Around the mechs lay many scattered Honkai Beasts. Clearly, this was a planned mantis-stalking-cicada operation.
"Judging by the wreckage, they're Titan-class... Cocolia?"
Bai Yan froze.
Wasn't it World Serpent?
Yet Jackal's voice came from one of the mech's loudspeakers.
"I never expected the Herrscher of Thunder to deliver herself right to our doorstep. Unfortunately, you aren't our real target.
"Put down your weapons and surrender obediently, or we can't guarantee the safety of you and your companions.
"Oh, and by the way, I was the one who tricked you. Looks like Schicksal's intelligence isn't very good."
Jackal sounded utterly smug, as though she had beaten Schicksal's Overseer by half a move.
Then Kiana shouted at the top of her lungs, "Don't get cocky! Sooner or later, I'll beat you to death!"
"Hehe."
Bai Yan listened from behind the wall. After a moment, she turned to Bronya. "Where are the explosives?"
Bronya blinked. "I have them."
"Set off that gas station on a timer to draw their attention. I'll sneak attack that command unit."
Bronya nodded.
The two split up. Bai Yan held a Schicksal God's Throne-series pistol, with a customized short sword sheathed at her waist.
Under the cover of night, Bai Yan slowly approached while searching for cover.
After reaching the rear of the mech formation, she turned and slipped into the roadside greenery, carefully observing the mechs in the distance.
"They're definitely Titans. They're exactly Anti-Entropy models, but why is Jackal involved?"
Cocolia's desire for power was too strong for her to relinquish authority easily, unless she was no longer capable of holding it herself.
Bai Yan's thoughts were quickly interrupted by a thunderous blast.
Flames soared into the sky in the distance, sending even the few wandering Honkai Beasts flying with the explosion.
She put her thoughts aside and watched the battlefield closely.
The explosion diverted the attention of the many mechs for an instant.
Kiana immediately seized that fleeting opportunity and quietly darted out through the building's back door.
"Hey!"
She charged straight at the command Titan, blatantly stealing Bai Yan's kill.
Seeing this, Bai Yan immediately fired several shots in succession to cover her.
"We've been surrounded?"
"No, Schicksal doesn't have many people!"
"Could an S-rank Valkyrie be here?!"
The mech squad's communication channel erupted into chaos, but the next moment, a rocket exploded and the voices abruptly cut off.
Bronya unleashed frantic fire from another direction with Heavy Cannon Rabbit.
At the same time, Bai Yan quietly moved through them, slashing each mech she passed.
She did not use much force. She merely targeted the wiring and electronic components in armor gaps, on the back, and around the lower chassis, making the machines unable to move flexibly anymore and leaving them to flail helplessly in place.
Without command, the mechs were attacked from three directions and immediately fell into a situation where each fought on its own.
The battle was not one-sided. Once World Serpent's forces realized what was happening, they began coordinating with nearby allies.
They formed groups of two mechs, standing back-to-back to cover each other's weak points while switching to kinetic rounds to avoid explosive shrapnel injuring friendly units.
Seeing this, the group swiftly changed formations. Each struck once before withdrawing, then scattered toward their designated rendezvous point.
However, halfway through their sprint, several arrows carrying intense corrosive Collapse Energy came whistling toward them.
Bronya reacted with lightning speed, instantly deploying a shield and barely blocking them.
The shield vanished the next moment, and the arrows continued forward.
Clang, clang, clang.
Bai Yan drew her sword and wielded it flawlessly, knocking all three feathered arrows aside.
The arrows were black, surrounded by faint reddish halos.
Bronya deployed her floating cannons and locked onto a corner shrouded in darkness, as if they would fire the instant anyone moved within it.
"This road is closed. I suggest you two ladies accompany me back to my humble home for a drink."
The newcomer wore a black cloak and a bodysuit, holding a rapid-fire bow.
Bai Yan recognized her as Raven, but the invitation for a drink was rather baffling.
"You may call me Raven. Strictly speaking, I'm not really one of World Serpent's own people, but when you take someone's money, you solve their problems. I'm stationed here to receive you two."
Raven's gaze moved back and forth between them before finally settling on Bai Yan.
"You're Miss Bai Yan, right? What a coincidence. You're my primary target."
"I don't know why World Serpent would offer such a bounty for me."
Bai Yan was puzzled. Countless guesses flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed them one by one.
"Who knows? Maybe Jackal likes little girls like you."
"Tsk, tsk. Is World Serpent full of perverted women? Disgusting!" Bai Yan pretended to retch, her face full of revulsion.
"If you two insist on resisting, then we'll have to settle this with our hands."
