Chapter 146: Legendary Special Forces Soldier

Xie Liu raised his hand, slowly shielding his eyes from the gradually brightening light. Without realizing it, dawn had begun to break. Xie Liu shook his head slightly, then looked at the tall man before him and smiled. "Well? Still want to fight?"

Xie Liu did not look particularly presentable at this moment. His entire person was disheveled, and the bloodstains on his face were severe—not only from his enemies but also from his own wounds. Of course, there was also the blood of the special operative standing opposite him, a man known as Blood Maple.

"I admit it, you are truly strong." Blood Maple gasped, blood gushing from his mouth. The dark red light-blade in his hand flickered erratically, as if it might extinguish at any second.

He clutched his chest, coughed in a low voice, and said, "Why do I feel like you’re more of a monster than I am?"

Indeed, in terms of sheer strength and speed, there was still a gap between Xie Liu and Blood Maple, but Xie Liu's astonishing reaction time perfectly compensated for these deficiencies. The two had traded blows for an unknown duration. Initially, Blood Maple had been able to suppress Xie Liu with his superior power and speed, but as time passed, Blood Wolf’s stamina began to drop rapidly. This gave Xie Liu a chance to catch his breath and gradually turn the tide.

Xie Liu's stamina seemed inexhaustible, which left Blood Maple feeling stunned. "This shouldn't be happening. It’s been so long; you should be tired by now."

Xie Liu smiled without answering. This was the strength of a stamina-mutated ability user; superior endurance and recovery were his most vital trump cards. The Special Alliance had conducted extensive research on the ability users of the Fantasy City, yet they knew very little about stamina-based mutations. In fact, let alone the Special Alliance, even the Fantasy City itself did not fully understand how these abilities were acquired.

The sun rose over the horizon. After a long and arduous battle, the outcome of the main battlefield in the distance was finally decided. Because the special operatives had exposed their tracks prematurely, the Catastrophe Legion had launched a counter-offensive, rendering much of their equipment useless and ultimately causing the mission to end in failure. Throughout the night, although they had inflicted significant casualties on the Joint Task Force soldiers, they had failed to take down this branch of the Catastrophe Legion.

"Who exactly exposed our movements?" the lead operative, a glamorous female, frowned. "Just moments before we attacked, a phalanx of Catastrophe Legion soldiers arrived. This could not have been a coincidence."

The tall, statuesque woman sat on a pile of broken rubble, her long, fair right leg crossed over her left, her black high-heeled boots tapping rhythmically. Her left eye was covered by a black bandage, and the only visible right eye held a look of displeasure.

Her emerald gaze flickered with a hint of irritation. The plan, which had been perfectly orchestrated, had fallen apart due to a flaw. "Where is Blood Wolf? Bring him here. I want to hear his explanation."

Blood Wolf was tossed before the woman in a sorry state, his body covered in blood, clearly having just come from a brutal fight. He was held up by two men, and when he saw the petite woman sitting on the rubble ahead, his expression changed instantly.

"Lady A2." Blood Wolf bowed his head. The woman before him was A2, one of the "Three Legendary Special Operatives" among the A-rankers in the Special Alliance—ranking just below the S-class. Her second-place standing among the A-rankers was not due to others yielding to her because of her gender, but because she possessed truly convincing strength. It was said that she had once fought Ace for over an hour without being defeated.

"Tell me, how were you discovered?" A2 leaned against the stone behind her. The two operatives who had brought Blood Wolf in stood behind her, their towering figures forming a stark contrast to A2’s delicate frame.

"It was all that hunter called Dead Eye. He betrayed our trust and sold me out." Blood Wolf gritted his teeth. A2 shook her head after hearing him. "It wasn't him. He wouldn't have known our plan. Even if he did, given his status and position, he wouldn't have been able to mobilize another phalanx of the Joint Task Force in such a short time."

A2’s logic was sound, but what she didn't know was that Xie Liu had used the Director's exclusive channel, which had drawn the attention of the Catastrophe Legion and prompted them to pull in an additional phalanx to join the one already stationed there, allowing them to withstand the operatives' attack.

"Our plan was likely compromised beforehand. The problem probably doesn't lie with you." A2 rested her chin on her small hand, pondered for a moment, and nodded. "Wind Wolf, how much time do we have left?"

"My lady, there is at most half an hour until it is completely light," replied the tall operative standing behind A2. A2 fell into deep thought before nodding. "Our time is running out. It seems I will have to intervene."

"My lady!" Both Blood Wolf and Wind Wolf looked up in surprise. "But the enemy has two phalanx commanders!"

"Even if the Commander of the Catastrophe Legion were here, I would kill him all the same." A2 stood up from the rubble and opened the right eye she had been keeping shut. Her emerald eyes shimmered with a purity like that of a gemstone. "Besides, I am very curious to see this 'Dead Eye' that Blood Wolf speaks of. Who is he, to have left such a lasting impression on 2B?"

A2’s slender figure walked down from the rubble, her snow-white hair cascading down to cover her proud, delicate frame. She walked with light, precise steps, leading the way.

