The majestic giant ship sailed through the waves. The bridge of the Hyperion grew busier as it approached the Far East region.
Captain Murata Himeko received a message from the Far East and walked up to her superior. "Theresa, I have some bad news for you!"
"Speak."
"The Immortal Blades have already arrived in the Far East ahead of schedule and have engaged the target."
A battle between a Valkyrie and a Herrscher. The sudden spike in the Honkai energy index was like a bonfire lit in the middle of the night—impossible to hide.
"And the good news?" Theresa knew her subordinate Murata Himeko like the back of her hand and was well aware of her personality.
"Kiana and the others have successfully retreated. The Immortal Blades are currently regrouping."
The good news was reassuring.
Although the Immortal Blades had thrown a smokescreen and arrived in the Far East before anyone was ready, thankfully Brian and the others were no pushovers, preventing the surprise attack from succeeding.
Though it had been a long time since she left Schicksal HQ, Theresa was not entirely clueless about the current active S-rank Valkyries at headquarters.
Durandal was basically another version of a Kaslana; most of the time, when faced with a problem, she would prioritize solving it with her muscles.
There was only one person who could make such a decision, launching a surprise attack before anyone else.
"It must be that naturally evil Rita brat!"
Theresa had never had a good impression of Rita.
It wasn't that she and Rita had some kind of same-sex repulsion or professional rivalry; they weren't even in the same league, so there was no need to compete.
The problem was that every time Theresa had her back to Rita, she always felt a chill down her spine, as if something was eyeing her covetously.
Once or twice could be a coincidence, but when it happened every time, it was no wonder Theresa had a particular view of Rita.
That S-rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse, must be naturally evil!
Murata Himeko: "..."
She didn't know what to say, but she felt that this was probably not the time to get involved in her superior's private affairs.
"According to the intelligence received so far, Kiana and her group have gone into hiding; Anti-Entropy has also reacted to the Immortal Blades' movements."
As a former S-rank Valkyrie who had been on the battlefield, Theresa had only two questions: "Can we fight?"
"We can."
"Can we win?"
"Definitely."
When a Herrscher does not appear, who can contend!
Before the Eleventh Divine Key, the Oath of Judah, even a Herrscher could only be captured without a fight.
S-rank Valkyrie Judah and its launcher were in position!
The Far East island nation was Schicksal's battlefield.
...
At the same time...
"A bunch of useless fools!" Cocolia was once again furious.
She had never expected that she, who was always a master strategist, would be caught off guard by those brutes from Schicksal.
The Immortal Blades arrived earlier than projected, making a move on the Gem of Conquest's container before anyone else.
The good news was that the Immortal Blades didn't succeed. The bad news was that they had now lost track of Brian and his group.
The woman in the military green coat paced back and forth in the oppressive room. The heavy atmosphere made the Anti-Entropy members silent like cicadas in winter.
A colleague in charge of intelligence had already been dragged out by this woman to be fed to the wolves. They didn't want to follow in his footsteps.
Amidst the silence, Bronya stood up. "Cocolia, getting angry now is useless. It would be better to think of a way to deal with Schicksal."
"..." Cocolia stopped. "Bronya, do you have any ideas?"
The key was not Schicksal, but the Gem of Conquest.
As long as she could take the Gem of Conquest, it wouldn't be a complete failure for Cocolia.
Bronya knew this full well; her adoptive mother was that decisive type.
Bronya: "No. With Schicksal's interference, we cannot concentrate all our forces on retrieving the Gem of Conquest."
Not only did Theresa know the result of the battle between Durandal and the Herrscher of Thunder, but Cocolia also knew about the Herrscher of Thunder's awakening.
Retrieving a Herrscher Core's container and defeating a Herrscher are two completely different concepts.
Plus, with Schicksal lurking on the side...
Thump—!
The wolf-like woman slammed her fist on a nearby instrument.
"There's no other way. We must deal with Schicksal first before we can continue with our plan."
If Anti-Entropy defeats Schicksal's Valkyries, they can continue the Artificial Herrscher Project; if Schicksal's Valkyries crush Anti-Entropy, then they can eliminate all obstacles to capturing the Herrscher.
The Herrscher and the Herrscher Core were not the key, as Brian and the others couldn't escape the Far East island nation anytime soon anyway.
After Schicksal entered the scene, Anti-Entropy and Schicksal became each other's primary opponents.
"Bronya, can Mother ask you for a favor?"
Bronya: "..."
So you want me to fight an S-rank Valkyrie again?
She clearly had the mole script, so why did she have to risk her own life to work for this evil woman?
Bronya didn't understand, but to hide her identity as a mole, she had no choice but to accept the order.
Worst case scenario, she'd just prostrate herself on the ground when she met the enemy.
"Bronya will not accept your order. I am not your subordinate. I am only doing this for Seele."
"I know." Cocolia was unconcerned. "I will give you half of the Warping Titan units. Find a way to delay the Far East Branch's actions."
The main combat forces of the Far East Branch were Theresa, a former Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie, and Murata Himeko, an A-rank Valkyrie.
The Hyperion was powerful, but it was not a combat unit that could be deployed under these circumstances.
As Cocolia saw it, the forces she entrusted to Bronya were already sufficient to handle the situation.
As for the more difficult-to-deal-with Immortal Blades Valkyries...
"Lord Sovereign, Schicksal has discovered our plan and is attempting to eliminate us to maintain their dark rule over the world."
After Bronya left, Cocolia went deep into the base and knelt on one knee before a man with short sea-blue hair.
A clone of the first Herrscher of Reason, number unknown.
The man, with a careless expression, put down his wine glass, letting the blood-red liquid spill.
Welt II looked at the portraits of the two S-rank Valkyries, a haughty curve forming on his young face.
"There are always ants on the ground who dare to face the majesty of the heavens directly."
"Cocolia, your request... I have received it."