Starting as a Behind-the-Scenes Boss in the Honkai World Chapter 19

"Yes."

Rita nodded gently.

Although Durandal hadn't mentioned any names, they all knew who was being referred to here.

"According to the logistics department's statistics, that... Mr. Welt, eliminated a total of 887 Honkai Beasts in the attack he launched before leaving, and it all happened in under ten seconds," Rita said, her voice trembling slightly, unable to hide it.

Both the power capable of eliminating nearly a thousand Honkai Beasts and the precision comparable to a supercomputer meant one thing: if Shi Hen wished, he could eliminate them, the Valkyries, in the same manner.

"He's truly terrifying, that guy."

Recalling various things related to Shi Hen, Durandal couldn't help but sigh.

The young woman had to admit that Shi Hen was absolutely the most terrifying opponent she had ever encountered.

While she could also unleash power sufficient to eliminate a thousand Honkai Beasts, she couldn't control that power to achieve such a feat. Regardless of the magnitude of the power, Shi Hen's method of controlling Honkai Energy was truly incredibly ingenious.

"Lady Durandal, do you think he's with Anti-Entropy?" Rita asked curiously.

In Schicksal today, Shi Hen was an absolute hot topic. His unfathomable mystery, unparalleled power, and the potential involvement of Schicksal's mortal enemy—Anti-Entropy—all made anything related to Shi Hen an instant trending topic. And undoubtedly, within all of Schicksal, Durandal was the person who had interacted with Shi Hen the most.

Of course, everyone knew very well that Shi Hen was definitely not the Herrscher of Reason who inherited the name Welt. The leader of Anti-Entropy wouldn't be so naive. Even now, they still couldn't understand the meaning behind his actions regarding Raymond.

"Impossible." Facing Rita's question, Durandal calmly shook her head. "Although he has always claimed to be Welt, he shows no emotion towards that name, as if it were just a mask." Even within Schicksal, people had different feelings towards Archbishop Otto's name—fear, respect, admiration... but no matter what, a member of Schicksal would never be indifferent to Otto's name. Yet, in Shi Hen's mouth, the name Welt was just a mask, devoid of any superfluous emotion. The young woman had no doubt that if Shi Hen's enemy were Anti-Entropy, he would be able to utter Otto's name without hesitation.

"That's quite surprising." Rita chuckled, covering her mouth. When they heard Shi Hen so persistently use the name Welt, even though they wouldn't be foolish enough to believe he was actually Welt, they at least believed he had some connection with Anti-Entropy. Otherwise, why would he go out of his way to advertise for Anti-Entropy?

"Right, that person who was acting with him, do we know who it is?" Durandal asked.

Rita nodded, "A mercenary, Raven, the number one on Charon's List."

Durandal thought for a moment and asked, "Was she hired by him?"

Upon hearing this question, Rita pondered carefully before replying, "The two of them don't seem like a mercenary and employer." Raven was too concerned about Shi Hen, exceeding the level of care a mercenary would typically show for their employer. Furthermore, her strength was far greater than what was stated in the intelligence reports. If it hadn't been her who stepped in, but another Valkyrie, it might have already resulted in significant casualties. Normally, the assassins on Charon's List were of average strength, at most on par with an ordinary B-rank Valkyrie. What truly needed to be taken seriously was the assassins' cautious attitude and cunning methods. Someone who possessed strength at the level of an A-rank Valkyrie and could even suppress her... where couldn't such a person make a living? If they were truly short on money, robbing a bank vault would be a matter of minutes; why would they stoop to being a killer?

"It seems there are other hidden circumstances behind this matter." Stretching languidly, Durandal said with a sigh. Her loose hospital gown rode up, revealing a section of her slender waist wrapped in bandages. For some reason, the young woman suddenly recalled Shi Hen saying that causing the Honkai was just an accident. So, was his final action meant to compensate for his mistake? Durandal pondered this in her heart but didn't voice it. It was merely an unproven intuition.

"Now it should be the staff officers' turn to have a headache." Rita said with a smile, her gaze also falling on the bandages wrapped around the blonde girl's clothes. "However, it's been a long time since I've seen Lady Durandal injured." Ever since that operation in the Quantum Sea, there were very few beings in this world that could injure Durandal. High-tier Honkai Beasts might be able to do it, but those Emperor-class monsters were also uncommon; the last time one appeared was several years ago.

"After all, that guy is still very strong." Durandal replied with a smile, a hint of excitement in her expression. "If I get the chance, I really want to fight him again." Fighting an opponent of this caliber was also a very beneficial experience for her, allowing her to perceive her own shortcomings.

If she looked again, she might understand how Shi Hen could quickly recover from his injuries and condition, and know how to defeat him.

She, Durandal, was not one to accept defeat!

"As long as the organization he belongs to continues to operate, we'll run into them eventually."

Rita smiled slightly and helped Durandal pull the blanket closer to her, as it was about to fall off the bed.

An organization capable of nurturing such a powerful individual would never remain silent forever.

Seeing Rita's practiced movements, Durandal smiled sheepishly but didn't bother to thank her.

She was already accustomed to this way of interacting with Rita.

Creak—

Amidst the scent of citrus, the hospital room door opened again. A woman with long white hair and golden-yellow glass goggles covering her eyes walked in.

"Lady Durandal, Miss Rita, greetings to you both."

The woman greeted the two Valkyries.

"Lady Amber."

"Hello, Amber."

