High above the ground.
Above the sea of clouds.
A plane flying westward over the Pacific cast a huge shadow across the sea of clouds.
Reflected in the plane's porthole was a face full of heroic spirit, yet with a dull look in its eyes.
Jane Fortes sighed.
At that moment, she and Colonel Caesar were on the same plane, returning to Freedom Wings' headquarters.
When she had departed for the Seaborne Base in East Asia, there had been seven or eight people traveling with her. Now, on the return trip to headquarters, she was the only one left. It was hard for her mood not to sink.
This was an outcome she had never anticipated when heading to the Seaborne Base.
It wasn't that she had never considered the possibility of the operation failing, but she truly hadn't expected it to fail so completely.
Not only were there just two survivors from their group, but the two teams that had come to reinforce them had also suffered heavy casualties.
Since Freedom Wings was founded, this should have been the second blow it had suffered.
Looking at Caesar, who was resting with his eyes closed beside her, Jane said softly, "I'm sorry, Colonel. I failed to stop the enemy reinforcements for Colonel Pruhler, causing the operation to fail and allowing Colonel Pruhler to be captured."
Caesar opened his eyes at her words, shook his head, and said with a bitter smile, "This has nothing to do with you."
"Even if you had been wielding a sacred relic, you still couldn't have stopped the Strategic Affairs Department's reinforcements."
"Even Colonel Billy, who also possessed a sacred relic, was pulverized by that Heavenly Killing Star. Let alone you."
At that, Caesar paused before saying gravely, "I didn't expect that another Dragon Rider