"Haha, a few words and you're already triggered? You damp, creepy woman in a lousy cloak!"
Raven's expression hardened. She said nothing further, merely drawing her bow to its full moon shape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bronya fired her cannons directly. Raven had no choice but to dodge quickly, but the arrows in her hands still shot out as usual.
Bai Yan held a sword in her left hand and a gun in her right, maneuvering as she fired and secretly closing in on Raven.
Seeing this, Raven relied on her speed advantage, shooting while retreating and widening the distance between herself and the two girls to maintain the firefight.
The three formed a triangular standoff. Bai Yan and Bronya surrounded Raven, but unfortunately Bai Yan found no chance to get close.
The battle dragged on, looking as though no winner would emerge even by dawn.
"If this keeps up, our people will come to reinforce us sooner or later. What about you? Will your reinforcements get intercepted?"
Raven dodged a beam fired by Bronya and returned fire with an arrow.
"That's none of your concern, bitch!"
"You..."
Raven's expression stiffened as anger surged up within her.
Twice now. Did this girl really enjoy talking trash that much during a fight? She looked like such a quiet, gentle girl!
Bang!
Bai Yan suddenly tossed out a casual shot, catching Raven somewhat off guard.
A shot like that had no accuracy at all. Where it landed depended entirely on luck.
It was simply fast.
Raven chuckled inwardly. This little girl must be panicking inside already.
She was just putting on a brave front.
Yet Bai Yan proceeded to flick her pistol repeatedly, firing carelessly.
At first, Raven did not care, but when Bai Yan began mixing one or two aimed shots into those casual shots, she started to sense that something was wrong.
Not only that, Bai Yan tried firing from every possible posture, embodying the attitude of, I can pose however I want. If I can't fire, I lose.
Thus, Raven faced a choice: first, expend energy figuring out Bai Yan's shooting style and decide whether she needed to dodge; second, ignore it.
Raven chose the former, and the drain on her stamina and concentration intensified.
"Heh. You think this can wear me down? How naïve."
During the chase, Bronya adjusted her tactics as well.
She repeatedly tried to corner Raven, giving Bai Yan an opportunity to close in.
But the experienced mercenary always managed to escape.
As time passed, Raven truly seemed to be running out of stamina.
"Instead of meeting up with your companions, you insist on chasing me down. You're playing right into our hands!"
Raven smiled, though fatigue showed on her face and pea-sized beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.
Bai Yan and Bronya had also expended quite a bit of energy. They breathed lightly while continuing to press forward step by step.
They were at the seaside. With the ocean behind her, Raven had nowhere left to retreat.
"Little girl, you're still too naïve. Is this your first mission?"
Though Raven was panting, a smile appeared on her face, wearing the look of someone with everything firmly in hand.
Bai Yan glanced around, took out an earring, and held it in her hand. Pretending to fix her hair, she put it on.
Luoshen Transformation, activate.
She then slowly retreated until she stood on the same starting line as Bronya.
Under the night sky, a faint light somewhere in the distance swayed gently.
The next moment.
Heavy Cannon Rabbit switched to artillery mode and began charging energy.
However, its target was Bai Yan.
At that moment, Bronya's eyes were vacant, and she had completely lost consciousness. Red patterns had appeared on her pale face.
Bai Yan's gaze remained fixed on Raven. At the instant the cannon began charging, Raven's attention shifted slightly.
That instant was enough. Bai Yan fired three shots in a row!
Raven noticed and hurriedly tried to evade, but it was already too late.
She dodged the first shot, but had not expected the second to target her leg. When she barely avoided the third, she had already lost the ability to move freely.
"Tsk, I got careless!"
Still, Raven was not overly shaken. World Serpent could easily treat an injury like this, but the two little girls would not be getting away this time.
According to her orders, this little girl had to be taken alive. It did not matter how badly she was injured, as long as she could be saved afterward.
However, what happened next left Raven unable to understand.
Boom!
Bronya's cannon suddenly fired, but Bai Yan seemed to have foreseen it. The moment she finished shooting, she had already begun dodging the projectile's path.
After missing once, Heavy Cannon Rabbit prepared to fire another kinetic round immediately.
But Bai Yan would not give her the chance. Empowered by Luoshen Transformation, she slashed at Bronya with a flash of her blade.
Bronya, already controlled by the chip, suddenly froze. Heavy Cannon Rabbit immediately powered down, and she looked around blankly, as though searching for a target.
Visual Severance!
Darkness filled her vision, as though someone had swallowed the sun, moon, and stars in a single gulp.
Yet Bai Yan did not continue attacking. Instead, she rushed toward Raven.
Raven's expression turned bitter.
Before you continue