NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

However, even knowing what Phoenix was thinking, the Queen of Heretics ignored it and continued speaking according to her own train of thought.

Give a child a gun, and he has the potential to kill an adult.

But a child is still just a child. When he discovers that the adults standing opposite him also possess firearms, he will be afraid. When he discovers that the enemy not only has firearms but also wears high-grade bulletproof clothing, he will cower in fear.

External strength cannot mask a cowardly nature.

I want to know what your true nature would be like if I took away that ability you shouldn't have.

The Queen had barely finished speaking when

The entire Sky Ring City shook violently, collapsed, and changed as if an earthquake had struck... Then, the two underground passages, which were still locked in fierce combat, were switched to the surface of the city.

Chapter 279 Don't worry, I'm blind.

The sea of ​​consciousness returned to silence...

Without Lilivis, there would be no Anick, and certainly no Indeveria, who was so subservient to the Queen.

Amidst the fierce battle fought by Niki and the others, and under Helen's protection, Phoenix calmly sorted out his thoughts.

First, we can be certain of one thing.

—The fact that Tianhuan City is constantly pushing itself northward is definitely due to the Queen's will. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Queen's invasion of its consciousness has a distance limit.

Combining this with the clue that the consciousness map is breaking through its limits and continuing to expand, it's not hard to deduce that one of the conditions for Lilyvis to invade herself must be that the consciousness map can be connected to it.

However, this does not prove with absolute certainty that the Queen is in Sky Ring City.

With Lilivis's strength, even with the protection of Honglian, Baixue, Dorothy, and the Labi group, she could still come to talk to me.

Unless for some reason she is unable to show her face or take action.

Which possibility is it?

How will the "stripping of abilities" mentioned by the Queen be achieved?

The lieutenant closed his eyes to think while using the mind map to check on the battle between Alice and Nien.

However, just as this thought arose, the agonizing noise and pain acted like a triggered trap, catching the man completely off guard.

The next second, the brain's protective mechanism overrides reason, forcefully stopping the thought of using superpowers in order to protect himself from further torment.

So this is what Lilyves meant by "power stripping." Suppressing Anik, establishing a power-punishment mechanism, and...

Phoenix reached for Helen's fair arm with his left hand, then, ignoring the girl's stiff body, he followed the trail downwards, and after touching Florian, he grabbed her with his five fingers and forcefully pulled the gun barrel.

Hmm, that's a bit of a stretch.

It seems that the power of the prosthetic body has also been adjusted to the average value of a normal male.

Is this a forced sale?

Wiping away the remaining blood from his face, the lieutenant, now back to normal, grinned unhappily and retorted with a half-teasing, half-threatening remark.

Okay, might makes right. Just don't feel wronged if you encounter someone with an even bigger fist next time.

Opening his eyes and putting on his night vision goggles, Phoenix, not in a particularly good mood, calmly removed his helmet after confirming that everything was still pitch black and he could see nothing. Accepting his current predicament, he said:

"Helen, how's the fight going between Alice and Nien?"

"Eh?"

Hearing the commander's strange question, Helen, whose right eye was still a deep green emerald, was full of doubts, but adhering to the principle of "obeying orders," she still answered honestly:

"The passage is moving upwards, the entrance and exit are cut off, Alice and Nien are unharmed, and the remaining eight Lechers pose no threat to us, Lieutenant."

"Can you see where Lapi and the others are now?"

"They're one step ahead of us," the noblewoman said, looking up at the ceiling. Seeing the floating dot-like Lapis above her making military hand signals, she quickly translated:

"They...have reached the ground...safely...awaiting instructions."

"And you? How are you feeling? How long can you hold on?"

"If we don't engage in high-intensity combat, I can hold out for a few more hours, Lieutenant."

After listening to Helen's account, the man nodded and, amidst the brutal explosion of the slug and the excited exclamations of Nien and Alice, calmly gave the order:

"Send Isabel south to scout the situation. I need to know what happened to Honglian and the others. Remember, I only need reconnaissance information; avoid fighting unless absolutely necessary."

