Chapter 152

 R-a - Chapter 152(Edited v2) 

Shin’s arms latched around Number 6’s waist with all of his might, settling into a vice-like grip as his enhanced body went to work. The Bracken Enhancement Fluid he had taken showed its strength as it empowered him, making his grip steely and sure. 

Number 6 was completely caught off guard by Shin’s abrupt arrival, and even further surprised that Shin didn’t appear to be immediately attacking him. Shin wasn’t trying to seal Number 6’s arms and prevent him from attacking Admiral Cardell, nor was he trying to crush Number 6’s chest in. 

The powerful A Ranker was wearing a set of tough armor that would’ve made such an action difficult, but Shin didn’t even try. 

Instead, he just sat there and huddled up.

Shin’s decision to not do much of anything at all was very intentional. 

Every time he teleported, he had to wait a certain amount of time before he could teleport again. That number was gradually growing smaller and smaller, especially as he grew more experienced, but it still was something he couldn’t ignore. 

If he wanted to both teleport and take Number 6 with him, he would need to wait roughly four full seconds before he could move. 

That meant he would need to be latched onto Number 6 for the entirety of that time without letting go, and also without dying. Unlike Micheal, Shin couldn’t just come back to life after being mortally injured. He still felt faint, phantom pains from his newly replaced left arm, a steep reminder of the danger he lived in. 

After a brief spate of thinking it over, the best plan Shin could come up with to hold on to Number 6 for four seconds without dying ended up being one of Micheal’s early-planning suggestions. 

‘Just be a wimp.’ Micheal’s advice had been rather succinct and direct. 

Shin’s heart pounded in his chest as he held on with all of his might and, as soon as he could, yelled out loud, 

“Admiral! Quickly attack, I’ll hold him still like we practiced!” His voice echoed out as he ducked his head as much as possible, shielding his lower neck and skull with his Melding Plate Arm. He Expanded the arm slightly, taking on as defensive a posture as possible.

Part of this was an act, intentionally trying to look weak. The other part, however, was genuine. Shin really didn’t want to get his head bashed in. 

“Impudent, but at least you aren’t boring.” Number 6’s voice was full of mild amusement as he took this all in. His tone made it clear he didn’t see Shin, or even the ferocious-looking Admiral Cardell, as a serious threat. 

Shin felt Number 6’s body shiver as the man flexed. Abruptly, Shin felt as if his arms were about to rip apart as a huge amount of pressure knocked into his body. Just holding onto Number 6 was suddenly extremely difficult, almost forcing him to directly lose his grip. 

Just as all of his effort was about to go to waste, however… Cardell took action. 

The Admiral didn’t know exactly what was going on, but through the years of experience he had accumulated as a veteran warrior, and the trust he had in the young Sub-Executive he had personally recruited, he reached a very quick conclusion.

Shin was up to something. And, given how the fight had been going thus far, he might as well play along.

“Excellent work, lad!” Cardell’s voice shook the air as he jumped forward, bringing his large anchor up and then directly down in a full-powered bash. The powerful warrior moved quicker than usual, exposing himself to a counterattack as he sought to strike before Number 6 had time to injure Shin. 

“Bahahaha!” The Admiral’s slightly crazed laugh sounded off energetically as he attacked. 

And, true to the Admiral’s expectations, Number 6 was forced to ignore Shin and defend himself. 

Number 6 whipped his spear up and smashed it against Cardell’s anchor. The reverberations of their clash rumbled through Shin’s body, setting his teeth on edge as he desperately continued to cling to Number 6. 

Shin absolutely failed in regards to holding Number 6 still or blocking the warrior’s movements. A good part of that was because Number 6 didn’t give Shin a chance to do anything, preemptively blocking him from obstruction. The other part was from how strong Number 6 had become thanks to the boost he had received from destroying a Permanent Nest. 

The clash between the two giants was over in an instant. Number 6 successfully fended off Cardell’s attack, sending the man flying back several meters. 

A large, brutal gash appeared on the Admiral’s chest, exposing bone and gushing blood. Cardell’s face paled as he felt the full impact of the injury, one that joined many other cuts and bruises. Despite that, the man never wavered, his gaze boring into Number 6. If looks could kill, the Nightrunner member would’ve long since been skewered through. 

