Hiding Behind Big Sis

Shi Hen hurriedly pressed a hand to his mask, taking quite some effort to erase those unbearable memories from his mind.

Too dangerous. He had nearly thrown up inside the mask.

Thinking of that utterly mortifying scene, Shi Hen still felt a lingering chill.

This A-rank Valkyrie from the Far East Branch had been terrifyingly formidable. She had nearly killed off his identity as Welt.

Not even Durandal had managed that.

The waters of this world really did run deep.

"Hand of Annihilation?"

Having spotted the Valkyrie who had just danced... like a god, Jackal, who had just stepped off the transport ship, showed a rather surprised expression.

"Is she that impressive?"

Shi Hen jumped down from Ganesha and asked curiously, immediately interested.

This was a rare character with a title.

And anyone Jackal remembered ought to have some real skills.

"Not bad. She's one of the Far East Branch's aces. Supposedly, she once took down an Honkai Emperor with a single shot." Jackal nodded, then looked at Shi Hen. "Of course, she can't compare to you."

The reason she remembered Leona was mainly because her activities were mostly centered around the Far East, and Leona happened to be one of the few aces of the Far East Branch of Schicksal.

"I see."

Shi Hen recalled the shot he had taken when he first arrived and understood.

Judging by that shot alone, she was indeed decent. It had even made his fingers hurt a little.

To put it in the words of a certain vampire, she had earned the right to give him a manicure.

Listening to Shi Hen and the others discuss her so casually, a flash of resentment crossed Leona's face.

But after glancing at the white-robed youth, the Valkyrie chose to endure it.

By now, they were utterly exhausted, while the other side was a fresh force. On top of that, there was Shi Hen, the outrageously powerful fake Welt.

If a conflict broke out, they would have no chance of winning.

"Hey! A few of you, come here." Ignoring the Valkyries' thoughts, Jackal called out to the mechanized soldiers who had disembarked from the transport ship with them, pointing at Leona. "Take this woman too."

She was quite interested in Schicksal's Artificial Stigmata as well.

Though if she had to go out of her way to capture Valkyries herself, she would probably be too lazy to bother.

But since she had run into them, grabbing a few along the way was fine.

And Leona was, after all, an ace of the Far East Branch. The Artificial Stigmata on her body should be more valuable as a reference.

At Jackal's command, two of the mechanized soldiers heading toward Ganesha immediately broke away from the group.

"How dare you!"

"Fight them!"

At once, the remaining Valkyries became agitated.

Intimidated by Shi Hen's pressure, they had not dared stop Leona from dancing.

But once that humiliation escalated into a threat to life and death, they could no longer stand by, even though the Valkyries knew perfectly well what fate awaited them.

Yet some things were destined to transcend life and death.

Watching their companion get taken away before their eyes would hurt worse than being killed outright.

Besides, if they could drag things out for a few more minutes, rescue might still arrive.

As a clash was about to erupt, Leona was frantic. Her lips parted as she prepared to beg Shi Hen to spare the other Valkyries.

Whoosh!

A crimson Greatsword suddenly flew up and landed in front of the two mechanized soldiers.

In an instant, the mechanized soldiers stopped.

Even though their exoskeleton armor let them scale mountains with ease, facing a Greatsword barely over a meter long, with half its blade buried in the ground, they felt unable to take even a single step forward.

"What do you mean by this?"

Jackal looked at the youth.

"Just now, she danced for me."

Shi Hen spoke calmly.

Stealing a world boss was one thing, but packing up the person and taking her away too was a bit excessive.

"So what?"

Jackal retorted.

She was an executive of the organization, and her research into Stigmata concerned World Serpent's grand plans.

"Just now, she danced for me."

Shi Hen repeated, his tone just as calm as before.

After staring deeply at the youth, Jackal finally changed her tune. "Can we draw blood?"

She understood that as long as Shi Hen was standing here, only he could call the shots.

This youth, who was not even an organization executive yet, was more domineering than she was when it came to doing things.

"Just don't kill her."

With a wave of his hand, Shi Hen took a step back as well.

"Give that woman a syringe and let her do it herself."

Jackal instructed the mechanized soldiers.

What if the youth thought they were being too rough and started chopping people up again?

"Oh, right. Draw a tube from them too."

As though she had suddenly remembered, Jackal pointed at the other Valkyries.

