"Have you all memorized the mission details?"
Saori asked seriously as she pulled open the helicopter's cabin door. A violent gust of wind rushed past, blowing a few strands of hair from her temples, giving her an indescribably heroic and valiant look.
"Memorized!"
Ming Yu and Lia answered in unison, their faces filled with determination.
Nodding, Saori gestured to the two of them and said sternly, "Then, I declare the operation has begun!"
After speaking, she walked to the edge of the helicopter without hesitation and leaped out.
Glancing at the excited blonde girl beside him, Ming Yu's heart also began to pound with excitement.
Although he had gone through similar training many times this past month, now that it was time for a real battle, he still found it difficult to remain calm.
But even so, he didn't hesitate for long, immediately walking to the edge of the helicopter and preparing to jump.
After exchanging a look with Lia, Ming Yu took a deep breath and, just like Saori before him, leaped out.
Feeling the wind roar past his ears, watching the forest below rapidly expand in his vision, Ming Yu felt every cell in his body cheer with joy.
At this moment, he only wanted to say one word: thrilling!
The helicopter was several hundred meters above the ground. Without any other factors, it would only take them about ten seconds to land. But at the same time, the powerful gravitational acceleration would also turn them into meat paste the moment they hit the ground.
However, since Ming Yu dared to jump, how could he be unprepared?
It was time.
Feeling his speed increase, Ming Yu glanced at the two sword-shaped folding wings extending from his lower back and the metal armor encasing his legs, and quickly made a decision.
"Swift!" Ming Yu shouted.
The next moment, the armor, having received the voice command, began to operate. Blue points of light appeared on the armor—the flames from the engine's thrusters.
Ming Yu felt his body jolt to a sudden halt as a massive propulsive force was continuously transmitted from the armor, and his descent speed began to slow down visibly.
"Bang!"
Deftly avoiding the tree branches, Ming Yu finally landed on the ground. His legs connected with the earth, and even with the cushioning of the humus, it still made a dull thud.
As Ming Yu landed, the "Swift" began to disintegrate, breaking into countless fragments that scattered around him.
What a pity.
Seeing this, Ming Yu clicked his tongue, a faint sense of regret rising in his heart.
But he quickly put it behind him. The "Swift" was designed for landing, serving the same purpose as a parachute pack. While he felt a slight pang of regret for such an exquisite disposable item, he wouldn't dwell on it.
Opening the communication channel, Ming Yu reported, "Ming Yu, landed safely!"
The next moment, Lia's voice also rang out: "Lia, landed safely!"
Receiving their reports, Saori quickly issued an order: "Well done. Now, gather at my position. Be careful!"
After replying with a "Roger that," Ming Yu didn't close the communication channel and directly activated his tactical goggles.
As a semi-transparent screen unfolded before his eyes, the positions of the other two team members were immediately displayed.
After confirming their locations, he saw that the three of them were not far apart, only a few hundred meters in a straight line, which was just a few minutes' journey in this forest.
Seeing this, Ming Yu felt slightly relieved; they hadn't been separated.
Of course, this distance couldn't be called close, but Ming Yu wasn't demanding. After all, his use of the "Swift" couldn't be described as skillful, so a little error in his landing position was inevitable.
After deactivating the tactical goggles, Ming Yu carefully observed his surroundings.
Giant trees dozens of meters tall were everywhere, their dense branches blocking out most of the sunlight. The occasional golden rays of sun that filtered through formed conspicuous spots of light on the ground.
Feeling the thick texture of the tree bark, Ming Yu was also slightly amazed. At least in his original world, trees of this height were extremely rare, especially these species.
Although he couldn't name these trees, he knew that it was definitely not normal for these particular trees to grow to thirty or forty meters.
He had long read in books that in areas where Honkai Eruptions occur, even the natural environment often changes, sometimes resulting in rampant plant growth. But when he truly witnessed this scene, he was still shocked by the extent of this "rampant growth."
If environmental extremists knew about this, they'd probably start causing Honkai Eruptions themselves, wouldn't they?
As he thought about these random things, Ming Yu slowly made his way towards Saori's position.
Along the way, Ming Yu could easily spot some footprints two or three meters long. Clearly, these belonged to those Chariot-class Honkai Beasts.
However, Ming Yu knew his limits and didn't pursue them.
Saori's order was very clear: rendezvous first, then continue the mission.
With guidance from a senior, there was no need for Ming Yu to go investigating alone. He wouldn't refuse an easy win when he could get one.
Besides, those Honkai Beasts were probably twenty to thirty meters in size. Although he wasn't afraid of them, there was no need to fight them alone.
Ten minutes later, Ming Yu finally reached the designated location.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Pushing aside the branches blocking his way, Ming Yu walked over and said to the two girls resting against a large tree.
"Ah, it's okay. I just arrived myself."
With a faint smile, Lia waved her hand and said softly.
"It's fine, we're not in a hurry for this mission."
Nodding, Saori indicated that Ming Yu didn't need to worry about it.
Seeing that his captain was so easygoing, Ming Yu gradually relaxed. Although he had often imagined what kind of superior he would have, meeting someone so kind was, for now, a good thing.
After some hesitation, Ming Yu asked about the size of the Honkai Beasts.
After all, the largest Honkai Beast he had seen before was only about ten meters tall, completely incomparable to those that were twenty or thirty meters.
Hearing Ming Yu's words, Saori didn't answer immediately, but stared blankly at the boy who had asked this question, her eyes full of surprise.
"Generally speaking, the size of a Honkai Beast is closely related to its strength. The larger a Honkai Beast is, the stronger it tends to be..."
Before Saori could speak, Lia chimed in with an answer.
Unlike this elite B-rank Valkyrie, Lia knew that Ming Yu had only been enrolled for a few months, so it was normal for him to have some gaps in his knowledge.
Even though this question could be classified as common sense, Lia still patiently explained it.
With the girl's enthusiastic answer, Ming Yu finally understood, and he also understood the meaning behind Saori's earlier look, as if she were looking at an idiot.
Although it was indeed foolish not to know this, he really couldn't be blamed.
All this time, the way he judged a monster's strength was simply by its attack power and the thickness of its health bar.
Even St. Freya High School's training grounds, due to space limitations, had never simulated a Honkai Beast taller than ten meters.
Coupled with the fact that he had never paid much attention to Honkai Beasts, it was only natural that he wouldn't know about such things.
At the beginning of this simple training mission, Ming Yu felt the bitter sting of an illiterate, and he also understood what it meant to regret not studying when you need the knowledge.