Steel mechs versus beautiful maidens—
It was indeed an incredibly thrilling spectacle.
Every step the cold, heavy, and merciless mechs took made the ground tremble slightly, accompanied by deep, forceful engine roars. Countless shells burst from their launchers, and massive iron fists fell relentlessly with overwhelming pressure.
On the other side stood the beautiful and resilient young women, dressed in tight battlesuits, engaging these mechanical giants in close-quarters combat.
Though they couldn't fire missiles or lasers from their bodies, these B-rank and A-rank Valkyries were by no means inferior to the mechs in power—in fact, they surpassed them in agility and finesse.
It was the clash of two extremes:
Cold, unyielding steel bodies,
Versus fiery, soft, human flesh.
Devastating firepower and bombardment,
Versus skills honed through relentless training.
The former, an unstoppable steel flood.
The latter, breathtaking warrior maidens.
From an artistic standpoint, this may have been the most visually stunning war ever witnessed. The Valkyries' graceful and dynamic movements wove between towering mechs, creating a dramatic contrast.
But in the grand scheme of things—
Whether mech legions or Valkyrie squads, they were but decorations in the larger battle.
"Shamash Assault!"
Elias released another Shamash Assault Slash. Two more warships fell from the sky. The clouds above were completely burned away, and the entire sky was dyed red.
Otto's eye twitched.
Plan A: Forcing K423 into despair with the truth of her origins and triggering Herrscherization—failed.
Plan B: Destroying St. Freya to plunge her into grief and trigger Herrscherization—also failed.
Though he still had backup plans, these two consecutive failures were something Otto Apocalypse hadn't experienced in a hundred years. And it was all because of that boy before him... Also, he'd already burned through fifty soulium bodies!
"Otto! Do you have enough soulium bodies left?!"
"Tch. I prefer not to solve things with brute force—it's against my aesthetic—but at this point, I can't afford to hold back. Durandal, Miss Sushang, take this with you and deploy immediately! You must defeat that boy!"
"Yes!"
"Just this once."
The two women answered and stepped onto the battlefield. When Elias saw them, his gaze sharpened.
"I will defeat the Honkai. Let us fight honorably."
Durandal was clad in the Godsbane Suit, Bright Knight: Excelsis, wielding Hler's Serenity.
"Li Sushang, senior disciple of the Unfettered Wanderer School, here to test your skills."
Sushang respectfully saluted Elias with the ancient Xuanyuan Sword in hand, clad in the Godsbane Suit: Jade Knight.
"..."
There was one more petite figure standing silently between them. He said nothing, but quietly raised his flame sword, releasing a terrifying aura.
"Finally, some real opponents... though I didn't expect that bastard Otto to hold this card. Then again, it makes sense. Fine. Before we start, I want to ask you two a few questions."
Elias lowered Might of An-Utu and turned a complex gaze toward Durandal.
"Bianka Ataegina, why do you follow Otto Apocalypse?"
His voice was cold and emotionless. Durandal frowned slightly, feeling as if she were being interrogated by a judge.
"Because I must defeat the Honkai."
She looked directly at Elias and answered without hesitation, her eyes filled with unwavering conviction.
Moreover, she didn't feel any animosity toward Elias. In fact, quite strangely... the moment she saw him, her fighting spirit wavered ever so slightly.
It felt instinctual—as if she were born not to stand against him.
"Then do you believe Otto's actions are justified?"
"...I'm sorry. I don't agree with the Overseer's methods, but I do think entrusting Miss Kiana Kaslana to Schicksal is the right decision. As the vessel of the Herrscher of the Void, she's simply too dangerous."
Durandal showed a trace of regret.
She was an S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal, with strength bordering on the unfair. Precisely because of that, Durandal understood something very clearly.
Not everything could have a perfect outcome. Even with all her power, she had still failed missions before.
That was why she always pursued the best possible result.
"If Miss Kiana's Herrscher form could coexist peacefully like the others before her, I wouldn't object or obey the Overseer's order to attack."
"But the footage clearly shows that her Herrscher transformation would make her an enemy of humanity. That's why I believe containment is the best course."
"If you're willing to cooperate, I promise to stay by Miss Kiana's side at all times and never let the Overseer experiment on her."
Durandal spoke with sincere conviction.
This was the conclusion she had reached after much deliberation.
"I see. Very much in character for you."
