"Fifty-fifth."
A strong, powerful lance pierced straight through the head of a five-meter-tall chariot-class Honkai beast.
"Tsk, tsk." Chen Luo looked at the woman rampaging through the Honkai beasts like a whirlwind and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
This—this was what it meant to be a Valkyrie.
This—this was Durandal.
Everyone knew, an S-rank Valkyrie… no, Valkyries came in only two kinds: Durandal, and everyone else.
Without being tricked by Chen Luo, without being shackled by plot armor, Durandal's true strength was finally revealed before him.
Templar-class Honkai beast? What kind of trash was that?
Thirty-one days without sleep, sweeping clean every Honkai outbreak across the world, purging every Honkai beast—that was Durandal. And only now was the true terror of her strength being displayed.
In just half an hour, Durandal had already slain over fifty Honkai beasts—and the big ones at that.
One Honkai beast meant at least thirty crystals, normally around fifty. Even if half the reward was deducted because it counted as a teammate kill, that was still a minimum of fifteen crystals.
Chen Luo had even led Durandal into an Emperor-class Honkai beast, and then… well, there was nothing left to say.
Emperor-class Honkai beast? What kind of trash was that?
This was truly the sweetest meal ticket.
After some begging and leg-hugging, Chen Luo had finally gotten Durandal to agree to half his request:
Help him kill Honkai beasts.
But not a thousand—only a hundred.
It wasn't that Durandal couldn't kill a thousand Honkai beasts, she just thought it was a waste of time.
She was here to capture Chen Luo, not to wipe out Honkai beasts for him.
Still, from Chen Luo's point of view, Durandal would end up killing more than a hundred anyway, since if she happened to see a few zombies on the way, she would casually clear them out.
Yes—casually.
Tsk, tsk.
Durandal was terrifying beyond reason.
If Chen Luo had Durandal's strength, he could wipe Nagazora off the map in seven days.
But Chen Luo soon realized something—Durandal was seriously hindering his progress in raising his Honkai adaptability and his kill count.
Any zombie or Honkai beast that appeared in sight—Durandal killed them instantly.
In the past, Chen Luo had avoided Honkai beasts and gone after zombies instead. Now with Durandal around, it was just a straight-line slaughter.
The result was that Chen Luo could only drag along a few barely-surviving zombies and use his threads to make them help tear down houses.
But even that method didn't work out—because Durandal's pace of killing was just too fast. Chen Luo could barely keep up even while running, let alone dragging along slow-moving zombies.
Durandal slew Honkai beasts in front, while Chen Luo used Anemo energy to speed himself up just to catch her and scavenge materials.
Zombies were different from Honkai beasts—Honkai beasts had a much higher drop rate for materials, and better quality too. Zombies could be slaughtered by the hundreds or thousands without dropping anything useful.
Chen Luo wasn't at the stage where he could craft dolls with the materials yet, but collecting them for now was never a bad idea.
Another half-hour passed. Durandal, her armor slightly battered, stopped after destroying another Honkai beast.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Chen Luo quickly ran up after picking up some useful drops.
"One hundred Honkai beasts slain," Durandal said flatly.
Hearing that, Chen Luo checked Durandal's kill record.
Honkai beasts: 103.
Zombies: 301.
Total: 3,555 crystals.
That was only one hour's worth of loot.
The zombies were basically free extras—just bonus kills.
"Thanks for the hard work." Chen Luo offered her an energy drink.
"It's not really hard work. Call it a warm-up." Durandal stretched, then finally took the sports drink from his hand.
"…"
What kind of Versailles speech was that…?[1]
No, Durandal probably didn't even know what Versailles meant—she was just telling the truth.
It had to be said—when it came to raw strength, Durandal was unmatched.
Well… maybe the Herrscher of Sentience was even stronger. But Chen Luo had gotten so used to her that he didn't even notice her power anymore.
All he really knew about the Herrscher of Sentience was that she hated washing dishes.
And that she was easy to trick.
No, not trick—coax.
"So, Durandal, what's your plan now? Weren't you here to catch me? But you should know by now you can't catch me." Chen Luo shrugged.
At his smug, self-satisfied words, Durandal shot him a glare.
Since when was running away fast considered a virtue?
But she had to admit—Chen Luo really was slippery. His array of escape tricks was impossible to guard against.
Though she'd grown more familiar with him, that familiarity only made her realize just how difficult it would be to actually capture him.
Taking Chen Luo back to Schicksal headquarters? A totally impossible mission.
"For now, I'll help you kill a few more Honkai beasts. Then I want to see that survivor base you mentioned. I'm curious. You said it's full of children, right?" Durandal asked casually.
"Yeah. Almost all kids—most of them partial Stigmata awakeners. Otherwise, they couldn't have survived the Third Honkai Eruption. But that also means, for the time being, they have to stay in Nagazora until we can find a more suitable place for them."
"But you said this survivor base was something you helped someone set up?"
"Right. I helped a mercenary named Raven build it. She may be a mercenary, but she really seems to like kids. When I first met her, she already had a little amnesiac kid at her side." Chen Luo said.
"A mercenary coming into Nagazora during the Third Eruption… you should keep an eye on her." Durandal warned.
"Relax, I've already done some digging into her background." Chen Luo waved it off.
Beep beep!
While they were chatting, Durandal's wrist communicator suddenly began to vibrate violently.
Durandal blinked once, then immediately switched it from voice call to video call.
