"Hey."
Huh? Who are you?
"..."
That female voice raised Durandal's resentment to another level.
"Quite an impressive ability. I'm truly impressed, Bai Yan."
...What exactly was this weird mess?...
Bai Yan fell silent for a moment, then switched back to his male voice. "Thanks for the compliment. What is it?"
The Language of Rosemary Flowers
Behind the cold tone lay an indescribable exhaustion.
The moment Durandal heard that male voice, the surging resentment filling her chest seemed to be struck by a petrification spell and froze instantly.
"Is your mission this time to go to the Far East Branch?"
The Bishop's overall plans had always been unfathomable. I was merely following orders.
"How is St. Freya Academy... doing now?"
Bai Yan paused over the communicator. He had not expected Durandal, Schicksal's strongest, to suddenly change the subject and talk to him about this.
The troublesome part is as you can see: dealing with the requirements related to the mission. The good part, as you may know, is that there isn't much training pressure.
"...Still working intelligence and logistics?"
Still intelligence and logistics. After all, I'm just a desk clerk. I don't have that kind of absurd strength.
Durandal fell silent. An unforgettable experience surfaced from the depths of her sea of memories into the shallows of her consciousness.
Back then, she had still only been Bianca Atagina, having become a Valkyrie not long before.
The location had been Egypt. She had once again been assigned to join a Valkyrie combat squad, responsible for cutting off one of the Honkai Beasts' escape routes...
"Bianca, retreat first. You're the only one among us who still has a chance of surviving. It's better for one person to live than for everyone to die!"
"I wrote my will before I came. Bianca, help me take it back. The address is written on it..."
"After you get back, Bianca, can you help me look after little Keddy? It's only two months old, a black cat with white paws..."
"Run, while the barrier can still hold for a while longer..."
"Yeah, if we wait any longer, it might be too late!"
Bianca gripped her communicator, looked at her companions who were already covered in wounds, clenched her teeth, and lowered her head to continue calling for reinforcements.
Inside the communicator, allied forces had lost contact, while headquarters seemed to be in a state of clinical brain death.
Ahhh, what do I do? What am I supposed to do?! What is going on at headquarters?!
The reason was simple. At that moment, Schicksal Headquarters was severely understaffed, and the dispatchers coordinating with each squad were even more panicked than the frontline commanders.
As for the frontline commander's arrangements for Bianca's squad, there was no other option besides holding their position.
The many pyramids in the target area had produced Honkai Beasts whose strength and numbers far exceeded pre-mission estimates. Not long after the Valkyries entered, they were already showing signs of a disastrous collapse.
The dispatcher, lacking experience, had absolutely no solution for such a sudden situation.
"Does headquarters have no squads it can dispatch now?" Bianca asked urgently.
I don't know. Dispatch is trying to contact them, but there's been no response.
Bianca clenched her fist. "Keep trying. Tell me as soon as you get an answer!"
The girl put down the communicator, picked up her lance, and walked step by step toward the outside of the barrier.
"Bianca!"
"Come back! You'll die if you go alone!"
"Wait a little longer..."
Just as she was about to ignore everyone's warnings and resolutely charge out to carve a path to survival, the communicator suddenly sounded a loud alert.
"Headquarters has responded! Answer it, Bianca!" An older Valkyrie grabbed her.
That older Valkyrie was still relatively intact, having only lost one arm. She could still move with a clear head.
Bianca hesitated for a moment, then picked up the communicator again.
This is headquarters. Please report the current situation.
A familiar male voice.
The girl froze on the spot, then pulled herself together and asked, "Bai Yan?"
It's me.
Bianca immediately gave him a brief explanation of the situation.
Bai Yan immediately responded from the other end.
The situation is urgent. Take several Valkyries who are still combat-capable and draw the Honkai Beasts' attention away first. The remaining Valkyries should form another squad, then take turns covering each other's retreat.
All of you retreat toward the coordinates I'm about to send. That location is another squad's designated flank. Once you get there, lead your people to rendezvous with them. Reinforcements and supplies are already on the way. Hold on.
"...Will it work?"
It will, but only if you fight at full capacity from start to finish and coordinate with your teammates' retreat rhythm.
"Alright, I'll listen to you!"
Once the strongest combatant had decided whom to follow, the other Valkyries raised no objections.
The boy with a single ponytail put down the communicator and looked at the stunned dispatcher beside him.
"Please connect me to Captain Ragna of the assault squad—quickly."
"Huh? Oh! I'll connect you right away!"
The dispatcher was around twenty. After briefly spacing out, she blushed and quickly tapped the electronic equipment in front of her.
The call was connected soon afterward.
"Teacher Ragna, it's me."
Huh? Why are you using the command dispatch line?
"Can the assault squad deploy now?"
We're training. The equipment has all been taken out. What's wrong?
