Chapter 168

The threat level of the Dregs is far lower than that of the Erosion Entity, but even so, they are not a threat that can be easily ignored. Compared to the massive and obvious Erosion Entity, the Dregs often appear unexpectedly in urban warfare. They will remain motionless for days or even weeks after they die, but will suddenly become violent and aggressive when they sense the presence of living beings.

Encounters with Dregs that appear out of nowhere are common occurrences in the "Dead City." Soldiers cannot ignore the threat posed by these Dregs, nor can they avoid them according to established patterns.

The gunshots, in turn, attract the attention of more Erosion Entity and Dregs.

In short, whether it's Erosion Entity or "Dregs," nothing good ever comes of it.

Moreover, some rather troublesome creatures occasionally appear among the "Dregs," possessing greater power and destructive drive than ordinary Dregs, and their speed is far beyond that of ordinary people. These things are called "Variant" or "Mutated Entity" by some, but in fact, they are the products of "Low-Aptitude Eligible" after Dregsification.

If someone's aptitude is too low, insufficient to activate the Beacon System, they cannot be considered a "Eligible" in the usual sense, nor are they qualified to be an "agent," and naturally, they will not be Human Federation in the "special" category.

Since they are not "special people," then they are just ordinary people.

But after they turn into Dregs, that "unremarkable special quality" within them will "awaken".

It's somewhat ironic.

In other words, if an agent dies in battle against Erosion Entity and becomes Dregs, the outcome will be similar. In fact, because agents usually have high aptitude, even more threatening individuals may emerge.

Just then, footsteps approached, Anilas looked up to see Kusei Maki walking towards her.

Anilas and saluted.

"Commander!"

"Um."

Kusei Maki changed into a combat uniform, which made her temperament even sharper. However, her face still had that cold and hard expression, as if the emotions that ordinary people experience, such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, never existed for her.

She glanced at the magazine and pistol in Anilas's hand and said:

"How are they?"

"Everyone is on standby, Commander."

Anilas answered.

"We will do everything in our power to complete our mission. It's just that Jasmine..."

How is she?

"The situation isn't good right now; the doctor said we need to prepare for surgery as soon as possible..."

"Is that so..."

Kusei Maki lowered her gaze and remained silent for a moment.

"Next, we will proceed to the Maesakagawa Garrison District to continue our combat mission. I need you to find an alternative route so that the troops can establish a base using the 'Boundary Stele System'."

Because the train's remaining energy was insufficient to support the operation of the Shielding Device, the troops had no choice but to change direction and head to the Maesakagawa Garrison District in hopes of surviving by using the Boundary Stele System.

"Let Jasmine rest. Bring her to the command center. Everyone else, assemble now; we're about to depart."

"Yes!"

"The ultimate goal of this operation is simple: to retake the Maesakagawa Garrison District."

Before the formation, Kusei Maki, dressed in special forces camouflage uniform, loudly conducted the final operational confirmation.

"The basic strategy is to advance along the planned route, based on the intelligence brought back by the drones. Since the vanguard has been wiped out, the remaining personnel will be divided into two execution teams, A and B, to operate together. Team A's mission is to gather all the remaining Lure Shell and lure as many Erosion Entity as possible away from the perimeter of Garrison District... Team B will use the remaining drones and Lure Shell to deploy detonators along the route, thus delaying the Erosion Entity's attack after the 'Shielding Device' is disarmed. Any remaining Erosion Entity within the Garrison District will be handled by Agent Squad..."

"... Find the armory and open a passage... and the engineering team has only one goal: to exhaust all means to restart the Boundary Stele as quickly as possible!"

Generally speaking, the objective of this operation is quite simple.

A direct confrontation with all the Erosion Entity and Dregs within the Garrison District area would undoubtedly be suicide, so the option of direct combat was eliminated from the plan from the outset. The only remaining option was to outflank and break through, and seizing time and opportunities was the core of this battle.

