Chapter 177
Elincia was not a member of the Third Group, but as a comrade-in-arms who had fought side by side, she was trusted by both Efnir and the others.
She was the regional agent stationed in the West Line Garrison District, and her job was to be responsible for the stability and Erosion Disaster control of the West Line Garrison District and surrounding areas. Therefore, she did not participate in this Beyond the Boundary Operations mission.
After all, Xijing City is the main base, and sufficient combat power must be left here to guard against potential dangers. Even though Fushihara Ayaka took the initiative to take on the mobile combat mission against the Apostle on behalf of the Special Disaster Division, the threat of the Erosion Disaster still exists.
In addition to the agents Garrison District other satellite cities, each border Garrison District of Xijing City has an agent in charge of management. They are not usually transferred. Elincia is an exception. Because of her combat ability and the special nature of her Order Weapon, she is very helpful in combat. Therefore, she is also borrowed as combat force in some special operations.
In short, those who remained were the last remaining force in Xijing City. Due to the special nature of the operation, the Orderkeepers, the Special Disaster Division, and the military had all gathered here to work together. After receiving intelligence from the Beyond the Boundary Operations Force, they needed to make a decision as soon as possible to reinforce the Beyond the Boundary Force.
"We need to send a support team, airdropped into the Maesakagawa Garrison District by transport plane."
Shinomiyami Nami's expression was somewhat solemn as she gave a more detailed explanation of the current situation. Elincia listened silently, her face expressionless, as she always was.
However, some crucial intelligence has yet to be obtained, so Fushihara Ayaka could only tell Elincia to wait for instructions.
This operation requires the assistance of the United Airport.
The air force is no longer able to cope with the threats posed by the current Erosion Disaster, but transport aircraft are one of the few remaining air units.
Only special transport aircraft with huge carrying capacity can be equipped with "Shielding Device" to enter the Beyond the Boundary region without hindrance and be attacked. Therefore, they can occasionally be used to airdrop a small number of elite combat forces to support operations and airdrop proxies to the combat site.
However, the disadvantages are also obvious – because transport aircraft have limited weight and space, they cannot carry much equipment and supplies, and energy and maintenance costs are high.
Its advantage is that it can quickly deliver combat power into the battlefield, making it one of the more commonly used support methods.
Furthermore, there are no means of communication in the Beyond the Boundary region, so drivers need to rely on experience and some rather primitive methods to determine their location. If they make a mistake, the consequences can be very troublesome.
"You will be the last reinforcements we can send, but we are still waiting for further intelligence. Hopefully, it won't take too long, otherwise it will increase the variables."
Shinomiyami Nami was very anxious.
However, if we force a battle without obtaining more accurate location information, we will likely end up with nothing to show for it, so for now we can only wait.
Elincia's tone remained flat as she shifted her gaze to Shinomiyami Nami, catching the hidden message in Shinomiyami Nami's words.
"Anyone else participating besides me?"
The situation of the agents in Xijing City is not optimistic. Elincia originally thought that she should be the only agent to go into battle this time.
Because Xijing City must retain a necessary number of agents to deal with potential Erosion Disaster, apart from the agents Garrison District the satellite city of Boundary Stele, only the four major Garrison District in Xijing City still have agents. Elincia is one of them. She often follows Efnir on her missions and is very strong herself. The characteristics of the Order Weapon determine her position.
Therefore, she was seconded to participate in the operation.
"You will not fight alone; we will send a comrade to accompany you."
Shinomiyami Nami explained.
Elincia's question was as concise as ever, "The Garrison District?"
Shinomiyami Nami's gaze flicker slightly, and then paused.
"No, she doesn't belong to the organization now, but you know her."
It's actually just Saori, now known as Shadow.
However, Shinomiyami Nami took a roundabout approach and didn't say it explicitly.
She had no need to deliberately hide Saori's situation, but since she was still within the Orderkeepers Organization, it wasn't appropriate to bring it up directly.
"You'll meet soon, and I think you'll like her."
Elincia didn't ask any further questions. She never had any objections to mission assignments and wasn't a talkative person.
"The most important issue right now is that we still can't determine the exact location of the troops. We are doing our best to obtain their current direction through the Resonance of the Boundary Stele System, and we hope we won't encounter the worst-case scenario."
At that moment, a new message arrived; the contact was from Fushihara Ayaka.
"Siyejian, is Elincia in position?"
