In Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

"?" x2

"Wait, this Elysia isn't playing by the skill mechanics!" Flame Willow was the first to notice something was wrong. "She's trying to tank the damage and gather three Crystal Wedges to unleash her ultimate directly!"

"Oh no, I don't have time to clear these wedges!"

Xia Ling and Flame Willow wailed in unison.

Chapter 13: Who said Elysia was bad? Severed ties.

That's right, this was another strategy Elysia had come up with.

A beautiful maiden must learn to adapt to her surroundings and change her combat strategy based on her situation.

Just like now, even though Elysia couldn't use her dance-like combat techniques with this body, she could still win by leveraging her high HP.

The first two Crystal Wedges were released very far away under Elysia's control. From her previous observations, she knew Flame Willow wasn't good at speed, and Xia Ling, who excelled at speed, had weak damage.

Therefore, even if they discovered the Pink Fairy Lady's little scheme now, they couldn't stop it.

With a sweet smile, Elysia shot an arrow into the sky. Simultaneously, the three Crystal Wedges shattered, transforming into a flawless pink dome.

"Please accept this bouquet of flowers with gratitude~"

Accompanying the flawless dome was a true rain of arrows.

"Help! Murder! Flame Willow, hurry and give me a heal!"

Xia Ling activated her Acceleration Talent to its absolute limit, darting from the edge of the arena back to Flame Willow's side.

If it were just a few dozen arrows, Xia Ling could dodge them with ease.

Trying to dodge a rain of hundreds of arrows that bounced around like this meant you were either not very smart or an Eastern player with only one hit point.

"I can't block this arrow rain. You create a shield, and I'll just ignite your Honkai Energy!"

Flame Willow managed to deflect a volley of arrows and quickly said.

Xia Ling immediately released all the Honkai Energy within her, forming a bright yellow shield. Then, Flame Willow activated the Honkai Energy that made up the shield.

"If I survive this wave, I'll basically have no combat power left. Flame Willow, can you handle it?"

Feeling the heat and restlessness of the Honkai Energy within her, Xia Ling gritted her teeth and increased the output power again.

"I'll just go for a suicide attack later. Don't forget, we can still use the Collectibles we permanently obtained from the trial. " Flame Willow took out a familiar Collectible. "This is the perfect time to test the King's Set. It doesn't matter if I die in the trial, I can just revive."

"Alright, then I'll withdraw from the node once my energy runs out, to avoid getting caught in the crossfire," Xia Ling nodded and continued to squeeze the Honkai Energy within her.

Their conversation was not hidden from Elysia, as from their perspective, this Elysia was just a virtual boss in the trial and didn't possess the ability to understand their tactics.

But Elysia didn't think so.

"Eh? Sacrificing yourself whenever you can isn't a good habit~ Even in a virtual trial, you should cherish your life."

Elysia pouted unhappily. She had encountered many people with the ability to sacrifice themselves to use their ultimate, and she had bid farewell to many of them.

Although some of these people were afraid of death, and others were open-minded, they all inevitably died by their own abilities in the end.

"I can't let Little Flame Willow become like that."

"Never mind, I'll teach Little Flame Willow a small lesson later and then go easy on her. I need to let her understand that facing extremely powerful enemies, even with such self-sacrificing methods, may not always lead to a good outcome."

As Flame Willow triggered Kevin's support item within the shield, a azure ice storm appeared on the battlefield, and the durability of the flawless dome continuously decreased.

Finally, just as the dome was on the verge of shattering, Xia Ling's shield began to waver.

"Flame Willow, my Honkai Energy reserves are insufficient. I'm withdrawing, get ready," Xia Ling said in a deep voice.

"Got it." A flame ignited in Flame Willow's eyes. "The moment you disengage, I'll go in."

Xia Ling took a deep breath. The semicircular Honkai Energy shield instantly retracted, exposing her to the outside, leaving only a small shield covering Flame Willow.

Exposed to the arrow rain, Xia Ling simultaneously disengaged from the support state and returned to the lounge.

Meanwhile, Flame Willow erupted in soaring flames.

Flame Willow, who had fully activated herself to a near-death state, her body kneeling on the ground suddenly regained its vitality.

"Does this King's Set only last for a minute..." Flame Willow, whose pain sensation was completely blocked, felt the berserk Honkai Energy within her body and her cells self-destructing to provide energy. "It's fine, one minute is enough!"

