A short while earlier, Raiden Mei and Dr. Tesla had successfully arrived in Arc City aboard an Anti-Entropy transport ship. Upon reaching their destination, Tesla immediately ordered the mech unit to enter stealth mode and, together with Mei, headed toward the rendezvous point Gray Serpent had specified.
Before long, the two found themselves in front of a massive factory complex. Towering structures stretched out in every direction, and Tesla could tell at a glance that these were all facilities for Honkai energy research.
“We’re currently in Arc City’s industrial district. That factory right next to us should be the city’s largest Honkai energy research facility. If we cut through here and walk a bit further, we’ll reach our destination…”
Tesla trailed off and suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Dr. Tesla, what’s wrong?”
“We… have most likely been surrounded. They’re Schicksal Valkyries—judging by the emblems on their armor, they’re from Schicksal’s special forces unit, the Immortal Blades. These bastards must have used some kind of special means to evade satellite detection.”
Ever since St. Freya Academy was invaded by Anti-Entropy several years ago, Schicksal had been researching ways to counter the stealth systems on Anti-Entropy mechs. By 2017, they’d finally made progress. Although the new equipment was expensive to produce and difficult to repair—making mass production and large-scale deployment impractical—they could still outfit at least one set for the Immortal Blades.
As a result, Anti-Entropy’s mech unit had been spotted by Alvitr shortly after entering Arc City. The Immortal Blades members, meanwhile, weren’t detected by the mechs’ sensors until they’d already closed within a few hundred meters.
“So what do we do now?”
“The silver lining is that neither the captain nor the vice-captain of the Immortal Blades—those two S-rank Valkyries—are here, so they don’t have any real heavy hitters. That’s probably why they’ve only been tailing us without making a move. But according to Anti-Entropy’s intel, the vice-captain of the Immortal Blades, S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse, excels at stealth and tracking. So we can’t rule out the possibility that she has ways to bypass the mechs’ detection systems.”
As everyone knew, within the Immortal Blades squad, Durandal accounted for 99% of the unit’s combat power, and Durandal plus Rita accounted for 99.9%. Durandal alone could easily take on every other member of the Immortal Blades, or take on Rita solo. And Rita herself could just as easily defeat all the members aside from Durandal without breaking a sweat.
“Then right now, we need to figure out a way to shake them off—or force Rita out into the open.”
Raiden Mei shot a quick glance to the side and rear, her right hand firmly gripping the hilt of her blade.
“Oh? From the sound of your voice, you’ve already come up with something?”
Mei’s gaze fixed ahead:
“If I remember correctly, this is Arc City’s largest industrial zone, so there should be plenty of patrol mechs around.”
“Correct. But I’ve already hacked into their systems beforehand, so identification won’t be an issue… Wait. Are you thinking of—Mei, do you realize what the consequences of that would be?”
“Of course I do. But the only reason Schicksal’s Immortal Blades are here is for Kiana, isn’t it? As long as I can reduce even a sliver of danger for Kiana, I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens as a result!”
Dr. Tesla paused for a moment.
“…You… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You really are Himeko’s student—in some ways, you’re just as stubborn as she was… Sigh. But using the Herrscher of Thunder’s authority would be too risky and not easy to control. And Bronya isn’t here, so leave the hacking to me.”
Five minutes later, the Immortal Blades, who had been trailing the two from several hundred meters away, spotted patrol mechs heading in their direction. One of the Valkyries noticed something off:
“Something’s not right. Unless there’s an emergency, these AI-controlled patrol mechs are supposed to follow fixed routes. Why are they moving toward us?”
Another Valkyrie realized what was happening:
“I saw it—one of those Anti-Entropy mechs made contact with an Arc City patrol unit!”
“We’ve been made. The vice-captain said that once we’re discovered, we need to stop them by any means necessary. Signal everyone—move in!”
A red flare shot into the sky. Before the patrol mech could even get close to the Immortal Blades Valkyries, a beam pierced straight through it, and it exploded.
“Damn it! I was just trying to scare them off, but these Schicksal rats actually dare to open fire here! Titan mech unit, cancel stealth.”
