On the way to Richmond Park, Fuli had already imagined several scenarios for his meeting with Boothill.
For instance, he'd shout, and a hulking, mechanically modified man encased in full body armor would emerge from the treehouse. Or maybe something more cyberpunk: a dapper figure in a suit and tie, but with three eyes arranged vertically on the right side of his face.
But no one could have guessed that after his command, what emerged was a half-dead wreck with a huge hole blasted through his chest—you could see straight through to the other side—a chunk missing from his left arm and right leg, and only half a head left, which was still sizzling and leaking motor oil.
"Shouldn't you get that sent back to the factory for repairs?" he advised kindly, tilting his head to dodge a bullet fired from the muzzle.
The special bullet, named "Life's Bloom," instantly sprouted vines upon hitting the tree behind him. The vines spread inward, and in the blink of an eye, tore the tree to shreds.
Such a brutal scene reminded Fuli of the punishment of the Endless Sword Tree, and he couldn't help but click his tongue. "Can't those bullet researchers come up with something a little less unholy?"
What? The bullets my dear Mei invented are far more devastating than this?
Well, the bullets my darling Mei invents won't be used on me!
"We are born of the same root, why should we torment each other so?" Argenti lamented at the sight of the dead tree, composing a poem on the spot. He then tried to clear up the misunderstanding between them. "We come with no ill intent, Mr. Boothill. Could you please explain what you meant by 'you won't harm a single hair on old Alexander's head'?"
"Who the hell explains this and that to their enemies? Eat lead!"
Boothill spat out a mouthful of motor oil to reload his revolver. His remaining electronic eye glowed with a solemn red light, reading the six-dimensional data of the two before him.
He sneered, "Two A-ranks. Those Nazi remnants really think highly of me, sending two more people to assist that white-haired monster."
He slapped his hand back, and the treehouse behind him vanished abruptly, leaving only a small crater.
This was the Traveling Mansion's self-defense mechanism. When in danger, it would randomly teleport to a location within a ten-kilometer radius to avoid being caught in the battle's aftershocks.
Fuli, realizing the problem as well, also spoke up. "Is it possible that we're not with the person you're talking about?"
"Oh yeah, sure!"
As the saying goes, when a person keeps nodding while listening to you, it means they think everything you're saying is bullshit.
Boothill paid no attention to what they were saying, his silver revolver, glowing with flames, unleashing a barrage of fire at the two.
From his perspective, it was perfectly reasonable.
Elizabeth next door had just proven the value of the phrase "you believe what your enemy says?" How arrogant were Fuli and Argenti to think they could convince a battle-hardened Galaxy Ranger that they were on his side with just a few words? What if it was a ploy to get close under the guise of friendliness and then strike a fatal blow?
Boothill had seen similar situations countless times. For one, how many Native Americans died due to disasters brought by seemingly friendly colonists? They exchanged plague-infested wool fabrics and bedding for large quantities of gold, silver, and jewels, then sat back and watched them die of disease before taking their land.
Unwarranted kindness was as deadly as malice. When facing strangers, the only thing a man could rely on was the partner in his hand!
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Eighteen bullets, fired simultaneously, shot towards Argenti, the more flamboyantly dressed of the two. The latter's expression turned grim.
Ghost Loading, a shooting technique that only skilled cowboys could master. In the blink of an eye, the revolver's cylinder was emptied and reloaded. The entry-level requirement was to ensure that every bullet fired could hit the same spot. As the number of reloads per second increased, the difficulty rose exponentially. It was the ultimate technique of breaking through a surface with a single point.
Generally, such a shooting sequence would start with armor-piercing and energy-negating rounds to break through the enemy's physical/energy defenses. Then, subsequent rounds like titanium-alloy annihilation bullets, dragon's breath shells, and new depleted uranium rounds would pour through the created opening, dealing massive effective damage.
Perhaps due to his poor condition, Boothill, who was said to be able to perform a ten-round Ghost Load in his prime, could only manage a three-round burst now.
