vrcanaries Chapter 362 Qiong: On a 9-pound girl and a 9-pound cannonball...
Chapter 362 Qiong: On a 9-pound girl and a 9-pound cannonball...
Outside the infirmary, the Valkyries of the Undying Blade exchanged bewildered glances as they watched Qiong carry the nearly unconscious Rita inside. Their faces were filled with surprise, anger, and worry for Rita.
However, after Qiong walked out and said that Rita was alright, all these emotions turned into bewilderment—a bewilderment of having one's understanding overturned.
Rita Losweather, an S-class Valkyrie and one of Schicksal's strongest fighters, was defeated in full view of everyone by a male Valkyrie in reserve with just a lance and a baseball bat.
Who would believe that if I told them?!
"Why don't you go in and keep your captain company?"
Qiong looked around, feeling uncomfortable under the gazes of the Valkyries around him: among these Valkyries were members of the Undying Blade team who were worried about Rita, friends who wanted to help him (probably), and students who were simply attracted by the spectacle and came to join in the fun, but one thing was certain: everyone looked at him with a hint of curiosity in their eyes...
If nothing unexpected happens, won't people be asking him how he beat Rita right away?
"Dead Gray Hair, isn't Miss Rita's body very soft and comfortable...?"
"Of course, it's because of luck plus my hard work and diligence—huh?"
Qiong had anticipated that the curious child would ask a question, and he planned to use his low emotional intelligence to brush her off for a while before temporarily retreating. However, this nonsensical question suddenly interrupted him. When he turned around, he saw that Na, who had been worried about him before the fight, was now standing with her arms crossed and looking at him with a malicious smile.
Qiong felt inexplicably speechless: Just five minutes ago, Kiana was still concerned about his teammates! How come she turned against him as soon as they were out of "danger"?
According to his plan, the script should then feature a Valkyrie asking, "Why did you beat Captain Rita?" and he should be even more arrogant and ruthless, creating an unlikable android persona to try and sever Nahera's "Shang Yang" image—all signs indicate that the Immortal Star Dragon's divination is very likely no less effective than that of the diviners at the Lovtad Plot...
His carefully planned idea was stillborn before it could be implemented, all because of that idiot Na.
Qiong stared blankly at Kiana: This Kiana storyline was the emotional thread he should have severed, but theoretically couldn't be severed due to the time loop... Never mind, since Kiana interrupted his plan, he might as well give it a try—let's see if he can make Kiana dislike him.
"Um, cough cough..."
Having made up her mind, Qiong paused for two seconds before slowly speaking.
"Does it matter whether you use soft or hard tactics? The key is that Miss Rita is injured! I was focused on getting her to the infirmary, I didn't have time to worry about anything else."
Kiana pulled Bronya closer to Sora, who immediately took a step back to keep her distance.
"Hmph, neither Bronya nor I will believe your nonsense!"
Bronya has reservations about this.
Kiana, hands on her hips, selectively ignored Bronya's sarcastic remarks, her eyes filled with smugness.
After all, who can really define "touch"? It's a fact that Qiong and Rita made physical contact after their fight; it's also a fact that Rita was semi-conscious and almost powerless to resist.
As long as she doesn't feel awkward, it's Qiong who will! Then she can add fuel to the fire with Anna and Yae-sensei, hinting at things... Qiong will have a real headache! Will he even have time to be with Mei, who's bedridden? Heh heh, he doesn't, but she does!
Looking at Kiana, who was full of mischief, Qiong shook her head helplessly: Kiana, I didn't want to use you as a scapegoat, but you walked right into my trap, so don't blame me...
"Come on!"
Qiong imitated Kiana from before, crossing her arms over her chest and deliberately raising her voice so that all the Valkyries around could hear her.
"Rita weighs more than you, someone who needs to lose weight. Carrying her is tiring enough; do you think I have the time for that?"
"What? You dead gray hair, say that again if you dare!"
Kiana's mischievous smile froze instantly, her hands on her hips loosened slightly, and her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed.
"Take back what you just said! I'm very gentle! You're blaming me for your own lack of stamina, aren't you!"
Qiong turned her head away, unmoved.
"You are as heavy as Mount Tai."
Kiana was so angry that she trembled all over.
"You...you're slandering me! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Very good, the effect is great." Qiong shrugged, completely unconcerned.
"I'm not slandering you! It's just the truth, you weigh 98 pounds—"
"I only weigh 96 pounds!"
"Rita weighs 112 pounds, almost 20 pounds heavier than you. Isn't she heavier than you, who needs to lose weight?"
"Brother Qiong... never mind."
Bronya really wanted to say that Kiana and Rita's weights couldn't possibly be 20 pounds by subtraction, and where did you get such precise weight data? It couldn't be a human electronic scale, could it... But in the end, based on her experience with the Ural Silver Wolf, she thought it best not to say anything.
"You deadbeat, you still say I'm going to lose weight? Oh, you think you're so great just because you beat Rita? Well, I'll clean house right now..."
Kiana stomped her feet in anger. Seeing that Qiong was unrepentant, she immediately decided to rush up and argue with her, but in the end she failed—because Bronya's Heavy Bunny blocked her way.
"Idiot Kiana, calm down! This is the infirmary! And there are many Valkyries from headquarters watching! We can't let the headmistress down!"
"I don't care! If I don't beat him until he begs for mercy, where will I put my pride?"
"Um, didn't you ask first?"
Seeing Kiana being blocked by Bronya, the fearless Sora blinked, looking completely innocent.
"I was just answering truthfully. But then again, Rita is really heavy..."
