Глава 7

11:30 a.m.

Leader.

Phantom Crossbowmen, I'm glad to see you've returned safely.

You brought so many. Are they all our people from Lungmen?

There are so many Infected... who came back with us.

I didn't think we'd meet you here.

We can save a lot of lives making full use of Chernobog's resources . This core city will be our final weapon to breach Lungmen.

What? No, my Leader...

Why was Lungmen so different from what we planned? So many of our comrades died back there for nothing!

You dare speak to the leader like this...?

No, he's right.

Many of our dear friends have suffered so much. The enemy left a lot of treacherous traps for us that disrupted our plans. It was a major setback.

However, even if our pioneers faced some obstacles, the Reunion Movement will avenge them. I shall see to it that your wounds, your sacrifices, are made whole again.

Worry not. We will be with you, always.

...I hope so, Leader.

Hmm... The person you're carrying... Mephisto? Is he...

Faust sacrificed himself to save him, didn't he?

...That's right, Leader. With no regard for his own life, Faust used his Arts to cover our tracks and give us a chance to escape.

Oh?

Phantom Crossbowmen, my people of Reunion... Faust will live on forever in our hearts.

Help him down. Mephisto will need to rest awhile.

I will have some men take you to camp.

Another thing, Leader... We lost contact with Crownslayer early on. We haven't heard anything from her. Don't know where she might have ended up.

As for... Yeti Squad, and FrostNova, they... they're all...

Truly unfathomably tragic news.

Please, allow me... some time to myself.

Sarkaz, do not let them near any of our Reunion units in the city.

How far do we go?

All the way. See to it that they never set foot here.

Could they be hiding something, or have they been digging around? Their team must know something I don't.

Maybe... that battle was somewhat transformative. Those Arts were already exceptional, and he was not talkative.

...He cloaked himself in his silence. I thought Faust would be the one to survive.

But then, this isn't so strange either.

...Who are you?

Who am I?

What do you want?

What do I want...?

Join... you? Fight for myself?

Fight...?

Ahh, for the exalted Ursus.

Here you were supposed to be the last one standing.

Looks like the core city is back up to speed. It didn't stop for long.

On the upside, that should have been Reunion taking in a group of Infected migrants from Lungmen. I hope...

But we may have to change up our strategy.

We can expect the city to make a few more stops along the way until the enemy commander decides to announce her plan. Then she'll stop taking in Infected refugees.

At that time, should Wei Yenwu decide to attack, the enemy will redeploy their defensive units. We may be exposed in the process, and come under attack.

I hope our agreement with Miss Fumizuki will buy us some time from Chief Wei...

Hm.. we're already very close to the center of the core city.

There are a lot of passages above and below us that seem like they were part of the city's transit system. After the Catastrophe, everything stopped working.

That does mean it's impossible for the city to function, and even move...? Could this be the underground structure Dr. Kal'tsit was talking about?

Regardless, these passages make good cover for us. The number of enemy guards has nearly doubled in this storage area close to the central district...

We haven't seen much resistance since entering the core city. But once we proceed to the central district, we should expect to run into a lot more Reunion forces.

The recon and spec ops teams are already in position. So far so good.

Why do we only have three teams working together?

The recon and spec ops teams both have their own missions.

Raidian is leading the recon team for this operation, as one of Rhodes Island's communications specialists.

Thanks to Raidian, the recon team serves as the focal point for our comms in this operation.

Even here in the core city, we'll be able to communicate with the other teams. That's because of their hard work.

I didn't see them...

The recon team always works alone.

Outcast, Raidian, and Scout, who heroically gave his life in the Chernobog rescue mission—

The elite operators leading the recon teams are responsible for leading their squads alone, identifying and reporting threats, and attempting to resolve them without assistance.

Raidian isn't as skilled in combat as the other two elite operators, but she is a unique talent at Rhodes Island when it comes to directly influencing the course of a battle.

We've got three teams engaging in this assault operation. We don't need Raidian to trouble herself with combat.

As for the spec ops team, their mission also avoids direct combat.

Explain it to me.;......;So you're not going to tell me what it is?

It's enough to know that they're necessary. You'll know the details soon enough.

Each team makes up a link in the chain of our strategy. That stable structure breeds a stable result.

Conversely, a formidable opponent has a tangled and twisted root structure. They pull in nutrients from every level. Hacking off branches does them no harm.

We have to set their roots alight before they even know we're here.

Huh? What are you talking about?;......;I think I get it.

Heh. I'm pretty sure you get it all...

'Doctor.'

Wait a second.

Some distant, vague feelings are coming to me.

An orderly, unchanging flow, with no conflict.

...Ironclad. And they're moving.

Reunion's... guard team. Let's avoid them and find another way...

No time to lose.

—Amiya.

Dr. Kal'tsit?

Careful. Can't you feel it?

Attention, operators... protective gear on.

...It couldn't be... Rosmontis? Are you feeling any anomalies?

Hm...? No. I don't think so.

This is beyond Rosmontis's Arts.

You can't rely entirely on emotions, Amiya. There is more to feel than feelings alone. When you run your fingers through a head of hair, the first thing you feel is neither longing nor joy. It's something more base than that.

Base...?

You can go back up to the surface from the depths, Amiya. Only you can.

Then I'll try, Dr. Kal'tsit.

Nnh... There's a sliver of... energy. And a strong scent in the air, like...

...a corpse?

No, this isn't a real corpse. Could it be...? No. Oh? Why...?

...It's Sarkaz. Sarkaz Arts. Thick with the smell of death... A ritual...?

It's an ancient ritual that runs itself after taking shape.

These are not modern Arts. Definitely not a modern tactic.

Are Sarkaz Arts unique? 

They are. This is very unusual. The Sarkaz we know today can't perform Arts like these.

I understand what you mean, Dr. Kal'tsit. This is an ancient Sarkaz ritual, not a product of the modern science of Originium Arts.

Our enemy here may be of the 'purest' Sarkaz. These are techniques not known to any modern country, passed down only among ancient Sarkaz and Sargonian nomads.