.
This guy was really addicted to cross-dressing.
BOOM—!!!
At the nick of time, Durandal and Eleanor, who had crossed half the globe, descended from the sky.
Realizing that reinforcements had arrived, Yanqing and Yunli acted quickly. The four of them occupied the four corners of the southeast, north, and west, their swords, spears, and halberds glowing brightly, completely surrounding the white-haired fox woman in the center.
Seeing this, Shuhu sighed. "What an unexpected guest. But I don't remember when the vast land of Shenzhou became Schicksal's backyard, where Valkyries can come and go as they please."
"Little brother Yanqing, who colluded with a foreign enemy, what do you have to say about this in front of me, your ancestor?"
She tilted her head, and her fluffy, white-and-purple fox ears twitched.
"First, in the Taixu Frontline's diplomatic relations classification, Schicksal belongs to the sixth level of comprehensive strategic partnership, which is already a high level in the twenty-four levels of diplomatic relations. The two sides are friends, not enemies," Yanqing replied calmly.
"Second, in the past two years, Lady Durandal has fought alongside the Taixu Frontline in many incidents such as the Vidyadhara Seed escort, the Imaginary Corridor Resonance Crisis, and the Thousand Stars Defensive Battle. The two sides have already established a deep friendship."
"Finally, this entry has been approved by the Miracle-Seeing General," Bianka said, holding her spear in one hand and taking out a paper document with the other. "Our arrival is legal and compliant, and can withstand any procedural inspection."
"Wait, are you guys actually answering her seriously?"
Yunli had a look of disbelief on her face, feeling that her thought process was not on the same level as these people's.
"It's best to avoid trouble if we can. In this regard, little miss, you are not as good as little brother Yanqing," Shuhu said casually, while studying Eleanor, who was baring her teeth at her. "But that's true, not everyone can have a grandfather who is a general in the Zhuming world."
Yunli had already developed some immunity to this bastard's poisonous tongue.
She looked at the other three, her eyes asking if they should strike first, and indicating that her primary goal was to tear that foul mouth apart.
Eleanor was eager, but the other two shook their heads slightly.
An attack of the exceptional S-rank level could already cause irreparable damage to the Earth's structure, not to mention that their opponent was a Sequence Grand Authority.
It would be best to find a way to make the other party retreat, or to move the battlefield to the uninhabited Imaginary Space.
After a moment of thought, Yanqing spoke up. "Shuhu, want to make a bet?"
Four S-ranks, one of whom was exceptional. These chips were enough to tip the scales in Shuhu's heart.
She put down her silver bow and said, "Hmm? Details?"
"You just said that your 'compatriot' is sleeping in Genghis Khan's Tomb, and the Hyperion crew is also exploring it," Yanqing said. "Let's bet on which side wins, how about it?"
Bianka raised an eyebrow. The pillar of fire that had just shot up to the sky had already proven that Siegfried was also in the tomb. With him there, it shouldn't be a problem.
Besides, the girl also believed that little Li could overcome this difficulty.
That was her—ahem! And her mission was to stay here and watch Shuhu so that she wouldn't cause trouble.
At the same time, she couldn't help but marvel at the boy's innate disaster magnet physique. She had thought she could take care of him for a while longer, but it had only been less than half a year, and he had already provoked a Sequence Grand Authority?
The girl did not know that, including the Divine Child Adam Kaslana in the virtual space, the Beast of the End Pardofelis in the Fog City, and Fu Hua, the former Phoenix, the number of Sequence Grand Authorities Fuli had dealt with was almost more than she could count on one hand.
Turning back time a little, before Durandal's arrival.
With the help of the Water Dragon's Chant, Fuli and the others were strolling hundreds of meters underwater.
The deep blue water was like molten glass, and the light at the bottom of the lake was kneaded into shattered gold, swimming among the jagged limestone rocks.
Schools of fish passed by, their scales reflecting a cold arc of light, and their tail fins stirred up a trembling dark current.
Kiana reached out and poked the flowing water around her, then suddenly smiled nostalgically. "This reminds me of when Cocolia chased us into the lake in Nagazora City."
She looked at Bronya again and nodded. "That's right, your mother."
The ducky suspected that this silver bug was deliberately taking the opportunity to curse her, but she had no evidence.
She didn't need evidence either. With a thought, the water around Kiana gathered and submerged her.
"Glub glub glub glub!"
The water pressure at a depth of a hundred meters did not hinder the girl's movements in the slightest, but the sudden rush of liquid into her mouth made her choke and spit out air bubbles.
After reacting, she quickly covered her mouth and glared at Bronya, who had turned her head and was whistling.
Her clear blue eyes seemed to merge with the clear lake water, and her angry look was both funny and charming.
"Let's get down to business first, we can play later," Fuli said, rubbing his little sister's twin ponytails. The girl pouted and pushed away the lake water surrounding Kiana again.
"Bro! Nya!"
The girl activated her Everlasting Blaze to dry her wet clothes. Just as she was about to deal with the culprit, she froze in a threatening posture, lost in thought.
"What's wrong with you?"
Fuli leaned over in concern, thinking that maybe she really had water in her head.
The child was already silly. If she got any sillier, she'd be left on his hands with no one wanting her.
"Ah Li, when I was submerged in water just now and couldn't breathe, a question suddenly popped into my head," Kiana the cat said with a profound expression. "Humans need oxygen to survive, but oxygen is also highly toxic. The more oxygen you breathe, the faster you oxidize. The faster you oxidize, the shorter your lifespan."
Her expression took on a wise color, as if she were Sherlock Holmes who had seen through the truth. "In that case, if I hold my breath, wouldn't I be able to live forever?"
Bronya: "Genius!"
Fuli: "Get out of the hospital!"
Fu Hua: "What do you mean, get out? You get in there too!"
"Hahahaha!"
Dr. Zhou laughed happily, lamenting that it was indeed good to be young.
With the help of the Water Dragon's Chant and the mutual attraction of the Blood Letter Diary, the group quickly found the taimen that served as the entrance to the world bubble.
When they found it, it was lying at the bottom of the lake, unable to move, bound by two rolls of nano-tape, a strange light reflecting in its eyes.
Fuli realized that Siegfried had gone ahead. He waved his hand to interrupt Bronya, who was about to say something, and rushed into the entrance first.
One, two... like passing through the seven heavens of mythology, he swam up another hundred meters. The moment he broke the surface of the water, boundless heavenly light entered the boy's eyes.
Then, his vision went black.
"Mei! Mei mei mei mei mei!"
It was little Mei-Mei.
The little darling, who had been waiting alone for a long time, dragged the diary, which was taller than her, and pounced on Fuli's face. She hugged his hair and refused to let go, tears streaming down her face.
"So cute!"
Kiana, who followed closely behind, had hearts in her eyes again. She wished she could sentence the little one to a punishment of kisses, hugs, and being lifted high.
After her, Fu Hua and Bronya emerged from the water.
Dr. Zhou, who was the last to surface with the help of the Water Dragon's Chant, eagerly looked around.
And with that one look, his pupils, which had been in environmental protection work his whole life, trembled violently.
"Is that, a Chinese paddlefish?"
...