Глава 14

Finally—

Closure? Closure! Are you okay—

Keep your distance. Cover the artilleries and crossbowmen.

The appearance of the Nachzehrers is closely linked to Catastrophes. Do not fear their witchcraft. However bizarre it is, it's still Arts!

Remember how we marched through a Catastrophe—

We survived a Catastrophe. We'll survive the Sarkaz!

...Bagpipe.

Aye? I'm here.

The Duke of Gododdin spoke the truth. Tempest Platoon is under the direct authority of Parliament.

We have an obligation to answer Parliament's call.

It's a more legitimate cause for action than the duke's invitation.

Not to mention that by accepting his invitation, you, Robben, and everyone who came with us because they had no choice... will have proper identities.

Identity? Did you forget, captain? I'm retired anyways.

Besides, in that standoff with the duke earlier, ye didn't hesitate to put yer shield in front of Siege.

...True.

Word is Siege's carryin' the Sighs of Kings... have ye seen it before, Captain?

I have.

Siege was right. It's just a piece of metal that happens to mean something to some people.

Troops approaching on our flank.

No ID code, but I recognize them. They're the Duke of Gododdin's men.

They've engaged the Sarkaz... and covered one of our squads just now.

Good.

If that's Gododdin's way of showing friendship, then we'll show him the same in return.

Attention Exemplars! Stand with the soldiers of Gododdin!

Not one step backward, until the last foe is vanquished!

The ship has reached cruising speed, sir. We're out of danger for now.

Good.

The Sarkaz's witchcraft is most peculiar indeed. Better to fake a moment of vulnerability than to have them constantly harassing our rear.

The leader of the Nachzehrers has not been sighted, nor any other known powerful Sarkaz.

I suppose they don't see Gododdin as nearly the threat that Windermere or Wellington are.

I could call that a relief.

The Sighs of Kings has not left Gibsonham, sir. Should we move on to the next phase?

What do you think of them?

More of a challenge than expected. Alexandrina's forces are growing, and they are more organized and effective than we thought...

Oh, I don't mean as an adversary.

The Exemplars... like you said, they look the part.

And they've worked well enough with the troops that we left behind.

Rita is with them, and looks more like the legendary White Wolf than her father did. And Windermere isn't quite as weak as the intel had her.

Maybe it's not such a joke after all, that those kids could become the Exemplars.

Do you intend to abandon the plan for us to escort the Realmblade, then?

Abandon! Such a strong word.

It is the future that Gododdin values. Alexandrina, the Sighs of Kings, the Exemplars, even Rhodes Island... perhaps we'll cross paths again on our way to the future.

Our tanks are fighting the last pocket of Sarkaz on the east side of town.

We've successfully defended Gibsonham. It will serve as a supply point on the way to Silverrock Bluffs. However...

The terrain has changed.

The environment around Londinium is constantly changing because of Amnannam's influence. Fissures, cliffs, and rapids that should not have been there are emerging everywhere.

Silverrock Bluffs is almost constantly under severe Catastrophe. It's hard to say where our foot will land when we put it forward.

I wouldn't have believed this was our Londinium if I had anything less than absolute faith in Rhodes Island's data.

The sun on the meadow is summery warm♪♫Filling our home with euphoria♬♪...

After this war, we might have to change our national anthem's lyrics.

Is this time to be havin' a laugh?

You wanted to say 'we'll think about it after we take it back,' didn't you?

But even if we really went back... would our home ever return to the way it was?

That's why we're not just going to win the war.

We're not going to let the Sarkaz destroy Londinium in the war.

We'll overcome the storm ahead.

And we won't abandon the home that the storm has ravaged.

Feist told me his squad picked up more distress signals nearby. There may be more lives saved yet.

The areas where fighting occurred with the Nachzehrers will need to be cleaned up. Rhodes Island operators will provide the usual assistance.

I want the Exemplars to work with them on these post combat affairs.

Establish supply lines, rescue and transfer the injured, and rally those who want to join us.

The troops who returned from the front line have assembled.

Counting in the Gododdin soldiers who had their IDs wiped, the Exemplars have far exceeded the scale of a regiment.

They want to join us?

I met with their officers. They said the Duke of Gododdin left before they could board the transports.

Preliminary screening indicates that all of them are Infected.

Sounds familiar, eh?

The Duke of Gododdin left his Infected soldiers behind, just like the other dukes?

Or maybe...?

Or maybe, he intentionally picked a bunch of soldiers who had unfortunately gotten Infected, and sent them over to us.

I suspect he has ulterior motives.

The performance of those Infected troops indicates that they're different from those we've seen before. I wouldn't call them stragglers.

If Gododdin's intention is to keep an eye on us, then we should probably try to lose these people, or at least separate them tactically...

No.

You know the dukes better than I, Delphine. There's a very good chance that you're right.

But right now, there's nothing we need more than unity.

If even the Exemplars chose which parts of Victoria they united...

What would happen to the future that we dream of?

Gododdin very likely knew that we couldn't reject those men. That's why he let us leave so easily.

Then we need to be ready.

This is not the first challenge we've had to overcome, nor will it be the last.

Sarkaz. Amnannam. Caster. The dukes.

It's not just one storm that the Exemplars will have to weather.

I'll let Lieutenant Shearer know.

To be honest, everyone's happy to get some new blood.

Plus, they're all Infected.

If it's really true that Gododdin has not abandoned them... that, in itself, is worth celebrating.

Perhaps, the unity that once seemed impossible is actually within reach.

It's a miracle to run into people like you.

We're not the miracle, ma'am.

You are, all of you, for being strong until the very end.

Thank you so much, regardless.

I can still move. Let me help you with the others.

This way, you can get some rest... you're not much older than my own child, now that I get a better look at you.

We have about ten minutes of rest before we head to the next location.

...Closure?

A little more time...

There's not much room for improvement on that Arts Unit you're holding.

Even Raidian and Mechanist could hardly do better.

Conditions will only get worse from here. The better I do, the safer you guys will be.