"Lord Durandal, is your video call function fixed again?" This time, appearing on the screen was still Rita.
Hearing this, Durandal shot Chen Luo another glare.
This guy always liked to parade around under her name—and somehow pulled it off.
But considering she had really been unconscious at the time, Durandal didn't intend to bring it up again.
"That's right, it's fixed again," Durandal nodded reluctantly.
"So you've caught… hmm, I see you've already caught him. Nice to see you again, Traveler," Rita said to Chen Luo through the screen.
"Nice to see you again, Miss Rita," Chen Luo replied.
"I wouldn't call him caught. Although he's right next to me now, his means of escape are top-notch. I doubt anyone in this world could actually catch him," Durandal said, lazily ignoring Chen Luo beside her now that she could see Rita on the video call.
Haha, there's no way to catch him, seriously.
"I see…" Rita nodded thoughtfully.
"Enough about him. Why did you urgently contact me on the emergency channel?" Durandal asked.
"Oh, here's the situation. The Bishop said that if you can't be certain of catching this Traveler, you should return to HQ immediately—there's been a theft at HQ." Rita's expression turned serious.
"Wait, didn't you say it was just a small mouse at first?" Durandal asked, puzzled.
Durandal knew her aide well enough to have confidence in her capabilities.
"Turns out I underestimated the opponent. At first, there were indeed many flaws, but I just realized these flaws were deliberately left to lower our guard and make us think it was just a petty thief. Just now, the opponent stole something very important." Rita's face became extremely solemn.
"What was stolen?" Durandal's heart skipped a beat.
"I heard it's the prototype of the God-Slaying Armor, but the exact name is unclear. Along with it, the Plague Gem was also stolen, and something that has the Bishop extremely anxious disappeared as well." Rita's face was heavy with concern.
"…I'll return immediately."
"Understood," Rita said.
After ending the call with Rita, Durandal looked at Chen Luo beside her.
"I might not be able to accompany you in hunting Honkai beasts anymore. I need to return quickly," Durandal said.
"I understand, I understand," Chen Luo nodded vigorously.
"But no need to look so solemn. If you want to meet me, just come through the bar. As long as you imagine the bar in your mind, you can arrive at any time. But I usually open in the evening, so if you come during the day, I might not be there," Chen Luo explained to Durandal.
"Really? That's quite a convenient existence. Alright, I'll find you when I have time. For now, I have to leave," Durandal nodded slightly.
"Wait," Chen Luo suddenly said.
"What is it?" Durandal paused, about to contact Alvitr.
"Do you want me to escort you?"
"Escort me?" Durandal blinked in surprise.
…
When Durandal followed Chen Luo out of the bar, they arrived at an unfamiliar place.
"Where is this?" Durandal asked, staring at the residence in front of her.
"This is St. Freya Academy. With such a major incident, even the students here should give you some respect and provide a faster aircraft to take you back to HQ," Chen Luo said, then approached and knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" The homeowner came out after hearing the doorbell.
"Oh, isn't this Himeko? Long time no see."
"Long time no see my foot! We literally met yesterday. Wait, Chen Luo, why are you at my doorstep?" The woman opened the door, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
"As for why I'm at your doorstep, you should ask Kiana. But now's not the time to talk about that. Durandal, you should know her, right?" Chen Luo shifted his body, revealing the Valkyrie behind him to the still-dazed Himeko.
"Durandal?" Himeko was clearly surprised.
Himeko had met Durandal before and, in a way, was a 0.1 guide for Durandal entering HQ.
That's right—0.1.
"Major Himeko, long time no see. Did you drink too much again? Shouldn't you be on the Hyperion at this hour?" Durandal glanced at the sun.
"Ah… you might not believe it, but I took a leave," Himeko said, slightly embarrassed.
Seeing her messy hair, Durandal—rigid and old-fashioned as always—would probably lecture her for a while.
"As the captain of the Hyperion… never mind. Major Himeko, does St. Freya Academy have a fast enough aircraft? I need to return to HQ immediately." Durandal decided not to lecture, given the urgent situation.
"Yes, of course. Wait here, I'll get one for you," Himeko said, slipping on slippers as she ran back inside.
"You two talk first. I need to continue killing zombies," Chen Luo waved to Durandal and returned to the bar.
"Mm," Durandal nodded, watching Chen Luo disappear.
[Ding! Mission Complete]
[Rescue Private Kiana]
Reward: 1000 Crystals + St. Freya Student Faculty ID + Random Stigmata.
1000 Crystals obtained.
"Alright, come out. I can't believe you actually stole the Blank Key back." Back in the bar, Chen Luo shouted up to the second floor.
"Hehe, I told you, this time I was going big," the Herrscher of Sentience said, hands behind her back, slowly descending from the second floor with a smile for Chen Luo.
"You really went big. You stole the Blank Key."
"How can you call it stealing? The Blank Key is Fire Moth property. Otto excavated it too, didn't he? Archaeology is just a polite word for grave robbery," the Herrscher of Sentience snorted.
"Fair enough," Chen Luo muttered.
"Guess what I'm holding—that's the big gift I brought for you," the Herrscher of Sentience prompted Chen Luo.
"Emmm, it can't be Otto, right?"
"Tch, so dismissive." She pouted and tossed a golden cube to Chen Luo.
"???" Chen Luo stared at the golden cube, his mind briefly blank.
You… how did you get this?
TL Note:
[1]: Chinese slang for humble bragging