Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

Bronya had used the [Time-Space Fracture System] many times, but perhaps it was this desolate city, or perhaps it was the atmosphere that seemed to have been abandoned by the whole world, that made her remember something only at this moment.

“I will definitely bring you back…” Bronya whispered, “no matter where you are…”

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Bronya activated the jet-powered emergency evasion system, narrowly escaping the attack range of the crashing tank beast.

When the tank-like Honkai Beast landed, it was like a missile exploding on the ground. The huge roar was almost deafening. The debris it kicked up exploded in all directions like bullets. If Bronya hadn't dodged the attack, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Mei!" A resounding voice came through the communicator.

Mei understood immediately and activated her own [Space-Time Fracture System]. Her system was not linked to Bronya's system, so their [Space-Time Fracture Systems] would not affect each other when activated.

At this moment, she activated the [Time Fracture System], just to get as close as possible to the stunned Honkai Beast in these limited four seconds.

However, she still had some hesitation in her heart, because according to her calculations, she was still a little short of the minimum threshold to kill this Honkai Beast, but Keng Huo was telling her to use the ultimate killing module at this moment...

You must understand that after using the ultimate killing module, your armor will lose a large amount of energy in a short period of time, and many additional functions, even the exoskeleton transmission system, will become ineffective. At that point, you will practically lose most of your combat power. If this attack doesn't kill that Honkai Beast, then you...

The previous hunter squads had never received such detailed commands as Keng Huo. Their battles had always relied on mutual understanding. Even when Himeko was directing them in the Changkong City hunt, she only gave them general operational guidelines.

Keng Huo, on the other hand, could simultaneously encompass almost all the movements and possible situations on the entire battlefield in his mind. His combat instructions were detailed down to the step and the second, which made Mei extremely uncomfortable, as if she had become a puppet on a string.

Whether it was sensing Mei's hesitation or for some other reason, Keng Huo's loud shout rang out again at this moment.

"Trust me! Mei! Activate the ultimate move!"

At this moment, Mei's four-second time fracture had ended, but she had already brought the Chariot Honkai Beast into her attack range. Suddenly hearing Keng Huo's shout, she couldn't help but activate [Amaterasu] in accordance with Keng Huo's words.

Mei regained consciousness the instant Amaterasu was activated, but the fact that Amaterasu was already charging meant she couldn't turn back. The ultimate attack module that had begun charging couldn't be canceled, otherwise, whether the massive energy was channeled into the air or allowed to flow back, it would trigger a violent explosion.

So she could only grit her teeth, charge up as quickly as possible, aim at the broad back of the Honkai Beast Chariot, and slash out with her sword.

In an instant, sparks of energy illuminated half the sky, and a massive energy blade, several meters long, slashed from the edge of Mei's composite willow-leaf knife, flying towards the enemy with the crackling sound of exploding energy sparks and the hissing sound of electricity, just like the sword energy wielded by a legendary sword saint.

This energy blade seemed to carry an unstoppable will, and even the Honkai Beast's solid, thick shell could not stop it. Mei suddenly had a kind of illusion, that even if there was a mountain blocking her way, that sword energy would definitely pierce through the mountain without turning back and cut off all obstacles in its path.

The instant Amaterasu and the Honkai Beast Chariot's backs touched, a violent explosion swept out from the point of contact.

The gale whipped up countless dust particles. Mei's strike had almost exhausted all the energy in her armor. She could only weakly shield her eyes with her hands, unaware of the outcome of her attack.

But she no longer needs to use her eyes to confirm.

Because she heard a deep roar, the kind of roar only a severely wounded beast would make.

That Honkai Beast did not die.

Chapter Sixty: Are you willing to trust me?

Mei gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She could already see the red-glowing eyes of the tank-class Honkai Beast slowly emerging from the dust.

At this moment, the Crimson Armor had just finished depressurizing. The heavy armor, which had temporarily lost its power, would not only fail to provide any assistance, but would even slow down its speed.

Although Mei wasn't worried about this, because she had fought against tank-class Honkai Beasts before without this armor, the expected results didn't come, which still made her slightly resentful towards Keng Huo.

Nevertheless, the most urgent task at this moment is to launch a swift attack, suppressing the Honkai Beasts while they are still affected by Amaterasu's attack.

But at that moment, Keng Huo's voice came through the communicator again.

"Mei! Retreat immediately! Get out of the combat zone!"