"Bianca is in danger. Calling in other squads would either be too late or leave us short on strength. I can only turn to you."
Alright. Send the coordinates over. We're going now!
"Stop by headquarters to pick up some supplies first. I estimate they'll need to transport severely wounded personnel."
Alright, we'll be there right away.
After arranging everything, Bai Yan had the dispatcher connect him to another squad.
But this time, Bai Yan stood beside her and prompted her with the strategy while the dispatcher acted as a repeater.
During the exchange, the other squad unexpectedly received a transmission from the Valkyrie assault squad. As a result, they efficiently began their retreat according to Bai Yan's plan.
After ending the call, Bai Yan immediately grabbed a stack of forms. As he filled them out at top speed, he turned his head and urged the dispatcher.
"Please help me complete the deployment paperwork for the assault squad. I'll handle the signatures and fingerprints—we're breaking procedure here, but it's fine. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
"Okay, okay..."
The dispatcher looked dazed. She merely nodded and responded, beginning to move like a puppet being controlled.
After receiving the documents, Bai Yan adjusted his expression, recalled the logistics director's personality and preferences, then hurried back.
"Since I happened to see this, let me try and see whether I can save you..."
The scene returned to North Africa. Bianca and the others soon received Ragna's message as well, immediately regaining their morale and beginning their alternating covered retreat.
Following Bai Yan's instructions, Bianca ran off alone to draw the Honkai Beasts' attention.
The other Valkyries had originally opposed it, but when they saw the youngest member of the squad start slaughtering everything in sight, their voices gradually fell silent.
What did it mean to have the makings of the strongest? We'd be lucky not to hold her back!
Gradually recognizing themselves for what they were, the many Valkyries began actively coordinating with Bianca's actions.
After quite a long time, the two Valkyrie forces finally met up, only to discover that there was a large bridge exactly at the marked coordinates. In order to retreat quickly, they had abandoned all heavy equipment. With the Valkyries' numbers, crossing the bridge swiftly posed no problem.
Bianca held the line alone, keeping ten thousand beasts at bay. She single-handedly completed the final rearguard action, and holding their position afterward became much easier.
They did not destroy the bridge, deliberately luring the Honkai Beasts to cross it rather than wade through the water. This ensured that none of the squad's firepower was wasted, while long-range penetrating weapons truly shone.
After another prolonged defensive stand, Ragna descended from the sky with the Valkyrie assault squad and swiftly rescued the trapped Valkyries.
"Bianca, well done!"
"Mm..."
After the battle ended, Ragna patted the girl's shoulder in encouragement, only to find her staring blankly at the communicator.
Having figured something out, Ragna smiled, her expression somewhat subtle.
That distant memory ended there, and Durandal returned to her senses.
The familiar male voice came through the communicator.
So, I'll have to ask Lady Durandal to keep this matter confidential.
"I understand—if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up!"
She fiercely pressed the button to end the call, her face now looking deeply resentful.
Rita and Ragna exchanged glances, each seeing the other's thoughts.
—This would probably not end well.
Sure enough, Durandal directly asked Rita, "Where is the Bishop now?"
Otto: Good Idea!
Knock, knock, knock!
The knocking was far from polite, making even Otto, who had been lost in thought, feel surprised.
People who dared to knock like that generally did not exist in Schicksal.
He straightened his Soul Steel body, cleared his throat, and said, "Come in."
Let's see who was carrying such deep resentment.
Durandal strode into the room and shut the door behind her.
"Uh... Bianca, what's wrong?" Otto was somewhat taken aback.
Durandal stared at him. "What mission did Bai Yan go to St. Freya to carry out? Why did he have to perform it under that identity?"
His mind raced for an instant, and Otto immediately understood the situation.
He smiled. "I truly didn't expect that you, Bianca, could see through a disguise of this level with your own ability already."
"It was only a coincidence."
Durandal could not possibly make Rita and the others uncomfortable, so she had not asked them to verify any details at all and had gone directly to Otto instead.
There was not the slightest trace of embarrassment on his face. Aside from some surprise, there was also a certain inexplicable satisfaction.
"The Far East Branch has certain secrets that concern me, and such information is unsuitable for direct investigation. Therefore, I dispatched someone exceptionally suitable in every regard—though I must say, Ragna's recommendation pleased me greatly. Bai Yan has extraordinarily outstanding talent in this area."
Otto gave a solemn-sounding sigh, then seemed to suddenly recall something.
"I remember that you and he seemed to have lived in the same orphanage. You were actually rather familiar with each other?"
"...Bishop, you can stop playing dumb now."
"Oh my, my memory... Ah, right. He is the assistant Rita chose, and he also received Ragna's guidance alongside you. So you could barely be considered childhood friends, right?"
If she had not known the personality of the person before her long ago, Durandal would never have indulged him acting like this.
Before you continue