At Tesla’s command, dozens of Titan mechs materialized around Raiden Mei.
“Mei, I’ll handle things here. You go meet up with Gray Serpent.”
“What?! But Dr. Tesla, you—”
“No buts! The Herrscher of Thunder’s power is way too destructive. Can you guarantee you won’t hit any of the surrounding facilities when you strike? Go! Neither of the S-rank Valkyries is here—I can manage!”
“Understood.”
Raiden Mei didn’t hesitate any further. She dropped into a sprinter’s stance.
“Oh no, someone’s trying to get away—stop her!”
How could mere B-rank Valkyries possibly catch up to the Herrscher of Thunder? Mei shot forward like a bolt of lightning, instantly widening the gap between herself and the Immortal Blades members. She was gone in the blink of an eye.
[Honestly. If you could fully use the Herrscher’s power, would you even need to run away in such a pathetic state? Just keep the force in check—blast those annoying bugs into dust without hitting the nearby buildings, and you’d be fine, wouldn’t you?]
“I came to Arc City to save people, not to kill them. Finding Kiana is more important than anything else.”
For once, Raiden Mei didn’t stay silent in the face of her alternate personality’s mockery. She actually talked back.
[Oh? So you’ve been listening to me all along… But that last line? No issues there.]
[Alright, no one’s following anymore. Let me take over.]
“I’m going to negotiate and strike a deal with World Serpent, not fight them. If Kiana is in their hands and you accidentally cause a conflict, what if they take her hostage? What would you do then?”
[…Fine. Then don’t use the power you can’t fully control. If it’s a negotiation and a deal, they’ll wait for you.]
“Seems like today really is something special. When it comes to matters involving Kiana, you’re actually calmer than I am.”
With those words, Raiden Mei stopped using the Herrscher of Thunder’s authority. By now, she was drenched in sweat.
Evidently, Arc City’s defense system operated on a comprehensive protocol. Once a mech was destroyed, over a hundred units of the same model were immediately deployed to the area, joining the chaotic brawl between Anti-Entropy and the Immortal Blades.
But as Tesla had feared, in the middle of the battlefield, stray beams, bullets, and shells didn’t discriminate. One shell struck a factory building, and flames quickly erupted. The fire’s location was just one street away from the Honkai energy research facility.
“Dammit. I underestimated them. I should have brought another squadron of mechs.”
At the moment, Tesla’s mech forces were completely suppressing the Immortal Blades—but only by going all-out with every unit working in perfect coordination. In other words, they could suppress them, but they couldn’t secure a decisive advantage. The battle had reached a stalemate.
Meanwhile, Otto, observing the scene from Schicksal headquarters, gave a slight shake of his head.
“This won’t do. Since this Anti-Entropy doctor cares so much about that factory next door, I’ll just attack what she’s trying to protect.”
Otto was about to issue an order for Schicksal’s satellite weapon to directly strike the Honkai energy factory. Once a Honkai leak occurred, Tesla would be forced to find a way to plug it, and she’d no longer be a nuisance.
Just then, two individuals about to meet in Arc City caught Otto’s attention.
“Oh? Interesting. It seems there are still good people in this world after all.”
Otto decided to keep watching. Little did the citizens of Arc City know that they had narrowly escaped a disaster they didn’t even see coming.
Enoxia and World Serpent had seen the towering flames. So had Kiana. Based on her own experiences and the intel she’d gathered from Enoxia and Fu Hua, Kiana was certain that Otto had no limits whatsoever. She deduced that to keep Anti-Entropy from interfering, he would definitely attack the Honkai energy factory.
Even if this was Shenzhou and he couldn’t do it openly, he would find some way to make the facility suffer an “accidental” Honkai leak.
“Since he’s looking for me, he’s definitely monitoring Arc City through every means possible right now. If I willingly step into his field of view, maybe that ‘accident’ won’t happen.”
With that in mind, Kiana weaved between the skyscrapers, racing at full speed toward the combat zone. But just as she reached the bridge ahead, she ran into someone she hadn’t expected.
Right in front of her, a white lance stood embedded in the ground, impossible to miss.
“That’s… Abyss Flower?!”
