"I was wondering why it stopped running. So it found a suitable place after all." Seeing the Herrscher of Ice hide at the bottom of Lake Baikal after its failed attack, Tesla slammed a fist onto the table.
Other than Welt, who could move freely through the air, everyone else could only stay obediently on the vines. To protect the vines from being destroyed, Cecilia could only focus on controlling the Black Abyss White Flower with all her might, temporarily becoming unable to fight.
At that moment, Lake Baikal, which had originally been under clear skies, suddenly underwent a drastic change. Within minutes, the area around the vines was once again shrouded in icy mist. Their vision and attack accuracy were severely affected. Even if it suddenly launched an attack now, Siegfried and the others might not be able to guarantee a hit.
Faced with the Herrscher of Ice hiding at the bottom of the lake and refusing to come out, Welt was stumped for a moment. To ensure that he could drag it out, he would theoretically have to drain all the water from Lake Baikal. Putting aside the permanent and irreversible damage that would cause to the nearby ecosystem, after having used the Simulated Black Hole not long ago, would he still have the strength to kill it after completing such a massive undertaking?
Fortunately, the Herrscher of Ice had another opponent from the very beginning.
"Listen up. Get up there."
"Get up!"
"Get up!"
The Herrscher of Ice leaped out of the ice like a fish, then quickly returned to the lake.
"Damn it. They're both Herrschers, but it's not the Herrscher of Death, that one who didn't want to live in the first place. This is really... troublesome."
Inside the Herrscher of Ice, Enoshia, whose consciousness had already partially infiltrated it, kept trying to imprint the thought of coming out onto it. As a result, she met with fierce resistance from its own will.
"Phew. I can't rush this. From that just now, Welt should have guessed it was me. I'll let them get ready first. If I want to break through, I still have to cooperate with the people outside." Enoshia temporarily relaxed her control over it and once again sank deep into its thoughts.
Sure enough, Welt shared his speculation with the others.
"Miss Herrscher of Corruption's assistance has given us a precious opportunity. We have to hurry and discuss a viable plan so that her efforts won't be wasted."
Under normal circumstances, Cecilia would naturally be the leader among these members of Schicksal. However, at this moment, the three A-rank Valkyries, Cheng Lixue, Shigure Kira, and Nicholas, firmly proposed their own plan.
"No! That's far too dangerous. Salome and Patrick have already met with misfortune. As the captain, I can't keep watching my own team members go to their deaths again and again!"
The three Valkyries exchanged glances. Since the Snow Wolf Squad had been established in 1996, this was the first time they had seen her so agitated. Without a doubt, she had always cared deeply about the deaths of the two team members.
"Captain, after this battle, even the slowest among us understands how insignificant an A-rank Valkyrie is before a Herrscher. The only ones capable of dealing a fatal blow to a Herrscher are you and Siegfried with the Divine Fire Judgment. Yet Lord Bishop still had us follow you. His intention is something you understand better than we do. Using our lives to create an opportunity to kill the Herrscher is the most valuable thing we can do."
"Lixue... I..." Cheng Lixue's forceful words cut off the words Cecilia was about to say.
"That's right, Lady Cecilia. Even if our opponent is a Herrscher, let us play some part in this, too." As Shigure Kira spoke, she had already raised her sniper rifle.
The Herrscher of Ice was currently in a weakened state. No one knew whether its terrifying recovery ability would return as time passed. Judging from the battle just now, at the very least, after becoming the Herrscher of Ice, it possessed extremely high combat intelligence. If it escaped from here, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In the end, her duty as a Valkyrie made her silently approve their plan.
For any living creature capable of emotion, different experiences would naturally give rise to different feelings.
"Hmm... Although my memories are severely lacking, just like humans, the most deeply etched events in my memories are likewise those that can push my emotions to an extreme. Anger, joy, sadness, excitement... That makes things easier."
Unlike devices, when corrupting living creatures with emotions, the firmer an individual's will and the greater its level, the more extensive the changes made to it would be, and the greater the resistance she would face. Therefore, when she wanted to alter a Herrscher of the same level as herself, Enoshia would often take the long way around.
She had not altered its cognition or memories. Instead, she stimulated its brain, making it constantly recall the events etched most deeply in its heart. She made its emotions repeatedly swing between extremes, folding its temperament over and over like a wire. Once its will collapsed, she could take advantage of the opening and enter.
"Sigh. Even as the Herrscher of Corruption, altering the information of another Herrscher is still too difficult. Hmm... It's been this long. They should have reached a decision up there by now, right?"
"Let me out!"
Under Enoshia's influence, the Herrscher of Ice once again leaped from the lake like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate. When it tried to jump back to the surface, it discovered that its body was floating uncontrollably. This was undoubtedly the result of Welt altering gravity.
Welt aimed at the Herrscher of Ice and cast Gravity Restraint, successfully trapping it in midair before it could land.
But... that was all it did—it merely trapped it. The Herrscher of Ice's use of its authority was hardly affected. Welt guessed that this might have something to do with the fact that it had once swallowed him. It seemed to possess a certain resistance to his abilities. He understood that if they wanted to deal it a fatal blow in the shortest time possible, they would have to rely on those two. Countless Ice Spears shot toward Welt, but before they could get close, they were shattered by the cannons he constructed.
The most troublesome were the five ice hairpins and the two lanterns. After losing the Herrscher of Rock core, the lanterns had become much smaller and more delicate, but they could still send a Valkyrie flying when they struck her like spinning tops.
Cheng Lixue watched as the two lanterns attacked her from the left and right. Instead, she returned Ruoshui to its sheath and took a deep breath.
"He may be strong, but let him be strong; the breeze brushes the hills. He may be fierce, but let him be fierce; the Bright Moon shines upon the great river." Facing the lanterns that had once killed an A-rank Valkyrie and were growing larger before her eyes, Cheng Lixue pushed her state of mind into the Still Water Extreme Realm.
Hua Jin: Pure Lotus, Hua Jin: Weeping Willow, Hua Jin: Green Pine, Hua Jin: Bending Bamboo
In a state of extreme calm, Cheng Lixue faced the aggressively incoming lanterns. She did not choose to meet force with force using inch power. Instead, she chose Hua Jin, using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, and successfully pushed the two lanterns away from her.
Welt increased gravity slightly. Nicholas, floating in midair, seized the opportunity and leaped up, landing precisely on one of the lanterns Cheng Lixue had pushed away. She bounded toward the Herrscher of Ice.
Facing the five ice hairpins flying toward her, Nicholas did not even look at them and simply continued forward.
Shigure Kira followed her steps and leaped from the vines, her right hand resting on the trigger. With the thick fog blocking the view, she pulled the trigger.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Three bullets flew out, successfully deflecting the ice hairpins from their original trajectories. The five ice hairpins collided in front of Nicholas, once again becoming a foothold for her leap. She made a deep leap into the fog, while Shigure Kira and Cheng Lixue, like her, landed safely on the ice.
"Nicholas, the rest is up to you."
Before you continue