Who Else but Me?

So, although he had failed to figure out Otto's true intentions, Gwen was not discouraged. Instead, he threw himself into studying and training with even greater enthusiasm—

A lousy chess player had to know his limits. If I can't play well, can't I just smash the board?

Being the Great Han Chess Sage wasn't so bad either.

With that resolve and effort, Gwen, with cheats in one hand and technology in the other, naturally improved at an astonishing pace. Like a rising new star, he drew everyone's attention—

At the end of 2012, during the Valkyrie selection assessment, Gwen officially became a C-rank Schicksal knight.

After many years, a male figure once again appeared in Schicksal's combat ranks.

In the summer of 2013, Gwen, who had repeatedly completed missions with his squad and performed outstandingly over the past six months, smoothly passed the B-rank assessment and was promoted to a B-rank knight.

At B-rank, while he was still not capable of standing on his own, he could already be considered a core force among Schicksal's Valkyrie units. Besides fighting personally on the battlefield, he also needed to be able to command a group of C-ranks in combat—

Although there were powerful people in this world whose teammates existed only to assist them and clean up the battlefield, there had only ever been a handful of such people throughout history.

For the vast majority, if they wanted to contribute on the battlefield against Honkai, they still had to rely on teamwork and bring out the power of the collective—

Honkai Beast hordes and Deadwalker swarms were no joke.

And even those rare few had needed the cooperation and help of teammates before they grew powerful.

Gwen believed that one day he would become someone as strong as, or even stronger than, Kevin, but he did not deny the power of the collective—

If he denied objective laws simply because of his own uniqueness, that would be far too narrow-minded.

Of course, while he did not deny it, Gwen had no intention of cutting off his own feet to fit the shoes, changing his development path just to cooperate with a team—

While acknowledging universal truths, one also had to acknowledge the existence of exceptional cases.

Thus, Gwen, who had received outstanding marks across the board at C-rank, did not receive perfect marks in his B-rank evaluation—

Rather than rack his brains trying to integrate himself into a team whose level differed greatly from his own, Gwen preferred to make everyone else in the squad his support and develop tactics with himself as the tactical core.

That was naturally the choice best suited to Gwen, but it ultimately did not align with B-rank training principles.

Although a certain Archbishop responsible for the rating was pleased that Gwen could make an appropriate choice based on his own circumstances, to prevent him from getting fired up like certain Caslanas in history and pulling something like, "Sacrifice me alone to keep the whole army safe," he still lowered Gwen's evaluation.

Besides that, Gwen's ferocious habit of always charging at the front lines on the battlefield had also drawn the girls' dissatisfaction—

"Gwen, I know you're confident in your strength, but this is really dangerous!"

Anna stood with her hands on her hips and spoke loudly.

This was a city in southern Europe where a Honkai outbreak had only recently occurred. The two B-ranks each led their own groups as part of the reinforcement force.

The battle was basically over. The two of them, who had fought almost from beginning to end, had led their teams back to their assigned camp and discovered that they had been stationed together.

Having just watched Gwen charge into a pack of Honkai Beasts and been scared out of her wits, Anna naturally could not resist giving him a lecture.

Yet as she looked at Gwen smiling at her, the dissatisfaction born from her lingering worry instantly vanished, leaving her only able to persuade him earnestly,

"You're only a B-rank. You still need to rely more on your team's strength.

When you advance to A-rank or S-rank, grow stronger, and equip better armor, it won't be too late to do this then!"

More than a year had passed, and Gwen had shot up in height. The boy who had once looked like a little kid and required Anna to lower her head to look at him had developed into a young man several inches taller than her. His handsome features had grown sharper, bearing the marks of long training.

Anna's appearance as she looked up and lectured Gwen also drew the attention of the C-rank Valkyries gathered nearby to relax—

"Wow, is Captain Anna this naggy?

I never noticed before..."

Aino from Anna's squad listened to her captain's lengthy lecture and could not help whispering to the comrade beside her.

