In the central plaza of St. Freya, a black heavy-duty helicopter was slowly descending.
Although it was descending, the speed of its rotor blades was still astonishing, the blades cutting through the air with a whooshing sound.
Squinting slightly, Ming Yu looked at the black helicopter slowly losing altitude, pursed his lips, and his brows furrowed unconsciously.
"What, is something wrong? Ming Yu."
Seeing the change in the young man's expression, the blonde girl beside him asked loudly.
There was no choice. The helicopter's noise was extremely loud. If they didn't want to communicate through lip-reading, they had to shout like this.
Hearing the girl's question, Ming Yu shook his head and replied with the same volume, "It's nothing. I'm just a little disappointed that I don't see a battleship."
Looking at the young man's disappointed expression, the girl opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately no sound came out.
Although it was said that every Valkyrie squad would be equipped with an exclusive floating battleship, rules were rules, and reality was reality. To actually equip every single squad with an exclusive battleship would be a strain even for the wealthy Schicksal.
Having one's own exclusive battleship was a privilege reserved for elite Valkyrie squads.
And as a member of the newly formed Far East Branch Squad 16, a newly promoted B-rank Valkyrie, Ming Yu was clearly dreaming.
Seeing his teammate's speechlessness, the slight frustration in Ming Yu's heart quickly dissipated, and he immediately burst into carefree laughter.
"Actually, it's nothing to be surprised about. After all, the upcoming mission is just a simple, small-scale B-rank mission. We only need to deal with Chariot-class Honkai Beasts. Generally speaking, if a floating battleship needs to be dispatched, it would have to be at least a large-scale B-rank mission, or even an A-rank mission where an Emperor-class target might appear." Ming Yu shrugged, indicating that he didn't care too much about the difference in transport. "From this, we can also tell that this mission won't be too dangerous, just the right difficulty for us newcomers."
Ming Yu's gaze lingered on the girl's hair for a few seconds, and he said with a hint of emotion, "I still remember, my first combat class after entering St. Freya, my opponent was you. I never thought that in just three months, we would become teammates who need to fight side by side."
Yes, the person standing next to Ming Yu at this moment was the very Lia with whom he'd had quite a few interactions.
In the few months at St. Freya, besides Kiana and the others, the person Ming Yu was most familiar with was this girl from Britain.
Although this so-called familiarity was only slightly better than knowing her name, compared to Ming Yu's pathetic social circle, having such a teammate could be considered a stroke of good fortune.
Even though Ming Yu himself had no particular requirements for his companions, an acquaintance was always better than a stranger.
Hearing Ming Yu's sentimental words, Lia tucked her short, ear-length blonde hair, nodded gently, her face also showing a hint of emotion.
Although this assignment was clearly more favorable to Ming Yu, Lia herself might not be too pleased with this combination. Her social circle at St. Freya was certainly not comparable to that of a certain somewhat otaku-like panda boy, but this was indeed not the result of any backroom dealing.
Compared to Ming Yu's balanced Domain Armor, Lia's explosive-damage Pulse Armor was a good supplement, in a normal sense.
Although Ming Yu's own abilities could compensate for the lack of burst damage in the Domain Armor, this was obviously not within the consideration of the Far East Branch's command system, and Theresa had no intention of correcting this.
Hiding a leaf in the forest was the best way to not attract attention.
During the half-month of collaborative training, similar sentimental remarks had been made several times. But considering this was their first mission together, the feeling was particularly strong.
At this moment, the helicopter arrived in front of them, ending their sentimental moment.
Hovering twenty centimeters above the ground, the helicopter did not come to a complete stop, still maintaining a state where it could take off at any moment.
The helicopter cabin door opened, and a black-haired woman in her twenties leaned out slightly. She sized up the young man and woman below for a few seconds before shouting loudly, "Far East Branch Squad 16, get on!"
Looking at the hovering helicopter, Ming Yu frowned slightly. Were they supposed to just jump up?
Although he was a bit dissatisfied, Ming Yu had to admit that this was a time-saving method, and this height was indeed not a problem, especially for them in their battlesuits.
Taking a step forward, Ming Yu said to Lia, "I'll go first."
As he spoke, he leaped up lightly, giving the girl no chance to speak.
Lia looked at the black figure disappearing into the helicopter and couldn't help but sigh, but she still followed immediately.
The light dimmed slightly. Ming Yu quickly adapted to the change in scenery and began to observe the interior of the helicopter.
The black-haired woman who had leaned out earlier was sitting upright in the cabin, a broadsword leaning beside her, which he presumed was her weapon.
Looking at the somewhat heavy brown armor the woman was wearing, Ming Yu quickly recognized it as a type of Drive Armor.
It pairs well with a greatsword, Ming Yu couldn't help but mutter in his heart.
In Schicksal, Valkyries' weapon loadouts generally did not include things like shields. And the only thing that could serve to protect comrades was this kind of wide-bladed greatsword.
Seeing that both Ming Yu and the other had boarded the helicopter, the black-haired woman smiled and nodded, then began to speak, "Although you should already know me from the files, please allow me to introduce myself first."
After a pause, the woman said in a slightly serious tone, "Nice to meet you. My name is Saori, B-rank Valkyrie, captain of the Far East Branch's Squad 16."
Lia, who had boarded after him, straightened her face and answered first, "Lia Toreman, B-rank Valkyrie, member of the Far East Branch's Squad 16."
Glancing at the two serious individuals, Ming Yu showed a polite but awkward smile, but still replied in the same manner, "Ming Yu, B-rank Valkyrie, member of the Far East Branch's Squad 16."
Fortunately, Saori just nodded at the two, motioning for them to sit wherever they liked, and didn't make a big deal about Ming Yu being a "Valkyrie."
In fact, this was a normal situation. As the squad leader, Saori would of course have the general files on Ming Yu and Lia, so she would have long been aware of Ming Yu's male identity.
Although it might be surprising at first glance, it wasn't really a big deal. Men with combat capabilities were not non-existent in Schicksal and weren't worth that much attention.
If this Saori had actually shown surprise at Ming Yu's identity at this moment, it would make one question her professional ethics.
Although for acquaintances like Kiana, Ming Yu becoming a "Valkyrie" was a funny thing, for a stranger like Saori, it was nothing more than that.
Even if she found it amusing inwardly, it was an emotion that had to be completely suppressed if she wanted to get along well with her new squad members.
"Although you all know the objective of this mission, I will now explain the details."
As the helicopter continued to ascend, Saori took out her terminal and began to introduce the detailed situation of the mission.
…