When Ragnar and the other team members arrived, they were greeted by an extremely grim scene.
The combat helicopter that crashed into the forest had ignited a large fire, spreading flames for hundreds of meters.
The injured Valkyries cleared a fire break with their swords, containing the fire to a small area.
The leader of the assault team looked at the pile of Honkai beast remains not far away. They were everywhere, almost covering half of the area.
After the Honkai beasts died, their bodies composed purely of Honkai energy, lost vitality and gradually turned into fragments, floating in the air.
Closer by, medics were treating the wounded. The pungent smell mixed with smoke formed an indescribable, battlefield-specific odor.
Ragnar trudged through the snow, and the Valkyries brightened up a bit upon seeing their captain arrive.
Himeko Murata was about to stand up to report the situation but was stopped by the assault team leader. "Don't strain yourself, just sit and talk."
"At two fifty-four in the morning, we arrived at the location designated as Detector No. 7 for Honkai energy. At three-o-one, Dr. Miriam was attacked by the Herrscher while calibrating the detector, and the squad began to engage the Herrscher in combat..."
"Is it really the Herrscher?" Ragnar asked.
Esther, sitting on the ground, spoke up. "It had a human form, instantaneous detection of Honkai energy at the Herrscher level, floated in the air, had golden crosshair-shaped eyes, and had spatial teleportation abilities..."
"I don't know if it's the Herrscher, but she's definitely a Herrscher," the squad commander said with a bitter smile, lowering her head.
Ragnar pursed her lips, looking at the five figures lying silently in the snow.
Four Valkyries, along with Dr. Miriam and her assistant.
"In the face of the Herrscher, you all did very well..." Ragnar had already prepared herself for the entire squad to be lost, but upon arriving here, she found that most of the Valkyries were just severely injured, and there were only six casualties including the accompanying researchers...
"Cough... Ragnar, go check on Luo Lin..." Esther nodded in another direction, "She's done a lot. Without her, the situation would probably be much worse."
"What happened?"
"Her marksmanship was simply amazing!" Esther gave a thumbs-up but winced due to her injury, taking a sharp breath.
"Well, Himeko, hold Esther down and prevent her from being restless again."
"Ah? Oh! Understood!"
Himeko followed the captain's orders.
Ragnar stood in front of the deceased for a while, then began to look for Luo Lin's figure.
The girl was lying next to the Honkai energy detector, which was emitting black smoke, continuously operating on the tablet. With her actions, the antenna on the detector turned laboriously, occasionally sparking dangerously.
"Captain, you're here."
Luo Lin looked up, her face tired. "Dr. Miriam left behind a signature of the Herrscher's Honkai energy. With this sample, we can locate the Herrscher's position..."
"Hmm..." Ragnar thought Luo Lin needed comfort and psychological counseling, but there was an unyielding flame burning in her eyes, her expression determined.
The assault team leader was somewhat surprised; she had seen this expression on many faces before, some were frontline Valkyries, some were scientists pursuing entropy, and even ordinary civilians...
People with such eyes had firm convictions.
"...It seems I worried too much. Luo Lin, I thought you might be a little uncomfortable."
Luo Lin stopped her actions, looking at the fire lighting up the horizon, sighing.
"...To be honest, I'm still quite uncomfortable."
"Do you need me to comfort you?"
"No."
Ragnar patted her shoulder and whispered to the team members following behind, "I'll take a walk alone to a distance. Don't follow."
Luo Lin blinked, watching Ragnar walk towards the relatively intact forest.
She sensed a familiar and powerful aura within her perception range.
"Kiana Kaslana..."
The assault team leader frowned, looking at the tired, white-haired man in front of her. He showed no signs of S-rank strength, and she took the initiative to ask, "What's wrong?"
"Ragnar Lothbrok, I know you..." The white-haired man asked in a hoarse voice,
"Have you seen... the Herrscher?"
Ragnar raised an eyebrow. How did Siegfried know about the Herrscher?
"No, but my team members have encountered her, and the situation is dire."
Siegfried's gaze passed over the assault team leader's shoulder, looking at the battlefield: the fire, the injured, the wreckage of technological creations, the bodies of humans and Honkai beasts...
In that moment, he woke up from the nightmarish daze, feeling the weight of reality.
Kiana Kaslana, the clone of the Sirin Project, has awakened.
"Otto... You are indeed a... genius!"
Words that didn't sound like praise squeezed out from Siegfried's lips. He clenched his fist and pounded it on a nearby tree.
The snow on the leaves shook, falling down, but melted and evaporated due to the high temperature emanating from Siegfried's body.
"Siegfried Kaslana! Calm down! You haven't told me what happened yet!" Ragnar saw that Siegfried's mental state was off and shouted loudly.
"Beep beep beep!"
In the urgent electronic sound, the antenna of the Honkai energy detector pointed in the direction of the forest.
Siegfried snapped out of it, putting his hand on his waist fetching his Divine Key, Judgement of Shamash, then just started running actively due to his anger, leaking heat and causing the alarm on the detector next to Luo Lin to go off.
The Valkyries immediately became vigilant, raising their weapons and approaching Ragnar's direction.
Soon, they found their captain confronting a strange man.
Some Valkyries recognized the man's identity, it was none other than Siegfried Kaslana, wanted on the Schicksal Order list. They became nervous, aiming their weapons at the white-haired man!
"Stay calm, he's not an enemy now."
Ragnar gestured for them to stop, and the team members looked at each other before lowering their weapons.
"Okay, I've shown my sincerity, Siegfried, it's your turn now."
Siegfried pondered for a few seconds before speaking.
"What you encountered before was indeed the Herrscher."
This statement caused low murmurs among the Valkyries.
"But, that wasn't the complete Herrscher, it was... my daughter, implanted with the core of the Herrscher."
"Your daughter?"
Ragnar couldn't help but ask because she knew who Siegfried's real daughter was, she was still staying in an orphanage in France!
Siegfried stared at Ragnar with fierce eyes, saying each word slowly, "Yes, she's my daughter!"
"My daughter, Kiana Kaslana!"
"I'm going to bring her back!"