"Lady Judah, there are stray Deadwalkers on the tracks ahead. They might obstruct our passage," the train driver's voice came from the locomotive. Theresa looked up, then glanced at Bianka.
"It's just a few Deadwalkers. Rita, Bianka, I'll leave them to you for some practice."
"Yes, ma'am!" Bianka immediately sprang up from her seat. The milk in her cup sloshed violently but miraculously didn't spill.
"Understood, Lady Theresa." Rita, on the other hand, stood up unhurriedly and placed her milk on the small table. "We'll be right back."
With that, Rita picked up two Honkai Energy spears and walked toward the door with a smile.
Bianka hesitated for a moment, then tilted her head back and downed her milk in one gulp before leaping out of the stopped train's door after Rita.
After the two of them left the car, Theresa poked her head out to take a look. After confirming the enemies were only a few of the lowest-level zombie Deadwalkers, she pulled her head back in.
As she turned, her eyes fell on the glass of milk Rita had left on the table.
They say you can't feel heat just by looking, but Theresa didn't believe it.
On a whim, Theresa reached out and picked up the glass, carefully feeling its temperature before sighing in relief.
It really is different...
Realizing what she was doing, Theresa's face suddenly flushed red. She quickly put the glass down, carefully placing it back in its original spot.
Outside, Bianka took a Honkai Energy spear from Rita's hand and assumed a ready stance against the handful of zombie Deadwalkers.
Although they were only the lowest-grade Deadwalkers according to the records, and the MOTHs' notes indicated an adult could easily defeat them, this was still Bianka's first real battle. She had to take it seriously.
"Seventeen in total... Rita, you take the eight on the left side of the tracks. I'll handle the nine on the right," Bianka said, even going as far as to seriously divide their battlefield. Rita smiled and agreed.
"Of course, Lady Durandal." As she spoke, Rita casually twirled the spear in her hand.
It feels a bit awkward to spin... Perhaps other weapons would suit me better?
Rita thought to herself, but Bianka had already let out a low shout and charged forward.
"Here I go!"
The foremost zombie heard the noise and turned its head toward the sound.
It was a slow movement that would never be completed. The spear whipped out like a lash, slamming into the zombie's head. The immense force instantly shattered its skull, sending fragments mixed with viscous fluids scattering everywhere.
The culprit behind this carnage didn't stop to admire the nauseating fireworks but instead charged past it, rushing toward the remaining zombies.
In the blink of an eye, three zombies had been violently dispatched. After finishing one, Bianka would unhesitatingly charge toward the next, her movements fluid and without a single wasted motion.
By now, the remaining zombies had finally noticed that something had invaded their ranks. They began to let out dry, raspy roars, preparing to counterattack.
But another spear rested on the neck of a zombie about to charge. It turned its head sluggishly, only to see a smiling maid.
"Pardon me, but your opponent is me."
With a light flick of the spear's edge, the zombie's head went flying. It fell to the ground with the same puzzled expression, rolling a few times before it could see its own fallen body and the maid stepping over it toward the next zombie.
It was the same one-hit kill, the same lack of hesitation, but the two sides of the track presented two completely different spectacles.
Bianka's fight was filled with a brutal beauty, her extreme speed and immense power delivering a direct visual impact.
Rita's side, in contrast, wasn't particularly fast, nor did she use much force, yet there was a mesmerizing, fluid grace to her movements.
The speed on both sides was surprisingly similar. In fact, Rita, who had started later, finished off all her opponents even faster than Bianka.
The last zombie fell at her feet. Rita made a wide, sweeping motion to flick the blood from her spear.
Zombies are different from people... When dealing with people, there's no need to take off the whole head. A light touch of the spear's tip to the throat is all it takes...
It seems I'll have to get used to this feeling... but a spear isn't really suited for this kind of work... How about a zhanmadao or a long-bladed saber?
Or... a scythe?
I'll have to try more things...
Rita watched Bianka take down the last zombie, then leaned her spear against her body and applauded.
"A magnificent battle, Lady Durandal," Rita praised.
Bianka's combat process was truly breathtaking. If Rita was an elegant assassin in the dark, a reaper who could make hundreds feel unsafe, then Bianka gave her the impression of an army of one.
As long as she had a weapon in her hand... no, perhaps she didn't even need a weapon.
Just by standing there, Bianka exuded a feeling that a thousand men could not overcome. This kind of inner oppressive aura, Rita had only ever seen it in one other person...
And that was three months ago, during that world-shaking live broadcast—the figure of Shu.
Bianka put away her spear. Compared to Rita's spotless appearance, Bianka's ferocious fighting style had inevitably left her stained with some of the zombies' filth.
She looked at her own "disheveled" state, then at Rita's clean and tidy appearance, and how Rita looked as if she had been waiting for her for a long time... A sense of admiration welled up within her.
Not only was she more relaxed than me, but she was also much more efficient!
"Rita, you're amazing," Bianka praised sincerely. "Of course, the reason you won't spar with me is because you're afraid of hurting me, right?"
Rita, who had been about to politely deflect the compliment: "?"
"Don't worry, I can definitely take it!" Bianka declared confidently. Rita could only maintain her smile, her mind racing to formulate a refusal.
"Lady Bianka, perhaps we should return to the train first," Rita suggested with a smile. She hadn't noticed that she had unconsciously switched back to a different form of address.
Bianka didn't notice either.
"You're right. This isn't a good time for sparring," Bianka nodded seriously. "Then let's spar after we get back from the front line."
Rita nodded, already calculating in her head.
After we get back from the front line... just how much will Bianka have grown by then?
Recalling Bianka's terrifying rate of improvement over the past few days, Rita suddenly felt that sparring right here and now might actually be a good choice.
Who knew if, after returning from the front, Bianka would have evolved into a powerhouse on par with Lady Theresa or Lady Kallen?