Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

They had escaped from the tomb passage into the underground tunnels of the ancient tower forest, where the collapse ended, and faint lights shone from the sewers. Shen Liang carefully put Bronya down from his arms and turned back to stare at the gradually collapsing tunnel.

Chapter 154 My King Will Surely Return Soon

Everything is in complete chaos.

He originally came to kill, to save his sister, and to steal the treasure, but now he has his sister, he has the treasure, and his enemy is ready to die.

He couldn't feel happy at all.

He stared at the tunnel, recalling Rita's soft-spoken, bold words.

—What's going on?

—There must be something wrong with my brain. Just a few hours ago, I was treating this maid like a big boss, a big threat.

—I'm just here to seek revenge and steal treasure; I'm prepared to be a righteous villain.

—I've barely even met this maid. She's all righteous heroine now, but she's actually a cunning Valkyrie of Destiny. At most, I'll bring her a few jugs of good wine at her grave out of a self-serving attitude.

—But why… do I feel angry?

—It's not sadness, but... anger.

Shen Liang clenched his fists. He wasn't sad. He had been prepared for Rita's death. He wasn't sad for Rita. He just felt an inexplicable anger rising in his heart that he couldn't suppress.

So he punched the stone wall next to him, and the wall dust fell down, startling several girls.

Bronya stared at Shen Liang with her lifeless eyes for a long time. She seemed to want to say something, but considering the danger underground, she held back.

"What the hell is the use!" Shen Liang gritted his teeth, seemingly asking no one in particular.

"It's no use." Sometime later, Torachiyo floated onto his head, still in the posture of a young girl, sitting leisurely on his shoulder, and answered lazily.

Shen Liang raised her head and looked at the corner that was nothing to others.

I clearly... I clearly already possess considerable power, I've already entered the realm of the extraordinary, so why... am I still so powerless?

"Because you want to save people," Torachiyo said calmly. "You don't just want to save your sister, you want to save everyone. You want to save that maid; you at least don't want her to die for you."

But I...

This is human nature: we always want to save those we can, and therefore, we always feel pain because of it. Even if you are as powerful as I am, as powerful as Thor, even if you can tear two worlds apart, even if you can bring the dead back to life, you will still have people you want to save, and people you cannot save. You will still feel anger, pain, and helplessness because of this.

What should I do?

【What should we do?】Tora Chiyo used her tiny fingers to tug at Shen Liang's lips, stretching them from a fox's mouth to a pig's, then smiled slightly. 【But little wolf, there are some people who, even knowing they will feel anger, pain, and helplessness, still can't help but reach out when someone needs help in front of them.】

What an idiot.

"Who knows, just like some people who know there's no benefit in it, yet still try to intimidate the gods for the sake of fairness for a bunch of troublemakers." Torachiyo looked at him, tapping his chest. "I believe that idiot still harbors some kind of obsession with being a hero somewhere."

Shen Liang finally smiled, feeling that the frustration in his heart had been swept away after this conversation.

Yes, no matter what kind of person that maid is... at least Shen Liang doesn't give her any face!

You think you can just die so recklessly and then curry favor with me? Utterly ridiculous! You don't deserve it!

"You stay here." Shen Liang turned back and instructed them, "Don't say anything nonsense about being with me. I can guarantee I won't die. You don't need to have any ideas like 'I must live and die with my brother.' I will win, and I will win beautifully and with a clear conscience. Our orphanage never owes anyone favors. It's just a Judgment-level Honkai Beast. Watch me beat it back."

“Then do I…” Anna rubbed her hands together, “We, the Shaniat family, have no tradition of watching our compatriots die while we run away!”

"You four, keep an eye on her." Shen Liang didn't bother to talk to Anna anymore and turned to leave.

Anna was about to fight back when she was tackled to the ground by four loli Valkyries at the same time. The four-on-one crushing force dragged her away from the sewer.

Bronya has a question: Is this girl her brother's new girlfriend?

"Huh? My brother's girlfriend? I didn't know that, Anna. Do you count? You don't, do you?"

"Tsk, Brother Liang has been restless all these years. He said he would wait for Xi'er to grow up... Tch, he really is a man."

"Who, who wants to be his girlfriend?! You bunch of brother-obsessed people, don't go around pairing people up like that! I wouldn't steal my eldest and second young ladies' boyfriends..."

