Hero Saves Beauty, or Beauty Saves Hero

Before long, a potbellied Director Fobole, his leather shoes polished to a gleam, was sweating profusely as two women—clearly Valkyries despite their civilian clothes—escorted him into the station.

"Miss Xina, about today... it's actually a misunderstanding..." Director Fobole, drenched in sweat, looked at Xina, who was grinning like a sly little fox, and silently cursed the blind underlings beneath him in his heart.

How could they just drag anyone into the station?

Was Schicksal someone you could just arrest on a whim?

Even though North America was now dominated by Anti-Entropy, Schicksal—an old powerhouse that had outshone its predecessor, the North American Branch—surely had its own people planted here.

Anyway, this Director Fobole knew he was nothing but a shrimp next to these two behemoths, and he had no intention of offending either side.

"So it's a misunderstanding!" Xina nodded with a smile, leaning back and resting her head on her arms as she asked, "So I can leave now, right?"

"Right, right, right!" Director Fobole nodded like a chicken pecking rice, the fat on his cheeks jiggling like jelly with the violent motion, making the two Valkyries' eyes twitch.

"Director, but she..." Old Fobole looked at his cowering superior, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, but before he could finish, Director Fobole clamped a hand over his mouth. "Enough! Don't say another word. Schicksal isn't something we can afford to offend. If you still want to support your family, stay out of matters beyond ordinary people's reach!"

"Exactly, sir. That's where you fall short of your boss's smarts." Xina turned around with a teasing smile, rubbing her fingers together in a provocative gesture. "People should know their place!"

"Alright, enough wasting time. The Far East Branch contacted us to send you over. We've already booked your ticket, so hurry up and come with us. Don't miss the flight!"

The Valkyrie in charge of pulling Xina out of the station glanced at her watch and urged her with a stern face.

In her eyes, Xina was under the jurisdiction of the New North American Branch. If she was going to be a Valkyrie, she should join them!

Why did Far East Branch Director Theresa have to call personally to ask for their help in retrieving her?

For an S-Rank Valkyrie to care enough to call personally and demand her release—it meant the New North American Branch had likely lost a promising recruit with at least an A-Rank potential.

Damn! Just thinking about it was infuriating!

Stepping out of the station, Xina looked at the two Valkyries in civilian clothes and asked curiously, "So, after the North American Branch split off to form Anti-Entropy, Schicksal still has people in North America?"

"Mm-hmm. The Bishop's brilliance is far beyond what those traitors in Anti-Entropy can match. He had people in place long before they broke away!"

At the mention of Otto, the New North American Branch Valkyrie's face lit up with something like reverence, and her tone toward Xina softened considerably.

Hearing the Valkyrie's worshipful words, Xina's eyes darted around, and she leaned in to ask, "Oh! From what you're saying, this Bishop must be really impressive. What other amazing things has he done? Tell me about it!"

"Oh, plenty! Come on, I'll list them all for you..."

Watching the Valkyries' car gradually disappear into the night from the window, Old Fobole's face twisted with complexity. He turned, as if making a decision, and picked up the phone on the desk to dial a certain number...

After half an hour of mutual flattery and casual banter, the two New North American Branch Valkyries had completely changed their impression of Xina, even feeling a faint regret that they hadn't met her sooner.

"Twenty minutes to the airport. Study hard at the Far East Branch and become a Valkyrie as soon as possible. When you come back to North America for a mission, we'll throw you a welcome party!" The Valkyrie driving cracked open the window to light a cigarette and glanced at the rearview mirror.

Two orange "headlights" were speeding toward them... No, those weren't headlights! They were missiles!

"Damn! Incoming missiles!"

Realizing the danger, the two trained Valkyries unbuckled their seatbelts, kicked open the doors, and leaped out, rolling on the ground as they watched a missile with a long tail of flame catch up to the out-of-control car, turning it into a fireball tumbling in erratic motion.

"Where's that girl!" The Valkyrie team leader staggered to her feet, her face dark as she scanned the area. That interesting little girl hadn't appeared on the road like she had!

Did that mean...

At that thought, both Valkyries' faces turned grim.

Staring at the blazing wreckage of the car, the Valkyrie who had jumped first said in a low voice, "Team leader..."