All of this took place in just a few split seconds. The exchange lasted only a brief period and, in that time, Number 6’s defense was impeccable. Even Shin, who had latched on to the man’s waist, would have been completely unable to damage the warrior. 

If he had used his Soul Pistol, Number 6 would have broken his arm and knocked the gun away before he got a chance. If he had tried to stab Number 6 with a weapon, Number 6 would’ve responded by ripping his arm off. If he tried to do pretty much anything at all, he would’ve suffered dearly. 

But because he just sat there ineffectually… 

For roughly four seconds, Number 6 ignored him. 

It was then, as Number 6 was drawing his spear back and still focused on Cardell, that it happened. 

Shin and Number 6 teleported away, vanishing instantaneously. 

Admiral Cardell’s mouth fell open when he saw this. Right after that, he opened up his Spatial Ring and swallowed several Mid-Tier Healing Pills, not wasting any time as he shook the confusion from his eyes. 

As for Shin and Number 6… 

The teleportation process felt like it lasted ages, but was over in far less than a microsecond. In one moment, Shin and Number 6 were standing in the gymnasium, in the middle of a large-scale battle. 

In the next, they both reappeared, floating in the middle of a large aquarium…

.. .. .. .. .. .. 

Meanwhile… 

.. .. .. .. .. .. 

Sophia’s heart was currently full of venom as she glared at the vine-like cocoon that now covered and protected Number 10. 

She was forced to interrupt that glare as, for the fifth time, she jumped and rolled to the side, activating her Wind Sweeper Ability to quicken her step. She winced slightly when she landed, keenly feeling several bruises in the process of forming on her legs. 

A heartbeat later, a large, green vine slammed down where she had been standing, colliding with enough force to easily shatter bones. The vine thrashed down for a few seconds in jerking patterns, making it very clear that if it had hit her, she would be dead for certain. 

The battle between Number 10 and the Godfather Organization teams had moved forward at a very different pace compared to Cardell’s battle with Number 6. 

Unlike Cardell, none of the fighters that were facing up against the Permanent-Nest-boosted Number 10 were elite A Rankers at the edge of S Rank. There were a number of fighting geniuses present, but all of them ranked in the upper standard A Ranks at best, with the potential for much more. 

As a result, no one here could face up with Number 10’s direct attack, and the battle turned into one of ambush and retreat. And right now, it was only the Godfather Organization’s team that was retreating. 

“The Minifire Cannon can’t penetrate her vines! We’ll need to try something else!” 

“My Eldritch Fire also isn’t working!” 

“Will Mountain Reigning Lightning work? Does someone have a spare Mountain Wand?!” 

A series of voices, interspersed with the sounds of various vine whips crashing down, sounded off in the air as Sophia’s allies hurried talked out various plans of attack. 

The battle was still in its initial stage. A few Abilities and weapons had been used in an attempt to take down some of Number 10’s vines, all to no effect. Everyone present was able to dodge the attacks, but that was just right now. 

If the battle continued this way, people were bound to become tired and accidents were bound to happen. 

Already, Number 10 had taken over a full third of the gymnasium, taking on all of the combatants at once. While she seemed eager to target Sophia, the large number of enemies had forced her to play a slightly more passive role, relying upon her vines to shield herself while she attacked from afar. She was playing things slowly, taking her time. 

“Just get me close to her. If I can just get her within range of my Ability…” Asim’s voice was cold as he landed on the ground next to Sophia, his saber in hand. 

“We can’t even get halfway. Her vines are too dangerous.” Vlad sounded harried as he joined them, cutting off his words in short bursts. His spear glowed faintly as he held it at the ready, wavering in the air around him. 

Before Sophia could reply, she, and the other two, were forced to dodge out of the way as another marauding vine slammed down onto the ground where they were standing. 

“Hold on!” Sophia breathed out as she flew into the air, using her Wind Sweeper Ability to land next to Asim. Vlad quickly rejoined them. 

In the background, a series of explosions shook the air as the other teams began launching attacks towards Number 10’s cocoon. The attacking vines seemed to contract in and then swerve to focus on the attackers, granting Sophia a rare moment of peace, the first since the fight started. 

