Even the incredibly powerful Garrison Shield-Guards had been defeated.
A heavy sense of despair loomed over the soldiers.
*Whoosh!* The sound of rushing wind pierced the air.
A large Ethereal, its torso glowing with a blue-green light, sprinted forward at blinding speed, the massive flower atop its head pulsing with the same eerie glow.
No doubt about it—this had to be the infamous Dullahan!
The Garrison Shield-Guard, which had been slammed to the ground, struggled to push itself back up.
Its shoulder-mounted storage unit popped open, launching several missiles that soared toward the rapidly approaching Ethereal.
The Dullahan’s core spun, seemingly analyzing and calculating the trajectory of the incoming missiles.
With a terrifying display of dexterity, it swung its greatsword and sliced every single missile apart.
The Garrison Shield-Guard seemed to have anticipated this.
The triangular armor plates on its shoulders converged into a fan shape, crackling with electricity as it charged its next attack.
The surrounding soldiers finally snapped out of their daze and raised their weapons, opening fire on the charging Ethereal.
However, ordinary firearms couldn’t scratch it.
Instead, with a single sweep of its blade, the Dullahan sent the regular soldiers flying.
In just two or three strides, the Dullahan closed the distance.
It raised the massive shield in its left hand and collided head-on with the Garrison Shield-Guard.
The powerful electrical discharge released by the Garrison Shield-Guard failed to deal any significant damage against the shield’s defense.
Meanwhile, the Garrison Shield-Guard was sent sliding backward by the impact, crashing heavily into a building behind it.
Seizing the opening, the Dullahan lunged forward.
Its greatsword flashed with a cold light, cleanly slicing off one of the Shield-Guard’s massive mechanical legs.
The Shield-Guard relied on its two massive legs to support its frame.
Now, with one leg severed, it lost its balance and fell heavily to the ground.
But just as the Shield-Guard collapsed, the flamethrower beneath its chassis roared to life, blasting two intense streams of fire directly onto the Dullahan.
Howling in pain, the Dullahan quickly retreated.
Ignoring the flames still clinging to its body, it raised its greatsword.
The blade glowed brilliantly as it prepared to dash forward and finish off the downed mech once and for all.
“Dumbass!
Look over here!” Right then, a soldier holding an RPG stepped out and launched a rocket at the Dullahan.
Jiang Yu recognized this person.
Wasn’t he the one who had mentioned the hostage earlier?
Caught off guard, the Dullahan took the RPG hit head-on and was blown to the ground.
Instantly, a hail of bullets and a few scattered RPGs rained down upon it.
The scene was chaotic and spectacular, but the actual damage dealt was disappointingly low.
The Dullahan scrambled back to its feet and lunged into the crowd, swinging its greatsword and hacking at the soldiers, who scattered in terror.
But it quickly locked eyes on the guy who had called it a dumbass.
Its greatsword glowed with light as it prepared a combo to obliterate the insignificant insect before it.
With a sudden thrust, the glowing blade cleaved down toward Sean.
Watching the blade rapidly expand in his vision, Sean froze in place.
Hiding behind cover, Jiang Yu’s heart tightened.
If this guy got hacked to death by the Ethereal, how was he supposed to find the hostage?
In the blink of an eye, he flashed forward, appearing in front of the dazed Sean.
The hand that had been resting on his hilt ever since he entered the Hollow suddenly gripped the handle tight.
*Clang!* Jiang Yu’s entire aura underwent a dramatic shift.
Behind him, Sean felt as though he was looking at an Ethereal even more terrifying than the Dullahan itself.
The sword unsheathed, and ether energy so dense it had practically materialized wrapped around the blade, resembling flowing, crimson special effects.
Ignoring the incoming, glowing blade entirely, Jiang Yu swung his sword with an arm clad in black ether matter, leaving a trail of crimson silk in the air.
All-out offense, no defense—unrivaled under heaven!
Brave Bull, unafraid of difficulties!
The moment the glowing blade made contact with Jiang Yu’s body, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier.
It was as if the strike had plunged into a thick swamp.
Not only was the Dullahan unable to press its blade forward an inch, but it couldn’t even pull it back.
Meanwhile, the crimson arc swept horizontally, slicing straight through the Ethereal’s heavily damaged torso.
Jiang Yu sheathed his sword.
The black ether matter covering his arm and body vanished completely.