"Hehe, then you don't know, do you?

They say Captain Anna used to be Captain Gwen's instructor. Of course they're close..."

The red-haired Martha beside her responded with a quiet laugh.

"Close?"

Aino blinked, accurately catching the key point in her comrade's words. Her expression turned wonderfully animated—

"No way?

Are those things people say on the forums actually true?"

"Hehe...

I didn't say anything. I only heard Alvit from Captain Gwen's squad mention it..."

Martha wore a polite smile and sold out the gray-haired Valkyrie in the distance...

"Mm... Don't worry, Anna. When have you ever seen me push myself too hard?"

As the center of his subordinates' discussion, Gwen merely smiled at the chestnut-haired girl pouting before him and said,

"Besides, it's precisely because I want to advance to A-rank sooner, switch to better equipment, and contribute more on the battlefield that I have to fight even more bravely at the front..."

"Huh?

You're already preparing for the A-rank assessment?"

Hearing Gwen's words, Anna froze. Her eyes widened slightly and her small mouth fell open, her face still carrying traces of battlefield smoke as she revealed an adorably blank expression.

Besides meeting the assessment requirements, Schicksal's Valkyrie promotions also required candidates to achieve a certain number of kills on the battlefield, so as to prevent certain past incidents from recurring.

For most people, this was not an issue. After all, the increase in strength required for promotion was considerable, and in the end, they usually had to wait for their strength to catch up.

But for Gwen, what he lacked instead was the battle merit that could only be accumulated over time.

Although the few of them met often and even still had meals together regularly, exchanging updates on their progress, Gwen had no desire to show off and would not deliberately mention that his strength had already reached the level needed for A-rank promotion.

So when Anna heard that Gwen was already preparing to earn the battle record needed for A-rank, she could not help being shocked.

Still, after the surprise, Anna did not find it hard to accept—

As one of the people closest to Gwen, Anna naturally understood his "talent" and diligence better than anyone.

With talent and hard work alike, his rapid improvement was only natural.

No One But Me

Of course, accepting it was one thing, but Anna's surprise did not lessen much because of it—

"Gwen, I remember...

You haven't been a B-rank for very long, have you?"

Anna pressed her somewhat dry lips together before speaking slowly and asking carefully.

Looking at the young man standing even taller than herself, Anna suddenly felt dazed, as though the scenes of her patiently teaching that frail child bit by bit last year had happened only yesterday.

And in that daze, Anna seemed to hear the joke she had once made with Rita...

"Mm..."

Seeing the girl's cautious expression, like a small animal tentatively extending a tiny paw toward a terrifying upright ape, her little face still marked by traces of smoke and dust, Gwen could not help chuckling. He raised his hand, curled his index finger slightly, and brushed against her delicate nose stained with a little soot.

"With Instructor Anna teaching me, isn't this only natural?"

"You're making fun of me again!"

Hearing Gwen's words, Anna gave him an adorable eye roll and slapped away his mischievous hand, yet a sweetness quietly welled up in her heart.

"Hmm?"

Faced with the girl's bashfulness, Gwen smiled without speaking. He simply tucked his hand behind his back as though nothing had happened and admired her pretty face.

Seeing the intimate interaction between the two, the onlooking "stock investors" grew even more excited—

Setting aside their identities as Valkyries, these girls were only around high school age, precisely the age when they were interested in romance and relationships. Coupled with the pressures of their usual training and battles, they were naturally even more fascinated by this kind of gossip.

As those conversations unfolded, the atmosphere inside the tent, which had originally been somewhat oppressive, gradually relaxed as well.

Gwen said nothing about it and simply continued chatting with Anna.

They had rushed here in an emergency assembly and fought almost continuously until now. Even veteran B-ranks like Gwen and Anna felt exhausted, let alone these C-rank girls.

Compared with silently keeping their nerves taut, it was better for them to have a topic that allowed them to relax after a tense battle.

