Chapter 197
[10,000 words finished for today... slurp...]
82. Capture
The Boundary Stele was attacked by Angel. In the rain, flames and energy explosions surrounding the Boundary Stele intertwined and left ripples.
The loud noise and turmoil caused by this unexpected event spread to almost half of the Maesakagawa Garrison District, and also caught the attention of Fujisaki Ryoka and Hatsukawa Fuka, who were fleeing.
"The Angel acted on their own!?"
She now has multiple knife wounds all over her body, and the blood mixed with rainwater has turned her into a bloody mess, making her look somewhat ferocious.
After risking her life to thwart Canary and Efnir's pursuit, she immediately used her knowledge of the terrain to escape quickly, and even though her whole body was almost being torn apart by pain, she did not stop.
Because she was afraid that Efnir and Canary would catch up at any moment, she no longer had the strength to run away like she had before.
Not only her, Hatsukawa Fuka's condition is also becoming increasingly dangerous, so she must also get away from Efnir and Canary's pursuit as soon as possible, and then buy time to treat Fuka's injuries.
However, at this moment, she witnessed with her own eyes the two beams of light, one red and one white, piercing towards the Boundary Stele in the distant sky, as well as the huge energy ripples that exploded outwards.
She instinctively sensed something unusual.
"No... I think... maybe someone deliberately awakened the Angel..."
Hatsukawa Fuka's voice was soft and delicate, with a slight husky quality.
Her face looked terrible; she seemed on the verge of death.
You mean?
"It's probably... an operation at the base..."
--Angel are the organization's ultimate combat weapon. Naturally, the Apostle knew nothing about the details. The organization did a good job of keeping this secret. However, as the captain of the Apostle Squad Fujisaki Ryoka knew very well that the "awakening" or "activation" of Angel required external "commands".
Simply put, it refers to the operator with control authority, and there is only one operator: oneself.
In this operation, Fujisaki Ryoka was granted "temporary authority" to command the Angel in combat, but on the condition that these "weapons" not be damaged. Strictly speaking, she, as the "temporary authority holder," was only borrowing the Angel as weapons; the organization would not completely relinquish the right to use the Angel to her.
Angel are the organization's fewest and final trump card.
Therefore, after suffering a defeat against Efnir's attack in the Beyond the Boundary Region Fujisaki Ryoka had already dispatched the Angel away to return to the organization's base— Angel shouldn't be here.
This means that another person with "authority" gave the Angel an order, which is why the Angel reappeared here.
Fujisaki Ryoka narrowed her eyes slightly.
"There are only a handful of people who have the 'authority,' it's really strange that they would come to the front lines... Are they here to save us?"
"I don't think so... If she wanted to save us, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths..."
Hatsukawa Fuka's words carried a hint of sarcasm, and Fujisaki Ryoka pursed her lips and looked away.
I think so too.
Angel are precious weapons, and their numbers are extremely limited. Even though the organization strictly controls intelligence related to Angel, these Apostle have still managed to glimpse some dark corners during their operations.
Simply put, even if all the Apostle here were to perish, that stern old man wouldn't even blink an eye.
But if Angel is "damaged," that guy will definitely be troubled for quite a while.
Therefore, Fujisaki Ryoka couldn't understand why the Angel who had already retreated would reappear here. If it was to save them, the organization would never send out Angel who were already injured, exchanging expensive items that were likely to break for some dispensable gadgets. It was clearly an unprofitable deal, a very simple principle.
The Angel's true intention in appearing here is all the more intriguing.
"In any case, we can take this opportunity to evacuate... The agents won't abandon the Boundary Stele and come after us."
Hatsukawa Fuka's judgment was correct, but not entirely correct.
As soon as she finished speaking, Efnir appeared in their field of vision—through the rain, Efnir's figure, carrying a faint light, rapidly caught up from behind, closing the distance between her and Fujisaki Ryoka at a visible speed.
From this distance, Fujisaki Ryoka could even see Efnir's piercing gaze.
"Efnir!? Tsk... I knew it..."
Because there was a decisive power gap between Efnir and them, especially now that she was desperate.
If she were Efnir, she wouldn't mind spending an extra minute chasing after herself—the attack on the temporary base had already occurred, and the captain of the Apostle Squad was within reach; choosing either side as the decision priority was possible.
And just as she had predicted, Efnir chose this path.
"You underestimate me like that?! You despicable agent!"
As if facing a formidable enemy, Fujisaki Ryoka instantly turned around and raised a barrier of white light—not to intercept Efnir's pursuit, but to use the power of the Apostle to lift stones from the ruins and hurl them at Efnir.
However, a faint light shimmered on Efnir's arms and body, and in the next moment, a layer of luminous armor condensed.
