The Strike Team Reaches a Fork in the Road of Fate

"Feudal superstition is unacceptable, Captain... although it feels really out of place to say this in front of a ghost."

"I'm surprised you knew that," Liu Bai retorted.

"But maybe the unexpected makes sense?"

Himeko thought for a moment and then smiled.

May the spirit behind me protect me.

"... Tsk."

[Your mission in Manchester has come to an end. Several months later, the Valkyrie Stormtroopers reunite.]

[Subsequently, you received reports of the Honkai from various regions—meaning you may have to travel across much of the globe in the second half of the year.]

[With her team, Himeko stepped onto a real battlefield for the first time.]

The real battlefield is not a "small-scale skirmish" between a few Honkai Beast.

Thanks to her solid fundamentals and your support, the real battlefield didn't pose any trouble for Himeko; instead, it made Himeko even more mature.

On the transport ship, Ragna and his crew Himeko celebrated Himeko's 17th birthday.

[In the following six months, you fought battles all over the world, and Himeko's rank rose accordingly, from sergeant first class to lieutenant.]

However, the significance of the Stormtrooper rank, or rather the rank of Schicksal, is not that great. After all, Schicksal doesn't have that many people to command. Compared to the actual Valkyrie rank, it's more like an honor.

[In 2008, you didn't even have time to celebrate the New Year; you fought a group of Honkai Beast led by the Honkai Emperor overnight.]

Of course, it's important to note that the Honkai Emperor is not Emperor-Class Honkai Beast.

[Mid-year, you finally got your long-awaited holiday, and everyone scattered to enjoy their own vacations.]

However, at the same time, Ragna also received a letter from Rita.

"... That child wants to become Valkyrie."

Ragna, dressed in military uniform, sighed as he looked at the opened letters on the table.

"Follow in my footsteps... What kind of reason is that? Valkyrie are not an idol group."

"Captain Mingming, you can understand this way of thinking, right?"

Himeko stood to the side with a half-smile on her face.

"Why did you have to be so talkative..."

Ragna glared at Himeko, then took out a pen and paper.

It is precisely because I understand that I want to refuse.

But it is precisely because of this understanding that I know I cannot refuse.

Even without her seeking her out, the other person could become Valkyrie —rather than letting Rita climb the ladder step by step from there, it's better to write a letter of recommendation myself.

"Looking at it this way, I'm still somewhat useful as a combat instructor... Honestly, after working non-stop for a year, I almost forgot that I'm still a combat instructor at Schicksal."

Ragna began writing a letter while complaining.

"By the way, everyone's planning a cocktail party tonight, Himeko, are you coming?"

As a comrade-in-arms who had gone through thick and thin together, Ragna no longer gives Himeko any special treatment. He even takes Himeko to parties like this one—partly because Himeko is now eighteen.

"Go, of course I'll go! Watch me drink you all under the table!"

Incidentally, over the course of the year, Himeko developed more and more "bad habits"—such as alcoholism.

However, in a way, it's understandable, since alcohol is an easy way to vent when you're working non-stop.

"...Be careful, don't always let Liu Bai handle the scene for you. Even I, an outsider, can't stand it anymore."

"Hahaha..."

"Speaking of which, there's the Olympics in Shenzhou this year. How about we take Liu Bai to check it out?"

"Never mind, I'm not very interested in sports."

Liu Bai refused.

"Compared to you guys, I don't feel any pressure."

"... That's true, after all, she is the Maid God."

Ragna gradually began to take the joke seriously.

"Alright, I'm going to deliver the message. Remember to wait for me tonight."

[As it turns out, Ragna's warning didn't register with Himeko at all.]

That night, you and Ragna, who wasn't drunk, painstakingly dealt with a pile of 'corpses' on the ground.

That night, Ragna asked you to improve the stormtroopers' weapons.

The next day, Rita, who had become Ragna's recommended student, arrived at Schicksal Headquarters —compared to a year ago, Rita's face was almost unchanged except for a slight increase in determination, and she showed no signs of what the future held.

Unfortunately, Schicksal intervened, and Rita did not get to train under Ragna.

And so, you spent a rather leisurely time in Schicksal.

During this period, an accident occurred outside Kolosten, after which Schicksal assigned Ragna to lead the Valkyrie of its headquarters into action, without deploying the stormtroopers.

"Everything about it seems strange, doesn't it?"

Himeko looked at the news inside Schicksal.

"They sent the captain out, but didn't take us with them..."

"It's possible that you are one of them."

Liu Bai knew what this was all about at a glance— Siegfried and Kiana had escaped with K423.

"I?"

"After all, you're quite close to Anti-Entropy." Liu Bai glanced at Himeko.

"What you said makes me feel really insecure..." Himeko twitched the corner of her mouth. "What if the military police or something breaks down the door and arrests me the next second?"

"Let's not talk about why we arrested you... I think the simplest reason is that your riot squad is incomplete."

