Inside Scott Outpost.
Isolde stared with extreme nervousness at the data screen in the command center, watching the first-person perspective of Andrew being shared and synchronized by Phaethon.
Her eyes were glued to Andrew's every move on the screen.
Accompanying the explosion of the Armor-Piercing Grenades in Andrew's line of sight, the knuckles of her fingers, which were already gripping her baton tightly, turned slightly white from the unconscious force she was exerting.
One had to know.
A few seconds ago, the power Andrew displayed when using this bombardment to blast those swarming Ethereal Wasps was still vivid in the minds of the few people present.
But soon, the fiery light of the explosion was sliced in half by a sharp blade.
Watching Andrew, whose clothes weren't even singed in his own point of view, Isolde instantly and involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time.
Looking at the terrifying power caused by that slash on the screen, although they had some expectations of Andrew's strength, when they actually saw the power displayed by the other party's attack... the hearts of the few people present also involuntarily tightened.
However, this feeling of worry lasted only for an instant, followed immediately by an unparalleled sense of reassurance upon realizing that the other party was on humanity's side.
Watching the massive cloud of dust kicked up by the half-section of the skyscraper crashing to the ground in the video feed, Roland couldn't help but sigh with emotion:
"Although I have witnessed Void Hunter-level powerhouses take action many times, this is the first time I've watched it from a first-person perspective like this."
Accompanied by the hissing screams involuntarily emitted by Nineveh due to the intense pain of being bisected after her core was destroyed.
Looking at Nineveh's miserable state.
For Isolde, who knew what the culprit behind all this was, and who had witnessed in the Exaltists' stronghold just how much the Frenzy Virus enhanced other Ethereals after infection... to be able to slice Nineveh—who the Defense Force was originally helpless against—in two with a single strike, even after she had been strengthened by the Frenzy Sickness...
Although she knew that being able to stand here safely without bearing any sins was almost entirely thanks to him and his partner, Isolde still unconsciously whispered a lament:
"Truly... a monster."
But only a monster of this level could protect New Eridu in this apocalyptic world like this, right?
However.
Although Isolde's voice was very quiet, in the momentarily silent command center, it was still heard clearly by the people around her.
But regarding Isolde's subconscious, whispered lament, not only did no one refute it, but everyone unconsciously nodded when they heard it, subconsciously agreeing with Isolde's statement.
As for why the few people in the outpost, who were clearly the commanders-in-chief of the battle line intercepting Nineveh, could watch the footage sent back by Andrew with such peace of mind while the army faced an Ethereal tide like a flood?
This was naturally not because they were slacking off. Rather, it was because...
From the beginning of the battle, the Defense Force's defensive line had been incredibly stable. The Ethereals had not broken through the defensive line a single time.
And the number of casualties in the Defense Force was a miraculous zero.
The reason for this lay with Meow-Da, whom Isolde had initially disregarded before the battle, thinking he was just a child Cat Thiren.
However, if Meow-Da had heard Isolde's classification of his race, he definitely would have spoken up very seriously to correct that his race should actually be a Felyne.
With Meow-Da joining the battlefield as support under Andrew's arrangement, and through his continuous activity, the battle line that should have been fraught with danger was completely transformed.
Following Andrew's arrangement and adhering to the choice of using items whenever available, and under Belle's guidance, Meow-Da rapidly shuttled between all the squads on the battle line through the unstable spatial rifts that appeared and disappeared constantly.
Every time he arrived at a squad's position, Meow-Da would involuntarily scatter a handful of Life Powder first before saying anything else.
Not only that.
The Mushroom Flute he pulled out before the battle to play for everyone granted all the soldiers bonuses to their strength and defensive power.
It could be said that this operation directly and significantly increased the basic stats of the ordinary soldiers, giving them the foundation to persist longer on the battlefield and eliminate more Ethereals.
As for the elite members like Hollow Special Operations Section 6 and the Obols Squad, it was simply the icing on the cake.
All of this allowed the Defense Force to gain the ability to confront the current Ethereal tide head-on.
However, if Meow-Da, as the support for this battle, only simply scattered Life Powder and played the Mushroom Flute, his help to the battle line wouldn't have reached the current level.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Accompanied by the Cat-style Splinter Ballista that Meow-Da had set up on the roof continuously firing Armor-Piercing Grenades.
As complete ballista ammunition—unlike the Armor-Piercing Grenades that had their charge reduced so they could be fired from a small hand crossbow—their power could be said to be a tier higher than those fired by Andrew.
For those high-threat units hiding behind heavy Ethereals that ordinary snipers couldn't pick off in advance... in front of Meow-Da, what high-threat unit?
One grenade down, and these Ethereals would be blown to ash along with their cover!
Single shot, one hit, one kill.