Even so, eighteen super-precise shots, enhanced by Honkai energy and hitting the same spot, with enough power to easily pierce through a Titan-class mecha, were enough to make any unsuspecting fool suffer!
However, Argenti, the target, made a choice that surprised everyone present.
He stood his ground, not dodging, and allowed the whistling chain of bullets to hit his undefended body.
BOOM!
A violent explosion accompanied a flash of light. The grass and precious four-season flowers burned fiercely, creating flickering sparks that were quickly extinguished by the deepening rain.
When the smoke cleared, Argenti's armor was in ruins, his once-lustrous red hair hung in disarray, and his handsome face was comically covered in a layer of dust and grime.
"Mr. Boothill, I wonder if this is enough to show you my sincerity?" he asked, spitting out a mouthful of black smoke. He stood there still, hand on his chest in a salute.
His handsome brows were calm and resolute, as if he hadn't been the one to just take the brunt of the explosion.
"You?!"
This "foolish" reaction left Boothill stunned.
The man stared at the sincere-looking Argenti for a long moment, then suddenly raised his gun again.
The revolver spun on his fingertip for a few rotations before being holstered. A grin split his face, revealing his trademark shark-like teeth. "Haha, looks like I misunderstood!"
"He who understands the times is a wise man."
A hand patted Boothill's shoulder from behind. Fuli flipped his wrist, retracting the silver bullet that had been just an inch from entering his body.
[Name: Originite Bullet]
[Rank: C]
[Category: Consumable/Explosive]
[Effect: Special attack against machinery. A machine hit by this bullet will be forced to launch countless instances of Genshin Impact. The program will eventually crash due to being unable to handle Genshin Impact's massive memory usage. It is the ultimate trump card of the ○riginite.
[Note: "Ooga booga! Un-ga!"]
A product from his last ten-pull.
Boothill's problematic statements made it impossible for Fuli to kill him directly, and the chances of knocking out a cyborg were slim to none. To control him, he had to resort to unorthodox methods like the Originite Bullet.
Fortunately, Argenti's frankness proved they were friends, not foes, and Boothill was a straightforward man of his word. Otherwise, if the Originite Bullet had really entered his body and his brain had been taken over by countless instances of Genshin Impact launching, the scene... tsk tsk tsk, the thought alone was enough to make one break out in a cold sweat.
"Cough, cough!"
After the situation had calmed down, Argenti clutched the spot where he had been hit and coughed heavily a few times. He wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth before striding over.
Boothill, leaning against a tree, kindly advised, "Hey bro, no need to force yourself if you're injured!"
"No, I was too arrogant."
The scene was rather strange. The attacker was comforting the one who was attacked, while the latter was blaming himself.
"Were you commissioned to protect Alexander? The only one with the motive and ability to do so is... Rita?" Fuli interrupted the bromance between the two men. As expected of the gay capital, England, he thought, while asking his question. "And what did you mean by Nazi remnants? Were they the ones chasing you before?"
Little London had managed to gather several Anti-Entropy Executives, the Hyperion, the remnants of the Third Reich, the Knights of Beauty, a Schicksal Valkyrie, and a Galaxy Ranger all at once. It was a true gathering of demons and monsters.
Speaking of which, wasn't Mobius's Herrscher of Reason copy stolen? The culprit wouldn't happen to be among them, would they?
As the boy was making some baseless connections, the savage roar of an engine echoed through the sky.
"Hah!"
A black-coated Toyota Land Cruiser charged through the sea of trees, recklessly trampling the beautiful natural scenery.
"What's that Shenzhou proverb again? To wear out iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it without any effort!" The white-haired youth stuck half his body out of the sunroof, his golden eyes fixed excitedly on the approaching Fuli and the others. "Durandal's lover, I knew something good would happen if I followed you!"
On his armband, the black 'X' logo on a red background flapped in the wind.
Fuli's sharp eyes immediately spotted the young man in the driver's seat. Deep blue hair, a young face... aside from a different temperament, he was practically a British version of Welt Joyce!