Those who should go home to visit their families during the holidays should go home to visit their families, and those who should go on vacation should go on vacation—those like Himeko and Ragna who are still staying at headquarters are actually a minority.

"Besides, if they really want to arrest you, your captain will definitely be the first to back you up... and even if we take a step back, it won't be a problem for me to protect you and get out of headquarters."

After all, Liu Bai's hidden attribute is mechanical killer. Under the influence of level 10, there is basically no mechanical creation that he cannot possess and control. At most, he just cannot be all-encompassing at times.

"This damn sense of security..."

Himeko's compatibility +20%

"By the way, do you know what happened on the outskirts of Kolosten?"

"To put it simply, it's about a father and daughter who wanted to run away with Otto's experimental subjects."

"They really have some nerve to touch Bishop Otto's things..."

Himeko at least knew what she shouldn't touch.

"Wait, father and daughter... isn't it that lively little girl with curly white hair?"

"You've seen him?"

"You saw her too, she was quite a handful at the A6 training ground yesterday."

"Is that so?" Liu Bai fell into deep thought.

I can't remember at all; I never paid attention to it.

"You've been really distracted these past few days... Are you entering old age prematurely?"

"... Maybe."

Perhaps the reason why Liu Bai glanced at it but had no impression of it is that he simply couldn't associate curly hair with Bianka.

Kiana... also known as Bianka, after this makeover, her curly hair became straight, and her white hair turned gold; she really changed a lot.

"That girl is quite famous at headquarters... but I never expected her to do something like this."

After all, daring to hijack Otto's experimental subjects is, in some ways, more serious than directly assassinating Otto.

"And then... uh, they were finished?"

"We're doomed. But not completely doomed... Honestly, why didn't those guys tell me they were up to something?" Liu Bai complained.

"Don't give me multiple-choice questions."

Himeko glanced at Liu Bai.

Although she had jokingly said she wanted to join Anti-Entropy after learning Liu Bai's identity—it wasn't exactly a joke, since Himeko had a good impression of Anti-Entropy.

But now she has something more she can't let go of in her Schicksal —her comrades-in-arms with whom she has entrusted her life and death.

If Liu Bai wanted to cause trouble, Himeko really didn't know which side to choose, with Liu Bai and her benefactor on one side and her comrades-in-arms on the other.

"Okay, so you want them all..."

Liu Bai smiled inexplicably.

"Let's skip this topic for now. If you want to know the specifics, you can ask your captain—when she gets back."

"Your laughter is making my heart race..."

"Would I cheat you?"

Liu Bai glanced at Himeko and said nothing more.

However, regarding Siegfried's situation... While it would be great if Kiana and K423 could be directly received, the difficulty is immense—after all, the plan itself wasn't meticulous enough, and Schicksal reacted quickly enough, plus Anti-Entropy is quite far from here.

At the same time, Reanna definitely can't reach places that the airship can't, after all, even the Soul Steel Valkyrie has to follow basic principles.

Joyce is a possibility, but Joyce is an ace that cannot be easily dealt with. In addition, Joyce's old injury has not healed and there is a possibility that it will provoke Otto. Obviously, it is not a good choice to rashly target Joyce.

In short, Liu Bai really didn't see any success... Your plan is too rough!

... Although it was also partly because he didn't notice Bianka, who was still Kiana at the time.

In the end, Kiana will likely become Bianka, and K423 will become Kiana.

... From a certain perspective, it's not necessarily a bad thing.

"... There are so many things going on these days."

Himeko sighed and then didn't bring it up again—after all, she wasn't familiar with the current Kiana, who was now Bianka.

The main reason for bringing this up is that Himeko is a little worried about her captain.

"Never mind, as long as the captain is alright."

"What could possibly happen to your captain...?"

When you're running for your life, if Siegfried dares to look back even once, he'll be considered to have lost, okay?

Moreover, these days even a battle-hardened A-rank Valkyrie isn't lacking in survivability...

[As it turns out, your prediction was correct.]

Ragna quickly completed his mission and returned to headquarters.

[From Ragna's revelation, you learn that Kiana was retrieved by Ragna, but immediately handed over to Otto afterward. Therefore, Ragna is unaware of Kiana's specific situation.]

In other words, Ragna's impression of Bianka is still based on Kiana's image?

After all, Bianka's change in appearance stemmed from the side effects of Otto's treatment.

"That child was hit directly in the head by debris from the aircraft... I really don't know how to describe that child's vitality. Luckily, I arrived in time... Although I, who was in charge of the hunt, am not qualified to say this."

Ragna's expression was somewhat strange.

"As for Siegfried and the experimental subjects he took away, they were not caught up with... Of course, I personally don't really want to chase after them, and it seems that Lady Theresa is also involved... Honestly, this matter is so chaotic that it's hard to describe."

Chapter 196 The Stormtroopers Headed Towards a Crossroads of Fate

Ragna didn't really want to get involved in anything related to Theresa, since anyone with a little common sense would know what kind of attitude Otto had towards Theresa.