A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

Unlike Fengling, who was still thinking up some feasible dirty tricks,

this infiltration squad specially assembled to deal with FrostNova felt that things were looking rather bad now that they faced Fengling.

"The intelligence was wrong. The one we encountered behind Reunion Movement lines isn't that 'FrostNova.'"

And unfortunately, their equipment seemed to be somewhat countered by Fengling.

"What the hell is going on with that Vulpo girl's Storm?! There wasn't a single piece of intelligence mentioning that Reunion Movement had someone like her!"

Even through their heavy fireproof armor, their muffled voices were full of shock.

But since they had run into her, there was no reason not to fight.

Being countered did not matter. They had multiple flamethrowers, while their opponent was alone.

So what if she could disperse flames with a storm? How long could she keep using her Originium Arts?

For human strength to rival machinery was nothing but wishful thinking.

Several jets of flame shot toward Fengling.

"Eek! Don't let that thing burn my tail!"

The common weakness of being furry and vulnerable to fire still applied to Fengling.

Especially since Fengling liked keeping her tail glossy and well-oiled.

It was all kindling!

Fengling, who had just gotten a slight flash of inspiration, hurriedly flipped and leaped away, using the wind to evade the flames.

In any case, fight first and talk later!

As for the building beside them, there was basically no hope of preserving it.

But this was not the time to care about that.

Compared to these heavily armored units, Fengling's agility was something they could not match.

"Let's test it with one strike!"

She condensed an Air Blade into the form of a highly compressed spear!

Circling behind them, Fengling thrust the weapon in her hand at one of the heavily armored enemies.

The Air Blade sliced through the fireproof layer, but could not inflict enough damage on the metal layer beneath it.

Fengling forced herself to maintain the Air Blade, but ultimately could not pierce the thick metal layer and had no choice but to disperse it.

The body of her War Club slammed into the heavy armor. Borrowing the force of the impact, Fengling quickly widened the distance again.

"Phew... As expected, this won't work."

Fengling simply put away her weapon.

This weapon was more suited for Fengling to efficiently slaughter large numbers of ordinary enemies.

But against something that required a can opener...

Her fists worked better!

Yet in the eyes of the enemies opposite her, that only made her actions incomprehensible.

What was she doing?

What happened the next moment, however, made them shudder from the bottom of their hearts.

"Boom!"

After the explosive crack, one of the heavy infantrymen saw the pretty face of that rather adorable Vulpo girl rapidly fill his vision.

Then—

There came a thunderous crash.

In stark contrast to her cuteness...

the heavy infantryman felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, as though he had been struck by some enormous blunt weapon.

This was not a drill, so Fengling did not hold back at all.

That heavy punch carried one hundred percent of her full strength!

The heavy infantryman was sent flying, then slammed viciously into the ground!

A huge section of his thick armor had caved in around the abdomen.

"Th-this is heavy armor developed by the Ursus military! What kind of monster is this fox girl?!"

That terrifying punch made them forget to retaliate for a moment.

"Ah... My hand hurts a little... This thing is much harder than Cardigan's shield..."

And its total mass was far greater than Cardigan's.

"Hmm... Did I get a little stronger again? Rhodes Island's food really does raise people well..."

Having done all that, Fengling grumbled inwardly as she shook her aching hand. Then she gave them a dangerous smile and clenched her fist again.

The heavily armored soldier who had taken the direct punch finally managed to struggle to his feet.

Anyone capable of fighting in heavy armor was usually no weakling. Their bodies had to be extraordinarily strong just to bear the burden.

"That punch... If it weren't for the protection, I'd probably be dead already..."

But even though he had blocked the punch, he was not in good shape.

An impact that violent would likely have ruptured an ordinary person's internal organs.

So even though he was not dead, everything inside him had long since been tossed into chaos.

The heavily armored soldiers synchronized their movements once more and launched another round of attacks against Fengling.

At present, Fengling was essentially responsible for dealing with these heavily armored enemies, while the scattered enemies without heavy protection were being handled by the Reunion Movement members lying in ambush.

Fengling did not dare keep throwing full-strength punches. After all, however much force she put into a punch was force she had to endure herself.