As for this legendary operative within the Special Alliance, Blood Wolf and the others could only maintain a respectful guard. They watched as the girl-like operative walked away, the two swords crossed on her back—one large and one small—gradually beginning to shine in the morning light.

White Vow, Black Contract. One large, one small; one long, one short. The pair of dual blades was already famous throughout the world.

The battle in the distance had become clear. When two distinct super-abilities erupted from the two phalanxes of the Joint Task Force, the special operatives' lines could no longer hold and collapsed entirely.

The two abilities were distinct: one was a fire that raged recklessly, and the other exerted immense pressure across the operatives' lines, causing the ground to cave in and crushing many operatives into meat paste.

Previously, they had refrained from using their full power for fear of friendly fire, but now the lines were clearly drawn, and they had no such reservations.

The total number of special operatives involved in this raid exceeded five hundred. Although they had been held off, the two phalanxes had paid a painful price, with nearly a hundred soldiers dead. The two phalanx commanders felt their hearts bleed at the sight of such heavy attrition. They had suffered severe losses at the Kanto branch two years ago and had not yet fully recovered, only to suffer another major blow.

"Kill them all." The two commanders exchanged a nod of affirmation. The one using fire-based abilities stretched out his five fingers, flames coalescing in his palm before whistling across the battlefield.

"Arghhhhhhh..."

The fleeing operatives caught by even a flicker of the fire were instantly engulfed, turning into charred remains in moments.

"Run!" The rout could no longer be stopped. The remaining operatives fled from the front line like a receding tide, pursued by the howling, death-dealing flames.

When A2 stepped out of the woods, this was the scene she witnessed. She watched quietly as the operatives in the distance fled frantically toward her.

"My lady, do you want us to drive them back?" Wind Wolf asked. A2 shook her head. "No need. You stay here; I will be back shortly." With that, she continued to walk forward.

Moving against the tide of fleeing people, this unassuming girl walked quietly onto the battlefield. Countless people rushed past her in a panic. Before her was a sky filled with flames, howling like a lethal curse.

The phalanx commander using fire abilities laughed. "You scum, go to hell, all of you!"

Then, he saw a petite, curvaceous figure moving calmly toward his side amidst the frantic, desperate operatives.

"What is this?" The commander frowned. The appearance of this female operative was too strange; not only did she not flee, but she walked directly toward him. "Is she so terrified that she's lost her mind?"

The commander could only explain it this way. People in despair would indeed choose self-destruction. "If you want to die, don't blame me. It's a pity, but I don't know how to be gentle." The fire-wielding commander laughed, the flames in his hand surging and growing into a sea of fire, rushing directly toward the woman.

Having already envisioned the woman screaming in the flames, the commander wore a cruel smile. It was at this moment that A2 drew the blade from her back.

White Vow had no scabbard; it was merely held to her back by some unseen force. The blade's hilt was the length of a person, and its snow-white edge looked like freshly fallen snow. Exquisite patterns were carved into the steel, lifelike roses that shimmered brilliantly amidst the flames.

*Whoosh...*

As the wind rose, A2 slashed once. The endless sea of fire was cleaved in two, all the flames dispersed in an instant. A peerless wave of energy radiated from beneath A2’s feet, blowing away the fire.

With her long blade held horizontally, A2 continued to walk forward slowly. The flames extinguished around her, leaving only a few sparks that dissipated as the edge of her blade extended.

On the snow-white blade, the rose patterns began to glow, beautiful yet lethal.

"How is this possible!" The fire-wielding commander was stunned. The other commander shouted, "Back away! She is a high-level operative! I will deal with her."

This commander was a master of air pressure; he extended his palm toward A2. "Be crushed!"

*Boom!*

With a deafening roar, A2 and the ground beneath her sank into the earth.

"Did I get her?" The pressure-wielding commander frowned, then said in surprise, "I didn't! This person is incredibly strong!"

A2 stood quietly in place, having suffered no harm, though her fair legs and black high-heeled boots were buried in the ground. A look of displeasure crossed her face. The next second, she launched herself upward, performed a backflip in mid-air, and landed directly in front of the two commanders.

"Who are you!" The two commanders were shocked. Before the words had even left their lips, their men had already begun to attack. A2 merely let out a cold hum, gripped White Vow with both hands, and drew a perfect arc in the air before striking the ground.

*Boom...*

The ground cracked, starting from the point where A2's blade struck. The fissures spread rapidly, accompanied by an invincible hurricane that howled across the Joint Task Force lines, devastating everything in its path. In an instant, the soldiers of the Joint Task Force were scattered.

With just a single strike, A2 tore open the defensive line that the operatives had failed to breach after dozens of attempts. A large number of soldiers had no chance to resist, simply flung into the sky; the ground looked as if it had been swept by a tornado, left in absolute ruins.

"This! Is she even human?"

As the dust settled, the two commanders were revealed. The pressure-wielding commander stood in front of the other, having erected an invisible wall of pressure to barely withstand the strike.

However, both of them were in a very bad state. This petite-looking girl exerted such immense pressure on them—a power of absolute dominance, like a block of steel weighing heavily upon their hearts.