—Theresa's Private Training Room—
"We've arrived. This is my private training room."
Theresa turned back to look at Kiana after opening the system and completing the authentication. "If you want to train, apart from improving your cultural education level, the best method is still combat."
"The more battles you experience, the more situations you can face. The stronger your power becomes, the more people you can protect."
"Mn, I got it." Kiana nodded. Looking at the surrounding venue, her face was full of eagerness. "What do I need to do? Go down to the training grounds below?"
"Mn, go ahead, go ahead." Theresa waved her hand, then looked at the eager Kiana and added, "Although it is a simulated battlefield, the conditions are not much different from a real battlefield, so don't be careless."
"Then let's bring it on." Kiana clenched her fists. Just as she was about to go down, she stopped in her tracks and looked at Theresa. "Uh, where is my armor? Do I need to go to the sortie room to put it on now?"
"This is a virtual battlefield; you don't need to come wearing Valkyrie armor. This is high-end stuff." Theresa kicked Kiana into the training grounds. "Let me think... what kind of enemy would be good to arrange for you first?"
Just as Theresa was pondering which enemy to find for Kiana, the screen suddenly flashed with a mass of noise. Just as Theresa became puzzled, the noise quietly disappeared.
Theresa was a bit stunned. This system of hers shouldn't have had any problems. What was that just now? Could it be because it hadn't been used for too long?
"Auntie, are you done yet?"
While Theresa was still pondering, down on the field, Kiana could wait no longer. Seeing this, Theresa made one final check. Seeing that there shouldn't be any problems, Theresa started the system.
—Himeko's Villa—
Fu Hua walked over after finishing her own matters and her daily afternoon exercise. It was definitely not yet 7 o'clock.
However, it was a gathering, after all; it didn't mean they could only eat. Originally, Fu Hua had planned to go find Irene to ask about the condition of the two, Danzhu and Cangxuan.
But because Irene was resting, it wasn't convenient for Fu Hua to disturb her. Instead, she was grabbed by Bronya, who lacked a playmate, and dragged along to play video games.
"The Class Monitor is very strong..." Bronya nimbly pressed the buttons on the controller in her hand, attempting to find an opening in Fu Hua's defense. But every probing attack was precisely intercepted by Fu Hua. It failed to produce any effect.
"It's a very intense fight." Himeko held a beer, watching the fight between the two on the TV. "This is really the first time Bronya has been pushed to this extent, isn't it?"
They had long known that Bronya was a gaming expert. Or rather, who among the people in the villa, including Theresa, hadn't been thrashed by Bronya in games?
"Indeed, very strong." Fu Hua also nodded, calmly pressing the block button to precisely defend against every one of Bronya's tricky attacks.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Mn?" Hearing the knock on the door, Himeko looked up toward the entrance. At this hour, things shouldn't be finished on Theresa's end yet, right? Or were they preparing to come back to eat? But listening to the commotion, it was impossible; they definitely carried keys.
"It's so late, who would come to visit?" Himeko shook her head to make herself a bit more sober, set down the beer can in her hand, and sat up from the sofa.
Himeko casually set down the beer can in her hand, sat up from the sofa, stretched her back, and walked toward the door. She opened it, looking at the man before her who wore a blue trench coat with a hood obscuring his face.
"Who are you?" Looking at the strange man in front of her, the originally somewhat tipsy Himeko instantly became vigilant. She had never seen this man within St. Freya.
The man looked at Himeko before him and fell silent for a moment, seemingly confused as to why Himeko would appear here, but he still coughed lightly and replied: "I am the Principal, the new Vice..."
Before the man could finish speaking, he was sent flying by a punch from Himeko, sliding across the ground.
"Teacher Himeko?" Hearing the commotion, Mei poked her head out from the kitchen, looking at Himeko. "Is something wrong? Did a classmate come over?"
"Classmate, my ass." Himeko casually responded to Mei, then took out a training greatsword from the cabinet beside the door and hefted it onto her shoulder. "I don't recall Theresa ever having a new Adjutant."
"If you're going to make up a lie, you should remember who you're telling it to, idiot."
"Cough, cough." The man who had been punched by Himeko climbed up from the ground, touching the spot where Himeko had just hit him, his eyes full of anger.
"In the intel, weren't you hospitalized? Bastard! That bunch of bastards in the intelligence department are completely unreliable."
