Starting as a Behind-the-Scenes Boss in the Honkai World Chapter 29

The transport ship's communications officer was using the World Serpent's internal channel, which she and the other Valkyries couldn't hear.

"Simply put, your organization's boss just threw a nuke at us. In three minutes, we'll all be going to heaven together."

Shi Hen explained kindly.

Leona: "..."

Honestly, you didn't have to say that.

Meanwhile, the other Valkyries also panicked:

"How is that possible?"

"How could command make a decision like that?"

"There are still so many Valkyries who haven't evacuated in this area, not to mention regular troops and civilians who haven't been evacuated!"

"Are those guys' brains been kicked by Honkai Beasts!?"

Hearing the other Valkyries' discussion, Shi Hen sneered, "Don't you understand yet? In the eyes of certain people, my life is worth more than all of you combined. Even if all of you go to heaven, this city will be completely finished, and that lunatic is still eager to kill me."

The Valkyries were stunned into silence. They had never imagined that Schicksal, whom they had always regarded as their faith, could do something so insane.

"Um... your name is Hand of Annihilation, right?" Shi Hen said, pointing at Leona. "If you contact your superiors now, you might find out which lunatic threw the fireworks."

If he guessed correctly, that blonde granddaughter enthusiast should be lurking in the communication channel, waiting for him.

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

Correcting Shi Hen, Leona still opened the communication with half-belief and adjusted it to broadcast mode.

"To be able to contact me at this time, you must not be an A-rank Valkyrie from the Far East Branch. You must be Mr. Welt Yang, the next leader of Anti-Entropy, right?"

A voice that everyone was familiar with immediately sounded from the communication channel. Yep, that's the blonde granddaughter enthusiast.

"To be so remembered by Schicksal's famous Bishop fills me with great trepidation," Shi Hen said, looking up at the sky as if sighing. Of course, the sky was perfectly normal at this moment, and even the clouds looked so pure white, showing no signs of impending disaster. After all, at this time, the nuke was estimated to be over eight hundred li away, so nothing could be seen with the naked eye.

"Mr. Welt Yang, you jest," the voice on the other end of the communication seemed to chuckle. "When the first Welt Yang stood against me, I gifted him a Honkai Energy fission bomb. When the second Welt Yang appeared, I gave him the same gift. And now it's your turn, the third Welt Yang."

"Oh? Is Mr. Otto so sure that a mere nuclear bomb can kill me?" Shi Hen retorted with a smile.

"Heh heh~ Mr. Welt Yang is truly confident," Otto also chuckled softly, his tone still calm and unhurried, as if everything was under his control. "I've read the combat report between Mr. Welt Yang and Durandal. If you were alone, one nuclear bomb would clearly not be enough. However, it seems you've brought some friends with you this time."

"...Mr. Otto, you are truly despicable and shameless." Shi Hen took a deep breath. For him, three minutes was enough time to leave the kill radius of the tactical nuclear bomb. But as the other party said, Raven and Jackal couldn't leave, nor could the remaining Valkyries.

"Despicableness is the pass for the despicable, and nobility is the epitaph for the noble," Otto's voice held no anger, but rather a deep sense of pride. "The first Welt Yang sacrificed himself to save the citizens of New York. I am very curious about what choice you will make."

"Mr. Otto will see," Shi Hen said faintly, then hung up the communication.

This blonde granddaughter enthusiast was indeed as despicable as he claimed. From the moment he appeared on the battlefield until now, it hadn't even been fifteen minutes. The other party had probably pressed the nuclear launch button the moment they learned of his appearance. Moreover, although the other party called him Welt, in reality... Otto was a smart man. Whether Shi Hen was Welt or not was not important, nor was it important if he was from Anti-Entropy. What was truly important was that he possessed strength comparable to Durandal's and was an unpredictable extra piece in the Sirin Project. As long as Shi Hen posed a threat to Otto's plan, the other party would try to kill him at all costs. Just like when he discovered Siegfried's hidden potential, the Bishop had immediately launched more than ten Honkai Energy fission bombs. Now, a single tactical nuclear bomb was, at best, just a greeting.

Boom!

He directly kicked Ganesha, who was only half-loaded, along with the Honkai Beast and the crate, to the side of the transport ship. Ignoring the panicked and bewildered Valkyries, Shi Hen turned to Jackal and asked, "Do we have a way to stop that nuke?"

"...No, the transport ship's configuration isn't sufficient." Jackal glanced at the young man and shook his head.

From their earlier communication, she understood that Shi Hen could escape on his own, but he chose to stay.

She didn't know the reason behind the young man's decision, but she remembered the favor and naturally couldn't speak ill of Shi Hen like before.

"I see."

Shi Hen sighed, and a brilliant yet gentle white light ignited in his eyes. An aura like an ocean tide surged from within him.

Although he had less than half his strength remaining after his fight with Ganesha, he was confident he could stop a nuclear missile if he used the Revival Armor.

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

Raven quickly grabbed the young man's hand.

"I will return alive," Shi Hen stated firmly.

Death was a trivial matter; he was a man with the Revival Armor.