It was fine to loosen up with one as an opening greeting, but if she kept throwing heavy punches, even Fengling's body would not be able to hold up for long.

And punching heavy armor with her fists really hurt!

As Fengling gradually adapted to the rhythm of battle, she began displaying her combat specialty even on the battlefield.

Keenly seizing on the heavily armored enemies' slow movements, Fengling began targeting the vulnerable joints in their defenses.

No matter what kind of armor it was, room had to be left around the joints for movement. Otherwise, it would not be armor, but a walking Metal Coffin.

With her stamina still abundant, Fengling coordinated with her Originium Arts and began reducing the combat effectiveness of the heavily armored enemies.

Disable their elbows, and they could no longer use their flamethrowers.

Disable their knees, and they could no longer move.

But this fighting style was exhausting and could not be sustained for long.

Then, at a moment when Fengling's attack was slightly mistimed,

several flamethrowers swept toward her position.

This time, no storm rose.

"She's out of strength! Seize the chance and attack! Burn her to death!"

A heavily armored enemy standing in the center of the formation gave the order.

And as though showing off his rank, his flamethrower sprayed farther than the others' and was even more powerful.

Feeling his weapon respond so well to his expectations, he could not help feeling delighted.

"Burn her! Burn her to death!"

Though he knew full well that the attack had not actually hit and that the Vulpo girl had already dodged it, morale was an important part of battle.

After being suppressed by that Vulpo girl for so long, they needed a way to vent their emotions before continuing the fight.

And the flamethrowers made by the Ursus military were sturdy and reliable, more than capable of enduring such abuse.

Under normal circumstances, at least.

"Ha! Hahahaha!"

The heavily armored enemy who had just given the command laughed wildly, continuously pursuing Fengling with the flamethrower in his hand without pause.

A faintly wicked smile gradually appeared on Fengling's face, as though her plan had succeeded.

"Mm! That should be about enough... Ah, hot, hot, hot! My tail got singed!!"

Fengling's speed suddenly increased by a huge margin.

Well... a Vulpo lady's potential was quite remarkable... Under such circumstances, she erupted with speed far beyond anything she had shown before.

Almost instantly, after pulling away some distance, Fengling hurriedly pressed out the flames on her tail.

"Thank goodness... It only got singed a little..."

But the enemy would not let such an opportunity slip away. Even after she had opened the distance, they pressed forward step by step.

The flames closed in on Fengling once more.

Fengling, whose tail now bore slight scorch marks from the flames, indignantly raised her hand toward them.

Then clenched it hard.

The heavily armored enemy who had just given the command instantly exploded, blown into fragments.

By the fuel tank on his back.

Although shouting strange battle cries sometimes did grant people a few buffs,

those buffs could never inexplicably affect the purely mechanical equipment in their hands.

The sudden increase in power from the flamethrower held by that commanding heavy infantryman had naturally not been normal.

Thanks to the fact that all the enemies Fengling faced wore heavy armor, they generally could not make sudden, large movements.

That also made it easier for Fengling to tamper with them in secret.

Within an extremely small area, she heavily compressed the air.

And that location was precisely the nozzle of the unlucky man's flamethrower.

Highly concentrated air, especially the hydrogen and oxygen within it, intensified combustion and concentrated the energy density.

Put simply, Fengling had made that flamethrower run beyond its limits.

As a result, the mouth of the flamethrower began to melt and collapse, its tightly fitted structure becoming battered and ruined.

Once that step was complete, it became much easier for Fengling to sabotage it.

Her failure to open enough distance earlier, and even her not using Storm for defense, had naturally been because Fengling was carrying out delicate manipulations and had no focus to spare.

After loosening the flamethrower's structure, Fengling carefully forced air backward through its nozzle and kept control over that airflow for a long time.

By the time the enemy sprayed fuel, Fengling had displaced a sufficient amount.

After that, it was simple.

Fengling only needed one instantaneous burst.

She compressed the portion of air under her control inside it, then compressed it further.

Highly compressed air could produce sparks—Fengling only needed that instant.

Fire, fuel, and oxidizing gas, all inside an enclosed space.

There was no need to explain the rest.

And at such close range, struck by an explosion like that,

even the unlucky man's body was completely blown to pieces.