Chapter 75

"Sister..."

Efnir coughed lightly and removed her hand.

"If we enter into battle, we must..."

Efnir had only spoken half a sentence when a piercing alarm suddenly blared, almost piercing one's eardrums.

"All agents! Emergency! Erosion Entity have appeared simultaneously on both the southern and northern flanks of the West Line. Prepare for battle!"

That was the voice of Fushihara Ayaka.

While it is still uncertain whether this Erosion Disaster is related to the Apostle, there is no doubt that this is a battlefield for the Agents.

Yukina held Efnir's hand tightly. Efnir could feel the sweat on her palm, but Yukina's gaze showed no sign of wavering.

Efnir took a deep breath and said into the headset:

"This is Efnir. All agents, assemble at the helipad."

"Receive."

"Receive..."

The voices of other agents gradually came through.

An armed helicopter took off from the temporary command post and flew rapidly toward the disaster site.

Efnir, Yukina, Tachibana Sara, Kiri Mahiru, and Oguri Aya, a total of five agents, sat on the plane, testing and confirming the communication equipment while Efnir made the final adjustments to the organizational structure.

Besides them, there were two drivers and the man in black whom they had met before.

At this moment, the man in black was reporting the situation to Fushihara Ayaka without stopping, while behind him, Efnir and the others had already put on a Flying Squirrel Suit. This was combat equipment specially designed for agents. Compared to the thick and heavy standard wingsuits, this equipment was lighter and more flexible. Moreover, after being specially modified for the physical attributes of agents, this equipment could be quickly disassembled or discarded through a control button on the waist. The parachute had also been optimized to a certain extent, making it more suitable for agents to quickly enter the battlefield.

This set of equipment is incredibly expensive, and it's a high-altitude descent combat system specifically designed for agents. It's meant to be used in conjunction with the agent's powerful physique and abilities like "Stairway." If an ordinary person were to wear it, they would undoubtedly be smashed into a pulp.

They sat in a circle, and Efnir unfolded the electronic map and zoomed in. On the map, two clusters of striking red dots were located on the back and south sides of the West Line Boundary Stele, respectively, and the distance between them was not too far.

"Then, Ayse, you and Canary will be in charge of the ones in the north."

"Yes!"

"Fifina and I will handle the ones in the south. The Erosion Entity that have appeared this time are not particularly difficult to deal with, and there aren't many of them. So we'll split up and take them down at the same time. After we complete the mission, we'll hand over the follow-up work to the people on the West Line, and we'll immediately return to this position to regroup."

Efnir points out a point on the map and then sends it to each person's electronic wristband.

The general situation of the Erosion Disaster has been understood through video footage sent by soldiers dispatched by Fushihara Ayaka.

Just like the previous three large-scale disasters, this time the Erosion Disaster warning came very suddenly, and the Erosion Entity had already invaded the Inner Boundary area when the warning was issued, leaving no time for prior response.

By the time Efnir and the others boarded the helicopter, the disaster had already spread to other areas within Inner Boundary. This was because the disaster occurred at the location of the "Defense Line," where a large number of soldiers and administrators were stationed. Such a densely populated area could be severely affected by Erosion Disaster.

The moment the Erosion Disaster struck, casualties were already occurring. Those who were Mutation became Dregs, which then attacked other people.

Fortunately, the number of the Erosion Entity that appeared this time was not as large as the previous three times, and they did not have the ability to fly. Moreover, Fushihara Ayaka had contacted the West Line in advance, and they have already made rapid preparations for disaster avoidance. Relatively speaking, the damage and the scope of the disaster are relatively limited.

Efnir looked at Tachibana Sara beside her and said:

"Elincia, our communications can't maintain this distance, so I'll leave you in the helicopter to handle any situations that arise at our rendezvous point."

Tachibana Sara nodded, indicating that she understood.

Efnir glanced at the GPS tracker on her wristband and said again:

"Please proceed with caution during this mission. Once the objective is achieved, immediately return to the rendezvous point and await further instructions. If you discover anything suspicious, report it to me and Elincia."

"Clear!"

"Let's begin our operation now. May our military campaign be successful!"

Time was of the essence. Efnir pulled Yukina to the wide-open machine door and pushed it open forcefully.

A biting wind suddenly rushed up, cutting across her face like a knife and whipping up Efnir's long hair.

