Chapter 262: Do Not Be Arrogant
"Is your hand okay now? I heard it was in pretty bad shape. And to make things worse, Seele also lost her powers, so she couldn't use her Authority to help you."
"You think this is just anywhere? Sigurd's technology is the best in the world!"
"Well, that's true… Come, let me have a look."
Kiana grabbed Sin Mal's previously injured hand, turning it over and inspecting it carefully. She kneaded it a bit, closed her eyes, and even let out a blissful expression.
"So soft, so smooth… Even though your personality is totally unlikable, this hand is actually pretty nice—fair, tender, kind of cute."
"('-'*) Let go…"
"Ahh, so small, so soft, it feels so good to the touch!"
"(ー`´ー) I said, let go…"
Sniff sniff! "It even smells a little sweet. Can I lick it—"
"(▼皿▼＃) I SAID LET GO OF MY HAND, YOU PERVERTED COCKROACH!"
SMACK—
The exceptionally loud slap immediately drew the attention of all the girls in the meeting room.
Everyone turned to see Sin Mal mid-slap, her face filled with disgust, a visible vein bulging on her forehead, making her emotions crystal clear.
Kiana's head was tilted to the side, a red handprint imprinted on her cheek. She froze for a few seconds before slowly turning back and muttering blankly,
"Uh… I was just messing with you. No need to take it that seriously, right?"
"Shut it!"
With an absolutely deadpan expression, Sin Mal snapped back at Kiana, whose face still carried an innocent look.
SMACK! SMACK!
At the head of the table, a certain girl in a mini professional suit adjusted her glasses. Bronya firmly tapped a black teaching pointer against the board, producing a sharp, crisp sound.
"You two over there—no messing around. We are in a meeting!"
"Yes!" ×2
Kiana rubbed her slapped cheek with a completely unconcerned expression, while Sin Mal puffed out her chest, eyes sparkling with ❤❤, both responding in unison.
Bronya lightly tapped the teaching pointer against her palm, seemingly satisfied. Then, on the blackboard, detailed information about the enemy forces appeared.
Sirin:
She commands the Authorities of Space, Domination, Ice, Wind, and Death. Previously, she had even contained six Herrscher cores, and her actual limit remains unknown.
Regardless of how much she has developed her abilities, just the sheer fact that she possesses five times the energy level of a typical Herrscher makes most strategies utterly useless.
The Herrscher of Thousands:
They seem to have become Sirin's tools for regeneration and substitutes for taking fatal blows. Though they are individually weak, their presence is incredibly troublesome.
Benares, the resurrected dragon:
A Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Its performance in the Siberian battle… was questionable at best, but it still possesses Herrscher-tier power and cannot be ignored.
Among these three forces, the most dangerous, without a doubt, was Sirin, who had repeatedly defeated the Herrscher team since her revival. The terrifying power granted by her five Authorities alone was enough to instill despair in anyone just by hearing about it.
Bronya tapped the board again and spoke in a calm, yet merciless tone,
"These are our enemies. And as for our combat strength? We have Mei, who can wield an Authority, and six warriors who are roughly at the average S-rank level… To be honest, Bronya wishes surrender was an option."
Facing the five members of the Herrscher Squad and their support member, Sin Mal, Bronya regretfully shook her head.
From a pure data perspective, this battle wasn't just difficult—it was suicide.
The reactions from the group varied.
Kiana scratched her cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed. After all, the biggest problem literally came out of her. This time, she had definitely screwed everyone over.
Sin Mal remained unfazed. As long as Bronya gave the order, it didn't matter what kind of enemy stood before them—this loyal dog would charge in without hesitation.
Wendy pursed her lips, silent but resolute. As the squad leader, she bore responsibility for their previous defeat. Moreover, even in the area where she excelled, she had been utterly crushed by that bugged-out Herrscher of the Void. She admitted her failure, but she refused to let it happen again.
Raiden Mei glanced at her teammates, feeling a pang of guilt.
If—
If she had resolved her own internal rejection of her power earlier…
If she had fought alongside Wendy and the others from the start…
Wouldn't their situation be much better right now?
Seele clenched her small fists tightly, the most visibly shaken among them. She was the youngest, with the simplest background, never meant to be involved in war. Yet, the loss of her power had caused the other Seele to fall into a deep slumber, leaving her unable to communicate with or even confirm the other Seele's well-being. No matter what, Seele had to do something about it. In the end, she bit her lip and stubbornly looked at Bronya, showing no intention of backing down.
As for Ana, she held a thick introductory book in her arms and let out a silent sigh—not exactly feeling "reborn," but the past few days had indeed brought her significant growth. She had no fear of battle.
"Not bad..."
A barely noticeable smile crossed Bronya's lips. No matter what, at least she saw no fear or defeatist attitudes. Just from that alone, the Herrscher team had already made great strides in their mindset.
"Before we talk about the future, let's first reflect on the past," Bronya said, her voice steady. "I've watched all of your actions from start to finish. Your initial probing was decisive, and your decision to split up mid-operation was based on a reasonable understanding of the mission's nature. There were no fundamental issues with these decisions. So then, what caused this failure? Wendy, can you answer?"
Bronya pointed her teaching stick at Wendy, her expression unreadable.
Wendy hesitated for a moment before answering,
"Lack of proper intelligence work… and we got careless."
"Good, that's an accurate summary!" Bronya nodded approvingly. "Yes, from a pure strategic standpoint, you first conducted an aggressive recon mission, sacrificing Ana's Authority in the process. That led to a major victory. But then, you grew overconfident. Because of that, Kiana proposed splitting the team, and Wendy agreed. After that, Wendy acted with only Seele, failing to consider her complete lack of battle experience. You also didn't account for how losing Kiana would weaken your ability to deal with spatial threats."
"In short, you all got cocky. You assumed the Herrscher of Thousands would be easy to handle. You treated the whole thing like a training exercise, thinking a bit of carelessness wouldn't matter, right?"
The Herrscher Squad collectively lowered their heads.
Bronya's tone remained calm throughout, but that only made them feel even more ridiculous about their past selves.
Shaking her head slightly, Bronya continued,
"The situation with the Herrscher of the Void was indeed unexpected. But if you hadn't underestimated your enemy, even if you still lost, at the very least, you wouldn't have given up so much power. In short, I expect you to learn from this mistake."
"Sigurd once told us—ignorance and weakness are not the greatest threats to survival. Arrogance is."
Bronya's teaching stick pointed at each of them in turn, pressing a heavy weight upon their minds.
As Sigurd's most trusted lieutenant, she had learned more from him than anyone else. In terms of warfare, she already had multiple successful solo operations and command-level victories. Her words carried not only the authority of a strong warrior but also the influence of Sigurd himself—making it impossible for anyone to refute them.
After a brief pause to give the team time to reflect, Bronya knocked on the blackboard again. The display changed, and she resumed,
"Alright, now onto the main topic. First and foremost, this is your last chance to turn things around.
"The Herrscher of the Void's threat level is already high enough. I will not allow her any further opportunity to grow, nor will I let her interfere with the Grandmaster's plans.
"I have arranged for backup forces, including Teacher Fu Hua and Durandal, along with a series of extermination strategies. If you fail, I will eliminate the Herrscher of the Void without hesitation.
"This is your only chance.
"Now, given the power disparity between our forces, sending you in head-on would be unrealistic. So, I have requested special support measures from Sigurd. The next phase of the operation will be built around these reinforcements."
Bronya looked around at the group and then said,
"The details of the plan are as follows—"
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