Although her movements still seemed somewhat unpracticed and completely without technique, fighting purely on instinct...

Her power was simply terrifying.

The black energy wrapped around her limbs, and with every punch and kick, she wielded immense force.

"Bang!"

A soldier in heavy armor was sent flying by her punch, his breastplate caved in, spraying blood wildly in mid-air.

"Crack!"

A mana blade struck her, only to be snapped directly by the protective layer of black energy around her.

She was like a young tiger crashing into a flock of sheep—though young, already revealing the aura of a monarch.

The City Guard was thrown off rhythm by this sudden turn of events, their formation falling into total chaos.

"Great job!"

Below, the Great Xia Nation agents saw this, their morale soaring.

"Even a little girl is fighting this hard, how can we big men back down?"

"Kill all these bastards!"

Miraculously, the tide of battle was stabilized at this moment.

...

However, inside the command room, Tang Qi's expression did not relax in the slightest.

Because he knew very well that the real crisis had never been these conventional forces.

The red light on the communicator flashed wildly again.

"Team Four! Team Four, please respond if you hear me!"

Tang Qi shouted into the microphone.

Team Four was responsible for intercepting the special forces coming from Takamagahara—the Akagi.

They were private soldiers kept by the Kujo Family, all high-tier Classer and ruthless killers.

A chaotic static noise filled the communication channel.

After several seconds, a weak male voice came through.

The background noise consisted of heavy panting and the dull thuds of blades slicing through flesh and bone.

"S... Sorry, Team Leader..."

The man's voice was intermittent, carrying a hint of guilt, "The Akagi... came too fast... They are all monsters above level fifty..."

"Our men... have been wiped out..."

Tang Qi's hands trembled violently, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

"Retreat!" he roared through gritted teeth. "Lao Zhang! Take the remaining men and retreat! Go rendezvous with Team Five!"

"We can't retreat anymore..."

The man called Lao Zhang let out a miserable laugh over the communicator. "My legs are broken... my intestines are spilling out..."

"Besides... if I retreat, these red ghosts will charge straight into the breach..."

"Over there... there are still so many civilians..."

A heart-wrenching scream echoed from the other end of the communicator, followed by Lao Zhang's heavy panting.

"Team Leader... brothers..."

"Keep up the fight... I'll be taking my leave first..."

"Lao Zhang! Don't do anything stupid!" Tang Qi stood up abruptly, roaring into the microphone.

But what answered him was a deafening explosion.

"BOOM—!!!"

That was no ordinary bomb.

That was a self-detonation produced by a Professional detonating their own mana core.

The communication channel fell completely into dead silence.

Tang Qi collapsed limply onto his chair, his eyes bloodshot, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

That was a veteran brother who had followed him for three years.

Just yesterday, he was telling him that after this mission ended, he wanted to go back home to Great Xia to see his newborn grandson.

"Team Leader..."

Next to him, a communicator operator with bloodshot eyes said with a choked voice, "Team Four... all killed in action. The Akagi were delayed, but... it's estimated it will only buy us two minutes."

Two minutes.

That was ten minutes bought with the lives of dozens of brave men from Team Four.

Tang Qi took a deep breath, forcing his voice to regain its stability.

Now was not the time for sorrow.

Any wavering on his part would lead to the deaths of even more people.

Pressing the comm button again, he connected to the channels of all teams still engaged in battle.

"Notification to all personnel."

"Team Four... has been sacrificed."

Silence fell across the channel, filled only with heavy breathing and the sounds of slaughter in the background.

Tang Qi gritted his teeth, his voice low yet powerful:

"Everyone, this will be our last battle in Sakura Country."

"I know everyone is exhausted and struggling."

"But I promise that when this battle ends, we will all return home in glory!"

"When the time comes, I will personally go to welcome you back!"

After a brief silence.

A hearty laugh came over the communicator.

That was the leader of Team Six responsible for rearguard duty, a veteran agent who had been undercover in Sakura Country for twenty years.

"Haha, Team Leader, look at what you're saying."

"Having been in Sakura Country for twenty years, to be honest, I've long missed the fine wine of our Great Xia."

"This sake in Sakura Country is bland as hell; drinking it gives no kick at all."

Accompanied by a burst of sound, the man's voice continued, carrying a casual air of someone who viewed life and death lightly:

"Team Leader, if I don't make it back this time..."

"When you all come to visit my grave in the future, don't you dare bring flowers. That stuff is way too girly."

"Remember to bring a pot of good wine!"

"Preferably Erguotou, the strong kind!"

These words were like a spark, igniting the heroism and tragic resolve in everyone's hearts.

"Screw you, Old Six! If you want to drink, go back and drink it yourself!"

"Exactly! I'm not bringing you any wine! If we're drinking, we'll go back to Great Xia and drink to our heart's content!"

"Kill! After killing these devils, we're going home to drink!"

In the channel, the oppressive atmosphere instantly shattered, replaced by a resolute determination to face death.

Listening to these familiar voices, Tang Qi could no longer hold back the tears bursting from his eyes.

Choking up, he roared loudly into the microphone:

"None of you talk nonsense!"

"When we get back, I'm buying everyone three hundred cups! No one is allowed to be missing!"

"Everyone, we will definitely make it back alive!"

"Definitely!!!"

...

Outside the Western City Gate.

The battle had entered its final frenzy.

Under the leadership of Natsume Rinku, combined with the desperate counterattack of the White Butterfly agents, the City Guard's defense line actually showed signs of collapsing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, large numbers of civilians wept and cried out as they rushed out through the breach, fleeing into the wilderness.

Hope seemed right before their eyes.

However.

Right at that moment.

A suffocating and terrifying aura erupted without warning from the direction of Takamagahara, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield.

The sky seemed to darken at this instant.

Everyone subconsciously raised their heads.

They saw a figure, like a falling meteor, carrying a world-ending aura as he slammed fiercely into the dust and smoke of the Western City Gate.

"BOOM—!!!"

The earth shook violently.

A massive shockwave spread outward from the impact point. Whether it was the City Guard, the Great Xia Nation agents, or even Natsume Rinku who was slaughtering in all directions, all were sent flying directly by this terrifying airwave.

The dust cleared.

A figure stood quietly in the center of the giant impact crater.

When everyone clearly saw his appearance, they couldn't help but gasp collectively.

It was an old man dressed in a black kimono.

His body was emaciated, his face covered in age spots, and his head wrapped in thick white cloth seeped with bloodstains, making him look like a critically ill patient who had just escaped from a hospital.

What was even more shocking was that his left sleeve was completely empty, swaying gently with the wind.

He had only one arm left.

However.

For such a seemingly broken, aging old man.

Merely standing there casually exuded an oppressive feeling that made one's soul tremble.

That was Killing Intent forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

That was the absolute pressure belonging to an SS-Rank Expert, standing high above all living beings.

The originally noisy battlefield instantaneously turned dead silent.

Even the City Guard soldiers who had fought until their eyes turned red were now quiet as cicadas in winter, not daring to breathe loudly.

Not a single person dared to take another step forward.

Natsume Rinku climbed up from the rubble, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and deep fear showed for the first time in those pitch-black eyes that had been fearless before.

That was a biological instinctual fear toward a natural predator.

Among the crowd.

A veteran spy from Great Xia Nation stared fixedly at that figure, his face pale as paper, his expression solemn to the extreme.

With trembling hands, he pressed his communicator, his voice carrying undisguisable despair as he carefully said:

"T... Team Leader..."

"Wada Hirayama... has appeared!"