Heroes Can't Flee in the Face of Battle

Night. A pitch-black room. Two women, one man.

Don't get the wrong idea—nothing indecent is about to happen.

The three of them turned off the lights just to make it easier to cast the screen.

With the familiar opening lines, dense bullet comments flooded the projection screen.

Grandpa, the video you love most just updated!

Grandson, Grandpa's watching it right now~

Damn it, trying to pull one over on me, huh?

Stop arguing, you're blocking my view of my husband Ye Li!

The video picked up where the last one left off.

Crimson lightning split the sky where sea met horizon. Ye Li's black trench coat snapped violently in the gale.

Cocolia unfurled her ice-crystal dragon wings, blotting out the sun. Wherever her breath passed, even the waves froze into jagged mountain peaks.

"A mere firefly dares to vie for glory against Fire Chase's Edge?"

With that, Ye Li folded and dove.

His sword blade struck sparks at the base of the dragon's wing. Ice-crystal scales rained down like a storm onto the boiling sea.

The colossal dragon let out a roar that shattered the clouds. Its tail swept up a tsunami laced with Honkai Energy, crashing toward the horizon.

Ye Li turned into a violet lightning bolt within the towering wave. The shattered blade suddenly erupted with a supernova's blinding light.

The moment the sword tip pierced Cocolia's reverse scale, the entire sea lit up as bright as day.

"Plunge into the abyss!"

"The River of Forgetfulness has no waves; three lifetimes of dreams rest in peace!"

Ye Li roared as he poured all his energy into the blade. Cocolia wailed and plummeted toward the seabed.

The massive dragon's fall sent a sky-high wave crashing upward. The longsword in Ye Li's hand turned to dust and scattered in the lightning's glow.

The sea gradually calmed. A gentle breeze lifted the bangs from Ye Li's face, revealing sharp, bloodstained eyes.

At that moment, countless viewers stared blankly at the screen, their hearts filled with longing.

Bullet comments flooded the entire frame in an instant—

Damn, even as a guy, I think that's hot!

Hubby, wreck me!

Ye Li, your sword isn't sharp enough anymore—why not switch to mine?

Bush, go men!

You can even turn this innocent road into a drive, huh?

It wasn't just the unhinged comments. Even Jilin, who had sworn to devote her life to the lily cause, had to admit the man in the video was a bit handsome.

"Sigh... too bad he's a man." Jilin shook her head in disappointment. "If only he were a girl."

As if something occurred to her, Jilin looked at Ye Li beside Fu Hua with confusion.

"Why does... this guy look familiar... kind of like... and the name too..."

Jilin shook her head in alarm, forcibly tossing the absurd thought from her mind.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Sure, this guy's a little good-looking, but his vibe is way off compared to the man in the video!"

Back to the video.

"Cough, cough..." Ye Li stumbled onto a floating island. Blood seeped from a split wound at the base of his right thumb.

After a quick bandage, he was about to leave when a familiar, flippant voice rang in his ears.

"A spectacular performance."

Golden holograms flickered in the void. Otto stepped out from the light, applauding.

"But old friend, you should know better than I do—if you don't eliminate the root, this kind of pseudo-Herrscher will eventually return."

Ye Li pressed down on his bleeding wound and sneered. "Otto, with all that blabber, why don't you go act in a stage play?"

"Quite the opposite."

Otto snapped his fingers, pulling up a live feed of St. Freya Academy's members fighting the Herrscher of the Void.

In the image, Theresa and the others were locked in a bitter struggle.

"Deep in this floating island's core, there's a secret lab. It holds relics from the Previous Civilization. After some modifications of mine, that thing now has the power to kill a Herrscher..."

"And the price?"

Ye Li stood up, cutting off Otto's words.

"Go become the hero of the story."

Otto's smile soaked in the blood-red moonlight.

"After all, in the coming act... we all need convenient props, don't we?"

"Just wait!"

Looking at the map markers uploaded through the armored terminal, Ye Li strode off in that direction.

"Once I'm done with this, I swear I'll smash that smug face of yours!"

Meanwhile, on the observation platform atop Schicksal Headquarters—

"Clang!"

Tai Xu's Grasp clashed with Aphrodite once more, sparks illuminating the side of Fu Hua's face.

She stepped back half a pace to shed the chill from the scythe, her expression cold. "Step aside, Rita. I don't want to be your enemy."

"Regrettably, the Overseer gave specific instructions..."

Rita spun lightly to evade the incoming inch-punch, the blood-red roses blooming on her skirt unusually vivid.

"You must not be allowed to head to the rebellious Far East Branch."

The scythe carved a deadly arc, and the tiles beneath Fu Hua's feet shattered instantly.

Fu Hua's pupils contracted as she punched, shattering the oncoming blood-red roses.

Sensing the massive surge of Honkai Energy from the direction of the Helios, golden light flared in Fu Hua's eyes:

"Then don't blame me for using extreme measures—Shadow Knight System, Eclipse Mode, activate!"

Golden veins suddenly crawled across Fu Hua's entire body, a cold visor climbing over her face, radiating a killing intent.

Rita's expression shifted sharply. She tried to teleport but was pinned in place by the violent air currents.

Just as Fu Hua's fist was about to strike the Maid Outfit, a pure-white lance fell like a meteor.

As the Black Abyss White Flower kicked up a massive cloud of dust upon landing, Durandal stepped forward.

"That's enough, you two."

The voice of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie carried an unyielding authority. "Both of you are warriors fighting for the world. I don't want to see you hurt over this."

"Durandal..."

Fu Hua pulled back her stance and leaped away, looking at Durandal with a complicated expression. "Are you going to be Otto's accomplice too?"

"I serve the path of Schicksal's continued existence." The strongest Valkyrie held her lance horizontally, then turned around. "Go, Fu Hua."

Fu Hua: ?

"We can't offer you help, because our fight isn't just for our own beliefs—it's for the people we cherish as well."

With that, Durandal looked into the distance. "If I were in your position, I imagine I'd make the same choice."

Fu Hua paused, looking at Durandal and the Rita behind her, who had crossed her scythes and returned to maid mode.

"Thank you for the kindness. I'll remember this favor."

With that, Fu Hua turned and leaped off the edge of the floating island, vanishing into the chaotic sky.

On the other side, the two members of the Blades of the Unbroken simply watched Fu Hua's retreating figure in silence.

Finally, Rita broke the silence.

"Lady Bianca, why didn't you stop her? She... will die."

"That is her own decision."

"What a pity. I don't dislike her, really."

Their exchange sent the audience into an uproar—

Holy crap, so Rita's real reason for stopping Fu Hua was this!

My waifu Rita is all tough talk but a soft heart!

Oh~ my goodness! This damn bad woman is so damn charming!

Dear friend upstairs, if you keep using that damn translation-speak, I swear I'll shove my boot right up your ass, I swear I will.