Takao felt his blood surging as he watched. He had only expected to use the rocks to distract the enemy a little, but he had never imagined that Skadi's strength would give those stones such terrifying kinetic force.
"The effect is even better than I imagined! Skadi, keep going! Focus on the ones with the rocket launchers!"
"Mm." Skadi answered softly, and her throwing speed increased. She didn't even need to bend down; she simply hooked the rubble on the ground up with her foot, then slapped it away with her palm. Those stones, sent flying by her strikes, were even faster than before, spreading out like shotgun pellets and shredding the scattered enemies who tried to get close, turning them into bloody pulp.
In barely a minute or two, the open ground outside the cave was already a mess. The heavy machine gun fell silent, the rocket launcher troops were dead or crippled, and the armed men had suffered heavy casualties. The survivors, terrified by this completely incomprehensible method of attack, all rushed to find cover, too scared to even stick their heads out, much less organize any kind of effective counterattack.
Seeing that the enemy's threatening heavy firepower had been completely uprooted, Takao knew the decisive moment had arrived.
"That's enough, Skadi," Takao called out, stopping her from throwing any more.
Skadi halted and looked back at him, her gaze questioning.
Takao took a deep breath, pointed toward the panicked remnants outside the cave, and said in a low voice, "Now, drop the shield and pick up your sword."
Without a trace of hesitation, Skadi let go of the iron door handle in her hand. The massive, weather-beaten door slab crashed to the ground with a loud bang. She gripped that black greatsword with both hands again; as if sensing its master's fighting spirit, the blade gave a low, humming vibration.
"Charge out there," Takao's voice was filled with resolve. "Take down every enemy still standing."
"Okay."
For the first time, a clearly visible emotion flickered in Skadi's crimson eyes—excitement? Or perhaps the focus that came from finally being able to fight without restraint. She no longer needed to protect anyone, no longer needed to worry about anything. All she had to do was unleash her power to the fullest.
The next instant, she moved.
Her white figure flashed forward like a specter, radiating an overwhelming, unstoppable killing intent as she burst out of the cave and into the chaotic cluster of enemies.
Sword light, like a crimson storm, suddenly swept across the entire open ground.
A black tempest, wreathed in red sword light, slammed into the panicked crowd.
If the earlier "stone bombardment" had been a brute-force, long-range shelling that defied common sense, then Skadi's entrance now was a display of close-quarters, pure, brutal violence.
She didn't even use any flashy sword techniques. That enormous two-handed sword in her hands was as light as an embroidery needle, yet every swing brought with it the most primitive, most merciless release of raw power.
A sweeping slash.
The blade traced a perfect half-circle. The three gunmen raising their rifles before her, along with the weapons in their hands, were all cleaved in half at the waist. Blood splashed across the yellow sand like spilled ink; entrails and severed limbs scattered everywhere.
A vertical chop.
One enemy had just poked his head out from behind a wrecked car when the greatsword came crashing down. The car was cleanly split from the middle, and the man behind it, together with it, became two halves of twisted metal and mangled flesh.
A thrust.
The tip of the sword shot forward like a venomous dragon bursting from its lair, piercing through the chests of two enemies standing side by side in an instant, skewering them like candied hawthorn on a stick. The next moment, with a shake of the blade, the horrifying force blew the two corpses apart into upper and lower halves.
Her movements were simple and efficient, without a single wasted motion. Every swing of the sword was followed by a spray of blood. Every step she took meant another life snuffed out. The bullets fired by the terrorists either missed her by a hair's breadth or were easily deflected by the greatsword's blade, throwing off showers of sparks yet failing to slow her down in the slightest.
She was like a precise and efficient killing machine, plowing bloody furrows straight through the crowd. Screams, the crunch of shattering bones, the metallic shriek of weapons being severed—all these sounds blended together into a symphony of death.
Takao and Tony stood at the cave entrance, utterly stunned.
