Chapter 161
"Second-Generation Agent squad! Await my orders!"
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"Let's go!!"
Anilas was the first to leap from the roof of the car. The moment her toes touched the ground, a flash of red light streaked past. Silver light burst beneath Anilas. She bent her knees, jumped, and just as the red beam of light descended, Anilas fired a shot. At the same time, she leaped high into the air like a hare, bypassing the beam and rapidly approaching the direction where the Angel was.
With Anilas's departure, all eight remaining "Second Generation" agents who were still able to act followed suit.
The convoy could not get too close to the area where the Angel and agents were fighting, so it stopped at the rear, with Canary and other First-Generation Agent from Xijing City as the main fighting force to clear away the Erosion Entity that had been attracted to Efnir, Anilas, and the others.
Anilas at the Angel's blood-red figure, while the sound of cannons boomed behind her.
"Operational objective: Defeat the enemy codenamed 'Angel'!!"
"Battle begins!"
Meanwhile, Efnir and the Angel have already engaged in combat.
A deafening roar tore through the rain as the spear, like a shooting star, pierced straight towards the masked girl suspended in mid-air—codenamed "Angel."
The crimson light collided with the spear blade, and the halo spread out silently.
The rain evaporated and vaporized in the dazzling spots of light, and in the next instant, a fierce wind swept in, followed by a deafening explosion.
The scorching wind and waves rolled and surged outwards, the shockwaves instantly sweeping away the drizzle in the air.
Efnir sheathed her spear and looked up at the Angel who gazed down upon the earth.
The Angel that appeared this time was clearly not Qinglan.
Even with the mask on, Efnir could still discern the difference from the changes in the Angel's figure and hair color. Just as the power used by the Angel was somewhat different from that of Qinglan, the beam of light condensed by the Angel this time flashed with a dazzling blood-red light. Although both were manifestations of Corruption Energy, the power displayed in the hands of the Angel before her and in the hands of Qinglan was completely different.
But...
Looking at the Angel's profile peeking out from under the mask, and the strands of hair fluttering in the rain, the overly coincidental familiarity of that figure gave Efnir a very bad feeling.
"Flying Swallow -senpai!!"
Efnir called out to the Angel, but unsurprisingly, the Angel did not respond, only mechanically raising its hand. In the vision of her right eye, Efnir saw "dust" gradually gathering and surging in the Angel's palm, and a blood-red light rising like boiling water.
The next instant, a blinding crimson beam of light enveloped the location where Efnir stood, scorching the surrounding ground into glass crystals.
The scorching flames turned the grass yellow and curled up, leaving flames on the charred earth, where all the rainwater had long since evaporated.
There was no sign of Efnir either—she had jumped ahead to avoid it and wasn't affected in the slightest. For Efnir, whose right eye could see the movement of "dust," dodging such an attack was a piece of cake.
What she cared about more was her identity as Angel.
Clearly, the Angel had no intention of communicating with Efnir.
Whether the Angel's true identity is Flying Swallow, who disappeared along with Qinglan, as Efnir suspected, or whether there is an answer to this question, is not important.
Just like Qinglan back then, the Angel will only repeatedly attack the humans in front of them.
Since communication is impossible, things become simpler.
Her right eye gleamed with a ghostly, deep purple light. The spear reappeared in Efnir's hand. She abruptly stopped, and the next second, she charged towards the Angel.
In that instant, Efnir suddenly kicked back sharply, stopping herself abruptly. At the same time, a dazzling beam of light passed right in front of her, almost touching the tip of Efnir nose.
In Efnir's sight, another figure slowly rose into the air.
She squinted, tilted her head back, and stared intently at the other Angel who had appeared there.
"Qinglan..."
At the same time, Efnir keenly noticed specks of dust hidden deep within the thick fog.
The enemy... is probably many.
18. Fall into
Meanwhile, the Beyond-the-Boundary Investigation Corps, tasked with the Maesakagawa Recapture Operation also involved.
Undeniably, even with her utmost caution, Kusei Maki was still caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the Angel.
The troops suffered casualties far exceeding expectations.
Before truly witnessing Angel, no one had a real sense of Angel power, and the same was true for Kusei Maki. But even so, she was not intimidated by the powerful force displayed by the Angel.
"Sir, our losses have exceeded 40%... The Left Wing unit has completely lost its operational function, and the unit's combat capability has been severely damaged. One of our agents is seriously wounded and is currently receiving emergency treatment..."
"I see."
Kusei Maki stared at the screen, intently watching the blurry figure captured on camera.
"Codename Angel..."
She beckoned to her adjutant, but just then, a sudden explosion echoed through the air, and a violent tremor shook the entire command room. The lights flickered, alarms blared, and sparks and dim red lights flashed alternately. Before anyone could recover from the sudden change, the command room was violently shaken, the floor bulged, and it tilted to one side.
Large quantities of electronic instruments, papers, and weapons were thrown against the walls by the shockwave, like sand being sifted through. Kusei Maki clung tightly to the edge of a nearby table to steady herself.
"What's going on!?"
The command room was in complete chaos, and no one could answer her questions properly.
She glanced around coldly, then gripped the edge with both hands, her well-trained arm strength allowing her to easily lift her own weight.
She staggered for a moment, then ran towards the front door.
The lock opened, but she shook it forcefully a few times, only managing to loosen the door slightly—the door frame warped under the immense pressure and sealed shut.
Kusei Maki frowned, leaned down, pressed herself against the window, and looked outside.
The view outside the window made her frown deeply—the vanguard troops had already set off towering fireworks.
The enemy's face was obscured, but the familiar, dazzling light could be vaguely discerned.
