Chapter 444: Mikael Volunteers

"Attention everyone, the Hyperion has entered 10 nautical miles northwest of the New Zealand Islands. Valkyrie, please prepare for battle!"

Jizi's urgent voice came from the radio, but it was a different story in the preparation room.

Kiana, Mei, Bronya and Seele have all put on the Valkyrie armor and loaded the artificial stigmata, but there doesn't seem to be any tense atmosphere among the girls.

"Did Fu Hua come to inform you just now? This battle will have the Snow Lotus Squadron from the Southeast Asia branch as the main force. Hyperion only needs to provide fire support in the air and provide supplies to the Snow Lotus Squadron when necessary."

"Yeah, I understand, but Kiana doesn't seem very happy."

Meiyi wiped the long knife in her hand, and on the ground where the pickaxe was ground into a mirror, a pair of purple eyes stared at her quietly.

Mikael smiled when he heard this, stopped talking, and carefully wiped Mei's flank with a piece of white silk cloth.

Although the Southeast Asian branch was reorganized just a few months ago, and the members of the Snow Lotus team can only be described as a patchwork, at least all of them are A-level Valkyrie, and they have no chance to take their turn. These children from St. Freya attack.

It's actually a good thing that they don't have to be the main force. The Far East branch is composed of a bunch of retired Valkyries or Valkyries below B level. The safest plan is to stay on the Hyperion and control weapons that are far more powerful than their combat effectiveness.

Only Kiana and the others are a little special. Although they are also Valkyrie students, taking into account some special circumstances, they actually have a combat effectiveness that is not inferior to some A-level Valkyrie teams. Therefore, in the combat mission allocation of the Far East Branch, there is no position reserved for them to operate weapons. Those positions can be left to other Valkyrie trainees below B level and retired Valkyrie instructors. Their positioning is A mobile combat force that is ready for ground combat at any time.

It's just...it seems that they don't need to enter this time.

It's hard not to make Kiana feel depressed. Of course, she also understands that in every sense, this is "for their own good", but this feeling of being underestimated and having no chance to prove herself... Simply... simply...

It was just like that time in the Siberian snowfields, when she took the initiative to challenge a brown bear that had just finished hibernation and returned in defeat. She also thought about practicing hard for a few days to regain her place. Unexpectedly, her smelly dad proudly made a dish that night. The frustration Kaslana felt when she secretly made "black burnt" bear paws.

But at this moment, a strange voice came from the side:

"biu! biu! biu! Let's have something exciting!!"

"Oh! Bronya, why are you still in the mood to play games!"

Bronya held the game console and glanced at Kiana quickly:

"Idiot, this is a game that was just released to public beta last month. The battle is about to start. If you don't play it for a while, what will you do if you don't have a chance in the future?"

"Well……"

Kiana was immediately speechless by Bronya's words.

"Um...Sister Bronya, don't say such unlucky words."

Xi'er blinked, deliberately trying to lighten the atmosphere, but Bronya's words were difficult to answer.

Hearing Xi'er's voice, Bronya's reaction was a beat slower. Before she could dodge, the character who looked somewhat similar to herself on the game console was slapped to death by the huge mecha.

The screen turned gray, and Bronya threw the game console on the table with some annoyance, but Xier picked it up and checked it distressedly.

"Ahem!"

Bronya cleared her throat in embarrassment, "This equipment is too old, and my teammates didn't cooperate. They didn't even try to save me when they saw me being beaten... When the monthly allowance is paid, I will get a new one." , I’ll leave this to Xi’er, you will cooperate with me when the time comes!”

"Haha, if I remember correctly, this game doesn't seem to have an online mode, and... Bronya just bought this game console a few days ago..."

Listening to the other voice in her mind, Xi'er shook her head slightly and argued in her heart: "Sister Bronya is still very strong, but she's just not familiar with this game."

