The Closing Chapter

"They've entered the jungle. I can't see them from the air..."

The pilot's view was blocked by the vegetation below. He could only occasionally make out vague figures moving between the treetops.

The weather in the north warmed more slowly than in the south. The Federation's southernmost reaches had already fully entered spring, with temperatures of at least eighteen or nineteen degrees, but in southern Maliro, it was still only a little above ten degrees.

The bitter winter had also stripped most of the dead branches and old leaves from the trees, giving the pilot a chance to see them faintly.

The Sergeant on the boat watched the dense forest not far from the shore. After a moment of silence, he glanced at the naval Major General dressed as an ordinary man beside him and made a decision.

"Force them out."

"Roger!"

Beret suddenly looked up at the sky. The plane that had been circling at low altitude suddenly climbed. Was it leaving?

It was rather interesting. Looking down from the air, one could see almost nothing, but looking up from the ground, it was easy to spot the plane's movements.

A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. The thing flying overhead was indeed annoying, but it was not omnipotent. At least it was completely helpless against the jungle.

"Move faster. Try to reach the rendezvous point as soon as possible."

The group picked up their pace, no longer even bothering to watch the plane in the sky.

They might not be watching, but the naval Major General and the military observers aboard the cruiser did not dare relax for even a moment. Their eyes were fixed on the plane in the sky.

The plane suddenly climbed, circled twice in the air, and then, apparently having found the