In the center of this battlefield, the nearly twenty-meter-long body of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast lay haphazardly on the ground, surrounded by the scattered remains of lower-class Honkai Beasts.
From the dismembered massive chunks of flesh, one could easily imagine the ferocity of that battle, and further understand what kind of existence this Honkai Beast was.
It could only be said, truly worthy of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Even though it was long dead, the Honkai Beast's massive and scorching Honkai Energy still affected the surrounding environment. As the Honkai Energy in its core continuously dissipated, waves of heat would ripple out from time to time, forming a huge low-pressure field that gave people an inexplicable sense of oppression.
But Himeko's gaze did not linger on the conspicuous Honkai Beast for long; instead, she stared at the young man who appeared somewhat small on top of it.
Seeing Ming Yu's miserable state, she couldn't help but feel guilty, although strictly speaking, she was not responsible for this in any way. After all, she was still on leave, and the mission arrangements for a Valkyrie were not for her to interfere with.
However, this was not a battlefield Ming Yu should have set foot on in the first place.
The young man's originally neat armor had multiple scorched black marks, and from its dull appearance, it was clear that it was not far from being scrapped.
And Ming Yu's right shoulder had a deep gash, the slightly charred flesh rolled outwards, and the flowing blood had stained half of his body red.
Although she felt some reluctance, feeling the cold yet crazed aura from Ming Yu, and that pair of terrifying blood-red pupils, Himeko still held her greatsword horizontally in front of her and shouted loudly, "Do you still remember who you are!?"
"I am..." The young man's throat moved, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't quite get it out.
After struggling for a moment, he suddenly burst out laughing, a line of bloody tears flowing from the corner of his eye, and he shouted, "Kill it... kill... kill..."
Looking at Ming Yu's frenzied state, Himeko bit her lip and sighed heavily, but said nothing more.
Due to intelligence leaks always being an unavoidable problem in Schicksal, the judgment of the squad-leading Valkyrie on the battlefield was particularly important. Under such a premise, the outcome of Squad 16 naturally had multiple causes. But the top priority now was to rescue the surviving personnel, not to pursue responsibility.
"It seems there's no way to make you go back quietly."
Noticing the purple lines that had almost spread to the young man's eyes, Himeko felt increasingly anxious.
Without much hesitation, Himeko changed her greatsword from a horizontal to a vertical position, the tip of the sword firmly aimed at the frenzied Ming Yu, and her armor entered a ready state.
In her nearly ten years as a Valkyrie, she had encountered too many Valkyries who had turned into Honkai Zombies due to losing control of their Honkai Energy, and she had personally sent off many comrades.
Although Ming Yu's condition was not without a chance of being saved, he could also take that final step at any moment, falling into an irreversible abyss.
Even with Theresa's orders, "a general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign," acting according to the situation was the most practical approach.
Although the premise was to save Ming Yu's life, she would absolutely not be soft-hearted if necessary.
Sighing, Himeko decided to strike first. Facing Ming Yu in this state, the longer she delayed, the slimmer the hope became. Only by acting before he completely fell, and bringing him back for treatment, was there a sliver of a chance.
Almost at the same time Himeko made her decision, Ming Yu suddenly stopped laughing, pulled the black longsword from the Honkai Beast, and with a heavy stomp on the Honkai Beast, his whole body shot towards Himeko like a pouncing hawk.
So fast!
Looking at the cold glint on the Divine Key, Himeko's gaze narrowed, and she felt a slight sense of amazement. If this were a normal contest, she would have probably cried out in surprise.
Perhaps it was the result of this month's training, or the effect of the rampaging Honkai Energy within him, but Ming Yu's strike truly impressed Himeko. Compared to the immaturity she had seen before, this strike was clearly more like that of a warrior.
As Ming Yu moved, the residual Honkai Energy on the battlefield was also mobilized, automatically gathering on the blade of Jizo Mitama, dyeing it with a faint purple halo.
A large amount of Honkai Energy gathered on the Divine Key, even causing the phantom of a crimson suit of armor to appear on Ming Yu, making him even faster.
Although this strike was quite extraordinary, perhaps even many A-rank Valkyries would have to temporarily retreat from it. But for Himeko, it was clearly not yet at the point where it was unstoppable. With a slight retreat of her right foot and a slight upward movement of her greatsword, she blocked Ming Yu's attack path.
At the same time, Vermilion also began to operate, and an astonishing amount of power was imbued into the Sunfire Greatsword, adding a layer of dazzling white light to the blade.
Just as Himeko was preparing to receive this strike and had formulated a counterattack plan in her mind, Ming Yu's attack did not arrive as expected.
A faint sigh was heard from the void, and the Honkai Energy gathered on the Divine Key suddenly dispersed, the blade being enveloped by a black and red scabbard that appeared out of thin air.
And Ming Yu, having lost his support, suddenly fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
"Eh? What happened?"
Watching Ming Yu, who had been so aggressive a moment ago, fall unconscious the next, Himeko blinked in confusion, muttering to herself. But obviously, no one would answer this question for her.
Although she didn't know what had happened, Himeko also understood that now was not the time to get to the bottom of it. Even though he had fallen into a coma, Ming Yu's Zombification had not completely dissipated.
Moreover, as Ming Yu fell unconscious, the Honkai Beasts controlled by the Divine Key also collapsed one after another, and the white Honkai Beasts that had been locked in a stalemate with them all started to head towards the two of them.
Looking at the gradually gathering beast pack, a mocking smile appeared on Himeko's face: "You dare to come over, you remnants? I'm really being underestimated."
Although she wanted to call the Hyperion to bombard the area with cannon fire, the thought of the Valkyries' remains on the battlefield made Himeko give up this simple plan.
Besides, it was only a few dozen Honkai Beasts, not much trouble for her. Even if she wanted to clear them all out, it was just a matter of time.
But looking at the Honkai Energy patterns on Ming Yu's face, Himeko decided to make it quick.
"Bring it on." With a swing of her Sunfire Greatsword, Himeko shouted, "em, unlock."
A huge amount of energy was rapidly released from the various components of Vermilion, converging into a torrent that circulated through the modules, providing the Valkyrie with a powerful boost.
Feeling the explosive power coming from the armor, Himeko no longer hesitated and turned into a red whirlwind, charging into the beast pack...