Rita and Durandal returned their smiles.

"What is this box?"

Durandal noticed that Amber wasn't empty-handed but was carrying a silver equipment case that was as long as a person.

"The Bishop heard about what happened in Raymond and sent me to greet you both. And..." As she spoke, Amber slowly opened the equipment case horizontally in front of her, "The Bishop said this item is for Lady Durandal to use."

The silver equipment case opened, revealing a magnificent lance with exquisite patterns, its entire body a shining silver-white, but its grip was a pitch-black color, like a hellish abyss.

"Black Abyss White Flower?"

Rita couldn't help but exclaim softly.

In terms of equipment classification, the Black Abyss White Flower belonged to the Divine Key series of Relics.

However, within Schicksal, it was more famous for another reason.

Throughout history, the Black Abyss White Flower had always been used by Schicksal's strongest Valkyries, thus becoming a symbol of Schicksal's strength.

In other words, it was the exclusive armament of an S-rank Valkyrie!

"Congratulations, Lady Durandal. From today onwards, you are Schicksal's first S-rank Valkyrie of this generation."

Amber said respectfully, stepping forward with the lance.

"Black Abyss White Flower..." Durandal murmured softly, her fingers gently caressing the lance. "From now on, I'll be counting on you."

As her voice fell, the girl suddenly gripped the lance with force.

Swish!

As if responding to its new master's expectations, the patterns on the Black Abyss White Flower's shaft lit up one by one. A holy, silver-white light illuminated the entire hospital room, instantly healing the lingering injuries on the girl.

From this moment on, Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie was born.

Chapter Twenty: Gotta Pay More

Raymond City, Luxury Hotel.

"Was it fun?"

"It was fun."

Upon hearing this answer, Raven's eyebrows shot up. "Hmm?"

"No, it wasn't fun!"

Shi Hen hurriedly put away his smile and put on a serious face, shaking his head.

Raven: "..."

When she first received this mission, she thought it would be quite simple.

Although finding clues and solving puzzles was very complicated, she was an old hand in the organization, and her professional skills were top-notch. It would just take a little more effort.

The final castle exploration was even easier; she just had to pack everything Gray Serpent gave her and wait for the results.

Although there were unexpected developments as usual, it would be fine in about a month at most. Gray Serpent couldn't say anything either, as these were unavoidable circumstances.

But she never expected that everything would gradually spiral out of control once Shi Hen started interfering with this incident.

First, the boy showed off his aerial walking, displaying his world-class control over Honkai Energy. Then... a large number of Honkai Beasts, appearing from who knows where, started rampaging, forcing her to huddle in a corner, too scared to move.

When the boy finally emerged from the unknown space, and she could pack up and leave, this guy stubbornly insisted on fighting an entire squad of fully armed Valkyries.

Fine, let them fight. After all, their battleship was practically rolling over their faces; they wouldn't be able to escape without a fight.

And then, even more terrifying things happened.

Recalling that battle that shattered her worldview, Raven still couldn't help but feel lingering fear.

She never imagined that a simple treasure hunt mission would lure out Schicksal's ace!

What was even more unimaginable was that the usually well-behaved young man beside him had actually fought an equally matched battle against a monster of that caliber!

After the fight, Shi Hen even had enough energy to unleash a powerful ultimate, annihilating all the remaining Honkai Beasts in one go.

That ultimate silver moon, that rain of arrow-like light filled with the aura of destruction, would surely leave a deep impression on anyone who witnessed it.

This time, Shi Hen had truly become famous, the kind of fame that even the Schicksal Prelate couldn't suppress.

It was estimated that by the time they left Sicily, Shi Hen's wanted posters would be plastered all over the world, with a bounty no less than five hundred million.

After all, the bounty for a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie was usually around two to three hundred million, and Schicksal was wealthier than all its enemies combined.

Seeing that Raven had fallen silent, Shi Hen cautiously stole a glance at the mercenary, his heart couldn't help but... still feel a little excited.

Running away immediately after showing off so much, and in front of Durandal no less, the feeling was incredibly thrilling.

If he had another chance, he really wanted to do it again.

He wasn't skilled enough the first time he caused trouble, missing out on many opportunities.

For example, when he left, he could have drawn a little turtle on Durandal's face. Since the other party was powerless to resist at that moment, it would have been best to use that super ink that couldn't be washed off for a week.

Although he was somewhat unwilling to use his revival armor, compared to exposing himself as a Herrscher, things like coming back from the dead and quickly recovering from injuries seemed insignificant.

After all, the latter could still be explained by scientific principles, and there were quite a few people who had mastered the special skill of "getting up after lying down." Everyone had seen so many deaths and resurrections that they could get used to it.

But the former... once someone knew he possessed a Herrscher core outside of the established sequences, Shi Hen would truly have to prepare to be enemies with the world.

The matter of Herrschers had always been sensitive, and his existence as an anomaly would undoubtedly stir up many people's nerves.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Shi Hen chose to transform his Herrscher core into countless fragments and integrate them into every cell of his body. This way, he could hide his Herrscher identity, just like the first Herrscher of Reason did back then.

Of course, in this state, he was also unable to use the power of the Herrscher core, essentially sealing it himself.

It was precisely because of this that he, possessing Natural Stigmata and a Herrscher core, couldn't defeat Durandal when she unleashed her power.

That state of channeling world-level power was truly terrifying, not inferior in the slightest to a Herrscher core.