Having decided on a course of action, Theresa and the others began to break out.
Although they were surrounded by a vast number of Honkai Beasts, against one S-rank and two A-rank Valkyries, plus a squad of Titans, these creatures were clearly outmatched.
While the ever-increasing number of Honkai Beasts made a complete wipeout difficult, merely breaking through their encirclement was not hard for them at all.
However, with Anti-Entropy's mechs at her disposal, Theresa began to openly slack off. She let the three Godfather mechs clear the path ahead while she, carrying Judah on her back, commanded the Titans from the rear.
Watching Theresa, who was completely absorbed in operating her mech squad with an excited expression, just like a child who had gotten a new toy, Ming Yu's confidence in the S-rank Valkyrie instantly began to waver.
Was I wrong to expect the Principal to be able to defeat Chiyou?
He glanced at Fu Hua, whose expression remained as tranquil as an ancient well. Ming Yu's heart immediately settled, and he quietly shuffled closer in Fu Hua's direction. The Celestial's chest was, as always, so firm and reliable.
"Who's going to cover our rear, you or me?"
After breaking through the Honkai Beast encirclement, Theresa put on a stern face and asked Ming Yu, though her eyes couldn't help but dart towards the Key of Corruption in his hand.
Noticing the Principal's gaze, Ming Yu couldn't help but sigh internally. Still, he managed a smile that was awkward yet polite and said, "I'll handle it."
Theresa's offer didn't really present two different options. The only difference was whether the rear guard would be the Titan mechs or Ming Yu's newly corrupted Honkai Beasts. In essence, both forces belonged to Ming Yu.
But in Theresa's eyes, the Titan mechs were undoubtedly her new toys, and she was naturally unwilling to see them get broken so soon. So, Ming Yu was naturally left with only one choice.
Sighing inwardly at the Principal's unreliability, Ming Yu still raised the Jizo Mitama in his hand, and black flames of corruption instantly surged up the blade.
"Go!"
Ming Yu let out a low shout, and the black flames, as if alive, transformed into several pythons and lunged straight at the pursuing Honkai Beasts.
Any Honkai Beast ensnared by the pythons was, without exception, dyed from its original white to black in a mere instant. They then turned around to block the swarming horde for Ming Yu's group.
As Ming Yu's control over the Key of Corruption deepened, his use of its power became increasingly proficient. Corrupting Honkai Beasts of this level was no challenge for him. If not for the need to conserve his stamina, he would have even been tempted to use Jizo Mitama to annihilate all of them directly.
"What a convenient ability..."
Seeing Ming Yu corrupt those Honkai Beasts with such ease, Theresa couldn't help but shake her head and sigh in admiration. Compared to the dead weight of the cross in her hands, the Key of Corruption, which could turn enemies into puppets, was undoubtedly much more fun.
But the moment she remembered that her Titan mechs were safe, the seriousness Theresa had tried so hard to maintain instantly dissolved into unconcealable joy. She smiled and praised Ming Yu, "Well done! I'll treat you to a big meal after the mission is over~"
Faced with the Principal's promise, Ming Yu remained completely unmoved. Since it was a big meal promised by the Principal, Ming Yu knew who the "head chef" would be without even thinking.
Besides, as long as the mission was completed, would he have to worry about Mei not preparing a celebration feast?
What's more, Theresa herself was a freeloader. For her to offer such a reward was utterly insincere.
Seeing that Ming Yu didn't respond, the high-spirited Principal didn't take offense. Besides, she knew she was essentially regifting someone else's generosity, so she couldn't very well press the issue.
After temporarily shaking off the horde of Honkai Beasts behind them, the pressure on Ming Yu's group immediately lightened. The Honkai Beasts they encountered became sparse, and even relying on Anti-Entropy's mechs was more than enough, leaving Fu Hua and Ming Yu room to recover their stamina.
Watching the Titans cleanly dispatch the appearing Honkai Beasts, Ming Yu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
With the Honkai Energy Detector, Theresa was able to discover Chiyou's two cores. Then, as a Judgment-class Honkai Beast with a home-field advantage, Chiyou naturally had ways to locate them. At the very least, Dark Jixuanyuan had demonstrated the ability of long-range voice transmission in the chronicles.
But judging from the Honkai Beasts they had encountered along the way, Chiyou was clearly going easy on them, as if it was intentionally letting them approach those two cores.
Does it want to use us to break the second seal... Looking at the deep, dark passage ahead, a cold smile appeared on Ming Yu's lips.
With Chiyou intentionally holding back, Ming Yu's group encountered almost no significant resistance and approached one of the cores.
"Wow~ What a huge crystal!"
Upon seeing Chiyou's core, Theresa temporarily put aside the Titan controls and turned to examine it.
As the core of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, this Honkai Energy crystal was undoubtedly worthy of its status in terms of size. It was more appropriate to call it a crystal pillar than a crystal.
Its nearly three-meter diameter made it look extremely thick, and the pillar, which stood over ten meters tall, combined with its immense Honkai Energy, gave it a frighteningly oppressive presence.
"In terms of Honkai Energy intensity, this core has already surpassed the Hyperion's main engine."