A huge question mark flashed through Mei's mind, and she even began to doubt Keng Huo's command ability. First of all, he suddenly changed tactics halfway through the battle. According to the original plan, Mei should have continued to entangle the tank-class Honkai Beast, while Bronya's long-range firepower would continue to suppress it. After the Honkai Beast's injuries reached a certain level, Bronya would use the [Gravity Singularity] kill module mounted on the [Tank] armor to restrict the Honkai Beast, and then her [Amaterasu] would finish it off.

However, Keng Huo unexpectedly changed tactics, allowing Mei to use the ultimate attack module ahead of time. Not only did it fail to inflict fatal damage on the Honkai Beast, but it also left Mei with a temporary inconvenience.

However, the Far Eastern race's innate sense of obedience to their superiors still gave them the upper hand. Moreover, retreating slightly to observe the Honkai Beast's injuries before making a decision was not a wrong choice.

In reality, these thoughts flashed through her mind in the blink of an eye, and only a moment passed. Mei frowned, stomped her feet hard on the ground, and used the recoil to retreat like a cannonball.

But at that moment, Kiana's voice suddenly came from the direction of the Honkai Beast.

"Target locked, powerful stun grenade module, Fire!"

Mei looked in surprise toward the direction from which the sound came. At that moment, the smoke cleared, and Kiana appeared in front of Mei. She had quietly approached the tank-class Honkai Beast without anyone noticing. Kiana nimbly leaped onto the Honkai Beast's head and pointed the modified Colt Defender at the Honkai Beast's brow.

A moment of disorientation flashed in Mei's eyes: Wasn't Kiana supposed to lure away the group of assassins? How did she suddenly appear here?

And most importantly, where did the group of assassins go?

But the situation on the scene left Mei no time to think. The instant the powerful shockwave was released, Kiana, like a swift, lightly performed a backflip and leaped backward, landing on a broken lamppost not far away. Without stopping, she used the lamppost for leverage and jumped backward at high speed.

The tank-class Honkai Beast, affected by the powerful shock bomb, seemed somewhat unsteady on its feet, and its body began to tilt to one side.

"Could it be..." A sudden realization flashed through Mei's mind.

“Bronya!” A resounding voice came through the communication at just the right moment, filled with undisguised urgency.

"Bronya received, supergravity field module activated," Bronya's voice suddenly appeared high in the sky. Mei looked in the direction of the voice and saw Bronya's figure swooping down from the sky like a swooping eagle. "Heavy Bunny... attack!"

The heavily armored bunny appeared behind her, its mechanical right arm extending downwards in the same motion as Bronya's, and in the very center of its steel hand, a black sphere was throbbing restlessly.

These scenes were actually completed in the blink of an eye, and Mei could only retreat quickly.

Just as Mei managed to escape the battlefield, Heavy Bunny's right fist slammed into the body of the tank-class Honkai Beast with a whooshing sound like an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In an instant, flying sand and stones were no longer enough to describe the scene before her. The dust that had been kicked up by the leaping attack of the tank-class Honkai Beast was swept away in an instant. The deafening bombardment was like the explosion of a huge explosive. Mei felt a gust of wind far more turbulent than the roar of the tank-class Honkai Beast coming from the center of the explosion. Like a Category 12 hurricane, she could hardly keep her footing in the gale.

After the storm subsided, Mei slowly removed her arms from in front of her, and what she saw shocked her.

The spot where the tank-class Honkai Beast had stood had become a giant crater, with dense cracks on the ground extending all the way to her feet. The hurricane-like winds not only swept away the dust flying everywhere, but also cleared away a large area of ​​the surrounding ruins.

In the center of that giant crater, a small figure was kneeling on one knee, his right fist on the ground. The corpse was deeply dented, as if it had been hit head-on by an intercontinental ballistic missile, looking like a steamed bun that had been stepped on.

The heavily armored bunny slowly disappeared behind Bronya, while Bronya slowly stood up, her face still calm and composed, as if the earth-shattering attack she had just delivered had nothing to do with her.

"All enemy forces, silence. System enters standby mode." Bronya's voice rang out from the public channel.

"Wow, Bronya, wasn't that a superhero landing just now?! Right?!" Keng Huo's excited voice suddenly rang out from the communicator. "Wow, wow, wow, that was so cool! Do it again, do it again!"

Bronya seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Mei ran anxiously towards Bronya, asking into the communicator as she ran, "What happened? Why did Kiana suddenly come back? Where are the assassins?"

However, Keng Huo seemed not to hear Mei's question at this moment, and instead shouted to himself: "Bronya, I want to interview you! I've wanted to ask someone this question for a long time! Does your knee hurt when you land as a superhero? After landing, are you stuck in the same position for so long because your knee is too sore and hasn't recovered, so you can't stand up? Also, does your fist land first or your knee first...?"

"[The vehicle] has lost communication with you."

