Solution

Once battle began, there were simply too many places where energy had to be spent. Electromagnetic acceleration, electromagnetic strength, and other relatively ordinary abilities might not seem to consume much energy, but if they remained active and were used frequently, the accumulated expenditure would still be considerable.

Then there were polymer blades, armor repair, and the growth of Biological Armor, all of which also required energy support. Lastly came the Negative Energy Blade, an enormous energy drain. Sarah had to reserve enough energy so that, at critical moments, she could activate this ability and cleave through whatever stood in her way.

The Negative Energy Shield worked on the same principle. It had to be activated at critical moments to help Sarah block attacks she could not evade.

Therefore, although Sarah's energy was still relatively abundant for now, she had to use it carefully. As long as she had energy in her body, she would not panic in battle.

However, while activating and deactivating the Negative Energy Shield by the second had pushed Sarah's energy conservation to the limit, it also exposed her weakness.

"Her energy reserves aren't sufficient."

"The Negative Energy Shield consumes too much. Have the front line prepare targeted attacks!"

Blunt-nosed rounds could not stop Sarah's advance. Though her speed had slowed considerably, that was only relative. To the Epoch Clan soldiers, Sarah was still as fast as lightning. Without a combat-assisted targeting system, their naturally evolved vision simply could not catch sight of her.

Taking only slightly longer than before, Sarah dealt with the two K2N9s and several Epoch Clan soldiers blocking her path. She continued searching around, found several high-explosive grenades, and threw them behind her, collapsing the passageway at her back before continuing forward.

Perhaps because searching for grenades had taken some time, Sarah had