Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 418 An Unconventional 4-Man Assault Team

Located 34 kilometers southeast of Canghai City, Shenzhou, on the ocean.

"Boss, the mission risk has been upgraded to Level A!"

"Continue monitoring!"

"Yes, boss! There appears to be a Honkai energy leak around the target warship! Honkai beasts have already materialized!"

"What! Ai-chan, quickly determine the approximate number and strength of the Honkai Beasts!"

Himeko frowned, silently cursing Anti-Entropy's ancestors for eighteen generations: How dare they bring out a ship that isn't even properly repaired? If this warship really crashes in Canghai City and the Honkai energy reactor explodes, how many ordinary people who lack Honkai energy resistance will suffer?

"Boss, there are over a hundred Honkai Beasts, one of which has been identified as Emperor-class, while the rest are mainly Assault-class and Knight-class. The Honkai energy concentration is rising rapidly; at this rate, it will crash in thirty minutes! That could trigger a large-scale—"

"There's actually an Emperor-level Honkai Beast?"

Himeko clenched her fists. Putting everything else aside, what if the Honkai Beast escaped and landed...? A King-class Honkai Beast is a devastating enemy to ordinary soldiers and even regular Valkyrie units.

"What if we destroy the warship directly with the Hyperion's main guns?"

As she spoke, Himeko's mind raced through the possibilities: the Hyperion's main cannon was powerful enough to vaporize most of the warship and the Honkai Beasts on it, but the remaining reactor and Honkai Beast wreckage would continue to pollute the sea for decades, eventually contaminating the entire Pacific Ocean with the ocean currents.

Wouldn't that be dumping nuclear waste into the sea?

"No, that won't work either."

After much deliberation, Himeko reluctantly concluded that the plan to destroy the warships, as a second-best option, would still cause large-scale pollution. To minimize the damage, the only option was to proceed with Theresa's original, best-case scenario...

Take control of this warship.

But what kind of Valkyrie could possibly fight against an Emperor-class Honkai Beast while enduring potential corruption in an area comparable to the epicenter of a Honkai outbreak, and still have the ability to control a warship?

The mere fact of corrosion disqualifies most Valkyries, as for their Emperor-level combat power...

If Kiana and Mei were here, Himeko might have considered sending the children who had sufficient Honkai energy resistance, strong combat power but lacked experience, while she would oversee the operation and deploy other Valkyries to send drones to protect them. But now...

If the branch has no capable leaders, I'll take the lead myself!

"Ai-chan, connect me to Sora-kun in the hangar."

Ai-chan's virtual image flickered.

"Boss, the acting boss lacks combat experience. Sending him out violates headquarters' Valkyrie safety mission regulations..."

"Do as your mother says!"

Himeko interrupted Ai-chan's reminder and turned to walk towards the bridge exit.

"Prepare the Valkyrie projection pods and fighter jets! I'm going with Qiong to stop that wrecked ship!"

"But boss, according to regulations, the captain cannot leave without permission—"

"No buts!"

Himeko had already reached the cabin door.

"Headquarters still has problems caused by Anti-Entropy; we can't really let those people below risk their lives to clean them up. Tell Theresa..."

Himeko glanced back at the countdown to the fall of the Moon Throne constantly flashing on the main screen, and a wild smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Just tell her she owes me two bottles of good wine!"

……

Himeko, dressed in a red, tight-fitting combat suit, was kneeling on one knee inspecting the armored joints of her leg. Hearing footsteps, she looked up—it seemed like there were two more people?

She looked at Qiong, who still looked completely bewildered, and the two little ones following behind him.

"Qiong boy, do you understand the situation now? Bronya and Seele, what brings you here?"

Himeko stood up and strode forward, casually grabbing a prototype miniature ship-slaying sword from the shelf next to her.

"A-level risk, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and we need to race against time to seize control of the warship next to a suspected Honkai energy leak reactor... Bronya, Seele, this isn't the last live-fire exercise; there could be mortal danger—"

Bronya knew that the thirty-minute drop window, after deducting the time for navigation and entry, meant that the actual combat window was no more than fifteen minutes.