Except for the caliber being slightly larger, this was sniping!
The Ethereals that originally required risky incursions to decapitate turned into pure Ether energy in the air one by one without posing any threat to the battle line.
Even when they occasionally encountered an extremely fierce Ethereal offensive and had to retreat, the Shock Traps that Meow-Da had unknowingly set up in advance allowed all the Ethereals rushing into the defensive line to experience the power of lightning.
Taking this opportunity, the squad belonging to that defensive line could very easily push back.
With Meow-Da's assistance, the Ethereal tide composed of Level 1 to 3 Ethereals attracted by Nineveh could hardly pose a huge threat to the battle line. Any threat that could be detected in advance was turned to nothing under Meow-Da's support.
As for when individual Level 4 Ethereals attracted by Nineveh appeared during the previous reconnaissance, that was when Meow-Da would put down his support items and pick up the Chainblade Dragon Great Sword.
At that time, Meow-Da would use the Great Sword's True Level 3 Charge to tell everyone present what a Prowler was.
It also made everyone in the command center understand why the Hunter, Andrew, would mobilize with this seemingly underage Cat Thiren.
But, war is war.
Even with Meow-Da taking such care, danger and accidents accompanied the Defense Force on the defensive line at all times.
Death.
As long as there is combat, it accompanies one like a lingering shadow. As long as there is the slightest negligence, an Ethereal's attack will make one understand that life and death are separated by a mere instant.
But the reason the Defense Force could still guarantee a zero-casualty statistic was naturally not because they learned the fine tradition of a certain country where it doesn't count as killed in action if there's no body, thus avoiding pension payments.
Rather, it was because...
Following Meow-Da pushing the 'Cart' to shove all the soldiers who had exhausted their strength and fallen down to a safe place, he then pulled out a giant bottle of Moxie Potion from his Item Bag and smashed it down fiercely.
"Take my Vigorwasp Giant Moxie Potion, meow!"
The next moment, the soldier who originally had a hole stabbed through his chest and was fast becoming cold, bathed in the potion, struggled and staggered to his feet.
He touched his chest with lingering fear; only his pierced armor indicated that everything he had just experienced wasn't an illusion.
And this was the reason why Isolde began to have nothing to do after drafting the optimal defensive line, even having time to watch the footage sent back by Andrew.
Constant monitoring to prevent defensive loopholes caused by casualties? Routine commands like deploying members of other squads to replenish squads at key nodes that had suffered casualties?
None of that existed.
Even the mission objectives that usually needed to be arranged were no longer necessary because this was a defensive interception battle.
For a time, Isolde even had the illusion that she was playing some kind of idle game that required no operation. It was so easy that she began to feel it was a bit unreal.
It wasn't until she secretly pricked her index finger fiercely with her thumb, feeling the stinging pain from her fingertip, that she finally confirmed it.
This wasn't self-deception after seeing countless deaths and injuries in a disaster where she watched everything happen but let it occur. It was a miracle, and it had really happened.
It was also at this moment.
Isolde, who had completely changed her mind, silently chose to rank the priority of the invitation from the Exaltists behind Andrew. The so-called Originator was thoroughly relegated to a backup plan at this moment.
Since there were no problems with the defensive line, then finally, and most importantly, was the result of the battlefield with Andrew and Hoshimi Miyabi.
As Andrew's slash was about to swing out and cut Nineveh in half, Hoshimi Miyabi on the side also began to charge her power.
The high concentration of Ether created by Nineveh turned into the most perfect accelerant for Hoshimi Miyabi's blade. Under her control, countless streams of Ether energy converged into the strongest strike she could currently unleash.
But it wasn't enough.
There were eight cores she needed to cut.
With the current Ether concentration in the air, and considering Wuwei's state, she only had the opportunity to swing her blade once.
She had to seize the moment when these cores aligned into a line and shatter them at the same instant as Andrew.
As Nineveh's power was about to ascend to Level 7, and facing a full-screen body already strengthened by the Frenzy Virus, relying solely on the three-stage charge of Frost Moon was no longer insurance enough.
She needed a way to go a step further, to make the power of her sword technique even stronger.
But how could a breakthrough in the heat of battle be as easy as they say in novels?
In the final analysis, a so-called breakthrough in battle is actually just bringing out the accumulation saved up in normal times to use at a critical juncture.
But as a super Kendo genius, given that she hadn't learned new Kendo knowledge from others for a long time, all the Kendo techniques she currently used were basically things she had figured out bit by bit on her own.
Under such circumstances, naturally, there was no such thing as a breakthrough in battle.
Could it be that there wasn't any other way?
No, there was!
Although she had only seen it once on the journey just now, that scarlet, scorching light emitting from the massive Tachi—undoubtedly, that was the method to transform accumulated power from a quantitative change to a qualitative change.
