Although Himeko was encountering Heimdall for the very first time, the intuition of a Valkyrie told her that this thing was extremely dangerous.
“Run fast! I’ll hold it off!”
Himeko shouted loudly, then leaped up, used all her strength, swung her greatsword, and struck its body, knocking it back dozens of meters. Himeko herself was also sent flying backward by the recoil.
Tesla quickly fled the battlefield. The moment Heimdall locked its sensors onto Tesla, it was once again sent flying by Himeko’s slash.
“Big guy, your opponent is me!”
Himeko kept swinging the greatsword in her hand, and the blue energy blades kept slamming into Heimdall’s body. For a moment, she actually managed to pin it down in a corner.
However, this situation couldn’t last for long. Although Himeko’s weapon was incredibly powerful and each attack had a knockback effect, every swing consumed a massive amount of stamina. Coupled with Himeko’s condition of being strong on the outside but weak on the inside, after three minutes, her pace had noticeably slowed down. By then, sweat had already soaked through her Valkyrie battlesuit.
“Hah… hah…”
Himeko gasped heavily for air, a feeling of total exhaustion spreading through her entire body. Just then, Heimdall, which had been suppressed all this time, launched a counterattack.
It hovered just a few centimeters above the ground, spread its arms, and activated its powerful magnetic exclusion zone. Several semi-transparent rectangular boxes instantly appeared within this space.
“What kind of move is this?”
Himeko, having no idea what was happening, was caught without surprise and was trapped in place, unable to move.
After the rectangular boxes disappeared, Heimdall pulled out a large white sword, roughly the same height as itself, and looked towards Himeko.
“Tch, you think you can win against me just because I can’t move?”
Himeko timed Heimdall’s attack perfectly and struck the lower-middle part of the white sword with her own. Because she had fought with a greatsword for so long, she knew exactly which postures generated power from where. After realizing that the mech before her used the same mechanics as a human, she quickly formulated a strategy.
Himeko’s strike deflected Heimdall’s attack direction. Using the principle of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, she neutralized what would have been a heavy blow.
Watching Heimdall pass by her, just barely missing her, Himeko relaxed slightly, only to be sent flying herself. It turned out that while Heimdall charged toward her, it had also released two homing missiles.
After being blown away by the missiles, Himeko had just used her greatsword to prop herself up when Heimdall performed an upward slash, launching her into the air. Then, above its shoulders, four wing-like pieces combined together, and a yellow beam shot out. Luckily, Himeko blocked it just in time, otherwise the beam would have pierced right through her.
After landing, Himeko immediately launched a counterattack, swinging her sword directly at what she believed was Heimdall’s core area.
“Crack, clang~”
Himeko’s greatsword broke into two pieces. Her whole body crashed to the ground, rolling for over ten meters before finally stopping.
“Pfft!”
She spat out a mouthful of blood. Himeko understood that even if the greatsword hadn’t broken, she wouldn’t have had the strength left to swing it anyway.
Good news: Himeko’s full-powered strike had indeed hit the core, dealing massive damage to Heimdall.
Bad news: Hitting it pushed the boss into its second phase.
A few seconds later, Heimdall entered overdrive mode. Its originally pristine white body turned redder than a fully cooked lobster.
Just then, a strange electrical interference sound echoed. The red-hot Heimdall looked like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on it. It turned back to white and stopped dead in its tracks.
“I interfered with its AI. Now’s our chance! Run!”
Tesla’s voice rang out. Himeko immediately scrambled to her feet, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and ran out of Heimdall’s sensor range with her broken sword.
“Whew… whew… We finally shook it off. What on earth are those people from Schicksal researching?!”
Tesla ran, gasping for breath, towards a platform ahead. She turned her head back and saw Himeko, covered in wounds.
“I told you not to be so reckless. Rest for a while first.”
Himeko gently shook her head.
“It’s just a scratch. To leave this sentinel tower, we should take the elevator ahead. On the elevator, we won’t need to move or fight. We can consider that as resting.”
The elevator started moving. Himeko put away her broken sword.
“Fu Hua said there’s something in that lab that can save everyone. I think it should be a way to fight against a Herrscher. I don’t think Schicksal would awaken a Herrscher without any preparation. They must have considered a countermeasure for if the mission failed. Maybe the answer is in there.”
Tesla nodded.
“That bastard Otto… all the rest of Schicksal combined doesn’t have as many tricky schemes as he does. Waking up a Herrscher on a whim really isn’t his style. But… can you… still walk?”
“What are you talking about? I’m fine!”
Seeing that although Himeko was covered in injuries, her complexion was still rosy after resting, Tesla felt surprised.
“I’ve dealt with Schicksal’s A-rank Valkyries before. How are you so good at fighting?”
Himeko gave a cold laugh.
“Don’t underestimate a Valkyrie who came from the Strike Force… looks like you don’t know. The Strike Force was an organization I used to lead. During the Third Eruption, except for me, who couldn’t participate due to other reasons, everyone else was wiped out. So it got disbanded. Honkai zombies, special forces soldiers, test subjects, even Emperor-class Honkai beasts… we faced enemies like that all the time.”
“The enemies kept getting stronger, they all wanted me dead, but I’ve survived until now… This time will probably be like before. There will always be a way to handle it.”
“That’s… really not a comforting pep talk…”
The elevator stopped. The lab was right in front of them.
“Alright then, before we go in, let’s get our thoughts straight from the beginning.”
“First, we crash in, tear the place apart searching, and dig out our secrets. Then, we take the stuff and leave… Right, timing wise, the Hyperion should be here. Once we get the things, we head straight back to the Hyperion. Finally, we beat the Herrscher to a pulp!”
Following Tesla’s very spirited summary, the two entered the laboratory.
What came into view were industrial instruments spread across the entire floor. It looked more like a factory than a lab. Unlike the previous sentinel tower, there wasn’t a single guard here. An eerie atmosphere seeped through every corner.
“Heh, a place like this definitely holds secrets. We came to the right place!”
The area wasn’t huge, but it sure hid a lot of stuff. After searching thoroughly, they finally managed to find the lab’s main control system. While Tesla busied herself studying it, Himeko, feeling tired, found another corner to sit down. Even though there wasn’t any fighting, she noticed her physical strength was dropping dramatically.
“Ah… I really am beat up all over…”
A familiar voice sounded in her ear. Himeko turned her head to look. Fu Hua had indeed appeared there as promised.
