Chapter 320
Even if Aurora helps to teleport a few more people to this world, the powerful Valkyrie won't be of much use in addressing the crisis facing this world.
Freya chose to wait patiently; at least she knew that Rita, Bianca, and Sophia were trying their best to reunite with her.
She has plenty of patience.
Perhaps it was because she had a good night's sleep; without the restlessness in her heart, she was even able to calmly choose souvenirs.
Freya, no longer looking towards the Capitol Building, entered the shop recommended by Shigure Kira.
Before long, I fell into what is known as decision-making paralysis.
Looking at the exquisite jewelry, silver rings, strange cups and other souvenirs displayed on the counter, Freya wanted them all.
"Rita seems to want a thimble. Let me see if I have any suitable ones..."
Freya, attracted by the beautiful and inexpensive decorations, carefully selects a birthday gift for someone.
Of course, this was a rare opportunity, a gift from the Sea of Quantum, Freya would not let it slip by.
"Let's prepare some for the others too. Bianca and Sophia are only interested in fighting. Hmm, they'll probably like these knife-like ornaments..."
Freya carefully reviewed the souvenirs on the counter, while the shop assistant enthusiastically recommended items to her.
I heard the shop assistant point to an exquisite necklace and exaggerate its value, claiming it was a one-of-a-kind necklace that, if given to someone you love, would bring a response from that person.
It's being blown out of proportion...
In reality, even if she didn't give her the necklace, the person she liked would probably reciprocate.
Freya knew she had neglected her husband of many years.
But there was nothing she could do about it. She wanted to get along well with her lovely adjutant, but she had too many things to bear.
Even now, I only get a moment of leisure amidst my busy schedule.
Although she had no intention of becoming a savior of the world, nor did she want to promote any kind of justice.
She is the Schicksal Saintess, merely the protector of the Valkyrie.
The most important thing is to protect your family.
Freya sighed softly. She actually wanted to spend more time with Rita, but right now, she had too many problems to deal with.
If she were truly just an ordinary Valkyrie, she would have plenty of time to cultivate her love and fight for her family.
But she wasn't.
She is the Schicksal Saintess, and also the de facto leader of the Alliance.
Although her family, Kiana, Aurora, Rita, Bianca, and others are her top priorities for protection, Freya has always helped others to the best of her ability.
It's no wonder that people close to her describe her as having a ruthless exterior but a kind heart.
No matter how cruel she was, even though she was regarded as a dragon by others, Freya always sought the benefits for the Valkyrie and provided security for her subordinates.
Freya muttered to herself as she picked out souvenirs.
Perhaps the shop assistant realized Freya was a wealthy person, so they started to exaggerate the value of the next particularly expensive souvenir.
Oh, Freya bought the necklace the shop assistant had mentioned earlier.
Whether or not she received blessings was unimportant to her; the key was that the necklace was indeed beautiful, so Freya bought it without even haggling.
"We need to carefully choose gifts for Kiana and Aurora, and also for Cecilia's mother. Mom has a lance now, a lance as a gift... uh, do you have any nice weapon display shelves here?"
"???"
The shop assistant was a little confused when Freya asked her question.
"Oh, what about the best weapon maintenance fluid?"
"???"
"No? That's a pity. It seems that gems can't be set into Mom's clothes... Speaking of which, shouldn't weapons usually have a slot for setting gems?"
Freya felt a pang of regret as she noticed a pornographic book.
Actually, calling it a "little yellow book" is just a relatively rare swimsuit magazine featuring beautiful women from the Inca Republic, and the level of exposure is still considered normal.
Freya hesitated for a moment.
"Perhaps I'll buy a copy and give it to Mr. Siegfried."
"..."
The saleswoman clearly wanted to recommend other souvenirs to Freya, and also wanted to know where that swimsuit magazine came from.
Their family runs a legitimate souvenir shop; they wouldn't sell such shady things.
This is slander!!
Just before Freya got close, the shop assistant saw the swimsuit magazine featuring beautiful women being taken away by her own shop manager and father.
Okay, the real owner of this shady stuff has appeared.
Freya and the shop assistant finally found out where the swimsuit magazine for beautiful women came from.
Freya paused for a moment, then ran up and asked.
"Shopkeeper, where did you buy this swimsuit magazine? I'd like to buy a copy as a gift for my father."
The shop assistants and manager were stunned when they heard what this filial daughter had to say.
Aren't you afraid that once you take this swimsuit magazine home, it'll turn into a mother-daughter conflict?!
363. Yes, it was found again.
Freya rarely called Siegfried "father" because she was shy about it.
She did indeed regard Siegfried as her father in her heart, but the thought that she still held Kiana's name made her feel even more indebted to Kiana, which is why she rarely called Siegfried her father.
In the souvenir shop, Freya carefully considered gifts for her family and friends.
Of course, while choosing a gift, she also kept in mind the world's crisis.
Since she had agreed to help Shigure Kira, Freya also learned a lot from Shigure Kira.
After all, she is Valkyrie; even after retiring, she is still better at gathering intelligence than ordinary people.
Europe in this world is under 'blockade'. Although Freya, who is in the Inca Republic, cannot confirm it with the naked eye, she extracts the image from Shigure Kira's mind through the power of the Herrscher of Consciousness.
A strange energy barrier surrounds the entire Europe continent; its name is the Asgard Wall.
