Chapter 192

Fujisaki Ryoka's words startled the group, and they all lowered their eyes and fell silent.

Under the influence of the "Enhancement Agent," they are not afraid of danger and are fearless. Their emotions are mostly driven by hatred for revenge, but this does not mean that they are unable to distinguish the current situation.

Although the Suzuda City Fleet's naval support will not launch large-scale missile attacks within the Garrison District due to considerations of "avoiding hitting teammates," there is no doubt that they will easily clear out large areas of Dregs both inside and outside the Garrison District area, allowing the Garrison District troops to have more strength to encircle and intercept the Apostle from both sides.

This process is underway, and no one knows when the danger facing the Apostle will arrive. The Suzuda City naval fleet is like a sword hanging overhead, while the Xijing City forces are like a thorn pointed at their throats.

"Then... which direction should we leave from...?"

Making a very difficult decision, they consulted Fujisaki Ryoka.

"To the west is the Suzuda City naval fleet... The route we came from is blocked, and our ships will definitely be discovered. We won't be able to return to Liujin City... Should we escape by land?"

"Yes, this is the only way we can go; we have no other options."

Fujisaki Ryoka voice and took a deep breath.

"You..." She looked at one of the people in front of her, "You lead half the people and take a detour from here to the eastern planting and residential area, then leave through 'that' that we've prepared."

"Angel will meet you at the end."

"Once we reunite, don't hesitate, escape as quickly as possible, the farther the better. Make sure to bring everything back with you."

"And you," Fujisaki Ryoka turned to the other person, "Lead the rest of you and escape north from here, through the underground tunnels. Our base of operations cannot be taken over by the enemy. Go and destroy it, then escape along the way. As soon as you leave the 'barrier' area, immediately destroy the passage so the agents can't catch up with you."

"Now! Act now!!"

"But! Captain! Hatsukawa and the others haven't..."

"Forget about them! Do you really think they have a chance? Stop dreaming, get out of here now! Get out of here!!"

Fujisaki Ryoka shouted loudly.

She knew, of course, that the wounded soldiers left at the Relay Station and Hatsukawa Fuka, who was buried in the rubble due to her injuries, were still waiting for their rescue. But she also knew that if they went to rescue Hatsukawa Fuka, who was in the very center of the battle, they would have to shrink the battle zone, which would undoubtedly put the Apostle into complete encirclement by the Xijing City troops.

Not to mention the wounded at the Relay Station who had already been attacked by air support forces; in Fujisaki Ryoka's view, the enemy on the other side had already been completely wiped out before the dust settled on this side.

There was no need for her to waste her last chance to rescue a few corpses.

"Strictly follow my orders! No one is allowed to do anything unnecessary!!"

Fujisaki Ryoka is definitely not an indecisive person; on the contrary, she is more decisive than anyone else when making decisions.

If they can take this opportunity to have the outer and inner circle of Apostle Squad immediately detour and disperse, they will have a chance to escape by taking advantage of the terrain.

"Yes..."

The two Apostle girls exchanged a stiff glance, gave a soft reply, and prepared to leave.

But Fujisaki Ryoka did not leave with any of them.

"Team leader...?"

"Don't worry about me, you guys get out of here!"

Ignoring the complex gazes directed at her subordinates, her eyes pierced through layers of ruins and battlefield, landing on the spot where Hatsukawa Fuka was buried.

The others remained silent, Apostle split into two groups, retreating their Defense Line —a sign that they were about to leave.

At this moment, the Xijing City troops also immediately advanced onto the battlefield to restrain all the Apostle's actions.

Especially at times like these, the flames of war are less likely to quietly die out.

Meanwhile, Fujisaki Ryoka walked alone through the ruins, eventually stopping amidst the rubble. She raised her hand and brushed aside the layers of tiles, revealing Hatsukawa Fuka's frail figure beneath.

Fuuka's face was deathly pale, her dim eyes meeting Fujisaki Ryoka's gaze.

Her eyes held a complex expression.

"Why are you here...?"

"The battle was lost. If I can rescue you, my punishment will probably be lessened a bit."

"Yeah..."

Hatsukawa Fuka's fingers trembled slightly, and between her blood-stained fingers lay a rusty, jagged cone-shaped piece of iron.

She hesitated for a moment, then let go, struggled to lift her gaze, and reached out to tightly grasp the hand that Fujisaki Ryoka offered.

"Take me back."

74. I'll give it to you.

The rain continued to pour down, and as the battle progressed, time ticked by.

The artillery fire and gunfire continued unabated.

After breaking through the encirclement, Efnir led Yukina towards the interception net.

The Apostle Squad of the outer interception network also intended to move closer to them in an attempt to intercept them, but Ayse and the others immediately launched a counterattack, and the offensive of the agents and Apostle was immediately reversed. The Apostle were too busy to intercept Efnir and Yukina, and only launched sporadic attacks on the two of them, all of which were anticipated by Efnir's precognitive "Dust Vision" and were dodged.

Efnir's advance is towards the flank of the battle line, which is also the shortest route to the West Line river. Leaving the city from here would allow them to rendezvous with the Suzuda City naval forces that are providing support upstream along the river. Alternatively, they could detour directly to the flank of Ayse and the others, or to their temporary base.

This forced the Apostle still wanted to pursue Efnir and Yukina, to retreat.

No one would willingly choose a path that leads to death.

In short, the situation is now overwhelmingly in favor of the agents. Efnir and Yukina quickly traversed the ruined streets, and the Apostle ceased their pursuit. Instead, under Fujisaki Ryoka's command, they changed formation, rapidly shifting from an offensive and containment posture to a defensive one and retreating, intentionally guiding the battlefield away from the train's bombing range.

"Is the Apostle leaving...?"

Yukina's weak voice rang out from in his arms.

