"We'll retreat from here first and head back to the Icarus!"
Luo Lin held the Black Xuanyuan Sword as she led Whitley and the two remaining Valkyries back the way they came.
They quickly returned to the cave entrance, noticing that the protective membrane isolating the seawater had dimmed significantly since they last saw it. Equipped and ready, they crossed the protective membrane and reentered the seawater.
As they swam along the cave towards the exit, just as they turned to a large bend, Luo Lin secretly summoned the two people she had been waiting for in her mind.
Miss Pink Elf and Senti suddenly appeared in the seawater, opening their eyes simultaneously.
"Glug glug..."
Senti was about to speak but ended up inhaling seawater into her mouth and nose. Fortunately, she quickly recovered, grabbing the still excited Helix and swimming back to Chiyou.
Senti, with a hint of resentment, connected her thoughts to Luo Lin and Helix using her Herrschet ability, establishing a communication channel without the need for equipment. Then she asked, "Cough, cough, cough... Why didn't you summon us while we were still in the cave?"
"The path out of the cave is wide open, and Whitley and the others were keeping a close watch! We had to swim out first and find an opportunity..."
Luo Lin intended to explain further, but Helix's exuberant cheers interrupted the dark-haired girl's words.
"Woo-hoo! I'm finally born in the real world!"
Helix's first words upon arriving in the real world almost caused Luo Lin to lose her composure. She exerted great effort to control her expression and emotions, not letting the other Valkyries detect anything unusual.
"All right, let's hurry and catch up with Dark Jixuanyuan. Don't let her cause any more trouble! I'll take them back to the research ship first and study how to repair the Black Xuanyuan Sword..."
"Understood!"
Although Luo Lin couldn't see, Helix still saluted respectfully.
Without delay, the two of them set off. However, in the less than three minutes it took for Luo Lin's group to retreat and for Senti and Helix to return, the entire interior of the cave underwent drastic changes:
As Dark Jixuanyuan partially lifted the seal, the concentration of Honkai Energy within Chiyou increased rapidly. Numerous Honkai Beasts and Zombies emerged from somewhere, and Senti and Helix encountered groups of enemies every few steps they took.
Fortunately, for two output-oriented characters like them, this situation was not difficult to handle. Senti flashed a healthy smile, clenched her fists, and carried another Dominion Key she had brought down from Mount Taixu...
Well, it looked like a gauntlet too...
It's been said that the gauntlet is a traditional weapon of the Taixu lineage, so there. jpg
But Senti didn't care about these minor details. She was busy dealing with the incoming Honkai Beasts and Zombies.
Senti relished the feeling of battle after a long absence. Although there were many enemies in front of her, their quality couldn't compare to the Abyss monsters on Luo Lin's side.
After all, in high-difficulty, high-disturbance situations, even regular enemies needed to go through several cycles of attacks and skills to be defeated, leading many Honkai Impact 3 players to feel that regular enemies were much harder than bosses...
Senti swung her arms, and the gusts created by her fists scattered the stances of the Zombies. When her fists landed on the Honkai Beasts, they were immediately dispatched.
"Landslide! Rock Shatter! Cloud Mist!"
As she fought, she muttered to herself, "Integrity, lineage, corruption, they're all absent here, what can you accomplish?!"
Wherever Senti went, Honkai Beasts and Zombies were sent flying into the sky like toys, joining their brethren who hadn't taken off yet in becoming fragments of Honkai Energy.
Watching Senti's enthusiastic battle, Helix, holding Whispers of the Past: Sonnet pulled from Elysia, repeatedly drew and relaxed the bowstring, and ended up not firing a single arrow for a long time, her expression complex.
On one hand, she was glad she didn't have to act, so she wouldn't deplete the durability of her temporary item, Whispers of the Past: Sonnet. On the other hand, after coming out, it seemed she hadn't even collected a single head of an enemy, giving her the feeling of being a bystander.
After some thought, Helix began to track Dark Jixuanyuan's trail and provided a direction for Senti, who was enjoying her battles.
"Let's go this way!"
As the two walked and fought, they quickly noticed something amiss.
"Why are there so many Honkai Beasts and Zombies? This is definitely not the quantity expected under this concentration of Honkai Energy..."
Senti casually shattered a Templar-class Honkai Beast. She placed her hands on her hips, and puzzledly scratched her head. "It's like a room meant for three healthy people to live comfortably, but instead, there are seventeen or eighteen people crammed in, causing them to not have enough to eat and become as thin as straw..."
The same principle applied to the Honkai Beasts in Chiyou. There were too many of them, resulting in each individual receiving very little Honkai Energy, thus reducing their quality. This even gave Senti the feeling of mowing down enemies effortlessly.
After experiencing such a painful blow, Senti and Helix found that the number of Honkai Beasts and Zombies they encountered afterwards had significantly decreased. However, their strength had returned to normal levels.
But after achieving a balance between strength and quantity, the enemies encountered began to have problems in their lineup:
Senti and Helix encountered batches of identical single-unit troops one after another. One moment, they were all archer Zombies; the next, they were all Knight-class Honkai Beasts running amok.
This left the two of them somewhat puzzled.
Fortunately, these posed no threat to them.
After eliminating a group of Chariot-class Honkai Beasts that were blocking their path, Helix stroked her chin and spoke, "I feel like someone is controlling the generation of Honkai Beasts, and it's a beginner who doesn't know what they're doing..."
"That's probably Dark Jixuanyuan," Senti squinted her eyes. "I bet the next batch of enemies we encounter will be more strategically composed, with a mix of ranged and melee units... I'll bet a pack of spicy strips."
Helix replied with interest, "Okay, then I'll bet a basket of xiaolongbao. She won't catch on that quickly."
The two continued to follow Dark Jixuanyuan's trail, circling a corner, only to find a row of pristine shields with purple patterns blocking their path.
It turned out to be a shield formation formed by Templar-Class Honkai Beasts. Behind them, a group of archer Zombies aimed their bows at Senti and Helix.
Next to the archers, there were also some scythe-wielding Zombies, eyeing Senti warily.
Of course, the most eye-catching figure at the back of this group was Dark Jixuanyuan, emitting a mesmerizing purple-red light, holding a purple-red stone in her arms!
"Wow, you were right."
Miss Pink Elf exclaimed, "When we get out, I'll treat you to xiaolongbao."
"I wasn't expecting you to give me xiaolongbao right now..."
Senti pursed her lips, "Such a strange stone. It has a strong Honkai Energy reaction inside... Huh? Why do I feel like this thing is a Herrscher Core...?"
"Ah?!"