Since they were already here, they might as well bring something back.

The Valkyries all wore strange expressions.

Had they been caught up in this for no reason?

Still, perhaps this was already the best possible outcome.

Looking at the white-robed figure who had been mercilessly humiliating their companion only moments ago, the Valkyries' gazes softened considerably.

"Mr. Welt, thank you..."

Knowing who had saved her, Leona spoke solemnly to Shi Hen.

"Don't just say it. Go back and practice dancing. What the hell was that thing you did just now?!"

Shi Hen said mercilessly.

He had never seen anyone dance so badly. Even the aunties in Shenzhou's public squares did far better.

"&%#..."

Valkyrie Leona's expression immediately turned resentful.

She had never learned to dance. Was it her fault she was bad at it?

And who the hell had insisted on seeing it in the first place?!

"By the way, is this thing really still alive?"

Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Raven kicked Ganesha to change the subject.

"Probably. Emperor-class Honkai Beasts aren't that fragile."

Shi Hen answered casually.

Normally, as long as the core inside an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was not destroyed, no matter how badly it was injured, it could recover. The only difference was how much time it needed.

"You hit it too hard. Didn't I tell you to capture it alive?"

Jackal seized the chance to reprimand him, trying to regain a little face.

Raven glanced at Ganesha and had no way to argue.

Cutting off all four of its limbs would have been one thing, but Shi Hen had shattered Ganesha's shell too. She even suspected that he had wanted to help the Honkai Beast remove its shell.

"Hey, you weren't there. Ganesha put up quite a fierce resistance."

Shi Hen defended himself while glancing at the Valkyries nearby.

"That's right."

"Exactly."

"Even Lord Welt was nearly injured."

"The houses around here were all destroyed because of Lord Welt's battle with Ganesha."

Receiving Shi Hen's signal, the Valkyries began speaking against their consciences.

They had no choice. In their eyes, it had clearly been a textbook slaughter, but perhaps... the battle really had been an evenly matched, grueling fight, just as Shi Hen claimed.

After all, Ganesha was already in such a miserable state. They did not want to become the next one.

Looking at the shouting Valkyries, then at the surrounding buildings that had been reduced entirely to ruins, Jackal thought for a moment before nodding, accepting the explanation.

She felt that if she refused to accept it, Shi Hen might just send her to meet Ganesha.

Though this guy usually looked gentle and harmless, he never knew the meaning of restraint when he actually got to work.

"Enough. Hurry up and pack Ganesha up and get moving. I have a bad feeling about this."

Shi Hen spoke to the mechanized soldiers who were packing Ganesha into a container.

Even though everything had gone smoothly so far, that very smoothness was abnormal.

As the protagonist, how could the will that existed beyond dimensions allow him to have everything go his way?

Besides, Jackal was commanding this operation, even if she had only issued a few orders in total.

"What are you afraid of?!" Jackal scoffed at Shi Hen's caution. "Ganesha has already been defeated, and we have so many Valkyries from the Far East Branch in our hands. What, is Schicksal going to throw a few nuclear bombs at us?"

To be honest, she was starting to enjoy teaming up with Shi Hen.

As long as she pointed out the target, he would handle everything. Then she could act all smug while she was at it. It was simply too satisfying.

Shi Hen: "..."

I'm begging you, stop talking.

As though confirming Shi Hen's fears, the liaison officer's anxious voice suddenly rang out over the communications channel:

"Lord Jackal, Lord Raven, satellite detection has confirmed that the military base of Schicksal's India Branch has just launched a tactical nuclear missile. It is expected to reach our position in three minutes!"

"Jackal, you jinx!"

Raven immediately cursed loudly.

Hiding Behind Big Sister

Who am I? Where am I?

Jackal's mind fell into deep chaos. It took her a long while to recover and sort out exactly what had happened.

"How is this my fault? This brat caused it. Those missiles are clearly coming for him!"

Pointing at Shi Hen, Jackal refused to take the blame.

She had strictly followed the organization's rules, hiding herself as thoroughly as possible and using alternate identities whenever she operated outside. In theory, she should not have caught Schicksal's attention.

Clearly, there was only one target who could make Schicksal react so quickly, even going so far as to destroy this entire city just to erase him—Shi Hen.

"What happened?"

Seeing Raven and Jackal suddenly begin arguing, Leona could not help asking quietly.