Here we are high in the sky, near the Beyond the Boundary Region. The sun is almost setting. Behind us is the brightly lit city of Xijing City, while ahead lies the vast, desolate Beyond the Boundary. In the distance, there are dimly lit villages, which are Xijing City's "satellite cities," small towns similar to Maesakagawa.

Looking down from here, the once colossal Xijing City appears as a tiny pebble on the roadside before the endless white, misty White Hole Erosion upon it.

"Yukina, is this the first time you've seen such scenery?"

Efnir held Yukina's hand tightly. Through the glove, Efnir could clearly feel the trembling in Yukina's palm. She looked at Yukina, Yukina face was pale and whose lips were about to bleed from being bitten by her trembling teeth.

"If I saw it with my own eyes... it really is the first time..."

Is it pretty?

"It's all white... not very pretty..."

Yukina's voice trembled slightly; looking down from such a height had instantly drained all her strength.

Her legs were so weak she could barely stand, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably. Yukina took several deep breaths, but none of them made her look any better.

Even so, she had no intention of backing down.

Because Naoko was Naoko beside her, and she had finally managed to get to this spot after chasing after Naoko, she was determined not to back down.

"It's not very visually appealing, but that's the real world."

Efnir gazed at the Beyond the Boundary, gradually fading into silence under the setting sun and shrouded in white mist. She tugged at the belt at her waist twice and then fastened it to Yukina's belt.

"Put on your goggles, you're about to jump, hold on tight to me."

Yukina obediently put on the goggles, moved close to Efnir, and ran her hands across Efnir's neck, thus "fixing" her waist and neck.

She glanced down at the sky beside her, clenching her teeth and adjusting her breathing again and again.

Don't look down.

"Okay, okay..."

Yukina quickly looked away, but now all she could see was Efnir.

Efnir's face was inches away, close enough to see every single one of Efnir eyelashes. Yukina tilted her head back, gazing intently at her.

Sure enough, I'm not so scared anymore.

"Senior, we'll be going now!"

On the other side, Canary shouted and jumped down. Ayse turned around and looked at Efnir and Yukina with some surprise. She had heard everything clearly from Efnir and Yukina's conversation, which they hadn't tried to keep quiet.

Without thinking much about it, she jumped down after Canary.

We're leaving too.

Before Yukina could even prepare herself, Efnir leaned slightly forward, and her feet lost the solid feeling of being firmly planted on the ground.

"Why--?!!"

In an instant, the world spun around her, her sense of direction was completely disrupted, a huge feeling of weightlessness surged into her chest, and her mind went blank. Yukina almost fainted.

She clung tightly to Efnir, letting out a piercing scream.

Agents need to strictly manage the order power remaining within their bodies. If they enter the battlefield on foot in Exile Form, they will undoubtedly lose a lot of time and a portion of their order power, which is very unwise.

This is why they choose to use wingsuits to enter the battlefield.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but Yukina felt a sharp pain in her ears, as if she had been pricked with needles. She could barely breathe, and her heart felt like it was being pushed into her throat. At that moment, she couldn't hear what Efnir was saying in her ear. She only felt a huge force coming from her waist, and their falling speed slowed down considerably.

The parachute had already opened, freeing one of Efnir's hands to hold Yukina.

This descent was too sudden, and it was difficult for Yukina, who had no training or relevant experience, to adapt.

"Are you alright? We're about to land."

"Um..."

Yukina nodded and buried her face in Efnir's neck. Although she could hardly smell Efnir's unique scent at this moment, this position made her feel at ease.

She took ten seconds to slowly adjust her breathing and got a little used to it.

"Yukina, lift your head. As I told you, take this opportunity to memorize the terrain of the combat area, the characteristics of the Erosion Entity, the extent of the damage, and the personnel evacuation situation. Organize the intelligence on the combat area."

With crimson eyes, Efnir was teaching Yukina while also using the Order Force to enhance her vision and observe the battlefield.

"Um..."

Yukina another deep breath, pulled her hand off Efnir's neck, and looked down.

Although the sun was almost completely setting, the dimness of the sky did not hinder Yukina's vision. She looked down at the ground, and now she could see the situation on the ground much more clearly than when she was in the helicopter. From their position, the trees, roads, people, and vehicles looked like landscape display cases on a table. Where there was damage, where people had not yet evacuated, and where there were Erosion Entity were all clearly visible.

