Important Directives from the World Government!

[Waaaaah--]

The train's whistle signaled its imminent departure once more, and the dark Kokujo's slowly pulled out of the open city gates with a clattering sound.

Along both sides of the track, large crowds continued to cheer and bid farewell to the Hunters and Biba Amatori.

Everyone witnessed yesterday's battle, and even those who didn't see it firsthand have heard about it from many others. When the Hunters truly fought the Kabane head-on in the wild and returned victorious, just as rumored, our already admiring feelings became even more profound.

"Oh my, are you Europa? That's really rare to see."

Inside the last carriage of the white 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress', passengers from Aragane Station watched with curiosity as a man and a woman, dressed in coarse cloth kimonos, had faces and hair colors that were distinctly different from those of people from the East.

"Yes, we're going to visit relatives in Kongokaku, so we decided to travel in this car. The main reason is that we feel safe being escorted by the Hunters."

The beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair spoke while displaying the most appropriate expression of admiration, which resonated with everyone else in the carriage.

"That's right, that's right! I never expected that Lord Mima would be willing to escort us for a while. He truly lives up to his reputation as the General's son; his heart is so kind!"

"Yes, yes, yes, right now I feel like I'm already in Kongokaku, the sense of security is just too great!"

With just a few words of praise for the Hunters, Mata and Laskey, the two stowaways, easily gained the approval of the group and integrated into their ranks.

In fact, they didn't expect things to develop like this. The Hunters's 'Kokujo' actually connected with the 'Iron Fortress's' wagon and wanted to take it with them.

Regardless, this is indeed a great thing for the two of them, as it means that all their key objectives are now on the same train.

The most crucial point is that 'Iron Fortress' is not like 'Kokujo', which is completely militarized. There are a large number of ordinary people here, which gave the two of them the opportunity to sneak up.

They created the identities of Shitori Station residents and Europa descendants, and after everyone had almost boarded the train, they quietly slipped past the soldiers' checks and entered the carriage.

For these ordinary citizens, anyone who appeared in the car must have been checked, so they had no suspicions about the two individuals.

Once the train starts moving, even if soldiers come to patrol later, they will only assume that the two were inspected by someone else, and it is impossible for them to stop the train midway and then drive them away.

In this way, Laskey and Mata finally had a comfortable place to rest, and because the carriage was at the end, it was very convenient for them to move around in the dark.

The bed was made of iron, and it was so cold that it was uncomfortable to sit on.

Because there were so many people around, the two didn't talk about anything serious. They just stayed quietly in their bunks. Laskey lay there with his eyes closed, resting, while Mata chatted and laughed with the people around her.

"We're all from Aragane Station, huh? We've heard it's a beautiful place, but we never imagined it would fall. What a pity."

"Is that pretty girl in the pink dress our leader? Oh, her name is Ayame Yomogawa. From what you all say, she seems like a very nice person."

"Is she the only one left in Yomogawa?"

"I see. So, Kongokaku has an uncle named Makino Michito? Isn't that a Senior Councilor -ranking official?"

And you know what? Perhaps it's her skill in gathering intelligence through communication, but Mata actually managed to glean some useful information during those few hours of conversation.

For example, there were two boys and girls on the bus who, despite having the hearts of Kabane, were perfectly normal and rational, and they called themselves Kabaneri.

When these men, women, and children mentioned this, their eyes held a hint of disgust, or rather, a stronger sense of fear.

But who gave Ayame Yomogawa permission to ride the 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress'?

"So that's how it is. Those who have the aura of the Kabane are called Kabaneri?" Laskey thought to himself, his eyes still closed.

"A half-human, half- Kabane being, huh, seems nothing special."

Compared to that, he was more concerned about the two peculiar long swords he had seen in the wilderness of Shitori Station. Besides the woman with short blonde hair, Biba Amatori also had one.

The blade had a pattern resembling the veins of Kabane. When it was first drawn from its sheath, its luster was somewhat dim and dull, but once it came into contact with blood, it would emit a flame-like red light and could easily pierce the Kabane's Heart Membrane.

"Using the Kabane's Heart Membrane to deal with the Kabane's Heart Membrane needs to be reported to the base. However, once we reach Iwato Station, we'll be able to rendezvous with the other teams, and there will definitely be new orders coming down. We'll deal with it then."

Night.

Laskey and Mata did not take any action, but instead slept soundly. The Hunters had already scouted out all the areas of 'Kokujo' that needed to be scouted, so there was nothing in this 'Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress' that was worth staying up all night for.

However, this also caused them to miss the conflicting events that occurred on the roof of the vehicle at the front of the Kokujo.

Inside the Star Gate Base on the Ashika Peninsula, Senior Director Addison was in his office, looking at the contents of a document that had just been sent from the Hijikata.

This document contains important instructions from prominent figures to Biba Amatori, the Shogunate, and the Biochemical Research Institute regarding the Kabaneri, representing the World Government's significant stance on this world.

"Based on the comprehensive analysis of the known intelligence, Biba Amatori wants to take revenge on his father, Keisuke Amatori. He captured a large number of Kabane and imprisoned them in the Kokujo carriage, most likely in order to destroy the Shogunate's capital, Kongokaku. He also seems to possess a 'Black Mist Core'."

"And the attitude from above is to stop him!"

Senior Director Addison was not surprised by the order. From the perspective of the World Government's interests, an intact capital city is certainly much more valuable than one that has fallen.

As for whether Shogunate Okimasa Keisuke Amatori in the future, we'll see then.

That's no problem. He has already notified the other CP9 groups to go to Iwato Station to meet up with Laskey and the others. Then, CP9 will take down the Hunters and 'Kokujo' there first.

In addition, in order to collect practical data.

Former CP7 member, now a newly promoted CP9 member, and the first Kabaneri at the Biochemical Research Institute, Steve Guts also went there with Team Leader Ron and six CP8 members.

They wanted to see the differences between their own Kabaneri and the native Kabaneri of this world. Dr. Fritz originally planned to go himself, but he was unable to do so due to numerous obstacles.

"In that case, the time for a complete showdown with the Shogunate of this country is only a few days away. Crocodile should be arriving at Yatsushiro Station soon."

Continuing our observation, the higher-ups' intention regarding the mass production of Kabaneri was to hold off for now and observe Steve Guts' subsequent actions.

For example, are there any long-term effects? These things still need time to prove themselves. At the same time, we should learn about the Kabaneri manufacturing technology of this world and see if there are any valuable aspects to it.

Putting everything else aside, only those with enough Haki or who have mastered the art of Life Return can adapt to the Kabane Virus, which is a bit too high a threshold.

While this kind of combat power may not be considered extremely rare, it's not something to be wasted.

So let's wait until the time is right before discussing expansion!

Overall, the World Government still has some doubts about the reliability of the Kabaneri, a view shared by Senior Director Addison.

After all, it originates from the power of a supernatural artificial biochemical virus, so being cautious is indeed necessary.