Sakura?

Two Imperial Guard Commanders approached, and a divine crossbow Mortal drew its bow behind them.

"Disappear!"

The voice was familiar; she was always gentle with friends, but decisive and ruthless with enemies.

Of course, that was if the enemy wasn't Kallen.

At the same time, Feng Chen collapsed due to excessive physical strain.

"Chen-kun!"

The person who arrived was dressed in a white Yae Village Miko outfit, with cherry-colored long hair and a pair of fox ears (?). Her sapphire-blue eyes were like the sky.

"Oh my, the main character has arrived."

Not just Feng Chen, but Yae Sakura also heard the voice.

"Higanbana..."

"Huh? Big sister, why are you calling me?" Hiyori Maru floated out from Feng Chen's clothes. She had been extremely worried just now, wanting to go out and help Feng Chen, but she was too small and Feng Chen kept holding her down.

"I didn't call you..."

She wanted to find the source of the voice, but her intuition told her it was no longer on this floor.

"How is Chen-kun now?"

"Big sister, please take a look! Feng Chen's injuries aren't very serious, but his overall condition isn't good."

Feng Chen actually only had two or three wounds. The real issue was that his body was overloaded. A 60% load, without the human body being in a fully "hot-machined" state, was already very high.

The Herrscher of Erosion had been using Mortals much weaker than Feng Chen to deplete his stamina. A 60% load was already the limit for his current state.

After a cursory "examination," Feng Chen showed no abnormalities; he was indeed just too fatigued.

"He's fine. Let's take him back first. The Mortals in Tenshu-kaku can be dealt with quickly; there's no need to linger here. As for that..."

Yae Sakura looked up at the sky.

So much like... that person's eyes.

"Let's just leave him here for now. We'll deal with the rest later."

Yae Sakura carried Feng Chen back to the deserted Yae Village and brought him into the shrine.

"It's really... so similar to before. He was like this before too, fighting alone foolishly, and when I found him, he had already fainted, and I had to clean up the mess."

Hiyori Maru knew that Yae Sakura was no different from a lovesick maiden right now, except that her heart was filled with fear.

Fear of what? Don't forget, Yae Sakura was from five hundred years ago. Five hundred years ago, feudalism was still practiced in the Far East and the Divine Land, let alone their thinking.

Moreover, Yae Sakura didn't know what current thinking was like and still believed that lesbianism was heresy, just like five hundred years ago.

Although... in the eyes of some people, it was indeed heresy.

For example, in the eyes of a certain "First Green Herrscher," if Kallen were a lesbian, it would be heresy, and they would do everything to "straighten" Kallen.

"Hiyori Maru, help me take off his clothes."

Feng Chen's clothes were already covered in blood and couldn't be worn anymore.

"Okay."

Hiyori Maru first unbuttoned the shirt, then pulled at Feng Chen's sleeve, taking off one side, and then went to pull the other sleeve.

Fortunately, Feng Chen was wearing a shirt; if he had been wearing a T-shirt, Hiyori Maru might not have been able to get it off.

A while later, Yae Sakura returned, holding a wooden basin full of water, with a towel hanging on it.

Gently tilting Feng Chen's body back, Sakura carefully wiped his wounds.

Her hands were stained with some blood, but fortunately, she was not easily affected by the Honkai Energy in the blood anymore.

She poured this water into a water tank, seemingly intending to let it evaporate naturally. (Phase change - vaporization - evaporation)

This water contained Feng Chen's blood, and therefore, Honkai Energy. Water contaminated with Honkai Energy couldn't be disposed of carelessly; it had to be left for the microorganisms in the water to slowly break down the Honkai Energy. (Just assume Honkai Energy contains organic matter...) Of course, this was only if the microorganisms could adapt to the Honkai Energy. If not, this tank of water would turn into liquid Honkai Energy.

How to deal with liquid Honkai Energy? Just grab a Mortal, force her to drink it, and then kill her. It's that simple.

"Hiyori Maru, help me get Chen-kun's clothes."

Hiyori Maru knew what she was doing, of course, as it was the same last time.

The clothes couldn't be washed by the river either, so Yae Sakura got another wooden bucket to wash them.

After washing the clothes, she couldn't possibly let Feng Chen wear the clothes that already had several holes in them, so Yae Sakura found a needle and thread. Sewing was a common skill for a Miko.

While Yae Sakura was taking care of Feng Chen, his consciousness had already entered the Stigmata space.

"System, I wasn't mistaken, was I? That was Sakura!"

"Host, calm down. That is indeed Yae Sakura, but..."

"But what?"

"She is not the original Yae Sakura, but merely a wisp of soul carrying her consciousness and memories."

"Then where is the real Sakura?"

He asked that question like he was an idiot.

As for Sakura, she...

I knew it myself, but why? Why couldn't I accept it?

"Is there a way to save Sakura?"

"Yes, Jizou Mitama. But with the Host's current Honkai Energy reserves, even a life for a life wouldn't be enough to revive Yae Sakura."

"...How is Xiao Yun?"

"She hasn't woken up yet. The 99% pure Honkai Energy was too much of a stimulant for the Honkai Energy within her."

"Is there a way to wake her up sooner?"

"Yes, but the Host can't do it right now."

Can't do it... Sakura is like this, and Xiao Yun is too. Have I really become this weak?

"After I use the data from Shadow Knight: Moonblade, what level would my strength be at?"

"Roughly between an Advanced Herrscher and a Simulated Herrscher, equivalent to the strongest type of A-rank Valkyrie in Schicksal."

"If I wanted to revive Sakura, what level of Honkai Energy reserves would be needed?"

"A One-Core Herrscher."

The gap in strength is too great, it's impossible.

There's an insurmountable chasm between a Simulated Herrscher and a Herrscher. Herrschers possess Companion Honkai Beasts and can create and command them, while Simulated Herrschers cannot.

Simulated Herrschers can only infect wild beasts with Honkai Energy, turning them into Honkai Beasts, but they cannot command them.

"The owner of this battlesuit... what level is Hua?"

"A One-Core Herrscher. After using two Divine Keys, she possesses the strength of a Two-Core Herrscher. If she were to wear Shadow Knight: Moonblade and use her two Divine Keys, her strength could threaten a Three-Core Herrscher. And this is Hua's strength after experiencing a great change. Before that great change, Hua, with just one Divine Key, could make Kallen Kaslana utterly unable to fight back."

What was Kallen's strength? Feng Chen had asked the System when he first met Kallen. The System only said she was a legend among Schicksal's S-rank Valkyries, having eliminated nearly a thousand Honkai Beasts in her twenty-plus years of life.

"System, how strong is Kallen?"

"Kaslana, think carefully about that surname."

Kaslana... Kaslana...

"Kaslana?! The Kaslana of this civilization is the Kaslana from the previous civilization?!"

The Honkai didn't speak, it just nodded.