Slaying the Vine Ethereal

Soldier 11 clearly hadn't expected to see Anby here and immediately frowned.

"Why are you here?"

Anby's gaze flickered.

"Just passing by…"

Passing by?

Of course Soldier 11 didn't believe that.

She knew Anby had come here on purpose to help.

But that wasn't what Soldier 11 wanted.

She had accepted this mission to protect Anby. She had no intention of dragging her into a suicide run.

"This fight has nothing to do with you. Leave. I don't need help from a traitor," Soldier 11 shouted.

Anby didn't argue. She didn't leave either.

Instead, she suddenly swung her blade, cutting down a vine that flew toward them.

Then she said seriously,

"Soldier 11, let's fight one last time—if only to atone for our past mistakes."

Soldier 11's brow tightened.

"You…"

She still wanted to push Anby away.

But that was clearly no longer an option.

Soldier 11 took a deep breath.

"Fine. Do what you want."

With that, she hurled a concrete slab forward, using it as cover to flank toward another building.

Just like before, she relied on her agility to distract and stall the two overwhelming Ethereals.

But these two were far beyond what they'd faced before.

One towered with brute strength, capable of smashing a crater into the ground with a single punch. A single hit would mean certain death.

The other lashed out with thick vines and a relentless barrage of needle-like projectiles—dense as a downpour and nearly impossible to dodge.

Under normal circumstances, just getting her squad out alive would've been a miracle.

But now, they had no choice but to hold these monsters here.

And what worried Soldier 11 most was the unknown—how many more Ethereals might still be hidden in the shadows?

In this state, even a single ambush from behind would be fatal.

As the battle wore on, their stamina rapidly dwindled. They were forced to use their adrenaline shots just to keep standing.

But even so, Soldier 11 knew—they wouldn't last much longer.

As for reinforcements?

They weren't coming.

Before deployment, the commander had promised that reinforcements would arrive once the other battle zones were cleared. But there was no way those fights would end anytime soon.

Soldier 11 and her team wouldn't hold out that long.

...

While Soldier 11, Anby, and the others struggled to survive,

on the other side of the Hollow—

In Sector 3 of the Federer District, Hoshimi Miyabi, Soukaku, and other members of Special Operations Unit 6 were locked in a siege against a massive Ethereal—beast-bodied with a human face.

Though they had the upper hand, its defense was formidable. It was anyone's guess when the battle would end.

And they had no idea if this Ethereal had a second form.

Elsewhere, on 18th Street next to the Federer District, the Defense Force and another elite Special Operations unit were hunting a colossal serpent-like Ethereal, dozens of meters long...

And farther west, out in the wilderness bordering the district, another battle raged on.

Right now, in this seemingly small Hollow that had emerged just days ago, battles were erupting in every direction.

The entire zone was chaos.

Even the New Eridu authorities had never witnessed this many powerful Ethereals appearing inside a single Hollow.

...

High above the Federer District Hollow, Sam Li stood on the back of a massive rock eagle, finally soaring across the sky and diving directly into the Hollow below.

The moment he entered, he sensed something was off.

Compared to previous Hollows, this one had a much higher Ether concentration and vastly more active Ether currents—its corrosive strength was several times greater than anything he'd seen before.

It didn't feel like a newly formed Hollow at all.

Worse, the spatial structure was unstable.

With just a glance, Sam Li spotted multiple Hollow rifts, each one spewing Ether endlessly—who knew where they led?

He suspected they might connect to another Hollow altogether.

But before he could ponder further—

Several massive vines erupted from the ground, shooting hundreds of meters into the sky, wrapping tightly around the rock eagle from all sides.

In an instant, it was bound and dragged toward the earth.

Sam Li leapt off lightly and landed on the ground.

Then, even more vines burst forth—dozens, hundreds—each over a hundred meters long. They enveloped the rock eagle completely and pulled it underground.

It was clear.

A high-ranking Ethereal had made its move.

Before Sam Li could counter, the vines turned on him, lunging from all directions. There was no opening—no blind spot. They wrapped around him, trying to drag him under.

Just as they were about to engulf him—

A golden light flashed.

The Vortex Vanquisher shot forth, instantly shattering the massive vine prison.

Sam Li followed up with several thrusts. Golden streaks tore through the air, cleaving every vine that reached for him.

But before he could press the attack—

The severed vines began to regrow before his eyes, extending more than ten meters in mere seconds.

Like writhing tentacles, they danced ominously in midair.

Just like other high-level Ethereals, this one had terrifying regenerative abilities.

Sam Li's expression didn't change.

He simply raised a finger forward.

"Earth-shattering."

Instantly, a massive Geo ridge burst from the ground beneath the vine Ethereal's root.

Then another.

And another.

Within seconds, seven or eight Geo ridges erupted simultaneously, pinning the creature to the ground and locking it in place.

Then—

Sam Li gripped the Vortex Vanquisher and drew in a surge of Geo energy.

"Unbreakable!"

Though he stood dozens of meters away, he didn't strike directly.

Instead, he raised the spear high and drove it into the ground.

Boom!

As the spear sank into the earth, the Geo energy surged from it, racing through the ground like a subterranean javelin.

A heartbeat later, a golden rock spear erupted from the soil, piercing straight through the Ethereal.

The vine monster writhed violently, but soon, from the point of impact, its body began to turn to stone.

Slowly, not explosively.

But steadily, its green form hardened into rock.

The battle was over.

Sam Li had dispatched another high-ranking Ethereal—without breaking a sweat.