The streets were flooded with panicked crowds. The moment the colossal monster appeared in the sky, the city's residents were once again thrown into chaos.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What the hell is this? Did I jinx it? Is this a karmic backlash?"
An unnamed Valkyrie Captain on vacation glared at the giant monster in the sky, then spun around and rushed toward the Arc City Branch.
"Holy moly, there's no way the Valkyries can handle this thing. Even if Miss Durandal herself showed up, she'd probably just have to stand there and watch helplessly..."
Inside the combat command center, a group of Valkyries stared at the drone footage, beginning to question whether it was even feasible to destroy such a massive creature with Valkyrie-level power.
"This thing is just too damn big... Even that Cat-Eared Herrscher would probably take half a day to deal with it... And she'd have to worry about collateral damage to the city and its people."
"Tsk, it's tough being a good guy these days..."
The Valkyries standing nearby nodded in agreement.
"Bring out the heavy weapons and everything else... Prepare to assist the Arc City Guards in evacuating the crowds out of the city. Also, send a distress call to Headquarters."
The two Valkyrie Captains from the Arc City branch sighed and issued their orders to the squad.
"Even if a Herrscher is helping us, we can't just stand by and watch—"
"As their seniors, we can't retreat without a fight."
-
Arc City at night. The once-dim sky was repeatedly illuminated by the firepower of mechs and Valkyries. Exploding shells lit up the heavens above the city, as if daylight had returned. After the initial panic, the city's population regained basic order thanks to high-decibel, city-wide broadcasts and began an orderly evacuation under guidance.
"Tch, our firepower is barely scratching this thing."
The mech pilot stared at the monster in the sky, completely engulfed in explosions. The creature merely let out piercing wails amidst the barrage, causing headaches and ringing ears for everyone nearby. The combined firepower of the mechs and the Valkyrie Force seemed to have no real effect.
"Where's that white-haired superhero with the cat ears? We can't take this thing down on our own—it'll take forever!" the pilot shouted through his loudspeaker at a Valkyrie nearby, who was also unloading a multi-barreled rocket launcher at the colossal monster.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Even if she's going to help us now, we still need to lure this thing away from the city, right?"
The Valkyrie, having emptied her magazine, reloaded her rocket launcher and shouted at the pilot beside her—
"Lure it out? Why didn't you say so sooner? Hey, hey, can you hear me? All mech units, prepare for luring operations—"
"Isn't the default plan to lure it out for Schicksal's incoming Aerial Reinforcement Fleet to annihilate? Uncle, what were you Shenzhou people planning to do???"
A nearby blonde Valkyrie shot him an incredulous look.
"Huh? We were planning to wait until everyone evacuated, then drag out those heavy multi-barreled rocket launchers that have been gathering dust in the warehouse and give 'em a spin. Just blanket the area with firepower and bury this son of a bitch right here..."
"I haven't seen those big boys fire in ages. The last time we brought them out was for the Honkai Beast tide during the aftermath of the Third Honkai Eruption in the Far East Island Nation a few years back. Man, that was a blast! Girl, when you came to Arc City, did you see that plain northwest of the city?"
"Ah, I saw it. Isn't that Arc City's agricultural zone? What about it?"
"Years ago, that place used to be a small hill. The Honkai Beast tide came from that direction. Man, killing those monsters back then was so damn satisfying."
The older pilot sighed nostalgically, leaving the Valkyrie utterly confused.
"Uh, Uncle, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Ever heard the saying, 'Poverty breeds tactical genius, wealth breeds overwhelming firepower'? That plain wasn't cleared for expanding our agricultural zone—"
"We blasted it flat with overwhelming firepower back then. Girl, if you dug around in that soil, you might still find some old shell casings. A lot of people used to collect them to forge into kitchen knives and stuff. I even have one at home."
"...I don't get it, but I'm deeply impressed."
The blonde, European-looking Valkyrie's expression twisted. She was beginning to understand why her Valkyrie colleagues from Shenzhou were so fond of heavy firepower equipment or weapons like gunblades. The former was due to a "firepower deficiency phobia," while the latter... hmm... was a cultural complex from Shenzhou, something called Wuxia?
Forget it... I hope that young lady understands what we mean...
The Valkyrie sighed and grabbed onto the mech's handhold.
"Let's go, Uncle! We need to start moving. That big guy is heading for our position."
"Speaking of which, Uncle, what do you guys think of that white-haired, cat-eared Herrscher?" the Valkyrie asked, starting a new topic as she hung from the mech while it relocated to a new firing position.
"She's a good girl. All the young lads in the force really like her... No, wait, those little brats fall for any pretty girl with white hair. A bunch of horny little rabbits."
So it's true that Shenzhou people have a thing for white hair...
The Valkyrie fell into deep thought, contemplating whether she should dye her hair white to finally get off the singles market.
-
"Still no contact with Kiana, Miss Bella?"
As the group walked through the corridors of Heliopolis Life Sciences, Imhotep glanced at Benares and the Sirin Doll following beside her. The latter shook her head vigorously.
"Emmmm... Aren't Herrschers and their Familiar Honkai Beasts supposed to have a telepathic link?"
"Could it be... Kiana found another dragon out there?"
Imhotep stroked her chin, her speculation dripping with malicious glee.
"...No way! Lady Kiana only needs me! I can feel her presence, but our connection seems to be severed by something..." Bella retorted loudly, sensing she was about to be unfairly branded a cuckold.
"Severed? That must be our little cutie's doing... They might not be in the same space or dimension as us right now..."
Imhotep shook her head helplessly.
"Sigh~ Looks like I have to handle this myself... Does World Serpent even offer overtime pay or subsidies...?"
"Ma'am, we don't carry anything like that..."
Under her intense stare, Gray Serpent considered their recent tight finances and decisively rejected the customer, who looked like a reckless spender.
"Tch—"
Her request for money denied, Imhotep glared viciously at the Witch's Night in the sky, already calculating how many pieces she could carve it into.