You wouldn't want them to be bullied, would you?

Page 193

Maria gently stroked Angelia's hair, a slight smile involuntarily curving her lips.

When Salome returned with the seriously injured Shub, Chubi and Aurora took the girls and flew towards the Hyperion.

……

USS Hyperion, bridge.

Watching Nina and Maria battle, Fu Hua, Cheng Lixue, Walter, and Kevin all remained silent.

Nina's powers are extremely troublesome, far more so than the previous four Herrschers who descended.

Putting aside the fact that the Divine Key cannot be used to attack Nina, Welt, the "Herrscher of Reason," is particularly vulnerable to its counter.

No matter what kind of heavy weapons he creates, they will ultimately become one of Nina's assets.

"Kevin, are you sure you can do it?"

"...To be honest, I'm not very confident."

The inability to use the Seventh Divine Key, "Judgment of Heavenly Fire," against Nina has severely limited Kevin's power.

If Nina only possessed the power of the Herrscher of Metal, that would be fine, but Nina recently seized Agatha's Herrscher core and already possesses the power of the Herrscher of Flame.

Even though Kevin was the strongest fusion warrior of the previous generation, he would inevitably be powerless against Nina in her current form.

"Then we'll have to let other Herrschers deal with the Herrscher of Metal."

Walter adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, showing little concern.

As long as Angeline remains the "Herrscher of the End," subsequent Herrschers will pose little threat.

"...Human strength is still too weak."

Kevin seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly sighed softly.

Walter remained silent and did not respond to Kevin's remarks.

Before long, Maria led Chubi, Eden, Aurora, Angelia, and Raven into the bridge.

"Fu Hua, Cheng Lixue, how is the Valkyrie unit doing?"

"With the assistance of the Titan forces, the Valkyrie forces suffered no casualties and proceeded to clear out the Honkai Beasts and Death Knights in Paris according to the established plan."

"it is good."

Maria breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, her defeat did not affect the Valkyrie forces' clearing operation.

Then, she turned to Qiu Bi and asked, "Brother-in-law, now we can only have Sirin or Angelin come and deal with the Herrscher of Metal."

Before Qiu Bi could reply, the green-haired girl next to Walter suddenly spoke, attracting everyone's attention.

"Can I try it?"

The girl's green hair was naturally curly, cascading messily over her shoulders.

In addition, she looks about the same age as a junior high school student, and her dark circles are almost solidified into a reflective layer due to excessive late nights.

Seemingly feeling that her argument wasn't convincing enough, the girl quickly added, "I am Iserline of Anti-Entropy, codename 'Doctor'—Nina and I... the Herrscher of Metal, were once friends. Perhaps I can persuade Nina to become an asset to humanity."

As Nina's only friend, Iserlyn doesn't want Nina to stand against humanity.

Maria glanced at Qiu Bi, and seeing that he didn't react much, she pressed on, "Are you confident?"

"I'm not very confident, but I'm willing to give it a try."

"This could be dangerous, after all, her powers can control all metals."

"I'm not afraid, and besides... Nina shouldn't hurt me."

Iselin seemed very certain that Nina wouldn't hurt her, and spoke in a very firm tone.

Maria pondered for a moment, then agreed to Iserline's suggestion.

The main problem is that the Valkyrie forces have no way to deal with Nina unless Sirin or Angelin come to suppress her; otherwise, it will be difficult to stop Nina's advance.

If Nina is allowed to continue growing stronger, she might even gain control of the Hyperion.

"I'll try to contact the Herrscher of Metal again tomorrow. As for now..."

Maria paused for a moment, then gave the order:

"First, send the Valkyrie squad back to the Hyperion to avoid an attack by the Herrscher of Metal."

"Since the Herrscher of Metal is willing to kill Honkai Beasts and Death Warriors, then leave all the Honkai Beasts and Death Warriors to her."

Chapter 270 Maria's Contrast

Transport ships departed from the Hyperion, heading to the Valkyries' temporary gathering place to bring them back to the Hyperion.

Although no Valkyries died, quite a few were injured.

When they learned that the "decapitation plan" had failed, the Valkyries' morale inevitably suffered a blow and they became very depressed.

