Surprise Attack

Beside the Hyperion's entrance, a man and a woman in uniform disembarked. However, if one were to stop them and take a closer look, they would be surprised to find that the girl had a head full of white hair tied into two thick braids, while the other young man had many white hairs mixed in with his black hair.

The two's hairstyles clearly violated Article 5, Section 6 of Schicksal's wartime military discipline. If you were to question them about it and pull down their masks, the young man with a childlike face would quickly take you down and hide you in a secluded corner.

"Hey, have you seen where Auntie went?" Kiana tugged on Sheng Jiu's back.

"Shorty, carrying a huge cross, with white hair. Please, Miss Kiana, do you really need to see someone with a note that says 'I am Theresa' stuck to their back to recognize her?"

"...You're being mean to me, sob sob..." Kiana pretended to be wronged while fiercely twisting Sheng Jiu's waist.

Sheng Jiu's forehead immediately broke out in a sweat. Facing so many people coming and going, he endured the pain and forced out a smile: "Two o'clock, I saw her."

"Hmph." Kiana slowly released her claws and also spotted Theresa ahead. She grabbed Sheng Jiu and slowly walked forward.

Relying on their uniforms and their silver tongues, the two quickly slipped out of the sight of Changkong City's defenders and continued to stealthily follow Theresa, who was not far ahead.

After many days, the two entered Changkong City again. It was three in the morning. Changkong City had now become a forgotten city; its former prosperity had withered away. Ruined walls, broken windows, dust-filled streets, a scene of utter silence.

Vines climbed the outer walls of buildings, seeming to tell of past glory. The streets and alleys were empty, with only the wind blowing through, making rustling sounds. Abandoned vehicles were covered in rust, scattered by the roadside like discarded behemoths. In the center of the city, the statue in the plaza was incomplete, its former glory long gone.

Kiana urged from behind as she walked, "Hurry up, you lazy bum! We're about to lose sight of Auntie!"

Sheng Jiu leisurely swung something that resembled a walkie-talkie in his hand: "No need to worry. Even if we lose track of the Headmaster, we can rely on ourselves."

"What's that?" Kiana curiously leaned over to observe.

"Look, I just picked up a Honkai Energy detector when I slipped past the outer defense line. If there's a Herrscher in Changkong City, it should be at—" Sheng Jiu pointed to a red dot on the screen, "—here, Senba Academy!"

At this moment, Kiana's pupils visibly contracted: "Senba... Senba Academy?! Is that for real?"

Sheng Jiu was startled by Kiana's reaction: "What's wrong? Is something amiss?"

"During the third Honkai outbreak, Mei and Bronya and I escaped from Senba Academy. That was Mei's and my alma mater!"

"What?!" Sheng Jiu was also confused: "This doesn't make sense! If one Honkai outbreak can only produce one Herrscher, then Mei is still fine at school. How could—"

"Watch out!" Kiana shoved Sheng Jiu down. At that moment, two streaks of sword energy zipped past their heads without warning. Sheng Jiu immediately got up with a carp flip, coldly gazing in the direction of the attack.

From a corner not far away, a woman wielding two greatswords suddenly emerged. She wore a set of white armor, different from Schicksal's standard issue. It only covered parts of her body, and the exposed skin had a strange white hue. The woman stared at the two with a blank expression, her pair of orange, dead fish eyes filled with murderous intent and madness.

"Crap, we hit the jackpot," Sheng Jiu said with a grave expression, looking at the woman who was rubbing her dual blades. He drew Jueying.

"What is this?" Kiana drew the Colt Guardian revolver from her holster, "I've never seen a deathserker like this before."

"Meeting her is our bad luck. This is a Loyal Ninja-Warrior Death, the highest tier of deathserkers. They are formed when Valkyries who died in battle are corrupted by the Honkai," Sheng Jiu stared intently at the deathserker before him, not daring to be careless.

