Chapter 395: What A Coincidence! My Sword Is Also Called...
"His target is the command core!" Lumine shouted, her golden eyes narrowing as she instantly read the flow of battle. Bringer had clearly recognized Dan Heng as the tactical anchor of their formation. The archivist provided vital shield support and coordinated their strikes, making him the most dangerous obstacle to the monster's survival. At any cost, Bringer intended to tear him apart first.
A barrage of freezing arrows from March 7th whistled through the air, followed immediately by Stelle's heavy, sweeping strikes. The attacks slammed heavily against Bringer's back, kicking up clouds of frost and sparks. Yet, the monster barely flinched. He relied entirely on the grotesque, purple giant hands thrashing wildly behind him to deflect the worst of the blows, while a sickeningly thick layer of dark red Crystalize absorbed the rest. His single, bloodshot eye remained fixed solely on Dan Heng, completely ignoring the damage to his own body like a rabid beast cornered in an alley.
"Troublesome," Stelle clicked her tongue. She shifted her grip on her weapon and stepped forward to intercept, but her muscles tensed with hesitation. A reckless swing right now could easily catch her allies in the crossfire. Worse still, Bringer's entirely suicidal fighting style forced the group to constantly split their focus. They had to protect each other while simultaneously trying to preserve this bizarre, mutated body—a bounty worth a staggering two thousand points. If they accidentally obliterated him here, it would be a massive financial loss.
The momentum shifted drastically. What had initially been an overwhelming advantage for the Trailblazers devolved into a treacherous, grinding stalemate. Bringer's mental breakdown had stripped away all his self-preservation instincts, leaving behind only a death-defying frenzy that turned the battlefield into a deadly tug-of-war.
As the sole recipient of Bringer's manic aggression, Dan Heng found himself forced onto the defensive. He redirected his energy entirely into evasive maneuvers and desperate parries. The translucent glow of the [Jadeite Shield] flickered and warped under the sheer, concussive force of the continuous impacts, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Stelle and Lumine refused to let up, their coordinated strikes carving fresh, bleeding wounds across Bringer's monstrous form. However, the dense armor of dark red Crystalize, combined with the seemingly endless well of violent Aether energy surging through his veins, kept him moving. He fought like an unkillable cockroach, maintaining a terrifying, relentless pace that defied all logic.
"We can't keep going on like this!" March 7th drew her bowstring back, releasing a freezing arrow that encased one of the swinging giant hands in a temporary block of ice. She stamped her foot in frustration. "His fighting style is completely shameless!"
Stelle brought her weapon up just in time to deflect a jagged energy claw aimed straight at her face. The impact sent a heavy vibration up her arms, causing her brow to furrow in deep annoyance. The rhythm of the fight was infuriatingly stagnant. Just as the group began to rack their brains for a way to break the deadlock and end this high-stakes attrition—
"Nn~na—!! [Explode With You!!!]"
A highly recognizable, squeaky Bangboo voice echoed across the ruined terrain. The battle cry, filled with an absurd amount of heroic resolve, abruptly rang out from the chaotic flank of the battlefield.
Immediately following the shout, five distinct phantoms of Eous materialized in the brief gaps between Bringer's frantic strikes. Each phantom flickered violently with unstable, blue-white electrical sparks. They shot out from behind a stack of rusted shipping containers like miniature, fuzzy cannonballs. Completely ignoring all laws of self-preservation, they charged in a wildly irrational straight line, slamming directly into Bringer and the grotesque purple hands thrashing around his body.
"What is that?!" The massive, bloodshot eye mounted behind Bringer's shoulder instantly snapped toward the uninvited guests. While the raw energy signature radiating from the tiny creatures did not seem particularly threatening, the sheer, unhesitating speed of their suicidal charge triggered a deep, instinctual alarm within the monster's mutated brain.
Acting purely on reflex, Bringer commanded one of his giant hands to pivot. The massive purple appendage swatted downward at the two leading phantoms, aiming to crush them into the dirt like annoying flies.
However, the expected satisfying crunch of the Bangboo being flattened into metallic pancakes never came.
The very millisecond the giant hand made contact with the flickering phantoms—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The five Eous copies detonated almost simultaneously. This was no ordinary blast of fire and shrapnel. It was a hyper-dense, violent kinetic impact, engineered with a highly specialized armor-piercing and energy-annihilating property.
Searing blue-white electricity intertwined with blinding flames, rapidly expanding into overlapping spheres of pure destruction. The sheer force of the terrifying shockwave violently displaced the air, literally shaving a thick layer of concrete and dirt straight off the battlefield floor.
"Aaaargh—!!!"
The giant hand that had initiated the contact bore the absolute brunt of the blast. Caught dead center in the chain of overlapping explosions, the massive appendage violently distorted, its structural integrity flickering wildly. The foul Aether and corrupted spatial energy holding it together were forcibly torn apart and purified by the blast. In less than two seconds, the construct completely lost its form, disintegrating into a shower of drifting, purple-black specks of light that faded into the wind.
"What?!" Bringer's main body caught the outer edge of the shockwave, the force violently throwing him off balance. He staggered backward several heavy steps, his boots digging trenches into the earth. Several new, deeply scorched marks smoked across his armored plating, and a rare flash of genuine uncertainty flickered across his single, manic eye.
This bizarre, self-destructive tactic—an attack born purely for the sake of blowing itself up—carried a concentrated destructive yield that completely shattered his expectations.
Before the thick smoke and kicked-up dust from the detonation could even begin to settle, the real Eous finally made its appearance. The cute, endlessly reliable little Bangboo marched out from behind its cover, its somewhat dorky, waddling steps carrying an exceptionally firm and heroic weight.
