Chapter 409
"That's right, you've worked with some of them before, which will make it easier to find them."
When the three parted ways, Ines said she was going to Liyue City, while W joined Rhodes Island. Given Heredrey's understanding of W, it would indeed be easy for him to win her over.
But Heredrey didn't want to.
"General, I am a mercenary. Unless the target's head is exceptionally valuable, I don't bother to remember everyone I've worked with."
Manfred didn't care about any of that; he was busy testing the City Defense Cannon and didn't have time to deal with Rhodes Island.
"But at least you know each other, unlike us who are complete strangers. It's always easier with acquaintances, right?"
"All right..."
"The assassin named Ascalon appeared at the Shard Building half an hour ago. With the Confessors guarding the King, there's no need to worry about his safety. But finding out where the assassin is hiding will require some effort from you."
Heredrey didn't want to do it, but he couldn't refuse. He could only bite the bullet and agree, planning to figure out a way later.
"Okay, I'll do my best."
"It's not just about trying your best, it's about making sure you do it!"
Seeing his attitude, Manfred reminded him:
"Ever since we spotted the This Ship a few months ago, I've had people tracking it. But they seem to have a knack for predicting the future; they always manage to escape one step ahead of us. Heredrey, do you know what that means?"
"Is there a traitor?"
"Yes, there's a traitor. And this guy's rank isn't low enough to have access to classified information."
Seeing the general staring at him, Heredrey showed no sign of panic and calmly replied:
"That makes sense, but Rhodes Island's methods are unpredictable. Especially that Lady, who is said to be much older than both of us combined. It's not surprising that she has some special intelligence channels."
Manfred grinned slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said:
"Is that so? Then you'll take a team and be responsible for tracking down Rhodes Island. They must have had a reason to infiltrate the city. Find them and, incidentally, uncover the traitor—that's your job..."
Before the words were finished, a loud bang suddenly came from afar.
He picked up his binoculars to investigate and was astonished to find that the Secondary Cannon of a City Defense Cannon had exploded!
[Urge Update Sign-in]
Chapter 487 A Big Scene (4K)
Manfred stared wide-eyed at the smoke-filled Secondary Cannon of the City Defense Cannons.
This is the most important work I've put in recently!
He immediately picked up the Walkie-Talkie and asked the engineer in an almost roaring voice:
"What exactly happened? Answer me! Is there a problem with the Power Furnace, or what is the cause?"
"General, I don't know. I was just adjusting the power and firing parameters, and I didn't operate the Secondary Cannon at all. This can be confirmed by the soldier monitoring me. Perhaps... it was a gunner's mistake?"
Manfred was burning with rage and couldn't accept this outcome. He clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall next to him, creating a dent.
"Engineer, drop everything you're doing and immediately investigate the cause of the Secondary Cannon explosion! I need results by tonight, understand?"
In addition to commanding the Sarkaz army, he was also responsible for maintaining order in Londinium and managing the City Defense Cannon.
Royal Court Member had reservations about Manfred's appointment as general; he needed to fine-tune the City Defense Cannon to strike at the Duke's Army in order to achieve merit.
But now, everything's been messed up.
If the cause isn't determined, and the explosion occurs again when the Main Cannon is used, there will be no chance of recovery.
Why did this happen of all times, of all times?
"Heredrey, go find Rhodes Island in the city right now. I'm only giving you one day."
Even though many people have left Londinium, it still has hundreds of thousands of permanent residents.
Finding a specific group of targets in a city like this is like finding a needle in a haystack. Heredrey knew it would be difficult, but he still reluctantly agreed.
"Yes, General."
Ten minutes ago.
Seeing that Amiya and Clovicia were getting nowhere, the Doctor came over and whispered to Shi Lei for help.
Because he knew that only this person could solve any problems he encountered at the moment.
"Doctor Zhongli, I have a favor to ask."
"What is it? Tell me first."
The Doctor glanced at the two people not far away, then looked away and said:
"The demands of the Londinium Self-Rescue Army are only two things. First, destroy the City Defense Cannon. Second, find a way to enter the Sardien District to rescue people."
Actually, these two things can be done together. All you need to do is destroy the City Defense Cannon to create chaos and give them a chance to rescue the enemy.
Destroying the City Defense Cannon was not difficult; Shi Lei could launch attacks from a distance without even getting close.
"Are you sure?"
The Doctor nodded, then gestured:
"Amiya, come here for a second."
When the Little Rabbit came to his side, he continued:
"Tell them that we'll be the ones to sabotage the City Defense Cannon and create chaos. They'll be responsible for the rescue themselves. If they need more manpower, we'll help."
Clovicia, who was not far away, overheard the Doctor's plan and immediately raised her objection:
"Are you serious? Destroying the City Defense Cannon? The Sardien District has the largest number of Sarkaz troops; a slight misstep could attract tens of thousands of soldiers."
"La Signora, we are serious. You don't need to worry about the specifics of how to do it. Since you have people who need rescuing, we will do our best to cooperate. Could you mark the exact location on the map?"
Seeing the distrustful looks on the faces of many members of the Self-Rescue Army, Fester took the initiative to vouch for them, pointing to Shi Lei and introducing him:
"Commander, they are really strong. Especially this gentleman, he was able to find me from a great distance. Anyway, we don't have a better option right now, so let's trust them this once. We can wait until the City Defense Cannon are destroyed before we proceed. If they aren't destroyed, the rescue plan will be canceled."
Clovicia thought about it and realized that made sense. They didn't know where the captured people were being held, and searching them one by one would alert the Sarkaz garrison.
Since Rhodes Island has promised to destroy the City Defense Cannon, let's give them a try first.
The Self-Rescue Army doesn't bear any additional risks and can act according to circumstances. If successful, they can lead the search. If unsuccessful, they can continue to wait for an opportunity.