"You knew we were coming, yet you still came? Aren't you afraid?"

Bronya paused, her gaze falling on the giant sword in Himeko's hand, which was taller than herself.

"I'm afraid, but Bronya is even more afraid that it will fall. Bronya can help hack into the warship's control system! But Seele doesn't need to go."

"Seele?"

Himeko looked at Seele again, who blushed and clenched the hem of her clothes.

"Himeko-sensei, Seele wants to join too! Seele's Honkai energy adaptability is even stronger than Bronya's. Seele will protect herself! She can also contribute in battle..."

Himeko sighed inwardly; they were truly brave little ones.

Looking at the children, Himeko was somewhat moved—considering that she had sent people to watch over them (although there was no adorable Seele back then), and how they had managed to hijack the plane and crash into Chi You's body...

To prevent anyone from being too proactive and causing trouble, and because she genuinely needed manpower, Himeko compromised.

"Alright, since you're all here, let's all come at once. But listen up, everyone: retreat immediately if you encounter any danger!"

"Yes, Major!"

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As of now, Qiong is still confused.

Akivilli, what have you been doing here? The butterfly effect has brought forward the Moon Throne by more than a year!

Why is the Moon Throne being built so early? If it were a few months or half a year earlier, I could understand; Old Yang probably finished building it before it became too difficult. But the reason for its departure is an attack on the Schicksal headquarters…

Where did things go wrong? Was it the wind he, the "butterfly," stirred up? Or was it the Tranquil Gem that shouldn't have been in Uncle Yang's hands that caused the trouble? Or perhaps, it was because his two best friends took Li Sushang away when they stormed the floating island to retrieve the Tesla?

"Hey, Qiong boy, what are you thinking about?"

The atmosphere before a high-risk operation is inevitably somewhat heavy, but Himeko didn't want it to be like that.

"Let me guess: Is it because Mei isn't around and you miss your girlfriend? Or are you thinking about Kiana? Without Mei to keep you company and without Kiana to bicker with, you must be feeling really unsettled right now, right?"

Qiong was taken aback by Himeko's sudden teasing and almost bumped into Seele's realistic physics engine. He shifted his position and shook his head with a wry smile.

"My dear Himeko-neechan, how could you think such a thing? What kind of time is this..."

"You must always maintain a positive mindset."

Himeko glanced at the rapidly receding clouds outside the window, her tone quite relaxed.

"Daydreaming on the battlefield might be more dangerous than a Honkai Beast. What, I guessed right?"

"The number of times that Brother Qiong, Sister Silly Kiana, and Bronya have separated to carry out missions is extremely small. Bronya suspects that there is a slight dependency or a lack of adaptation to the habit..."

"Bronya, please don't portray me as some kind of little kid who can't live without Mei and that idiot Naa, okay?"

Qiong felt her face getting hot, even though she was wearing goggles that she was forced to wear and no one could see her.

Xi'er, who was sitting next to her, chuckled softly, but quickly suppressed it and leaned against Qiong's arm.

"It's okay, Brother Qiong. Seele also needs Bronya a little too, and Rosalia and Lilia need each other too... But Seele and Bronya are also indispensable companions for Brother Qiong—"

"Men, prepare for landing!"

Himeko's voice cut off the conversation, because the plane carrying the four people had already arrived above the out-of-control steel behemoth.

"Attention, prepare to parachute in 30 seconds!"

Himeko's calm voice came from ahead.

"Let me repeat myself one last time, the plan is simple: We'll land on the upper deck of the warship, quickly clear out the Assault-class and Knight-class enemies that are interfering with the mission, and then find the shortest path to the bridge or engine room. I'll hold off the Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, you guys go and seize control or activate the emergency brakes! Ai-chan will synchronize the warship's structural diagram to your tactical eyepieces! Do you all understand?"

"understand!"

The jet's projection bay shook violently, and the hatch slowly opened high in the sky.

"Proceed as planned, advance into formation, I'll lead the way! Qiong boy, protect Bronya and Seele, don't let the grunts get them bogged down!"