Elias nodded, giving her a nod of acknowledgement.
But acknowledgment was not acceptance!
Durandal sought the best possible outcome because she knew perfection wasn't always attainable. But Elias' goal had always been perfection! Their ideologies were different—leaving battle as the only resolution.
"And you, Li Sushang? Why are you helping Otto?"
"I... owe him a favor."
Li Sushang sounded a little embarrassed. Compared to Durandal's reason, hers felt rather weak. Honestly, she'd been quite annoyed about it too.
She'd nearly thrown in the towel.
"I think repaying a favor to Otto is totally unnecessary. That guy's scum. If he did one good thing, count it as a rare act of charity and move on."
"Uhh, I'll pass on that..."
Li Sushang gave a wry smile and shook her head.
She was someone who always kept her word. For an ancient hero from five hundred years ago, valuing promise over life wasn't uncommon.
Five centuries ago, Otto saved her life. So now, Li Sushang would fight once on his behalf—to repay that debt.
That wouldn't change, even if Otto was a two-faced schemer.
Even knowing her current actions might not be just, she wouldn't go back on her word. And knowing her, she'd apologize to St. Freya and make amends once the favor was repaid.
"Alright then, but I'm not fighting you two."
Elias shrugged.
When you have allies, you use them. He wasn't short on teammates, after all.
He immediately contacted his girls.
"Rita, Mei, and Theresa—you three keep Durandal occupied."
"Fu Hua, Ji Xuanyuan—you take on Li Sushang."
With Elias' orders, the girls all responded.
"Got it! No problem!" x5
But those who didn't hear their names called instantly grew anxious.
"Elias! What about us?!"
"Bronya can fight too!"
"Elias, my greatsword thirsts for battle!"
Hearing Kiana and the others call out, Elias paused. True, their strength had grown significantly. But at best, they were at platinum or diamond tier.
This high-ranked battle was still out of their league.
"Then the rest of you—Kiana, Himeko, Bronya, Seele, Wendy—team up with the other academy girls and handle Schicksal's Valkyries."
"The mechs I constructed aren't enough to overwhelm those B- and A-rank Valkyries... Don't kill them, just render them combat-ineffective. Use my constructed mechs as cover and bait as needed."
Elias could have ended it instantly.
As the Herrscher of Rebirth, all he needed to do was expand his domain.
With withering black mist and Schariac Holy Blood, the Schicksal Valkyries would be rendered powerless in an instant.
But unlike the constructive white blossoms, that kind of area skill would also affect the Valkyries of St. Freya.
"Fine..."
Though frustrated, the girls understood they couldn't contribute much in this high-level battle. They swallowed their disappointment and followed Elias' instructions.
Meanwhile, the top-tier battlefield was getting interesting.
Although unintentionally, Elias had matched Durandal and Li Sushang against people they knew well.
"Rita..."
"Lady Durandal."
"Master Jingwei."
"Fancy seeing you here, Sushang."
One pair, past confidants and constant companions.
The other, former master and disciple.
In an instant, the once-tense atmosphere grew subtly awkward. Both sides found their fighting spirit waning—which was exactly what Elias had hoped for.
Since they were acquaintances, they wouldn't go all out. Both sides would resort to stalling tactics. And Elias' goal was precisely to tie them up and prevent interference.
However—
Even Elias hadn't expected Otto to have another powerful card.
Durandal and Sushang quickly flew to a distant battlefield, tactfully choosing a location that wouldn't endanger civilians. They began engaging Mei and the others.
What remained before Elias was a single opponent.
The other party silently watched him, then raised its version of Might of An-Utu.
Both spoke in unison:
"Friend or foe. Choose." x2
"..."
"Heh~ As expected of a Kevin Kaslana... combat puppet. Even speaks the same lines."
Elias chuckled, amused as he studied the chibi-sized Kevin. Look at those stubby legs, those little arms, that mini An-Utu.
So much cuter than the original icy popsicle.
Though he knew full well it wasn't cute in combat—it was brutal.
A combat puppet based on Kevin Kaslana held a fraction of his peak power from 1500 years ago. It was stronger than Durandal in her current state!
"Lord Elias, please be extremely careful."
Rita's voice came through his comms, full of concern.
"That combat puppet was discovered when Schicksal searched for the Second Divine Key, the Cosmic Juggernaut. It even fought Lady Durandal back then, forcing her to go all out and still sustaining minor injuries."
