A total of twenty-four Elite Operators, and they were all fully armed with the most advanced weapons.
The weakest among them was at the level of a normal Elite Operator, while the strongest far surpassed that.
Elite Operators were rare.
Even the most common Elite Operator was an absolute elite in any organization. In the massive Blacksteel Worldwide, with so many battle-hardened mercenaries, only less than ten squads, totaling just over twenty people, were qualified to reach the threshold of Elite Operator.
Although Lucas Reeve had encountered far too many incredibly powerful enemies, causing Elite Operators to gradually become a mere unit of combat measurement, it had to be admitted that ordinary people could hardly become Elite Operators no matter how much they trained. To become elite, one must have an outstanding talent that far exceeds the ordinary, be it in Originium Arts, physical fitness, reaction time, or tactical planning.
And in Victoria.
These twenty-four Elite Operators were just a random small team.
However...
Is this small number of people enough?
Obviously.
Not enough.
If they had dispatched powerhouses on the level of the Emperor's Blade, perhaps there would have been a chance. But... that kind of force, which was truly a nation's strongest secret weapon and strategic-level unit, would naturally not be deployed easily. The reason the Emperor's Blade was sent back then was purely because Patriot, Talulah, and himself were in the enemy ranks.
Perhaps in Victoria's eyes, seizing a mere fragment wouldn't require the use of their highest combat power like the Emperor's Blade. Deploying a second-tier force was more than sufficient, especially since the enemies they expected to face were at most some ordinary Elite Operators.
Under normal circumstances.
That would indeed have been enough.
But...
Now there was a slight variable.
Lucas Reeve and Surtr were here.
"Miss Surtr."
Texas's expression was grim. However, she was incredibly surprised when she saw Surtr voluntarily step in front of them.
"I'm a little hungry, I just want to eat soon..."
Surtr plunged her greatsword into the ground.
Her entire body's Originium energy erupted like a bursting dam, surging madly from within her. Scorching flames coiled like dragons. Surtr's gaze was sharp and piercing, her purple, gem-like eyes turning a fiery crimson. A glimmer of divinity even flashed in their depths.
This astonishing aura surprised the surrounding troops.
The squad leader looked grimly at the red-haired Sarkaz girl before him.
The ground beneath Surtr's feet gradually filled with cracks. *Gurgle, gurgle.* Magma began to roll out from the cracks under her feet. With a melting-like cry, the ground behind Surtr turned into a vast lake of lava.
Even the girls from Penguin Logistics had never seen such a terrifying spectacle. Texas quickly grabbed the back of Exusiai and Croissant's necks and pulled them back.
A sense of an impending storm rushed towards them. The scorching temperature and a bad premonition made the expressions of the opposing troops turn grim.
Suddenly!
With a loud boom.
A monstrous, pitch-black hand emerged from the lava, pressing down beside Surtr's thigh.
"!!!"
Texas's eyes widened, and Exusiai's expression was no better.
"Hiss!! There really is a monster!!"
"ROAR!!!"
With a roar, a headless, entirely black, half-bodied monster, with a metal chain hanging from its neck and standing over four meters tall, climbed directly out of the molten rock. Its other hand grasped the flame greatsword stuck in the ground.
At this point.
How could Texas not understand?
This greatsword was never meant for Surtr to use, but for this monster!!
"Let's fight together, Laevatain."
Surtr's cold voice rang out.
"No problem..."
Lucas Reeve's voice slowly followed.
And Texas and the others finally understood.
So...
The so-called second personality...
Was it this monster?
*Hiss...*
Laevatain's appearance not only shocked the allies but also utterly horrified the enemy forces.
Others might not know.
But they knew very well, this was a true Divine Fragment!!
And the true owner of the Divine Fragment had come!!
They were actually telling the deity itself to hand over its own fragment!
At this moment.
The previously cold and ruthless Elite Operator unit was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The more they thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
"Go!!!"
The squad leader knew that no matter how incomplete a Divine Fragment was, as long as it had the word 'divine' in its name, it was not something ordinary people could resist, no matter how weak it was. Even though his strength in the outside world could be described as that of an Elite Operator.
But an Elite Operator was, after all, just a mortal.
An ordinary mortal...
Could not possibly contend with a deity.
According to the regulations from above, non-special operations team members, upon encountering a deity's true form, must immediately flee. Fleeing in this situation would not be considered desertion, but a legitimate means of reducing losses. After all, even training an ordinary Elite Operator was very expensive.
This kind of Divine Fragment.
Only the few special squads above them could possibly be its match.
Run!
We have to run!
Originally, Lucas Reeve thought a great battle was about to begin.
However.
He never expected these people to run so fast.
They took off in a flash.
