"I don't know. That person's thoughts are not for people like us to speculate on." Andre offered only a simple explanation before issuing an order. "Take her down."
Chapter 48: One Second
Upon receiving Andre's order, two men immediately stepped forward and charged at Bronya, who had raised her hands.
The two men were both burly and powerfully built. Every punch and kick carried terrifying force capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks. Familiar with each other, they coordinated seamlessly, and in almost an instant, they had forced the girl onto the defensive.
Nimbly dodging their attacks like a rabbit, Bronya also took the opportunity to observe the battlefield.
Although only two people were directly fighting her, the others were not idle. They had spread out to control the entire situation, preventing her from fleeing or taking the chance to approach Seele.
With so many people watching her, the girl's only option was to face them head-on—and that was undoubtedly the worst option.
Using such a well-trained elite squad and leveraging her close relationship with Seele, someone had laid an inescapable net, and the clueless Bronya had walked right into it.
Like a rabbit surrounded by hyenas.
Bronya could not help thinking that.
But she had never been a rabbit that could only tuck its tail and run. She was... the Ural Silver Wolf, with sharp claws and fangs!
Breathing rapidly, Bronya sensed a certain special energy drifting through the air and realized that she had the ability to control it.
Every time she had faced danger in the past, Bronya had sensed this special energy and used it to defeat one enemy after another.
According to Cocolia Mama, this special energy was called... Honkai Energy?
Whatever it was called, Bronya knew she needed it. She needed its power.
Although Cocolia Mama had said that manipulating Honkai Energy was extremely dangerous, she had no other choice now.
Every one of these people was formidable.
Compared to them, the kidnappers she had dealt with last time were practically rookies fresh out of training.
Even fully armed, Bronya was only confident she could handle two or three of them, but there were eleven people on the other side!
And they still had Seele.
The enemy was not using their hostage to threaten her now, but that did not mean they would not do so later.
So she had one—and only one—chance.
The moment she revealed an unexpected ability, Seele's situation would immediately become dangerous.
Her breathing gradually slowed. Bronya focused part of her attention on the Honkai Energy in the surrounding environment while calculating everyone's movements.
She could do such a thing.
Finally, in the instant one of the men fighting her blocked the others' line of sight, the girl took a long breath.
A massive amount of Honkai Energy poured into her body. Bronya could even hear every cell in her body cheering, like a traveler who had been thirsty for seven days finally taking the first sip of water.
Starlike brilliance lit up in her eyes. Bronya raised a hand to deflect the enemy's hammer-like punch, then drove an elbow into his chest.
Bang!
As if he had been hit head-on by a speeding train, the man instantly died and flew backward, even knocking down another companion who had been keeping watch.
Before the others could express their shock, Bronya's petite body had already become an afterimage as she shot forward, slipped past three people, and arrived directly before Andre.
"Checkmate!"
Standing beside Seele, Bronya aimed a pistol firmly at Andre's head.
At some point, Andre's pistol had fallen into the girl's hands.
"Hahaha~" Andre could not help laughing, a trace of relief appearing on his face. "Now I finally understand why that person specifically asked for you.
You people are all the same kind!"
From being pushed into a disadvantage, to sending a man flying and reversing the situation, to taking his pistol—everything had happened within a single second.
In other words, the Ural Silver Wolf had been hiding her true strength all along, merely waiting for that instant when she could kill him outright.
She truly deserved to be called the Ural Silver Wolf. Her performance was even more terrifying than the rumors suggested.
This was absolutely not a realm humans could reach!
"Who is that person?"
Glancing at the still-sleeping Seele, then at the remaining special forces soldiers who had aimed their guns at her, Bronya asked with a frown.
She could sense that the person Andre mentioned was the key to everything tonight.
"You are not qualified to know that person's name."
Andre said coldly.
Being held at gunpoint by Bronya did not necessarily mean he would die, but if he dared reveal Shi Hen's name casually, he would certainly be dead.
Andre had no desire to experience his art.
So, staring at the dark muzzle before him, Andre revealed a miserable smile before ordering, "Fire! Aim at the one on the ground!"
Without the slightest hesitation, the remaining nine special forces soldiers immediately shifted their muzzles and pulled the triggers.
Bang bang bang...
Amid the rapid gunfire, Andre felt that his head had not exploded and knew he had gambled correctly.
Compared to killing him, saving her companion was what mattered most to the Ural Silver Wolf.
"You lost, Ural Silver Wolf..."
Looking at the gray-haired girl lying on the ground, covered in blood yet tightly shielding the girl beneath her, Andre could not help laughing wildly.
Bang!
He viciously kicked at the girl who had just pointed a gun at him, trying to send her flying, but his attack did not move Bronya in the slightest. It was as if protecting the girl beneath her had been carved into her subconscious.
"Fine, then die like that!"
Feeling utterly humiliated, Andre snarled.
The Ural Silver Wolf was already in this state. Shi Hen would not be able to say much about it.
Andre did not believe anyone could survive under such circumstances.
With that thought, the man pried open the girl's fingers one by one, intending to take back his pistol.