Back then, Durandal won mostly because the puppet had been running for 1500 years. Its internal power source was nearly depleted.
It lost power mid-battle.
Still, the entire London Tower Bridge district was destroyed in the fight. Schicksal had to cut funding from Otto's Kallen fantasy sequel project to cover damages.
"Lady Durandal brought the puppet back afterward. Who would've thought Overseer Otto would repair and reprogram it. Please exercise extreme caution."
"It's fine. This is the perfect chance to get a glimpse of what the strongest of the Previous Era looked like."
Battle fervor surged in Elias' eyes. Crushing weaklings was fun, but boring. A worthy foe was rare—and this Kevin puppet looked very promising.
At the same time, Otto watched with confidence.
"This combat puppet, modeled after the strongest warrior of the Previous Era, took immense effort to repair. Thankfully, Void Archives had detailed knowledge about such constructs, allowing me to recharge and upgrade it."
"Now in unrestricted overperformance mode, its operational lifespan is drastically shortened, but in exchange, it possesses power surpassing even Durandal."
"Elias, even with dual Herrscher cores, you can't defeat this puppet. Perhaps your defeat CG will finally push K423 into despair."
Otto observed the battle footage from across the field.
He had no expectations that Durandal, Li Sushang, or the Valkyrie army would achieve any real victory.
The true linchpin was Elias' battlefield.
Just as Otto felt victory was assured—
CLANG!!
"What?! Impossible!"
Otto watched, dumbfounded, as the Kevin combat puppet was knocked flying.
"Hell yeah, come on!"
Elias, thrilled, drew the Godslayer: Surtr with his left hand while still gripping Might of An-Utu in his right.
Dual-wielding two massive fire-element swords as if they were one-handed, the searing flames distorted the air around him. This was his strongest close-combat form.
"...Shamash Assault!"
The Kevin puppet unleashed its own Shamash Assault Slash. The power far surpassed what Siegfried had once displayed.
But Elias didn't dodge.
Using the Herrscher of Fire's powers, he weakened the attack as much as possible. Then, with a forceful swing of both swords, he shattered the incoming blow head-on!
"As I thought. The upper limit of Might of An-Utu isn't that high. Though it's renowned for its destructive power, its full strength is basically just enough to give Earth a middle part."
Elias reaffirmed his belief.
Might of An-Utu only looked impressive because it was wielded by Kevin.
The Divine Key rode the coattails of the icy popsicle's achievements, collecting Herrscher kills and gaining a legendary reputation.
Suddenly, the Kevin puppet accelerated, dashing up to Elias with terrifying speed. The mini An-Utu in its hands swung with such force each strike could obliterate a high-level Honkai Beast. Even the ambient heat was lethal.
"Fast. Strong. But... I'm better!"
Elias gripped both his blazing greatswords tightly.
"Shamash Assault!"
"Total Conflagration!"
Terrifying Honkai energy surged into blazing fire, forming a massive cross-slash directed at the Kevin puppet.
He had only used this technique once before—against Chiyou. That strike had lowered the Pacific Ocean's sea level by roughly a meter.
"!!!"
The Kevin puppet's small face twisted in shock.
Despite its soulium nanostructure, it couldn't withstand such an attack. Scorched black marks spread across its body as internal components melted.
The nanostructure's auto-repair systems couldn't keep up with the damage—even though it had dodged the brunt of the hit.
It couldn't win.
Recalling the intel it received before the battle, the Kevin puppet turned its eyes to Otto aboard the Schicksal battleship.
Was this the so-called "dual-core Herrscher" strength?
You've got to be kidding!
This power surpassed even the late-stage Herrschers of the Previous Era!
It could easily crush a single-core Herrscher.
It could defeat a dual-core Herrscher.
It could contend with a triple-core Herrscher and maybe even win.
This was the upper limit of performance—maxed out.
Even after Otto disabled its limiters and sacrificed longevity, this was the best it could manage.
"Honkai energy output... 13,000 HW? Is the device malfunctioning? This can't be right."
But Otto was the one truly stunned.
Elias, are you even human?!
This Honkai density surpassed even the five-core Herrscher of the Void!
You'd have to cram every Herrscher Core of the Current Era into one body to get this kind of Honkai energy!
Otto: "A monster beyond imagination. While the Kevin puppet can still hold out, it's time to pull out all the stops... Let us... relive history!"
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