The Great Honkai (Continued)

"It wasn't that her hometown was bad. For her, staying here would probably only make all those old memories leave her feeling like, 'My life is just repeating itself like this.' The fishhook metaphor was quite fitting."

Her life repeating itself?

After hearing Liu Bai's words, Hua seemed to understand Carole a little better.

"For someone like that, the happiest thing in life is probably spending a lifetime leaving behind footprints and memories across the world, then returning home in old age and leaving the final memories of their life in their hometown. Just like an adventurer in a story."

Liu Bai smiled when he finished speaking.

"That's a very unique kind of life."

"...So, Carole, you actually want to be an adventurer?"

Having gradually understood Carole through Liu Bai's explanation, Hua suddenly asked.

"An adventurer?" Carole froze for a moment, then an eager smile appeared on her face. "Yes! That's right! That's exactly it! In the future, you'll be the great hero who saves the world, and I'll be the legendary adventurer of the world!"

It was a dream as innocent and naive as a child's.

Hua could not help but laugh as well, but Liu Bai, floating in the air, gradually turned solemn.

"...Hua, get ready."

Liu Bai looked up at the sky as streaks of "meteors" crossed the horizon.

"Huh? Is there a meteor shower today? Hua, do you want to make a wish?" Carole had also just noticed the meteors streaking through the sky.

But Hua, having heard Liu Bai's warning, had already tensed her entire body.

She saw it too. The destinations of several "meteors"... seemed to be Canghai City.

"Honkai... is coming."

"That meteor... that... why..."

Carole stared at the nearly destroyed city before her. Her once energetic face had become deathly pale, and she trembled so badly that she could not even form a complete sentence.

What had just happened?

The "meteor shower" she had been about to wish upon... had suddenly crashed into Canghai City?

If she had not seen it with her own eyes, Carole would not have dared believe the scene before her was real.

The city, once orderly and peaceful, had turned into a living hell in an instant.

Countless skyscrapers collapsed beneath the impact of the "meteors." Sturdy overpasses had been smashed apart with ease, while the streets were filled with the wails and screams of men and women.

...This was a scene that could never have appeared even in Carole's most terrifying nightmares.

"Hua... what is this... what exactly is happening?"

"Carole! Stay close to me!"

At some point, Hua had put on a pair of ferocious gauntlets, completely uncamouflaged, their rough metallic form displaying a brutal sort of beauty.

Danger, danger, danger—nothing but danger!

In Hua's perception, there was not a single place nearby that felt safe.

"Hey, hey, hey—!"

Suddenly, the phone in Hua's pocket connected automatically, its speaker turning on as Himiko's mature voice came through.

"Hua! You're still in the city center, right?"

"I am!"

Hua did not have time to raise the phone to her ear and could only answer loudly.

"Good! Hua! There's no time for unnecessary talk! From this moment onward, I officially enlist you as a full soldier of the Fifth Squad of Moth Chasers to Fire! Your first mission is to search for and rescue survivors! Then get out alive! Don't push yourself too hard! The Fifth Squad is heading for Canghai City now!"

"Yes!"

After receiving Hua's affirmative response, Himiko immediately hung up.

It was obvious that Himiko's side was also in complete chaos.

"Search and rescue... survivors?"

Listening to the disconnect tone after the call ended, Hua's gaze darkened. She was no longer an ordinary, naive girl. From Himiko's choice of words, she had already realized just how serious the situation was.

Survivors...?

Not evacuating civilians, but searching for survivors... Did that mean the residents of Canghai City who had already perished...

"...Too slow."

Liu Bai muttered under his breath, then abruptly looked at Hua.

"Hua! Prepare to risk your life! If we're unlucky this time, we might really die here!"

Hua said nothing. She merely watched the several Death Soldiers slowly emerging from the arcade with a battle-ready expression. Unlike the unarmed Death Soldiers she had encountered before, whose behavior was no different from zombies, every one of the Death Soldiers before her carried weapons such as bows or scythes.

What was even more oppressive was that these Death Soldiers seemed to possess a faint degree of coordination. The scythe-wielding Death Soldiers stood at the front, while the archers stood behind them, completely unlike the ordinary Death Soldiers she had encountered before, which moved like zombies.

"Four Guard Death Soldiers and two Ranger Death Soldiers... Thankfully, there aren't any elite units on the battlefield, like Divine Knight Death Soldiers or Imperial Guard Death Soldiers."

Though these fodder-level units in the game were basic Death Soldier types, they were already considered elites among all individual Death Soldiers.

The assessment for a B-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal was to defeat a certain number of these Death Soldiers.

As for Imperial Guard Death Soldiers and stronger Death Soldiers... even Valkyries below A-rank could easily suffer losses against them.

As expected of a massive Honkai eruption caused by a Herrscher. Not one of the six Death Soldiers before them was unarmed cannon fodder. This was the scale a Honkai eruption should have.

It was easy to imagine that quite a few high-level Death Soldiers or Honkai Beasts had probably already appeared throughout the city.

And right now, aside from one weapon and one ghost, Hua had no other equipment on her.