Its digital, round eyes locked dead onto Bringer's towering form. The Bangboo's metallic chassis began to emit a faint, dangerous glow. The cooldown for the chaotic skill was apparently practically nonexistent. Eous spread its stubby little arms wide, and crackling blue-white electricity began to rapidly gather around its core once again.
"Nn~na! Nn~na! [Go Boom! Go Boom!]"
In the blink of an eye, another five—perhaps even more—flickering phantoms condensed into reality. Without a single second of hesitation, the fresh batch of clones launched a second, relentless wave of suicidal charges straight toward the wounded and now thoroughly enraged Bringer.
A closer look revealed a terrifying detail: the electrical currents arcing across the surface of the phantoms this time were far more condensed, and the frequency of their unstable energy fluctuations had spiked significantly. It was blatantly clear that the destructive payload packed into this second wave was vastly superior to the first.
The custom skill [Explode With You!!!] that Wise had carefully loaded into the Bangboo's system possessed a rather psychotic characteristic: the explosions grew exponentially more powerful and volatile with every consecutive use.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A continuous, deafening chain of detonations swallowed Bringer whole once again. The sheer volume of the blasts forced the monster to divert a massive amount of his internal energy just to survive the onslaught of these infuriating, highly dangerous walking bombs. Consequently, his relentless, suffocating offensive against Stelle, Dan Heng, and the others ground to a sudden, sluggish halt.
"Great job, Eous!" March 7th cheered, her eyes lighting up with absolute delight as the pressure finally lifted.
Just as Eous used this wildly heroic tactic to forcibly fracture the enemy's rhythm, several familiar silhouettes blurred into motion. Following closely behind the Bangboo's explosive vanguard, they rapidly entered the fray from the exact same flank, landing with practiced, steady grace in front of and alongside Stelle's group.
It was Yanagi, Soukaku, and Harumasa from Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
Yanagi's sharp, analytical gaze swept efficiently across the ruined battlefield, her eyes finally locking onto the slightly disheveled but still fiercely aggressive form of Bringer. She adjusted her glasses, her voice calm and authoritative. "Section 6 is here to provide support. What is your current situation?"
Seeing the elite reinforcements finally arrive, the tight knot of tension in Dan Heng's shoulders eased slightly. He smoothly shifted the stance of his Cloud-Piercer, effortlessly parrying a stray claw attack that Bringer blindly lashed out with, before quickly and concisely delivering his tactical report.
"We are unharmed. However, the target, Bringer, has absorbed raw Aether fuel from at least three separate storage points. His internal energy intensity and overall defensive capabilities are currently sitting at extremely high levels."
", he wields an energy projection highly similar to the power of a Demon Blade. It is extremely dangerous in close quarters," Dan Heng continued, his tone perfectly level. "I strongly suggest an immediate change in our tactical objectives. We no longer need to consider taking him alive. We must focus on complete elimination to permanently remove the threat."
Hearing the archivist's calm assessment, Yanagi, Soukaku, and Harumasa all shared a brief, hard-to-conceal flash of genuine surprise.
They had only just arrived on the scene, yet they had already witnessed the terrifying, lingering trail of golden light that had violently pierced through the Hollow, not to mention the horrific, gaping wound carved deeply into Bringer's waist.
The sheer scale of the destruction was staggering. Had this Mr. Dan Heng and his eccentric companions truly been holding their ground against this mutated monstrosity the entire time while operating under the massive handicap of trying to capture it alive?
The sudden realization caused their internal evaluation of these mysterious friends of the Proxy to skyrocket to an entirely new level of respect.
However, the arrival of reinforcements did not end there.
Almost the exact second Yanagi finished processing the information, a swift, icy blue figure swept into the area like a freezing gale. Moving with the speed of a sudden lightning flash, the newcomer silently materialized at the very edge of the battlefield, positioning herself flawlessly behind Bringer's exposed flank.
The newcomer possessed a breathtakingly cold and beautiful face, yet her eyes carried the lethal, uncompromising sharpness of a freshly unsheathed blade. It was none other than the Section Chief of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, Hoshimi Miyabi.
Her piercing gaze was immediately drawn to the intense, chaotic energy residue scarring the battlefield, lingering for a fraction of a second on Bringer's hideous, mutating form. Then, she quickly and methodically scanned the perimeter, checking on her own personnel. After confirming that her squad was completely unharmed, she finally spoke, her voice carrying its characteristic cold, serious authority.
"I am Hoshimi Miyabi of Section 6. Is everyone alright?"
"Miyabi-boss!" Soukaku was the first to break the tension, letting out a loud, joyful cheer at the sight of her superior.
The heavy tension gripping Harumasa's usually serious face visibly melted away, while Yanagi simply offered a slight, respectful nod to Miyabi. The deep trust between the squad members allowed everything to be perfectly understood without the need for excess words.
The safe, timely return of their long-missing Section Chief was undoubtedly the greatest possible news they could have received in this chaotic moment.
Still, as seasoned professionals, they all knew that the middle of an active warzone was definitely not the time for a heartwarming reunion. They kept their silence, communicating their relief through brief, knowing glances.
However, in any given situation, there was always one person whose reaction wildly deviated from the norm.
"Hoshimi Miyabi?"
The moment Stelle heard the full name, her golden eyes immediately lit up like floodlights, as if she had just stumbled upon the most fascinating discovery in the universe. Her face instantly morphed into an expression that was an unholy mixture of genuine surprise and chaotic mischief. She looked exactly like someone who wanted to scream, What a coincidence that I'd run into you here!
Completely forgetting that she was currently in the middle of a life-or-death battle, she lowered her weapon and turned her full attention toward the icy swordswoman. Without a single ounce of hesitation, Stelle blurted out, "What a coincidence! My sword is also called..."
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