Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 3 Paradise

Chapter 23 Steps and Stones

Watford

Honkai behaves strangely. In a sense, it was by no means aggressive towards larger cities. You often never heard of hordes ravaging smaller towns or villages. Of course, such instances weren't rare and in fact, a majority of the towns across Europe had defensive stone walls. Such walls only offered adequate attention from low-class beasts. It couldn't contend with Templar Class Beast which required a team of mid-elite tier Valkyries to handle. This was the reason why outside the walls of Watford smoke plumed for leagues. A town with only one and a half squads of elite Valkyries was not prepared to handle the onslaught of fifteen Templar Class beasts.

"Captian!" A Valkyrie shouted.

Kallen turned her head. The distance was ten kilometers. The plume of smoke rose higher. All the Valkyries looked at her, expecting her to disappear into the distance but she stood still. She scanned her subordinates, they were already looking to Eleanor for guidance. Eleanor paid them no mind. She looked at Kallen waiting for her response. The situation was quite simple, Kallen could leave. Eleanor had long reached the threshold of strength to match Kallen's previous peak. This was of course thanks to the changes in her body and her divine key.

Despite the obvious choice in her mind, Eleanor didn't make a move. She waited for Kallen. She waited for her Captain to take up the duties she earned through power alone. In a rare moment of insight, Kallen knew the intention behind Eleanor's eyes.

"A team of four, including me will head to Watford. Ava, Skye, and Olivia with me."

"Yes, Captain!"

It was discipline that drove them to follow. It was also easier to understand Kallen's line of thinking. Scouts were the fastest among the Valkyries. They had the best chance of darting in and out of combat to save injured soldiers. They also had the best chance of keeping up with Kallen. Olivia was there for medical expertise.

"The rest of you resume the previous manner of work. Eleanor is now acting Captain!"

"Yes, Captain!"

With the final salute Kallen and her team disappeared. Only trails of dust could be seen in the distance, speeding towards the line of smoke. Kallen led of course but Ava and Skye followed close behind. Olivia was last but she'd only arrive one minute later than the others. Kallen's heart raced as the countryside blurred past her. Little did everyone know Kallen's choices were made only out of slight familiarity. Still, she had a vague sense she chose correctly.

Three minutes was all it took for Kallen to reach the battlefield. Her team trailed after and arrived two minutes later, slightly winded. The scene was not yet a tragedy. The corpses of two Templar Class Beasts blocked a hole in Watford's wall. It stood fifteen meters high and shook with every impact. The corpses of soldiers soiled the grass. Blood flowed and the Valkyries desperately fended off the thirteen remaining Beasts.

"Thirteen," Kallen whispered, her focus high. "No, give me fourteen."

Golden light encapsulated her figure. She planted her Oath to the ground. Fourteen spears materialized in its clip. Only one of them had a chain attached to its end.

"HEYAAH!" Kallen cried.

The Honkai beasts froze. Some stood over injured soldiers and collapsed Valkyries. Others stopped hammering at the walls. They instinctively raised their shield appendages over their heads but it was too late. Kallen's warcry wasn't a warning, it was a command. Thirteen spears of golden descended. Thirteen Templar Class Honkai beasts perished.

"Protect the injured!"

Kallen's second command rang out. She was closer now. She was in the midst of the battle. The weaker beasts were plentiful but Kallen didn't even need to count them. Seraph Class, Chariot Class. Those beasts were not even fodder in her eyes. Her final spear was brandished in her hands, used more like a whip rather than a spear. With a single crack, a fourth of the remaining beasts disappeared into dust. It was a slaughter, not a battle.