--------

Blood gushed from her, Rita stood in the purple rain, the tip of her scythe drooping, the dark purple blood of the Honkai Beast flowing down the slender hilt.

Rita coughed and smiled at the same time. She was no weakling when she gave it her all; she nearly cleaved the giant serpent in two. In terms of speed and strength alone, she had surpassed the Honkai Beast. After hitting the Honkai Beast over 6,400 times, she finally landed a single blow.

But she still suffered a loss.

This Judgment-class Honkai Beast's strength lies almost entirely in its "resurrection." Its self-healing ability is outrageously strong; the speed at which new flesh grows is even faster than the speed at which she swings her sword. Scales that fall off will grow back, bones that are cut will heal again, and even piercing its brainstem is not enough to kill it. After the sword is withdrawn, it can still regain consciousness within tens of seconds.

Rita was increasingly realizing that the effect of the Divine Key seal might be endless "decomposition," the only way to suppress the Honkai Beast's vigorous vitality for tens of thousands of years. Without that Divine Key, she would be no match for the snake.

But even if she had it, what good would it do? Once the Divine Key is pulled out, it's useless. She can't activate it again, and she can't gain the recognition of that Divine Key... Come to think of it, it makes sense. How could someone who uses a scythe possibly handle a lance?

If it were Lady Durandal... she could definitely handle this Honkai Beast with ease, right?

Even if things don't go well, at least Lady Durandal is quite skilled with lances, so she should be able to gain the approval of the Divine Key.

I really don't want to die.

Rita recalled the boy she had just told to leave; he was truly a rare beauty. She had never experienced what it was like to interact with a man. It was the same for all Valkyries; once they entered this circle, they discovered that everyone else, being a superhuman, was a girl. And since they were all so beautiful and outstanding, they inevitably lost some interest in men.

But let's leave those handsome yet brooding boys for young girls, for teenage girls in the throes of puberty, because that's exactly the type they're attracted to.

Despite his aloof and impatient demeanor, Rita knew that boys of this age often preferred older women rather than their own age. However, they were too shy to date older women. Rita, a beautiful 20-year-old who was both an "older sister" and not much older than herself, could easily get whatever she wanted. No young boy could resist the charm of a seductive maid.

This is very unfair to those teenage girls.

Scales larger than a human face burst forth from the snake's body, each one cutting with the force of a crossbow bolt! Deafening explosions rang out in succession, the giant snake's abundant Honkai energy allowing it to unleash the innate violence within its bloodline! Rita's power was finally running out, and she was covered in wounds.

Then she heard thunderous footsteps.

Rita stared at the snake with a smile, put the broken scythe back together, gripped it with her wrist in a reverse grip, and assumed an attacking stance.

Her limit is eighty strikes per second, which is the power of her body being strengthened to the limit by Honkai energy. At that time, her figure can break the sound speed, and each strike breaks the sonic boom.

But now her attacks couldn't break through her opponent's defenses. The giant serpent, relying on its unparalleled physique, took her attacks head-on, without even deploying the defensive stance that a typical Honkai Beast would use against ranged attacks. It looked down on Rita's attacks, so this was what it considered the most reasonable way to fight.

As the battle progressed, the poisonous mist spewed out by the beast gradually began to affect Rita's body. All the poison from Honkai Beasts was essentially a form of Honkai energy erosion. Her maid outfit, already tattered and tattered, was powerless to prevent the poisonous mist from directly covering her fair and delicate skin. The stinging pain felt like being stung by a million wasps. If it weren't for her pride and passion as an S-rank Valkyrie, she would have already succumbed to its corrosive effects.

They still had nuclear warheads, but detonating them would certainly kill her alone. Rita wasn't sure if a nuclear weapon of that yield could kill a Judgment-class being. Honkai Beasts were ultimately silicon-based life forms, and things like nuclear radiation had little effect on them. If they had known this, they should have brought thermobaric weapons. But no one could understand why the difference between Judgment-class and Emperor-class beings was so vast... so vast that it was despairing.

Rita's final slash still struck the giant snake's spine accurately. This blow used up all her strength, and she had no more strength left to defend herself, falling like a bird with broken wings.

The giant snake swung its tail.

The sharp spikes at the end of the tail pierced straight through Rita's abdomen, emerging from her back, glistening with blood. It was as if it were dragging a tattered rag doll and lifting her up in front of it.

Rita weakly met its gaze and saw a hint of contempt flash in the giant snake's bright, lamp-like pupils.