As a general, having his weapon stolen by an enemy was undoubtedly an enormous humiliation.
As Andre moved, perhaps because the sedative was too weak, or perhaps because the cold was too stimulating, the unconscious Seele finally slowly opened her eyes, and then...
An unfamiliar ceiling... no, that was wrong. There was no ceiling here anymore. Looking up, she could directly see the star-sparse sky beneath the bright moon.
But before the shock of seeing the sky could reach her, Seele first felt the warm wetness spreading across her body.
It was the temperature of Bronya's blood.
Sister Bronya, drenched in blood and collapsed atop her; a circle of armed special forces soldiers around them; and a thin middle-aged man crouching beside her, seemingly doing something... In almost an instant, Seele's eyes turned blood-red. "You..."
"Oh, you're finally awake?" Andre noticed Seele had awakened, but he did not care and continued trying to retrieve his pistol. "Too bad you didn't see what just happened. The Ural Silver Wolf protected you..."
"All of you, die!"
Seele had no intention of listening to Andre's nonsense. She shouted furiously as blood-red shadows spread like a tide, instantly turning into blades that pierced everyone present.
One second was only enough for Bronya to reverse the situation and save Seele from the gunfire.
But for Seele, whose Stigmata power had awakened, that much time was enough for the girl to kill every enemy.
Chapter 49: Sorry, You Were Too Powerful
"So... that was it..."
His body pierced through by shadow blades and his consciousness gradually fading, Andre finally understood Shi Hen's intentions.
He and his soldiers had been disposable pawns from the very beginning, existing only to create the result that person wanted.
In the end, he truly had failed to escape the snake's jaws...
With a final sigh, Andre's consciousness sank into endless darkness.
"Big Sister! Sister Bronya!"
Her consciousness switching back to her outer persona, Seele hugged Bronya, whose blood would not stop flowing, and began to cry uncontrollably.
Having just awoken from unconsciousness, the girl had no idea what had happened.
But she knew very clearly that she was about to lose Sister Bronya.
Sister Bronya, who was stronger than anyone, who would always come save her no matter what happened, was about to die...
"Enough, stop howling. Your Sister Bronya isn't dead yet."
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out.
Coming slightly back to her senses, Seele looked around and discovered that an unfamiliar man in white robes and a mask had appeared beside her at some point.
The silver-white Miko Robe exuded obvious luxury. Moonlight-white hair flowed down to his waist, shining with a faint glow. Only the pure white mask on his face seemed somewhat ordinary.
"Who are you?"
Seele immediately became wary.
"You killed so many of my subordinates, and you still don't know who I am?"
Shi Hen asked in return, his gaze sweeping across Andre and the others' corpses.
He suspected Andre had been trying to screw him over. The man had seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally revealing things, which did not quite match the military discipline a general should possess.
But it did not matter. Shi Hen had never intended to let this group return alive anyway.
To summon demons, one always had to offer some sacrifices, didn't one?
As for Bronya and Seele, who had overheard certain things, he did not care.
Looking at the little silver wolf lying on the ground, covered in blood and unable to rise, Shi Hen lightly beckoned. The metal bullets inside the girl's body all flew out and landed beside her. The bloodstained brass bullets formed a small pile of twenty or thirty in the snow.
The special forces soldiers Andre had brought this time were all well-trained, naturally not the sort who could not hit the broad side of a barn.
However, even after being shot so many times, Bronya was not actually in serious danger.
Under the effects of Honkai Energy, the girl's physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.
After all, some Valkyries, empowered by Honkai Energy, could fight Emperor-class and even Judgment-class Honkai Beasts head-on.
You could not expect a sword that cut iron like mud to be more fragile than an egg, could you?
Bronya looked terribly injured, but the bullets had not actually penetrated deeply into her body. There were simply too many wounds, causing somewhat severe blood loss.
A few days of rest would be enough. It was no big issue.
"You! You were the one who hurt Sister!"
Seele cried out. Her eyes instantly turned red, clearly indicating that she had switched to her Inner Persona.
Facing such a vicious enemy, Black Seele naturally chose to take the field herself.
Black-and-red shadows spread once more. Countless blades emerged from them and stabbed toward Shi Hen, yet they could not advance even an inch within a meter of the youth.
"How is that possible!?"
Seele involuntarily took half a step back.
Ever since gaining consciousness, every one of her actions had succeeded without fail. Even enemies who could force Bronya into a bitter struggle had been easily dealt with.
Yet before Shi Hen, her attacks had become a complete joke, unable even to make him move a finger.
"A very good ability, but far too immature."
Shi Hen spoke softly and took a step forward. The black-and-red shadow blades instantly shattered, and even Seele staggered back several steps, blood flowing from her mouth.
"Who exactly are you!?"
Seele firmly shielded the unconscious Bronya behind her and loudly questioned Shi Hen.
"Welt. Welt Yang. The current Sovereign of your Anti-Entropy."
Shi Hen said indifferently.
His identity as Sovereign had been acknowledged by Schicksal.
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