Since it's impossible to wage war against all the Erosion Entity, then reduce their numbers—use Lure Shell as much as possible to lure the Erosion Entity outside the Garrison District area away from the Garrison District area before the final battle, and successfully defend against the Erosion Entity 'Erosion Entity attacks and restart the Sakai Boundary Stele System before they wander back into the effective range of the Garrison District's Boundary Stele System.

If there were no oversights in the prior investigation conducted by Masaki Hina and the information transmitted back by the drone, then restarting the Boundary Stele would only take half an hour.

Once successful, a powerful isolation network will be established in the Garrison District, completely separating it from the outside Garrison District and weakening the power of all Erosion Entity within the Garrison District. After that, the battle will only consist of cleanup.

Kusei Maki raised her hand, and the signal flare went off, its light piercing through the vast rain curtain.

She called out loudly, "Then, let's set off now!"

28. Building

"Fire!!"

The deafening artillery fire poured down on the outer walls of the Garrison District's defensive fortifications. Amidst the barrage of explosions, the sturdy, thick outer walls succumbed to the pressure and crumbled into ruins.

Thick smoke and flames erupted and rose.

The armored vehicle forcefully smashed through the last remaining ruins, then sped into the Garrison District at full speed, racing through the ravaged streets.

The "train" followed closely behind, moving quickly forward with all the remaining vehicles.

They had less than half an hour left, and they had to hurry. The sooner they reached their destination, the more time the engineering team would have; otherwise, the danger of being besieged by the Erosion Entity would be greater.

The signal flare exploded in the air.

At the same time, artillery fire erupted, and a large number of Lure Shell fell in an umbrella-like pattern outside the Garrison District, while a large amount of Erosion Entity surged towards the direction of the Lure Shell explosions.

Full speed ahead!

The engine was practically exploding.

The streets of the Maesakagawa Garrison District are laid out in a grid pattern, with large greenhouses and experimental planting bases occasionally appearing in the soldiers' field of vision.

In addition, numerous collapsed buildings and scattered cars blocked the roads. Roadblocks and charred battle Defense Line were everywhere. Bullet holes, broken debris, and corpses were scattered all over the road. Many shops and houses along the street had been burned to the ground, with charred Trace stretching far before disappearing.

On the train roof, Yukina looked at the ruins and destruction before her, her face turning pale.

"Yukina, don't look at those things, focus on your battle."

Efnir's voice came from beside her. Yukina nodded, took a deep breath, and regulated her breathing.

Death and pain— Yukina saw more today than she had in the previous fifteen years.

Even if you've prepared yourself mentally, you still can't remain calm when you actually see it with your own eyes and face it in person.

"Naoko... what if... we encounter the Apostle again? With such a high-profile advance towards the Boundary Stele, will the Apostle remain indifferent?"

"If there wasn't something they were determined to get here, they wouldn't have chosen to launch an attack in the Garrison District."

"Why?"

"There are too many obstructions to the view here, which is disadvantageous to both sides, but compared to the areas Beyond the Boundary, this is our advantageous area."

Although the reason why the Apostle appeared here is unknown, their best opportunity to attack and ambush has now been missed.

"Stay by my side."

Efnir gently took Yukina's hand; their palms were warm or cold, their fingers intertwined, transferring their body heat to each other.

"Um..."

"Fire!"

The soldiers roared, and the air crackled with deafening explosions. The sound of explosions rose at the end of the street, and artillery fire blew the bus blocking the road, along with the Defense Line there, into the air.

Even if the shortest and smoothest route is planned using footage transmitted by drones, these obstacles are inevitable, so artillery fire is the only option to clear the way.

But the moment the bus was overturned, a soldier suddenly shouted.

"Large amount of Dregs ahead!!"

At the end of the road, humanoid figures suddenly appeared inside the overturned bus, but they were not human; they were the Dregs of the passengers inside the bus. They had not all turned to ashes under the blast. Startled, they immediately awoke again. Although they still had the clothes they wore when they were humans on their bodies, they shrieked and roared like hungry predators as they ran swiftly toward the troops.

