Chapter 165

But the instant her words fell, a strong sense of suffocation suddenly exploded in this narrow space—a dazzling white light descended like sunlight, and an attack from who-knows-where was launched towards Efnir.

"Efnir! Watch out!"

The ball of light seemed to be burning; Efnir picked up the unconscious girl and narrowly escaped.

The spear of white flames condensed in an instant and thrust into the depths of the thick fog. Efnir retreated sharply and stopped in front of Anilas.

A roar faintly appeared from behind the white mist, accompanied by a surge of white light.

Efnir saw the enormous, pitch-black, malevolent form of the Erosion Entity in her field of vision.

Clearly, the Apostle had surrounded them, along with a large number of Erosion Entity — the Lure Shell had long since lost their effectiveness. These Erosion Entity might have been attracted by the previous battle or by the artillery fire from the rear, but Efnir was more inclined to believe that these Erosion Entity were a trap summoned by the Apostle using the "Crystal," attempting to completely capture Efnir and Anilas.

"Anilas."

A light shone again from behind the white mist in the distance. Efnir raised her hand and shattered the incoming ball of light, shielding Anilas behind her. With a flick of her wrist, her white flame spear pierced through the Erosion Entity charging from afar.

Feeling the low whistling of the wind, Efnir asked Anilas:

"There are many enemies. Can you continue fighting?"

Anilas unleashed several powerful attacks in the battle to protect Efnir, including two devastating "killer attacks."

Before facing the Angel, Anilas had already been exhausted from the battle, Efnir worried that Anilas's stamina would not be enough to sustain her in the upcoming fight.

If one falls here due to insufficient Order Force, the situation will be very dangerous.

"I'm fine..."

Anilas lowered her head.

"But... Miss Efnir!... Oh my Angel, I lost her... I'm so sorry..."

The agent's speed alone was insufficient to catch up with the Angel's escape.

From the moment Aphrodite made contact with the Angel to the Angel's defeat, less than ten minutes had passed. The battle between Efnir and the Angel left Anilas with little room to intervene; she could only do her best to provide support for Efnir.

But deep down she knew that in this battle, she was more of a burden than a supporter.

Efnir glanced at her and stopped walking.

A pungent smell of smoke and burnt grass drifted from somewhere, lingering around my nose.

This land should be filled with the scent of soil and grass.

Efnir gazed into the distance, gritted her teeth, lowered her gaze to the unconscious girl, and then looked into the misty white fog behind her.

She took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly.

Dust is drifting.

Although she couldn't see the enemy, Efnir could imagine them watching her intently.

Don't worry about it, it's not your fault.

Efnir did not show any particular emotional fluctuations.

If she were to pursue him now, Efnir could still catch up with the Angel, but the current situation led her to choose to give up.

"A reckless pursuit will only lead us deeper into an enemy ambush. We are already being held back by the enemy, and we don't know what else awaits us..."

Efnir took a deep breath, trying to calm the fatigue that had accumulated deep within her body from the continuous battles.

"Last time, the Angel was severely injured and forced to retreat. I believe the Apostle will not come unprepared this time. Perhaps we should deal with these things first."

But Anilas that this was just Efnir giving them a plausible explanation.

"Miss Efnir..."

After a brief hesitation, Anilas spoke.

"Is the power you wield... that of an 'Apostle'?"

"Yes."

Efnir readily admitted it, her words devoid of any inflection, Anilas momentarily at a loss for words.

Without offering any explanation, Efnir pushed the girl into Anilas's hands.

"More importantly, you're in charge of keeping an eye on her..."

"Efnir said softly."

"She's Apostle. We need to pry something out of her. Don't let her get away."

"..."

Anilas looked at the girl.

His face was young, his cheeks stained with blood and mud, and his clothes looked old and faded, tinged with a pale red from the rain and mist.

She looks only fifteen or sixteen years old.

The deafening roar of artillery fire grew louder as it approached from afar, and the ground trembled more and more violently.

The troops seemed to have also discovered the enemy's location and were rapidly advancing towards this place. Shells exploded deep within the white fog, and Efnir keenly sensed the movement of "dust."

Pursued by artillery fire, the Apostle appear to be making a retreat.

"We cannot let the enemy leave so easily."

The Erosion Entity became restless; some rushed towards the direction from which the roar came, while the rest shrieked and charged towards Efnir and Anilas.

A cold glint flashed in Efnir's eyes.

"We didn't leave the Angel behind, but we can't go back empty-handed. We have to go after them!"

"Yes!"

Efnir looked into the vast white mist, raised her hand, and long spears of white flame condensed in the air.

With her white-flaming spear clearing a path, Efnir charged forward first.

He stepped back, turned around, and threw a punch.

The massive Erosion Entity exploded from the inside in an instant, turning into countless stardust that scattered into the air.

The thick fog was pierced by the white orb of light. Efnir dodged to the side, simultaneously taking a step forward. Accompanied by a deafening sonic boom and violently shattering ground, the rain curtain was instantly torn open by a giant gaping maw.

A panicked figure appeared at the edge of the field of vision. Before the light could coalesce, the figure drew a pistol from its waist.

