Chapter 163
The crimson beam stirred the air, shooting straight towards Anilas. Anilas gripped her weapon tightly, let out a soft groan, and rolled to the ground. The red beam sliced across the ground like a paper cutter, scorching the ground where Anilas stood with black marks.
At that moment, the sky exploded once more, followed by a blinding white light and then a crimson beam piercing the heavens from the Crimson Angel.
Efnir gripped her spear tightly, using its swing to adjust her center of gravity and spin her body, narrowly dodging the red light.
Anilas watched this scene, her heart tightening slightly.
--Efnir is probably no longer able to generate Stairway.
An agent can only generate a limited number of Stairway in a short period of time. This limit varies depending on aptitude, training, and experience, and also fluctuates depending on the agent's combat condition. Efnir is the agent Anilas has seen with the highest limit of Stairway manipulation in a short period of time, but even so, she cannot sustain aerial combat for an extended period.
When you can't find a foothold in the air, you're easily targeted and unable to escape.
We must now protect Efnir.
Anilas exhaled softly, half-squatted down, held her breath, and raised the gun towards the Angel, using her arm as a support.
"A fatal blow!"
A gunshot rang out--
Gunshots and dazzling silver flashes instantly swept away the rain within a few meters, bullets turning into thin silver streaks that pierced the sky.
Angel Qinglan raised her hand, but the bullet pierced through her beam.
Blood mist bloomed like spider lilies on the palm and shoulder of the Angel Qinglan, instantly staining her snow-white sleeves red. Large patches of flesh and broken bones were exposed on her shoulders, which drooped limply as if their threads had been broken.
"Was it forcibly shifted...?"
Anilas in resentment.
That attack was aimed at the Angel Qinglan's head, but it strangely veered off course after passing through the white light.
At the same time, Angel Qinglan raised her other hand again, gathering white light, and the Crimson Angel once again floated into the air.
Miss Efnir!
Anilas tried to remind Efnir.
But she saw Efnir raise her palm in mid-air.
The silver spear vanished as stardust, and under Anilas's stunned gaze, Efnir was enveloped in a snow-white light.
Efnir tilted her chin up to the sky, her fingertips tracing a path, and pure white flowers bloomed on her milky neck before gathering around her neck. A holy white light spread and permeated Efnir's body, and a snow-white robe, like that of a priestess, replaced her gorgeous dress.
Her hair flew wildly, and dark purple arcs of electricity shot out from her right eye, dancing in her hair and on her body.
In an instant, an immense, unprecedented pressure suddenly poured down from the sky like a tidal wave, engulfing Anilas.
It felt like a huge rock was pressing on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Anilas stared wide-eyed at Efnir's figure, even the light in the Angel's hand was overshadowed by the dazzling white light.
The next second, white light and crimson flames simultaneously pierced towards Efnir.
But it didn't work out.
The instant the sonic boom erupted, a streak of holy white light flashed, and Efnir's figure was almost above the head of the Angel Qinglan in a flash.
She flipped to the side, her heels slamming down like an inverted crescent moon.
A thick layer of clouds pierced the sky, followed by a muffled, deafening explosion on the ground.
The ground trembled violently.
A fierce wind and shockwave swept in, scattering rocks like knives. Anilas only had time to cover her face with her hands as the wet and scorching sandstorm robbed her of everything in sight. Anilas shouted sharply and steadied herself as she passed through the storm.
A crimson shadow swept across the sky. Before Anilas could see it clearly, the dilapidated iron tower in the distance suddenly trembled, then pulled and snapped countless cables, collapsing amidst a piercing hum and dust.
Pure white light condensed into several long spears of flame, which closely pursued the Crimson Angel.
Like the roar of cannons.
At the same time, an even more dazzling flame rose from beneath the feet of the Angel Qinglan, binding Qinglan tightly like heavy shackles, rendering Qinglan unable to move an inch.
[I've recently caught up on the update schedule, so I'll consider this chapter as an extra update. So, 19 - 1 = 18, meaning I still have 18 chapters to catch up on~]
21. Counterattack
Beyond-the-Boundary Investigation Corps--
The intense bombardment and beam clashes lasted only a moment.
"The enemy's attack has disappeared!"
The attack, hidden behind the thick white fog, disappeared from the soldiers' sight immediately after the troops organized a counterattack and bombardment. It was obvious that the Apostle, who had gained the upper hand, did not intend to engage the troops, who were fully equipped with artillery and automatic weapons, in a head-on confrontation.
Kusei Maki fired the last bullet from the magazine, and only when the tracer disappeared from sight did she lower the gun.
"Those guys are so annoying..."
Due to the effects of the White Hole Erosion, the soldiers were unable to detect enemy movements beyond their field of vision, which was obscured by the dense fog, but the Apostle seemed to have some way of avoiding this situation.
In a battle between two armies, such a disparity can be fatal.
The troops in Xijing City are in a very passive position.
The Apostle did not intend to expand their gains further; instead, they withdrew from the main battlefield.
Clearly, the Apostle had no intention of directly engaging the investigation force in battle, because the weapons inherited from the Old Era still posed a significant threat to Apostle. Faced with the bombardment, the Apostle had no choice but to retreat.
Therefore, they chose to deploy a large number of Erosion Entity as their main offensive force.
They were like bombs.
Artillery fire poses a threat to the Apostle, but is almost ineffective against the Erosion Entity.
It must be said that this tactic was very effective, directly cutting off Kusei Maki's chance to pursue the Apostle.
"Everyone retreat!"
She shouted.
