Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy, Chapter 16

"Hey."

[Huh? Who is this?]

"..."

The female voice made Durandal's resentment rise another level.

"Quite an impressive ability, truly admirable, Bai Yan."

[...Is that so? That's really kind of you to say...]

Bai Yan paused for a moment, then switched back to his male voice. "Thank you for the compliment. Is there something you need?"

Volume 1: Chapter 20: The Language of Roses

Behind the icy tone lay an indescribable weariness.

The moment Durandal heard the male voice, her surging resentment felt as if it had been struck by a paralysis spell, instantly freezing.

"Is your mission this time to head to the Far East branch?"

[The Bishop's plans are always unfathomable. I am merely following orders.]

"St. Freya Academy... how is it now?"

Bai Yan, on the communicator, paused. He hadn't expected the strongest Valkyrie in Schicksal, Durandal, to suddenly change the subject and ask him about something like this.

[The troublesome aspects are as you can see, dealing with mission-related requirements; the good aspects, perhaps you also know, there's no training pressure.]

"...Still intelligence and logistics?"

[Still intelligence and logistics. After all, I'm just a desk clerk, I don't have that kind of exaggerated power.]

Durandal fell silent. An unforgettable experience surfaced from the depths of her memory to the shallow layers of her consciousness.

Back then, she was still Bianca Attagina, having only recently become a Valkyrie.

The location was Egypt. She was assigned to an operational Valkyrie squad again, responsible for blocking one of the Honkai beasts' escape routes...

"Bianca, you should retreat first. You're the only one who still has a chance to survive. It's better for one person to live than for everyone to die!"

"I wrote a will before I came. Bianca, could you help me deliver it? The address is on it..."

"Bianca, after you go back, could you help me take care of Little Kadi? He's only two months old, a black cat with only white paws..."

"Run, while the shield can still hold for a while..."

"Yeah, if we wait any longer, it might be too late!"

Bianca held the communicator, looking at her comrades who were already covered in wounds. She gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and continued to call for support.

On the communicator, friendly forces were losing contact, and the command center was in a state that seemed like brain death.

[Ahhh, what do we do? What should we do?! What's going on with Headquarters?!]

The reason was simple: Schicksal Headquarters was severely understaffed at the moment, and the dispatchers coordinating with each squad were even more panicked than the front-line commanders.

As for the front-line command, they had no other option but to hold their ground for Bianca's squad.

The numerous pyramids in the mission objective area were spewing Honkai beasts whose strength and numbers far exceeded the assessments from the pre-battle preparation phase. Not long after the Valkyries entered, a severe trend of collapse began to appear.

The dispatchers, due to their lack of experience, had no countermeasures for such sudden situations.

"Does Headquarters have any squads they can dispatch right now?" Bianca asked anxiously.

[I don't know. Dispatch is trying to contact them, but there's still no reply.]

Upon hearing this, Bianca clenched her fist. "Keep trying to contact them. Tell me if you get any results!"

The girl put down the communicator and picked up her lance, walking step by step towards the outside of the protective shield.

"Bianca!"

"Hurry back, you'll die alone!"

"Let's wait a bit longer..."

Just as she was about to ignore everyone's pleas and resolutely charge out to carve a path to survival, the communicator suddenly emitted a loud alert sound.

"Headquarters is responding! Bianca, hurry and answer!" An older Valkyrie grabbed her.

This older Valkyrie was relatively intact, only having lost an arm, and was still able to think and act clearly.

Bianca hesitated for a moment before picking up the communicator again.

[This is Headquarters, please report the current situation.]

A familiar male voice.

The girl froze on the spot, then rallied her spirits and asked, "Bai Yan?"

[It's me.]

Bianca immediately and concisely explained the current situation.

Bai Yan on the other end responded immediately.

[The situation is critical. First, take a few Valkyries who are in good condition and lure the Honkai beasts away. The remaining Valkyries should form a separate detachment, and then cover each other as you retreat.]

"All of you retreat to the coordinates I'm about to send. It's a pre-set flank for another squad. Once you arrive, you'll rendezvous with them. Support and supplies are already en route, just hold on."

"...Can we do it?"

"Yes, but only if you play the whole game and coordinate your retreat with your teammates' pace."

"Okay, I'll listen to you!"

Once the strongest fighter decided who to listen to, the other Valkyries raised no objections.

The young man with a ponytail put down his communicator and looked at the stunned dispatcher beside him.

"Please connect me with Captain Ragna of the Vanguard Squad—quickly."

"Huh? Oh! Connecting now!"

The dispatcher, around twenty years old, quickly tapped on his electronic device with a blushing face after a brief moment of stunned silence.

The call connected quickly.

"Teacher Ragna, it's me."

"Huh? Why is this the command and dispatch line?"

"Can the Vanguard Squad deploy now?"