"Memorize everything you see: where people urgently need support, how many Erosion Entity are on the battlefield, where they are located, and their distinguishing characteristics... Because communications can be jammed, our agents won't always have dedicated combatants to assist us."

102. First Battle

Shinomiyami Nami is Efnir's combatant, Shinomiyami Nami accompanies Efnir on most combat missions.

But this wasn't always the case.

Even in a well-prepared combat mission, a proxy may not be able to maintain constant contact with the combatant, because Corruption itself has a powerful ability to interfere with all kinds of signals.

In the city center, this impact would be reduced by the Boundary Stele's resistance to Corruption, and communication would be available most of the time.

However, if it is in a place like the Defense Line, which is very close to the Beyond the Boundary area, the concentration of Corruption is so high that it will have a very strong impact on signal transmission. In that case, it will be difficult to transmit signals accurately. Agents must be prepared to fight alone, just like in the Beyond the Boundary investigation mission.

"Therefore, you must rely on yourself and memorize this information before the battle begins; it will serve as your compass during combat."

"Um..."

Yukina memorized every word Efnir said. She tried to calm herself down and focused on the battlefield beneath her feet, as if she were back in a classroom. Following Efnir's guidance, she quickly began gathering intelligence.

In areas where Erosion Entity occurs, map positioning becomes ineffective due to the lack of signal reception. In such situations, being able to assess the battlefield situation before the battle begins is undoubtedly highly advantageous.

This is also a battlefield strategy for agents.

"The most important meaning of our agents' existence is to protect. In battle, in addition to ensuring our own safety, it is also of paramount importance to support and rescue the suffering people as much as possible. While Exile the Erosion Entity, we must pay attention to the evacuation of others and set our combat objectives accordingly."

Efnir didn't look at Yukina, but stared intently at the ground, as the Erosion Entity ravaging the West Line gradually magnified in her field of vision.

Efnir had experienced a similar conversation before. A long time ago, her senior had said the same thing to her, and later, she relayed the same words to Fengling Shiyin.

And now he's telling it to Yukina.

"I will land on the rooftop. Yukina, you will be responsible for providing support attacks for me. At the same time, use the high ground advantage to report the location of all the Erosion Entity and the evacuation status of the crowd in real time. Remember, no matter what happens to me or what I encounter, you must not cross my position without my order."

"Understood... I... I will follow Naoko's arrangements!"

"Make good use of your weapon; it is the agent's greatest power. Try to feel it, make it a part of you. Every battle you fight with it will make you stronger."

"Um..."

"Now, we're going down. In Synchronization."

"Okay, okay!"

Yukina gently closed her eyes and held her breath. In a flash of silver light, her attire had changed. A heavy, Crystal -like longbow appeared in her hand, and a dress that resembled ice and snow or a curtain of water appeared on her body. Even as the sun was about to completely disappear, her light blue hair shone as brightly as the moon at the bottom of a lake.

"You're more skilled than the first time. Remember that feeling."

"Um..."

Yukina nodded, and as she spoke, silver light surged, and Efnir also entered Exile Form.

Before Yukina's eyes, Yanase Naoko was gone, replaced by a silver-haired little girl a head shorter than herself, "Ephnel." After entering her Exile Form, Efnir suddenly became much more childlike. This was not only reflected in her cheeks and voice, but also in her figure, except for her chest and breasts, which had shrunk to a certain extent. As a result, the belt that was originally tightly fastened around her waist suddenly slipped up from her waist and got stuck directly below Efnir's two protrusions, leaving deep marks as if a balloon had been squeezed tightly.

Efnir gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

She had encountered this situation before, but previously she was always alone and only needed to bear the weight of one person. Now, however, she had to bear the weight of two people at the same time. Although her body was not in pain, the tight constriction made her feel extremely strange.

I didn't think much about that strange feeling before, but after Yukina rubbed me last night, that strange feeling immediately became ambiguous.

Efnir subtly pursed her lips, banishing the fleeting, romantic thoughts that had crossed her mind.

Her eyes immediately cleared again, and Efnir looked down at the rooftop dozens of meters below her and said loudly.

"Disarm your wingsuits and enter battle!"