A single-player post-apocalyptic game, but with an all-female teammate mod.

"Well……"

The unconscious girl let out a painful groan, the flesh on her shoulder twitched, the charred scabs quickly fell off, and new, tender skin spread out at a visible speed.

This level of medical ninjutsu was not tiring for Tsunade at all, but fine beads of sweat still appeared on her forehead.

An instinctive, physiological aversion made her tense all over.

She dared not open her eyes to look, relying entirely on the muscle memory and perception developed over years of combat.

He only breathed a sigh of relief when he felt that there was no more blood flowing from the body under his palm.

She turned around and opened her eyes.

Tsunade looked at the little cook, "Dudu... help clean up the bloodstains. Call me when you're done, and I'll proceed with the next step of treatment."

On the other side, Aono and Kage had already pushed their offensive to its limit.

The alloy battle axe swung out a full moon-like arc, slashing straight at Icarus's side.

The shadows moved in perfect unison, their figures blurring into numerous afterimages, while the lightning snakes whipped up by the naginata launched continuous attacks from the other side.

63. Challenge successful & Icarus gets it!

clang!clang!clang!

The continuous crashing sounds were like a sudden storm.

Icarus's Aegis shield once again blocked most of the attacks.

But with each collision, the honeycomb texture on the surface of the light shield would fluctuate violently, and the light would dim slightly.

This shield, touted as an absolute defense, is clearly not inexhaustible.

"Warning, Aegis energy consumption 37%...42%...47%".

Icarus's hollow electronic voice broadcast data, his pupils, a mix of emerald green and blood red, mechanically tracking two fast-moving enemies.

"Now!"

Aono caught a sharp flicker in the light shield and abruptly threw his battle axe away.

At the same time, he charged forward like a cannonball, caught the rebounding axe handle in mid-air, and used the momentum to change direction, slashing the axe blade at a tricky angle towards Icarus's wrist.

The shadow's attack arrived almost simultaneously.

The naginata, crackling with electric arcs, pierced towards Icarus's back at incredible speed.

puff!

This time, the sharp axe blade finally broke through the last ripple of the energy shield and slashed hard into Icarus's slender wrist.

Bright red blood splattered out.

Although they are artificial angels, Icarus and Nymph are actually no different from real people.

Almost simultaneously, Shadow's naginata successfully pierced through the pink wings, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound in her back.

For the first time, Icarus spoke in a voice different from that of an electronic broadcast.

A very faint groan of pain escaped her lips.

"Aegis, forced shutdown, entering charging and cooling phase. Estimated recovery time: 60 seconds."

Without the protection of the light shield, Aono and Kage's attacks surged forth like a tidal wave.

The alloy battle axe cleaved her shoulder, and the naginata pierced her waist and abdomen. In just a few seconds, the Queen of the Sky was covered in wounds.

The tattered combat uniform was stained crimson.

The snowball didn't roll for nothing; with Aono and Kage combined, their current fighting strength is in no way inferior to Icarus.

Just as the two were about to press their advantage, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The deep, bone-revealing wounds on the pink-haired angelic girl's body were visibly writhing and closing.

Blue, luminous liquid precipitated from the air and was absorbed by her wound.

In just a few breaths, apart from the remaining tears in his combat suit, most of Icarus's wounds had healed.

Even the broken bones emitted a faint sound of reconnection.

Aono's pupils contracted. This astonishing regenerative ability instantly reminded him of the giant mycelium zombie from back then.

"Tsk..."

He pursed his lips slightly, clearly annoyed. He was prepared to be ruthless and cruel, but this was the last thing he got his hands on.

Watching Icarus begin to rebuild her protective shield, Aono said to the purple-haired older woman beside him, "Shadow, like the giant zombie in the last level, this boss is probably unkillable. Let's hold her off until Nymph and the others finish their intrusion and control of the core program."

A knowing glint flashed in Ying's purple eyes.

She nodded slightly, her naginata slicing through the air, forcing Icarus to dodge again.

This time, however, she did not pursue them further.

The two began to conserve their energy.

However, in order to prevent Icarus from attacking the women at the stone tablet, the frequency was maintained at an extremely high level.

It's just that the force was much weaker.

While Icarus may not be as skilled in close combat as Aono and Kage, he's not just a punching bag.

The wings of light behind the pink-haired angel lit up again, and a new round of permanent homing missiles began to brew.

But Aono and Kage's figures had already clung to him again like maggots to a bone.

