Chapter 184

She knew that Efnir was a formidable opponent, but she had no idea that her agent was just as troublesome and had displayed a formidable presence, posing a threat almost comparable to Anilas on the main battlefield.

If Liang Xiang had known this would be the outcome, she would have definitely deployed a dozen more people to focus on pursuing this newcomer.

However... in fact, if it weren't for "Fifina" being there, their ambush might not have been so successful— Liang Xiang knew very well that if Efnir hadn't protected "Fifina" at the first moment when she was attacked, given Efnir's strength on the front lines, their ambush operation might not have gone so smoothly.

"Fifina...?"

Liang Xiang pursed her lips, quickly making plans in her mind.

The rescue attempt by Yukina took an unexpected turn. The artillery fire and bullets from the Relay Station became more intense and chaotic. The Apostle temporarily avoided direct fire and took cover behind bunkers.

Yukina and Efnir are the backbone of the soldiers. Without them, the soldiers would have no chance against the attacks of the Erosion Entity, which has made them anxious. The Relay Station can hold out for a while with the last remaining Lure Shell, but this cannot fundamentally solve the crisis. The fall of the Relay Station is only a matter of time.

"Captain, shall we launch a full-scale attack?"

Liang Xiang pondered for a moment, then shook her head.

She took a deep breath and shouted the order to the remaining Apostle: "Everyone else, prepare the 'Enhancement Agent'! Release all the 'Crystal'!"

"Yes!"

Upon receiving Liang Xiang's order, the Apostle each drew syringes from their waists to replenish their "Enhancement Agent" doses. By this time, all the Enhancement Agent they carried had been used up. Then, they took out a fingernail-sized purplish-black Crystal from a metal tube, pushed it in from the back of the metal tube, pulled the outer sleeve, and pointed it high into the air—the next moment, the sleeve suddenly slid forward, the air was compressed, and with a soft pop, all the Crystal were launched towards the Relay Station.

Before long, these Crystal will Resonance and summon some Erosion Entity —summoning Erosion Entity will be extremely effective against ordinary people, just as they did when they raided the enemy forces.

These twenty-odd Summoning Crystal are enough to completely destroy the Relay Station's Defense Line.

After doing all this, Liang Xiang looked at a girl behind her.

"You lead the wounded to stay behind."

"Yes!"

"Everyone else, let's chase it together!!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the Apostle retreated in full force, and then quickly changed direction in areas out of the soldiers' firepower, forming small teams of three to five men to chase after the direction in which Yukina had fled.

At the same time, at the end of the street not far from the Relay Station, a flash of silver light appeared, and the massive body of the Erosion Entity collapsed, turning into stardust and scattering.

The kite, wielding a samurai sword, appeared behind the Erosion Entity.

Her gaze was fixed on the direction Liang Xiang and the Apostle had left in, while she kept a close eye on the movements of the remaining wounded Apostle, before casting her eyes toward the Relay Station.

Upon receiving the distress signal from the Relay Station, Yuan immediately ordered all equipment to cease operation and cut off all power to minimize the attraction of these instruments to the Erosion Entity and Dregs. After doing all this, she rushed to provide support.

Then, from afar, she witnessed Yukina snatching Efnir and being shot down. The entire scene, from the Apostle launching Summoning Crystal at the Relay Station to chasing after Yukina.

She knew that the situation was now so serious that she couldn't turn it around by herself alone.

The immediate priority is to reinforce the Relay Station, help it protect the equipment and the engineering team, and then wait for reinforcements to be dispatched from the temporary base.

But she knew she couldn't hold out for long. The Erosion Entity summoned by the Crystal would suddenly appear behind the lines and were very difficult to deal with. She couldn't possibly deal with both the Erosion Entity appearing behind the lines and around the Relay Station on her own.

Just then, she suddenly saw a tiny black dot high in the sky—initially hidden behind the rain and indistinct, but now it abruptly entered the kite's field of vision.

"At this moment..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and immediately recognized one of the two leading figures— Elincia, one of the First-Generation Agent left behind in Xijing City and a senior figure in charge of the West Line district.

The other person was wearing a mask and a black robe. Yuan didn't recognize her, but she quickly identified her by the same agent airborne support equipment that Elincia wore behind her.

Clearly, they were combat personnel who came to provide support.

"Looks like there's hope..."

Yuan narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the outermost part of the battle line, at the Apostle Squad that were temporarily stationed behind the buildings and bunkers.

