The moment the countdown hit 00:30, the Herrscher simultaneously detected anomalies in three directions of the orphanage.
"So that's how it is?" The Herrscher glanced back in the direction of the three anchors. "A decent open gambit."
This was an open gambit. The method to break the situation had always been clear: simultaneously sever the connections of the three anchors. This was something he had to guard against, and something the other side had to achieve.
This was a battle that had to be fought.
The Herrscher was now certain. The two-hour time limit was a script specifically created to restrain him.
So someone has already analyzed my power? To be so targeted, the other side really has some skilled people...
To be able to deduce all his powers in such a short time based on his limited actions...
No... perhaps it wasn't based on my actions?
"Come... let's see if you can fulfill your own roles..." The Herrscher chuckled, pulling one hand out of the brilliance and beginning to pull the threads behind him.
---||---
At the same time, the three parties that had burst out from cover froze abruptly.
Kiana's body trembled slightly. Mei's footsteps halted. She stopped in front of Kiana, her eyes fixed on Kiana's every move.
The girl's eyes were still vacant, but her body slowly began to rise from the ground. Then, she assumed her most familiar combat stance, facing Mei.
"Kiana..." Mei immediately realized what was happening. Her heart sank, and she slightly angled the Xuanxuan sword in her hand.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened them again.
The next moment, without a second thought, Mei blocked with the Xuanxuan sword in front of her chest. Immediately after, Kiana's fist slammed into the blade.
Mei knew that her own movement of raising her hand was faster than Kiana's attack, but in reality, Kiana was the one who had initiated the attack. The distance and the large movements were all completed by Kiana.
Mei could only defend herself against Kiana's attack by acting well in advance.
And even with the defense, Mei couldn't withstand Kiana's terrifying force. With just that one punch, Mei was sent flying, crashing into a house a dozen meters away.
Kiana retracted her fist. Just as she was about to give chase, a sharp sword aura flew out from the dust kicked up by the rubble. Kiana simply dodged to the side, and the sword aura grazed past her by a hair's breadth.
Kiana dodged the next few sword auras in the same way. Dodging like this, she charged into the building, heading precisely for Mei's location.
There was no visual search process in between.
Mei endured the soreness in her hands and, without hesitation, turned and ran.
She had no ability to fight Kiana head-on and could only rely on the narrow indoor environment to stall for time.
If it were Kiana... she would probably start throwing things at the enemy...
Thinking this, Mei flipped over a table and immediately rolled on the ground. An unknown projectile from behind flew past her head, almost grazing it.
Next, Kiana will start to charge...
Mei's footsteps came to a screeching halt, and she abruptly changed direction.
Almost at the same instant she turned, a white figure rushed past her, the force so great that it shattered the wall at the end of the room.
Next is to use the wall to charge at me again...
Kiana, like a gecko, braced herself against the wall for a moment, then lunged at Mei again.
Mei suddenly felt a sense of relief and quickly took two steps to the side.
The wall was shattered by Kiana's immense force. Kiana missed again. Mei quickly ran to the window, then leaped out of the already broken window.
Just as she was about to fall, Mei stabbed her sword back into the wall behind her, hanging herself on the edge of the window.
The next moment, Kiana's figure rushed out from above her. When she saw Mei hanging by the window in mid-air, Kiana was clearly stunned. But with no foothold in the air, Kiana could only follow her momentum and fly far away.
Mei didn't dare to linger. She swung her body, stood on the sword, and then quickly flipped back into the house.
After pulling out the Xuanxuan sword, Mei immediately lowered her head and ran into the house. As she expected, almost a second later, the wall was shattered, and Kiana charged back into the house, looking at Mei.
Her fighting habits were exactly the same as Kiana's... She could use her knowledge of Kiana to stall for a while.
But in the end, her hands were tied, and Kiana's current state... she probably wouldn't hold back.
Mei also believed in the power of emotion, but she needed to be responsible for more people. Bronya was also in danger...
She looked at Kiana standing before her, ready to attack at any moment, and finally raised her hand.
"I need help..."
At the same time, Kiana lunged forward, charging straight at Mei.
A soaring melody suddenly erupted. It was the kind of music that would appear at the climax of a battle, covering the entire battlefield with a magnificent fighting spirit.
Mei suddenly felt many things faintly appearing in her mind.
How Kiana would attack, how she should respond to these moves—everything was like a pre-choreographed sequence, just waiting for the two martial arts actors to start feeding each other moves.
Kiana's body paused for a moment. Then, Mei "naturally" saw a minuscule, almost non-existent pre-movement from Kiana.
—A straight punch!
Mei took the initiative to step forward, her Xuanxuan sword behind her back. With a simple tilt of her head, she dodged Kiana's punch. Then, Mei pressed her palm against Kiana's abdomen.
Kiana staggered back several steps. Mei continued to press forward, reaching for Kiana's neck.
Kiana's movements were ultimately much faster than Mei's. As she staggered, she precisely controlled Mei's wrist.
Just as Kiana was about to turn and throw Mei, the soaring music suddenly erupted with a powerful drumbeat.
Mei saw Kiana's movement suddenly pause... no, she had suddenly accelerated!
Everything in the world slowed down. Mei immediately understood the situation. Using the acceleration, she shook off Kiana's hand, which hadn't had time to tighten its grip. Mei took two steps to get behind Kiana, wrapped an arm around her neck, and pressed her to the ground.
The world returned to normal. Kiana struggled forcefully for a couple of times but was still firmly pinned to the ground by Mei.
"I'm sorry, Kiana!" Mei said, sitting on Kiana's waist to restrain her. "It'll be over in half an hour... just a little longer... just a little while..."
"Watch out—!"