Turning her eyes back to reality, Xier nodded heavily, but immediately frowned and gently held Bronya's arm:

"Xie'er understands, but sister Bronya, don't say such unlucky words next time!"

Looking at Xier's serious face, Bronya curled her lips:

"That's not what I meant. Maybe it's because I'm missing one hand and I can't play the game with one hand..."

"Sister Bronya!"

Xi'er directly and roughly covered Bronya's mouth.

Kiana stood aside, looking at the two girls who no longer looked at her, somewhat at a loss - well, so she is redundant, right?

She also wanted to go to Mei Yi, but the sofa where Mei Yi sat was only so big, and the seat next to her had already been occupied by Mikael... Thinking of this, Kiana shook her head and glared at Mikael.

It happened that Mikael was also looking this way, and their eyes met in mid-air. Kiana could only shake her head in embarrassment and look away.

However, it wasn't her that Mikael was looking at. His gaze crossed Kiana and fell on the pair of drills.

Among the four girls, Bronya is the one that Mikael usually has the least contact with, but this does not mean that he does not pay attention to her. In fact, judging from her appearance, place of origin and surname, it’s hard not to pay attention to this girl, right?

What’s more, her childhood experience as a mercenary made her look so special before every battle.

Strictly speaking, whether it’s Kiana, Mei, or Seele, they have experienced too few battles so far. Although they have experienced life and death several times, fighting Honkai beasts and fighting humans are two different things. Especially, Saint Freya protected every Valkyrie student very well, and they didn't come into contact with the sacrifice of their comrades...

Only Bronya was an exception. She killed a child about her own age with her own hands because the other party pointed a gun at her. She was also used to the fact that there would be several fewer familiar faces around her at the end of each mission. The dead people might still smile and touch her head in the morning, and put a hot potato in her arms...

In the first ten years of her life, the word she came into contact with the most was death. Whether it was a good person or a bad person, whether it was good or bad to her, everyone's life was like the weeds on the wasteland... No, weeds can also leave corpses. It should be said that life is like the snow on the Siberian wasteland. The corpses are piled up like snowflakes, and it is impossible to tell who is who. As time goes by, the snow melts and dissolves into the black mud, leaving no trace of existence.

This is the posture of life in Bronya's eyes. There is no meaning, no value, no hope, no future. The only thing she has is death, which will come at an unknown time, but will definitely not be absent. If you understand this, you won't be surprised by her attitude that is similar to carpe diem. This is something that can't be completely changed by a few years of peaceful life. The only thing that has changed is perhaps the expression on her face.

Mikael couldn't judge whether her current state was good or bad, and he had no intention of exploring the differences in the girl's personality caused by the changes in her experience. It's not an exaggeration to say that his focus is a bit strange:

"Strange, the personality is not like me at all..."

"Huh? What?"

Mikael's voice was very low, and Mei was concentrating on wiping the knife, so she only heard "like me".

"Nothing, I said you are like me."

Mei's cheeks bulged. Her first reaction was that Mikael said nonsense, and then she gradually realized that Mikael was actually just her legal guardian, not her real father, and there was no possibility of any blood relationship.

"Ahem! Okay, Kiana, sit down first."

Mikael changed the subject calmly.

"Now I'll inform you of Operation Plan B."

"Ah? There's still a Plan B?"

Kiana complained habitually, but the moment she finished speaking, her eyes widened:

"What is it? Is this lady going to appear?"

"Idiot, how is that possible? It's just a supplement to the operation plan for emergencies."

"That's right."

Mikael nodded vigorously, but the corners of his mouth were strangely raised. Fortunately, he always liked to smile in front of the girls, so except for See'er who frowned, the other three girls didn't find anything wrong.

"First of all, according to the intelligence, the collapse on New Zealand Island can be basically confirmed to be caused by the Herrscher, that is, the fourth Herrscher. Fu Hua should have told you about this before..."

"Uncle Mikael, we knew it long ago! Isn't it just the Herrscher? This lady will beat one with a baseball bat!"