Added to the few short sentences of explanation Andrew gave regarding the Red Blade earlier.
"That's enough."
Although the logic of power usage between the two was completely worlds apart, there was no doubt that in terms of Kendo talent, Hoshimi Miyabi was an undisputed, absolute genius.
First stage charge.
Second stage charge.
Third stage charge.
Usually, this level would already be the limit. But now, it was completely different.
Finally, under Hoshimi Miyabi's control, all the accumulated power surged toward and condensed upon Wuwei's blade edge.
The ethereal Qi turned into substance at this moment.
Like shattering shackles and breaking limits, accompanied by a crisp sound ringing out from the void, the next moment, Wuwei's blade was stained with a touch of incomparably pure white light.
The accumulated power completed its qualitative change upon Wuwei at this moment. The sharp aura could not be blocked even though Wuwei was still in its scabbard.
"Frost Moon."
Accompanying Hoshimi Miyabi's low chant, the sharp blade was unsheathed in the next instant.
White light.
Although it was Frost Moon, it was completely different from her previous attacks. It was no longer relying on extreme speed to slash out several fierce attacks like before; this time, there was only one slash.
The unrivaled sword Qi turned into a streak of white light, flashing through the air like a meteor, as if everything just now was merely an illusion of the bystanders.
And the power of this slash was just like its appearance, resembling a meteor crashing to earth.
In just an instant.
Whether it was the core replacing Nineveh's head or the cores on her tentacles, every single one of them shattered under Hoshimi Miyabi's incomparably fierce slash.
The sword Qi swung into the air did not lose its momentum after penetrating Nineveh. It continued flying toward the distant horizon for a long time, not disappearing completely with satisfaction until it had shredded the clouds in the sky.
Undoubtedly, Hoshimi Miyabi had succeeded.
If Andrew's attack was a bisection of the waist, then Hoshimi Miyabi's attack was undoubtedly a decapitation.
The formless screech turned into a shockwave. It wasn't until this moment that Nineveh finally realized the threat the two humans appearing before her posed to her.
But, it was too late.
With the slashes released by the two one after another, for Nineveh, everything was already too late.
As the blades of the two glided past their targets, in just an instant, Nineveh's cores simultaneously fell to pieces within a short second.
BOOM!
Accompanied by the incredibly massive body of Nineveh crashing heavily onto the ground, and with the shattering of all the cores on an Ethereal's body, the vitality began to drain from Nineveh.
The crowd in the command center watching the scene before them involuntarily began to erupt with incomparably inspiring cheers.
Finally, finally! Nineveh, who had ravaged Hollow Zero for many years and against whom the Defense Force had no method, finally had a full stop drawn on her at this moment.
Looking at Nineveh who had crashed heavily to the ground, Hoshimi Miyabi, who had just slashed out her full-power strike, also couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
A touch of fatigue also involuntarily appeared in her expression.
"Good work, Andrew."
However, regarding Hoshimi Miyabi's comfort, Andrew did not reply immediately.
Ethereals not dissipating immediately after death might be due to the overly abundant Ether energy content in the air, so Nineveh's corpse not yet dissipating wasn't a very big deal.
But.
Andrew, feeling that something was wrong, involuntarily frowned slightly. Nineveh's death was a bit too easy.
This simply didn't resemble the combat power possessed by an Ethereal about to ascend to Level 7.
Andrew began to carefully observe the massive Nineveh collapsed on the ground from head to toe once again, and he very quickly discovered something different.
Staring at the part on the ground that was originally Nineveh's flower bud.
He hadn't noticed it before when Nineveh was flying in the air, but now that Nineveh had fallen to the ground, the flower bud wrapped in layers of black gauze looked more and more like a... cocoon nurturing life?
At the same time, inside Scott Outpost.
People were celebrating with cheers for what could be called humanity's easiest victory.
Even Roland, who had always kept a straight face and been incomparably serious, watched everything in the video with an expression that involuntarily loosened slightly.
But, unlike the cheering and jubilation of the others.
Isolde, who had also witnessed the whole process but knew the truth about everything the Exaltists had done this time, had no intention of breathing a sigh of relief at all.
She immediately lowered her head and focused on observing the instrument detecting Ether energy intensity. The data on it ruthlessly verified that the woman named Sarah had not lied.
And as a scholar of the Academy, Ray also realized the abnormality of the Hollow data now.
She decisively and immediately turned her head to look at the other people who were celebrating. She unhesitatingly interrupted everyone's cheers and reminded them loudly:
"Don't relax your vigilance! In the instruments, Nineveh's Ether energy intensity hasn't decreased; her ascension is still continuing!"
"In other words, Nineveh is still alive!"
____
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