With a soft hum, Yuan turned and disappeared.

Yukina carried Efnir, while a dozen or so Apostle were chasing each other around the corner of the street behind them. They moved quickly through the block, one fleeing and the other pursuing.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and the dizziness from lack of oxygen repeatedly washed over Yukina's mind. She clenched her teeth, her blood seemed to boil, making her breath scalding hot, and her lungs felt like they were being filled with boiling water.

Scenes from the past two years of living with Efnir flashed before Yukina's eyes, along with the wishes she and Efnir had made over the past month.

If it weren't for her own sake, Efnir wouldn't have been ambushed and seriously injured.

Guilt and remorse filled my chest.

Yukina held Efnir tightly in her arms and ran as fast as she could, the explosions of the pursuers always lagging behind her.

The opponent is Apostle with powerful energy attack methods. Running away in a straight line will only make you a sitting duck, which is no different from suicide. Yukina can only use the dense buildings as cover, sometimes going around to the rooftop, sometimes crossing to the ground, and engaging in a chase with the pursuing Apostle.

Using the buildings as cover, Yukina ran and jumped like her life depended on it. She changed direction at every turn and changed floors every time she passed a building.

But each time she shook off the Apostle, other Apostle would come chasing after her from other directions.

Of the thirty-odd Apostle, aside from the dozen or so who were wounded or killed, the rest joined the pursuit of Yukina and Efnir after leaving behind the black crystal—their determination to kill Efnir was exceptionally strong.

The numerical advantage greatly increased the efficiency of the Apostle's pursuit. Liang Xiang divided the Apostle Squad into several pursuit groups of three to five people each. By flanking and covering Yukina from different directions, they slowed down Yukina's escape. In this chase, the difference in numbers immediately created a huge disadvantage for Yukina.

Thanks to this, the Relay Station was able to catch its breath a little, but Yukina was becoming increasingly exhausted.

"Put me down..."

"Efnir said."

But Yukina stubbornly shook her head, her attitude resolute.

At that moment, a blinding ball of light rose from behind and suddenly slammed towards Yukina, aiming straight for Yukina back.

Yukina had no way to avoid it.

At the critical moment, a protective barrier suddenly rose up behind Yukina, enveloping Yukina figure with a loud bang, blocking all the attacks launched by the Apostle. Yukina only felt the heat wave and shock from the air.

Nestled in Yukina's arms, Efnir, having released a protective barrier, glanced coldly in the direction of the Apostle, her lips pressed tightly together.

She coughed lightly, withdrew her hand, gently wrapped her arms around Yukina's neck, buried her head between Yukina's shoulders and neck, and breathed heavily, suppressing the intense pain surging through her body.

Drops of blood seeped onto Yukina's shoulder.

"Yukina, where are you planning to go?"

"Efnir asked weakly, her voice hoarse."

"Temporary base..."

She tightened her grip on Efnir's arm, panting heavily as Yukina quickly changed direction, running and jumping.

Her destination was a temporary base.

Once we reach the temporary base and reunite with Anilas and the others, we will definitely be able to save Efnir.

Efnir raised her gaze to Yukina, nodded slightly, and a subtle glint appeared in her eyes.

For no reason at all, Efnir suddenly had a long-lost illusion, as if she had returned to the time when she was a child and was Kaoru Yanase's arms.

Efnir had always been in the position of an older brother when interacting with Yukina. This was the first time she was being protected by Yukina, relying on Yukina, and letting Yukina's strong arms hold her. This feeling was very unfamiliar, and it stirred up an indescribable feeling in Efnir's heart.

"Hoo..." A soft breath escaped her lips, Efnir whispered, "Yukina, there are enemies on the right..."

"Um!"

Following Efnir's advice, Yukina quickly changed direction and, thanks to Efnir's almost precognitive abilities, Yukina always narrowly escaped the Apostle's encirclement.

After waking up from that strange dream, Efnir examined her body—multiple fractures and gunshot wounds all over her body; it was a miracle she was still alive.

Strangely, Efnir discovered that all the wounds on her body had stopped bleeding, and even some of the more serious wounds showed no fresh blood. The shallower wounds had even healed from their injuries.

She found it hard to describe the feeling, as if she had already spent a day resting in a hospital bed.

During the attack, Efnir managed to evade and defend herself at the last second, thus avoiding numerous fatal wounds, but the accumulated injuries still took a heavy toll on her body.

That's how it should be.