Shinomiyami Nami turned her gaze to Elincia, Elincia simply nodded quietly, Shinomiyami Nami understood.
"She can leave at any time."
"Very good."
Fushihara Ayaka calmly stated, "I forwarded the message to the Central Province and just received a reply. The Central Province will dispatch reinforcements from Suzuda City to assist us in fulfilling our request."
Through the unique Resonance communication channel of the Boundary Stele System, the Central Province learned of the attack on the Beyond the Boundary Force a step behind and immediately dispatched reinforcements from Suzuda City to Maesakagawa.
The aid from Suzuda City was already planned, but due to the unexpected incident involving the Beyond the Boundary District troops, the reinforcement plan was brought forward.
The coordinated reinforcements were good news, and Shinomiyami Nami finally relaxed a little. However, their location was still uncertain, the situation of the Beyond the Boundary Team was unclear, and the situation remained serious.
"In short, proceed to United Airport and stand by. I'll be there shortly."
Meanwhile, in the Maesakagawa Garrison District, the temporary base for combat troops, an underground tunnel...
The parasitic vines pounced on her like predators, but the kite leaped forward at incredible speed, her elegant figure gliding like a water lily. With agile movements, she weaved through the vines' encirclement and charged towards the Aberrants. At the same time, the scabbard was pushed open half an inch by her fingertips. The next second, the blade flashed like a crescent moon, tearing through the blood-soaked air. The Aberrants's heart was instantly sliced into several Shard, and the scream abruptly ceased.
Countless vines stiffened instantly, withered like dry grass, and fell from mid-air.
But there was more than one Aberrants, who rushed towards the kite from all directions. At this moment, a water-colored arrow of light appeared from the end of the passageway, accurately piercing the chest of each Aberrants.
Efnir pursued the arrows relentlessly, her spear tracing a sharp arc as she reaped the lives of every fish that fell into her net.
Gunfire continued, but the squad advanced steadily.
Moving slowly and steadily, dealing with Dregs and Aberrants while laying cables and setting up equipment, they soon saw a faint light filtering down from the ground at the end of the tunnel.
Efnir checked the simplified location map, her gaze slightly sharpening.
"It's just ahead."
44. Occupy
Under the cover of rain, at the end of a dilapidated street, a fully armed squad was moving quickly forward.
The leader was Efnir.
Led by Efnir, the squad successfully traversed the underground tunnel and completed the cable laying and equipment installation tasks. Now, a group of soldiers, Engineering Corps, and Second-Generation Agent remain inside the tunnel to guard it. After destroying the other passages of the tunnel, there will be no more Dregs inside. The only things to watch out for are unpredictable Erosion Entity and Dregs wandering on the ground.
The equipment and cables must not be damaged.
The others followed Efnir to continue their mission; their next objective was to storm the Relay Station and complete the installation of the remaining equipment.
Efnir reached the street corner, cautiously peeked out, and gestured to the squad behind her. The rest of the group quickly followed and stopped at the corner.
Yukina flipped over and leaped onto the roof of the wrecked truck, crawling down and ignoring the rainwater soaking her. She cautiously turned her gaze to the Relay Station on the other side of the street.
The Relay Station occupied a large area of land, with no greenery to obstruct the view. With Yukina's eyesight, she could clearly see the entire structure— the Relay Station was surrounded and protected by sturdy low walls and layers of protective netting. Behind it were some key facilities and the wreckage of damaged vehicles. Yukina stared at the building behind it, and her gaze could even reach through the broken windows to see the dark figures wandering inside.
The figures were wearing staff uniforms, but their skin had an eerie grayish hue. Clearly, these were all former employees who had been Dregs after the fall of Maesakagawa.
Looking away again, Yukina observed the surrounding terrain and buildings, searching for other Dregs and memorizing it before jumping off the roof of the car.
She reported all the intelligence she had gathered to Efnir.
"There's no sign of the Erosion Entity, but the amount of Dregs is considerable... better than expected."
Efnir hesitated for a moment.
The worst-case scenario is that this area is occupied by Erosion Entity are clearly more threatening than the Dregs.
"It seems their tactics are very effective."
Since entering the Maesakagawa Garrison District, the troops have deployed a large number of delayed-action Lure Bombs along the way and used drones to divert aerial Erosion Entity. Now there are very few Erosion Entity gathered here.
"The relay Relay Station. Prepare for battle."
Efnir turned her gaze to the crowd.
