"Ten, nine..."
"Sister Lynelle, what are you counting?" Seele, standing nearby, asked curiously.
"I'm waiting for a pufferfish to throw itself into my arms." As she spoke, Lynelle stretched her hands toward a particular spot.
And then...
"Lynelle, Lynelle, Lynelle!"
Along with a spatial rift, a familiar figure abruptly materialized mid-air, landing perfectly in Lynelle's embrace.
"Hehe, my dear little Sirin, have you missed—yowch!"
Before Lynelle could finish, the puffed-up little pufferfish had already opened her mouth wide and chomped down on Lynelle's cheek.
"Stupid Lynelle, for leaving without a word!"
"I... I couldn't help it..."
After giving Lynelle's cheek a gentle bite, Sirin soon began to softly lick the same spot a few times, then flashed a satisfied smile.
"But you still deserve a good punishment, hmph! Anyway, it's an emergency, so I'll save the lecture. Let me switch Kiana out for you..."
As she spoke, the white-haired girl's golden eyes instantly reverted to a clear sky-blue.
Kiana, now fully in control, blinked in momentary confusion before letting out a sharp "pfft"—her face erupting into a cloud of steam.
"Hey now, were those memories really that powerful...?"
Seeing Kiana like this, Lynelle didn't need to think twice to guess it was probably due to the earlier "demonstration of artificial fountain usage."
She couldn't help but find it a bit amusing. Even after reaching the point of attending developer conferences with Wendy, Kiana still had this oddly innocent shyness around her.
"A-anyway, welcome back, Lynelle..."
Without giving Lynelle a chance to speak, Kiana abruptly sealed her lips with her own enticing cherry-colored mouth—such a bold move that even Seele, watching from the side, flushed crimson and covered her face, yet couldn't resist peeking through her fingers with a gaze mixing shyness and just a hint of envy.
"Hah... hah... silly Kiana, so intense right from the start—Seele's right here watching us!"
Only after several long seconds did the two slowly separate, a silvery strand briefly connecting their lips. Lynelle shot Kiana a reproachful look, murmuring her complaint.
"Even... even if you couldn't help yourself, we could've waited until we got back to—"
"It's because Sister Lynelle is too tempting!" Sirin, having switched back again, showed no hint of guilt whatsoever.
"If we weren't pressed for time, I might have... ahem, anyway, let's head back to the safe zone in Nagazora first."
"We've already delayed too long; Bronya and Schicksal's Valkyries are having a rough time."
"You mean you've already been attacked by a Honkai beast tide?"
Lynelle, allowing Sirin to link arms with her and Seele, asked with some confusion.
"Mhm, and not just an ordinary tide. These are special Honkai beasts carrying a frigid aura. The situation is so strange that I suspect a new Herrscher may have appeared in Nagazora..."
"Frigid aura, Herrscher?" Lynelle drew a sharp breath; that combination made her think of a certain possibility.
"Sirin, who is leading Schicksal's support unit?"
"Um... I think it's Ana Schariac? Since she's kind of a junior to Mama Cecilia, I remember her pretty clearly... Lynelle, why do you look like that?"
Seeing Lynelle suddenly grimace as if nursing a toothache, Sirin asked curiously.
"N-no, it's nothing... Let me ask one more thing, though. In the support unit, there wouldn't happen to be a guy named Chen Tianwu, would there?"
"How would I know that...? But that sounds like a boy's name, right? Probably not. Aside from logistics and tech support personnel working remotely, I don't think there are any males in the unit."
"That's a relief..."
Lynelle let out a heavy sigh.
If it were just Ana alone, she could probably handle it.
But if they decided to put on an "Iced Coffee" performance for her in Nagazora... well, Lynelle might have no choice but to pull out a character card and swap someone in.
Seeing that Lynelle seemed to have no further questions, Sirin quickly activated her authority. The figures of the three vanished on the spot.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
"Armored Bunny, fire!"
The blue motorcycle was still tearing recklessly around outside the safe zone, acting as if its driver had completely forgotten about her last license suspension.
Yet, despite the intimidating display, the frontline—which had just begun to show signs of pushing back before being forced into retreat again—told the real story.
Once the frigid Honkai beasts became the main offensive force, the extreme low-temperature chill, surpassing the design limits of the Valkyrie battlesuits, quickly demonstrated its deadly power.
The numbing cold slowed reactions and stiffened movements, rapidly amplifying the Valkyries' injury rates.
Factoring in previous casualties, the Valkyrie line was now even more fragile than the Quantum Titans Tesla had brought along.
"This can't go on..."
Bronya gritted her teeth, uncertain whether to use that move she'd learned from Mr. Welt—the pseudo-black hole, a notorious technique known to be a guaranteed hit for any Herrscher of Reason.
Just then, however, a sensation of "warmth" abruptly interrupted her thoughts.
Gentle, radiant white light began to shine from behind the battlefield.
This light didn't seem to provide warmth alone; Bronya noticed in astonishment that the injuries on the battling Valkyries were healing at an incredibly rapid pace.
Sensing something, Bronya whirled around. Sure enough, at the edge of her vision, she saw a girl she'd been longing for day and night—the source of these warm rays.
At the same time, strange changes occurred among the Honkai beasts on the frontline.
Some Valkyries suddenly realized that certain beasts would abruptly halt their attacks mid-fight, then, as if fading in color, shift into a white-and-green form and turn against the frigid Honkai beasts behind them.
After battling these faded Honkai beasts for a while, the original frost-wielding beasts would then become infected, transforming into faded versions themselves.
"Alright, Bronya, come back for now. Leave this frontline to me for the moment."
Lynelle's gentle voice echoed directly in Bronya's mind.
Simultaneously, one of Sirin's spatial rifts opened beneath Bronya without warning, pulling the hellfire-girl and her ride back to the rear.
"Bronya-onee-chan..."
Before Bronya could fully shake off the disorientation from the teleportation, a soft voice sounded beside her ear. Then, Bronya felt herself enveloped in a familiar embrace.
Almost instinctively, Bronya hugged Seele back.
"Ah, such a star-crossed pair of lovebirds..."
Witnessing this blooming lily scene, Lynelle couldn't help but shake her head with a sentimental expression—only to be "ambushed" once again by the little Sirin beside her.
"Don't go saying such flag-raising remarks right now!"
--+--
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.