She lay limply against Efnir's shoulder and neck, breathing softly. Beads of sweat on her brow were stained with blood, then slid down her cheeks and soaked into Efnir's collar.

Yukina's face was deathly pale; she had quickly fallen into this depressed state after breaking through the encirclement.

Clearly, the continuous battles had already severely exhausted her body. Before, she could only hold on with her last breath and strong desire, but when she finally escaped from that dangerous situation, as soon as she relaxed, Yukina's body immediately went limp.

Efnir could sense that the energy within Yukina's body had long been depleted, and this loss of physical strength and the Order Force was causing Yukina's injuries to worsen.

In contrast, Efnir's injuries had strangely healed considerably on their own. At least the most serious, almost fatal wounds had almost completely healed. Otherwise, Efnir would not have been able to return here in her current state.

It must be said that although Efnir didn't know what had happened to her, it undoubtedly saved her life.

In contrast, Yukina's injuries were much more severe. After being sniped and besieged at the Relay Station, and then fleeing to cover Efnir, the accumulated injuries from the battles had already left Yukina's body swaying precariously.

"Yes, we did it..."

Efnir stopped in her tracks, with Ayse and the soldiers catching up behind her, while the Apostle in the distance were gradually regrouping and retreating.

With a deep sigh of relief, Efnir hugged the person in her arms even tighter, seemingly unintentionally.

"Yes, I did it..."

Yukina's voice was weak and feeble. With her eyes closed, she leaned on Efnir's shoulder and responded softly, raising the corners of her mouth.

She felt a mix of lingering fear, lingering anxiety, and relief at surviving such a close call, but what Yukina felt most was the joy that Efnir had survived.

She was terrified that either she or Efnir would die, leaving the other alone.

She didn't want herself or any of Efnir to suffer that kind of pain.

But if she had to choose a path to follow, Yukina still hoped that Efnir could bear the pain of parting.

Because Efnir is stronger than me, I don't dare to face her.

That's roughly how it happened.

Ultimately, all I wanted was for Efnir to live. As long as she was alive, there was hope; but if she died, nothing would matter. Having faced death, Yukina saw herself, Efnir, and everything else more clearly, but this also made her feel even more powerless.

Because the shadow of death will never come knocking just once.

Efnir and Yukina's eyes were tinged with gray, reflected in the rain.

The Apostle were retreating, and the situation had completely reversed with the agents in pursuit. After confirming that the Apostle would not return, Efnir gently put Yukina down and then pressed on Yukina's wound to stop the bleeding.

Yukina's injuries were serious, but not life-threatening.

Because Yukina is an agent, her physical abilities are far superior to those of ordinary people. Yukina's condition was more likely caused by the worsening of her injuries during the continuous escape and battle. After simple emergency treatment, she only needs rest to gradually recover.

"Yukina, are you alright?"

"Um..."

"Thank you so much this time... Thank you..."

"I don't want Naoko to thank me."

Yukina turned her head away.

"If it were Naoko, Naoko would surely have come up with a better way to salvage the situation, right? Besides, if it weren't for me, Naoko wouldn't have been in danger..."

For a moment, Efnir didn't know how to respond to Yukina's question.

She simply shook her head.

I can't bear to see you in danger.

"I feel the same way about that... It's just that when it comes to liking someone, I'm confident I won't lose to Naoko."

Yukina breathed shallowly, the pain in her body seemed to be numbed, and it was no longer so intense.

"Naoko, do you remember...?"

Yukina gently opened her eyes, turned her cheek to look at Efnir's profile, and a sly smile appeared on her lips.

"Remember what?"

You stole my first kiss.

"Hmm..."

Efnir's expression immediately became subtle; she naturally knew what Yukina was referring to.

"So... you knew..."

The first interaction between Efnir and Yukina was when Yukina was chased by the Erosion Entity and fell into the water. Efnir rescued Yukina and then performed artificial respiration.

Efnir will always remember the turmoil she felt that day. It wasn't just the self-reproach she felt after Yukina was in danger, but more so the panic and helplessness she felt after doing that to Yukina.

Because she realized that her feelings for Yukina were not as pure as she had imagined.

That was a fact she found hard to accept.

She kept those feelings buried deep inside and never mentioned them. After being with Yukina never deliberately brought up what happened back then. Efnir once thought that Yukina had been in a coma at the time, had no memory of it, but obviously, that was not the case.

"Um... of course I know..."

Yukina's eyes regained some of their sparkle; though still pale, they held a hint of a smile.

She was delighted to see Efnir in such a rare state of embarrassment.

"Perhaps many things happened from the very beginning, back then... Naoko, it was your first kiss, right? Is that some kind of coincidence?"

"Actually, I always thought you didn't remember..."

"How could that be... Otherwise, why would Naoko think I would fall for a girl?"

Efnir was speechless.

"Senior Efnir!"

Just then, Furan's voice came from the air. She leaped down from the roof of the abandoned building and landed steadily not far behind Efnir, running towards him.

"Senior Efnir! Are you alright!?"

"I'm fine, don't worry, but Yukina isn't doing very well..."

Furan crouched down and quickly examined Yukina's body, then took out some medicine from her waist pouch.

"... Eat these first, it'll make you feel better."

As she spoke, she performed basic first aid and bandaging on Yukina's wound, causing Yukina to grit her teeth in pain.

Efnir glanced at Yukina, gently raised her hand, and ran it along Yukina's hairline to wipe the blood from her cheek. Then she gently held Yukina's hand, trying to ease Yukina's pain a little.

"This is all the wound can be treated for... Let me give you a quick bandage, then we'll take you away from here... It will hurt a little, please bear with it."

"Um, thank you, senior..."

"Just call me Furan or Rin," Furan smiled. "That's what everyone always calls me."