"I'll lead the way. You and Yukina will hold off the enemies coming from the flanks. The rest of you will improvise. The engineering team will wait for our signal. We don't need to wait until all the Dregs is cleared before we attack; we must take this place as quickly as possible."
After saying that, she stood up and drew two silver pistols from behind her waist.
"Let's go now."
At a command, Efnir slid out to the side.
She shattered the rippling water mirror and sprinted towards the Relay Station. In the middle of the street ahead, several Dregs stiffly raised their heads, grinned at Efnir, and revealed grayish sharp teeth.
Efnir's eyes narrowed slightly as she raised her pistol.
Bang--
Grayish flesh and blood burst open in the air like splashes of water. The Dregs head, pierced by a bullet, halted its forward momentum. The immense force applied to its head caused it to fall backward as if struck by a heavy hammer, and then it remained motionless.
A single shot was enough to kill, which is enough to prove the powerful lethality of this pistol.
In order to conserve the Order Force, Efnir did not enter Exile Form, but instead used a pistol as her weapon.
This silver pistol is Efnir's personal pistol, one of the weapons customized specifically for agents, and it is equipped with steel-core bullets that are highly penetrating in close-quarters combat.
This gun is very heavy, and every time the trigger is pulled, a metallic clang comes from the barrel. The powerful recoil makes it unusable by ordinary people, but it also ensures its absolute dominance in Dregs combat.
Ordinary firearms have limited lethality against Dregs, but this gun is clearly different.
With each gunshot, the Dregs who rushed forward fell one after another. Efnir alone drew the Dregs's attack, clearing away the wandering Dregs from the street like harvesting wheat.
Soon, the magazine was empty. Efnir lightly bent her fingertips, and the magazine slid down into her palm.
He crossed his arms and tucked the empty magazine into his waistband.
Efnir coldly watched the oncoming Dregs, pulled out a new magazine, clipped the magazine into the two pistols together, and then launched a new attack on the Dregs.
At the same time, soldiers joined the battle, and gunfire erupted, replacing the distant explosions and gunfire as the main sound in the neighborhood.
The commotion attracted the Dregs hidden in the buildings along the street. Soon, more Dregs surged out like a tide. Seeing this, Efnir put away her pistol, and two decoy grenades appeared in her hand. She bit the pin and threw them in the direction where the Dregs was gathering.
The soldiers also switched to grenades and individual rocket launchers. High-explosive ammunition exploded repeatedly amidst the Dregs, while heavy machine guns were positioned in the middle of the street, their muzzle flashes blasting away countless Dregs.
Under intense firepower, the density of the Dregs decreased rapidly.
"Yuan, the rest is up to you."
"Yes!"
"The rest of you, follow me! Charge in!"
Efnir led the way, her silver spear flashing as she swung it horizontally, causing the low wall to collapse.
More Dregs rushed out from behind the collapsed wall, surging up like water released from a dam.
Efnir stepped back and gathered her strength, then swiftly hurled her spear, instantly creating a huge gap in the surging tide.
Agents represent the advancement of personal power, while Efnir represents the pinnacle of agents; no amount of Dregs can stop her.
The group advanced and fought their way through, managing to reach the target building without major incident.
The sounds of fighting attracted more Dregs, who, along with the Dregs in employee uniforms inside the building, attacked from both sides, putting immense pressure on the soldiers.
Efnir holstered her pistol and simply entered Exile mode to force her way in.
Soon, the Dregs was completely eliminated.
They successfully captured the Relay Station.
A signal flare was launched, and the engineering team, upon receiving the signal, immediately set off for the Relay Station.
Another signal flare was launched, signaling to the main force remaining in the area to proceed with the next phase of operations.
Maesakagawa Garrison District Temporary Headquarters--
The soldiers saw the signal flare in the distant sky, and the tense atmosphere finally turned into a glimmer of hope and excitement.
"Reboot the Boundary Stele!"
At Kusei Maki's command, a deep buzzing sound immediately filled the air. Centered on the Boundary Stele, visible ripples spread outwards in all directions, like ocean waves, each circle stronger than the last.
A substantial barrier, as solid as glass, was erected, and the leaden sky and stratus clouds in the distance became clearer to everyone as the buzzing sound spread—the visual obstruction created by the White Hole Dormitory was rapidly dissipating.
At the same time, Kusei Maki issued another order:
"Now, activate the Resonance Module and contact the Xijing City headquarters."