Let Me Level Up First

The transport ship's liaison officer was using World Serpent's internal channel, so she and the other Valkyries could not hear it.

"Simply put, your organization's boss threw a nuclear bomb this way. In three minutes, we'll all be going to heaven together."

Shi Hen kindly explained.

Leona: "..."

Actually, he did not have to say something like that.

On the other side, the other Valkyries immediately panicked as well:

"How is that possible?"

"How could the higher-ups make such a decision?"

"There are still so many Valkyries in this area who haven't evacuated! There are regular troops behind us too, and civilians who haven't been evacuated!"

"Did those people get kicked in the head by Honkai Beasts!?"

Hearing the Valkyries' discussion, Shi Hen gave a contemptuous smile. "Don't you understand yet? In some people's eyes, my life is worth more than all of yours combined.

"Even if all of you go to heaven and this city is completely finished, that madman still cannot wait to kill me."

The Valkyries were instantly dumbfounded.

They had never imagined that Schicksal, which they had always regarded as their faith, could do something so utterly deranged.

"Um... you're called Hand of Annihilation, right?" Shi Hen said, pointing at Leona. "Contact your superiors now. Maybe you'll find out which madman set off this firework."

If he had guessed correctly, that blond, granddaughter-obsessed old man was probably waiting for him in the communications channel.

"??? My name is Leona, captain of the Far East Branch's Third Squad, A-rank Valkyrie Leona."

Correcting Shi Hen, Leona nevertheless opened the communications channel with lingering doubt and switched it to speaker mode.

"To arrive at this time, you presumably aren't an A-rank Valkyrie from the Far East Branch. You must be Anti-Entropy's next leader, Mr. Welt Yang, correct?"

A voice everyone present knew well immediately rang out from the channel.

Yep, that was the blond, granddaughter-obsessed old man.

"To have Schicksal's illustrious Bishop Sir think so highly of me truly leaves me overwhelmed with gratitude."

Shi Hen raised his head toward the sky and spoke as though sighing.

Of course, the sky was perfectly normal right now. Even the clouds looked spotless and white, with no sign whatsoever of an impending disaster.

After all, the nuclear bomb was probably more than eight hundred kilometers away at the moment. Naturally, they could see nothing with the naked eye.

"Mr. Welt, you jest." The person on the other end seemed to chuckle. "When the first Welt stood against me, I gave him a Honkai Energy fission bomb.

"When the second Welt appeared, I gave him the same gift.

"And now it is your turn, the third Welt."

"Oh? Is Mr. Otto so certain that a mere nuclear bomb can kill me?"

Shi Hen asked with a smile.

"Hehe~ Mr. Welt is certainly confident." Otto chuckled softly as well, his tone still calm and composed, as though everything were under his control. "I have read the battle report between Mr. Welt and Durandal. If you were alone, one nuclear bomb would clearly not be enough.

"But it seems that you brought some friends along this time."

"...Mr. Otto truly is shameless and despicable."

Shi Hen took a deep breath.

For him, three minutes was enough time to leave the tactical nuclear bomb's blast radius.

But just as the other party had said, Raven, Jackal, and the others could not get away. Neither could the remaining Valkyries.

"Despicability is the passport of the despicable, while nobility is the epitaph of the noble." Otto's voice held not a trace of anger. Instead, it carried a deep satisfaction. "The first Welt sacrificed himself to save the citizens of New York. I am very curious what choice you will make."

"Mr. Otto will see."

Shi Hen answered flatly, then hung up.

That blond, granddaughter-obsessed old man truly was as despicable as he claimed.

It had not even been fifteen minutes since Shi Hen appeared on the battlefield. Otto had likely pressed the nuclear launch button the instant he learned of Shi Hen's appearance.

And although Otto called him Welt... Otto was actually a smart man.

Whether Shi Hen was Welt did not matter. Whether he belonged to Anti-Entropy did not matter either. What truly mattered was that he possessed strength comparable to Durandal's, making him an additional and uncontrollable piece in the Sirin Project.

As long as Shi Hen remained capable of affecting Otto's plans, Otto would spare no cost in trying to kill him.

Just as this Bishop Sir had immediately launched more than ten Honkai Energy fission bombs after discovering Siegfried's hidden potential.

This single tactical nuclear bomb was, at most, a greeting.

Bang!

Shi Hen kicked the half-loaded Ganesha, Honkai Beast and crate together, straight to the side of the transport ship. Ignoring the frightened and bewildered Valkyries, he turned to Jackal and asked, "Do we have any way to intercept that nuclear bomb?"

"...No. The transport ship isn't equipped well enough."

Jackal glanced at the youth and shook his head.

From the conversation just now, she had understood that Shi Hen could escape alone, yet he had chosen to stay.

She did not know why the youth had made that choice, but she would remember this favor. Naturally, she could no longer speak harshly to Shi Hen as she had before.

"I see."

Shi Hen sighed. Brilliant yet not scorching white light shone in his eyes, while an ocean-tide-like aura erupted from the youth's body.

Although less than half his strength remained after fighting Ganesha, if he was willing to use his Revival Armor, he was still confident he could stop a nuclear bomb.

"Wait! You're not planning to intercept it yourself, are you?"

Raven hurriedly grabbed the youth's hand.

"I'll come back alive."

Shi Hen said firmly.

It was merely death. He was a man with Revival Armor.