As a satellite city of Xijing City, Maesakagawa Garrison District does not have as large a population as Xijing City. It is mainly responsible for a portion of the food production and processing. Even so, the number of residents here is still considerable.

"Fire!!"

"Machine gunners, prepare! Fire!"

Bullets rained down on the Dregs; a single bullet from the heavy machine gun was enough to dismember the limbs of the Dregs.

However, the Dregs is not human. They have extremely high physical strength, and losing limbs only hinders their movement, but does not actually kill them, unless they are accurately hit in the head, neck, or spine, damaging their central nervous system and rendering them unable to move, or simply blasted into Shard.

But it's not that simple.

Soon, the Dregs arrived—it was immediately knocked away and crushed by the high-speed armored vehicle, but a few pieces clung tightly to the armored vehicle, howling hoarsely as they climbed toward the roof.

The machine gunner immediately turned his gun around.

"Go to hell!!!"

With bloodshot eyes and a roar, he pulled the trigger almost touching the top of the Dregs's head.

Unidentified gray matter and the remaining fragments of flesh and blood splattered everywhere. The headless Dregs fell under the car and were then crushed under the tires of following vehicles, turning into minced meat.

But there was more than one Dregs; another Dregs climbed up the roof by clinging to the door, and the soldiers didn't have time to turn their guns around.

At that moment, a muffled gunshot rang out from behind, and the Dregs a soldier's head, which were about to strike, shattered instantly.

The soldier glanced back with lingering fear, only to see a girl in a tight-fitting outfit nodding to him.

The girl held a silver pistol, not one of the standard-issue weapons in the active military, but a specially designed weapon developed for agents. Its lethality far exceeded that of ordinary standard firearms, and its powerful recoil prevented it from being widely issued as a standard weapon.

But as a proxy, it's just right for weapons used in the battle of Dregs.

"Thank you so much..."

The soldier saluted her, then turned away to continue his guard and combat duties.

When soldiers are unable to handle the situation, that's when the agents step in. Agents are the only Defense Line against the Erosion Entity, and in the battle against the Dregs, their presence is a necessary means to deal with a very small number of "special individuals," while also ensuring the second line of Defense Line.

This arrangement was made to allow the agents to conserve more energy for the final battle.

"Four Erosion Entity spotted ahead! And a large amount of Dregs!"

"Load the shells!"

Bang--

As the artillery fire rose, several Dregs were blasted into Shard, while more Dregs roared and rushed forward.

"The enemy numbers are too many! Stop and engage!"

"The agents are going into battle!"

Anilas led the Agent Squad forward, leaping towards the troops ahead. Efnir and Yukina exchanged a glance.

"Yukina, let's go!"

The fierce battle and the race against time lasted for more than a quarter of an hour. Finally, before the soldiers' eyes, the towering, massive square pillar emerged from the vast white fog and appeared at the edge of their field of vision.

"The destination is just ahead!!"

The soldiers shouted.

Whether it was the cheers of approaching hope or the roars of pent-up anger, the soldiers' cries echoed through the desolate streets.

As the Boundary Stele drew closer, the massive metal pillar stood before us. Gazing at the Boundary Stele was like standing at the base of a skyscraper and looking up; the towering dome seemed as if it might collapse at any moment, and the oppressive feeling made it hard to breathe.

Yukina tilted her head back, gazing at the Boundary Stele, unconsciously tightening her grip on her weapon.

[The monthly word count has now reached 60,000, which is catching up with and meeting the target of 3,000 words per day at the beginning of the month! So this chapter is an extra chapter, making it 17 chapters left~ (whispering)]

29. Deep underground

A light drizzle fell, and the smell of gunpowder was somewhat pungent.

Gunshots rang out intermittently.

The sound of the Lure Shell exploding came from afar, and the armored vehicle blasted through the wall with a single shot, crashing right into it.