Himeko was the first to rush out, her red figure crashing onto the cratered deck of the Moon Throne like a meteor. She attempted a miniature ship-slaying sword, sweeping across several newly born Advance-class Honkai Beasts, which were blasted apart in mid-air and turned into purple light fragments.

Qiong followed closely behind, wielding his Flame Spear and piercing through the deck, turning the Honkai Beasts within a radius of several meters into ashes.

"Why is there so many holes on this deck?"

Having regained his footing, Qiong swung his flaming spear repeatedly, piercing through two Knight-class Honkai Beasts that pounced from the side.

"Kid Qiong, stop complaining!"

Without turning her head, Himeko swung her greatsword to clear away a circle of Honkai Beasts, quickly back to back with Sora, ready to receive Bronya and Seele who would soon be airdropped.

However, it turned out that Himeko and even Sora's worries were somewhat unnecessary. When Bronya landed with a bang in her Heavy Bunny 19C, the shoulder cannons rotated, and the superior firepower covered all the Honkai Beasts that tried to approach her and the others. Although Seele was still not very familiar with the second airdrop, the scythe in her hand had already quietly appeared, and she cut down a "mosquito" that was rushing towards her with one strike - because the rest were covered by Bronya's firepower.

"Kiyoshi, find the nearest bridge entrance! Seele, watch the flanks! Bronya, the Honkai Beasts have no end in sight, conserve your ammunition!"

"The bridge entrance is about fifty meters to port!"

Qiong quickly scanned the structure diagram synchronized with Ai-chan on the tactical eyepiece.

"But Ai-chan said there are three areas of active Honkai energy along the path, which might be areas where Honkai Beasts gather?"

"Then let's go around them for now, I'll deal with them later!"

Himeko picked up her greatsword and hoisted it onto her shoulder.

"My little ones, stick close to me!"

The four of them plunged into the Honkai Beasts on the deck like sharp knives.

If Honkai Beasts knew fear, they would probably collapse at any moment.

A red demon, wielding an oversized sword, surrounded by three lesser demons, indiscriminately slaughtered all the Honkai Beasts. More importantly, despite the fact that all the Honkai Beasts on the deck wanted to fight the gray-haired man with the flaming spear, they rushed towards the small encirclement one after another, but the encirclement didn't seem to thicken at all.

They killed too many people.

Himeko led the way, taking several Honkai Beasts with each swing; Sora protected the flanks, and all the Honkai Beasts that rushed towards him were either taken down by Himeko with a single strike or suppressed by the firepower provided by Bronya, preventing them from advancing. Even if a few escaped, they would be harvested by Seele with her scythe, who moved like a shadow...

"Why do I feel like all the Honkai Beasts are coming for us? Qiong boy, they're all coming for you, do you have any clue what's going on?"

With barely able to touch the enemy, Qiong's gaze drifted towards the sky.

"Maybe the Honkai Beasts discriminate against handsome guys? Maybe I should just give myself a couple of drops of blood..."

"Stop with your terrible ideas! Let's all clear the deck—"

Before Himeko could finish speaking, the deck suddenly trembled violently, and a giant claw covered in dark red carapace melted the deck and appeared before everyone's eyes—the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Agni the Blazing Flame.

Or, to use a different name? The Lava Emperor who wiped out the Sea Lion Squad during the Manila Collapse, was lured away by the Sky, and was finally taken down by a single shot from the Moon Throne.

The Lava Emperor revealed its two "arms," ​​dark red in color, which locked onto four tiny figures on the deck. It opened its "hands," within which Honkai energy coalesced into two blazing flames…

"Get out of the way!"

Qiong rushed in front of the others, gripping the Flame Spear with both hands, pressing the spear downwards to meet the two flames.

boom--!!!

Flames clashed with the fire spear, and the alloy deck beneath his feet melted under the intense heat, even the soles of his shoes emitted a burnt smell. Yet, his figure remained unmoved, instead forcefully deflecting the two streams of flame powerful enough to melt the deck to either side.

"Qiong boy!"

Himeko exclaimed in surprise, but immediately realized that this was not the time to worry.