The people who fled to North Africa called that energy wall. It is said that the energy wall first appeared more than a hundred years ago, and initially it only surrounded a lost city.
However, since then, it has been expanding outwards every moment, slowly but constantly creating new barriers, bypassing mountains, crossing rivers, and creating new no-man's-lands.
Perhaps in a few years, the Mediterranean will sever ties with the Inca Republic.
Judging from Shigure Kira's memories, this energy barrier was clearly formed by Honkai Energy, and anyone who came into contact with it would die instantly.
Many refugees who were attached to their homeland have proven this point with their own annihilation.
Judging from the behavior, it seems to be not just a reaction of high concentration of Honkai Energy, but also the combined effect of other energy forms.
On the other side, Shakespeare, who was introducing the Asgard Wall to Rita, Bianca, and Sophia, suddenly drew a sword in a cheerful tone.
"Ah, brave weapon, how unfortunate you are!"
"You may be useless now, but people still love you as much as ever."
"The ancient warriors used you to win so many battles; let's hope we newcomers are not cowards who desert in the face of battle!"
"Ah, in the sunlight, how dazzling you are, beautiful and sacred!"
"Your seven-colored hilt is inlaid with sacred treasures that everyone yearns for—"
"Red represents courage, orange confidence, gold compassion, green kindness, cyan vitality, blue calmness, and purple nobility!"
"You are the sharpest weapon in the world, capable of sending all filth into the abyss of annihilation."
"—Just like your name, 'Durandal,' indestructible and unmatched."
Shakespeare, caught up in his theatrical urges, delivered a bizarre performance in a very exaggerated voice.
Rita and the others looked at the sword Shakespeare had taken out with increasing confusion, but more than that, they didn't quite understand why Shakespeare was putting on such a ridiculous performance.
"Anyway, I've worn this sword out, so I'll just have to give it to you."
Shakespeare said.
"Wait, wait, wait! Why are you giving me this broken thing?!"
Although she knew the reason why Shakespeare suddenly acted silly, Bianca refused to accept a piece of junk. Even if the world replenished Honkai Energy at a slower pace—no, a hundred times slower—her own Golden Osmanthus Sword was still an excellent weapon.
The swordsmith who forged the Golden Osmanthus Sword is the director of the Research Institute 1504.
The weapons she crafts are undoubtedly the finest of the finest.
"Although the name Durandal sounds somewhat familiar... the way you're muttering to yourself is really suspicious, okay?! And why me? Can't it be Sophia?"
Sophia, standing to the side, quickly returned Bianca's expression with a look full of confusion.
He himself used a large knife, while Bianca used a sword.
"Well... I just forced myself to use it once..." Shakespeare pouted, his face full of embarrassment.
"It seems that some kind of contract was violated, and the weapon's special power has completely dissipated!"
After Shakespeare finished speaking, he forced a kind smile.
Rita and the others finally understood the purpose of Shakespeare's performance—he hoped they would regain the power that the sword had lost.
This angered Bianca, who put her hands on her hips, wanting to scoff at Shakespeare's ideas.
After all, they wanted to reach the Inca Republic first and reunite with their own Saintess, but Shakespeare, on his own initiative, took them to Gibraltar after settling the refugees, so that they could see the Asgard Wall that surrounds the Europe continent.
With Shakespeare's explanation, Rita and the others understood that for the Durandal to unleash its true power, it needed to verify whether the owner's traits matched their expectations.
Courageous, confident, compassionate, kind, energetic, calm, and noble.
If it fails to gain approval in any one of these seven aspects, the power of the entire sword will scatter and escape, transforming into seven gems at the ends of the earth.
Bianca was speechless at such a legendary claim.
Judging from Shakespeare's tense and embarrassed expression, well, she clearly did not receive the so-called recognition. If what Shakespeare said is true, then Durandal's power has already been transformed into seven gems scattered all over the world.
Shakespeare later proved the truth of his words.
The Caledonius successfully recovered the 'Courage Gem' at the westernmost point of the African continent—the mouth of the Salum River—and thus the red decorative ring reappeared on the sword hilt.
The Courage Gem allows one to discover the locations of the other six gems.
Bianca took Durandal, and at that moment, a strange intuition began to stir in her mind.
Rita and Sophia were somewhat worried about Bianca's condition, but Bianca closed her eyes, trying to capture more images by blocking out her senses.
Bianca closed her eyes and soon perceived a total of six visions—
Flowers blooming in the heavy snow.
A dazzling idol on stage.
A strange city surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains.
A space center with a towering launch pad on the edge of the desert.
A bottomless, jewel-like blue cave in the rainforest.
The desolate island has a dilapidated stone statue standing abruptly on the shore.
Moreover, regardless of these sights, Bianca began to believe, without any reason, that the final, completed sword would be the sharpest thing in the world—no matter the object, it would be easily dissected like slicing a cake.
For a moment, Bianca truly understood the mindset of a confident and invincible warrior on the battlefield.
That is not the kind of 'power' that Bianca can pursue right now.
She was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, her body trembled slightly, and her consciousness quickly returned to her body.
Bianca also confided her feelings to Shakespeare and told Rita and the others that the Durandal did indeed possess some indescribable power.
Based on the power he felt, Bianca believed that Durandal might be a divine weapon at the level of a 'Divine Key'.
That being said, the Alliance currently has very few Divine Key, and it's difficult to determine whether they even possess this level.