Honkai, why do you only play high-end games?

Rita couldn't help but shook her head and said helplessly,

"Then carefully protect those that are still intact and distribute them to everyone regularly and in fixed quantities. Tell everyone that reinforcements will be arriving soon, but until then, please be patient for a while."

"Yes!"

"But, Lady Rita..."

Some Valkyries looked at the huge crowd in front of them with embarrassment and raised doubts in a low voice.

"We simply can't spare so many people to do these things!"

She was a member of another team that had arrived here to provide support not long ago.

"The reason why human civilization has survived to this day is not just because of the Valkyries, team member."

Rita said calmly,

"Just do your best. They'll know what to do to survive. Sometimes, it's not a bad idea to try to trust the strangers around you."

"This is!"

"Finally, there is one more thing."

Rita paused, her tone emphasizing something important, causing all nearby Valkyries within earshot to shudder.

"Those who just caused the riot and were emotionally agitated may have been severely eroded by the Honkai, to the point of affecting their mental state."

Of those who survived the Honkai disaster, the vast majority will be eroded by it to varying degrees; there are even some who didn't show signs of erosion immediately, but will show signs after a period of incubation - as Valkyries, they will naturally be familiar with these "basics".

"As a precaution, screen out those who have been severely affected by the Honkai. Remember not to make this known, lest it cause panic and new unrest."

Rita emphasized this sentence before continuing,

"Put them all in one place. I'll deal with them myself later..."

As for how to "deal with it" specifically, she didn't say. After all, saying too much would only embarrass these Valkyries, who only knew how to fight and were too simple-minded.

"Yes!"

The Valkyries took every order seriously and then began to act separately as required.

"Huh... this way, this farce is over."

Rita, who had successfully resolved another crisis, sighed tiredly.

Since she arrived at this battlefield, she has been fighting and commanding at a high intensity; a large part of her physical strength and energy has been consumed.

After all, even if she is extremely talented and even one of the S-class Valkyries with destiny, she still has a human body and can get hurt and tired.

"Sometimes I really wish I could have a physique like Lord Youlan Dale..."

Rita gave a wry smile, then cheered herself up and walked towards the outside.

She had transferred most of the Valkyries back to the inner line to maintain order. The outer defense line was probably beginning to have Honkai beasts gathering and approaching again. At this time, she had no choice but to go forward.

"Hold on a little longer and wait for reinforcements to arrive..."

"Lady Rita!"

Just as Rita was silently encouraging herself, the Valkyrie, who was still standing on the few remaining commanding heights and monitoring the battlefield situation, suddenly sent an urgent call, saying in an anxious and panicked tone,

"At sea, a new tsunami is about to arrive!"

"what?"

Rita's mind suddenly went blank for a moment, and then she rushed forward at full speed regardless of anything, trying to reach the high place where the Valkyrie was as quickly as possible.

By this time, the entire city of Manila had practically been reduced to ruins. Without the barrier of tall buildings, Rita could easily cast her gaze into the distance the moment she reached the top. She clearly saw a terrifyingly high wall rising above the sea, blocking out the sun and sky, just beyond the bay!

"Anti-entropy!"

Rita hated it!

She knew clearly that all her previous efforts had completely lost their meaning at this moment.

Just like a castle that a child painstakingly builds on a beach at low tide, it will eventually crumble into sand under the pounding of the waves, leaving no trace.

At this moment, she suddenly understood why Lin Wei became so angry the moment she received the call in Singapore:

If the results of your best efforts are easily trampled upon and destroyed, you will probably feel angry and even resentful!

"Lady Rita, what should we do? This tsunami is even bigger than the last one! I wonder how many Honkai beasts are out there..."

The Valkyrie beside him turned pale and cried helplessly,

"We only have so much strength, we can't hold on!"

"..."

Rita was silent.

How could she not know this fact?

If it was Youlan Dale standing here, he would probably be able to turn the tide and easily eliminate all threats by himself;

But, the one standing here is just Rita...

What else can I do?

Rita, who had never suffered such a setback and blow, was a little dazed for a moment, and her thoughts drifted far away.

……

"Senior Ragnar, I don't understand."

The young Rita looked at the beautiful woman dressed like a maid not far away, who was pruning a bunch of withered potted plants with a happy smile on her face.

"What's wrong, Rita?"

The woman looked at Rita and smiled more gently and kindly, but her hands kept trimming.

"If you have any questions, just ask!"

