Looking at Salome, whose limbs had gone limp and whose eyes were vacant, Nicholas wished she could bite her back teeth to pieces.
But the biting cold wind and the mountain-like pressure weighing down on her made her understand that the enemy had not been eliminated yet. This was far from the time to grieve.
Above the Herrscher of Frost, the Frost Crystal had already grown to over a kilometer in diameter, and still showed no sign of stopping.
As the only mobile unit, Enoshia had to protect everyone else, find a way to interrupt the Herrscher of Frost's charge-up, and somehow deal real damage to it. Her head felt like it was about to split into two.
"As long as Fu Hua launches an attack, everything will be fine."
Enoshia did not understand. Kevin was in the Sea of Quanta, Su was in Sumeru Mustard Seed, and no one even knew where Suo was hiding. She was currently the strongest person in the world, so how could there possibly be anyone capable of holding her back? But if Fu Hua had not really disappeared, then this should have happened by now.
"Eh? Why did the sun turn purple?" Enoshia glanced up at the sky by chance and discovered that a constantly expanding ball of lightning had appeared at some point. Its diameter had already exceeded a kilometer. The only person with this ability was Sirin, who possessed the Herrscher of Thunder core.
"Sirin? But wait..."
Soon, the ball of lightning and the Frost Crystal had grown to roughly the same size. Sirin extended her right index finger and pointed downward. The ball of lightning and the Frost Crystal collided.
"Rumble!"
The sound that erupted nearly deafened everyone. Everyone present briefly lost both their sight and hearing. A wide-area skill unleashed by a Three-Core Herrscher wielding mysterious power had collided with one from a Four-Core Herrscher. The energy released was on an entirely different level from an Emperor-class Honkai Beast self-destructing. Everyone was like a leaf in a raging storm, utterly unable to control where they were blown or where they landed.
"Damn it, if they're on the same level, couldn't I just use the Herrscher of Void's authority to teleport the Frost Crystal away? Why did she have to clash with it... Oh, come on..." In this storm, she, an Unascended Herrscher, was merely a slightly larger leaf. She held out for only a few seconds longer than everyone else before being sent flying by the shock wave from the explosion.
To move freely under several times normal gravity, Enoshia had modified her own data in advance. As a result, she ended up flying the farthest of all. She glided several kilometers through the air before plunging headfirst into the snow.
As soon as the aftershock of the explosion subsided, she quickly crawled out of the snow and looked into the distance.
In the distance, dark clouds blanketed the sky. Howling winds and blizzards, lightning and thunder filled the entire battlefield, making it look like the set of some epic disaster movie. At the center of the storm, Sirin and the Herrscher of Frost exchanged blows and hurled skills at each other, looking as if "two supreme beings would fight until the Great Dao itself was destroyed."
"Well, looks like I'm completely useless here. I'd better go see how the others are doing. Sirin is fighting without any regard for anyone else."
Enoshia's guess was correct. If Schicksal's Valkyries were killed by the aftershocks of her battle with the Herrscher of Frost because they were too weak, she would be more than happy. In fact, she had deliberately chosen to clash with it precisely because she wanted to eliminate both the Herrscher of Frost and the Valkyries.
Elsewhere, Siegfried had also plunged headfirst into the snow like Enoshia, leaving only his legs sticking out.
"Lixue, give me a hand." Theresa, who had just recovered somewhat, wanted to rescue Siegfried, but lacked the strength to do so. Working together, the two of them each grabbed one of his legs and pulled him out of the snow like a radish.
A few minutes later, Shigure Kira and Nicholas arrived at the trio's side, supporting each other. Cecilia spotted the five of them from a distance and jogged over to join them.
"Kira, Nicholas, everyone—is everyone all right?" Her concerned gaze swept across the group.
"We're fine." Shigure Kira and Shub looked at Cecilia, whose complexion remained rosy and whose energy was still high, and their respect for her grew even greater.
"Captain, not long after the explosion, the abnormal gravity disappeared. Everyone can move freely now. What should we do next?" Cheng Lixue asked her, even as her own mind began working rapidly.
Cecilia turned on the communicator.
"Archbishop, it's me. The current situation is... All right, I understand."
"The Archbishop has authorized us to leave. We'll let the two Herrschers fight among themselves. As long as someone stays behind to observe the situation, it'll be fine."
Although he had called it "observing the situation," everyone understood Otto's meaning. He intended to wait for the two Herrschers to fight among themselves and then claim the spoils.
Shigure Kira and Shub knew that this was an opportunity Cecilia had won for them. Salome's death proved that the current battle was far beyond what A-rank Valkyries could handle. Staying behind would only make them dead weight.
"Bang!"
The Herrscher of Frost was slammed into the ground by Sirin, electricity coiling around her entire body. Sirin had tried every Herrscher's authority and discovered that it seemed to fear lightning more than anything else.
"Haha, that thing even Schicksal's useless fools couldn't defeat by attacking together still isn't a match for me☆"
Sirin wore another smug smile. A bolt of lightning struck the Herrscher of Frost, producing black smoke. The faint smell of burning protein could even be detected.
Seeing this pufferfish swell with pride yet again after winning her first battle, Enoshia felt somewhat helpless.
"A Four-Core Herrscher fighting a Three-Core Herrscher and winning in terms of strength—isn't that only natural? Besides, she hasn't realized that although she can suppress it, its absurd regenerative ability means she still hasn't dealt any real damage."
Of course, saying that Sirin's attacks had no effect on the Herrscher of Frost at all would be unfair. At the very least, it was currently using only the Herrscher of Ice's authority, and the surrounding gravity had returned to normal.
Looking at the Herrscher of Frost's abnormal state, Enoshia guessed that Theresa's attacks inside the Divine Prayer Barrier had still had an effect. At the very least, they had disrupted the energy flow inside its body while it was consuming massive amounts of Honkai Energy.
"It can't use the Herrscher of Rock's authority. Hmm... Maybe I can use this chance to separate the Herrscher of Rock core from its body. If I'm lucky, perhaps I can even save Old Yang. With only the Herrscher of Ice left, eliminating it shouldn't be a problem."
Just as Enoshia was making her calculations, the Schicksal members reached a decision.
"Siegfried and I will stay. The rest of you, leave as quickly as possible. I don't want him to take the risk, but I know I can't talk him out of it." Cecilia looked at Siegfried with an expression that was somewhat helpless, yet also a little happy.
Siegfried's gaze was resolute. "My wife really understands me. How could I let my wife risk her life on a battlefield filled with danger while I, as a man, hide like a coward? No matter how dangerous it is, I'll advance and retreat alongside her."
Cecilia shrugged. "He's always been like this. The battlefield is constantly changing, so don't worry. Siegfried and I will go together, and we'll definitely both come back safely."
"It's a promise. You both have to return safely. Kiana is still waiting for you." Knowing that they could not stay here any longer, Theresa picked up Judah, which had happened to land beside her after the explosion, activated its skateboard mode, and prepared to take the others away from the battlefield.
At that moment, a figure appeared in front of them.
"The Queen said that not a single person from Schicksal is allowed to leave. Every one of you will leave your lives behind!"
Before you continue