She easily smashed the rock to pieces with a single punch, and her injured body, protected by her arm armor, did not significantly hinder her movement.
Efnir was flying much faster than Fujisaki Ryoka, and the distance between them closed in just a few breaths.
Instead of running away, Fujisaki Ryoka immediately turned around, and inch by inch, white light condensed into a thick armor blade.
"Aaaaaah--!"
She roared in frustration and suddenly slashed at Efnir, but Efnir met Fujisaki Ryoka punch.
The two women attacked each other simultaneously. The rain and air were compressed and broken by the energy ripples that exploded instantly, and the deafening roar tore through the sky. However, the powerful attack failed to break through Efnir's arm armor, and did not even make Efnir take a step back. Instead, Fujisaki Ryoka was sent flying backward by Efnir's punch and crashed into the ruins.
"Cough... cough waah..."
A mouthful of blood spurted from her shattered body. Beneath Fujisaki Ryoka, enveloped within an energy barrier.
Fuka had already fainted from the shockwave, Fujisaki Ryoka had to take the direct hit from Efnir's attack in order to protect Hatsukawa Fuka.
But now their escape has come to an end.
"You have nowhere to run."
Efnir reached out to the resolute-looking Fujisaki Ryoka and Hatsukawa Fuka, sealing and restricting them with heavy chains of light and flame. Fujisaki Ryoka no longer had the strength to fight, but stared intently at the woman who had repeatedly thwarted her tactics with eyes full of resentment and bitterness.
"Failure to send you to your grave was a strategic mistake on my part... but that day will come, Agent..."
With a hoarse voice, she screamed at Efnir with all her might, blood staining half of her clothes.
Efnir simply flicked her finger, sealing off the temporary cage of light and flame.
"I'll be waiting."
Efnir narrowed her eyes, her gaze icy.
"Next time, I'll show you my fighting style."
83. Stealth Attack
The rain had not yet stopped, and the battle continued.
This was a great battle of struggle and counterattack. The number of participants was not large, but the scale of the battle was by no means small. Whether they were agents or Apostle, they all represented the limits of their individual strength. Because of this, the battle, which seemed to be a huge mismatch in strength, lasted for a long time.
Even though Captain Fujisaki Ryoka is missing, the battle between the Apostle and their agents, as well as the Xijing City troops, is far from over.
Aside from the few Angel who were lost during the retreat and cover battle Beyond the Boundary, the Apostle led by Fujisaki Ryoka still possessed a fighting force of over thirty people. Although they were merely "replicas" of the Apostle, they were still a force to be reckoned with. After the failed operation to besiege Efnir and Yukina, apart from Fujisaki Ryoka and Hatsukawa Fuka, who were being pursued by Efnir and Canary, nearly twenty Apostle remained and retreated in two groups. Ayse and Saori split into two groups to pursue and intercept the retreating Apostle.
But there were only two of them, and the Apostle weren't going to just wait for the soldiers to catch up.
When they were surrounding and killing Yukina and Efnir, they had to deploy their formation around the target. Thanks to Yukina's efforts, they were dragged into the train unit's blocking range, which led to the scene of the train unit and the Apostle attacking and blocking each other.
But things are different now—under Fujisaki Ryoka's orders, they are focused on evacuating and don't want to fight the soldiers at all. Escaping is much easier than winning. The Apostle can simply float lightly over a building and completely cut off the soldiers' support forces.
The soldiers could only pursue the enemy with difficulty on roads full of obstacles, ruins, and even Dregs. As the battle intensified, they would even attract Dregs and potentially missed Erosion Entity, making their actions hesitant and causing them to be quickly left behind by the retreating Apostle.
In this way, only two agents remained to pursue the Apostle Squad — Ayse and Saori.
As agents, they are physically stronger and are battle-hardened warriors capable of fighting four or five Apostle at the same time. With the support of the train troops, they can naturally hold their own against multiple Apostle and fight a battle of equal strength.
But things changed once they were out of the soldiers' support range. Each retreating group of Apostle consisted of nearly ten people, and they wouldn't let the agents pursue them. Naturally, they engaged in battle with Ayse and Saori.
The agent can handle four or five Apostle with ease, but if the number increases to seven or eight, the outcome will be different.
Faced with the counterattack of so many Apostle, even Saori, who was skilled in urban combat, had to avoid their attacks. Not to mention Ayse, who was already injured and fatigued from multiple battles, her condition had declined. The two of them were no match for these Apostle.
Therefore, they were forced to change their tactics, focusing on hit-and-run tactics and delaying maneuvers.
Their goal was to delay the Apostle's retreat as much as possible, while waiting for reinforcements from the temporary base or from Efnir and Canary.