But Efnir was faster than she expected, and before she could react, her hands were firmly clamped.

Despite being shorter than her, he was just as strong, standing in front of her and holding her hands tightly with one hand, raising them above her head.

The pistol clicked to the ground, and at the same time, to the astonishment and disbelief of the Apostle girl, all her armor rapidly disintegrated and vanished, turning into starlight and dust.

Efnir watched this scene calmly until the girl was completely disarmed, then she removed the ring from the girl's finger and held it in her hand.

"Who are you!!"

The girl almost screamed and yelled, but Efnir simply raised her gaze from her palm and lightly chopped the girl unconscious with a chop to the neck.

Seeing the girl collapse on the ground, Efnir tossed down a "marker" smoke stick and turned to leave in another direction.

24. Compassion

Xijing City Beyond the Boundary Investigation Unit

The encounter and battle began suddenly and ended quickly.

A large number of Erosion Entity were Exile, and before the remaining Apostle could form Defense Line, Efnir tore a gaping hole in it, causing the front line to collapse rapidly. This head-on clash between Xijing City and the Apostle Organization came to an end outside the Maesakagawa Garrison District.

The rain curtain remained the dominant color in this white mist.

The sunlight and green grass had long since vanished under the smoke and fire of the battle. Not far away stood a massive, collapsed iron tower. Two engineering vehicles were parked near the tower, repairing an armored vehicle that had been overturned by falling cables.

Soldiers were everywhere, busily carrying ammunition boxes and dragging new wounded soldiers. The sound of engines roared from the muddy ground, stained red with blood.

Desolate.

The initial victory, won with nearly 50% casualties, was a stab to everyone's heart; no one celebrated the victory.

In front of the "train".

Kusei Maki stepped out of the car, Anilas and her adjutant saluted her and then stood at attention.

Efnir, wearing a hooded long coat, leaned against the car door, gazing in the direction of the Apostle Girls.

Kusei Maki coldly looked at the girls kneeling on the ground, tucked her blood-stained gloves under her arm, grabbed one of them by the hair, forcing the girl to raise her head.

She squinted and spoke slowly.

Is that all?

"Report! There were more than a dozen people in total. We found the bodies and Dregs of four of them. They died from the bombardment of the first two waves of artillery fire or were injured by stray bullets, which caused them to lose their power and be devoured by the Erosion Entity."

"Seven people were captured, two of whom committed suicide. We managed to anesthetize the others and remove the poison from their dentures in time."

The whereabouts of the remaining Apostle are unknown.

"They escaped. There were many Erosion Entity and Apostle. They fled while I was chasing them."

Efnir suddenly spoke up, adding, and then glanced at Kusei Maki.

"I've already had them deliver it; it's all yours now, Commander."

Raindrops streamed down the hood. Kusei Maki glanced at Efnir, said nothing, simply nodded, and then ordered her adjutant, "Lock them up and interrogate them separately."

"Yes!"

The adjutant glanced at the girls kneeling dejectedly on the ground and took a deep breath.

"Take away!"

The soldiers held their guns, their eyes filled with undisguised hatred, but more than the sharpness of their hatred, they pointed their guns at them with an almost fearful gaze, urging them on.

"Walk!"

"Stand up!"

The girls all looked very young, and their clothes were made of such inferior fabric that they were barely even considered substandard. The size was clearly too small for their slender bodies.

As the soldiers shoved and dragged them away, they turned back and glanced at Efnir with dark, ambiguous eyes.

Efnir simply watched them leave indifferently, then turned to Kusei Maki.

"Will they be killed after the torture is over?"

"Yes, or you can leave it to the research institute."

Anilas, but she remained silent.

Graduate School.

That was the end of the life of a girl named Gotō Chizuru, and Anilas inherited the name "Gotō Chizuru" from her.

"Um."

Efnir didn't ask any further questions.

Torture and intelligence gathering are taken for granted and are standard procedures for dealing with these war criminals. They are killed to vent anger and seek revenge, or sent to research institutes as valuable experimental subjects to obtain detailed information on Apostle Form or to conduct other experiments. No matter how those girls are treated, it has nothing to do with Efnir.

Efnir turned her gaze to the "train" behind Kusei Maki.

The armored carriages carried by the "train" were dented and Fracture like black spider lilies due to the attacks by the Erosion Entity and Apostle. Engineering vehicles erected high platforms to urgently repair the damaged "Shielding Device".

How much longer can the "train" hold out?

Kusei Maki did not answer directly, but looked at the adjutant beside her.

The adjutant stepped forward.

"Miss Efnir, if you want to know how much energy the 'train' has left, according to the data I have, the 'train' can support the 'Shielding Device' to operate normally for another hour. However, if you want to wait for the current malfunction to be fully repaired, you will need to deduct twenty minutes from that time."

"As you can see, Efnir."

Brigadier General, this is the rank and code name that Kusei Maki always used to refer to Efnir.

Efnir shifted her gaze to the chaotic state of the troop's makeshift encampment and asked again:

"So, Commander, what's our next step?"