"Commander! If we retreat like this, what will happen to the surviving wounded soldiers of the vanguard...?"
The adjutant, wounded, stopped mid-sentence.
The retreat of troops also meant abandoning the lives of the surviving wounded soldiers in the vanguard.
What they could see was the Erosion Entity crashing like waves. The agent had barely managed to buy himself a little breathing time. If he didn't take advantage of this opportunity to distance himself from the Erosion Entity, then the terrifying abyss of the Erosion Entity would follow.
--The entire army will be wiped out.
Under an attack by such a large number of Erosion Entity, even the most naive imagination could not possibly depict what it would be like for those soldiers to survive.
To abandon the bodies of dead soldiers is a cowardly act, but to bury the living is undoubtedly an even more blunder.
He gritted his teeth and took out the signal flare.
Seeing the changes in his expression, Kusei Maki said nothing, but turned and got into the car.
Although unwilling to fall into the enemy's tactics so easily, there was no better way at the moment.
Canary, Ayse, Furan, Yukina Nai (as Fifina Na), and the seriously injured Jasmine were the only five agents left behind. Faced with the siege of dozens of Erosion Entity, their Defense Line were as fragile as paper.
Once the Erosion Entity breach the troops, the battlefield will immediately spiral out of control.
The heavy burden fell on the shoulders of these agents.
Despite being severely wounded, Jasmine fought on, gripping her assault rifle tightly and unleashing a barrage of fire.
Yukina's arrows transformed into water-colored meteors, each strike precisely piercing the neck or head of an Erosion Entity.
With the assistance of the two of them, Canary, Ayse, and Furan, as the vanguard, did their best to resist the fierce attack of the Erosion Entity.
The signal flare was fired, and the troops began to retreat.
This bought the agents a little breathing room.
Even so, the situation was still hopeless, and the remaining fighting force was not enough to sustain the battle. In the chaotic battle to clear out the Erosion Entity that appeared on the inner side of the troops, Furan had already suffered serious injuries, so she retreated to the second line to defend against any stragglers and enemies coming from the rear.
Currently, the forward Defense Line only consists of Canary and Ayse.
"Ayse!"
Canary shouted loudly as her twin blades pierced through the Erosion Entity's arm, clamping it tightly.
At the same time, Ayse rushed out from Canary's side, leaped onto the Erosion Entity's arm, and her straight blade transformed into a swift shadow, its cold light slicing through the rain curtain and cleanly cutting across the Erosion Entity's neck.
Canary drew her sword and stepped back. The massive body of the Erosion Entity fell backward, dissipating into starlight.
She was breathing heavily.
From the annihilation of the vanguard to the retreat of the formation and the agents' engagement of the Erosion Entity, only about ten minutes had passed.
But their fighting strength was far too weak.
It took a lot of effort just to deal with the Erosion Entity that appeared inside the troops' territory. The more Erosion Entity there are, the more disadvantageous it is for the agents.
As long as the Erosion Entity is not completely Exile, it will repair itself after a period of time.
On the other hand, for the agents, high-intensity battles mean a rapid depletion of the Order Force. When surrounded by Erosion Entity, even the most agile Ayse would find it difficult to escape unscathed.
Faced with the onslaught of the still-attacking Erosion Entity, the agents had reached their limits.
Canary's hands, gripping her weapon tightly, trembled slightly. Blood flowed from her sleeves, then was washed away by the rain, turning into a pale red liquid that dripped down the tip of her blade.
The Erosion Entity had no blood and felt no pain; it simply charged at the convoy with a frenzied madness.
"Canary, it's my turn!"
Ayse was in slightly better condition than Canary, but she was also injured in the chaotic battle.
The Erosion Entity lunged forward again.
Just then, a burst of gunfire rose from behind the Erosion Entity, instantly suppressing its roar. Accompanying this was the rising starlight that had been Exile.
A signal flare rose into the sky.
Seeing this, Canary finally breathed a sigh of relief, leaning on the tip of the knife and kneeling on the ground, exhausted.
"It's Anilas's squad, they're back..."
Canary tried to calm her rapid breathing, the sound of gunshots echoing in her ears.
The biggest advantage of the Second-Generation Agent forces over the First Generation lies in their continuous and efficient short-to-medium range firepower. Under the firepower coverage of the Second-Generation Agent squads, the Erosion Entity were rapidly eliminated.
"Let's go too! Don't let these despicable demons get away!"
Canary gave a soft shout, jumped off the car first, rushed towards the Erosion Entity, and swung her sword down.
Jasmine and Yukina's attacks followed immediately.
At that moment, another signal flare rose from behind.
This is the order to attack.
Like Canary, the troops also launched a counterattack with artillery fire towards the direction where the Apostle attack had occurred.
Apostle to withstand artillery fire and bullets, and with reinforcements finally returning, Kusei Maki clearly has no intention of letting those Apostle go.
Meanwhile, Efnir's battle with the Angel was far from over.
The dust particles danced in the air.
The stronghold that bound Qinglan crumbled inch by inch, and the blood-red Angel rose once more, dragging its wounded body.
Beneath the shattered half of the mask lies the face of a cool, aloof human girl.
Anilas looked at the figure of Efnir floating in the air.
Efnir stood with his back to her, silently watching the Crimson Angel, neither speaking nor moving, simply letting the rain envelop her.
The still image lasted for a moment, then Efnir slowly raised her hand.
The flaming spear condensed and shot out rapidly, piercing the Crimson Angel's body once again. The Angel's energy beam was utterly unable to withstand Efnir's attack.