Pushing up the red glasses on her nose, Fu Hua also offered her analysis, completely different from a certain white-haired fluffball who only looked at appearances.
Hearing Fu Hua's words, Ming Yu nodded in agreement. In the face of such high-intensity Honkai Energy, his body was already beginning to feel a faint sense of discomfort. While it wasn't enough to cause Zombification, it was still extremely unpleasant for him.
It had to be said that Chiyou's disguise for the seal was extremely clever. If Ming Yu hadn't already known that this was not Chiyou's core, he probably would have come to the same conclusion.
But looking at it from another angle, if just one of Chiyou's two disguised cores possessed such high Honkai Energy intensity, how high must the Honkai Energy intensity of its main body be? And how strong must it have been at its peak?
Looking at the crimson crystal pillar, Ming Yu secretly glanced at Fu Hua, his mind unable to stop speculating about the events of five thousand years ago.
"Alright, you two spread out. Leave the rest to your Principal."
A slight curve appeared on Theresa's lips as she set down the Judah she carried on her back. The heavy cross hit the ground with a dull thud.
As Chiyou's core, this crystal pillar could not possibly be fragile. The immense Honkai Energy alone was enough to grant it astonishing hardness.
At the very least, the Titans that could easily tear through the carapaces of Honkai Beasts couldn't even leave a scratch on it.
Even an A-rank Valkyrie, without a high-damage weapon, would probably only be able to look on in helpless admiration.
But for Theresa, the defense of Chiyou's core was not impenetrable. Although the Key of Binding was far inferior to the Key of Destruction in terms of destructive power, it was more than enough to destroy an immobile crystal pillar.
Although using the Hyperion could achieve the same effect, Theresa, who rarely got a chance to step onto the battlefield, didn't want to miss this opportunity to stretch her muscles.
"Wait a moment, Principal." Faced with Theresa's decision, Ming Yu had a different opinion. Meeting Theresa's puzzled gaze, he continued, "Don't you think that if we could solve Chiyou this easily, it would be a bit too simple?"
"Simple? You..."
Hearing Ming Yu's assessment, Theresa was about to retort, but when she thought about the resistance they had encountered on their way here, she was suddenly at a loss for words.
For that number and strength of Honkai Beasts, while it would be quite troublesome for an elite Valkyrie squad, it was only to the extent of being troublesome. And this level of difficulty was undoubtedly extremely mismatched with Chiyou's status.
Even considering that Chiyou had just awakened and was not yet at its peak, it shouldn't be so easily defeated.
Seeing Ming Yu's determined gaze, Fu Hua also began to seriously examine the "core" before her.
From the flow of Honkai Energy, this crystal pillar was undoubtedly one of the central hubs within Chiyou's body. A vast amount of Honkai Energy was transported from here to all parts of Chiyou's body.
But as Fu Hua began to concentrate her mind and carefully perceive the flow of Honkai Energy within, she keenly discovered an anomaly inside the crystal pillar.
Taking a few steps forward, Fu Hua slowly extended her right index finger and gently tapped it on the crystal pillar.
The next moment, the surface of the solid crystal pillar suddenly rippled like water. Countless patterns composed of strange symbols began to appear within the crystal pillar, tightly enveloping a piece of metal the size of a fist.
"What is this?"
Watching what was happening before her, the Principal couldn't help but be greatly surprised, her azure eyes filled with uncertainty.
Glancing at the strange patterns inside the crystal pillar, Fu Hua slowly explained, "This is a type of sealing rune from the legends of Shenzhou, specifically used to seal those monsters that are difficult to destroy."
"Clearly, this is not Chiyou's core, but a seal left behind by our predecessors!"
As she spoke, Fu Hua's expression turned grim. If they hadn't discovered it in time, they would have just helped Chiyou break the seal.
Thinking of this, Fu Hua looked at Ming Yu with a hint of gratitude in her eyes. Whether Ming Yu had noticed something was wrong from the difficulty of getting here or not, he had prevented a mistake from happening.
Giving Ming Yu a complicated look, Theresa also retracted the deployed Judah, her expression heavy as she asked, "Is there a way to find Chiyou's true core?"
Since Chiyou could disguise a seal as a core, then hiding its true core would naturally not be a difficult task. It was clearly impossible to find the core through conventional means.
And as far as she knew, Ming Yu possessed an unconventional detection method.
"I'll try."
As he spoke, Ming Yu didn't dawdle. He immediately drew the Jizo Mitama from his waist and simultaneously activated his Sword Heart to its fullest.
A faint black light instantly shone from the Key of Corruption. The perception of his Sword Heart state was amplified once more as it passed through the Divine Key. The flow and interaction of Honkai Energy brought a wealth of information to Ming Yu, and an invisible, giant net began to spread out.
Within this perceptual net, Honkai Energy reaction points of all sizes triggered corresponding ripples.
Suddenly, an incomparably massive Honkai Energy reaction entered the perceptual net. The violent ripple was transmitted back through the extended perception, making Ming Yu's mind feel as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer. The perceptual net instantly snapped, and he almost couldn't even maintain his Sword Heart state.
With a muffled grunt, Ming Yu quickly steadied himself against a nearby Titan. A strained smile appeared on his lips as he said through gritted teeth, "Found it. The true core!"