"Hey, are you alright?"
Seeing Ming Yu's reaction, Theresa asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Shaking his slightly dizzy head, Ming Yu slowly said, "But the Honkai Energy reaction at Chiyou's core is very strong!"
Thinking back to what he had just "seen," Ming Yu couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
That level of Honkai Energy intensity far surpassed any enemy he had ever encountered; it was in no way inferior even when compared to a Herrscher. He found it hard to imagine what kind of power this Judgment-class Honkai Beast would display if it could break its seals and return to its full strength.
With just a brief glance, Chiyou had given Ming Yu a major lesson, making him understand the consequences of spying on a sovereign.
"There's no time to lose, let's hurry and find the core."
Seeing that the Principal still seemed to want to say something, Ming Yu cut her off.
Quite some time had passed since Chiyou's awakening. Given Chiyou's size, it didn't even need to make landfall; simply getting close would be enough to cause immense destruction to the cities on land, and it would also cause panic among the people, possibly even exposing the existence of the Honkai entirely.
As for whether they could defeat Chiyou with their strength, Ming Yu wasn't too worried. Even if the Principal was unreliable, there was still a Celestial here.
Glancing at Fu Hua, who was still staring at the crystal pillar in contemplation, Ming Yu was full of confidence in this Guardian of Shenzhou.
Moreover, even if they all failed, there was still the strongest Valkyrie back at Schicksal Headquarters.
Chiyou was strong, yes, but in the end, it was just a Honkai Beast. Even the super-spec Herrscher of the Void, who had received a divine oracle, fell in Siberia. At most, Chiyou could only make a few splashes here in the South China Sea.
But that being said, before headquarters decided to intervene, Chiyou was still an enemy that was difficult for the Far East Branch to defeat. Not counting Phoenix Fu Hua, their chances of victory were not high.
Looking at the petite Principal, Ming Yu sighed inwardly. Hopefully, when facing Dark Jixuanyuan, this S-rank Valkyrie wouldn't be insta-killed.
But when he thought about Theresa's track record against Herrschers and Pseudo-Herrschers, Ming Yu's confidence began to waver again.
With the coordinates provided by Ming Yu, combined with the full-body scan of Chiyou sent from the Hyperion, Theresa quickly locked onto the position of Chiyou's core and swiftly formulated a plan of action.
While leading Ming Yu and Fu Hua towards the core's location, Theresa also issued an order to the Hyperion, having the floating warship launch a tentative attack on that position.
But soon, Theresa's expression grew heavier upon receiving the results of the attack. The Hyperion's attack had no effect; none of the attacks were able to penetrate Chiyou's carapace, and Chiyou's damaged carapace could even regenerate automatically.
If she could use the main cannon, the result might be different. But the coordinates Ming Yu gave were not a precise point, and the main cannon's attack range was far from sufficient.
Ming Yu wasn't surprised by this result at all. He even felt that the Hyperion's main cannon probably wouldn't be able to break through Chiyou's defense.
Although he hadn't tried it, Ming Yu had a faint feeling that with the help of Jizo Mitama and the Soul-Etching Armor, it wasn't impossible for him to withstand the Hyperion's main cannon head-on, let alone Chiyou.
At the end of the day, the Hyperion was just a floating warship with a power of 1380HW; it was only good for fighting Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. Unless the 133-meter Ship-Slaying Saber, the Sunfire Greatsword, was used, the Hyperion was completely incapable of handling an S-rank battle.
But before setting out, the Principal had already grounded Himeko, so this battle could only be fought by the three of them.
On the other hand, after noticing the actions of Ming Yu's group, Chiyou, as expected, mobilized more Honkai Beasts along the way, making their advance much more difficult.
Although these Honkai Beasts couldn't stop them completely, they could consume as much of their stamina as possible, preventing them from using their full strength in the final battle.
In order to conserve the trio's stamina as much as possible, Theresa, after some hesitation, finally made the painful choice to sacrifice the Titans, letting them bear the brunt of the impact, trading the consumption of the mech squad for the group's advance.
After all, although the Titan mechs were fun, eliminating Chiyou was still the top priority. In the face of the bigger picture, the Principal could only choose to be a mature adult.
Half-baked control of Titan mechs versus two A-rank fighters, it was a very simple choice. Moreover, the Principal hadn't forgotten how these mechs were obtained.