"What a coincidence," he said. The Shadow Weaver Sword split into four and hovered at his sides. He took a step forward, sword in one hand. "I was just wondering where in this huge country I'd find the audacious thief who stole the Herrscher copy. I didn't expect them to deliver themselves to my doorstep."
"Haha! Did you hear that, Heinrich? He said we're a home delivery service!" Aschour casually picked up a few tree branches that had scraped against the SUV and threw them at Fuli's group. The speed wasn't particularly fast, only about the speed of sound, similar to a pistol bullet's muzzle velocity.
Seeing this, Boothill's expression changed drastically. The Galaxy Ranger, who wouldn't even bat an eye at death, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Bastard, get out of the way!"
Listen to advice, eat your fill. In that split second, out of respect for the experienced combatant's warning, Fuli, who had originally intended to block it, stomped hard on a lotus flower generated by a flash step and dodged.
Argenti also tried to dodge, but an invisible force silently crept up his ankle.
It was the pseudo-Star of Eden floating in Heinrich's palm. The hundred-fold increase in gravity made the Knight of Beauty stumble.
BOOM—!
Although it was just casually thrown debris and didn't seem particularly fast, Argenti, caught off guard, was forced back dozens of meters before he managed to block it.
Not only did the marks of his retreat form a deep and long trench, but the arm he had used to defend hung limply at his side, clearly disabled by that one blow!
Aschour, his attack blocked, was not annoyed at all. He formed a blade with his fingers and slashed the air.
A long, narrow vacuum wave whistled towards them again, its speed clearly more serious than his previous casual throw.
"Damn it! Why did you have to be so heavy-handed!" Heinrich in the driver's seat cursed under his breath. "Do you have any idea how much a living British prince is worth on the black market? Those powerful figures in the former Commonwealth colonies are going crazy trying to usurp the suzerain state!"
"Just the morbid curiosity of an inferior race," Aschour said dismissively, then asked curiously, "So how much can he sell for?"
"It's useless to talk about that now, a dead person isn't worth—"
Before Heinrich could finish, several spiral-shaped, crescent-moon-like scythe shadows came whistling over.
They collided with the narrow vacuum blade that was about to kill Argenti. After a brief struggle, both attacks exploded, the chaotic light and shadow dyeing the knight's silver armor and red hair even more vibrant.
"My sincerest apologies, Mr. Argenti."
A captivating, nightingale-like female voice echoed through the forest. The perfect maid with gray hair and crimson eyes walked over with graceful steps, as if she had measured the distance in advance.
Her gaze swept over everyone present, pausing for a moment on Fuli, before her ruby lips parted. "It seems Rita has arrived just in time."
The scythe held in her reverse grip dripped with the blood of the enemies it had touched.
Rita was puzzled. She had anticipated everyone else's presence, but she was curious as to why Fuli was here.
However, now was clearly not the time for reminiscing. Besides, apart from official business, she didn't think she had anything to reminisce with him about.
Her cold, beautiful eyes, filled with hidden killing intent, swept over Aschour, who was grumbling in dissatisfaction at having his attack blocked. Rita retracted her gaze and murmured in a voice only she could hear, "This... is the strongest at the critical level you spoke of?"
No matter the world, even in a magic-less, basic material universe, the term "strongest" always caused ripples in people's hearts.
It was in a creature's nature to admire strength.
In this chaotic Honkai world, putting aside the monsters above the rank of Sequence Grand Position, although the title of the strongest S-rank was held by the latecomer Durandal, many people questioned this, believing she was only Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie, not the strongest among the S-rank group.
The existence of Jingliu, the former Sword Champion of Cangcheng who had rebelled against Shenzhou, and Siegfried Kaslana, who wielded the Key of Destruction, was enough to silence many of Durandal's supporters.
And among the critical level, the current head of the Seven Swords of Taixuan, Yanqing, and the Stellaron Hunter, Sam, were both strong contenders for the title of "strongest."
As someone who had fought against the latter two, Rita did not believe that a person who could defeat them would suddenly appear among these Nazi remnants who crawled in the gutters.
