Sapphire City was the closest major city to St. Freya Academy.
As one of the most prosperous cities in the country, it was a favorite destination for the students of St. Freya.
Whenever they had a holiday or a chance, the Valkyries would always choose to visit Sapphire City, whether for fun or to work part-time jobs to earn some spending money.
Even up until the time Mo Wang was transmigrated, the city remained one of the most frequently featured locations in Honkai Impact 3rd.
At this moment, all of St. Freya's Valkyries were gathered in the skies above Sapphire City.
But it was obvious that this time, they weren't here for tourism.
"All units, prepare for deployment! Squads One and Two, move to intercept the Honkai Beasts and prevent them from entering the city! Squads Three and Four, with me to provide support! Squad Five, prepare to board that large warship hovering over the city!"
Himeko issued the mission objectives to the surrounding Valkyries.
Hovering in the sky above Sapphire City was a massive warship.
As the warship entered the airspace, a tide of Honkai Beasts began to pour out, swarming the outskirts of the city.
"The Selene. So, it's finally here."
Sitting in the captain's chair, Mo Wang couldn't help but sigh with emotion as he looked out at the super-dreadnought, which appeared several times larger than the Hyperion.
This warship before him was the culmination of 60 years of research and development by Anti-Entropy, an organization whose black-tech level was practically maxed out.
Its original design hailed from the Previous Era, an ultimate weapon developed to fight the Herrscher of Finality.
It was, in a sense, the crystallization of wisdom from two different eras of humanity.
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]: A shame that after its badass debut, this thing gets basically zero screen time later. Not only that, but its main cannon gets dismantled and slapped onto the Hyperion.
[A Certain Blond from Teyvat]: So why dismantle the main cannon and put it on the Hyperion? Wouldn't it be cooler to just use the Selene directly?
[The Savior of a Certain Human Order]: I'm guessing it's because this thing's energy consumption is insane. A cannon that needs a Herrscher core to fire would probably bankrupt St. Freya after a single shot.
[The Owner of a Certain Video Store]: And I remember this thing is basically cursed. The Previous Era used it against Finality, and it didn't even scratch her. Later on, it was pretty useless against the Herrscher of the Void, too.
[The Trash-can King on a Certain Train]: It's probably a classic gamer thing. You know how a lot of people like to dismantle gear from characters they don't like and give it to their favorites? Even if the stats might drop a little, at least their proficiency with the character goes up, right?
[The Owner of a Certain Video Store]: Anti-Entropy's 60 years of work got dismantled just like that. I bet Dr. Tesla and Einstein are coughing up blood right now.
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]: I just think it's a huge waste. I bet after dismantling the Selene, Theresa probably sold it for scrap metal to pay St. Freya's electricity bill.
[The Savior of a Certain Human Order]: Makes sense. Theresa's a money pit, after all. She gets no funding but still tries to copy her grandpa and make clones. Haven't you seen her become an academy idol just to pay off her debts?
[The Owner of a Certain Video Store]:Magical_Girl_Teriri_Warning.jpg
[A Certain Blond from Teyvat]: I can almost see a golden Judah hovering over your head.
[The Savior of a Certain Human Order]: YAMERO! I'm sorry, okay?! Big bro, big bro, I was wrong! Don't kill me!
While the Valkyries were being deployed, Mo Wang was busy chatting in the group.
Just as he'd predicted, these tasks had nothing to do with him.
In just a few moments, Himeko had already assigned all the tasks, and the Valkyries had deployed with her.
Even the other staff on the bridge were working in an orderly fashion.
It was as if he were completely invisible.
It was to be expected, though. He was just a leader who had been dropped in yesterday, and a student at that. These Valkyries probably wouldn't listen to him anyway.
If it were a normal person, finding themselves in a leadership position with no one under them willing to listen, they would probably be panicking.
But Mo Wang was different. He had even taken out his snacks and game console, ready to fully embrace the slacker life.
Damn it, yesterday he was busy being Kiana's life coach and then doing paperwork all day. The slacker soul within him was on the verge of exploding.
Now that he had such a perfect opportunity to slack off, he'd be less than human if he didn't take it!
The staff bustling around the Hyperion's bridge glanced at Mo Wang, who was happily eating snacks and playing games, and merely shot him strange looks.
"As expected of the school's Slacker King."
Those who had already heard of Mo Wang's reputation simply muttered a comment before getting back to their work.
They probably still saw Himeko as their real boss, and Mo Wang as just a figurehead who had been pushed forward to take the fall if things went wrong.
[Squad One has engaged the Honkai Beasts, successfully defeating the attacking Honkai Zombies and beasts.]
[Squad Two has rescued trapped personnel and is moving to the extraction point.]
[Squads Three and Four have arrived and are preparing to commence suppressive fire with heavy weaponry!]
[Squad Five has successfully landed on the unknown warship. The operation is proceeding.]
Mo Wang munched on his snacks, played his game, and casually listened to the surrounding staff reporting on the Valkyries' movements.
He inwardly scoffed at their command decisions.
With Schicksal's current technology, they could easily use mechs for this kind of work. But no, these people insisted on sticking to tradition, sending these B-rank Valkyries, at best, to fight against powerful Honkai Beasts.
In Mo Wang's eyes, it was practically using them as cannon fodder.
This world wasn't a game.
For ordinary B-rank Valkyries with their current equipment, taking on a Chariot-class Honkai Beast was already their limit.
As for C-rank Valkyries, they were only suited for logistics and support roles.
And yet, Schicksal insisted on sending them to the front lines. If that wasn't treating them like cannon fodder, what was?
In contrast, if this were Anti-Entropy, they probably would have already sent in a squadron of Titans to brawl with the Honkai Beasts.
Fully unmanned, durable, effective, and built to last!
Weren't they much better than Valkyries for this kind of thing?
Of course, this wasn't to say the Valkyrie system was bad.
It was just that Valkyries were better suited for elite roles—investigations, taking down difficult high-level bosses, and special missions.
For large-scale Honkai invasions like this, robots were always the better option.
But alas, a certain cuckolded Overseer was too obsessed with resurrecting his one true love to care about the lives of his Valkyries.
And Theresa had to act cute and beg just to get a scrap of resources.
A guy who was ten thousand times worse than any capitalist... it was no wonder he got NTR on.
After mentally cursing the blond Overseer, Mo Wang went back to his game.
Thankfully, with Himeko and Fu Hua on this mission, the other Valkyries should be safe.
And even if he were worried, there was nothing he could do.
Who let him have zero command authority?
In everyone else's eyes, he was just here to be the scapegoat.
Just as Mo Wang opened a bottle of Happy Water and took a big, satisfying gulp, a voice from the side made him spit it all out.
"This is bad! We're detecting massive energy readings near Sapphire City! They've been identified as—Anti-Entropy Titan-class mechs!"
"You what?!"
Mo Wang slammed his hands on the console and shot to his feet, ignoring the soda that had spilled all over him.
"What the hell? Is Anti-Entropy planning to declare all-out war?!"