"Well……"

Little Rita hesitated for a while, then mustered up the courage to ask,

"Why, Senior, you have experienced so many terrible battlefields, witnessed so many separations and deaths, and so many tragedies in the world; why can you still smile?"

"Um……"

Ragnar waited for a moment, thought for a while, and said with a smile,

"It seems that Rita-chan hasn't finished what she was saying yet?"

"Ah? Uh... yes, yes..."

Little Rita lowered her head in panic, as if her thoughts had been seen through.

"It's okay. If you have any questions in your mind, you can say whatever you want to say."

Ragnar picked up the towel and wiped his hands clean, then gently touched Rita's head, his tone as gentle as always.

"Encountering confusion, resolving it, and then encountering new confusion, repeating this cycle, isn't this the pace of human growth?"

As she spoke, she patted her chest and said with a bright smile,

"Going a few steps further than the younger generation, and then sharing that experience—isn't that the purpose of being a 'senior'?"

"senior……"

Little Rita hesitated and struggled for a long time before she mustered up the courage to raise her innocent little face and ask,

"Every battle results in the death of so many people; every victory results in the surrender of a large piece of land... Is such a victory really a victory?"

"If becoming a Valkyrie means fighting like this, then what is the meaning of our existence?"

Little Rita mustered up the courage to finish all these words, then lowered her head in a somewhat depressed manner.

"How can you still smile when faced with such a failure that makes me depressed just thinking about it?"

She thought that the senior would answer all her questions immediately in her usual gentle voice; but this time, she waited for a long time and did not hear any sound from the senior.

"senior?"

Little Rita raised her head somewhat uneasily, looking at the senior who was looking at her with a complicated expression and without saying a word.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Rita's question is very good. I just didn't expect you to ask such a question so early. I was a little surprised."

Ragnar squatted down, looked at little Rita at eye level, then took her hand and said with emotion,

"This question has puzzled me for a long time. For a long time, I didn't understand the meaning of my fighting..."

"Then senior..."

"Later, after the Bishop's guidance and a long period of experience and reflection, I slowly began to realize that 'victory' is a luxury. Many of our battles were destined to be meaningless..."

"But?"

Hearing such a depressing answer, little Rita couldn't help but get anxious.

"But then I gradually understood that whether it was so-called 'meaning' or 'victory', it was all just a desire for a specific outcome - but how could there be so many 'outcomes' in this world?"

Ragnar smiled softly, reached out and took the potted plant he was just trimming and brought it to Little Rita, and asked with a chuckle,

"Look, this flower is already withering. But why do we need to repair it?"

"Because...it will open again next year?"

Little Rita answered.

"Then wouldn't it be fine to rebuild it next year after the flowers bloom?"

Ragnar demanded.

"But if I don't prune them, the flowers will look ugly next year..."

Little Rita retorted.

"Well... you're right."

Ragnar said with a smile,

"So, that's because you believe the flowers will bloom again next year, and the new flowers will be as beautiful as the ones before they withered, right?"

"..."

Little Rita felt as if something touched her, but she couldn't figure out what it was and was a little hesitant.

"Flowers wither, but they will bloom again next year; the sun sets, but it will rise again tomorrow. We will not become depressed because the blooming season of this year has passed, nor will we become frightened because the sun sets; because we believe."

“It is because of faith that we can trim the flowers and plants early in the morning; it is because of faith that we can fall asleep peacefully after nightfall.”

Ragnar said earnestly,

"So, victory or failure is not important. What matters is that we believe victory will eventually come. This is hope. So, no matter how tortuous and painful the journey may be, as long as we hold on to this hope, we can go further."

"But……"

That's too painful, right?

Little Rita felt she didn't have the courage to say this.

"The meaning of being a senior is to pass this hope on to the junior, and then the junior will pass it on to the junior after her, and keep passing it on, and keep fighting. In this way, one day we will see the end called 'victory'."

Ragnar held Rita's hand tightly, blessing her with a smile.

"Rita, you will surely become a Valkyrie far superior to your predecessors. So, believe in yourself, and never give up hope. Only then will the so-called 'meaning' truly have meaning."

"I believe you, Rita."

……

"Rita-senpai, what should we do?"

The terrified screams of the Valkyrie beside her woke Rita from her memories.

"..."

Rita took a deep breath, then lowered her head and asked gently,

"Are you afraid of death?"

"what?"

The Valkyrie didn't expect Rita to ask such a question. She hesitated for a long time, but was stared at by her wine-red eyes. She didn't dare to tell a lie. She lowered her head with a red face and whispered,