"Idiot!" She tapped his forehead, her finger making a crisp sound against the Soul Steel mask, causing the mercenary's expression to turn slightly awkward. "At times like this, you just need to hide behind your big sister."

As she spoke, Raven leaped several times to the top of the transport ship, finding a relatively flat spot. She materialized a dark purple sniper rifle in her hands.

Even a nuclear missile, if it were completely disassembled into atoms, wouldn't have any effect, right?

Thinking this, a confident smile curved the mercenary's lips.

At this moment, there was still one minute until the nuclear missile reached the battlefield.

Chapter 32: Let Me Level Up First

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

Its white metal casing, the streamlined warhead with its industrial aesthetic, and the bright flame spewing from the missile's tail.

Currently, this nuclear missile, capable of obliterating the entire city and tens of thousands of people within it, was only ten thousand meters away.

For a missile of this caliber, ten thousand meters was merely a matter of seconds, arriving in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, it didn't need to hit the target directly; its immense kill radius meant it could bring destruction simply by getting close.

For an ordinary sniper, stopping a launched nuclear missile would be a pipe dream.

But Raven was no ordinary sniper, and in her hands was the most powerful sniper rifle in the world.

Utilizing the high-dimensional observation provided by the Divine Key, every detail of the nuclear missile unfolded before Raven's eyes. She could even see the precise moment the fuel burned.

The scorching temperature turned the fuel from liquid to superheated gas, which then shot out of the nozzle, propelling the missile beyond the speed of sound.

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

As a god-slaying armament left over from the previous civilization, the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge was in a very precarious state.

If it were to unleash its full power, even a single attack would render it unusable and scrap.

If she hit the nuclear missile, everyone would live.

If she missed, everyone would perish with it.

Life or death depended solely on the timing of her trigger pull, with no third option.

Taking a deep breath, Raven held her breath and gently squeezed the trigger.

At this moment, her entire body became still, as if she had turned into a sculpture. Only the strength in her finger continuously accumulated, like a bow drawn to its fullest.

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

Finally, when the distance reached three thousand meters, Raven saw a light ignite at the warhead's position.

This nuclear missile was about to be activated.

But before any of that could happen, Raven had already pulled the trigger.

BOOM—

As if a mythical god-king had hurled his eternal spear, a beam of lightning tore through space and struck the industrially beautiful, streamlined warhead directly. Only then did the sound of exploding thunder echo across the sky.

Starting from the warhead at the tip, the white metal missile was stained with a brilliant purple hue.

No, the entire missile disintegrated into purple lightning.

Within the dazzling purple, a cluster of bright fire erupted, attempting to break through the lightning's blockade.

But before the fire could expand, the blinding lightning had already covered and consumed everything.

What finally appeared before everyone's eyes was a purple fireworks display blooming in the sky amidst the thunderous roar of lightning.

From the beginning of the story until now, the mercenary queen who had dominated the underground world finally ushered in her own glorious moment.

"OK, mission accomplished."

Giving a victory sign to the anxious people waiting below, Raven leaped lightly, landing on the deck of the transport ship like a nimble cat.

"Hahaha, with the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge, what's a mere nuclear missile!?" Jackal, seeing the crisis averted, no longer panicked and even appeared somewhat arrogant. "Schicksal's Bishop? How laughable. If you have the guts, throw a few more!"

Stare—

In an instant, all eyes turned to Jackal, and Raven almost lost her footing and fell.

The very next second, the communicator's anxious voice rang out again: "Madam Raven, according to satellite results, three more tactical nuclear bombs have been 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 unhurried, waving his hand calmly and saying, "Alright, everyone quickly find a place to lie down. Maybe the pose will look better when we turn into charcoal."

After all, death was already a foregone conclusion, so what good would it do to not be calm?

Let alone that the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge had already been used, even a complete Divine Key couldn't block three nuclear bombs.

"He's crazy! The Bishop is absolutely crazy!"

Leona's expression couldn't help but crumble.

One nuclear bomb was one thing, but now three more were being dropped. Was this person trying to ensure they all died even more thoroughly?

"...Sigh, you go on your own. If one can escape, let one escape. There's no need to stay and die with us."

Patting Shi Hen's shoulder, Raven forced a strained smile onto her face.

She knew Shi Hen could definitely survive on his own.

Moreover, with three nuclear bombs now, even if he chose to stay, he wouldn't be able to destroy all three.

But facing Raven's advice, Shi Hen simply shook his head calmly.

"It's fine. Actually, I should have died twelve years ago. Living this long is already worth it." Handing the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge to Shi Hen, Raven said word by word, "But you're different. You're still young, your hands aren't yet stained with sin, you should live!

No, you must live!

Consider it my only request as your sister, okay?"

"...What I mean is, we can all survive."

Refusing the Seven Thunders of Sin's Purge, Shi Hen said calmly, his tone slow and serious.

"..." Looking at the boy's dark and deep eyes beneath his mask, Raven couldn't help but freeze, then she shook her head again, "It's okay, you don't need to lie to your sister anymore."