"Idiot!" Raven flicked the youth on the forehead. Her finger struck the Soul Steel mask with a crisp sound, making the mercenary's expression turn slightly awkward. "At a time like this, you just need to hide behind your big sister."

As she spoke, Raven leapt several times onto the top of the transport ship. She found a relatively flat spot, lay prone, and manifested a purple-black Sniper Rifle in her hands.

Even a nuclear bomb would be useless if it itself were broken down into atoms, right?

With that thought, the mercenary's lips curled into a confident smile.

At this moment, one minute remained before the nuclear bomb reached the battlefield.

Wait Until I Level Up First

Through Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge's scope, Raven could clearly see the nuclear bomb streaking across the horizon.

Its white metal shell, streamlined warhead brimming with industrial beauty, and the bright flames blasting from the missile's tail.

At this moment, the nuclear bomb capable of blasting the entire city and its tens of thousands of people into the sky was only ten thousand meters away from them.

For a missile of this level, ten thousand meters was merely a matter of seconds. It would arrive in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, it did not need to hit the target directly. Its enormous lethal radius meant that merely approaching them would bring destruction.

For an ordinary sniper, trying to intercept an already-launched nuclear bomb was nothing more than a fool's dream.

But Raven was not ordinary, and she held the strongest Sniper Rifle in the world.

Through the high-dimensional observation provided by the Divine Key, every detail of the nuclear bomb unfolded before Raven's eyes. She could even see every single burn of its fuel.

The searing temperature transformed the fuel from liquid into blazing gaseous flames, which then shot out from the tail nozzle, granting the missile speed beyond the sound barrier.

Calculating the distance between them and observing every change in temperature within the nuclear bomb, Raven knew clearly that she had only one chance.

As a god-slaying weapon left behind by the Previous Civilization Era, Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge was actually in terrible condition.

If she fully unleashed its power, it would become unusable after just one attack.

If she hit the nuclear bomb, everyone would survive.

If she missed, everyone would die together.

Life or death depended solely on when she pulled the trigger. There was no third option.

Raven took a long breath, then held it. Her finger rested against the trigger and gradually applied pressure.

At that moment, her entire body became motionless, as though she had turned into a statue. Only the strength in her finger continued accumulating, like a powerful bow drawn to its full moon.

Nine thousand meters, eight thousand meters, seven thousand meters...

Finally, when the distance reached three thousand meters, Raven saw light flare from the warhead.

The nuclear bomb was about to activate.

But before that could happen, Raven pulled the trigger.

Boom—

As though the legendary God-King had thrown His Eternal Spear, a bolt of lightning crossed space and struck the streamlined warhead brimming with industrial beauty. Only then did the explosive thunderclap resound across the sky.

Beginning at the warhead, the white metal missile was dyed a dazzling purple.

No, the entire missile had been broken down into purple lightning.

Within the blinding purple radiance, a bright burst of fire emerged, as though attempting to break through the lightning's confinement.

But before the flames could expand, the brilliant lightning had already engulfed and devoured everything.

What ultimately appeared before everyone was a purple firework blooming in the sky amid roaring thunder.

Since the story began, the Mercenary Queen who had dominated the underworld finally welcomed her own shining moment.

"Okay, done and dusted."

Raven gave a victory sign to the anxiously waiting people below, then lightly jumped down onto the transport ship's deck with the agility of a cat.

"Hahaha! With Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge here, what is a mere nuclear bomb!?" Seeing that the crisis had been resolved, Jackal immediately stopped panicking and even became somewhat arrogant. "Schicksal Bishop? How laughable. If you have the guts, throw a few more at us!"

Stare—

In an instant, everyone turned to look at Jackal. Raven was so frightened that she nearly lost her footing and fell to the ground.

The next second, the liaison officer's anxious voice rang out again. "Lady Raven, according to satellite data, three more tactical nuclear bombs have just launched from the Indian Branch's military base. They are expected to reach our position in two and a half minutes."

Everyone: "..."

Under everyone's gaze, Jackal appeared quite unruffled. She waved her hand calmly. "All right, everyone, hurry and find somewhere to lie down. Maybe your pose will look better when you turn into charcoal."

After all, death was already inevitable. What good would panicking do?

Forget the fact that Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge had already been used up. Even an intact Divine Key could not stop three nuclear bombs.

"He's insane! Bishop Sir has absolutely gone insane!"

Leona's expression collapsed as well.

One nuclear bomb was one thing, but now he had thrown three more. Was he dissatisfied that they would not die thoroughly enough?

"...Sigh. You should leave on your own. If one person can escape, then one person should escape. There's no need to die alongside us."

Raven patted Shi Hen's shoulder and forced out a smile.

She knew that Shi Hen could definitely survive if he were alone.

And now there were three nuclear bombs. Even if he chose to stay, he could not possibly destroy all three.

But faced with Raven's advice, Shi Hen merely shook his head calmly.

"It's okay. I should have died twelve years ago. Living this long already makes it worthwhile." Raven placed Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge in Shi Hen's hands and spoke word by word. "But you're different. You're still young. Your hands have not yet been stained with sin. You should live!

"No, you must live!

"Consider it your big sister's only request, okay?"

"...What I mean is, all of us can survive."

Shi Hen refused Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge and spoke calmly, his tone slow and earnest.

"..." Looking into the dark, profound eyes beneath the youth's mask, Raven froze for a moment before shaking her head again. "It's okay. You don't need to lie to your big sister anymore."