[Brave Bull, Unafraid of Difficulties: Killing an Ethereal resets ether corruption.] Feeling the surge of power granted by the kill, he clicked his sword back into its scabbard and turned to leave.
His right hand, which had just delivered the slash, returned to rest on his hilt.
Behind him, the notorious Ethereal sank to one knee, its greatsword propped against the ground.
Its body split in two along a perfectly straight diagonal line, slowly dissolving into particles of light.
The battle had ended in an instant.
The rebel soldiers who had come as reinforcements had either fled or died, leaving the scene in absolute ruin.
Nobody noticed that on a high tower not far away, a man clad in alloy combat armor had appeared at some point.
His eyes were sharp, a colossal sword rested on his shoulder, and he looked down upon everything below with cold disdain.
…
Inside a utility room, Sean sat on a storage crate, staring at the young man who looked barely twenty.
If this youth hadn’t suddenly appeared and slain the Ethereal with that dazzling strike, Sean would have been dead.
He handed a photo back to Jiang Yu.
“How can I be sure you’re here to save her and not to kill her?” Jiang Yu scratched his head with his left hand.
“I guess there’s no real way to prove it, but I really am here to rescue her.” Sean stood up.
“Fine, I believe you.
Follow me.” Kim, standing nearby, grabbed Sean’s arm.
“Are you really going to let that girl out?” He had been sent flying by the Dullahan’s blade during the battle and knocked unconscious, so he hadn’t witnessed Jiang Yu’s breathtaking strike.
“I can’t just stand by and watch that girl starve to death on my watch.
Besides, I owe him my life.” Sean brushed Kim aside and led Jiang Yu out of the utility room.
“Sigh, fine.
He killed the Dullahan, so I guess I owe him my life too,” Kim muttered, finding an excuse to save face before quickly catching up with the two.
The three of them bypassed all the security cameras and arrived at the base’s guest reception room, where the hostage was being held.
*Creak—* The heavy iron door was pushed open, letting the light from outside spill in.
In the dim room, a Fox Thiren girl lying on the sofa raised a fair, delicate hand that looked like mutton-fat jade to block the piercing light.
She wore a white shirt and a black pleated skirt, with somewhat dirty white thigh-high stockings.
It was a standard high school uniform.
“Chinatsu?” Jiang Yu stood at the doorway, looking at the starved girl on the sofa, and called out tentatively.
“Ugh…” He walked into the room, pulled out the photo the Shepherd had given him, and compared them.
The sunken-cheeked girl before him was indeed the hostage he was looking for.
Though her cheeks were hollowed out and she was incredibly weak, it was clear she was naturally beautiful.
Once she recovered, she would definitely be a top-tier beauty.
As for why she was here in the first place—now that he had found her, those questions no longer mattered.
Chinatsu stirred, seemingly trying to sit up, but she was too weak and collapsed back onto the sofa after two failed attempts.
“Ugh…
Who…
are…
you…” Jiang Yu looked back at Sean and Kim, who were peeking in from the doorway.
“Do you have any food?
Preferably liquid food.” For someone suffering from extreme starvation, solid food was impossible to digest.
They had to be fed liquid food, water, or thin porridge slowly, letting their stomach adjust before moving on to solid food.
“Yes!
Yes!
Will canned coconut juice work?” Sean replied, a trace of anxiety on his face.
“Yes, go grab it quickly.” Sean hurried away and returned shortly with two cans of coconut juice in hand.
Jiang Yu sat on the edge of the sofa and carefully rested Chinatsu’s head on his thigh, angling her body so the coconut juice could flow smoothly into her stomach.
“…Who…
are…
you…” Chinatsu’s throat was dry, and she croaked out a faint, raspy question.
“Jiang Yu.
I’m here to take you home.
Don’t speak, open your mouth and drink some first,” Jiang Yu replied simply, bringing the canned coconut juice to her lips to feed her.
“Who…
sent you…
to save me…” the girl asked weakly.
Who sent him?
The Shepherd was just a middleman; how was he supposed to know who the client behind the scenes was?
Jiang Yu remained silent, focusing on feeding her the juice.
Failing to get her answer, Chinatsu shook her head slightly and pursed her dry, cracked lips.
By the look of it, she would rather starve to death than take a single sip.
Damn it!
What was wrong with this girl?
This was no safe haven, and he didn’t have time to waste here.
Looking at her cracked, cherry-like lips, he leaned straight down.
“…What…
are you doing!”