With that, Flame Willow exploded forward, appearing before Elysia almost instantly.

"Alright, that's enough~"

Elysia raised her bow to block, but was pushed back several steps by Flame Willow's flames, almost losing her balance.

"Such high output efficiency... I can't possibly fight back with this body alone. It seems I can only try to stall for time."

Elysia retreated, and at the same time, a cluster of petal-like crystals erupted around her, temporarily halting Flame Willow's momentum.

"Huh? Are these flames this overbearing? No, this doesn't seem like just flames..."

Elysia felt the intense flames spreading from where she made contact with Flame Willow, looking somewhat surprised.

"Catalyzing Honkai Energy? It seems I can't extinguish it in a short time, so I'll have to seal it for now..."

In just a moment, Elysia understood the essence of Flame Willow's ability. She sealed the burning points with crystals, temporarily isolating the spread of the flames.

However, Flame Willow quickly charged forward again. Knowing she couldn't shake off Flame Willow, Elysia directly changed her tactic. Enduring Flame Willow's continuous attacks, she drew her bow and shot several arrows towards the ground.

In those brief ten seconds, Elysia's HP was almost depleted, and her body was covered in flames that could only be sealed temporarily. However, this also gave her enough time to set up the battlefield.

Then, the crystal flower seeds scattered across the ground began to explode in batches according to a peculiar pattern, rapidly increasing the crystallization value on Flame Willow.

"Power's flowing away~"

Soon, pink crystals began to spread all over Flame Willow's body, completely sealing her within the crystals.

"Shoot, this Elysia is so smart, her crowd control counters critical hits," Xia Ling exclaimed, slapping her forehead in the lounge.

Indeed, although Flame Willow could quickly burn through the pink crystals after being crystallized, Elysia's flower seeds had already formed a sufficient scale.

With Elysia's rhythmic detonations, Flame Willow had almost no room to breathe. Although the flower seeds were also decreasing at an extremely fast rate, they were more than enough to last the remaining half-minute.

Seeing that the time was almost up and Flame Willow was getting closer to Elysia, Elysia smiled sweetly as she saw the flames and aura on Flame Willow gradually extinguishing.

"Mhm, this should be about right. Next, shall I let little Flame Willow have some water?"

Afterward, the crystals binding Flame Willow's flames on Elysia's body began to rapidly disintegrate on their own.

As the crystals shattered, the flames, no longer suppressed by Elysia, expanded rapidly, instantly engulfing Elysia's figure and burning away the last bit of Honkai Energy barrier, signifying that Elysia's HP had hit zero.

Before the shocked eyes of Xia Ling and Flame Willow, a settlement interface popped up on the system screen.

[Elysian Realm Trial - Safety Level, Successfully Cleared]

[Rewards have been sent to your mailbox]

(Heh, after all, I added difficulty for the cute girls just to satisfy my curiosity. I can't let little Xia Ling miss out on her rewards for nothing.)

Elysia's consciousness returned to the lounge. She looked at the two stunned individuals staring at the screen, a doting smile playing on her lips.

Chapter 14: Wanting to Fill Your Regrets

"Wh-What happened?" Xia Ling's eyes widened as she patted Flame Willow beside her.

This pat, however, sent Flame Willow tumbling to the ground.

Only then did Xia Ling remember that Flame Willow's body was practically depleted.

"Quick, quick, system, heal her first! I forgot Flame Willow was almost gone!"

Soon, Flame Willow's condition rapidly reversed, returning her to a state of complete health.

"Hiss, I didn't expect Elysia to go easy on me, only for you to almost finish me off."

After being healed, Flame Willow bared her teeth and touched her body. "This fully unleashed state really hurts. If it weren't for the King's Set blocking the pain, I might not have been able to hold on."

"Let's put that aside for now..." Xia Ling continued her previous question. "How did you win?"

"Without a doubt, Elysia went easy on me," Flame Willow replied with certainty. She then hugged Elysia and nuzzled her. "Wuwuwu, I knew Elysia still cared about me."

Elysia, suddenly hugged, blinked and responded, "Oh my, you're so mischievous. Do you want to do something with me?"

"I know Elysia went easy on me, but I mean, why?" Xia Ling was utterly perplexed. "System, come out quickly, it's time for you to explain."

[Uh, even if Host asks, I don't know what happened.]

