Chapter 1040: Chapter 1039: This Child Is Terrifying
After the girls from the Heavenly Dao Palace joined, the battle situation quickly changed. The corpse puppets that had been flaunting their strength were little more than pushovers in front of the girls. Before long, the corpse puppets here were all wiped out by the group, ending the battle.
"It’s over, it’s over..."
"But these creatures were so weak..."
"But it’s nice to have some activity once in a while, isn’t it?"
After the battle ended, the girls laughed and chatted in groups as they walked toward their warship. Meanwhile, the crew of the Normandy looked at the backs of these girls with complex expressions, unsure of what to say. To know that these girls didn’t appear very old, with the oldest being just sixteen or seventeen years old, yet they were more formidable than this group of seasoned battlefield veterans was truly a mix of feelings.
Especially reaching the last stage, these girls charged into the horde of corpse puppets like tigers among sheep, slashing and cutting. Whether in terms of lethality or efficiency, they were far superior to us who just hide behind and shout "666," leaving everyone somewhat disheartened.
However...
"They really are impressive."
Gelas looked at the girls who were laughing and chatting like they were returning from a spring outing, his tone quite serious. As an elite of the Turui, he had carefully observed the girls’ combat methods during the battle. On the surface, it seemed they had the upper hand against the corpse puppets because the puppets were unarmed and relying solely on brute force.
But of course, Gelas wasn’t that simple. He had just observed closely and found that the girls’ reactions and speed far exceeded their understanding. Imagining even a fully armed army wouldn’t faze these girls as they would charge through as if the terrain was empty...
Thinking of this made Gelas feel a bit of toothache; he was an elite of C-SEC after all, with excellent sniping skills, but in terms of melee combat, he was no different from ordinary soldiers. If those girls got close to him, even Gelas would be lamb to the slaughter, with no choice but to await death.
Of course, there were races in the Citadel known for melee combat, such as the Krogan People... hmm, Gelas silently glanced at Lex not far away. This tall, vigorous Krogan was long silent, squatting in the corner muttering something unknown.
Well, even among the Krogan, none had the powerful combat prowess as those kids.
With that thought, Gelas had decided that once back at the Citadel, he would submit a report to the Turui Envoy so as not to misjudge the mysterious force that is the Heavenly Dao Palace. Purely by the combat prowess demonstrated by these little girls, once the Turui really went to war with the other, not to mention the fleet might lose, but defeat on the ground would be even more inevitable.
"Gelas!"
Just as Gelas was considering how to respond, Shupard’s voice came again. He looked up to see a blood-drenched Shupard hurriedly returning with the others.
"How is it? Are you okay?"
"We’re fine, everything is good, it’s just..."
At this, Gelas shrugged with a wry smile, then looked toward the repair platform not far away. At this point, the platform, initially used as cover, was covered with bodies, stacked layer upon layer, at least in their hundreds or thousands, seeing this battlefield of literal "corpses everywhere," Shupard was also startled.
"Did you guys do this?"
When it comes to corpse puppets, Shupard had taken out quite a few while chasing and investigating the traitor Saren and the Reaper overlord, but she had encountered them one group at a time. To be honest, if she faced so many corpse puppets at once, even with her protagonist aura, she’d have to turn and flee.
"Of course not, we aren’t quite that capable..."
Saying this, Gelas felt a rush of awkwardness. They had thought of themselves as professional soldiers, going to the front lines to protect those kids, but instead, it was the kids protecting them... It’s honestly quite embarrassing.
"Was it those little girls?"
"How did you know?"
Gelas was surprised by Shupard’s response. He thought Shupard wouldn’t believe him and was trying to figure out what to say when Shupard unexpectedly looked calm and understanding.
"Of course, I just saw it with my own eyes."
Saying this, Shupard nodded to the side. Following Shupard’s gesture, Gelas soon saw Midori and Nobiru holding hands walking toward the others.
Gelas immediately understood.
"Were you guys involved too?"
"That’s right. If it weren’t for them, I might have really been finished this time."
Saying this, Shupard couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
"Isn’t it a little embarrassing?"
"Yeah..."
Gelas nodded in agreement, then sighed.
"Fortunately, they are not our enemies."
"Hopefully, they’ll never be..."
Yet Shupard wasn’t as optimistic as Gelas; she knew very well the attitude of the Citadel Council and the Star Alliance higher-ups. When pursuing the overlords before, Shupard was already troubled by these incompetent teammates, even though she warned the council beforehand. Despite this, the Citadel Council didn’t heed warnings until the overlords attacked the Citadel, prompting a sign of danger when it was too late.
If Shupard hadn’t salvaged the situation and timely prevented the overlords, the consequences would have been dire.
This was why, during the reformation of the Citadel Council, Shupard recommended her old superior, Anderson, as a representative — having someone on the inside makes negotiations easier, after all.
Saddled with similar stagnant allies again? Shupard politely declines.
While Shupard sighed over interstellar politics, the young girls gathered together, chattering about the previous battle. They hadn’t fought in a while and were thrilled to showcase their skills this time.
"Whew..."
Looking around at the ecstatic young girls, Asuna breathed out and put away her rapier, sitting on a nearby chair.
"How do you feel?"
Eiriri also approached with a bright smile, sitting next to Asuna, curious to ask.
"I don’t know..."
Asuna took a deep breath, feeling as though she had just completed a wild disco session. Her mind was still excited but gradually calming down. Looking at her hands, Asuna found it unbelievable.
"I really didn’t expect to fight alien life on a distant space station several star systems away from Earth, let alone in another world. If my mom knew what I was up to, I can’t even imagine her reaction..."
"But it feels good, right?"
Eiriri stretched lazily.
"We’re doing a good deed here, like those... Corpse Puppets? They seemed simpler than game creatures, but they were trying to kill us all the same, weren’t they?"
"That’s true..."
Just as Asuna opened her mouth to say more, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and patted their heads.
"How do you feel?"
"Ah, Mr. Fang Zheng!"
Seeing Fang Zheng behind them, Eiriri giggled.
"No problem! I feel great."
"Do you? That’s good."
Hearing Eiriri’s response, Fang Zheng nodded, then looked at the girls before him.
"Our Heavenly Dao Palace does not invade arbitrarily, nor do we easily start wars, but sometimes we still need to fight, just like now... If you cannot accept this or feel you cannot handle it, you can opt-out."
"No, Mr. Fang Zheng, I... have no problem."
Upon hearing this, Asuna also stood up and firmly shook her head. Marrying a chicken, follow the chicken; marrying a dog, follow the dog. Though Asuna didn’t say it outright, she had decided to stay with Fang Zheng, meaning for her... this is what she must adapt to and strive to face.
Thinking of this, Asuna clenched her fists.
Her eyes, at this moment, no longer seemed lost.