"Sister Maria, everyone's morale seems to be low. What should we do?"

"It's very simple—once we deal with the Herrscher of Metal, we can restore their aura to normal."

“Sister Maria, isn’t that obvious? Since we can deal with the Herrscher of Metal, it doesn’t matter whether our aura is low or not.”

As she spoke, Angelia made a face at Maria, making Maria burst out laughing.

Then, Maria pinched Angelia's cheek, gently rubbing it while chuckling and scolding softly, "Well, Angelia, you dare to tease me now?"

"Sister Maria, I know I was wrong!"

Angelia immediately begged for mercy and finally escaped Maria's "clutches".

Immediately, Angelia moved away from Maria and made a face at Maria again.

Seeing that Maria was about to chase after her, she quickly fled the place.

Maria couldn't help but smile as she watched Angelia leave.

"Brother-in-law, can 'Paradise of the Past' really make me a being above S-rank Valkyrie?"

"I can't be sure, but it will at least improve your strength."

Qiu Bi then used Delta as the most vivid example to let Maria intuitively understand the powerful effects of "Paradise Afterlife".

Upon hearing that Delta had already managed to kill "Maria" in just a few days, Maria couldn't contain her emotions and showed obvious surprise.

"That place can actually simulate beings from the memories of the trial participants as enemies?"

"Yes, both Delta and Bella encountered Sirin as the final boss."

Qiu Bi spoke frankly, telling Maria everything he knew.

Maria nodded, looking thoughtful.

"If tomorrow's 'persuasion to surrender' plan fails, then let Sirin or Angelin come over and handle it."

"Yes, that's the only way."

"Then I'll call Celine over later."

"Thank you for your help, brother-in-law."

Maria composed herself, placed her hands on her lower abdomen, and bowed gracefully to Qiu Bi in thanks.

Seeing Maria's graceful demeanor, it was Qiu Bi who looked surprised.

"...Maria, where did you learn this kind of thing?"

“Brother-in-law, this is a required course for us, but I have been training and improving myself for many years, so I rarely use this kind of etiquette.”

Maria's fighting style is usually very frenzied; she will kill her enemy even if it means trading blows for injuries, as long as she can defeat them.

If it weren't for the high level of medical care provided by Fate, Maria's body might have been left with many scars.

Maria's posture at this moment was a very rare "ladylike" appearance, and traces of Cecilia could be vaguely seen.

Cecilia was already so gentle and elegant before she gave birth to Kiana and Bianca.

Although Cecilia is still very gentle now, she is far less so than Kiana and Bianca were before they were born.

No matter how good a person's personality is, their personality will always change after experiencing the "torture" of a naughty child.

Bella even had her hair pulled by Kiana and Biancara.

During the most mischievous period when Kiana and Bianca were young, Bella even cut her hair short, precisely to prevent Kiana and Bianca from pulling her hair again.

"Brother-in-law, thank you for all these years."

Maria smiled gently, revealing a tender smile.

Knowing Maria's ferocious fighting spirit, Qiu Bi found her gentle demeanor now incredibly...

absurd?

Qiu Bi's statement is inaccurate; it's just that there's a strange sense of contrast.

What are you referring to?

"My strength."

Although Maria works very hard to train and improve herself, it is undeniable that most of her strength comes from Qiu Bi.

Whether it was the strength of an A-rank Valkyrie in the past or the strength of an S-rank Valkyrie now, it was all directly bestowed by Qiu Bi.

Otherwise, with Maria's talent, she would need another year or two of training and improvement to reach her current level of strength.

“This is what I should do; after all, you are Cecilia’s sister.”

Qiu Bi waved his hand, indicating that Maria did not need to express her gratitude in this way.

Maria smiled without saying a word, and then immediately abandoned her elegant posture.

"Maria, remember to let me know immediately if there's any emergency."

"The Hyperion is guarded by colorless radiant flames, so it shouldn't have any problems under normal circumstances, unless the entire Hyperion is sunk."

Maria waved her hand dismissively, then urged, "Brother-in-law, go and do your own thing."

"Alright, then I'll go find Eden."

……