Chapter 170
If there is suppression from heavy machine guns, artillery, or grenades, the battle will be much easier.
But Kusei Maki couldn't take that risk—a secondary collapse, a secondary explosion caused by the detonation of flammable materials, and damage to precision instruments from the shockwave of the explosion were all consequences she had to consider.
Therefore, at the very beginning of the operation, they were forced to abandon all combat methods other than firearms.
There's too much Dregs.
The stairwell was the first to fall because the barrier between floors B7 and B8 had been destroyed by Efnir, and even though it was blocked again by Iris and the others, it had become vulnerable.
The Dregs swarmed up the stairwell like locusts, climbing, running, and crowding forward, unstoppable by the soldiers' bullets.
But there are more soldiers here than just soldiers.
The water-colored arrow of light flashed and disappeared in an instant. The next moment, a massive wind pressure, like a dam bursting, and a large amount of Order Force swept away half of the swarming Dregs in an instant—the air seemed to be rotating and pressurizing under control, and a hurricane descended in an instant, violently shaking and pulverizing the fragments of the wall and a large amount of gray flesh.
This attack almost completely wiped out the Dregs's offensive, and Dregs whose limbs were broken but who were not yet dead were quickly shot down by the soldiers.
The soldiers looked at the scene before them and each glanced at the other.
Even Yuan was somewhat stunned. Her palms gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist, tightened, and then loosened.
Although she breathed a sigh of relief, a fleeting sense of disappointment immediately washed over her—she had just been ready to make her move, but it turned out that there wouldn't have been any problems even without her.
"Fifina" is enough on her own.
--The scrambled Dregs in the narrow stairwell was like a live target made specifically for Fifina's arrows, whose straight-line penetrating power and destructive force were approaching Anilas's "killer strike." What made it even more advantageous for Anilas was that Yukina's arrows could be fired almost continuously without interruption.
Yuan withdrew her gaze and sighed softly.
She probably realized that Kusei Maki's choice of the sisters Efnir and Shiomi Yukina to fight was clearly something she had considered when planning the battle.
31. Rest
The gunfire only gradually subsided when the soldiers had almost run out of bullets.
The adjutant stared wide-eyed, his gaze unfocused as he peered through his night-vision goggles into the depths of the corridor, where piles of Dregs limbs and corpses lay.
His heavy breathing was amplified by the breathing mask, drowning out his heartbeat.
A stiff finger pressed the trigger.
The underground was unusually cold without power, but he could no longer feel it at that moment.
"Is it over...?"
Grayish blood, mixed with bits of flesh, spread to the soldiers' feet.
Kusei Maki raised the muzzle of her gun, squinted, and cautiously scanned the area before putting her weapon away.
"It seems the cleanup is basically complete; the trouble these corpses caused us is over."
She turned around and shouted to the soldiers behind her, "It's not time to stop yet! The control room is just ahead, let's get there quickly!"
She fired a flare into the darkness, the tactical light beneath the gun barrel held up by her glove, the dust and smoke glowing like tiny fireflies in the light.
With Efnir at the forefront, Kusei Maki and the soldiers in the middle, and Yukina and Tobi at the rear, the squad quickly moved towards the control room. Along the way, some Dregs on the ground wriggled, seemingly Dregs to death even when their limbs were torn apart by bullets.
The soldiers kept firing at the remaining Dregs on the ground until they were completely killed.
Scattered gunshots echoed in the murky air.
Soon, the team arrived at a huge room with transparent glass walls on all four sides.
This is the main control room!
"That's what the adjutant said."
The control room's security door had been closed, but it was badly damaged, wide open to both sides. Mottled bloodstains and Fracture covered the entire glass wall, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Looking through the open glass door, all you could see were some instruments and equipment that had been dormant for days, and a few corpses that had begun to decompose.
"It seems to have gone fairly smoothly."
Kusei Maki glanced at the time on her watch, and the serious expression on her face softened somewhat, a rare occurrence.
Even though they had avoided fighting the Dregs and made their way here, the soldiers were already running out of ammunition. If they were to engage in another battle like the one before, there would inevitably be casualties among them.
Fortunately, they are now close to completing their mission.
"Let me go first."
Efnir narrowed her eyes slightly, took a step forward, and entered the control room.
But as she stepped in, a sharp shriek suddenly rang in everyone's ears.
"Roar!"
For some reason, a piece of Dregs wasn't attracted by the earlier gunshots, but instead remained hidden here, crouching under the table, so much so that it couldn't be spotted from outside the window.
The moment Efnir appeared, it roared and pounced.
"It's a 'Mutated Entity'!"
"It is!" the kite shouted.
"Mutated Entity" behave differently from ordinary Dregs. They are more ferocious than ordinary Dregs in terms of both physical strength and aggression. Moreover, they are generally believed to possess a certain degree of thinking ability, making them quite troublesome and dangerous opponents.
The Mutated Entity leaped toward Efnir like a flying bat, its roar piercing the air.
It was met with a silver, sharp blade.