“Indeed, you are wise,” Rita said softly. “I have lost. Eat me, or kill me in one go… Don’t let my appearance fool you, I’m a girl who is afraid of pain too.”

The giant snake opened its huge mouth and its long tail shoved Rita into its mouth. But at that moment, Rita raised her head, her eyes blazing, and suddenly roared!

"Pandora!"

She grabbed the snake's fangs! Her remaining Honkai energy erupted, and with strength no less than that of a Honkai Beast, she firmly controlled both ends of the snake! The massive Honkai Beast was transformed into an ouroboros, unable to move at all!

Yes, now! Trap this snake for five seconds! Even if it means enduring the excruciating pain of being torn apart, use your own body to hold it in place for five seconds!

Even this Honkai Beast makes mistakes! Its fatal weakness has never been its head, but its vital spot! The place where the Divine Key, which was inserted 50,000 years ago, can never be fully repaired even if it is fully revived. That place is still its spinal cord, its heart, and that is the place where it can be killed without a burial place with a single blow!

A dazzling white light burst forth from the tomb passage, accompanied by heavy, thunderous footsteps and a fiery, angry face, like a lion or a tiger, the sun or the radiant Gabriel. The dying Rita watched the light rush towards her, falling into a daze.

Destiny is actually an international force with a strong religious and mythological atmosphere. It often organizes religious Valkyries to gather together to participate in church worship activities or choirs. Rita has never rejected or taken the initiative to embrace religion, but a long time ago, she was also dragged by her colleagues to participate in prayer. When she was extremely tired, she heard the nuns singing in unison under the stained glass window with the image of the Virgin Mary.

“My king will surely return soon, and the heavens will be filled with him!”

The redeemed universe is about to be restored, and the main force will complete the salvation!

I have heard His footsteps amidst the colorful clouds;

I have seen His glorious body, faintly revealed in heaven.

The hymns seemed to transcend a dream spanning many years, and she suddenly understood why the lambs were so devout.

Shen Liang ran at top speed, carrying that white lance! His speed was beyond imagination, faster than Rita, faster than a Honkai Beast, at least twice the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier with just his feet! And his hands were festering, clearly the result of forcibly using the Divine Key, but he had indeed gained the Divine Key's recognition!

"So good, so good, so good, so good! Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Shen Liang's black hair flew wildly. In his supersonic sprint, the clothes on his upper body were torn to shreds by the wind pressure. He laughed wildly, each step crushing the ground. Red marks appeared on his face, and the holy marks on his back were like shining tattoos, bewitching and ghostly!

It's a demon! He temporarily transferred control of his body to Torachiyo. With Torachiyo's mastery of martial arts, even in this body, she was far stronger than him!

With the God Key that can kill gods, Torachiyo, radiating the white light of the God Key, charges forward at lightning speed, and is sure to cut down any unstoppable slayer!

The giant snake screamed! It tried to twist its body, to tear Rita apart, to escape the white light! But it couldn't escape; Rita held it firmly in place, and it could only endure the blow!

But who could withstand a lance thrusting at supersonic speed! Torachiyo gathered all the power of her run to the limit, then leaped into the air. At this moment, she finally switched to Shen Liang's will, because the Divine Key did not acknowledge her, only Shen Liang! And at this moment, the speed of her descent was no longer something she needed to control. Shen Liang gripped the lance tightly, white light flowing, and he and the lance fell from above!

"Throw to Earth!" Shen Liang laughed just as unrestrainedly. The madness of Hu Qiandai had the same effect on him. He roared out a strange skill move and then charged fiercely at the giant snake with his lance!

The giant snake could only shoot out its scales to block, but Shen Liang paid no heed. He curled up as much as possible in the light of the lance, and the invincible aura of the Divine Key protected him. Although some snakes still managed to slip through and cut his skin, the blood was quickly dried by the high heat, and only a few drops splattered onto the snake.

The snake suddenly froze.

He was only stunned for a moment, because everything happened in the blink of an eye. The snake stared at Shen Liang's face, and a hint of relief flashed in the vertical pupils of that cold-blooded animal.

It spoke, its voice booming like a bell: "Devour..."

The sound was drowned out by the loud noise. The lance struck its vital point. This time it was not a seal but a full-force attack. It was not in its prime but a remnant race that was not favored by the Honkai God.

It finally died.