"Swish~"
The crimson blade flashed, slicing an Assault-class Honkai Beast in two. The white remains fell limply to the ground.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Ming Yu exhaled a long breath, sheathed his Sakura Fubuki into the wooden scabbard at his waist, and sighed, "Clearing out these Honkai Beasts is really tiring!"
Looking with some envy at the exquisitely crafted scabbard at Ming Yu's waist, Saori silently slung her broadsword onto her back.
There was no helping it; Schicksal's weapon provisions didn't include scabbards. Although they weren't very useful, as a finishing move, they looked cool!
Stretching her neck, Saori consoled, "Alright, stop complaining. At least the Honkai Beasts we're encountering now are much fewer. There probably aren't many left in this damn place."
Hearing this, Lia and Ming Yu both nodded in agreement. Indeed, the number of Honkai Beasts they were encountering now was much smaller than before.
If it were just Ming Yu by himself, it might be possible that he had wandered out of the Honkai Beasts' active area. But Saori, who was leading the way, was an experienced Valkyrie and obviously wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
Therefore, their efforts had paid off; the Honkai Beast population in this area was indeed decreasing.
Since this battle wasn't particularly intense, they only took a short break before setting off again.
While searching for Honkai Beast tracks, Saori said without turning her head, "By the way, you guys are still living at St. Freya High School, right? That place is pretty nice, but the Far East Branch's military base is not bad either. After this mission is over, I'll take you for a good tour and show you the training room that belongs to our Squad 16."
"Consider it... a courtesy from a senior, I guess."
As if thinking of something amusing, Saori's hearty laughter echoed through the forest.
Hearing Saori's words, Ming Yu, who was slacking off in the rear, couldn't help but smile, his eyes narrowing slightly. He began to look forward to Saori's promise.
As a serious military organization, although the leader of the Far East Branch didn't seem very reliable, its military base was still extremely secure.
Even Ming Yu had only been there once to receive and calibrate his armor. But even then, that magnificent metal structure had left him profoundly shocked.
Although he could apply to live at the base after becoming an official Valkyrie, he still chose to stay at St. Freya High School.
After all, the serious atmosphere of a military base was clearly not as good as the leisurely and carefree life at St. Freya. Besides, teasing Kiana daily was a fun activity only available at St. Freya.
Plus, he hadn't officially graduated from St. Freya High School yet! Although he didn't really care about such things, it was nice to be able to stay at St. Freya for a little longer.
Suddenly, Saori at the front of the team stopped in her tracks, and her continuous explanation came to an abrupt halt.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Saori's unusual behavior, Ming Yu quickened his pace and came to his captain's side.
Saori didn't answer, just pointed forward with a slightly trembling finger.
And when he saw the scene in the distance, Ming Yu couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"How can this be..."
Seeing what Saori was pointing at, Lia's small mouth fell open, and she mumbled under her breath.
The rising terrain ahead suddenly dropped, forming a sizable basin. And in that basin, countless white behemoths were prostrated on the ground, forming walls of white flesh.
However, if it were just a large number of Honkai Beasts, it wouldn't be enough to make the battle-hardened elite Valkyrie Saori lose her composure.
But in the center of the beast swarm, several white, siliceous bands were coiled into the shape of an egg, surrounded by more than ten huge red Honkai Energy crystals, like a crystal throne.
It's unknown which Honkai Beast sensed the human presence, but it let out a long howl.
With one howl after another, nearly two hundred Honkai Beasts stood up one by one, their gazes fixed on Squad 16's position. The dense cluster of red eyes was enough to make one's scalp tingle.
"I think... this mission... is probably over now."
Gripping the greatsword on her back, Saori said in a deep voice.
"Are we... going to survive?"
Lia clenched the black long spear in her hand and said, biting her lip.
"Well, something like that... how would we know unless we give it our all."
Tightly gripping the hilt of his Sakura Fubuki, Ming Yu felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest.
In his goggles, the location of the giant egg was a sea of red, the conspicuous color clearly indicating two words—DANGER!
For Valkyries whose mission is to fight the Honkai, finding traces of Honkai Beasts during an annihilation mission is a good thing. But encountering Honkai Beasts of this magnitude was probably a misfortune.
Now, Saori finally understood why the number of Honkai Beasts in this area was "off the charts," and she also knew why the number of Honkai Beasts they had encountered had been decreasing.
For such a large number of Honkai Beasts to gather together was clearly not for a party. Not to mention whether they even had the concept of a party, at least they wouldn't be kneeling on the ground for one.
They were celebrating, celebrating the birth of their "King."
And the thing inside that giant egg was undoubtedly their new king, an incubating Emperor-class Honkai Beast!
Although the three members of Squad 16 were shocked by the scene before them, the white beast swarm clearly had no intention of waiting for the opponents who had disturbed their ritual to come to their senses. They all charged towards the humans in unison.
In the air, Assault-class Honkai Beasts flapped their sharp wings, flying rapidly with gusts of wind.
Even Templar-class Honkai Beasts opened the plates on their backs, took to the skies, and followed closely behind the Assault-class Honkai Beasts, their white long spears constantly waving.
And on the ground, the Knight-class Honkai Beasts led the charge, with the Chariot-class Honkai Beasts close behind, and the Arbalest-class Honkai Beasts also rushed forward on their short legs, unwilling to be left behind.
Feeling the ground tremble, the faces of the three members of Squad 16 instantly turned pale.
"To run into a situation like this on my first mission... I'm really not a qualified captain, am I~"
Sighing, Saori said as if resigned to her fate, her voice filled with endless regret.
"No! It's not the captain's fault!" Lia said loudly, her pretty face filled with urgency.
Ming Yu frowned and also advised, "That's right, this has nothing to do with the captain!"
"You don't need to say any more! No matter what, I am the captain of this mission. Bringing you back safely is my duty and my mission!" Shaking her head, Saori paid no mind to the words of her two team members.
"There are still many things I want to tell you, but it seems there's no time left~
"I declare: this mission is over!"
"You are all excellent rookies, members I can be proud of. Given time, you will surely become stronger Valkyries than me."
Saori spoke with extreme speed, not giving the two any chance to interject.
Turning her head, Saori looked seriously at her two team members and said, word by word, "Remember, you have to survive!"
With that, the captain of Far East Branch Squad 16 immediately activated her armor and charged towards the giant egg.