Chapter 19: Chapter 19: She Shines Like The Sun
In the early morning hours, Kiana arrived in the town of Uluru.
Just as Sigurd had speculated, with no clear direction in mind, she couldn't resist the temptation of the local specialty cake. So, her first step was to come here and indulge in the delicious treat.
Dawn was approaching, and the cake shop wouldn't open until 9 o'clock, which meant she had to wait for the delicacy.
Thinking about the tantalizing cake that had haunted her dreams, Kiana, who had walked all night, wasn't tired at all. On the contrary, she was full of energy.
But she didn't want to wait idly. Since she couldn't get her hands on the cake yet, she decided to have some breakfast to fill her stomach.
Thus, she arrived at a breakfast place that had left a good impression on her before.
"Miss Kiana, long time no see. Are you here for breakfast again today? Where's your brother?"
Kiana unloaded the various packages from her body and placed them aside, then rolled her eyes and replied:
"How many times do I have to say it? That guy is not my brother. Anyway, I want a super-sized breakfast. Serve it quickly."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The staff member walked towards the counter with a smiling face. She didn't really care why Kiana came alone with so many packages to have breakfast. All she knew was that there was money to be made, and that was enough. People are busy with their own lives, and unless a tragedy happens right in front of their eyes, most people don't have the time to care about this or that. Taking care of their own lives is enough.
Before long, a large plate filled with bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and other foods was placed in front of Kiana.
Kiana licked her lips and immediately started devouring the food—what was reassuring was that she somewhat remembered Sigurd's teachings. Although she ate quickly, she at least used the cutlery properly instead of grabbing everything and wolfing it down.
Soon, the massive plate was cleaned up, almost to the point where Kiana could lick it.
Kiana patted her slightly satisfied stomach, sighed contentedly, hesitated for a moment, and didn't order a second serving.
"The stomach has its limits. To make room for more cake, I should stop here for breakfast."
"Ah, this young lady has grown up and learned to make choices between delicious food."
Kiana straightened her back, feeling proud for a moment, and the sadness of parting dispersed a little. She then stood up, took out a few banknotes from her purse, and placed them on the table, ready to leave.
Boom!
Just then, from the eastern end of the town's main street, a loud noise echoed in the distance.
Kiana instinctively turned her head and saw flames and thick smoke rising into the sky. Amidst the chaotic screams and noises, a familiar sense of danger accompanied the wind.
Narrowing her eyes, Kiana focused her gaze beyond the smoke and vaguely saw several colossal figures. Soon, one after another, white behemoths broke through the smoke, emitting earth-shattering roars as they stomped their way towards the town center.
"Ah! What- what are those things?"
"Run! Run for your lives! Head in the opposite direction, as far away from the town as possible!"
Kiana almost roared as she shouted, startling the bewildered onlookers once again.
Finally realizing that something was wrong, the townspeople followed their instincts and scattered, fleeing in all directions.
Kiana also started running, not to escape, but to dash towards the direction of the Honkai beasts.
She only took one package—the one containing her weapons and equipment.
Running while taking out her dual pistols, after a brief hesitation, she decisively unloaded the regular magazines and replaced them with the special Honkai energy rounds crafted by Sigurd.
"Miss, the system detects a large-scale Honkai energy reaction ahead. You are unable to handle it alone. I recommend a retreat in the opposite direction."
"Stop babbling! If all of Kaslana's people run away, who will protect the civilians? By the way, contact Sigurd for me and tell him to quickly escape with Vira! They're not far from here, and it's dangerous!"
Kiana shouted at the black wristband on her wrist.
The edges of the wristband flickered with red light for a moment, and then Icarus responded:
"Miss, an abnormal situation has occurred."
"Huh?"
"The system has lost communication and interconnectivity with the outside world. Inference: someone within the area has disrupted external information exchange through electromagnetic interference and physical cutoff. The scope of the disruption is unknown, the perpetrator is unknown, and the purpose is unknown."
"So, you-huff huff-can't contact Sigurd?"
