-1449- What a man does

"Huff... huff... huff..."

On the battlefield, Chloe, who had just unleashed a barrage of firepower unmatched by anyone, was now breathing slightly heavily, with a hint of fatigue in her eyes.

Although Chloe's ability to independently refine Compressed Mana was astonishing, and the power she displayed was awe-inspiring, it wasn't without its price.

For instance, Chloe had nearly exhausted the mana she had been consciously conserving all along.

Compressed Mana is indeed powerful, but such great power often comes with a heavy price.

Refining Compressed Mana within one's body imposes a burden on the body. Even if it doesn't reach the level of injury, it still brings about fatigue.

Moreover, the process of refining Compressed Mana is a significant drain on mana.

After all, the power is obtained by compressing and refining mana, so how could the consumption not be great?

To put it in perspective, even if the same magic is used, the power exerted by mana would be "ten," while the power exerted by Compressed Mana would be "one hundred," but that's assuming the quantities are equal.

In other words, the amount of mana and Compressed Mana used must be the same; if the amount of mana is "ten," then the amount of Compressed Mana also has to be "ten."

However, after compressing "ten" units of mana, you might only get "two" or "three" units of Compressed Mana. To get "ten" units of Compressed Mana, you'd need to compress much more mana, perhaps consuming "thirty," "forty," or even "fifty" units of mana to achieve it.

Thus, while the power of Compressed Mana is indeed remarkable, the consumption is also enormous.

Now, Chloe's mana was almost completely depleted.

However, considering that Chloe alone had wiped out over eighty percent of the Armored Beetles at the cost of her mana, it could only be considered worthwhile.

"Chloe-senpai!"

Yuri Flostre, wielding her magic spear, pierced through several Arachnell-class that were lunging at Chloe and reached her side.

"Are you okay, Chloe-senpai?"

Yuri supported Chloe as she spoke.

"I'm fine, just probably can't continue high-intensity combat."

Chloe shook her head, frankly stating her current condition.

At this moment, Rozen's voice came through the communication crystal of the three members of the S128 Special Forces Squad.

"Yuri, take Chloe and retreat, Kanata will cover you."

Rozen unhesitatingly issued the command.

Upon hearing this command, Yuri bit her lip.

To be honest, Yuri felt somewhat disheartened.

She was dissatisfied with her own performance.

It wasn't that Yuri thought she hadn't performed well on the battlefield, but upon hearing Rozen's command, an inexplicable sense of relief, dependence, and trust welled up within her, making Yuri feel extremely frustrated.

(But… it's been so long since I last heard Rozen-senpai's commands…!)

In the past, when Rozen was still part of the S128 Special Forces Squad, Yuri felt this way; every time she heard Rozen's voice, she would feel incredibly reassured.

Because Yuri believed that this voice would surely lead them to victory.

Now, hearing this command again after so long, even though Yuri was unwilling to admit it, she had to acknowledge that just like every other Sky Wizard present, her morale and fighting spirit surged at Rozen's voice.

Therefore, Yuri felt extremely disheartened with herself.

Yuri suppressed her conflicting and complex emotions and spoke into the communication crystal.

"But the Variants haven't been dealt with, and the enemy commander hasn't shown up yet, our mission…!"

Yuri was worried about this.

After all, the mission of the S128 Special Forces Squad was to defeat the leader commanding the Armored Beetle army, thereby securing victory in this battle.

Would it really be okay to retreat like this?

"No problem."

As if hearing Yuri's concerns, Rozen spoke.

"Chloe's mission is complete, your current task is to escort Chloe back to Mistgun, leave the rest to me."

— Leave the rest to me.

When these words reached Yuri's ears, she felt even more disheartened.

Because…

"Yes…!"

Her body and mind completely disregarded her feelings, and without hesitation, she executed the command under this voice. How could Yuri not feel disheartened?

This lack of straightforwardness was very much in Yuri's character.

In any case, Yuri escorted Chloe as they retreated from the battlefield.

Only Kanata remained, facing nearly ten Tenjin"4" Variants and numerous Arachnell-class alone.

"You really do take care of the ladies, don't you, ya bastard."

Kanata raised his Magic Cannon Sword, facing all the Tenjin"4" Variants alone, while fearlessly smiling as he looked ahead.

"Are you upset?"

Rozen's voice, smiling wryly, followed.

"Not at all."

Kanata's smile grew even more fearless.

If anything…

"Letting the women retreat and covering them, that's what a man does."

Kanata uttered a line that was both untimely and exceptionally cool.

"Now it's up to you, man."

Rozen said this.

"The remaining Arachnell-class will be handled by the other Sky Wizards, you should go all out without worrying about mana consumption and wipe out those Tenjin"4" Variants in one go."

Upon hearing this…

"Understood!"

Kanata raised his Magic Cannon Sword, with astonishing mana surging from his body.

Although it couldn't compare to Chloe, Kanata's mana was also extraordinary.

At this moment, Kanata recklessly channeled all his mana into the jet-black Magic Cannon Sword in his hand—Gladius.

The next second…

"Clank!"

The cylinder on the blade of the Magic Cannon Sword spun like the cylinder of a revolver, making a sound like iron being struck.

"Clank, clank, clank, clank, clank…!"

Amidst the sound of metal clashing, the cylinder of Kanata's Magic Cannon Sword spun continuously, completing five full rotations.

Then, a terrifying surge of mana swelled from the jet-black Magic Cannon Sword.

"That's…!"

In the command center, Misora couldn't help but lean forward when she saw this scene.

Because at this moment, the mana swelling from Kanata's Magic Cannon Sword was Compressed Mana.

Kanata used the Compressed Mana Reactor installed in his Magic Cannon Sword to refine Compressed Mana.

Simultaneously, the Tenjin"4" Variants swung their tentacles and lunged at Kanata.

Yet Kanata remained unfazed, simply raising his Magic Cannon Sword towards the front.

"Battle Skill—Condensed Magic Cannon!"

With all the Compressed Mana refined by Kanata poured into the strike, it was unleashed from the tip of the Magic Cannon Sword.

A torrent of jet-black mana surged forth, like a tidal wave, engulfing the Tenjin"4" Variants.

"———!"

The Tenjin"4" Variants seemed to emit their final wails, gradually fading away in the jet-black mana torrent.

After the red beam-like cannon fire, the black torrent also annihilated all the enemy's medium-sized Variants, even wiping out all the Arachnell-class accompanying them.

"Huff… huff…"

Kanata also began to pant and immediately turned around, retreating directly towards Mistgun without any hesitation.