Yan and Ayane Hanyu stood upon a distant rooftop like audience members behind the scenes, watching the bloody stage below with indifference.
Their conversation had ended.
All that remained was to wait for this drama, which they had personally orchestrated, to reach its predetermined conclusion.
Far away on the dried riverbed, the situation for Chu You and the surviving members of the third rescue team had reached a precarious, exhausted edge.
The few rescue workers who had managed to maintain a defensive circle were now in terrible condition.
To withstand the seemingly endless attacks, everyone was recklessly overdrawing their internal Oracles.
Every flash of light was accompanied by violent tremors in their bodies and suppressed groans of pain.
The defensive circle was shrinking and becoming unstable at a visible rate.
On the other side, Chu You, who bore the brunt of the pressure alone, was in an equally grim state.
The eerie peach-colored light in her pupils had dimmed to its limit, flickering like a candle in the wind that might be extinguished at any moment.
Large beads of sweat continuously seeped from her chin and nose, merging into lines before splashing onto the cracked earth beneath her feet, instantly leaving dark, wet stains.
Her breathing was heavy and ragged.
Every swing of her blade lacked its original sharpness, replaced by a sense of weight and sluggishness.
The aberrants around her remained like a black tide, surging from all directions, roaring and snapping.
No matter how hard she fought to kill them, as soon as one group fell, more immediately filled the void.
It felt as though there was no end.
Chu You performed a backhand slash, slicing off half the head of a swift-type aberrant that had tried to ambush her from the side.
Foul blood sprayed onto her already tattered combat uniform.
Alarm bells rang in her mind as a cold chill crept up her spine.
‘Something is wrong… very wrong!’
Why did the surrounding aberrants feel even heavier and more numerous now than when reinforcements first arrived?
The number of these monsters seemed to be increasing in a bizarre way.
If this continued, she wouldn’t even be able to protect herself, let alone the team members behind her.
She would be worn down and killed by this endless battle of attrition!
Chu You felt the demon-kin origin power within her body growing weaker, like a spring about to run dry.
She bit her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood.
Previously, to save Xia Ji, she had unconsciously and briefly awakened the long-dormant Qiwutong.
Given the current situation, unless Gu Qiancheng or other reinforcements descended like gods from the heavens, there was only one path left to reverse this certain death—she had to awaken the Qiwutong again!
Chu You took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her physical exhaustion and the chaotic thoughts in her mind.
While mechanically swinging her blade to parry and slash, she sank her entire consciousness into her body.
Like someone fumbling in absolute darkness, she called out anxiously and desperately, trying to touch that realm of her Oracle’s origin that seemed to have fallen into total silence.
However, no matter how she called, the silent Qiwutong remained unresponsive.
The battle on the riverbed grew even more tragic.
One rescue worker struggled to raise his knife to block a claw from an aberrant, but because his body was nearly powerless, his feet stumbled, and he almost collapsed.
The companion beside him was quick to act, catching him with one hand while smashing the head of another lunging aberrant with a fist enveloped in a faint light.
He hissed, “Hold on! Don’t fall! Reinforcements are almost here!”
The worker being supported could not stop his hand from shaking.
His voice was raspy with despair as he whispered back, “Reinforcements… will they really… come? Have we… have we been abandoned?”
“They will! They definitely will!” another rescue worker shouted, his eyes bloodshot.
His fists flew out as if he felt no pain, trading injuries with the pouncing aberrants.
“We’re shorthanded, and Command definitely knows it! Just hold on a bit longer. Even if it’s just one more second, reinforcements are surely on the way!”
Far away, on the rooftop of the ruined skyscraper.
Ayane Hanyu let out a sigh that carried a hint of mockery and impatience.
“Oh? What remarkably stubborn life force. They’re like cockroaches—no matter how you step on them, they won’t die. It’s quite a headache…”
“Time is short,” Cinder said, his tone flat and devoid of emotion.
“Clear out the irrelevant people as quickly as possible. Leave only the medium.”
Hearing this, Ayane Hanyu nodded with a smile and elegantly raised her palm.
Within the rift in her palm, a thick, pitch-black substance began to wriggle like a living thing.
A moment later—
Within the tide of aberrants, one unique creature suddenly froze!
Its body was covered in dark scales, and it moved in a semi-crawling posture, built long and lean like a leopard.
Threads of black mist, nearly invisible to the naked eye, rapidly spread and diffused through its pupils, which had previously only held violent crimson.
Wiii—!
This “chosen” aberrant suddenly let out a roar filled with eerie power, completely different from its kin.
Its muscles instantly tensed and expanded, and it exploded with incredible speed.
It brutishly shoved aside or even tore apart the lower-level aberrants blocking its path, charging like a black arrow straight toward the center of the circle where the rescue workers were struggling to hold on.
“Watch out! A big one is coming! The energy reaction is strong!”
A rescue worker responsible for reconnaissance, his eyes covered in a faint glow, stared at the high-speed aberrant with a voice full of horror and despair.
A moment later—
A dark shadow leaped through the air like a ghost from above the chaotic crowd of aberrants.
The scales covering its body shimmered with a cold, metallic glint under the dim light.
A thick, almost physical aura of pollution washed over them, causing the Oracles of the rescue workers to grind to a halt in that instant.
Its speed surpassed the limits of the human eye.
In a flash, it reached a rescue worker who was slow to move due to exhaustion.
Its sickle-like claws rose high, whistling through the air.
Its hideous mouth parts opened, trailing two streaks of disgusting, viscous saliva and exhaling a nauseating stench.
It was about to tear the man to pieces.