"Don't worry, watch this lady blow its head off!" Kiana aimed at the deathserker and quickly fired two shots.

The bullets shot towards the deathserker like meteors. Just as they were about to hit, the Loyal Ninja-Warrior Death suddenly teleported out of thin air like a phantom, appearing directly behind Kiana. The entire process happened in the blink of an eye; the deathserker's speed was so fast it left afterimages.

"Wh—" Kiana heard the sound of wind breaking behind her. Before she could dodge, just as the blade was about to slice open her back, a katana blocked the two, forcefully parrying the inevitable blow.

"Shut up!" Sheng Jiu kicked the deathserker away, shaking his numb hand from the impact. The deathserker rolled on the ground and quickly got up, preparing for a second charge.

"Hey, white-haired bun, are you okay?"

Kiana looked at the Loyal Ninja-Warrior Death with lingering fear: "...Phew, that was close. I almost got cut! Thanks, lazy bum!" Just now, Kiana had truly felt the pressure of death. If Sheng Jiu hadn't blocked, she probably would have been turned into sashimi.

"That guy seems to be able to teleport. Ranged weapons probably can't do much effective damage to it. Save your bullets. I'll hold it off for a while, and you grab an opportunity to hit it."

The Loyal Ninja-Warrior Death looked at the enemy before it and let out a shriek. It flashed and teleported in front of Sheng Jiu, then lunged forward, aiming straight for him.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Jiu showed no fear. He charged straight towards the blade. Just as the blade was about to cut across his face, Sheng Jiu sharply turned his head, and the blade grazed past his ear, burying itself firmly in the ground like a venomous snake. Seeing this, the deathserker roared furiously and swung its other greatsword, thrusting it down at Sheng Jiu like Mount Tai pressing down. Sheng Jiu, however, remained unusually calm. He swung Jueying, using it like a shield to firmly block the fatal slash.

The two weapons clashed, emitting a grating sound. Sheng Jiu looked at Jueying, which was slightly red in his hand, threw it away, and directly hugged the deathserker, pushing it towards Kiana: "What are you waiting for? Shoot!"

Without his prompting, Kiana, who had been closely watching their fight, immediately aimed at the deathserker's torso and fired an armor-piercing round. This time, the armor-piercing round shot straight into the deathserker's left shoulder, passing through right next to Sheng Jiu's hand.

"What are you doing! You're trying to kill me—Ouch!" The deathserker cried out in pain and began to struggle violently. It took Sheng Jiu down with a slam, then fiercely pulled out the greatsword stuck in the ground and swung it at Sheng Jiu on the ground.

In a moment of desperation, Kiana fired more bullets. This time, the deathserker began to react, constantly teleporting and leaving many afterimages on the battlefield.

Sheng Jiu used this gap to get up, picked up Jueying, and continued to stab at the deathserker.

A sinister grin appeared on the deathserker's expressionless face. It swung its blade and slashed at Jueying.

At that moment, the greatsword actually broke upon contact with Jueying. Jueying unimpeded, severed the deathserker's left arm. The deathserker stared at its severed left hand on the ground, still expressionless.

"Hooray, lazy bum, hurry up and kill her!"

Sheng Jiu grinned, dashed in front of the deathserker, and while it was momentarily stunned, he swiftly brought down his blade, severing the deathserker's head.

Sheng Jiu turned to Kiana: "We did it!"

"Of course! With me helping you, what can't we accomplish!"

"Oh? Is that so? Then I'll give you ten extra conduct points."

A sudden voice came from beside their ears. A chain unexpectedly wrapped around Sheng Jiu's leg, dragging him down and then hanging him upside down.

"Waaahhh! What's going on!" The sudden change startled Sheng Jiu into a scream. Kiana also drew her revolver, scanning their surroundings vigilantly.

A white-haired nun slowly emerged from the shadows, looking at the two before her: "You two, your wings have certainly grown strong! Meeting you here, should I be happy or angry?"