"Report to command! Say the mission failed, we were attacked by Anti-Entropy! Request backup!" The team leader, expressionless, pulled shrapnel from her wounds—debris from the car explosion—and gritted her teeth. "Those damn traitors. They'll pay for this sooner or later!"

"Team leader, the signal's jammed. Communications are blocked..." The subordinate Valkyrie tried several times, but her earpiece only returned static instead of the branch's response.

"Jammed? Then get ready. Looks like we've got a tough fight ahead." The team leader pulled a weapon from her lower back, her voice cold.

"5th Squad Tactical Mecha, de-cloaking."

With the mechanical electronic voice, black humanoid mecha figures materialized around the two Valkyries.

In a corner no one noticed, the flames on the car wreckage had already died out, replaced by spreading frost.

Just moments ago, when the two Valkyries had kicked open the doors in a desperate escape, Xina had tried the same—only for the door to stay firmly shut.

Then, the missile sent her flying...

Xina slowly opened her eyes, watching her fire-damaged body parts rapidly regenerate under the Herrscher of Death Authority, and silently swore in her heart: If she didn't avenge this, she wouldn't be a Herrscher...

"Schicksal Valkyries, tsk tsk, look at you—what a pathetic sight. Even with such a huge gap, you still won't drop your weapons and surrender?" The lead black mecha's voice dripped with sarcastic mockery, but the only response was a burst of bullets—low on damage but high on humiliation.

"Refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!" The black mecha raised its mechanical leg and stomped hard, sending a shockwave that blasted the Valkyrie in front of it flying.

Another mecha blocked the energy bullet from the second Valkyrie, then punched her out of the air before she could react.

The knocked-back Valkyrie spat a mouthful of blood and crashed heavily to the ground, beside her team leader lying motionless.

"Reporting HQ, 5th Squad, mission complete. The Schicksal Valkyries have been fully—!"

The lead black mecha suddenly froze mid-transmission, and the surrounding mecha did the same.

Cocolia frowned at the live feed from the mecha on her screen.

What was this? A lag spike?

No way! Anti-Entropy mecha couldn't possibly lag!

Just as she was thinking this, the screen in front of Cocolia went black, as if something had annihilated her second mecha squad in an instant.

"Why is it the Anti-Entropy again? Last time they sent an impostor to mess with me, and now they're directly bombing me with missiles. Fine, fine, I'm remembering this grudge. Just wait for me!!"

The sharp ice spikes vanished after tearing through the wreckage of the damaged car. Xina leisurely stepped out from the gap. She looked at the Anti-Entropy Mecha, now encased in thick ice crystals like a frozen amber, and silently added another mark against the Anti-Entropy in her little notebook.

Watching the Valkyrie who had been chatting and laughing with her just moments ago now turned into a cold corpse, a flicker of emotion passed through Xina's eyes—a sense of reflection on how fragile human life truly was.

But there was no time to grieve for them now. What she had to do was call for reinforcements!

Picking up the earpiece that had fallen from the Valkyrie, Xina clearly heard the urgent voice on the other end: "Catherine, Catherine, this is Command Center. Please respond, please respond! What's your situation over there? Why can't we detect you anymore?"

After steadying her emotions a little, Xina placed the earpiece over her ear: "Hello? Is this the North American Branch?"

After a brief silence, a questioning voice came from the other end: "You're not Catherine. Who are you? Identify yourself! Otherwise, you will be marked as an enemy by Schicksal."

"I'm Xina!"

"Xina? The one Branch Leader Theresa from the Far East Branch asked us to pick up? What's the situation over there? Why can't we contact you, and why can't we see anything on satellite imagery..." The voice on the electronic earpiece fired off a string of questions, making Xina's head spin a little.

"We were attacked by the Anti-Entropy. I'm the only one left now. I'm currently... well, I don't know exactly where, but from what Catherine said earlier, it seems we were about twenty minutes away from the airport." Xina looked around at the unfamiliar, desolate wilderness and felt a bit lost herself.

But thinking about it, it made sense. No matter how brazen the Anti-Entropy was, they wouldn't launch missiles in a populated area. This deserted country road was the perfect place to kill and silence witnesses.

If it were Xina, she would have chosen this spot too.

"Anti-Entropy? I understand. We'll send reinforcements now!" After relaying this message, the communication earpiece fell completely silent.

The Valkyrie on duty hurriedly found her branch leader and reported the situation in full detail.