At that critical moment— buzz…
An invisible spatial ripple, like a wave on water, shimmered without warning in front of that special aberrant!
Then, an inconceivable sight occurred—
Using the special aberrant as a boundary, it and a large area of aberrants beside and behind it were wiped away by an invisible giant hand, vanishing instantly without a trace!
Only a sudden, empty space remained.
The spatial ripples slowly settled.
A moment later, a figure stepped out from the void, appearing right in front of the rescue worker who had nearly lost his life.
Faintly curled red hair fluttered in the breeze generated by the energy surge.
Gu Qiancheng wore his signature, seemingly eternal cynical smile, but the thick sweat rolling down his forehead and his hurried breathing betrayed the fact that his current state was not as relaxed as it appeared.
“Mission accomplished…”
His chest heaved slightly as the distorted spatial ripples in his palm faded.
Then, Gu Qiancheng’s gaze bypassed the terrified rescue workers and landed precisely on the back of Chu You, who was still fighting a bloody battle ahead.
He raised his voice, his tone deliberately casual.
“Junior! Your senior arrived just in time!”
“Then I really should thank you!”
Due to the activation of Gu Qiancheng’s Oracle, a brief vacuum had appeared in the direction the rescue workers were facing, greatly reducing the pressure.
But on the other side, the tide of aberrants Chu You faced continued to surge forward, fearless and relentless.
She swung her blade again, cutting a swift-type aberrant in half.
Foul blood sprayed over her like ink.
Having done this, Chu You suddenly looked back and glared at Gu Qiancheng.
Her voice was hoarse from exhaustion and anxiety as she shouted, “Are you just going to stand there and watch?! Help me!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming… what’s the rush…” Gu Qiancheng replied.
While forcibly suppressing the waves of weakness and dizziness that followed a large-scale activation of his Oracle, he raised his hand again.
The spatial ripples began to brew in his palm once more.
In the blink of an eye!
Gu Qiancheng’s figure, which had been standing before the rescue workers, vanished.
A moment later, in the area where Chu You was positioned, the aberrants within a certain range vanished collectively, as if erased by a pencil eraser.
Then, with a slight shimmering of space, Gu Qiancheng appeared directly beside Chu You.
“Junior, you’re really pushing yourself, huh?” He tilted his head slightly, looking at the blood-soaked Chu You who was gasping for air, oblivious to her appearance.
His tone was teasing, but a trace of concern was hidden in his eyes.
Hearing this, Chu You barely had the strength to glance at him.
She squeezed the words through her teeth.
“Less talk… You take the lead, I’ll cover. Open a gap so we can get everyone out!”
Gu Qiancheng dropped his playful expression and nodded, his gaze turning sharp.
“Fine. Let’s do it your way.”
Seeing this, Chu You adjusted her breathing while gripping her military knife, preparing for the upcoming battle.
She turned her head and shouted to the rescue workers behind her, “Everyone—take the wounded and prepare to break out!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
The rescue workers, having escaped certain death, were exhausted and covered in wounds, but their eyes burned with a newfound light of hope.
Command had not abandoned them!
Reinforcements had really arrived!
Zzz… crackle— Just then.
The communicators everyone carried, which had been silent for so long, suddenly issued a clear signal notification tone simultaneously.
Then, a steady, powerful middle-aged male voice, carrying an unquestionable sense of authority, rang out from every communicator and into the ears of everyone present: “This is the Bladebearer South Bay Province Branch. I am the Branch Chief, Wan Chongyang!”
“I have good news for everyone. The twenty-third action squad from the North Capital Headquarters has landed in the provincial capital. They brought with them the latest signal enhancement components, which are crucial for the third-generation communication modules!”
“Just now, the modules were installed and calibrated. The communication network is rapidly being restored.”
“At the same time, your brothers on that side ignored the danger and raced against time to set up temporary communication antennas along the BH02 transport line. They bought us the time needed to restore this precious link.”
Chief Wan Chongyang briefly and quickly explained the situation before his voice shifted, filled with power and determination.
“To all the brothers of the Joint Rescue Action’s third rescue team who are still trapped, please hold on! My department has successfully contacted the Night Hunter squad—the seventh tactical squad from the North Capital Headquarters, which was supporting the first rescue team! Currently, the Night Hunter squad is heading toward your position at full speed!”
“We will now connect your communication with the Night Hunter squad. Brothers, do not worry. The Bladebearers…”
His voice suddenly rose, resolute as if swearing an oath.
“…will never abandon a comrade! Never!”
Zzz…
Following Chief Wan Chongyang’s forceful words, a slight static sound represented a channel switch.
The next moment, a crisp, energetic, and even slightly eager female voice boomed from the communicators, echoing clearly across the entire dried riverbed battlefield: “Everyone down there! Listen up—”
“Please! Look! Up!”
Upon hearing this, almost instinctively, everyone who could still move—Chu You, Gu Qiancheng, and the rescue workers—all looked up toward the sky shrouded in pollution and smoke.
A petite figure was currently plummeting from the sky at a near-insane freefall speed, diving toward their area like a falling meteor!
Chu You’s pupils suddenly contracted.
She watched as the figure, surrounded by fierce heat and light, drew closer and closer.
Her heart began to tremble with shock and an indescribable emotion.
In the middle of the rapid descent, the figure even found time to shout into the communicator with her characteristic, excited voice: “North Capital Headquarters, Night Hunter squad, Qingluan!”
“Please enjoy—the fireworks show!”
The moment she finished speaking.
BOOM—!
A massive, blazing firelight, bright enough to blind, erupted violently in the dense core of the aberrant tide!
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