The clothes Hua wore could not block any attack from a Death Soldier. At the same time, if she was injured, she had no means of treatment and could only rely on her own resistance to endure it.

"Hua, attack! Target the two Ranger Death Soldiers in the back! Take them out quickly, then don't get drawn into a fight—run immediately!"

Everyone understood that two fists could not beat four hands. Six had emerged from the arcade alone; who knew how many might be elsewhere?

Hua also understood clearly that if she became locked in battle, she would sooner or later be swallowed by an endless sea of Death Soldiers.

"Understood!" Hua shouted. "Carole, hide first!"

"I-I understand! Hua, be careful!"

Carole also understood that staying here would only burden her friend. Thus, she quickly pulled herself together and found a safe spot to hide.

Hua stared solemnly at the Death Soldiers before her.

The four Guard Death Soldiers pressed forward step by step, while the Ranger Death Soldiers behind them had already drawn their bows and aimed at her...

"Teacher Liu, I'm counting on you."

"...Mm." Liu Bai understood what Hua meant.

Enhancement—

Current Compatibility: 115%

All abilities doubled.

Hua did not dare waste even a second of the hard-won ten seconds. She kicked off the ground fiercely, her body shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Whoosh—!

Whoosh—!

Under Hua's terrifying speed, both arrows fired by the Ranger Death Soldiers missed.

Sshk—!

Her overwhelming speed allowed Hua to easily drive the blade on her gauntlet into a Death Soldier's head. In that instant, a powerful current erupted, directly destroying the Guard Death Soldier's head.

"—Nice."

As the Death Soldier died, the scythe in its hand naturally fell away. Liu Bai reached out and caught it.

His strength, only slightly greater than that of an ordinary person, made it impossible for him to swing the scythe freely... but what if he possessed it?

The blade danced like a full moon!

The floating scythe made a wide sweep, severing another Guard Death Soldier's head along with the scythe in its hand.

"—First ability: Sharpness."

Liu Bai, possessing the scythe, expressionlessly announced the first ability he had tested.

By then, two of the four Guard Death Soldiers had fallen. The remaining two could no longer stop Hua, who was charging at high speed.

"Second ability—"

The Death Soldier's black scythe slowly faded into the air. The next moment, as if the Grim Reaper had descended, the pitch-black scythe fell from the sky.

Splat—!

The Guard Death Soldier that had been drawing its bow was instantly decapitated.

"...Teleportation."

...The effects of possessing this Death Soldier's scythe were even stronger than Liu Bai had imagined, perhaps even stronger than the effects of possessing Hua's gauntlets.

The only regret was that the teleportation ability was still limited to within fifty meters of the host.

"Taken care of."

On the other side, the other Ranger Death Soldier, which Hua had closed in on, was also killed without the slightest ability to resist.

"Teacher Liu, I'm counting on you."

The enhancement period had ended, and Hua's combat strength dropped drastically. She could no longer display the crushing power from before, so against the two Death Soldiers remaining in front of them, Liu Bai had instead become the main damage dealer.

Still, the abilities gained from possessing a Death Soldier's scythe were absurdly powerful.

If the Death Soldier scythe itself had not been of mediocre quality, meaning the boost from Sharpness was limited, Liu Bai would have wanted to make it his personal weapon.

"Mm, leave it to me."

Another absurd thing about Liu Bai was that his ghostly body ignored all damage. Even if the possessed object broke, it had nothing to do with him.

In fact... could he directly possess the scythes in the hands of these Death Soldiers?

No sooner said than done. The floating scythe clattered to the ground, and then the scythe in one Death Soldier's hand began to "struggle" violently.

However... it could not break free.

The Death Soldier was simply too strong. Liu Bai's current haunting power could not wrench the weapon away, but fortunately, one of the scythe's possession attributes was "Teleportation."

The black scythe instantly vanished from the Death Soldier's hand.

Death Soldier: "???"

Splat—!

Successful decapitation!

The first time was unfamiliar, the second time was routine; by the third and fourth times, they were friends.

Liu Bai looked at the only Death Soldier still standing on the field—or rather, at the scythe in its hand. They really were friends!

"Carole, let's go!"

Hua, carrying three scythes on her back, found Carole's hiding place.

"Where are we going?" Carole looked somewhat lost as Hua pulled her out.

"Out of the city, to meet up with the rescue team..." Hua paused when she saw Carole's confused expression. "Or do you want to go back and find your parents?"

"My parents? Don't worry, they're out traveling. It's just that my house is probably gone."

The girl who had once been full of adventurous spirit now looked unexpectedly dejected.

"Did you take care of everything outside? So, how was I? I didn't cause you any trouble, right?"

"No. If anything, you quietly hiding here was a huge help."

Though Carole could be quite impulsive, she was extremely reliable when it mattered and never needed others to worry about her.

"Hehe, I've watched lots of anime. There are always scenes where villains capture the person most important to the protagonist to threaten them. So I thought I absolutely couldn't let those zombies capture me and use me to threaten you—though that's assuming they'd actually use me to threaten you."