Its code name is "Apostle".
The enemy of the Human Federation, her enemy.
Although the number is unknown, it doesn't seem like much; otherwise, the previous sneak attack couldn't have only achieved this much.
Kusei Maki narrowed her eyes slightly.
--Efnir and the agents led by Anilas had just left the army.
As if they already knew that Kusei Maki would inevitably transfer both of her two most powerful combat forces away from the army to suppress the Angel, the Apostle chose this moment to launch an attack on the convoy—proving that they had already set up an ambush, hiding deep in the thick fog, waiting for their prey to arrive.
Clearly, compared to the Angel's almost war of attrition-like offensive, the Apostle' attacks, capable of penetrating the "Shielding Device," were far more ferocious.
But just as Angel cannot easily penetrate "Shielding Device" to cause widespread damage to troops, the army's artillery fire is also ineffective against Angel.
But now, the situation is different.
Because the power of the Apostle is not affected or limited by the "Shielding Device," the vanguard suffered casualties due to the Apostle's sneak attack.
However, the Apostle are not immune to gunfire either.
The most troublesome are probably the Erosion Entity summoned by the Apostle using "Crystal," but... there are other agents here.
"Sir..."
The adjutant appeared staggering behind her, Kusei Maki glanced at her.
"The wounded are now in your care."
Kusei Maki stared at the flames rising in the distance, snorted coldly, kicked open the deformed and locked door, and jumped out of the car.
Raising his hand, Kusei Maki fired a signal flare, then casually tossed aside the flare gun and picked up an assault rifle from the corpse of a soldier at his feet.
"All personnel on alert! Launch a counterattack!!"
The battle's artillery fire came suddenly.
Initially, the vanguard's main firing positions were suddenly bombarded by a powerful force. Several consecutive bombardments wiped out the main force of the vanguard. The "train" was also attacked at the same time, but fortunately, the "carriages" were very sturdy and were not immediately destroyed by the attack.
Immediately following, several Erosion Entity suddenly descended from the sky, while others appeared out of thin air from the center of the array—this was not difficult for the Apostle possessed the strange energy crystallization product of "Crystal."
Clearly, the troops were attacked by the Apostle.
Signal flares rose behind the troops, Kusei Maki's battle orders were issued a step late, but this was just a meaningless call to the vanguard troops who had already entered the battle.
Led by Canary, the remaining agents had already entered the battle against the Erosion Entity.
However, apart from the seriously injured Jasmine, only four agents remained with combat capabilities. Their Defense Line were exceptionally weak in the face of the powerful, suddenly appearing, and rampant Erosion Entity.
The armored vehicles slowly retreated, ignoring the pursuing Erosion Entity and igniting their artillery fire towards the distant direction from which the attack was coming. This was almost a battle of mutual destruction.
The earth was hurled and tossed about by the artillery fire, wheels crushed stones, flames ignited in the rain, and the air was filled with pungent smoke and the smell of blood.
A silver light shimmered before the battle lines.
With one slash, she parried the giant claw of the Erosion Entity, then raised her slash from below. The Erosion Entity roared shrilly as its menacing claw slammed down. Taking advantage of the momentum, Canary leaped up, flipped over, and dodged the attack coming from behind.
The blade rotates, held in the hand in the shape of a mantis's giant scythe.
"Go to hell!"
Canary shouted loudly, silver light surging beneath her feet. She fell from mid-air like lightning, slashing out with both swords at the same time, leaving countless sword marks on the massive body of the Erosion Entity.
However, the Erosion Entity was not solved as a result.
The Erosion Entity in the Beyond the Boundary region are far more ferocious and powerful than those in the city, a disparity that prevents Canary from eliminating them in a single strike.
The Erosion Entity, dragging its mangled limbs, roared as it lunged at Canary, ready to bite her.
But a dazzling arrow suddenly entered its field of vision.
The turquoise water flashed and disappeared in an instant, and the massive body of the Erosion Entity finally disintegrated, turning into starlight that swirled in the wind.
Ayse dealt with one of the Erosion Entity behind her and then approached Canary.
"Canary! Are you alright!?"
"I'm fine."
Canary was slightly out of breath. She raised her eyes and saw Yukina's figure appear at the end of her line of sight, nodding to her as if to say, "Watch out behind you."
Yukina is getting more and more powerful. Even Canary has to admit that if they were to fight in a situation where she has a distance advantage, she would have a hard time gaining the upper hand under Yukina's arrows.
However, the current situation cannot be resolved by just one or two capable agents.
Canary turned her gaze toward the direction of the troops.
The Erosion Entity had breached the agent's Defense Line, and the vanguard was almost instantly swallowed up by the dark torrent; the artillery fire had long since burned out.
The Erosion Entity that appeared were all of grade B and C, and there were many of them. This was a heavy burden for Canary. Even when she and Ayse fought together, they were simply unable to intercept that many Erosion Entity.
But they simply couldn't do more.
The Apostle launched their attack from somewhere behind the thick fog, and the troops retaliated with a barrage of artillery fire. The bombardment was very effective, and the offensive from behind the fog immediately weakened.
However, the emergence of Erosion Entity has become a major problem.
Canary and the others could only do their best to stop the rampaging of the Erosion Entity, but the Erosion Entity was overwhelming, and they simply couldn't stop them.
Raindrops dripped from the tips of her hair. Canary looked at the scene before her and clenched her fists tightly.
"Ayse, the vanguard has fallen. We must retreat."
Before the arrival of Efnir, Anilas, and others.
19. Go all out
At the same time, Anilas and the others, who were approaching Efnir's location, also heard the roar of artillery fire coming from behind and into the distance.
"The troops have been attacked!"