However, what followed was a deafening explosion— the Boundary Stele had been attacked by Angel.
Amidst the rain, towering buildings on the horizon erupted with dazzling energy ripples. Although the barrier of the Boundary Stele would not be easily breached by just two Angel, and the temporary base was already guarded by several Second-Generation Agent led by Anilas, so there was no need to worry too much about security, the temporary base's backup energy had long been depleted, and the appearance of the Angel was clearly not a good omen.
At the same time, Ayse and Saori, who were separately pursuing the two Apostle Squad, also had a grim expression. Their temporary base had been attacked, and the enemy was none other than the most difficult Angel to deal with. This meant that there was no hope of providing support, and it was obviously unrealistic for the two of them to intercept the retreating Apostle.
Soon, a silver light rose from the ground, like a crease in the sky, splitting everyone's vision in two. The blinding light collided head-on with the Angel's attack from below, and the world fell silent for a moment before suddenly exploding.
The energetic fireworks compressed the air, exploding in a ring shape high in the sky.
The light curtain rained down, clearly indicating that the agents at the temporary base had launched a counterattack, and that attack was very likely caused by Anilas.
At the same time, a large amount of silver light shot towards the Angel, and the Angel's attack finally came to a halt due to the counterattack of the temporary base.
"So there really are two Angel... one is Qinglan, and the other is Flying Swallow?"
Saori's gaze turned serious as she looked away.
Directly in front of her, the Apostle girl was also astonished by the battle on the horizon, and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.
"The Angel have activated!? It must be Captain Fujisaki who brought us support!"
This Apostle Squad consists of nine people and was tasked by Fujisaki Ryoka with the mission of "evacuating and destroying the safe house".
"Our captain is still fighting for us!"
"We have not been abandoned!"
They were naturally unaware that Fujisaki Ryoka was being pursued by Efnir at this moment, and could not even escape from Efnir's grasp, let alone go to the base to "awaken" the Angel.
In their view, only Fujisaki Ryoka could awaken the Angel, and the appearance of the Angel must have been reinforcements summoned by Fujisaki Ryoka through some means. They wishfully believed that it was all Fujisaki Ryoka's doing. But in any case, this was good news for them, meaning that their chances of a successful retreat had increased.
But before they could even rejoice, the Angel outside the Boundary Stele, who were fighting the temporary encampment, suddenly raised their hands simultaneously and unleashed a burst of energy. Then, taking advantage of the brief moment, they immediately flew backward. Then, to everyone's bewilderment, the two Angel simply retreated, disappearing from sight as they were struck by countless silver lights.
This scene puzzled both the Apostle and Saori.
"Tsk... it seems I'm still pushing myself too hard... it looks like time is running out, everyone listen to me!"
The speaker was the leader of the Apostle, and one of the two who had been by Fujisaki Ryoka's side. She was one of the most powerful team members besides Fujisaki Ryoka and Hatsukawa Fuka. Now that Fujisaki Ryoka and Hatsukawa Fuka had left the team, she naturally took over the command of this evacuation team.
"We need to evacuate here as soon as possible, blow up the safe house, and let's work together once again to force the agents back!"
She stopped in mid-air, no longer fleeing, but instead faced Saori with the other Apostle, pointing her finger at Saori from afar.
"Destroy her!!"
Several beams of light quickly condensed and shot towards Saori. The attack from the nine Apostle was overwhelming, and Saori had to deal with it cautiously. She swung the chains in her hand, and a silver light flashed under her feet, revealing Stairway that allowed her to quickly turn around in mid-air.
84. Funeral Bird
Saori lunged behind an abandoned building, using the crumbling structure as cover.
A large number of orbs of light followed closely behind, and with a violent explosion, the side wall of the building was immediately pierced and shot towards Saori. However, Saori used the Saori to pull herself up to the roof and narrowly avoided the oncoming attack.
Before Saori could even take control of the rooftop, two Apostle launched an attack, blasting the rooftop to its ground and simultaneously unleashing a dense rain of light towards Saori.
"Annoying!"
Saori flung out the chains, pulling her body to one side. Her body was as agile as a swimming fish, and the Apostle's attack net could not harm her, but she gradually moved away from the Apostle Squad's position.
She was forced to back down.
And at that moment—
In the middle of the standoff between Saori and the Apostle Squad, the walls of a low building suddenly shook violently, exploded with a loud bang, and flying debris and dust suddenly burst forth, severing the battle between Saori and the Apostle.
Noticing the sudden explosion, Saori and the Apostle Squad simultaneously retreated to create distance, cautiously casting their gazes towards the location of the blast. Their battle paused for a moment as both of them simultaneously saw a figure emerge from the rising smoke and dust.
"What's going on!?"