When Luo Lin woke up from her daze, she realized she was being dragged, leaving a long trail in the snow behind her.
A loud explosion echoed from the distance, jolting the girl awake instantly.
"Are you awake? Luo Lin, can you move on your own?" The tired voice of Himeko Murata came from behind her.
"The situation is not good right now, I have to go support the captain..."
Luo Lin tried moving her limbs and found that she could, so she struggled to stand up.
"Great, I'll go help the others, you hurry over there!"
Himeko pointed to an area behind them, where Valkyries lay scattered, only a few of them were still moving with their swords, seemingly completely powerless.
Surveying the surroundings, Luo Lin noticed a crisscross of lava zones formed by the flames, and a section of the forest inexplicably shortened.
Further away, Siegfried was entangled with the [Herrscher of the Void], occasionally emitting shockwaves that burst into flames, causing the forest to disappear into a lava lake.
"I... damn it..."
The interference of the Honkai God caught Luo Lin off guard, and it said so many inexplicable things—saying she had caught the attention of both the Imaginary Trees and the Sea of Quanta.
But now was not the time to think about that. Watching Himeko head off to rescue the other Valkyries, Luo Lin opened the system.
"It has to come in handy..."
She clicked on the conspicuous icon of the Valkyrie with wings on her back, and a semi-transparent screen, visible only to her, quickly unfolded, presenting a figurine-sized hologram in front of her.
With black short hair, wearing the combat uniform of the Schicksal Logistics Department, wielding dual pistols, and various projectiles attached to her belt.
[Luo Lin - Valkyrie·Dark Feather]
[B-rank (Cannot be upgraded through character fragments)]
[Lv.??—Biologic Attributes (Click to switch attributes)]
It was herself!
Luo Lin's gaze shifted downward, finding another illuminated icon among the gray ones below.
It was the familiar figure in red—
[Himeko Murata - Vermillion Knight·Eclipse]
[S-rank - Distance to upgrade to S1, 0/70 fragments]
[Lv.1—Mecha Attributes]
Taking a deep breath, Luo Lin asked the system, "How do I use this thing?"
[You can open the formation interface, deploy the Crimson Knight in the 2nd position, and then you can proceed to switch characters.]
Following the system's prompt, Luo Lin dragged the Vermillion Knight to the 2nd position in the team, ready to try switching.
Just then, she noticed a colorful name flashing in the system interface.
[Support Valkyrie: Himeko Murata]
"Teacher Himeko..." Luo Lin murmured, gazing into the distance.
There, Siegfried was gradually falling behind!
---
The intense battle had been going on for several minutes, and the power of the [Herrscher of the Void] made Siegfried struggle.
Although the current [Herrscher of the Void], compared to Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void ten years ago, had reduced their attack methods and styles, it seemed they had become even more proficient in their application.
Teleportation, multiple throws of Subspace Lances, shockwaves erupted from both hands, and even a ring-shaped array of Subspace lances that surrounded an area before rapidly exploding.
Siegfried wielded the Cleaver of Shamash with difficulty, cutting the incoming Subspace Lances and shattering the shockwaves, but the white-haired man still couldn't avoid being hit by the residual shockwaves, his body worsening under the high concentration of Honkai environment and the erosion of the Shamash.
"Urgh!"
Two large Subspace Lances appeared from the void, smashing towards Siegfried. He awkwardly dodged them, then thrust his sword towards the [Herrscher of the Void].
The gray-white figure sidestepped, avoiding the sharp edge of the sword, while simultaneously conjuring a sturdy shield to block the flames that followed, and after the flames passed, the shield shattered, but the [Herrscher of the Void] remained unharmed.
Siegfried had seen this scene a dozen times before.
He wanted to unleash a full-powered Might of An-utu, but the opponent was too agile. Whenever he found an opportunity to unleash his move, the [Herrscher of the Void] would briefly enter a phasing mode, rendering his efforts futile.
Continuing like this would surely lead to failure!
Siegfried was certain of this fact.
He turned his gaze to the thin threads connecting the [Herrscher of the Void] and Kiana. The white furball continued to absorb the surrounding Honkai energy like a black hole and then transmitted the energy to the [Herrscher of the Void] through these threads.
If he could cut them off...
Siegfried had previously attempted to cut these threads with the Shamash in its normal form, but found that they, like Kiana, existed in the imaginary space and couldn't be interfered with by normal attacks.
After increasing his output, Siegfried saw the threads tremble faintly, but they soon calmed down again.
It seems I must use the Might of An-Utu to touch them!
Despite being the best user of the Shamash in the Kaslana family for hundreds of years, with the help of his ancestor Kevin Kaslana, who awakened the power of the family bloodline, allowing him to use the Divine key for longer durations in combat and even releasing the Judgement of Shamash's limiter without immediately perishing.
But continuously releasing such a powerful move would surely come at a cost.
Siegfried's arm trembled slightly, and for some reason, he felt a sensation—a feeling that if he went through with this, his left arm would disappear.
"I'm ready..."
The white-haired man sighed and casually slashed the colossal subspace lance, which turned into a temple-level Honkai Beast. Leveraging the shockwaves caused by the [Herrscher of the Void] attacks, he flew backward.
"Shamash, Roa—"
A hand wearing black and red gauntlet pressed against his forearm, halting Siegfried's movement.
The white-haired man felt a bit dazed, unable to tell if it was due to the opponent's overwhelming strength or his own weakening body from prolonged battle, unable to resist.
"—Siegfried Kaslana, leave the rest of the battle to me."
A gentle yet firm female voice echoed in his ear, and he turned to see a somewhat unfamiliar but vaguely familiar face.
It was a woman clad in red, yellow, and black armor, her demeanor noble and heroic. Her hair and eyes, like her aura, were fiery red, and her lips curved slightly, with a mixture of joy and anger displayed on her face!
It was Luo Lin, no, now she should be the Vermillion Knight, Eclipse!
"Sorry, I'll borrow Shamash for a moment."
Luo Lin skillfully took the Judgement of Shamash from Siegfried's hand and handed him a regular sword.
As the Divine Key fell into her hands, it trembled violently, and the mechanical voice narrated its discovery.
"Second Herrscher Core detected—"
Luo Lin gripped the sword hilt tightly and muttered softly, "Teacher Himeko, please!"
"Fool, I can't directly control this body."
In a realm invisible to others, the semi-transparent figure of Himeko Murata clung to Luo Lin's back. Under the Vermillion Armor, the scars on the girl's back shone brightly.
[Himeko Murata - Resolute Lone Journey (Top)]
[Himeko Murata - Master-Disciple Inheritance (Middle)]
[Himeko Murata - Reversing her Resolve (Bottom)]
[When equipped with this Sacred Stigmata, gain "Greatsword Mastery" skill, which can be completely learned through repeated use of the skill.]
[When equipped with this Sacred Stigmata, gain "Unyielding" skill, which greatly enhances mental strength, gaining a percentage reduction in damage based on mental strength, while reducing negative feedback when taking damage.]
[When equipped with this Sacred Stigmata, gain Honkai Energy Resistance, cannot be learned.]
[She once gave up the pursuit of truth, but a student changed her, and now she crosses the river of time to create a better future!]
Himeko smiled and shouted loudly, "Now, let's fight side by side!"
In Siegfried's stunned gaze, the temperature of the Shamash rose to another level, the entire sword twisting and deforming, becoming sharper and hotter!
As if it was an apocalypse!
The wrist of the Crimson Knight flipped, and the tip of the Judgement of Shamash - Might of An-utu was aimed at the [Herrscher of the Void].
"Second round!"