Miss Riddler just wants to level up in peace.

Ziyao said in a low voice.

To be honest, she didn't want to clash with destiny here.

We don't know what the Herrscher is up to yet, but there's also the World Serpent lurking in the shadows.

It's great that Rita is willing to accept a temporary alliance.

The girl wasn't worried about whether she would end up winning Rita's heart and causing a lot of trouble.

Theresa, who is a main storyline character, wasn't affected, so she should be... fine, right?

Ahem, back to the main point, it seems Rita is preventing them from entering the inner city.

Recruiting her to be a bodyguard, upon closer reflection, does indeed feel a bit like NTR (Netorare, a form of sexual exploitation). Did Rita agree a little too readily?

Ziyao didn't really understand this either.

In Theresa's eyes, this had almost become her basic routine.

They turn good into bad, and they deceive the straight into believing the crippled.

After Xiaoshi's incident, Theresa felt that no matter what the girl did next, she wouldn't be too shocked.

Little did she know, the big one was coming soon.

The inner city is surrounded by five cities, which can be reached by walking deep into the massive city walls.

On one side were blinding flames, and on the other side was endless ice and snow.

Every now and then you can see a few suicide soldiers kneeling by the wall praying.

About an hour later, the group arrived at their destination on foot.

The number of assassins has visibly increased, and they are all quite powerful.

By observing the Honkai concentration, it was determined that each assassin possessed strength at least at the Knight level.

The more complete the mutation, the less human-like it becomes, and the higher its level.

Among the kneeling group of assassins, Theresa was surprised to find several at the Emperor level.

It's simply...unbelievable.

"They're all fanatical believers."

Once you cross the wall that's another twenty meters high, the inner city will be right there.

A group of suicide soldiers knelt in front of the wall, worshipping devoutly, like wooden figures.

"I don't think so."

Ziyao disagreed. With her guidance, the group discovered several World Snakes hidden among them.

Their arms were etched with strange patterns to help them identify each other.

Having spent some time with the World Snakes, Ziyao knew their marking patterns. They were all created by the jackals with their peculiar naming tastes, so they weren't difficult to identify.

"The bishop is right, Miss Zi is a very reliable person."

“We analyzed that thing for a long time before we discovered the connection, but you were able to identify it at a glance,” Rita exclaimed.

Ziyao felt ashamed.

It would be a miracle if you didn't recognize something so peculiar!

Another crystal has been deposited into my account. I think I'll keep quiet and maintain my mystique.

Volume 1: Chapter 276 Alas, those who seek God but cannot find Him (Part 2)

fight.

There were no arguments, no conflicts.

As if it were premeditated, they suddenly attacked and started fighting.

In a short time, the assassins were physically locked in combat.

"Wow, there's something fun to watch right away."

Xiao Shi crossed his legs and looked down with great interest.

At a height of over twenty meters, a normal person falling from that height would almost certainly have their life restarted.

But this means nothing to Valkyries, especially Herrschers.

There are hardly any normal people left in this city; they've all become living assassins.

Should we intervene?

"Huh? I find it quite interesting. Why bother with them?"

Xiao Shi complained, only to see Theresa take out her weapon once again.

Rita observed closely and realized that they weren't fighting because of a conflict, but rather... simply because they wanted to kill each other.

The walls are painted with their religious deities, and they were worshipping just a short while ago, but now they're fighting.

"Lord Fu Hua, you, who are always upright, shouldn't think like that."

Rita kept her distance, wary of Xiao Shi, to prevent herself from being controlled.

"I've said it so many times, I'm not the same person I used to be. I won't do anything that's thankless and stupid."

"If I help them, do you think they'll thank me?"

Xiao Shi complained, she had actually noticed that Rita had always had a problem with her and seemed to be wary of her.

Most people wouldn't be able to detect it.

Xiao Shi was able to make this discovery thanks to his sensitivity to emotional changes.

She herself knew that, compared to before, she could indeed be described as evil now.

But so what?

She has made up her mind to live as she pleases, without any constraints.

"..."

Rita remained silent; it seemed Li Sushang's guess was correct.

The familiar face before me is not the person I knew.

It's like an account that's been traded away; the person who controlled it is long gone.

"Miss Zi, what do you think?"

"I sometimes want to have some fun too, and I won't stop you if you want to interfere."

Ziyao struck a pose of someone who was having fun, and Xiaoshi next to her couldn't help but smile slightly, feeling that great minds think alike, and that she hadn't misjudged her after all.

The girls had a great spot, where they could watch the show and also see what the inner city looked like now.

—A huge, deep pit.

It was as if the city had been dug up and disappeared out of thin air, leaving only an empty pit.

It's not very deep, less than fifty meters, but the area is quite large.

The once bustling city vanished overnight.

During the conversation, the fighting at the foot of the city wall had almost completely broken out.

Going to help now would at best result in collecting a corpse.

Of the more than twenty people, only a few remained in the end.

They ripped at the deceased's clothes, then used their sharp claws to dig through the flesh and remove the core.

Crush the heart, and inside lies a Honkai crystal that glows with red and blue light.

The core area is full of Honkai crystals, but these are useless junk to them; only special crystals have meaning.

Rita's gaze turned serious as she considered a possibility.

—Why Bishop Otto believed that Theresa and her companions could never have entered the inner city.

Perhaps those special crystals are the key.

Killing is forbidden during the day, but one is free at night.

Therefore, everyone stayed at home and did not go out, or formed associations to protect themselves.

Ironically, after killing their fellow believers and swallowing their cores, these cultists didn't even wipe the blood off their hands before kneeling on the ground again, worshipping and praying to the wall.

His fanaticism was extremely twisted, like that of a madman confined in St. Elizabeth's Asylum.

If one wants to enter Jerusalem, must one also stain one's hands with blood, just like them?

No, if that's all there is to it, it shouldn't be too difficult.

Rita fell into deep thought.

Beside her, Ziyao stood up and jumped off the city wall.

"Cough cough..."

Even with reinforcements, my ankle still hurts.

She gently patted her skirt and stepped through the blood on the ground to reach the wall.

The assassins turned to look at her; they knew, of course, that the girls were watching the show from above, observing from the sidelines.

Even if Ziyao and the others don't come down, they will still go up.

Having witnessed them kill their companions, we must not let them leave this place so easily.

Rita dutifully stood guard in front of Ziyao, and if the other party dared to make a move, she suggested that she let them suffer a little.

In more serious cases, it could mean the loss of life.

Unlike Durandal, who has always been on the front lines fighting against the Honkai.

As a useful tool, she also had a dark side to her destiny, handling many shady tasks for Otto.

Compassion and mercy are reserved only for those who deserve them.

The newcomers were hostile; unlike the assassins they had encountered before, they had menacing expressions and were staring intently at them, their killing intent obvious.