Kiana raised her hand and waved, halfway through her words, and after reacting, she looked at Mei with an apologetic face.

"Uh... that, sorry Mei, I'm not saying..."

"Idiot! A real Herrscher is not that easy to deal with!"

The two palm blades knocked lightly on Kiana's head at the same time. Mikael and Bronya looked at each other and both withdrew their hands at the same time.

"Bronya is right. A-class Valkyries are not very useful against a real Herrscher. S-class Valkyries are needed..."

"Huh? Isn't the Valkyrie named Rita an S-class Valkyrie?"

"Listen to me first."

Mikael knocked on Kiana's head helplessly.

"Based on the situation sixteen years ago, an S-class Valkyrie is not safe."

Mikael deliberately avoided Siberia, the second collapse, Cecilia and other points that might evoke Kiana's memory.

"So, this time, the Snow Lotus Squad that has entered New Zealand is only the nominal main force. Their actual mission is to determine the specific location of the Herrscher, entangle Him, and then wait for the two S-class Valkyries to arrive on the battlefield."

"Two?"

"Well, there are a total of two S-class Valkyries in active service in the Sky. Rita is already here, and the other one, Yulandel, will arrive in about two hours, if nothing goes wrong."

"Nothing goes wrong?"

Mei and Bronya asked at the same time.

"Well, Yulandel wants to come to New Zealand. No matter how she goes, she must pass through America, and America... is the territory of Anti-Entropy."

Mikael shrugged and stretched out his index finger to draw the outline of the American continent in the void.

"Yulandel?"

Kiana silently recited this unfamiliar name, and then curled her lips: "Who is stronger between her and that Rita?"

"Anyway, you can't beat either of them."

Mikael raised his hand and gave another slap. If it were Jizi and Theresa, she would have been making a scene by now, but for some reason, she was always relatively quiet in front of Mikael.

"But why did Brother Mikael tell us this?"

Xie'er's question made Mikael silent for a moment. In the end, he just spread his hands and his voice was suppressed to a low and hoarse tone:

"Well, it's very simple. Once something goes wrong with the Snow Lotus team and the mission is not completed, then we have no choice but to let you go."

"Yeah! This young lady knows that there will definitely be a chance for me to show my talents!"

Kiana just jumped up from her seat, and was slapped back by Mikael.

"I know you want to go out, but don't curse others."

Bronya turned her head, silently picked up the game console and restarted the game. Mei sheathed the long sword, picked up Mikael's half-wiped wakizashi and continued to wipe it. Xi'er quietly poured a glass of water and placed it on the small table in front of Bronya. Bronya wanted to take a sip of the water while the game was loading, but Xi'er was silent again. Push the water glass closer to Mikael.

"In short, be prepared for battle and don't slack off just because you have nothing to do. Although it is unlucky for the Snow Lotus team to say this, anything can happen on the battlefield..."

As Mikael spoke, he went to pick up the water, but when his hand was still half a finger away from the water glass, the water glass suddenly fell to the ground and broke into several pieces.

"Huh?"

The jolting feeling was not late, it just made a slight yelp. The entire Hyperion seemed to be pinched and shaken by a huge hand. You could vaguely hear the screams of the Valkyrie in the next room and the impact of hard objects. There was a sound, that is, Mikael was still holding down Kiana with his other hand, otherwise her iron head would have pierced the ceiling.

Then, everyone in the room felt the center of gravity shift to the right. It was not difficult to imagine that Huberian had turned over his huge body and made an emergency turn.

"What happened?"

After a long time, the bumps gradually subsided, and Kiana asked with wide eyes.

But Mikael had already rushed out in a panic before she could speak.

"What happened?"

Rushing to Hyperion's bridge in one breath, Mikael unconsciously copied Kiana's soul torture.

He glanced around, and the situation was much better than expected. The bumps would not cause the parts of the Hyperion to fall apart, but a group of Valkyrie trainees were clearly frightened.