Bronya, who was holding Kiana, was about to yell at her: "Seriously? Are you trying to stir up trouble? You can just call Kiana an idiot and move on, but there are people from the Undying Blade all around here! You beat their captain into the infirmary, and now you're commenting on their captain's weight in front of them. Do you want to get ganged up on and beaten into a pig's head?"
This isn't the way to ask for a beating!
"Bronya, is the Heavy Bunny's cannon caliber 152mm?"
Qiong abruptly changed the subject, casually tapping Kiana's shoulder with her baseball bat, without even glancing at the Valkyries around her who seemed to have some issues with Qiong and were considering how to express them.
Everyone: ?
How did he jump from being heavy to being able to handle cannon caliber?
Bronya paused for a moment, then gave her answer—a jarring transition to talking about the Heavy Bunny's artillery was better than a bunch of people going up and turning Sora into a pig's head.
"Brother Qiong, some of the Heavy Bunny's equipment uses 152mm, but some only uses 155mm..."
"Bronya, are the shells heavy?"
Bronya, not understanding why, nodded subconsciously. Seeing Bronya nod, Qiong put the baseball bat back on her shoulder.
"Kiana, did you know? A 152mm shell weighs 86 pounds, and a 155mm shell weighs 90 pounds. They're even heavier than Bronya, who weighs 80 pounds—"
"Dead Gray Hair, what exactly do you mean?"
Kiana, still bound by Bronya, was fuming: Give him a chance to taste a flying kick that hits the bullseye!
"That's settled then. You and Rita are heavier than a cannonball, what else is that but heavy? Don't tell me that a 90-pound girl and a 90-pound cannonball are different. An unconscious person and a cannonball are no different to me! I carried a 100-pound ice block cannonball all the way here, do you really think I have the intention to take advantage?"
Qiong's words silenced the Valkyries of the Undying Blade who had previously held some reservations about him... They never expected that Qiong would mistake the unconscious Rita, who was wearing the Godslayer Armor, for a hundred-pound ice-attribute cannonball.
They instinctively sensed something was wrong and wanted to argue, but upon closer reflection, they couldn't quite grasp the situation, nor did they know what was amiss or where to begin their rebuttal...
wow-
Suddenly, the blast-proof door that Walter had temporarily modified to prevent the Yae Sakura from exploding opened.
"Kyō-kun, comparing girls to cannonballs won't get you any favors from other girls~"
Rita emerged from behind the infirmary, radiating a chill—her elegant smile was tinged with pallor, whether from physical discomfort or a bad mood was unclear.
"Captain Rita, are you alright?"
"Thank you all for your concern, Rita is fine."
Rita gave a slight bow to everyone, her face still bearing her standard maid smile—until the moment Sora spoke.
"I'm sorry, I hit too hard... Rita, does your chest still hurt?"
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“Your Excellency, the plan has been thwarted—but the Undying Blade awaits your next instructions.”
Looking at the report sent back by the Undying Blade and Amber's voice report, Otto picked up his wine glass and gently swirled the red wine inside, but his gaze was fixed on the gray-haired man on the screen who had knocked Rita away with a stick.
"Interesting, very interesting! An alien who hasn't been exposed to the Valkyrie system for long has actually improved to a level capable of defeating Rita in such a short time? Or is it..."
Otto wasn't angry—or rather, he never truly got angry. Most of the time, unless the core plan went wrong, even if something unexpected happened, he would only raise an eyebrow slightly, revealing a more interested expression—after all, he was cautious by nature and had prepared a bunch of backup plans.
"He suppressed the Third Herrscher in a single day, prevented Yae Sakura from having an accident, won her heart, and even had the strength to defeat Rita. The only thing he lacked was experience..."
Otto tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, the rhythm steady—his mind had already deduced several new possibilities and speculations based on this.
Is it the protective power that Bai Ji told him could only be activated by love in one's heart? Or... the magic of love? Interesting, really interesting.
People say that Otto Apocalypse is a deeply cunning schemer, and that's true. But few people know that Otto believed in the power of emotions—especially the power of "love"—more than anyone else.
Love, a mutual bond. If Sora can use his "love" to become stronger, defeat and influence the Third Herrscher and Yae Sakura, then what about K423, who possesses the core of the Second Herrscher? And what about all the Herrschers yet to be born...?
Thinking of this, Otto couldn't help but think of his "old friend," Walter Joyce.
The First Herrscher is simply a possibility condensed from 300,000 souls, isn't she? It's a pity that because of those "trivial matters," Welt and his successor, along with the Anti-Entropy group, have been fighting against her to this day, even stealing a gem and recently visiting Schicksal headquarters—but I digress. Anyway, there's also the possibility of Sora having a Herrscher fight for humanity. Considering her other traits and the abilities described by Bai Ji, there's even a possibility of finding Kallen…
However, with so many backup plans, it's impossible for him to put all his eggs in one basket—but it's never a bad idea to follow up occasionally.
"Amber, tell Rita the mission is canceled. Remember to invite Sora to headquarters; his sister is waiting for him here."
Otto smiled, as if he were talking about something trivial, not part of his plan.
"Speaking of which, does our Sleeping Beauty still fall asleep from time to time?"
"Yes, Your Grace, she still often falls into a deep sleep."
"Hmm, that's strange..."
Otto downed the drink in his glass in one gulp.
"All the injuries have almost healed, so why is she still... Anyway, keep an eye on her condition. Oh, and tell Rita to make sure they're friendly to the guests visiting headquarters."
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I completely forgot about updating last night...