Puff--
The dull thud of flesh being pierced, and the crisp sound of a hard object hitting the ground, abruptly silenced the Mutated Entity's shriek—its head was pierced, it collapsed to the ground, already dead.
The spear in her hand vanished in a burst of starlight. Efnir stepped into the control room, glanced around, and gestured to the back of her.
Kusei Maki raised one hand and gestured with his fist.
"Construction team, get to work, and be quick!"
The lighting system illuminated the area, and after the temporary power supply was connected, the sounds of electronic instruments operating once again filled the control room.
Because this is the location of the Boundary Stele System, Erosion Entity generally do not penetrate deep into this area.
Fortunately, apart from the Boundary Stele being silenced due to the external power being cut off, there was not much structural damage, and most of the equipment in the control room was still usable.
The engineering team has been engaged in intensive repair and restart work.
"Everyone else, proceed with the cleanup operation. We must take this floor completely!"
"Yes!"
Kusei Maki continued to issue orders.
The soldiers, in groups of three or four, loaded their ammunition and began cleaning up the remaining Dregs on the entire floor.
Some Dregs were trapped behind the sealed doors and unable to leave. The soldiers' job was to confirm Dregs presence and then eliminate them. The control room was a crucial part; the engineering team would need to remain there to carry out their mission, and the soldiers needed to bring them a safer rear as quickly as possible.
However, Kusei Maki did not ask Efnir to join the cleanup operation.
"Miss Efnir, you can rest for a while."
"Kusei Maki said."
With Yuan leading the way, they guarded the stairwell area. The remaining cleaning tasks in other areas no longer posed a danger of large clusters of Dregs, so it didn't matter if Efnir didn't join the final battle.
Or rather, Kusei Maki needs Efnir, who has been playing the forward role, to conserve more energy to prepare for the upcoming battles against the Erosion Entity.
The control room has been initially cleared, the bodies from earlier have been removed, and the backup power equipment brought down by the engineering team has provided temporary power support. The ventilation system is now running again.
The soldiers of the engineering team were working against the clock, engrossed in the restart work, Kusei Maki stood with her arms crossed, her gaze as indifferent as ever.
The restart process is proceeding smoothly.
Efnir brought a few chocolate chip cookies to Yukina's side, sat down, and handed the cookies to Yukina.
Would you like something to eat?
Replenishing energy during rest—though only to a very small degree—has indeed proven to help restore the Order Force.
Furthermore, stomach peristalsis can slightly relieve mental tension and also prevent stomach cramps to some extent.
Yukina looked up and saw the food in Efnir's hand.
Those are chocolate bars, or more commonly, sweet energy bars. Some people eat these when they skip breakfast, though I don't know if they're effective.
And, it's one of the brands that Yukina is familiar with; she used to love eating this.
But clearly, Yukina has no such intention right now.
Yukina lowered her eyelashes and shook her head.
"I can't eat..."
Because...
Such a bloody place is truly disgusting.
Forget about eating, even breathing is difficult.
The ventilation system finally started working again, freeing Yukina from under the gas mask.
More than a month has passed Maesakagawa fell. During this long period, the temperature in these underground spaces has dropped below zero, and the air has become murky. It is impossible for ordinary people to survive here, so assault soldier squads all need oxygen tanks for support.
32. Guardian
It's very cold underground.
The air was damp and putrid, and everywhere was Dregs of corpses and flesh.
Unlike Yukina, who carried a gas mask, Efnir and Yuan never relied on such a thing from beginning to end.
Even though the underground was filled with gases unsuitable for human respiration due to the malfunction of ventilation systems and a nauseating stench, Efnir and Iris were able to ignore the effects thanks to their agents' superior physical abilities.
Yukina cannot do this.
She hasn't yet shaken off the habits of being an ordinary person, something that often happens to novice agents.
Relatively speaking, Yukina is already the fastest learner among all the agents Efnir's have ever seen.
"Take a break, we'll probably be busy again later."
An agent's work always involves fighting against the Erosion Entity.
Nothing could be worse than this, Efnir once thought, but now... even the Apostle are now considered enemies.
In comparison, it would be much easier to simply kill more and more of the Erosion Entity.
Efnir suppressed her complicated emotions, turned her head, and looked at Yukina's slightly pale profile. She tried to recall the image of Yukina laughing and chasing after her in her memory, then tore open the plastic wrapper and stuffed the chocolate into her mouth, chewing it silently.
Yukina turned her head and looked at Efnir with an extremely complicated expression as she ate nonchalantly in the blood-stained place where the stench of decay lingered.
An indescribable feeling surged through my heart.
--She was about to throw up, but Efnir was able to eat as usual at a time like this...
This step is not included in the training.
Although she was very unwilling, Yukina had to admit that she still had a long way to go on her journey to catch up with Efnir.
In every sense.
Yukina covered her face with the mask again, took a deep breath, and her complexion looked better.
She moved slightly closer to Efnir, sitting down beside Efnir and gently twitching her nose.
It's as if even the air is purified when Efnir is around.
"Naoko..."
She spoke up.
"Um?"