However, Efnir discovered that she seemed to still retain some strength, although the bones in her legs were broken. She could only rely on Yukina to carry her, provide support for Yukina, protect Yukina from attacks, and warn of the approaching enemies in the distance.

However, her injuries were still severe, and Efnir was not yet able to fight.

Moreover, the Apostle Power has been eroding her body, and the defense she built for Yukina just now only aggravated Efnir's injuries.

Just then, a loud explosion came from her side, and the Apostle's attack landed at Yukina's feet.

The light curtain rose, enveloping Yukina, but the violent impact still sent Yukina flying, crashing through a wall and landing in a shopping mall.

58. Encirclement

This is a commercial building, which has long been in ruins due to Erosion Disaster. Dark red bloodstains remain on the walls, and the ground is littered with overturned debris and shelves.

With a deafening roar, the wall shattered, and the sphere of light, enveloping Yukina and Efnir, pierced through the broken stones and ashes. At that moment, the light barrier slowly transformed into starlight and dissipated, and Yukina and Efnir were thrown out and buried in the pile of collapsed shelves.

Then, another explosion shattered the walls, and the ground shook as if the building might collapse at any moment.

But the Apostle's pursuit missed Efnir and Yukina, who were hidden by the dust and walls.

"Naoko!"

Yukina quickly pushed aside a pile of collapsed debris and carefully picked up Efnir, who had fallen to the ground.

Bright red bloodstains were left on the ground beneath Efnir. Yukina glanced back, then pulled Efnir behind a heavy, load-bearing pillar for cover.

She tilted her chin back, panting heavily, almost unable to catch her breath.

Yukina swallowed her dry throat and looked at Efnir again.

"Naoko..."

She called softly.

The person in her arms brought a warm and soft touch. Suddenly, the weight on her arms increased. While Yukina was stunned, Efnir's blood-stained snow-white hair gradually turned into raven-black feathers. Her long robe and white hakama shimmered with starlight. The next second, Efnir's Battle Armament was completely deactivated, and her figure completely returned to the usual "Yanase Naoko".

Seeing this, Yukina's heart sank, and the fingers around Efnir's shoulders tightened slightly.

"Naoko... are you alright...?"

With her Battle Armament disarmed, Efnir no longer had the strength to maintain Efnir Synchronization state and had lost the enhancements from the Order Force. At this point, Efnir was just a slightly stronger ordinary person.

This is undoubtedly bad news at this point.

A wave of dizziness and weakness washed over her. Efnir covered her mouth and coughed softly. Her hands trembled slightly; the wound on her right hand from the battle caused her excruciating pain, making her lips pale.

She leaned on Yukina's shoulder, as blood trickled down her fingers from her cough.

Protected by the light barrier, Yukina and Efnir were not injured by the Apostle's attack. However, Efnir had to mobilize the Apostle Power again, which worsened her already serious injuries.

"I'm fine... just a little exhausted..."

Suppressing the excruciating pain of losing her Synchronization, Efnir shook her head.

"Yukina, we need to get out of here quickly, the Apostle will be catching up soon..."

Upon exiting her Apostle Form state, Efnir's ability to observe "dust" was immediately weakened considerably, but it wasn't entirely useless; at least she could still sense the dangerous aura permeating the air.

Looking through the rising dust towards the breached wall, one could see the figures of three Apostle —the ones who had ambushed Yukina from the high ground.

The sound of explosions continued to follow, rising from behind.

Large sections of the wall suddenly began to collapse, dust filled the air, and the ventilation ducts overhead suddenly broke and fell downwards.

A deafening roar echoed through the empty building. Efnir lay on the ground, staring blankly at Yukina.

Yukina tackled Efnir to the ground, shielding her beneath her, and used her powerful physical strength as an agent to bear the weight of the ventilation duct.

Perhaps this weight wouldn't mean much to the agent, but this scene stung Efnir.

Efnir tilted her chin up, gazing at Yukina's profile. Yukina's light blue hair, wet with rain, clung to her cheeks, mingling with the bloodstains, giving Efnir a strange feeling, as if she were seeing her former self reflected in Yukina's eyes.

This feeling was extremely unfamiliar.

"I'll carry you on my back!"

Unaware of Efnir's complicated expression, Yukina gritted her teeth, pushed away the heavy object pressing on her back, and then pulled Efnir up.

This time, Efnir didn't refuse; she simply lowered her head and cooperated with Yukina's movements.

Because of the change in body shape, it will be more convenient to carry it on your back.