Chapter 41 2B’s Magnificent Sword Dance—Turning the Battle Around Alone

Colonel Hans had been blaming himself for his carelessness just moments earlier.

The Foundation soldiers of MTF Nu-7 “Hammer Down” had even prepared themselves to sacrifice their lives, carve open an escape route, and cover Supreme Commander Ethan’s withdrawal.

Every one of them had already accepted that possibility.

And then— The entire battle suddenly reversed.

Hans and the surrounding MTF operators stared at the elegant figure crouched low to the ground, one hand braced against the cracked earth while the other held a massive white blade nearly two meters long.

At that moment, they finally understood something they had only heard in rumors before.

Within the Foundation, not all Mobile Task Forces were equal.

Some task forces might contain only a handful of members— Yet those few individuals could accomplish high-difficulty containment missions that entire conventional MTF units would struggle to complete.

Miss 2B was the Supreme Commander’s adjutant and personal guard.

Everyone knew that she was an artificial android.

But most of the time, people were distracted by her cold, elegant, almost aloof appearance.

No one had realized— That beneath that beautiful exterior was such a terrifying war machine.

And the person most frustrated and furious by this turn of events was naturally Ophelia.

Although she was now the Chaos Insurgency’s Grand Duchess of Hydra, she had originally come from a combat-agent background and had been active since World War II.

To capture Ethan alive, the Chaos Insurgency had paid an enormous price.

They had used large conventional military forces to draw Hammer Down’s attention toward the outer perimeter.

Then infiltration units, accompanied by biological weapons known as Hunters, had slipped through the gaps and penetrated directly toward the command post.

For a moment, Ophelia had truly believed she was about to succeed.

But at the very last moment— Everything collapsed.

And now her understanding of the world was about to undergo an even more terrifying shock.

Ethan casually spun the Service Pistol around one finger before returning it to its holster.

He didn’t even move from where he stood.

His imposing gaze swept disdainfully across the enemy forces.

Then he raised his right hand and gave a casual wave.

“Miss 2B.” “Other than the enemy commander and anyone who lays down their weapons and surrenders…” “Eliminate all targets.” 2B answered without hesitation.

“Understood, Commander.” “Target identification updated to Red Code.” “Beginning elimination.” 2B could be considered one of the strongest combat androids within YoRHa.

And in truth— She wasn’t actually a standard B-Type Battle model.

Her real designation was E-Type— An Executioner-type YoRHa unit.

The enemies she had fought in the past were either rogue androids like herself or terrifying Machine Lifeforms.

Either category would have been capable of inflicting horrific casualties on ordinary modern human forces.

Yet to 2B— They had merely been prey.

2B rose to her feet almost leisurely.

She extended her left hand.

Under the effect of the hovering support field, her second weapon—the smaller blade, Virtuous Contract—flew directly into her grasp.

Now holding both blades, one long and one short, 2B looked almost like a swordswoman wielding twin katana.

Ophelia felt her scalp go numb.

This was the first time she had ever seen a woman wielding truly supernatural power.

2B’s strength simply didn’t resemble anything human.

She had dropped from an unknown height without injury.

Then, with a single strike, she had casually bisected a Hunter.

According to Chaos Insurgency estimates, a single Hunter possessed combat strength at least comparable to an SCP-939 offspring.

It was also far more agile.

And yet— Such a terrifying creature had been killed in one blow?

Under the overwhelming pressure radiating from 2B, even the Chaos Insurgency’s elite infiltration troops suddenly found it difficult to move.

Finally, one soldier could no longer endure the oppressive silence.

He raised his weapon and pulled the trigger.

The atmosphere shattered instantly.

The next second, every Chaos Insurgency infiltrator turned their weapons toward 2B.

Then they witnessed something horrifying.

The silver-haired woman in a black visor, dress, and heeled combat boots— An appearance that looked completely absurd on a battlefield— Simply raised both swords.

And cut the bullets out of the air.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Bullets collided with blades.

Sparks exploded everywhere.

The sharp metallic impacts rang continuously through the farm.

When the gun smoke began to clear— 2B was still walking forward calmly.

As though she were simply taking a leisurely stroll.

A Hunter suddenly lunged toward the seemingly delicate woman.

The next instant— A black military-style heeled boot struck it.

BOOM!

The massive creature was sent flying dozens of meters.

At that moment, 2B finally seemed to become serious.

She vanished forward in an explosive dash.

Then— A flash of sword light swept across the battlefield.

Seven or eight Hunters standing in her path were instantly carved into chunks of flesh by a brilliant sword dance.

2B moved across the battlefield like a forest spirit performing an elegant dance.

Nothing standing before her could survive even a single exchange.

Virtuous Treaty.

Virtuous Contract.

The two white blades mercilessly harvested every enemy who had dared threaten her Commander.

These weapons could easily slice through military-grade armor plating used on tanks and warships.

Against flesh-and-blood carbon-based organisms— There was no resistance at all.

Even the biological weapons the Chaos Insurgency had spent enormous effort developing— The Hunters— Were reduced to nothing more than targets waiting to be slaughtered.

They couldn’t even delay 2B for a single second.

Madame Hydra— The great Grand Duchess of Hydra— Ophelia herself— And the young adjutant standing beside her, Leah, whose hands were now trembling around her weapon— Both were completely stunned.

They had spent so much effort arranging this attack.

Only to encounter a monster that completely ignored common sense.

“This…” Ophelia stared at the battlefield.

“This is the Foundation’s strength?” “No.” “Impossible!” “If the Foundation possessed power like this…” “Then why did the Strategic Security Administration remain hidden and dormant for so many years?” Then— A terrifying possibility suddenly occurred to her.

Ophelia’s expression became bitter.

One Hunter after another was cut down without mercy.

And with every step 2B took closer— The sound of her boots seemed to strike directly against Ophelia’s heart like the footsteps of death itself.

Finally, Ophelia released a long sigh.

“Leah.” “Lower your weapon.” “Against a monster of this level…” “There’s no point.” “But Grand Duchess—” “There’s no meaning in continuing to resist.” “We’ve lost.” Ophelia acted decisively.

She simply tossed her weapon onto the ground.

Then raised her hands.

“We surrender.”