As for whether the topic was too embarrassing...

Gwen often heard such discussions at headquarters and had long grown used to them. Besides, they were discussing it with restraint and had not crossed any lines, so he naturally had nothing to say.

Anna, on the other hand, listened as the supposedly "quiet discussion" around them grew louder and louder. Her pretty face flushed again, and she tugged Gwen away slightly to avoid her team members' gazes.

Gwen did not continue teasing the girl's sense of embarrassment. He merely chatted with her quietly.

However, amid the gradually easing atmosphere, Alvit, who had clearly become the one steering the conversation, suddenly changed expression. Her aura abruptly turned grave, and she swiftly rose to run toward the instruments nearby.

Seeing Alvit's movements, the relaxed atmosphere in the tent immediately tightened. Everyone's gaze focused on the gray-haired girl, who was exceptionally well-informed about all kinds of unofficial news.

They watched as Alvit operated the computer with a serious expression, her face visibly growing uglier.

Yet although her heartbeat had already accelerated beyond her control, Alvit still looked up at Gwen.

"Captain, Honkai Energy in the K3 area northwest of us is increasing abnormally. Compared against the database, it is suspected that a new Honkai Beast has been born, with a possibility that it is a High-tier Honkai Beast."

A High-tier Honkai Beast?

At that term, the girls' faces, which had just been rosy, instantly turned pale—

High-tier Honkai Beasts included Emperor-class Honkai Beasts and Judgment-class Honkai Beasts, which records stated had only appeared during the Second Honkai War. Their strength and threat level far surpassed ordinary Honkai Beasts. Only several A-ranks working together under full preparation had any chance of defeating one.

Although, with no Herrscher having appeared yet, the High-tier Honkai Beast was almost certainly an Emperor-class.

But whether it was Emperor-class or Judgment-class, for their team, whose highest rank was only B-rank and which had just finished a battle and begun resting, it would undoubtedly be a catastrophic threat.

"Alvit, immediately synchronize the information with the command center and headquarters."

Although Gwen's heart tightened upon hearing Alvit's report, knowing that he absolutely could not panic, he spoke before fear could spread and said in a low voice,

"Everyone, immediately pack your gear and await orders."

The man's steady voice echoed through the tent, halting the panic in everyone's hearts. As if they had found their backbone, they answered in unison and swiftly began moving.

"Anna, the signal source is closest to us, but we're some distance from the command center and may not receive reinforcements in time.

If a High-tier Honkai Beast really attacks, I'll leave command of the team to you."

Once he saw that the team's morale had stabilized, Gwen let out a slight breath of relief. He looked toward Anna, whose face was equally pale, and spoke gravely.

"What are you going to do?"

The image of Gwen charging toward the Honkai Beast pack instantly surfaced in Anna's mind. She questioned him almost instinctively, both hands tightly gripping his shoulders as though afraid he would fly away from before her eyes. Her pink eyes were filled with worry and panic.

"If an Emperor-class really appears, we definitely won't be its match."

Meeting Anna's gaze, warmth stirred in Gwen's heart, but he still said solemnly,

"To hold out until reinforcements arrive, we have to make full use of every bit of strength we have.

Your command ability is far better than mine. I'll leave command of the team to you..."

Feeling the force in the hands gripping his shoulders and looking into those trembling pink eyes, Gwen's voice shifted slightly, but he still said seriously,

"As for me...

To hold back an Emperor-class, our forces need an advantage at one point. That point can only be me."

"But..."

Anna's thoughts were a mess, and she instinctively wanted to say something. But looking at Gwen's serious face, she ultimately forced herself to calm down. Her pearly teeth bit down on her red lips as she nodded firmly—

"Yes!"

Just then, Alvit, who had been communicating with the command center, hurried over to Gwen in two steps.

"Captain!

Orders from the command center: Squads Three and Seven are to immediately withdraw from the camp, converge with the command center, and prepare to engage a powerful enemy."

"..."