Tony's mouth hung open; he even forgot to breathe. He had seen war and all kinds of high-tech weapons wreak havoc on a battlefield, but he had never seen such a… classical and savage method of slaughter. This completely overturned his understanding of what "combat capability" meant.
"I… I think I'm going to have to redefine the word 'melee weapon'…" Tony's voice was a little dry. "Remind JARVIS when we get back—in our armor development program, we need to add a set of defense tests against super-high-intensity melee strikes…"
Takao had always known Skadi was strong, but witnessing this "one-woman army" performance with his own eyes still sent a chill through his heart. At the same time, an indescribable sense of security welled up inside him. With her here, it felt like no matter how desperate the situation was, it was nothing to fear.
The battle—or rather, the massacre—outside was nearing its end. The surviving terrorists had been scared out of their wits. They threw down their weapons and fled in all directions, screaming, wishing they had been born with a few extra pairs of legs.
Skadi did not give chase. She stopped, standing in the middle of the devastated battlefield. The greatsword tilted toward the ground, her crimson eyes still clear and icy. Her white combat outfit was spotless, without a speck of dust, and only the beads of blood sliding down the blade proved that what had just happened wasn't an illusion.
She looked back toward the cave, her gaze cutting through the lingering smoke and stench of blood, accurately finding Takao. She tilted her head slightly, as if asking, "Everything is cleared. What now?"
Takao took a deep breath of the air heavy with the smell of blood and forced himself to calm down. He grabbed the still-dazed Tony and quickly led him out of the cave.
Their boots sank into the soft sand. All around them were mangled bodies, scrapped vehicles, and shattered weapons. The sunlight poured down unobstructed, bathing the just-bloodied open ground in bright light, the stark contrast making the scene almost nauseating.
"Beautifully done, Skadi." Takao walked up to her side and praised her from the bottom of his heart.
Skadi didn't reply. She merely slid the greatsword back onto her back and, as usual, moved closer to Takao. It seemed she wanted to pull him into her arms again, but when she saw the dust and grime on him, she hesitated. In the end, she just reached out and gently brushed a few small bits of stone off his shoulder.
Tony watched this scene, his expression turning even stranger. A girl who had just mowed down dozens of armed men like a valkyrie cutting through wheat, now standing there like a docile girlfriend tidying up her partner's clothes? The contrast was almost too much for his brain to process.
"All right, even if the process was a bit… overly intense," Tony looked around and forced his voice back under control, "we've got to admit, we made it out. And thanks to Miss Skadi, our 'friends' won't exactly be in any shape to see us off for a while."
His gaze fell on the scattered weapons and a seemingly intact armed pickup truck.
"Now, what we need to think about is our next move. We're deep in the desert; we have to find a way to get out of here." Tony looked at Takao and Skadi. "There's a nearly worn-out pickup here, but obviously it's not suited for a long trek. And I'm not sure whether the Ten Rings have any follow-up forces on the way."
Takao nodded, about to speak.
Suddenly, Skadi's ears twitched. Her crimson eyes sharpened in an instant, and she snapped her head toward the distant horizon of the desert.
"There's a sound." Her cool voice carried a trace of wariness. "A lot of… vehicles."
Takao and Tony followed her gaze. On the distant sand dunes, a long cloud of dust was gradually rising, like a yellow tide rolling toward them. If they squinted, they could just make out the shapes of numerous armed vehicles at the front of that dust cloud.
Tony's expression darkened immediately. "Damn it! Reinforcements! They got here way too fast!"
They had just escaped the tiger's jaws—were they about to fall straight into a pack of wolves?
Takao's heart sank as well, but when he saw the calm in Skadi's eyes beside him, and the way her hand silently tightened around the hilt of her sword once more, a surge of courage rose up again.
He drew in a deep breath and said to Tony, "Don't panic. We have Skadi."
Then he turned to the girl, who was already bracing herself for battle, and gave a firm order:
"Skadi, get ready to engage. This time, don't hold back."
In Skadi's crimson eyes, it was as if icy flames had been lit.
"Understood."
(End of Chapter)
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