This time, not only was Lucas Reeve stunned, but even the girls from Penguin Logistics were dumbfounded.
They also never expected that the enemies, who were filled with killing intent just a second ago, would instantly turn into clowns and flee at top speed.
But....
Lucas Reeve never intended to let them go.
With the three of them united as one.
Lucas Reeve pushed Laevatain's power to a very high level.
He suddenly swung the greatsword in his hand. Flames clung to the blade, and with the swinging motion, a razor-sharp flame blade flew out.
One of the Elite Operators tried to block it.
However, this was just an ordinary Elite Operator, not even as strong as Franka. Naturally, he couldn't block Lucas Reeve's attack. He didn't even last a second before he and two of his comrades beside him were annihilated by the flame blade.
He thrust the sword sharply into the ground.
With an injection of power.
Along the escape path of these enemies, rolling magma churned up from the ground. The enemies hurriedly scattered, but as the magma shot into the sky, three unlucky ones were still clearly annihilated by the lava, not even dust remaining.
Knowing they couldn't escape like this.
The large group launched a counterattack against Lucas Reeve.
However.
If it were just the Laevatain summoned by Surtr alone initially, perhaps they would have had a fighting chance. After all, the previous Laevatain was less than three meters tall, and because it was controlled by Surtr and had no consciousness of its own, its power was limited. A large group of Elite Operators plus one top-tier Elite Operator, even if they couldn't win, could still hold their ground.
But now it was different.
The three-in-one Laevatain had unleashed its terrifying side.
And Lucas Reeve's consciousness and soul had compensated for Laevatain's only weakness.
The current Laevatain, aside from its original body, was basically in its most perfect form, piloted by two people together.
Against the most perfect Laevatain.
Even a top-tier Elite Operator was no match.
What should have been a slaughter of Penguin Logistics by these twenty-four Elite Operators had dramatically turned into Lucas Reeve and Surtr slaughtering this enemy squad. When the last squad leader was cut down, this one-sided massacre finally ended.
After all, they were just a group of Elite Operators.
Elite Operators are not the Emperor's Blade.
Even the most top-tier Elite Operator is still a long way from the Emperor's Blade. After all, the Emperor's Blade can be said to be the true ceiling of human capability. Those who can surpass them are generally ruthless individuals with super-strong bloodlines or incredibly powerful talents. Such individuals are few in any country and are considered absolute top-tier combat forces.
This squad of twenty-four Elite Operators seemed formidable.
In reality, two to three members of the Emperor's Blade could have perfectly crushed them. That was the gap between an ordinary Elite Operator and the Emperor's Blade.
*Phew...*
"Work's done..."
Lucas Reeve plunged the sword into the ground, about to return into it, when he was suddenly stopped by Texas.
"Hello..."
"Hmm?"
Lucas Reeve turned his non-existent head towards the three girls he had chatted with for so long but had never truly met. Although... this wasn't his real body either... his real body wasn't this ugly...
"Is there something, ladies?"
As expected!
The moment Lucas Reeve spoke.
That tone, that aura, it was all exposed.
Texas and the others immediately understood. This monster was Surtr's other personality, the one who had spoken to them the most. Now, they needed to ask one last question.
"Excuse me... was Jessica at that time...."
Lucas Reeve couldn't be bothered to hide it anymore. This time, it was his turn to be the riddler.
"You should already have the answer in your heart, Miss Texas."
After saying that, Lucas Reeve went straight back into the sword.
It really was him!!
How could Texas and the other two not understand?
The one inside Jessica's body back then was also this headless flame giant. He had even saved Sora, and the 'Jessica' that Sora missed was also this headless flame giant.
"I'm tired... your turn. I want to sleep..."
Surtr pulled out the greatsword and said calmly.
"I'm a little tired too. I also want to sleep..."
Lucas Reeve was a bit reluctant to take over Surtr's body.
"How about I rest for a while first? I'll take over your shift after I've had enough rest?"
Surtr was actually bargaining with Lucas Reeve. The Surtr of the past would never have said so much.
"Fine..."
Seeing Lucas Reeve agree, Surtr voluntarily relaxed her soul, letting Lucas Reeve take her place. Surtr herself then lay down comfortably inside and fell fast asleep.
"Let's go, let's head back."
Lucas Reeve patted down the few enemies with intact corpses, but unfortunately, there was nothing to prove their identity. Lucas Reeve guessed it was Victoria, but it was just a guess. Maybe it was Sargon.
The trio from Penguin Logistics stood there, dazed.
Now.
Even though the enemies were gone.
There was still a very fatal problem...
The vehicle was blown up... how were they going to get back?
And at that moment.
Not too far away, behind a steep slope, a blue-haired Sankta's lips curled into a slight smile. After confirming there was no danger, she too turned and left.