[Not to mention that all data checks on my end are normal. Even if there were any problems, I can't interfere with the trial system until the trial ends. In fact, during high-difficulty trials, I'm even silenced by the system.]

"You're so useless. What kind of system spirit gets silenced by the system?" The system's statement left both of them speechless.

[Ahaha... This is just a small design oversight. However, regarding your situation just now, I speculate that your earlier act of saving Klein might have had a certain impact on the subsequent events, leading Elysia to go easy on you in the end.]

"But if it was about saving Klein, shouldn't that affect the nodes related to the Herrscher of the Void later on?"

[Don't ask, just assume Elysia loves everyone.]

(Mhm, that's right. I didn't expect this system to understand me so well~)

"Alright, it seems you can't give me a clear answer." Xia Ling pinched Elysia's cheek. "Flame Willow, next time, try challenging a different Herrscher trial."

"Hiss, I couldn't even beat this Safety difficulty Elysia. You want me to challenge other Herrschers on Normal difficulty next?" Flame Willow pointed at herself, feeling like she was being asked to fight Sukuna.

"It's okay, I believe in you." Xia Ling gave her a thumbs-up. "Besides, aren't I going with you?"

This week's trial temporarily concluded. After receiving the rewards for clearing it, Xia Ling's assets reached 5 Hope and 8 Originium Ingots.

Of course, she still couldn't exchange them for anything yet.

"By the way, System, why do I feel like my Hope is always overflowing? Do you want me to prioritize exchanging for Collapse Paradigms, or do you think Cipher Plates can do more?"

[Well... indeed, Cipher Plates can do much more than you might imagine.]

[For example, if you were to use the combination of 'Arrival' and 'Rage' in reality, what effect do you think it would trigger?]

"I remember the 'co-words' for those two seem to be a random recruitment of four to six-star units," Xia Ling mused, then suddenly realized and turned her gaze to the Pink Fairy Lady on the sofa.

"Wait, are you saying?"

(Huh? Why are you both looking at me?)

The Fairy Lady, noticing Xia Ling and Flame Willow suddenly looking at her, became confused.

[That's right, it's exactly what you're thinking.]

This time, the system wasn't being cryptic and gave a direct affirmative answer.

[This is why the system has a separate trial for the Elysian Realm. If you can enter the Elysian Realm and form bonds with the Herrschers, you can use Cipher Plates to summon their memory cores into the real world.]

"How about it, Host? Thinking about all these powerful combatants, doesn't it instantly fill you with motivation?"

(Huh? Is the system saying that little Xia Ling can use the Cipher Plate to summon us to the real world?)

Within the Elysian Realm, Elysia's expression was utterly shocked. Fortunately, there were no other Herrschers around, or they would have witnessed Elysia's rare display of losing her composure.

(But this is a problem that Mobius spent a long time researching without solving... This system seems to be far more powerful than I imagined?)

"Whether it's about combat power or not is secondary... I don't think I can't do it on my own, and besides, many Herrschers don't actually want to reappear in the world."

Unexpectedly, Xia Ling shook her head. "If they're unwilling, I won't force them out."

"What truly makes me happy is that I can summon you, Ai Li, through this."

Seeing Xia Ling express her desire to summon her, Elysia's lips curved into a proud smile.

(Heh heh, as expected, the Pink Fairy Lady's charm is just a little bit greater than everyone else's, right?)

However, the next words quickly wiped the smile off her face.

"After witnessing the story of the flawless individual named Elysia, although Ai Li ultimately achieved a perfect ending, I believe that while the ending was perfect, it wasn't complete."

"Actually, I've always wanted Ai Li to personally visit the final St. Freya and see for herself the future she created, where Herrschers can regain their humanity, and witness the girls who inherited different wills."

(Wait, is little Xia Ling saying...)

"That's right, I've always wanted to see how happy Ai Li would be if she saw the Herrscher of Flamescion, who symbolizes humanity's eternal flame." Flame Willow nodded in agreement.

"This time, she won't have to rely on others' retellings to know how beautifully the seeds she planted have bloomed. She can even witness the process firsthand."

"Being able to mend this regret is what makes me happiest."

(Little Xia Ling means... I... I succeeded? Did I really... make future Herrschers become like me, Human Herrschers...)

In the Elysian Realm, Elysia's expression shifted from initial shock to a complex mix of joy and relief. Her lips couldn't stop curving upwards, yet her eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.