"Bronya, suppress its upper limb joints with firepower! Seele, watch out for the surrounding minions! I'll draw its attention away, you guys proceed according to plan!"

"Heavy Armored Rabbit, all missiles launched!"

Bronya's calm voice rang out, and the cannons on the shoulders and chest of the Heavy Bunny instantly lit up, dozens of shells accurately striking the joints of the two "arms" of the Lava Emperor that had just launched its attack. The flashes of the explosions and the crisp sound of the Honkai Beast's shell cracking intertwined, temporarily interrupting its next round of attacks.

"Now!"

Himeko propelled herself forward with a burst of speed, her red figure shooting upwards like an arrow. She carried her miniature anti-ship sword behind her, the blade scraping against the deck and sparks flying. As she approached the Lava Emperor, she spun and slashed the massive blade towards its waist…

clang--!!!

The metal collided with the shell of the Lava Emperor Honkai Beast, which could only be shattered by an anti-tank rocket launcher, and Himeko felt a tingling numbness in her arm.

Her broadsword left only a shallow mark on the dark red armor...

The price of failing to break through the Lava Emperor's resilience was high. Soon, a ring of fire rose around the Lava Emperor, preparing to strike Himeko, who was standing nearby.

"Himeko-sensei, watch out!"

Seele flashed forward, slashing her scythe at the Lava Emperor's ring of fire, attempting to slow its movements—but the power of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast far exceeded her expectations. Unable to land a single blow, Seele was thrown aside along with her scythe. Had it not been for quantum leap, she would have crashed heavily into the metal structure of the deck.

"Himeko-neechan, Seele!"

As soon as the sky cleared away the remaining flames, the Flame Spear swung to provide support.

"Never mind me! Stick to the plan!"

Himeko shouted sharply, using the recoil to leap backward and dodge the following impact. Her gaze was fixed on the white mark left by the Lava Emperor.

"Helios will be here with Theresa in ten minutes at most. You three, hurry up and stabilize the ship! If you can't stabilize it, I'll skin you alive when I get back—"

Before Himeko could finish speaking, the Lava Emperor's ring of fire suddenly expanded, and dark red Honkai energy surged like magma, about to attack Himeko once again—

"A sense of déjà vu!"

But in that instant, everything around the Lava Emperor suddenly froze.

The Honkai energy flames froze in mid-air, the flying metal fragments hovered motionless, everything was still—no, it couldn't be called still.

The next second, the four saw the Lava Emperor, still in that position, crash through the deck railing and, after Qiong shouted "Release!", plummet into the sea from that point...

"what happened?"

Himeko, who was still pondering how to deal with the Lava Emperor, asked this question, and then she looked at Sora, who was holding a quill pen in her hand.

"Is...is it Brother Qiong?"

Bronya and Seele clearly thought the same thing.

"Qiong boy, is this your doing? It can't be that ghost again..."

"Well, it is."

Qiong's response carried a hint of helplessness.

"Actually, it's not really like that. It was long before that..."

"Explain yourself!"

“I could use this pen like this from the beginning, consuming Honkai energy to relatively freeze time, but there was no later ‘Ghost’…”

Himeko approached Sora, stared at him for two seconds, and then suddenly flicked his forehead.

"You brat! Why didn't you say you had this trump card sooner?! Do you think I'd steal your things?"

"Ouch, Himeko-neechan—"

"Call me Major now!"

At the same time, Bronya's Heavy Bunny quickly scanned Sora's status.

"The Honkai energy level in Brother Qiong's body...hasn't changed?"

"Kid Qiong, how long can you last like this?"

"Uh... fifteen minutes? I'm referring to real time."

"Wow, this is amazing! It feels even better than Theresa's Divine Key, Judah. ​​By the way, you wouldn't use this to sneak into a girl's room, would you?!"

"Himeko-neechan!"

Qiong covered her forehead, her face full of grievance.

Do I look like that kind of person?

Himeko smiled as she looked at Sora.

"Alright, alright, I trust your character! We can talk about the rest later—men, let's go!"

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Happy New Year!