"Who?!"
Yunduo shouted. Her movements paused for a brief moment, but then she did not stop.
With a wave of her hand, another Spear of the Void appeared, and just like the previous attack, she thrust it fiercely toward the Mimic Herrscher.
Instantly, the Mimic Herrscher Yuna felt a force like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood; her body was about to be ground into fragments by the Spear of the Void.
But seizing that instant—just a fraction of a second—she retreated rapidly before dying, barely saving her life. Then, she glanced at Yunduo in fear, her vines retracted, and she fled into the distance.
Seeing the Mimic Herrscher fleeing, Yunduo did not continue the pursuit.
There were more important things to do right now.
"Come out!"
Yunduo's gaze was ice-cold as she looked toward a corner of Chiba Academy.
That was where a cherry blossom petal had appeared earlier, followed by the sudden appearance of a Tachi that blocked her attack.
Yunduo waited, her Spear of the Void locking onto the position.
"Herrscher..."
A girl with cherry-pink hair, looking like a shrine maiden from a hundred years ago, slowly walked out from the corner.
She had a slender figure and a cold, exquisite face, with equally cute fox ears that twitched slightly.
At her waist hung a Tachi, which should be the sword that attacked Yunduo just now.
Looking at this person, Yunduo hesitated.
"Yae Sakura?"
She murmured softly, as memories began to slowly surface in her mind.
In her long experiences, Yunduo had rarely had contact with this person.
However, she still vaguely remembered a bit and had some good feelings toward her.
A shrine maiden from five hundred years ago, she should now similarly exist as a Mimic Herrscher.
If she wasn't mistaken, Theresa was rescued by her.
Why was she stopping her?
Looking at Yae Sakura's wary gaze toward an enemy, combined with the 'Herrscher' she had just mentioned.
Yunduo understood; this person had mistaken her for a Herrscher.
"I am not a Herrscher."
Yunduo frowned, wanting to try and explain to avoid unnecessary conflict.
"..."
Yae Sakura didn't speak. It seemed she didn't believe anything said by Yunduo, who clearly possessed a herrscher core.
She had been deceived before and knew the cunning of Honkai, so she would not easily trust others.
Yae Sakura drew the Spirit Blade Sakura Blossom, facing Yunduo in a dangerous offensive stance.
Seeing this, Yunduo knew that this kind of stubborn person would definitely not easily believe the words of a stranger.
"So, should we have a fight first?"
Before Yunduo could raise the Spear of the Void again, she saw the cherry blossom petals around her drifting away with the wind.
In her sight, a rich fragrance scattered everywhere as the wind blew.
And those rabbit ears also turned into dust amidst the ripples of cherry blossoms.
In the blink of an eye, Yae Sakura vanished from before Yunduo's eyes.
"Gone?"
Yunduo whispered.
This was a Honkai Energy spirit form; it was hard to catch the real body.
However, it was also because Yunduo didn't take the initiative to give chase.
Right now, there was something more important to do: check the extent of Kiana's injuries.
Yunduo deactivated her armor, returned to her original form, and walked out of Chiba Academy.
When she returned to the transport plane, she found that the trio had already arrived inside.
Mei and Bronya were sitting together, seemingly not in a very good mood.
Meanwhile, Kiana had been bandaged up and was lying on a wooden board with her eyes closed, resting.
"How is Kiana? Was she pricked by a poisonous vine just now?"
Yunduo walked over to Mei's side and asked softly.
"Yes... she was accidentally pricked in the leg by that Herrscher, but the wound isn't deep. She pulled it out in time, and there was a specific antidote in the transport plane, which we've already given to Kiana." Mei nodded hesitantly, a look of worry flashing across her cheeks.
"She's asleep now, so let her sleep a bit longer. As for finding Principal Theresa, Bronya and I can handle it together."
"Bronya is fine. Sister Yunduo doesn't need to worry," Bronya agreed.
Yunduo walked to Kiana's side and saw that her hair was soaked with sweat, the delicate ends tangled together.
As if thinking of Theresa, the tightly-eyed Kiana let out a faint sleep-talk: "Ugh... Aunt... I will find you..."
Her calves, often exercised, were smooth and elastic, but now they were wrapped in bandages.
The faint sweat mixed with the hazy body fragrance of the girl, sweet like milk.
Yunduo reached out her right hand, smoothed Kiana's furrowed brow, and then gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue.
Having done all this, Yunduo said to the two watching from the side: "Let her have a good sleep first."
"I'll go contact the Nagazora Garrison. We'll rest there tonight and get some supplies. It's getting late, so we'll deal with the Mimic Herrscher tomorrow,"
Yunduo instructed. Without realizing it, she had already become the pillar—or rather, the captain—of the three-person team.
Kiana was naturally flighty, Mei's personality was soft, and Bronya spoke too little; all three lacked the temperament of a captain.
She didn't usually show much authority, only making the final call in battlefield situations to improve efficiency.
"The Nagazora Garrison? Will they welcome us?"
"The Far East Branch doesn't have a good reputation in other departments..."
Mei explained, tucking a sweat-dampened strand of hair behind her ear: "Because Principal Theresa's teaching philosophy is completely inconsistent with the philosophies of all branches and units under Schicksal. There have been frictions before. Once, the Valkyries of St. Freya Academy were blocking an attack by Honkai Beasts alongside another branch."
"Later, that branch demanded the Valkyries hold the line with their lives, while the Headmaster ordered us to retreat and use more valuable, purchased mechs to fill the gap."
"Since then, other branches haven't looked kindly upon us."
"...That is indeed Theresa's style."
Yunduo pondered for a moment, feeling that Theresa would indeed do such a thing.
Compared to the headquarters and other branches that treated Valkyries' lives as consumables, Theresa treated the Valkyries as her own people.
Then, she softly comforted the worried Mei: "Don't worry about it for now. At least we're all from Schicksal; they can't just sit by and do nothing."
The group made up their minds, and Yunduo told the pilot to head toward the location of the Nagazora Garrison.
Every city destroyed by the Honkai has a Valkyrie Squad guarding the fortress to prevent Death Soldiers or Honkai Beasts from getting out and dealing a devastating blow to ordinary cities.
Before long, everyone spotted a red dot on the transport plane's radar, which was exactly the Nagazora Garrison.
Because the transport plane was marked with the Schicksal logo, they were not blocked.
Once the transport plane was parked, Yunduo jumped off and saw a Valkyrie Squad walking toward them.
This squad had ten people, led by a blue-haired girl holding a gun, who was looking at them cautiously.
"Which department are you from? What is your purpose for coming to our Nagazora Garrison?" the leading blue-haired girl shouted.
"We are from the Far East Branch. We've come for supplies. One of our Valkyries was injured by the Mimic Herrscher in Changkong City and needs to rest now."
Yunduo explained.
"Mimic Herrscher?"
The blue-haired girl's expression changed instantly.
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