Inside the Hollow, Geno and his group followed Eous's footsteps, advancing towards the exit.
"Ehn-ne! Ehn-ne ehn-ne! (200 meters ahead, turn left!)"
Eous's little legs pattered rapidly as he ran. The group followed closely behind, scanning their surroundings vigilantly. They needed to leave the Hollow as soon as possible to prevent White Noise from laying an ambush for them. Since he had already made a move against Phaethon, it was impossible for him not to have tampered with the inside of the Hollow.
Sure enough, on their return journey, a loud *boom* was heard, and the path ahead was cut off by a sudden explosion.
"It's an Ether bomb."
Twiggy and Anby, two former members of the Silver forces, were fortunately very familiar with this type of military explosive. Although this model of bomb had a certain amount of power, it wasn't enough to cause massive damage. Its primary function was...
"Buzz, buzz, woo!"
Dangerous cries came from all directions. In this Hollow, there was only one type of creature capable of making such a commotion: Ethereals.
"Everyone! Prepare for combat!"
At Geno's command, the entire team quickly tightened their formation. Geno and Billy took the front line, Nicole positioned herself in the middle to protect Eous and provide support, while Anby and Twiggy coordinated at the rear.
Soon, the Ethereals attracted by the bomb revealed their terrifying faces.
"This number... it's going to be tough to deal with."
Geno did a quick headcount: one Goblin, one Dullahan, one Armored Hati, and a trash mob army consisting of over a dozen small Hatis and Tyrfings.
The Dullahan and the Goblin were manageable; he could hold off those two Ethereals by himself for a while. The main issue was the remaining Armored Hati and the swarm of small fry. Their numbers were high, and their movements agile; one careless moment could lead to a breach in defenses.
"Twiggy, what are our chances of breaking through?"
Hearing Geno's inquiry, Twiggy's brain spun rapidly, analyzing the current situation.
"You and Twiggy handle the Armored Hati, Nicole and Billy clear the rest of the trash, and leave those two big guys to me."
While Twiggy was still thinking, Anby had already started issuing tactical commands. Standing together with Twiggy brought back memories of commanding the Silver Squad. Thus, she naturally formulated a plan for everyone.
"That really is a familiar feeling."
Twiggy reacted, finding the scene both familiar and nostalgic. However, this time, Anby's plan didn't get everyone's approval.
"Leave those two big guys to Geno. Captain Anby and I will solve the Armored Hati first. Nicole and Billy's tasks remain unchanged. Trust in Geno; he is very strong."
Stopping halfway through when she saw Anby still had some doubts, Twiggy comforted her, asking her to believe in herself and to believe in Geno.
"Then, I'm going in!"
As Geno spoke, he gently twisted the wristband on his wrist. The originally suppressed Ether energy instantly surged out, forming a thin, shimmering colored membrane over his body.
This transformation immediately made Billy's eyes sparkle with stars.
"Such cool special effects! Geno, how on earth did you do that? Magic?"
"It's exclusive technology."
After speaking, Geno leaped into the air, striking directly at the Dullahan. Seeing this, a Tyrfing instinctively raised its shield to block, but unexpectedly, with a loud *clang*, it was sent flying by Geno's impact.
Seeing this, the Goblin to the side attacked directly, raising its two hammer-like arms high and smashing them fiercely down toward Geno's position.
"Hmph?"
Surprising everyone, Geno, whom they thought would dodge, actually took the Goblin's heavy blow head-on. His hands supported the two massive arms; although it was somewhat strenuous, he held his ground.
At this moment, the Dullahan that had been knocked away recovered and attacked again, swinging the blade on its right arm.
*Bang!*
A bullet precisely hit the Dullahan's arm, causing its body to shudder. Immediately following that, Geno used the momentum to pull, dragging the Goblin toward the Dullahan, causing the two Ethereals to crash into each other.
"Great shot, Billy!"
"Heh~ Naturally!"
Billy twirled his gun with maximum posturing, then continued to deal with the small Hatis scurrying everywhere.
"Catch this, Billy!"
Nicole called out to Billy, manipulating the Ether Cannon in her hands to blast a group of Hatis away. The Ethereals, hit by the special warhead, were clustered together and immobilized. Seeing this, Billy unleashed a frantic barrage with his dual guns. His practiced reload motions were so fast that one couldn't even detect a gap in the firing.
On the other side, Twiggy and Anby began their crusade against the large lion-like Armored Hati.
"Twiggy, Combat Formation Three."
"Understood, Captain Anby."
The two girls with identical faces launched a tacitly coordinated attack on the Ethereal before them. It is worth mentioning that the 'Combat Formation Three' Anby spoke of was a tactic once proposed and formulated by Twiggy.
Facing the assault of two former Silver forces members, the Armored Hati was soon beaten into discarding its armor. Literally—the thick armor composed of Inert Ether on its outer layer was quickly shattered, revealing a black body no different from a regular Hati.
"Careful, its speed has increased."
Without the constraint of the armor, the Hati's speed jumped up a tier, and it immediately charged at the two girls. However, faced with this surging attack, Twiggy and Anby's expressions didn't change as they silently put away their weapons.
A question mark instantly popped up above the Armored Hati's not-very-intelligent head. But soon, its attention was attracted by something else—why had the sky suddenly gone dark?
It instinctively looked up, only to see the Goblin's massive, round body squeezed together with the Dullahan, flying towards its position. They looked very much like a pair of ill-fated lovers.
But for the Hati, who was spatially at the very bottom, the vibe wasn't quite so poetic. Its mind was filled with only five words:
*Don't come over here!!!!* ヽ(*.>Д
*Thud~*
After a muffled sound, the Armored Hati, having endured a weight its Ethereal life could not bear, hastily departed this world.
After it dissipated, the bodies of the Goblin and Dullahan pressing down on it also began to slowly dissolve into primordial Ether. In just a short while, no trace of the three Ethereals could be found.
"Wah-da ehn-ne! (So cool!)"
Eous, protected in the very center, stared with widened, cute eyes at the battlefield Geno and the others had cleaned up, his face full of human-like excitement and awe.
"Alright, this place isn't safe for long. We'd better leave quickly."
After Billy finished off the last Ethereal, before they could even catch their breath, Geno began urging the group to leave.
Sure enough, before Geno even finished speaking, another swarm of Ethereals began poking their heads out from all directions.
"Move fast! We absolutely cannot get bogged down again!"
The surrounding Ether activity continued to rise; if they stayed any longer, they probably wouldn't just be dealing with guys on the level of Dullahans. The group's desperate journey through the Hollow continued.
____
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