Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy, Then

Bai Yan frowned. He had never tested the effect of "One Sword Startling Swan" on an individual like Gray Serpent before.

But now was not the time for hesitation. Hearing Rita speak, he rushed towards Gray Serpent without looking back.

Mechs have thermal imagers, so optical stealth was useless. Bai Yan had to rely on brute force to eliminate some of the mechs.

Just then, Gray Serpent had analyzed Rita's condition and immediately dispatched Death Weavers.

These weapons were designed with spiders as their bionic prototypes and were specifically made to counter Valkyries.

There were a total of six Death Weavers, and they immediately surrounded Rita. They didn't attack immediately but instead circled her, restricting her movement.

After several exchanges, Rita, who was already injured, found her condition worsening.

She gritted her teeth, relying on her unyielding will to find the enemy's weaknesses.

Finally, during a moment when the enemy suddenly changed tactics, Rita seized the opportunity and consecutively took down two Death Weavers.

The remaining four then abruptly shifted from defense to offense, attacking from four directions.

Rita ignored the others and only focused her attack on the one directly in front of her.

She had prepared herself for anything.

However, the next moment.

Bang!

Bang!

Two heavy mechanical arms flew in, smashing into the heads of the Death Weavers.

The mechs on the left and right were momentarily thrown off course. They passed behind Rita and immediately turned around, preparing again.

The one behind seemed to be frozen in place.

At this moment, Bai Yan arrived with his sword.

Its head flew off, and then the human body within the mechanical chassis was completely severed, rendering it completely incapacitated.

Bai Yan used the Herrscher of Wind's authority to boost his run, moving at extreme speed. After finishing one, he continued to the next, dealing with the remaining Death Weavers in the same manner.

Rita turned around and saw the mess on the ground, letting out a sigh of relief.

However, at this moment, the head of Gray Serpent on the ground, which Bai Yan had severed earlier, spoke.

"Quite a decent haul... but have you truly understood our objective?

"Have you ever considered where the Herrscher of Thunder and K423 are right now?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of both of them changed drastically.

Volume 1: Chapter 48: World Serpent's Executives

Bai Yan quickly put on a facade of grave concern, coincidentally meeting Rita's gaze.

Seeing Bai Yan's reaction, Rita then turned her attention to Gray Serpent's head. "What do you mean by that?"

"Heh heh." Gray Serpent remained silent.

Bai Yan spoke, "It's trying to mislead us.

"If we believe its words now and go to stop its so-called true objective, we'll miss the chance to support and deploy Bianca's combat power.

"Conversely, by helping Bianca break free first, our combined strength as a trio will be far greater than fighting separately."

As Bai Yan spoke, Rita's expression grew calmer, and she finally looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and admiration.

"I was too hasty... but Mr. Gray Serpent's intelligence is indeed astonishing."

"Heh heh, you are no less impressive, especially this young lady. In this situation, to be so calm is a maturity that belies her appearance.

"So, why were you, along with the Herrscher of Thunder and the others, sent here by Schicksal?"

Bai Yan waved his hand dismissively. "Uninspired attempt at sowing discord. Switch to manual."

"Haha, even so, I wish to express my goodwill. World Serpent always welcomes you."

Crack!

Bai Yan walked over and stomped on the head, crushing it. He then turned to Rita and said, "Let's take a break."

Rita shook her head. "I'm fine, let's continue."

Bai Yan could only follow along helplessly.

On the other side.

Kiana smashed a Chariot-class Honkai Beast and turned to Mei. "This area is cleared! Mei, are you connected?"

"Not yet!"

Mei sat in the cockpit of a mech, desperately trying to establish communication, but it was all in vain.

The moment the mech was captured, its communication system was completely destroyed, making any contact impossible.

Bronya and Bai Yan had not returned since they left, and no one was at the designated rendezvous point.

Raiden Mei finally gave up on repairing the communication and rushed to Kiana's side with her katana.

"Kiana, let's head to the evacuation point first. Maybe the Valkyrie squad stationed nearby has already come to support us."

"But Xiao Yan and the others are missing. How can we just abandon them like this?"

"If we stay any longer, the World Serpent's forces will eventually catch up and surround us. Then none of us will be safe. It's better to find a way to get reinforcements."

Kiana hesitated for a long time, then finally gritted her teeth. "Mei, you go. I'll hide here and wait for you to bring people back."

"Kiana!"

"Don't say anything else, Mei. Just go. I'll be fine. I'm also very good at hiding," Kiana said, patting her chest.

"I..."