In the intelligence, shouldn't this A-Rank Valkyrie have been eroded by Honkai energy? Shouldn't she be in the hospital? At the very least, she should be a patient lying in bed. How did this sprightly appearance look anything like someone eroded by Honkai energy?
"As expected, someone from Anti-Entropy." Himeko faced the night breeze to blow away some of the alcohol fumes. "So, you guys really still can't let go of Mei, huh?"
The man in front of her was definitely not from St. Freya, and definitely not from Schicksal. And although St. Freya didn't have total external defenses, it wasn't a place where just any petty thief could sneak in casually.
Then the greatest possibility was someone from Anti-Entropy. And since they came here, nine times out of ten it was for Mei's sake. It seemed they were still obsessing over the Gem of Conquest inside Mei.
"Heh heh heh, it doesn't matter. What use is a mere A-Rank Valkyrie?" The man let out two cold laughs and pulled back his hood. "I am the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, the Herrscher of Reason, Welt. A mere Valkyrie, step aside."
Himeko frowned after listening to the man announce his title, but she expressed disdain for the other party claiming to be the Herrscher of Reason. If he really was the Herrscher of Reason, would he have been sent flying by that punch of hers?
If it really was him, then this Herrscher of Reason who founded Anti-Entropy and caused them quite a bit of trouble was way too watered down. It was probably some kind of body double, right?
Speaking of which, is Anti-Entropy really that arrogant? Just sending a body double to announce a name and thinking they could scare her off? If that was really the case, then Anti-Entropy was truly a bit too naive.
Of course, Himeko wouldn't overly underestimate the opponent either. Judging by the fact that he could take her punch and seemingly only suffer from face pain, he truly wouldn't be weak.
Himeko tilted her head slightly and glanced at Fu Hua, who had come up behind her. "Be careful. This guy shouldn't be simple. I didn't hold back with that punch just now..."
Himeko hadn't finished speaking when it felt like she received an extremely heavy blow. Her entire person almost collapsed onto the ground. "...Urgh, my body became heavy?"
"Project Bunny, fire!" Bronya also dropped her controller and summoned Project Bunny behind her. Across the wall, she fired a shot. A thick beam pierced straight through the wall and lunged at the man.
"Heh." The light dissipated. The man appeared unharmed. It seemed there was some kind of barrier in front of the man; when the light beam struck it, it was directly dispersed, unable to touch the man.
After displaying a wave of his own power, that man looked with a face full of arrogance at Himeko, who was barely propping herself up with the greatsword, and Fu Hua, who had assumed a fighting stance behind her.
"I don't have time to play with you. Hand over the Herrscher of Thunder and that Valkyrie named Irene. I won't kill you today, otherwise..."
The man calling himself Welt raised his hand. A chunk of the ground was forcibly ripped up and turned into rock powder in the man's hand. "This rock is your fate."
"Chitter-chatter, you sure talk a lot!" A shout suddenly exploded from the air. The window on the second floor of the villa instantly shattered. A Starry Judah, clad in starry glints, rushed violently out of the window, smashing directly toward the man.
The Judah, like a meteorite falling into the mortal world, smashed directly in front of the man. But just like the beam earlier, it was blocked by some invisible shield.
Irene jumped down from the breach smashed open by Judah. She had already switched into Kallen's appearance. Irene looked at the Judah that had been bounced away and tugged the chain to retract Judah back to her hand.
As for whether using Kallen's card here would have any impact? There were no surveillance cameras at the villa entrance or in the surroundings. Theresa was very considerate in this regard.
The dormitories, apart from necessary areas, had no surveillance installed to protect the privacy of the students or teachers living nearby. Since there was no worry about exposure, there was no harm in using it.
Moreover, the Oath of Judah was always an optimal solution when facing this kind of enemy. Since there was no need to worry about exposure, there was no reason not to use it.
Irene twisted her neck to loosen up her body and looked with a face full of helplessness at that so-called First Herrscher. "Ah, really. We were in the middle of a celebration party. Couldn't you have picked a different time to come over?"
"Mn, who are you?" The so-called First Herrscher looked at the suddenly appearing Irene with a face full of confusion. He did know that the intel mentioned he might encounter someone from the Kaslana Family.
Could it be her? Silver hair and blue eyes did match. But what was with this weapon? Wasn't this thing held in the hands of that shorty named Theresa?