With the Titans' selfless sacrifice, Ming Yu's group quickly approached Chiyou's core.
Looking at the gradually thinning Honkai Beasts ahead, and then at the less than five remaining Titans, with even the three Godfather mechs covered in scars, Theresa's heart couldn't help but ache slightly.
She had originally wanted to take these mechs to compete with Anti-Entropy, but it seemed there was no way to get them out intact.
Noticing the red-lining numbers on the Honkai Energy Detector, the Principal's face showed great caution. She couldn't help but tighten her grip on the golden chains in her hand and said in a deep voice, "Chiyou's true core should be up ahead. Everyone must be careful. If anyone wants to back out, now is the time. I won't say another word. A battle of this level is still too much for you."
With that, Theresa's gaze carefully fell on Fu Hua and Ming Yu's faces, studying their expressions.
By now, she completely believed Ming Yu's earlier warning and understood how woefully underprepared the Far East Branch was for this operation.
The last time a Judgment-class Honkai Beast appeared, none of the A-rank Valkyries who participated in the battle survived. And compared to that dragon-shaped Honkai Beast, this Chiyou was clearly stronger, not weaker.
For A-rank Valkyries, the danger of this battle was simply too great. Even she couldn't guarantee the safety of Ming Yu and Fu Hua.
And given Ming Yu's delicate relationship with the Far East Branch, Theresa really had no reason to ask him to participate in such a battle. Moreover, the current situation could be considered entirely her oversight.
As for something like the Xuanyuan Sword, it was perfectly fine to hand it over to Fu Hua. If the girl in the Xuanyuan Sword hadn't deceived her, what was important was the sword itself; the wielder was not essential.
"Principal, since we've come this far, I won't back down." Ming Yu shook his head lightly, his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead. "Chiyou is just a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, after all."
Ming Yu's tone was somewhat casual, but his words were full of determination. Although he had never wanted to deal with Chiyou, when it came down to it, he never lacked the courage to draw his sword.
Besides, Chiyou was, in the end, only a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Although he still couldn't defeat it with his own strength, he had never intended to rely on himself to beat Chiyou.
Hugging the Celestial's thigh for an easy win, isn't that nice?
Looking at the determined Ming Yu, Theresa couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. This kid seems to be getting a little cocky...
However, since Ming Yu rarely had this kind of resolve, she didn't say anything more. The combat power of a Divine Key was still quite considerable, even if its wielder couldn't fully unleash its power.
Besides, Ming Yu was no longer a child. He understood the gravity of dealing with Chiyou and could be responsible for his own decisions.
"Though our golden armor is worn from a hundred battles in the yellow sand, we will not return until Loulan is broken."
Fu Hua was Fu Hua, after all. The moment she spoke, the sentiment was on a completely different level, totally unlike the other guy.
After a long pause, Theresa finally understood Fu Hua's meaning, and her gaze towards the girl couldn't help but carry a hint of resentment.
Can't you just speak normally? Why do you have to be like this? A certain principal whose bookshelf only contains the HOMU series expressed her inability to understand (´?∧′?)╯
Unfastening the Judah from her back, Theresa took the lead and walked at the very front.
Since it was a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, there was no telling what Chiyou might have protecting its core. In the face of a powerful and unknown enemy, protecting her juniors was the Principal's duty.
Ming Yu and Fu Hua exchanged a look, also gripping their weapons tightly, and carefully followed behind the Principal.
In the chronicles, when facing the Second and Third Herrschers, Dark Jixuanyuan would kindly give a warning, advising them to leave.
But there was no one chosen by the Honkai in their current team, so they received no goodwill from Chiyou; even the Honkai Beasts along the way were running rampant in hordes.
Under these circumstances, Ming Yu wouldn't be surprised if Dark Jixuanyuan were to lie in ambush ahead and ambush them. The only thing he could do was raise his own vigilance.
Fortunately, Dark Jixuanyuan still maintained the dignity of a boss and didn't personally attack the group trying to approach the core. So, after eliminating the Honkai Beasts along the way, they entered the area where Chiyou's core was located with almost no obstruction.
A dense Honkai aura filled the sizable area. Translucent crimson crystal clusters grew haphazardly on the rock walls, bringing not only a massive amount of Honkai Energy to this place but also providing ample light.
And in front of them, a young girl dressed in a black battle skirt was slowly taking shape.