Arknights: The Cycle of Light and Darkness

"Alright then, I'll stay, you go." Platinum made the decision with barely a moment's hesitation. "My identity is still Platinum of Kazimierz, after all. Even if they really want to kill me, they'll have to weigh the diplomatic impact, you hurry up and find Revy!"

"Silly girl, do you really think they'll care about that?" Qingjin gave a bitter smile, then shot an arrow over her shoulder. The arrow flew in a strange arc through the air, then struck a pursuer hidden behind a rock : "No matter which of us is caught, the outcome is the same... only the one who runs will have a sliver of hope."

"Then..."

"I'll stay." Qingjin interrupted Platinum without explanation : "Listen to me—I'm already Infected. I wasn't planning on living much longer anyway, so dying here is just a matter of sooner or later."

"I won't—"

"Listen to me!" Seeing Platinum's defiance, Qingjin's voice grew urgent : "I'm already at my limit. My infected area is somewhat special; given more time, my skills will slowly fade, and I'll become a useless person—it's better for me to die gloriously here, while you can live on and avenge me!"

Platinum's grip on her bow tightened.

"...No, I want to fight to the death and ensure both of us escape."

With a swift motion, Platinum drew three arrows from the quiver on her back and nocked them onto the bowstring. Her eyes suddenly turned an eerie golden.

"—Don't underestimate me, and don't underestimate the power of Pegasus Vision!"

Releasing her fingers, the arrows flew from the bow. Three arrows, six lives, with bizarre flight speeds and distances, pinning six opponents to the ground at incredible angles.

"Platinum, you—" Qingjin's eyes widened in surprise, but the next second she reacted immediately, drawing an arrow and shooting a black-clad assailant who had crept close : "Peak-level Pegasus Vision... you actually..."

"No time for nonsense, charge out!"

At Platinum's command, the snow-clad Kuranta girl, as if possessed by Sagittarius, fired arrows that never missed, instantly felling dozens of enemies before her. Qingjin followed behind her, dispatching any approaching foes with pinpoint shots.

"—Hah! Two little girls, quite capable fighters!"

Just as the two were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a voice made their spirits tense up again.

"But it's useless!—If His Highness wants you dead, you won't live!"

Accompanying the voice was a signal, a signal of something rapidly approaching.

"No good—watch out!"

Seeing Platinum still in her Pegasus Vision state, Qingjin grew anxious.

Pegasus Vision, in essence, is an ability that enhances dynamic vision. With it, the user can see targets several kilometers away and even perceive bullets flying mere meters away. When combined with specially made bowstrings, it forms the famous long-range combat style of successive generations of Platinum, granting a huge advantage in both assassination and direct combat.

However, Pegasus Vision has a weakness... mobility. When Pegasus Vision is activated, the user needs to significantly compress other physical functions to maintain stable long-term use. Consequently, during its use, Pegasus Vision cannot perform agile evasive maneuvers as usual, which is also the main reason this technique is difficult to be a versatile military skill.

At this moment, Platinum no longer had time to exit Pegasus Vision and then perform battlefield assessment and tactical evasion.

So, Qingjin slammed into her.

Then, the next second, the Kuranta girl with emerald hair felt as if she had been struck by a cannonball, sending her flying.

"Ugh!... Wh-what happened?"

Platinum, forced out of Pegasus Vision by the collision, climbed up from the ground. Having fallen from a height due to the impact, her hips and back were bruised, and she now felt a searing pain.

Then, her eyes suddenly changed, widened, and her pupils constricted.

"—Qingjin!!"

— — — — Divider — — — —

Looking at Ao Jue, who had completely dropped his pretense, Revy scoffed. "Extreme Heaven" and "Purgatory" were in his hands at some unknown point.

"—Kill him, no need to leave a complete corpse." The Great Yan First Prince coldly issued the kill order, and with the activation of the order, dozens of figures instantly lunged at Revy.

Ao Jue was confident. These dozens of men were the most elite of his personal guards; even compared to his uncle's Black Cloaks, or his father's Imperial Guard and Dragon Guards, they were no less formidable. If scaled up, perhaps even the legendary "Night Reapers" would not be a match for his personal guards.

To use them to kill a Calamity Messenger with some skill was indeed a bit of an overkill, Ao Jue sighed, as if feeling he had given Reguluss Harvey far more importance than necessary.

However, soon, he would no longer have to worry about this.

—Because Revy suddenly vanished.

More precisely, he vanished from the sight of everyone present.

But accompanying Revy's disappearance was an endless hail of bullets. Without warning, without pattern, seemingly fired from unknown nooks and crannies, they were Originium Arts transformed into magical bullets. Despite Ao Jue's personal guards wearing the highest level of arts-resistant armor, their bodies were easily pierced by these attacks that resembled energy beams.

"Dragon Claws! He's moving at high speed! Saturation attack, area coverage!" Ao Jue clenched his fist. The subordinates who had died within a few breaths already numbered over ten. Considering the money and effort spent cultivating these individuals, he felt a pang of heartache. The Great Yan First Prince gritted his teeth, watching the person who constantly appeared and disappeared on the field, reaping the souls of his subordinates.

This ultimate culprit, Reguluss Harvey—he

must die!