"Alright! As long as you can destroy the City Defense Cannon and draw the Sarkaz's attention, we'll find a way to rescue our captured comrades. Bill, get the map!"
After the burly man who had previously aimed his gun at everyone placed the map Jigsaw Puzzle on the table, Clovicia took out a red pen, drew circles on it, and explained:
"Currently, we don't know where our comrades are being held. But based on our familiarity with Londinium, we know the general area. Here, here, and here, there are eight locations in total."
All eight locations meet the criteria for serving as temporary prisons. They are not located near residential areas, so any shouts would not be heard outside. Furthermore, these locations are all situated near main roads leading to the central district, facilitating patrols between the Sarkaz Soldier.
If the City Defense Cannon are destroyed, attracting the attention of the Sarkaz Garrison, we will send men to search these locations. Once we find our comrade, we will do everything in our power to rescue her."
Upon hearing this, Amiya asked in confusion:
"Since it's a place where prisoners are held, there should be many soldiers guarding it, right?"
"Theoretically, that's correct, but their commander is very clever. Our scouts have been tracking the movement of grain in the city for a long time but haven't found any clues."
The most likely place to serve as a prison right now is this abandoned Distillery Factory. Once the captured comrades are found, the subsequent raids and engagements will be the responsibility of our Self-Rescue Army ..."
Before Clovicia could finish speaking, someone suddenly burst in, lifted the curtain, and exclaimed in surprise:
"Commander, something terrible has happened!"
Upon seeing the reconnaissance team return, a sense of foreboding immediately welled up within her:
"What's wrong?"
"We encountered the Sarkaz on the ground; La Signora. Heidi was unfortunately captured. Harvey went to track them down, saying it could help us find where the prisoners were being held. Also, we received news of La Signora. Goldin. She's at a school in the northern Residential Area and is currently safe."
Clovicia, her expression serious, cast an apologetic glance at Rhodes Island and bowed slightly, saying:
"Sorry, the meeting is adjourned. We need to rescue La Signora. Heidi immediately. She possesses a great deal of intelligence and may even affect our retreat. You can go and prepare first, and then destroy the City Defense Cannon when everything is ready."
Knowing that Shi Lei disliked showing off, the Doctor glanced at him sideways. Seeing him nod, he took the initiative to continue:
"No preparation is needed; it can be done anytime."
"At any time?"
Clovicia was quite surprised. She stared at them for a moment, her expression slightly strange.
"Let's make a scene then. We need you to distract the garrison during our Rescue Operation. Fester, you lead the way. If anything unexpected happens, call me from your spare phone."
The people of Rhodes Island were unaware that Shi Lei possessed Psychic Scan. Therefore, after hearing about the Self-Rescue Army's rescue plan, they did not invite him.
Texas and the others knew about it, but they wouldn't bring it up for no reason.
If it's a single prisoner, it's not so easy to find. But if multiple prisoners are crammed into a small room, it's easy to find them through scanning.
"Yes, Commander!"
Fester led his group away, through a narrow underground corridor, and arrived at the factory on the surface.
Looking at the leaden clouds in the sky, he sighed helplessly.
"Sigh, it's a pity the drones are all broken. Otherwise, we could have sent them out to scout ahead."
Closure disagreed, arguing that they were the ones who provoked the situation by sending drones first, so who could be blamed?
"It's fine without it. We're your eyes now. Or you can hand over the drone to me; I can repair it as long as it's not too serious."
"Haha, I didn't expect Rhodes Island engineers to be so good at comforting people. Wait here a moment, there might be Sarkaz patrol at the fork in the road ahead."
Shi Lei scanned and spotted a group of thirty people who stood still. Seeing this, the others quickly crouched down and hid. After the Sarkaz patrol passed by the fork in the road, Fester led the group onward.
Not long after crossing the intersection, a loud bang suddenly rang out:
"Bang!"
Now there's no need for a guide; you can see the City Defense Cannon being test-fired on the Central City District wall.
"Over there."
As Fester pointed, Shi Lei turned his gaze in that direction. From a distance of several hundred meters, he conjured Rock Constructs out of thin air to deal with the gunner. In just a few seconds, he destroyed the thick pipeline, triggering the Secondary Cannon to explode.
"Boom!"
This loud bang was even louder than the one before.
Countless Sarkaz Garrison were drawn to the location of the explosion.
Fester stared blankly at the Secondary Cannon belching black smoke, completely stunned.
What just happened?
Using his Psychic Scan, Shi Lei confirmed that several points of light were moving toward the Secondary Cannon's location.
He stopped and turned back to reinforce Londinium's Self-Rescue Army. Rescuing prisoners was a matter of swift action to avoid any unforeseen complications.
Fester's phone soon started buzzing, clearly indicating that the commander had noticed something amiss.
In the Sardien District, anyone who isn't deaf can hear things like the explosions of City Defense Cannon.
He had barely pressed the answer button when Clovicia's incredulous voice came through the microphone:
"Good heavens, what's going on? We haven't even set off yet, and you've already destroyed the City Defense Cannon?"
All of this is the fault of the nobles who betrayed the country.
If they hadn't opened the city gates to welcome the demons, Londinium wouldn't have fallen so quickly.
The Self-Rescue Army repeatedly tried to destroy the City Defense Cannon, but the defenses were so strong that they could not get close silently.
Rhodes Island made a promise and fulfilled it in no time, making their Self-Rescue Army seem foolish and naive.
"Well, although I didn't understand what his Originium Arts were, he did damage the City Defense Cannon. They're heading to the factory to join the Rescue Operation."
"Fester, don't come back! We're leaving soon, meet us outside the alcohol plant later."
June 23, 1:35 pm
An underground passage in the Lontinim-Sadien district.