Moreover, as a genius herself, the maid was also confident in her own abilities.
So she said, "Your Highness Argenti, Lord... Fuli, please leave these two gutter crawlers to me. Please take care of Mr. Boothill."
Ah, just like the last playthrough.
Seeing Rita deliberately avoiding his gaze, Fuli couldn't help but complain inwardly.
He had no idea where he had offended this Valkyrie who had a similar eye color to him. But fortunately, he hadn't turned back into a child this time due to the side effects of a spell. As long as he could end this quickly, she probably wouldn't reveal that perverted, yandere-like side of hers again... right?
But then again, letting Rita handle the enemies alone was clearly not an option.
The body Heinrich was occupying was a copy of the Herrscher of Reason. It didn't matter who got their hands on it, but if Schicksal did, it would be a disaster.
With his brother... ahem, Overseer Otto's character, as long as he had Welt Joyce as leverage, under the banner of righteousness, even if Anti-Entropy didn't fall apart, they would at least be severely weakened.
Raiden Ryoma was a major financier of the Hyperion! If he was weakened, where would their budget come from? How would he support the four beautiful girls at home!
Besides, the triangular structure of Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and the Taixuan Front had only just stabilized. If Schicksal started a large-scale war, how would the Hyperion, which wasn't even considered a medium-sized organization yet, have time to develop at a leisurely pace?
So he said, "Leave the driver to us. We came all this way, we can't just be spectators."
Her crimson eyes glanced sideways at the boy, who had changed a lot compared to her memory. Rita snorted softly, refusing to listen.
"???"
Fuli was dumbfounded. This damn woman is so unreasonable... okay, I'm the unreasonable one. Rita-jiejie is very shrewd. It's impossible for her not to know the value of the Joyce copy.
Thinking of this, the boy quickly gave Argenti a meaningful look, hoping that this kind-hearted big brother could help him persuade her.
This was a major event that would affect world peace!
"Forgive my impertinence, Ms. Rita." Argenti did not disappoint Fuli's expectations. He took a step forward and volunteered, "I know it is difficult for us to be effective in a battle at the critical level, but please give us the opportunity to share your burden."
"...!"
Just as Rita was about to say something, she noticed his limp arm and was startled.
In mythology, the hero Siegfried bathed in the blood of the dragon Fafnir and gained an invulnerable body.
Later generations used this legend to create a ritual: bathing in dragon's blood, wearing dragon scales, and eating a dragon's heart, ultimately creating a set of armor that contained the power of an ancient dragon.
And Argenti was the dragon slayer who had completed this ritual.
He had slain the evil dragon that plagued Ireland with his faith, and had the concept of a dragon attached to the surface of his skin, gaining incredibly powerful physical defense.
And Aschour had managed to disable one of his arms with just a casual throw of some debris. And thinking back to how it had taken several of her own blade strikes to cancel out the enemy's casual blow...
"Thank you for the suggestion. I'll leave Heinrich to the two of you."
Rita was not one to be stubborn about face, nor was she inflexible.
Her phoenix eyes under her gray-gold bangs glanced at the clueless Fuli again before she brandished her scythe. A snake of ice tens of meters wide rose like a boundless river, its ferocious maw biting down on Aschour, forcing him away to create a new battlefield.
"Just showing off your little tricks!"
Just as Aschour was about to wave his hand and shatter it, he caught a glimpse of his companion, who had gotten out of the car, shaking his head at him.
"Alright, remember to capture Durandal's lover alive for me!" After shouting this to Heinrich who remained behind, the white-haired youth curled up into a ball with his hands over his head, letting his body be carried away.
Rita followed close behind. As she passed Heinrich, she flipped her weapon and pulled back, unleashing countless blade lights that ravaged the surroundings, trying to take the opportunity to severely injure or even kill him.
But before the blade energy could even get within ten meters of the man, it was suppressed and crushed by a sudden increase in the gravity wave. Heinrich gestured with his chin, indicating that his companion would return if she dallied any longer. Rita could only sigh inwardly and turn to leave.
...