Then inform Lhapi and the others to check their remaining ammunition and redistribute it.

After saying that, Phoenix suddenly raised his voice, his tone so stern that it was the complete opposite of Helen's gentle admonition.

"Walkiray—!!!"

"exist--!"

The girl came running up hurriedly, her wrists red and swollen, and a revolver tucked into her waistband that looked like it might slip out at any moment.

Because her eyes weren't prosthetic, the students who weren't able to share the X-ray vision were unaware that their instructor's abilities had changed. They only vaguely sensed that Nien was much faster than Rachel in close combat, and that Nien frequently performed inexplicable, high-difficulty shooting maneuvers, such as firing shots behind his back.

It does look quite cool, but compared to Alice's various "simple" shooting skills of taking on two or three opponents at once... well, maybe it's a little bit flashy.

"Instructor! Is there anything I can help you with?"

When Valerie excitedly ran to Phoenix to report for duty, eagerly awaiting her instructor's assignment, Alice and the other two had already finished off the remaining eight Lechers and were gathered around their commander, chattering inquiring about the source of the bloodstains on his face.

"Alright, alright, it's just a normal side effect."

The lieutenant gently pushed away Alice's soft little hands that were pinching his face, and said helplessly:

"Hey, Huaerqiulei, get me a bottle of water."

"Eh?"

……

……

Glug-glug-glug

Phoenix successfully downed a 600ml bottle of water, and during this lull, the ceiling of the passage slowly unfolded, revealing the dazzling night sky filled with stars to everyone.

“报告指挥官，步枪弹药余量342、冲锋枪弹药余量553、霰弹枪余量72、携带式导弹余量8、携带式榴弹余量7、狙击枪弹药余量52、机枪弹药余量455。”

Lapi, who had been waiting on the ground for a long time, immediately informed the commander of the team's ammunition situation and thoughtfully added:

"The theoretical kill limit for low-level Lechers is 560, but considering penetrating shots, the actual kill count is less than 300..."

Suddenly, before the adjutant could finish speaking, the girls, who still had heterochromia, turned their heads in unison and looked towards the southern sky.

As night fell, Dorothy, dressed in tattered armor, disregarded her elegant demeanor and stumbled to the ground at top speed, her pink and green eyes filled with indescribable and strange expressions.

"The fire dragon is back. Isabel is playing games with it, but she can't keep it in check for long. Do you have any ideas? If not, I'll take you away from here first."

"A fire dragon..."

"...Tell me about your current condition first. Are you injured?"

The habit of living for more than twenty years led the man to look in the direction where Dorothy was speaking, and his unintentional actions and words were nothing short of an insult to Dorothy.

Her pure white dress armor was frequently hit by lasers during the battle with Liberelio, and now it was patchy with white and black, with scorched yellow battle damage in the middle.

Her hair was caught in the crossfire of the fire dragons and, unable to withstand the combined attack, was completely ruined, with many parts even showing signs of being burned.

She was already in such a miserable state, and the man in front of her actually asked her, "Are you hurt?"

He definitely did it on purpose...

"I'm blind."

"?"

While Atao was stunned into a daze, Phoenix, with Pina helping to explain, couldn't help but mentally fill his mind with a battle-damaged version of "Doro pouting and crying," and couldn't help but chuckle:

"Don't worry, I can't see what you look like right now."

Dorothy: "..."

Looking into the man's listless, dim eyes, Ah Tao, though sharp-tongued, had a kind heart. She pursed her pink lips, wanting to apologize, but couldn't bring herself to say it. So she changed the subject and urged him:

“Lieutenant Phoenix, instead of worrying about me, you should be thinking about how we deal with the fire dragon.”

"Ah."

As if to get it over with, the man deliberately paused before replying:

"I've thought it over. When is Isabel coming back?"

Dorothy: "???"

Chapter 280 That woman, she forced the fire dragon to his knees...

"My energy tank is empty. With just Ark Niki and Isabel, what makes you think you can defeat the fire dragon with just a few words?"