Raiden Mei tried to pull Kiana, but found her friend to be very resolute and unmoving.

She felt a pang of distress, but her reason told her that if she didn't leave quickly, everyone would be in danger.

So, Raiden Mei left all the supplies behind, keeping only a katana and a standard issue of ammunition for herself.

"There are two mechs that are still intact and can be used for transportation. If absolutely necessary, remember to use them. I'm going to get reinforcements now. Kiana, you absolutely must not run around!"

"Don't worry, hurry up and go!"

Raiden Mei looked back several times, only to see her best friend waving, and then disappearing into the ruins.

Only when she could no longer see her did Kiana suddenly jump out and wave goodbye again.

Mei knew this was Kiana's way of reassuring her, so she quickly turned and left.

Seeing her leave, Kiana once again went into hiding.

The city was in chaos at the moment, but the number of Honkai beasts was limited, and some had already been dealt with. Therefore, people still had room to maneuver.

A short while later, a squad of Valkyries descended from the sky and immediately began suppressing the Honkai.

Kiana secretly moved closer and found that she had seen one of them before.

Anna Saniate. She was present at the last martial arts competition.

After the World Serpent's disruptive incident ended, the martial arts competition was temporarily postponed, and all branches entered a state of alert.

Anna also returned to the team temporarily, resuming responsibility for regional security.

"The Snow Lotus Squad?"

As soon as the Valkyries arrived, the Honkai beasts fell like reaped wheat.

The fierce firepower and sharp assaults all demonstrated the strength of this unit.

However.

A colossal Honkai beast suddenly appeared from the darkness and immediately charged forward.

With its sturdy limbs and hard horns, its mere appearance caused the Snow Lotus Squad to drop their weapons and desperately retreat.

Emperor-class!

Without an S-rank Valkyrie, the members of the Snow Lotus Squad present were in mortal danger!

Kiana's eyes suddenly flashed with fire. She saw the Emperor-class beast smash through a building, burying crowds of residents beneath it.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

She slammed her fist onto a stone slab, her eyes red.

Wait.

Save them.

Wait!

Save them!

Save them, save them, save them!

Kiana turned her head, roughly pushed aside the branches used for camouflage, jumped into a pit, activated a mech, and then charged towards the Emperor-class beast.

The mech's firepower was at full blast, but it felt like a tickle when it hit the Emperor-class beast. It didn't even bother to turn its head to look.

Kiana accelerated the mech to its limit. The moment it reached its maximum speed—

Eject!

She separated from the mech, which then, carrying all its weapons, crashed into the Emperor-class beast. At the moment of impact, its entire weapons depot detonated.

Boom!

The Emperor-class beast was finally affected, its body trembling slightly. Its head immediately turned towards Kiana.

Seeing this, Kiana immediately started running, provoking it as she ran, regardless of whether the Honkai could understand.

The pressure on the Snow Lotus Squad greatly reduced. After regrouping, they spotted her and immediately formed a formation, beginning a containment tactic around the Emperor-class beast.

They couldn't defeat it, but they could lure it away and reduce civilian casualties.

For a moment, the Emperor-class beast was temporarily contained.

In the center of the city, the rooftop of a building.

Jackal watched everything from above, wearing a mask, making no move, as if eternally standing there.

"The items are ready. What about Rabbit?"

Jackal didn't look at the person who spoke and said indifferently, "She's holding off Durandal."

"That S-class is in very poor condition and quite injured. The other one is by her side. I judge they have the strength to disrupt things."

"It doesn't matter. Everything is within calculation. Otto thinks his contingency plans are more than enough, but he doesn't realize he miscalculated the most crucial point," Jackal said confidently.

"It's already not easy. You know, Durandal is already his strongest combat force. Unless he shows up himself."

"The Emperor-class has been released. I'll leave this side to you. I'm going to support Rabbit."

"However, Gray Serpent, Raven seems to have failed again."

Gray Serpent shrugged. "As expected."

"Alright, I'll leave this to you. Don't fail like that trash Raven."

With that, Jackal waved her hand, and a group of people immediately appeared from the shadows.

Some were operating rapidly on a certain giant vehicle, as if transporting something huge.

A dull sound slowly started, and the surrounding space began to distort inexplicably.

Something terrifying had moved.

Gray Serpent watched her colleague's departing back and clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Ever since she got Thousand Worlds One Step, Jackal has become more and more arrogant. Is this the confidence she gained from beating Otto once... Oh well, I should just follow that one's instructions."

Volume 1: Chapter 49: Kiana: Who Says I'm Not Cunning

"This way, this way!"