"Wait, Ana, stop for a moment!"
A startled Sushang hurriedly tried to halt the chestnut-haired girl before her who still wanted to keep fighting.
"Your body's condition isn't right, you can't go on like this... ack—"
Before Sushang could finish her sentence, a spike of ice shot up from below.
"Hey now, who stops in the middle of a fight? I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I know normal people have a cooldown period after unleashing their ultimate move."
Ana curled her lip.
With plenty of sparring experience against Durandal, she knew very well that if she wanted to defeat an enemy of this caliber while outmatched, she had to seize every fleeting opportunity—especially the opening right after they'd just battled against Mei.
Besides, given the current situation, it was clearly Sushang who needed to buy time.
Every second wasted on her end increased the likelihood of a major Honkai Eruption in Nagazora City. So even if something really was wrong with her body, Ana wouldn't stop now.
She had already been cowardly once in Manila. The same mistake—she would never make it a second time.
"No, I told you, something's wrong with you right now. Why are you so damn stubborn..."
Watching Ana completely ignore her and just attack relentlessly, Sushang wore a look of utter helplessness.
But she also knew clearly that Raiden Mei, whom she had just knocked down, was only temporarily exhausted from overloading her armor.
If Ana stalled for just a little while longer, Sushang would immediately face a two-on-one situation—especially since she also had to protect the equipment.
"Tch, whatever, can't worry about that now. She's already being affected, growing obsessive... gotta interrupt her demonic descent first..."
Feeling the not-so-abundant Honkai Energy within her body, Sushang also knew she couldn't afford to delay any longer.
So, even though she was reluctant to use this technique on a future colleague, Sushang began channeling the Taixu Sword Qi at full power.
To those unfamiliar with it, Taixu Sword Qi might just seem like a decent offensive art. But few knew that Taixu Sword God could actually be used for psychic attacks as well.
It couldn't compare to those powerful psychic-type MANTIS warriors, but knocking out someone like Ana with zero psychic resistance? That was hardly difficult.
Sushang adjusted her breathing, and the glow of Taixu Swordplay once again swirled around her hands.
"With heart as sheath, nurture the sharp blade!"
A giant ethereal sword projection appeared in the sky once more, but unlike before, this greatsword was semi-transparent.
An uninformed observer might think Sushang was running low on Honkai Energy and weakening.
And obviously, that's exactly what Ana thought.
Having already had one "successful experience," she immediately decided to try "face-tanking the ultimate" again—if she'd withstood it last time, there was no reason she couldn't handle this weakened version.
And so, a few seconds later...
The chestnut-haired girl was lying on the ground, fast asleep.
"Master was right after all—the core of Taixu Sword Qi really does rely on mental cultivation..."
Not bothering to explain the situation to Tesla, Sushang hurried over to Ana's side to check on her colleague's condition.
Even though they had just been fighting to the death moments ago, this Miss Ana was also acting for Nagazora City's safety.
Moreover, while Sushang didn't know what a "Imaginary Singularity" was, she certainly knew who Otto was.
These people coming in waves were clearly being manipulated by that bastard Otto. As everyone knew, if you got played by Otto and could still stay calm... well, you were something else.
"Hey, wait, what are you doing?!"
Over on the other side, Tesla—who had just repaired Mei's armor and was brought onto the battlefield by Mei—was about to lend support to Schicksal's reinforcements when she witnessed a scene that made her feel like the sky was falling...
This seemingly serious and traditional-looking swordswoman, after knocking Ana out, had climbed on top of Ana and started stripping off her clothes, then began groping her all over!
Just where have I ended up? Is this the Honkai? Do we get defeat CGs here? And weren't ancient people from Shenzhou supposed to be conservative? This doesn't look conservative at all!
The red-headed lobster doctor's small eyes were filled with immense shock, even her usual cursing seemed to stutter.
As for Mei beside her... don't ask, she was even more stunned than Tesla.
"Doctor Tesla, should we... interrupt them?"
"This... this ****, I don't know either?!"
But before the dumbfounded duo could discuss anything further, Sushang over on the other side suddenly moved.
Her actions abruptly halted, an expression of clear disbelief flashing across her face. Then, she sharply turned her head to look at Mei and Tesla, who were still frozen in shock by her antics.
"You two! Stop spectating over there and come help already!"
Even though Sushang probably didn't mean it that way, having seen Wendy and Kiana both enter Lynelle's room before, Mei sadly realized the first thought that popped into her hopeless brain was actually, 'Wow, a developer conference'?
But before she could worry about her own bizarre thoughts, Mei quickly realized she didn't have time to think much at all.
Because Sushang had whooshed off Ana's body in a flash, reappearing several meters away.
Even Mei and Tesla, dozens of meters apart, could feel the surrounding air temperature plummeting.
And Tesla, glancing at the instrument in her hand as if sensing something, let out a sharp screech.
"Holy shit, did you just grope Ana into becoming a Herrscher?!"
"Though I don't know what 'becoming a Herrscher' means, this probably is my fault..."
Sushang's face was full of remorse.
"I shouldn't have used the Taixu Sword God on her... I thought it would stop her demonic descent, but it seems her condition wasn't demonic possession at all—it was an inner demon…"
"By knocking her consciousness out, I actually gave the inner demon an opening. I've failed her..."
"?"
While Tesla still looked utterly confused, Mei—having lived in the Far East for years and read plenty of Shenzhou novels—instantly understood. She quickly translated for Tesla.
"Sushang says she thought Ana was turning into a zombie. In that state, using more Honkai Energy would be suicide, so she knocked Ana out to stop the zombification."
"Only after knocking her out did she realize Ana's condition wasn't zombification—it was Herrscher transformation…"
"The moment the primary personality lost consciousness, it allowed the core to take complete control of the body..."
"So that means..." Tesla said, utterly bewildered, "the three of us half-crippled fighters have to go up against a newborn Herrscher?!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.