Chapter 43: Cooperation Achieved

Observing Siegfried's fierce expression and firm tone, Ragnar pondered for a moment and roughly grasped what the other party was thinking—it should be related to his real daughter.

After all, on the day Siegfried defected from Schicksal, his real daughter, Kiana, didn't escape; instead, she was seriously injured and fell into a valley along with the aircraft.

So Siegfried believed his daughter had died...

Later, he developed feelings for the clone girl he took away and raised her as his new daughter, even giving her the name Kiana Kaslana—never expecting her to awaken as the Herrscher of the Void now.

Considering this, Siegfried's wife died, his daughter was severely injured and lost her memory, and his new daughter turned into an enemy of humanity... Yet, the white-haired man didn't collapse, and even now, he could summon the will to save his daughter, showing extraordinary mental strength...

As for the fact that Siegfried's real daughter hadn't died, Otto didn't ask Ragnar to keep it confidential. But for now, Siegfried's mind was focused on saving his foster daughter. Telling him about this might add some uncertainty to the plan of collaborating with Herrschers against Honkai.

—It's better not to mention it for now.

Ragnar gathered her thoughts, smiled bitterly, and said, "Save her... She has become a Herrscher now, Siegfried."

"No, I have dealt with the Herrscher of the Void before— I mean the real Herrscher of the Void. She also has humanity, peace, and kindness."

Facing the skeptical looks of the Valkyries, Siegfried began to recount his own experiences:

"Sirin... or as you know her, the Herrscher of the Void who caused the Second Eruption in 2000. Cecilia and I entered the illusion she created during our battle with her. There, we even briefly awakened her humanity..."

Siegfried recalled the experience from back then, his wife's gentle figure flashing through his mind, softening his tone.

"If it could continue, it might not be impossible to make Sirin like Welt, the Herrscher of Reasonn, not a threat to humanity, or even further, to make her fight alongside humans..."

"Welt, the Herrscher of Reason, indeed a great figure."

As the captain of the Schicksal Valkyrie, Ragnar did know about Welt.

She had access to the intelligence on the Schicksal's opposing force, Anti-Entropy. The most important figure among them was Walter, who, despite being a Herrscher of Reason, betrayed the Honkai and fought alongside humans.

Ragnar continued, "But Welt is an adult after all, able to control the Honkai's power with his own will... Can your daughter do that?"

"I'm still alive, that's the proof."

Siegfried clenched his fist. "The moment Kiana awakened as a Herrscher, she could have easily killed me when I was completely defenseless, but... she chose to teleport me away and told me... to escape..."

Ragnar frowned and said, "These are just your words... Siegfried, she is a Herrscher, not some ordinary being! We can't joke about the future of humanity!"

Siegfried fell silent.

"Um... Captain?"

Just then, Luo Lin came up behind Ragnar and said cautiously, "The Herrscher of the Void didn't seem to exert her full strength before. Even though she just awakened, her Honkai energy is already formidable—if she wanted, she could have easily taken us down..."

"And... I think I heard the Herrscher of the Void calling for help... saying something like 'save me'..."

After hearing this, the other Valkyries looked strange. They rubbed their ears and whispered to each other.

"It wasn't an illusion? I think I heard it too..."

"Yeah, she was asking for help..."

"You heard it too?"

Listening to the Valkyries' discussion, Ragnar waved for Luo Lin to come over.

"Is that so?" asked the captain.

Luo Lin nodded vigorously. "Yes! I'm very confident in my perception!"

Looking at Luo Lin's familiar face, Siegfried twitched his mouth and muttered, "So you're a Valkyrie..."

The white-haired man was a little angry, but just now, Luo Lin brought evidence that made even Ragnar hesitate, so he shifted his gaze to the captain of the Schicksal Valkyries.

Ragnar touched her communicator, as if there was something there to help her make a decision.

The Valkyrie pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Siegfried, let's temporarily cooperate. You want to save your daughter, and I want to ensure that Herrschers and Honkai Beasts no longer harm humanity... At least we both need to find her and eliminate all those Honkai Beasts, right?"

Ragnar paused for a moment and continued, "And after finding the Herrscher of the Void, I will observe her myself to see if, as you said, there is still hope for her, or..."

Siegfried understood the unspoken words, and just thinking about that possibility made his heart ache.

A Herrscher... Kiana...

"I agree to cooperate," Siegfried said without hesitation. "But we need to find her as soon as possible, or I'm afraid something unexpected might happen."

"You're right, delays are dangerous." Ragnar nodded. "Luo Lin, inform the Belarus branch to send over a few researchers who can operate Honkai energy detectors to help us search for the Herrscher's trace—this time, we'll act together and not split up."

"That's the Herrscher of the Void after all. With her teleportation ability, she can appear and disappear at will. It's easy for her to prey on individuals who are alone..."

"Understood!"

Luo Lin held up her communicator and began to communicate with the Belarus branch. The other Valkyries continued their previous tasks under Ragnar's command, cleaning up the battlefield and assisting the wounded...

But they couldn't help stealing glances at Siegfried from time to time, after all, he was Siegfried Kaslana!

"Your Schicksal's intelligence officers are as good as ever. But I can assure you that there won't be any suspicious individuals around me for a long time."

Siegfried spoke softly, "I'm afraid you only discovered my trace not long ago."

"Yes." Ragnar looked calm. "Because we found abnormal growth of Honkai energy in this area, Master Otto dispatched us to investigate the related incidents. It was only then that we found your trace—discovering you was a pleasant surprise."

"Abnormal growth... When did it start?"

"Six months ago."

Siegfried sighed. If he had noticed the abnormal phenomenon of Honkai energy in the surrounding environment earlier, he might have gone back to ask for help from Einstein and Dr. Tesla of Anti-Entropy, and snuffed out the disaster in its infancy.

Unfortunately, he was just a warrior. Aside from the terrifying power of his Divine Key, he couldn't help much in this regard.

...Perhaps making toast could count?

Siegfried thought with a wry smile, gazing at the purple sky.

Ragnar also looked into the distance, her fingers once again touching the communicator.

Master Otto had sent a message earlier, allowing her to act freely in this situation...

Now, having formed a cooperation agreement with the fugitive Siegfried, what stance should she adopt towards the Herrscher of the Void in the future?

To kill her? Or... to take a gamble on that possibility?

Ragnar hesitated for the first time in a long while.

Master Otto... If you were here, faced with this situation, what choice would you make?