And the intel said that the Kaslana Family member had at most the combat power of an A-Rank Valkyrie. But that strike just now was far beyond an A-Rank Valkyrie.
"I have no name to give to you." Irene hefted Judah, looking at the First Herrscher. "Idiot. Just right for me to vent my anger on. You should be a decent choice."
With these words from Irene, borrowing the momentum of the massive Judah, Irene ran directly forward. Himeko and the others responded instantly, following Irene and charging toward the man in an encircling formation.
Bronya, meanwhile, stood in place, using Project Bunny to fire beams continuously. Although every attack was dispersed upon contact, the thick beams could still serve to obscure vision.
Facing Bronya's continuous artillery bombardment, the man claiming to be Welt scoffed coldly. This level of attack couldn't break his gravity field at all.
It was even less likely to hurt the noble him. Because of this, the First Herrscher stood in place, arrogantly looking at Bronya, and raised his hand. A sphere carrying black and purple colors appeared in his hand.
Although Cocolia required him not to hurt her daughter, teaching her a little lesson wouldn't matter. It had been a long time; let's see if Cocolia dares to get angry at him.
But before the purple-black sphere in his hand could be thrown out, Himeko at the side had already hefted the training greatsword in her hand and hacked down viciously.
The greatsword slammed directly into the surrounding repulsion field. Feeling the strange force constantly trying to flick the greatsword in her hand away, Himeko frowned.
And the First Herrscher standing in the middle of the barrier directly threw the purple-black sphere, originally intended for Bronya, toward Himeko.
Looking at that black sphere, Himeko didn't want to test its power with her body. Borrowing the repulsive force transmitted from the heavy sword, she retreated directly to dodge that strange purple sphere.
On the other side, Fu Hua gave a low shout. Her figure flashed like a ghost. The True Qi formed by the Taixuan Sword Qi surrounded her body as she charged directly into the First Herrscher's gravity circle.
The Taixuan Sword Qi surrounding her body drove Honkai energy to resist the influence of gravity to a certain extent.
Subsequently, a strike of 'Inch Force: Mountain Landslide' hit directly on the First Herrscher's chest, hammering him away.
Himeko, who had just allowed herself to be flicked away by the force, instantly followed up, the heavy sword in her hand slashing quickly. The First Herrscher could only urgently create a repulsion barrier in front of himself, attempting to block it.
But in this moment of distraction, Bronya's beam also blasted over, completely submerging his lower body in light and heat.
Irene, who had been waiting for an opportunity at the side, also instantly reached out. The bell of Judah instantly extended several chains to bind the First Herrscher's four limbs. The attached Power of Binding took effect instantly.
The First Herrscher, who had originally planned to resist, was instantly paralyzed after losing control of the Honkai energy in his body. The black sphere that had been condensing in the air vanished instantly.
His entire person was directly bound by Judah, paralyzed on the ground. Dozens of small chains of light extended from the chains on his four limbs, binding the First Herrscher's body.
"It's just this level, after all." Irene looked at the so-called First Herrscher who was taken down in an instant. In the end, it was just a clone. Unless the First Herrscher's situation was rather special.
Even if Cocolia cloned him thousands or tens of thousands of times in the replication tank, she couldn't produce a clone possessing the ability.
Of course, even if copied over, it was still a super counterfeit. Just like this guy in front of them—his Honkai energy wasn't even considered strong. Aside from the ability of the Star of Eden obtained through DNA, this guy didn't have any merits.
He wasn't even as good as a Honkai Beast, which was full of Honkai energy. At least they could try to struggle using Honkai energy. This guy couldn't do anything after being tied up.
"After all, he is a fake." Himeko shrugged. This kind of thing was obvious at a glance. If this guy were truly the First Herrscher, then after fighting Anti-Entropy for so long, had they just been fighting a counterfeit?
Although the gravity manipulation ability the opponent displayed was indeed a bit strange, it wasn't impossible to break through. Thinking he could confront Schicksal with just this was truly too whimsical.
So this was probably some kind of stand-in. Anyway, no matter what, this guy was definitely not that legendary First Herrscher, Welt.
"Mm-hm~" Irene nodded, pulling the First Herrscher up like she was carrying a dog. "Alright, our Mr. Fake Sovereign, let's have a chat, shall we?"
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