Seeing the group of people before it not scattering in fear but instead forming up to charge, the dragon-type Ethereal, denied the pleasure of the hunt it had anticipated, flew into a rage.
It stormed towards the Silver Squad, its powerful limbs propelling its massive body forward like a heavy tank charging at full throttle.
The squad members immediately split into two groups, scattering to either side of the dragon's path. Just as the last person cleared the area, the dragon-type Ethereal crashed into the spot where the squad had just been standing with ferocious impact.
The ground instantly shattered, sending countless shards of rock flying with the shockwave. A massive cloud of dust even obscured the monster's movements.
Before the girls could even catch their breath, the dragon-type Ethereal used its immense strength to screech to a halt. Just as it was about to twist its body for a sweeping attack, a sharp whistle cut through the air.
Anby had already lunged with her blade, aiming for a gap in its thorny carapace. To protect its Hollow, the monster instantly twisted its neck, successfully blocking the thrust with its shell. As it prepared to counter-attack, Anby had already used the recoil to propel herself back to a safe distance.
Thanks to the delay her attack provided, the other members had all managed to get clear.
"Anti-Ethereal Formation TW-YH Type 3!"
At Anby's command, three figures—including herself—shot forward in the next instant. They were the three fastest members of the Silver Squad.
Clang!Clang!Clang!
Their three attacks landed almost simultaneously from three different directions. Just as the Ethereal was about to retaliate, the trio had already withdrawn. While its attention was divided, hesitating on who to pursue, the next wave of attacks was already upon it.
The clang of swords on steel was incessant. The girls of the Silver Squad took turns attacking, striking once before retreating, drawing the fire dragon's attention to create openings for their comrades.
The Ethereal lunged and clawed left and right, but it couldn't lay a finger on the Silver Squad.
The battle was a dazzling spectacle, but the results of this tightrope act of an attack style were less than ideal.
The high-speed assaults were incredibly draining. Even with one team always held in reserve to rest, after a little over ten minutes, some members were already showing signs of exhaustion.
And all they had to show for it were a few shallow wounds on its chest, right hind leg, and left abdomen.
Wounds that would have been fatal to a normal Ethereal were merely minor injuries on this creature's massive body. Worse, they were slowly healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
To ensure her team had enough stamina to handle any danger, Anby had to occasionally step in for a member to make an extra assault, but it was merely a drop in the ocean.
At this rate, in ten minutes at most, the probability of a team member facing mortal danger due to exhaustion would become critical.
But even if the Silver Squad could hold on, the dragon-type Ethereal was done being toyed with.
Dense Ether energy began to gather in its mouth. Once it finished charging, a flame hot enough to melt a person in an instant would descend upon the Silver Squad like a cataclysm.
However, despite knowing how dangerous the breath attack was, the Silver Squad was powerless to stop it.
All the squad members began desperately hacking at the giant dragon with their twin blades. Not only did they fail to interrupt the Ethereal's charging process, but two members, in their recklessness, were swatted by its swinging claws. They were sent flying, slamming hard against a distant concrete wall.
As cracks spiderwebbed across the wall from the impact, the two coughed up a mouthful of blood, temporarily knocked out of the fight.
Just as the flames were about to erupt, knowing she could no longer stop it, a single, crystalline tear escaped the corner of Anby's eye. But in the next instant, it was swept away by the wind rushing past her face and vanished into the air.
It was strange, considering she didn't even know what tears were.
'With only the strength we have now, I still can't save even one more sister on this suicide mission, can I?'
That's right. Anby had known all along that this was a suicide mission.
Perhaps An thought she had hidden it well, but Anby had clearly overheard her conversation with Wesker after she'd moved away to take the call.
In An's mind, there was no need to be wary of Anby, her most perfect creation, a being made to be the perfect soldier.
She had listened to the plan An and that man had devised, heard them discuss the date, the specific details, and most importantly, the final decision to keep only one Silver Soldier.
Anby heard she'd been chosen for her excellence, but she felt no joy.
This feeling lingered even when she was with her other sisters. It was only when they started to worry and gather around her that Anby forced it down.
She didn't want to be left all alone. So, when no one was watching, she wracked her brains, trying to change something, anything, to alter their fate of certain death.
She had done the same thing during the previous solo test missions.
Finally, she'd come up with a brilliant idea, a method that could guarantee saving at least one person.
The day before the sortie, she deliberately 'forgot' to remind Soldier 11 that her training had gone overboard.
And Soldier 11, in her desperate, single-minded effort to catch up with the others, had trained so hard she got injured, just as she'd hoped, making her unable to participate in the next day's combat mission.
And so, Anby had successfully protected the first one. The price, however, was that she herself became a member of the mission squad.
But Anby didn't mind. She was even a little happy about it.
Because she was a greedy person. She always wanted to protect just one more.
Driven by this greed, Anby led the squad towards the mission objective, clinging to a sliver of extravagant hope.
She clung to the hope that if she, the strongest, could lead the others back alive, the Research Institute Director and An might see their value and change their minds, letting them all live.
But now, it was over.
From the moment her first attack left only a shallow crack, the battle was already lost.
What followed was just a group of puppets, only knowing how to follow orders, making their final, desperate struggle.
"The Silver Soldiers... are not human. So it doesn't matter if they all die..."
Anby stared blankly at the breath attack that was about to be unleashed, muttering the words of the deep-voiced man she had heard from An's video call.
"Whoosh—BOOM!!!"
A black shadow flashed past at incredible speed. A violent explosion detonated inside the Ethereal's mouth the moment it opened, using all the accumulated Ether energy as an accelerant as raging flames poured back down into its chest.
The fiercely burning flames gave it a bellyful of fire. The explosion blasted open a huge wound on its neck that blossomed like a grotesque flower. The layers of torn flesh made the wound resemble petals, presenting a strange, yet captivating beauty.
Anby, who had just been thrown from the heights of hope to the depths of despair, watched the once-invincible dragon-type Ethereal writhing and screaming on the ground. A sense of unreality washed over her.
Just as she was about to press the attack, a man's voice from behind made her stop in her tracks.
"Ha! Now that's a real kick! Good thing I shot the whole thunder-spider gland packed with activated Ether crystals in there, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten such a spectacular show."
-
🔥 40% OFF to celebrate 2 new stories! 🔥
We've just launched 2 new stories, and we want you to join us! Take advantage of the 40% discount to become a member.
When you join, you get instant access to:
✅ Over 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Exclusive content and updates!
Plus, your support unlocks bonuses for the entire community. Our goals are still active:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 55 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
Secure your spot with the discount and get access to everything right now:
👻 patreon.com/Walnutchan