On the plaza in front of the mansion, a massive melee was continuously unfolding.
Susanoo faced off against the injured Zank.
Leone, Sheele, Tatsumi, and Najenda were ganging up on the enemy, carrying out a righteous beatdown.
Zank flashed backward, and Susanoo's massive club slammed heavily into the ground.
With a loud boom, the already battered plaza gained another scar.
Blood dripped onto the ground.
Zank's expression was ugly, and the wound on his abdomen continued to seep blood.
Amid the intense battle, his control over the finer details of his body had also declined considerably.
Facing a Teigu humanoid, the damage Zank inflicted had no effect at all.
Now that Bolic was definitely dead, Zank was constantly looking for a chance to retreat.
Unfortunately, Susanoo would absolutely not give him any opportunity to escape.
A low growl sounded as Leone's beastification sharply increased.
She dropped to all fours and lunged forward like a lion.
After transforming, Leone's speed had increased significantly.
With Tatsumi's coordination, they easily suppressed Mez.
There was a not too deep, not too shallow slash across Mez's smooth abdomen.
She looked at Tatsumi with interest.
"Not bad, kid!"
Then she raised a finger, and beads of sweat shot out instantly.
Tatsumi held his longsword horizontally in front of him.
Clang!
A crisp metallic sound rang out as the shattered sweat droplets splashed onto Tatsumi's body.
On the other side, Suzuka crossed her arms in front of her and blocked Najenda's heavy punch.
The mechanical arm collided with flesh with a dull thud.
"Ah~kimoji~"
Feeling the numbness coming from her forearm, Suzuka let out a strange cry.
Looking at Suzuka, who seemed inexplicably enjoying it, Najenda found it hard to keep a straight face.
Wasn't this a battle?
A piercing screech rang out as the tips of Dual Blades pointed straight at Suzuka's head.
Suzuka stepped back.
The blade grazed her cheek, and in an instant, the sharp tip cut off her bangs.
Taking advantage of the moment, Najenda raised her right leg.
Her leather shoe tore through the air and slammed heavily into Suzuka's abdomen.
Suzuka's body was sent flying backward.
She rubbed her stomach, and her expression became slightly more serious.
If she kept being careless, she would die.
Just as Najenda and Sheele were about to press the attack, a signal flare slowly descended from the sky, its glaring red light extremely conspicuous in the night.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it, and the members of Night Raid's expressions changed.
Before the crimson trail of the flare had even faded, the white clouds at the horizon were suddenly torn apart.
Leone's beast-like pupils shrank into vertical slits as she sensed a dangerous presence.
Her powerful animal instincts immediately made her shift her gaze toward the distant sky.
In the next moment, a black shadow suddenly slammed into the ground.
A deafening explosion rang out.
The shockwave swept across the battlefield in a ring, and Sheele's long hair was blown straight horizontal by the blast.
When the dust storm slightly settled, Uesugi Ryu slowly walked out from within.
The hem of his black coat tilted to one side in the northern wind.
Bright, lava-like golden eyes appeared as Uesugi Ryu brushed the dust off his shoulder.
Behind him, the wyvern's body was falling from the clouds.
Uesugi Ryu's gaze swept across the battlefield, and a dangerous curve formed at the corner of his lips.
"Looks like I'm a bit late."
"We meet again, Night Raid!"
A chill rose in Najenda's heart.
Uesugi Ryu was an opponent even more fearsome than Esdeath.
Esdeath might expose openings due to her enjoyment of battle.
But Uesugi Ryu absolutely would not. He had not come here to play around.
Her gaze swept over the falling wyvern as Najenda's thoughts raced.
"There was no intel about the Jaegers splitting up. So they came riding a flying Danger Beast."
"Esdeath isn't here. The reinforcements are definitely more than just Uesugi Ryu."
"Damn it..."
Najenda clenched her teeth and decisively shouted.
"Susanoo! Go all out!"
Golden light emerged from Najenda's body, shooting out and instantly connecting with Susanoo.
Najenda directly activated the ultimate move that could only be used three times, Magatama Manifestation.
Uesugi Ryu would not just stand by and watch Najenda power up. He stomped heavily on the ground.
A terrifying sonic boom rang out as his body traced a straight line and shot toward Najenda in an instant.
Wrapped in golden light, Susanoo's hair turned pale white.
A powerful aura spread from his body.
A massive circular ring resembling a magic array instantly appeared behind him.
It was adorned with strange patterns.
Twelve different alchemical symbols were distributed along it at fixed intervals.
Among Teigu, Susanoo was considered extremely powerful, at least ranking within the top five.
Extremely high intelligence, along with formidable combat ability.
Aside from his ultimate move costing life, he was practically perfect.
Susanoo stood in front of Najenda.
He raised his arm and shouted in a low voice.
"Yata Mirror!"
A mirror instantly appeared.
The Yata Mirror could reflect damage. Uesugi Ryu had no intention of taking his own punch.
His legs sank into the ground, and after carving five meters of trenches with the soles of his boots, he forcibly stopped his momentum.
Golden light appeared in Susanoo's hand as he drew the Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.
The Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi suddenly extended, and Susanoo swung the long blade toward Uesugi Ryu.
The slender blade cut through the air.
Uesugi Ryu kicked off the ground and retreated backward.
He tore off his coat and took out a blood-red long blade.
Shang could no longer keep up with the pace of battle.
The experimental Kakuhou created earlier through alchemy was of much higher quality than Yoshimura Eto's.
So Uesugi Ryu made another new Quinque.
He had long anticipated a battle against Susanoo, so this Quinque emphasized durability.
A glint of battle intent flashed in Uesugi Ryu's eyes, and a dark red sheen flowed across the blade.
Susanoo's expression remained calm. He roughly understood information about Uesugi Ryu.
Since he was purely a close-combat type, Susanoo believed he could suppress him.
The Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi returned to its normal size, and the Yata Mirror transformed into a small shield equipped on his left arm.
The damage-reflecting Yata Mirror and the extremely powerful Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi.
Both were troublesome for close-combat fighters.
Najenda showed a thoughtful expression. The possibility of Susanoo defeating Uesugi Ryu was not small.
But to be safe, Najenda still gave up on continuing the fight.
No one knew how many trump cards Uesugi Ryu still had.
"Full retreat!"
Without any hesitation, the rest of Night Raid immediately prepared for a strategic withdrawal.
But now the momentum of offense and defense had reversed.
Even though they did not know Uesugi Ryu, he was clearly an ally at a glance.
Combined with that distinctive entrance, he clearly carried the aura of a strong fighter.
Suzuka and Mez, who were still in relatively good condition, began frantically intercepting Night Raid.
As for Zank, forget it. He was already being beaten like a dog by Susanoo.
If he went up again to cause trouble, he would easily get killed.
The battlefield continued to shift.
Ran was carrying Kurome as they rapidly headed toward the battlefield.
Inside a house not far away, Chelsea lowered the binoculars in her hands.
A trace of worry appeared on her face.
Four against four seemed manageable.
But Tatsumi was definitely not a match for any of them.
Without a Teigu, he ultimately could not play a role in such a battle.
Watching the blond young man moving farther away, Chelsea thought to herself.
"We can retreat by riding the Air Manta from above."
"But the enemy also has a flying-type Teigu user. Damn it..."
Chelsea bit and shattered the lollipop in her mouth as she continuously thought about how to help everyone retreat.