"We're training, and the equipment is already out. What's wrong?"

"Bianca is in danger. It's either too late to call other squads, or they're not strong enough. I can only count on you."

"Alright, send me the coordinates. We're heading out!"

"Let's pick up some supplies at Headquarters first. I estimate they'll need to transport seriously injured personnel."

"Okay, coming right away."

After giving all the necessary instructions, Bai Yan had the dispatcher make another call to a different squad.

This time, Bai Yan provided the strategy from the side, and the dispatcher acted as a repeater.

During the communication, the other squad unexpectedly received a call from the Vanguard Valkyrie Squad, so they efficiently began their retreat according to Bai Yan's plan.

After hanging up the communicator, Bai Yan immediately grabbed a stack of forms, filling them out rapidly while urging the dispatcher.

"Please help me finalize the deployment procedures for the Vanguard Squad. I'll handle the signatures and fingerprints—this is a violation of protocol, but it's okay, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"Oh, oh, oh..."

The dispatcher was in a daze, only nodding in response and acting like a puppet.

After receiving the documents, Bai Yan adjusted his state, recalled the personality and preferences of the logistics manager, and then hurried back.

"Since I stumbled upon this, I'll see if I can save them..."

Returning to North Africa, Bianca and the others soon received Ragna's message and immediately rallied their spirits, beginning to cover each other's retreat.

Bianca, as Bai Yan had instructed, went alone to distract the Honkai beasts.

The other Valkyries initially objected, but as they noticed the youngest member of their team going on a rampage, their voices gradually faded.

This is what true potential looks like! We're lucky if we're not dragging them down!

Gradually coming to terms with reality, the Valkyries began to actively cooperate with Bianca's actions.

After a considerable amount of time, the two Valkyrie forces finally converged. They discovered that the designated coordinates contained a large bridge. Because they had abandoned all heavy equipment for a swift retreat, the Valkyries, in their numbers, had no trouble crossing the bridge quickly.

Bianca single-handedly held off the horde, completing the final rearguard action alone. Afterward, the task of holding their position became significantly easier.

They deliberately lured the Honkai beasts to cross via the bridge rather than wading through the water, ensuring that none of the team's firepower was wasted. Ranged piercing weapons, in particular, shone brightly.

After another period of steadfast defense, Ragna descended from the sky with the Vanguard Valkyrie Squad, quickly rescuing the besieged Valkyries.

"Bianca, well done!"

"Mmm..."

After the battle, Ragna patted the girl's shoulder as encouragement, only to find her staring blankly at her communicator.

Realizing something, Ragna smiled, a rather peculiar smile.

The memory of the past, filled with a sense of longing and regret, finally ended. The girl, Durandal, snapped back to reality.

A familiar male voice came from the communicator.

"So, I'm entrusting this matter to you, Lady Durandal, to keep it a secret."

"I know—if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up!"

She abruptly pressed the button to end the call, her face now etched with deep resentment.

Rita and Ragna exchanged glances, both understanding what the other was thinking.

—This might not end well.

As expected, Durandal immediately asked Rita, "Where is the Bishop now?"

Volume 1: Chapter 21: Otto: Good idea!

Knock, knock, knock!

The knock on the door was so impolite that even Otto, who had been lost in thought, was surprised.

People who knock like that generally don't exist within Schicksal.

He straightened his soul steel body and cleared his throat, saying, "Come in."

Let's see who holds such deep resentment.

Durandal strode in and shut the door behind her.

"Uh... Bianca, what's wrong?" Otto was a little taken aback.

Durandal stared at him. "What mission was Bai Yan sent to St. Freya to carry out? And why did he have to go with that kind of identity?"

Otto's mind raced for a moment, and he immediately understood the situation.

He smiled. "I truly didn't expect, Bianca, that you could see through this level of disguise with your own abilities."

"It was just a coincidence."

Durandal couldn't bear to make Rita and the others uncomfortable, so she didn't seek any details from them. Instead, she came directly to Otto.

There wasn't a trace of embarrassment on his face; besides being somewhat surprised, there was also a kind of inexplicable relief.

"The Far East Branch has some secrets I'm interested in, and this information isn't suitable for direct investigation. Therefore, I dispatched a candidate who was very suitable in all aspects—I must say, Ragna's recommendation was very satisfying. Bai Yan possesses extremely excellent talent in this regard."

Otto sighed with feigned seriousness, then as if suddenly remembering something.

"I recall, Bianca, that you and he seemed to have lived in the same orphanage. Are you actually quite familiar with each other?"

"...Bishop, you can stop playing dumb now."

"Oh my, my memory... Ah, yes, he was the assistant Rita took a liking to, and he also received guidance from Ragna with you. So, you could barely be considered childhood friends, right?"

If Durandal hadn't known the personality of the person in front of her long ago, she would never have indulged his behavior like this.