"Shigure, Nicholas, clear out the other Honkai Beasts on the perimeter. Salome and I will hold this one off!" Facing the sudden appearance of the unknown Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Cheng Lixue made a snap decision. Gripping Ruoshui, she charged forward while deliberately luring it away from the main force as they fought, preventing its area attacks from accidentally injuring the other Valkyries.
The Honkai Beast's tail was like a high-pressure water cannon, constantly spraying Cheng Lixue with extremely cold frost mist. The water tornado created by Ruoshui froze solid before it could even touch the beast.
On the other side, Salome's attack was not going smoothly either. Although several throwing knives avoided the frost mist and successfully struck its shell, they were sent flying straight back without causing the slightest damage. Fortunately, their task was merely to lure it away and keep it occupied, so for now, they had barely accomplished their goal.
Want to date bullets?
Shigure Kira somehow produced her sniper rifle and used the finishing move that could supposedly be used to look up other Valkyries' skirts. Once the scope was raised, three shots later, the large number of Ballista-class and Knight-class Honkai Beasts ahead had been wiped out, while the remaining few Temple-class Honkai Beasts had become barely breathing ice sculptures.
Shub also swung Crimson Whisper with all her might, and in the blink of an eye, only a few Honkai Beasts remained. At that moment, abnormal roars and rumbling sounds came from the distance, but the two of them had no time to worry about them. After confirming that there were no Temple-class Honkai Beasts nearby, they immediately rushed toward Cheng Lixue.
At that moment, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast opened its mouth. Unlike its tail, it sucked in a massive amount of frost mist, then spat several Ice Spears at Cheng Lixue like a rapid-fire cannon. She dodged left and right with Ruoshui and escaped unharmed, but she knew that she had to get close to it if she wanted to destroy it.
"Salome, cover me!" Cheng Lixue charged forward. Although the streams of water formed by Ruoshui and Salome's throwing knives could not cause any substantial damage, they successfully interfered with its vision. With its aim impaired, Cheng Lixue soon reached a point less than a meter away from it.
Just then, it spat out another Ice Spear. Although there was only one this time, it came with automatic tracking. The moment it left its mouth, it shot toward Cheng Lixue on its own.
"What!" Cheng Lixue was startled. She knew that if she put all her strength into blocking it, Ruoshui would no longer be able to harass the beast. If that happened, her plan to close the distance would likely end in failure. They were holding off the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, but weren't they also being restrained by it? The longer their two powerful combat units were held up, the greater the possibility that the other Valkyries would suffer casualties.
So she gritted her teeth and decided to take it head-on. Just as the Ice Spear was mere millimeters from her body, a bang rang out. Shigure Kira, who had arrived at the battlefield, shot the Ice Spear to pieces.
Cheng Lixue seized the opportunity and slid beneath it, sending herself underneath its body. There was no emerald-green shell beneath it, and the area appeared much softer.
Inch-Punch: Heaven Splitter
Cheng Lixue held her breath and punched upward from below, sending it flying. It landed a short distance away with all its legs pointing skyward. Salome immediately fired all twelve of her throwing knives, pinning each of its twelve legs to the ground and preventing it from flipping itself back over.
As it watched Cheng Lixue leap into the air, it spat out another automatically tracking Ice Spear. But this time, Cheng Lixue did not even look at it. She swung Ruoshui and brought it down in a slash, carving a wound more than a meter long across its abdomen. Before the Ice Spear could reach Cheng Lixue, Shigure Kira shot it to pieces again.
"Nicholas, it's up to you now!" Cheng Lixue shouted as she held down its tail.
Shub, who had long since been ready, leaped into the air and precisely thrust Crimson Whisper into the wound left by Ruoshui. She immediately activated the Electromagnetic Cannon on Crimson Whisper. A faint sound rang out, and the internal organs of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast suffered severe damage. A few seconds later, all its legs naturally sprawled out, and it completely lost its life force.
The four A-rank Valkyries did not dare rest after taking down the Emperor-class Honkai Beast. They immediately regrouped with the main force and dealt with the other Honkai Beasts, completely unaware that Enoshia had watched the entire battle from the air.
"What amazing teamwork. Four A-rank Valkyries took down an Emperor-class Honkai Beast without suffering a single injury through their flawless coordination. That's what an 'elite' is supposed to look like under normal circumstances. A B-rank Valkyrie like Paramecium being able to defeat Ganesha one-on-one—that's what's abnormal."
She recalled playing online with others. Some of those useless teammates would freeze themselves just to get the highest score, or refuse to thaw themselves no matter what. Others would run away right when they were about to clear the sixth stage, making her unable to claim the rewards. Compared to them, the Valkyries' tacit teamwork in a battle for their lives made Enoshia extremely envious.
After the squad finished clearing out the surrounding Honkai Beasts, they took a brief rest before cautiously continuing onward. When they reached the designated location, Theresa and Siegfried were already waiting there.
After exchanging information, they learned that both sides had encountered an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. Theresa's group, however, had encountered Parvati. Theresa was extremely familiar with the Honkai Beast that had made her famous after a single battle. With Siegfried's help, she had knocked Parvati flat with a single blow from Judah.
"An unknown Emperor-class Honkai Beast... You're incredibly unlucky. It's a good thing none of you were injured..." While they were exchanging information, a large number of Honkai Beast reactions suddenly appeared ahead. Strangely, though, they were marching toward them in an exceptionally orderly formation, as if something were commanding them.
At the very front of the group of Honkai Beasts was still an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. It stood more than thirty meters tall, and its entire body seemed to be made of gray rock. A black single eye sat atop its head, while two red bull horns grew from the areas around its temples. Every step it took seemed to make the earth tremble, shaking the snow from the surrounding trees. Several unlucky Valkyries were buried beneath it. Many of the Valkyries gripped their weapons tightly; even after all their training, their hearts had risen to their throats.
They stopped less than a hundred meters from the Valkyrie forces, neither attacking nor retreating. Just as everyone was at a loss, Enoshia emerged directly from its body.
Indeed, Enoshia had discovered that as long as something could be infected by her, whether it was a person or an object, she could use it as her dwelling through a method similar to possession. However, living organisms did not have network connections like electronic devices, so she could not move freely between different organisms. Otherwise, she would possess something akin to a weakened version of the Herrscher of Void's authority.
"This road is closed. You'd better go back where you came from."
Before you continue