Book 9: Chapter 32: Beauty on the Battlefield

Malone and Bakh were the two Apostles who had intercepted Qin Lun earlier. Malone was the giant MT, and Bakh was the assassin who could teleport.

With Lace guiding them from the sky, the handsome youth who was a Reincarnator ultimately failed to escape. First, he was caught up by the assassin Bakh, and then, under the combined assault of three powerful fighters of the same tier, he quickly fell.

During the battle, Malone and Bakh also received the Death Hunting Mission, which made them completely trust Qin Lun’s earlier warning. However, their Main Plotline ended here as well—they could no longer proceed with it. Otherwise, they would become enemies with Qin Lun’s team.

It wasn’t that becoming enemies with Qin Lun mattered much; Malone and Bakh wouldn’t necessarily abandon their Main Plotline just for that. The problem was, there were other hidden Reincarnators on the Allied side. If they had to be wary of their own allies while carrying out missions, it would be completely unbearable.

In fact, this was the biggest difference between the Allied Superhuman organizations and the three major Nazi organizations. The three major Nazi organizations were actually extreme terrorist groups with very few members. Apart from Apostles like Qin Lun who possessed World Tokens, it was very difficult for others to infiltrate them from within.

The Allied Superhuman organizations, on the other hand, represented the major world powers. Both official and civilian organizations, during this time of invasion by the Space-Time Rift in this world, were vigorously recruiting enhancers, making it easy for Apostles and Reincarnators to infiltrate them.

After killing the handsome youth, the three shared the rewards. Since Lace had already completed her Main Plotline, and Malone and Bakh needed Reincarnator kills more, the Elf girl happily took the Bloody Cube and left the kills to the other two.

After tasting success, the three quickly realized that their combination was very effective. They had a control MT, strong damage output, and Lace as a ranged attacker and aerial scout. So Malone suggested that the three continue to cooperate in killing other Reincarnators.

After the outpost battles in Washington, Moscow, and London by the three major Nazi organizations, there was a gap of three to four days. Most Apostles and Reincarnators in this world had gathered in London. In fact, Malone and the others had already made contact with other Apostle teams in the previous two days.

Although they all belonged to Superhuman organizations of the same camp, London was, after all, the capital of the British. With so many Superhumans gathered there, the authorities naturally had to manage them uniformly, and most parties had some contact with each other.

Upon learning this information, Lace was overjoyed and immediately reported it to Qin Lun, who had already anticipated this. Qin Lun instructed them to quickly contact other Apostle teams and share the Death Hunting Mission with the others. The method to distinguish Apostles from Reincarnators was very simple: each side would show their Main Plotline—those who couldn’t produce one were naturally Reincarnators.

In fact, it wasn’t just Malone and Bakh spreading this news; the three other Apostles protecting Brown were also doing so. Among those three, there were no Reincarnators—they had all been released by Grant.

One told two, two told four—Qin Lun estimated that in about half an hour, all Apostles in London would learn of the existence of Reincarnators. Perhaps not all of them would give up their Main Plotline like Malone and the others, but the internal chaos within the Allied camp was already unavoidable.

“Things are going even more smoothly than we imagined!” Qin Lun turned and said to Grant with a smile.

“Should we call Lace back? Hans took the assault team away, and it seems we’re a bit short on manpower!” Grant shrugged and cautiously reminded him.

“Forget it. That girl definitely wouldn’t be happy about it. Staying with us would mean much lower rewards for her; it’s better for her to stick with her current team. Besides, she can fly—if she can’t win, she can still escape. Plus, she can scout the battlefield environment in other areas for us!” Qin Lun said with a laugh.

“Gerthard, where are we going?” Perhaps feeling a bit annoyed by the subtle exchange between Qin Lun and Grant, a bored pretty face emerged from the sand-filled air.

“Heh, Madame Monica, don’t be impatient! Captain Hans and his assault team probably headed for the HELLSING headquarters. If Dracula unleashes his true form, that place will soon attract the attention of most Superhuman organizations.”

A trace of mockery flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. “Because of the Vampire’s notorious reputation, the HELLSING agency was placed in the outer district of North London. So let’s head south along the Thames River, toward the inner city and downtown London. No matter what, there will surely be a group of Superhumans protecting Downing Street—that’s our target too!”

Grant grinned, his expression turning fierce. Qin Lun hadn’t finished his thought: Superhumans like Captain America, who came as foreign support, were unlikely to take orders from the British government. They would definitely rush to North London, where the battle was most intense.

The ones who would actually stay to protect Downing Street would mostly be Apostles carrying out relevant missions, and of course, the Reincarnators hidden among them.

However, by the time Qin Lun and the others arrived, the Apostles and Reincarnators would probably already be fighting, making it convenient for the three to fish in troubled waters. Low risk, high reward—this was the ideal situation they had planned for all along.

“Huh, Gerthard, there’s a squad of Crusaders coming this way up ahead!” Monica’s face appeared in the air as she alerted the two below.

“Oh? Madame, can you take the two of us into the air to avoid them?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow and asked loudly.