Hua expertly typed on the keyboard, and pictures of the ship's local situation flashed across the screen one after another. Occasionally, a dazzling red light appeared.

"wind."

She only said one word, and Mikael looked out the window in the direction of her gaze, and what he saw was a strange sky.

The light cyan flowed slowly, wrapping around the huge ship like water. The thick portholes were the first to be affected, making a plastic-like "clack-clack" swaying sound.

"The Snow Lotus team has lost contact."

Jizi's voice sounded faintly, and Mikael took a deep breath, and while turning around, he pretended to be frightened and caressed his chest.

"What's going on?"

"Literally."

Jizi shook her head, turned around and took Mikael towards the previous conference room, explaining as she walked:

"The contact was suddenly disconnected. The time was the moment when the Hyperion encountered strong airflow. It is suspected that it was similar to the incident in Changkong City. It was due to the excessive Honkai energy reaction blocking the transmission of electromagnetic waves."

The conference room was only a few steps away. As soon as Ji Zi finished speaking, the two of them walked to the door.

But she paused deliberately and opened the door a crack, so it was difficult for Mikael not to hear the arguments in the conference room.

"No! I don't agree!"

Theresa looked at Otto levelly, and she didn't have to look up only when he was sitting.

"The situation of the Snow Lotus Team is just unclear now, and it cannot be simply judged as a mission failure. And... if it is really such a mission that even A-level Valkyries cannot complete, what will happen to Kiana and B-level Valkyries like them?" use?"

"My granddaughter Teresa, don't forget that this is a battlefield. We can't take any chances or have any mercy, whether for the enemy or for ourselves. According to you, we will only meet the Herrscher in the future. It is necessary to send an S-class Valkyrie to fight. If If it fails, humans will surrender obediently. After all, the S-class Valkyrie has lost, so sending A-class and B-class Valkyrie is of no use, right? In battle, even if there is a glimmer of hope of victory, you must fight for it at all costs. You should be early You understand this!"

"I...Grandpa, wait for another half hour, okay? You have to confirm the situation of the Snow Lotus team. What if we just encounter an emergency that can be solved? Besides, we already need to wait for Youlandel to arrive on the battlefield, so that's not bad. It’s half an hour, right?”

"well……"

Otto and Mikael sighed at the same time, while Rita and Himeko were unable to comment due to their status.

Theresa is not young anymore. She has participated in countless battles and commanded countless battles. It is not like she has never made decisions that required sacrifice.

But maybe it's because her comfortable life over the years has caused her thinking to deteriorate, or maybe she just can't accept that her students are in danger. After all, most of the Valkyries she commanded in the past have not had much interaction with her.

"What if the Herrscher leaves New Zealand within half an hour?"

Teresa couldn't answer this question.

Mikael and Otto looked at each other silently, the former nodded, and the latter nodded slightly, and then spoke:

"Okay, don't say any more, it's settled, let Kiana and the others enter the Oceania branch... There is no big problem in terms of combat effectiveness. They have proven themselves in Canghai City and are no worse than many A-level Valkyrie. "

"grandfather!"

Theresa's protest was obviously ineffective, and Otto said to himself:

"Of course, I don't like meaningless sacrifices either. You know my Theresa. In fact, the situation is not as serious as you think. Your artificial intelligence has received the reaction of New Zealand's Honkai energy when the storm just happened, and has determined the diffusion point of Honkai energy, that is, the location of the Herrscher has been determined. Kiana and the others' mission no longer needs to remove the Herrscher, but to search and rescue the Snow Lotus team, understand? As for the Herrscher, Rita, you go with them."

"Yes, Bishop."

Rita bowed gracefully, but the movement seemed to be particularly slow, as if waiting for something.

As expected, Mikael's lips moved:

"Wait a minute, the current configuration, whether it is Kiana's side or Rita's side, is too thin. Why not take me with you."