The attack was forced to stop, and after enduring another round of slashes, she braced herself against her shield and began to flap her wings, trying to take off and create distance.

Aono instantly understood her intention and immediately called for Kage to follow.

"We can't let her create distance."

"Ah."

I've already experienced Icarus's firepower.

If they are completely outmatched, they will be left with no choice but to take the hits.

Even with time intervals, it would be virtually impossible to withstand such an offensive until the time was up.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be a situation where there's no solution.

That is indeed the case.

This level is confined to the plaza, and its maximum height is only 20 meters.

Otherwise, Icarus wouldn't have needed to show up in the first place.

But Aono didn't know.

He wouldn't gamble either.

She tried to escape, but he chased after her; she couldn't escape even if she had wings.

Under the relentless pursuit of Aono and Kage, the three remained locked in a fierce battle.

The shield, with its formidable defensive capabilities, was recharged time and again, but was shattered again within seconds by Aono and Kage's swift and ruthless attacks.

In the midst of intense fighting, time seemed to drag on.

In less than ten minutes, Aono and Kage felt as if several hours had passed.

Even Aono, whose constitution is the most abnormal, is feeling a bit tired right now.

The shadow's condition was similar.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on that usually aloof face, her purple eyes still shone brightly, but her breathing became noticeably rapid.

"It's still not strong enough."

Once again, Aono blocked Icarus's energy attack with his alloy battle axe, and the enormous recoil made his tiger's mouth go numb.

He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "We can't even take down the boss with a straight punch..."

Just then, a slight noise came from behind.

Aiba Asagi finally woke up.

Her face was pale, clearly not yet fully recovered from the shock.

But seeing the two struggling ahead, he suppressed his fear of death and staggered to the virtual keyboard.

Despite the lingering soreness in his shoulder, he resumed his intrusion into the core program.

The girl's fingers tapped the keyboard so fast they almost blurred into afterimages, and lines of complex code began to frantically cover the screen.

Five minutes later, Nymph and Uiharu Shiori completed their respective invasion missions.

"Asagi, we're here to help you."

The two typed on a virtual keyboard, connecting to the area under the jurisdiction of Asagi Aiba to begin assisting with the intrusion.

With the combined efforts of the three, the remaining progress bar, less than a third full, began to increase rapidly.

[70.15%]

[71.55%]

[73.00%]

……

At this rate, it should take less than three minutes to reach 100% and complete the challenge.

However, when the progress bar reached 90%, it seemed that some kind of mechanism was triggered.

Om-!

A terrifying shockwave suddenly exploded outwards from Icarus.

Her pupils, which were originally a mix of emerald green and blood red, turned completely into pure scarlet, and the oppressive aura emanating from her body increased several times over.

The defensive capabilities of Aegis Light Shield have been significantly improved by a level.

When Qingye swung his battle axe, it only created a faint ripple.

"Low health berserk?!"

He immediately understood what was going on and decisively said, "Shadow, this is the last chance. Intensify the attack and stop her."

"it is good."

Shadow's voice remained cold, but the arcs of electricity on the naginata in his hand surged.

She closed her eyes and focused her mind. When she opened them again, her pupils seemed to contain the destructive light of the universe and stars.

"No Thoughts—One Slash!"

Without any fancy charging motions, a purple katana made of lightning was drawn from the void above her full chest.

The next instant, a slash trajectory too fast for the naked eye to detect swept across.

The slash sliced ​​through the honeycomb-shaped defensive shield, almost splitting Icarus in two diagonally.

After that attack, Shadow's stamina was completely depleted.

She staggered back a few steps, barely managing to steady herself by using her naginata for support.

In the sky, blue energy reappeared, continuously repairing the horrific knife wounds on the pink-haired angel girl's body.

Fortunately, Wu Xiang's slash had a severe injury effect, and his regeneration ability, which was originally considered a bug-level ability, was now significantly slowed down.

But if left unchecked, she might actually regain her mobility before the progress bar is full.

Quickly assessing the situation, Aono decisively pushed off the ground again and charged towards Icarus, who was suspended in mid-air.

The alloy battle axe slammed into the huge wound that Shadow had inflicted on Icarus with his Wuxiang Blade, accompanied by a whooshing sound.

Click!

A clear cracking sound rang out as Icarus was sent flying, crashing heavily into the invisible wall at the edge of the plaza before sliding down.

Her body, which had just begun to recover, was severely injured again by this attack, even more so than before.

Aono gasped for breath, glancing at the purple-haired older sister kneeling beside him, supporting herself with her naginata.