“No need to kill them?” Monica asked, somewhat puzzled. As the Queen of Sandstorm, she actually disliked Catholic believers quite a bit—people like her used to be burned as evil Witches.

“We don’t have time to waste on these small fries!” Qin Lun shook his head faintly.

“Alright!” The sandstorm whirlwind in the air formed two large hands, scooping up Qin Lun and Grant respectively and lifting them into the air, concealing their figures with sand.

Once inside the center of the sandstorm, Qin Lun felt a soft cushion of fine sand beneath him. The tiny grains of sand brushed against his face, but it wasn’t as painful as he had imagined—more like a gentle breeze.

“Gerthard, you don’t always have to call me ‘Madame.’ Just ‘Monica’ is fine!” A whisper, soft as a floating thread, suddenly reached the young man’s ear.

Qin Lun turned in surprise, but all he saw was a hazy yellow—as if the words had just been an illusion.

…

“Major Gerthard, Captain Kluge, we’ve arrived!” After a while, the sand whirlwind split open a narrow gap, allowing Qin Lun and the other to see the situation outside.

The temperature in London, now like a fiery hell, had risen significantly compared to usual. The convection of hot and cold air had indirectly increased the speed of the sandstorm whirlwind. By now, the spire of the Westminster Palace clock tower, commonly known as Big Ben, was clearly visible.

Surprisingly, although the whole of London was engulfed in war, there were only scattered burning buildings here. The elite troops defending London were doing their utmost to keep the Vatican’s Crusaders at bay around Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. Fierce gun battles broke out along the edges where the two armies clashed, and the fighting was brutal on both sides.

“Qin Lun, the situation below doesn’t seem to match what you said. Could it be that the intel about the Reincarnators’ invasion hasn’t reached here yet?” Grant looked down, somewhat puzzled.

“No, it’s already begun. You just haven’t seen the undercurrents below the surface.” The Yin-Yang Fish Pattern in Qin Lun’s left eye slowly rotated. In his Perception field of view, those small teams fighting each other in the shadows of streets and alleys were impossible to hide.

“However, one thing is indeed different from what I said. It seems the Reincarnators have also formed some kind of alliance in the two days before the battle. I’ve already spotted no fewer than two battle groups with more than five members each.” Qin Lun’s eyes flickered as he spoke. “Grant, should we hunt separately as we discussed earlier, or stick together?”

“Of course, we’ll each rely on our own skills. Not only are you faster than me, but now you also have a lover helping you. I’d rather take some risks and hunt alone; otherwise, I won’t even get a sip of soup!” Grant glanced discontentedly at the sand whirlwind beneath him and muttered, “This guy doesn’t even look that handsome. How does he have a Queen throwing herself at him? Is this what they call a pretty-boy vibe?”

If the Joker wore his mask, his transformed attributes would actually make him faster than Qin Lun. But now, with enemies all around, he didn’t dare use his mask skills lightly and had to save them as a trump card for when he faced powerful foes.

“Then take care. These Reincarnators are all elites—don’t end up capsizing in a ditch!” Qin Lun put on a stern face, rolled his eyes, and said softly, “Monica, let us down now!”

“A pair of dogs!” Grant curled his lip and grumbled inwardly, then impatiently jumped down from the sand whirlwind. After all, it was only a few dozen meters to the ground, and with his Constitution, he wasn’t afraid of getting hurt.

…

Qin Lun and Monica stood side by side on the spire of Big Ben, overlooking the battles below. The young man’s eyes shimmered with silver light as he searched for a suitable target. But Madame Monica’s face carried a strange blush, and her expression was somewhat dazed, as if she wasn’t concerned about the upcoming fight at all.

“Gerthard, have you found a target yet?” Gazing at the young man’s slender profile, the Queen of Sandstorm felt her heart soften with tenderness.

During World War II, she was betrayed by Dr. Keller and imprisoned in a water tank by the Allies. Even when she was hunted worldwide by the Catholic Church in the 19th century, she had never been in such a dire situation.

At the time, although she knew there were still companions outside, they were outnumbered. She didn’t really hold much hope of being rescued and thought she would be secretly imprisoned by the Allies indefinitely, treated like a lab rat.

Being rescued by Qin Lun under such circumstances, one could imagine Monica’s complex feelings. Afterward, secretly paying attention to Qin Lun, the Queen of Sandstorm was quickly drawn to the young man’s strategies and decisiveness. The long-closed windows of her heart slowly opened a crack.

But after Qin Lun returned to his country, he soon lost contact. This greatly disappointed the Queen of Sandstorm, who had begun to harbor unusual feelings for him, and she regretted her hesitation deeply. It was for these very reasons that, decades later, as soon as she received Qin Lun’s message, she cast aside all restraint, actively came to assist in the battle, and repeatedly hinted at the young man.

Qin Lun turned back with a smile, gazing at the blushing Queen of Sandstorm. Suddenly, he reached out his right arm, wrapped it around her slender waist, pulled her into his embrace, and lowered his head to gently kiss the noblewoman’s red lips.

A trace of surprise flashed in the Queen of Sandstorm’s eyes. After her body stiffened slightly for a moment, she soon responded with fervor. The flames of war reflected a red glow in the sky behind them.