“I have something that we can use, but we’ll only have one shot.” As Sophia finally managed to catch her breath, she tapped on her Spatial Ring, pulling out two fist-sized canisters. She ignored the sweat that dripped down her face as she pulled off the lid of one of the canisters, revealing a large clump of white powder. 

“It’s a powder that should be able to weaken her vines, a type of weedkiller. All we need to do is get it on any vines in our way.” Micheal had explained the logic of how it worked, but Sophia couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous when facing Number 10’s illogically tough vines and the fact that Number 10’s power was greatly boosted. 

According to him, her Abilities, among other things, allowed her to stimulate the life energy of various plant matter in unique ways. In her boosted state, she was boosting these vine’s life energy to such a degree that they were practically invincible. 

Micheal had said this concoction should be effective no matter what, unless she had specifically trained to defend herself against it. Which, according to Micheal, was impossible. 

Still…

“Vlad, you take the front and soften the vines for us using it. Once we break past her cocoon, I’ll stun her long enough that you can reach her, Asim. Once she gets within range of your Ability…” Sophia had personally experienced Asim’s Forsaken Aura. It was so incredibly jarring that it was nearly impossible to adapt to. 

No matter how strong Number 10 was, she was bound to leave multiple openings if they could hit her with that. 

The plan was one quickly thrown together, but well crafted regardless. Vlad’s ability when it came to melee combat was inarguable, and his slew of odd Abilities were even harder to match, while Asim’s powers went without saying. Even if Sophia’s Fairy Eyes couldn’t fully distract Number 10, Sophia was confident her presence alone would buy them enough time for Asim to get within range. 

“Hmm.” Asim didn’t say anything but merely rubbed his chin in thought. 

The battle continued to wage onward in the background. By this point, several bolts of energy and searing lightning were currently being lobbed against Number 10, to little effect. 

“If it’s just a weedkiller, I doubt it will be enough to stop these damned things.” Vlad shared his opinion, looking at the white powder with an inquisitive eye. 

“No, it will definitely work.” Sophia’s faith in Micheal was absolute. If he said it would work no matter what… it would definitely work. She rebuked her worries, cool confidence filling her as she gazed at the powder. 

“This isn’t just any regular weedkiller. It’s one that’s been imbued with many things from the Shop.” Sophia’s explanation seemed to assuage the two warrior’s worries as they exchanged glances and then promptly nodded. 

Sophia smiled slightly as she remembered how Shin had termed the substance. 

“It’s more like a super-weedkiller.” 

The smile faded from her eyes as she looked away from the powder, towards the explosive battle taking place just a few dozen meters away, 

“Remember, we only have one shot at this.” She handed the first canister of the ‘super-weedkiller’ off to Vlad, watching as he swabbed his spear in it. 

Asim swabbed his long saber as well, coating it in a fine white edge that stuck to his blade almost like glue. Sophia took the last remaining bit from the first canister, swabbing a pair of Blue-Iron Daggers she’d gotten from the Godfather Organization in the powerful herbicide. 

The weapons were her favorites out of all of the throwing knives she’d tested out, perfect for a fight where a sword might not give her enough range. 

She stored the last canister away, just in case, as she, Asim, and Vlad all zeroed in on Number 10’s vine-covered cocoon. 

“Let’s make this count.” 

.. .. .. .. .. .. 

Just moments later… 

.. .. .. .. .. .. 

Up above, on the rooftop of the skyscraper, a small breeze brushed through the air. The screams of combat and sounds of battle down below were barely audible up here, amidst the corpses of the dead. 

Barely audible, too, was the light tapping sound as a man landed atop this rooftop, giving off an Aura full of warm, golden light and powerful, energetic vigor. 

Garen Olsteis frowned as he walked over to the edge of the skyscraper, looking down. 

“6? Are you still down there?” He crossed his arms for a second. 

“Whatever. I’ll figure it out when I get there.” With those words spoken, the heroic-looking leader of the Nightrunner Numbers shrugged, and then walked off the edge of the building, sending himself hurtling towards the ground far below. 

.