Looking at the suddenly rebellious mech squad, Xing felt panic for the first time.
Although her own strength couldn't be considered weak, she knew very well that her little power was far from being a match for the people before her. A single Bronya was enough to give her a hard time, not to mention that Bronya seemed to be the weakest among them.
"Bronya, you're despicable!"
Xing pointed at Bronya angrily, her face flushed as she shouted.
Faced with the baseless accusation from her former comrade, Bronya was about to explain when Ming Yu, who had stepped forward, cut her off with a wave of his hand.
Giving Bronya a reassuring look, Ming Yu's gaze fell on the Anti-Entropy girl before him, but his eyes held a bit more hesitation.
Ming Yu hadn't decided how to deal with this Xing.
Although this girl had clamored to kill him, Ming Yu wouldn't go so far as to kill her for it. Unless necessary, he was unwilling to raise his sword against humans, even if they were from the opposing Anti-Entropy.
Moreover, he had to consider Bronya's feelings.
After thinking for a moment, Ming Yu slowly raised the Jizo Mitama in his hand, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Xing's neck, and said coldly, "Surrender, or die!"
Hearing Ming Yu's matter-of-fact tone, Xing felt even more resentful. While she was indeed far inferior in strength, she was not the type to yield easily.
Her mismatched eyes wide open, the girl clenched her teeth tightly and forced out a few words: "In your dreams!"
With that, Xing brandished the strange longsword in her hand, shaped like the hands of a clock, and charged straight at Ming Yu.
Frowning slightly, Ming Yu raised Jizo Mitama and easily blocked Xing's strange longsword, then followed up with a kick to her abdomen.
In Ming Yu's eyes, Xing's attack not only lacked power but was also full of openings.
Although Anti-Entropy had no shortage of people with combat talent, the organization's philosophy meant that it lagged far behind Schicksal in the training of super soldiers.
Xing had just charged at Ming Yu, but in a moment, she was sent flying back at an even faster speed.
But while still in mid-air, Xing endured the pain and twisted her body, using the force to distance herself from Ming Yu. The moment she landed, she quickly fled into the distance.
Watching Xing's pathetic retreat, an unreadable emotion flickered in Bronya's eyes. Her lips moved, and she said softly, "Thank you, Brother Yu, for showing mercy."
Having witnessed Ming Yu's combat prowess, she knew very well that if Ming Yu had wanted to keep Xing, Xing would have had absolutely no chance of escaping. Even if Ming Yu had just gone through a battle, dealing with one Xing was still not a problem.
What's more, Ming Yu still held control over those mechs. Even if he didn't want to do it himself, he could command those mechs to eliminate Xing.
Although Bronya had come to St. Freya with Mei, which constituted a betrayal of Anti-Entropy in action, it definitely did not mean she had given up on her friends from Anti-Entropy.
Even if their stances were opposed, she did not want to harm her former companions.
"It's nothing. I just don't have time to deal with her right now." Shaking his head, Ming Yu said faintly, his gaze turning towards Fu Hua, who was slowly walking over while supporting Himeko. "Am I right, Class Monitor?"
Hearing Ming Yu's words, Bronya also looked at Fu Hua, a hint of confusion in her gray eyes.
Meeting their gazes, Fu Hua nodded slightly and calmly explained, "In the ruins just now, I found text about sealing an evil being. If I'm not mistaken, the Xuanyuan Sword should be the seal for something. But now, the seal has been broken, and that thing is about to awaken. And according to myths and records, that thing is very likely Chiyou. So, next, we might have to face that legendary Honkai Beast."
As she spoke, Fu Hua's gaze towards Ming Yu held a hint of strangeness. Because everything that was happening now was nearly identical to what Ming Yu had said earlier.
Although Chiyou's strength was yet to be determined, a Honkai Beast that required a Divine Key to seal it couldn't possibly be an ordinary Emperor-class. Moreover, Chiyou even had the ability to corrode a Divine Key.
But even though she was curious about the source of Ming Yu's intelligence, Fu Hua had no intention of digging deeper. If her memories weren't missing, she should also know about Chiyou.
Where one has walked, traces are inevitably left behind.
It was normal for an extraordinary Honkai Beast like Chiyou to have left some records for certain reasons; it wasn't something worth investigating too deeply.
Besides, since Ming Yu was willing to risk being suspected to remind her, Fu Hua naturally wouldn't harp on these minor issues.
After hearing Fu Hua's explanation, Bronya accepted Ming Yu's reasoning, but still expressed her gratitude. Regardless of the reason, Ming Yu had spared Xing's life after all.
Her gaze lingered on the stationary mech squad for a few moments. Bronya cautiously glanced at the calm-faced Fu Hua, but still couldn't resist asking Ming Yu, "But, since Brother Yu can handle Anti-Entropy's mechs, why did you still need to bring the Bronya along?"
When she received the mission, Bronya was already prepared to fight Anti-Entropy and believed her abilities would be useful.
But so far into the mission, the only thing she had done was have Project Bunny hold the Xuanyuan Sword for a bit. Even the mech squad was completely handled by Ming Yu.
By now, Bronya was feeling confused about her own role, not understanding why she was on the operation list.
Seeing Bronya's confusion, Ming Yu showed a polite yet awkward smile and said slowly, "Because only you know how to command mechs in battle!"
Although he could seize control of the mech squad through Jizo Mitama, he didn't know how to coordinate mechs in combat. In his hands, these mechs could only serve as cannon fodder.
Using expensive high-tech weapons as cheap cannon fodder was undoubtedly an extremely wasteful thing to do. Even if the source of these mechs could be considered a freebie, Ming Yu wouldn't be so profligate.
And the only person he knew who understood mech command was Bronya, the former saintess of Anti-Entropy.
Seeing the awkward smile on Ming Yu's face, Bronya was speechless for a moment, but she still took control of the mechs from Ming Yu. Just as Ming Yu had said, only in her hands could these precious mechs be used to their fullest potential.
"Let's go. No matter when Chiyou awakens, our top priority right now is to leave Jiu You."
Seeing that Ming Yu had handed over the mechs, Fu Hua gave the order to retreat. After Himeko fell unconscious, Fu Hua, as the deputy captain, took over command of the squad.
But they had not walked for long before they felt the ground beneath their feet begin to tremble violently.