"Hey Bronya, stop it! I'm just really curious..."

"[The tank] has left the public communication channel."

Keng Huo's face immediately fell into a mournful expression: "Don't do this... I'm really curious... Mei, please persuade Bronya..."

Mei rubbed her forehead, feeling a bit of a headache: "Teacher Keng, please be more dignified..."

"There is no room for dignity in the face of a burning thirst for knowledge!"

"..."

"Bronya, reconnect the communication channel. That idiot is screaming and wailing in there." Kiana had already run to Bronya's side and said with a happy smile.

Bronya hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly, "It's noisy..."

"Alright, alright, I told him to stop arguing. Hurry up and reconnect the communication channel." Mei patted Bronya's head and said in a concerned tone.

A fleeting look of enjoyment crossed Bronya's otherwise mechanically cold face as she silently reconnected the communication channel.

"By the way, Kiana, why did you suddenly come back?" Mei turned around and asked. "Where's the assassin squad?"

"I've taken care of everything!" Kiana said, raising her head and grabbing Mei's arm, shaking it. "Wasn't that amazing? Mei, praise me!"

Mei looked at Kiana with some surprise, clearly astonished that Kiana could kill five assassins from the Endless Abyss in such a short time. In this land where Honkai energy was so concentrated, any Honkai creature would be considered an elite Honkai creature if placed on Earth. Yet Kiana had managed to kill five elite assassins all by herself in such a short time, despite being outnumbered.

This is completely different from her previous understanding of Kiana's combat strength!

As if sensing Mei's confusion, Keng Huo interjected at the opportune moment: "She lured the assassins into a building that hadn't completely collapsed yet, then used a powerful stun grenade to break down the load-bearing wall, and escaped before the building completely collapsed."

"Right? Right? Aren't I amazing?" Kiana proudly grabbed Mei's hand. "Praise me, praise me!"

"Alright, alright, Kiana-chan is the best." Mei smiled and reached out to pat Kiana's head.

Bronya, who was standing next to her, seemed a little unhappy. She grabbed Mei's other hand and placed it on her head.

“Touch.” Bronya’s words were always so concise and direct.

"I was saying, shouldn't we get down to business..." Keng Huo, standing in the command room, had a big "囧" (a Chinese character meaning embarrassed or awkward) written all over his face. "There's still a small settlement that hasn't been completely wiped out, and there's still a leader that needs to be killed..."

"Ahem... Okay, okay..." Mei coughed awkwardly.

"Kiana, what's your energy level?" Keng Huo asked, pulling up the battle map in front of him and studying the route. "And Bronya, what's your energy level?"

“66 standard units,” Kiana replied confidently, glancing at her armor's charge gauge.

"52 point."

Bronya's answer made Keng Huo very happy: "Wow, Bronya, you're finally talking to me! Tell me about Super Heroes..."

"[Tank] has lost communication connection."

After Keng Huo hurriedly swore an oath that he would never joke about this again, Bronya reconnected her and Keng Huo's personal communication channel.

"Didn't you say that we could update all the stats of our armor to the command center's data panel in real time? Why is Teacher Keng asking us?" Mei seemed to have a huge question mark above her head. "The battle was too urgent, so I didn't ask..."

"Huh? There's such a thing... Ah, I remember now, I really forgot about this..." Keng Huo slapped his forehead and shook it vigorously, as if trying to clear the confusion in his mind. "My bad, my bad, I'll pull up the data right away."

“Ahem… According to the intelligence relayed by Dandelion, another small settlement is about eight kilometers away from here. You can remotely activate the mutine and have it come here to collect materials from the corpses of Honkai Beasts. Then you can go and dig out those suicide soldiers…” After bringing up the armor stat panel, Keng Huo coughed to cover up his embarrassment.

"Why?" Kiana asked, puzzled.

"You white-haired idiot!" Keng Huo's furious voice came from the other end of the communicator. "Another major objective of our operation is to collect research materials on Honkai-side creatures! The weapons carried by the suicide soldiers are important raw materials for our anti-Honkai alloy! If you bury them all, where are we supposed to retrieve the metal?!"

Kiana changed the subject.

“However… Teacher Keng… there are some things I don’t know whether I should say or not…” Mei hesitated as she spoke.

"Go ahead and say it, I know you've wanted to compliment me on my looks for a long time."

"...I mean, I'm still not used to this kind of command..." Mei said tactfully. "We've never been commanded like this before in combat. Your command steps are so detailed, even down to the exact second to move to which side. I feel..."

Mei thought for a moment, then mustered her courage and said tactfully, "I feel so restricted... I can't fight with my hands full..."