"That's correct, Miss."
"Damn it! Of all times, this had to happen now!"
Kiana gasped for breath and cursed.
Although she didn't know what was happening, she needed to find a way to quickly notify Sigurd and the others to escape. However, there were also many residents in the town who were directly in danger.
Kiana gritted her teeth, maintaining her direction but increasing her speed.
She knew she couldn't handle a group of Honkai beasts, but she could buy time and save some people. Once the townspeople had evacuated, she could return to the city and deliver the message in time, right?
Moreover, Sigurd was smart; maybe he would quickly sense something was wrong and leave early?
In any case, she couldn't abandon the people in immediate danger.
Kiana swung her hands, releasing the safety of her firearms with a click. She herself had arrived under the hooves of the Honkai beast.
"Roar!"
The Honkai beast in front of her let out a mighty roar as its massive hooves, with a radius of two to three meters, descended from the sky. In the spot where they landed, there were two trembling little girls huddled together.
"Watch out!"
Kiana shouted and rushed straight toward the two.
Boom!
As the stone bricks shattered and the iron hooves landed, the ground sank three feet deep.
Unaware, the Honkai beast lifted its hoof and continued forward, failing to notice that beneath its body, Kiana was holding onto two little girls and quietly escaping to the side.
However, while the giant-sized Honkai beasts had blind spots, the smaller flying Honkai beasts were not so sluggish.
Just as Kiana had reached a broken wall, several wing-flapping, meter-high flying Honkai beasts pounced from above.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets fired continuously, accurately shooting them down. The powerful recoil made Kiana's hands slightly numb.
"This power is not bad."
Kiana exclaimed.
Based on her experience battling Honkai beasts, ordinary bullets could barely scratch their skin, but Sigurd's Honkai energy bullets could pierce right through them, killing them with a single shot. It was truly impressive.
But at the same time, she could also feel that something was off with her pistols.
"I hope the bullets last until they're all gone..."
Kiana glanced at her dual pistols, then turned around and crouched in front of the two sisters, saying:
"Listen, I'll lead you in that direction to break through. You must stay close to me, understand?"
The two little girls nodded repeatedly in fear, driven by their desire to survive, and even helped each other stand up.
Kiana breathed a sigh of relief. If she had to carry them while making a breakthrough, the difficulty would be even higher.
"Let's go!"
Surrounded by Honkai beasts, Kiana knew she couldn't delay, so without further ado, she chose a route that seemed relatively less dangerous and pushed forward.
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
"Ha!"
Gunshots, sounds of punches and kicks, and the fierce shouts of the young girl became the main theme along the way.
Of course, there were also injuries and setbacks.
After about ten minutes, in a narrow alley where Honkai beasts were barely seen, Kiana wiped the blood off her face, tore a piece of her skirt, and hastily wrapped it around her bleeding wrist.
Then she looked at the two terrified sisters, revealing a bright smile and said,
"Are you both okay?"
"Yeah, we-we're fine-Thank you, big sis."
"You're welcome. Take this opportunity to continue walking in the direction away from those monsters. The farther away, the safer it will be. Even if you're looking for your family, I suggest waiting until things settle down before searching for them. It's too dangerous right now. Also, if you come across others on the way, tell them to run quickly!"
"We- we understand, big sister. Please take care too."
Kiana gestured confidently with a thumbs-up towards them. Although she was just a young girl herself, her smile, revealing her white teeth, made her look like a fearless brave warrior.
"Alright, I'll continue to save others. Farewell if fate allows us to meet again!"
Leaving these words behind, Kiana headed back in the direction she had just made a breakthrough.
With no one else to take care of, Kiana could now maneuver carefully through the herd of beasts using various cover. Along the way, she came across a mother and son trembling in the ruins.
"Don't be afraid, I'll protect you!"
Against the sunlight, the two saw the wounded little Kiana and she greeted them with a warm and confident smile.
In that moment, with disheveled white hair, gasping for breath, but radiating a warm smile, she appeared like a beam of light.
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