Volume Four: Withering in the Mortal World - Chapter 301: Siscon, Sin Annihilation, and Meow Star
"Sister, isn't it time to take action?"
"The new troops and supplies have been almost replenished. We really have to thank Miss Ye. Without her, it would have been very difficult for us to gather so many men in such a short time."
"What a 'beauty effect'!" Loxue exclaimed, holding the statistics sheet for new recruits, feeling quite pleased. Although the new recruits hadn't received specialized training and certainly couldn't be as brave and skilled as regular soldiers, they greatly expanded the reserve manpower, making it a win-win situation.
"Um, that..."
"Hmm? Why are you being so hesitant?"
"Actually, Sister Xue, you... are very pretty too." Nid said, blushing slightly, and turned his head away from Loxue.
"... ah?"
"Uh, it's nothing, just pretend I'm talking to myself."
"..." "..."
"... puff!"
"What are you laughing at!"
"It's nothing, I just feel—"
Hug! "Eh!?"
Loxue hugged Nid tightly, burying his head in her chest, leaving Nid completely stunned.
"--My silly little brother, even though you've been through many battles, your emotional intelligence is still like a child's~"
"Emotional intelligence? For kids!?"
"Thinking about it, it makes sense. You've received the most rigorous training since you were little, and you went to the front lines for the first time when you were thirteen. It's natural that you didn't have time to worry about that kind of thing!"
"The revolution is not yet complete! How can I be distracted!"
Nid finally forced himself to ignore the unexpectedly heavy softness of his sister's chest and struggled out of her embrace, though his face was still burning red.
"Look at how blushed you are! Let me tell you, Nid, as a leader, you also need to be adept at dealing with women."
"I have no problem with that. I would never lose my composure when facing female revolutionary comrades."
"That's not what I meant by being at ease... Nid, have you ever heard of a leader in history blushing just from touching a girl's breast?"
"That's because it's Sister Xue, that's why we... (whispering)"
"Huh? What?"
"It's nothing!" (Author's note: This police officer is such a siscon!)
"Speaking of which, Nid, you're almost eighteen now. Although you don't want to be distracted by matters of the heart, you should have a woman you like by now."
"..."
"How about it? There should be some, right? Who are they? Those female regimental commanders? Or the cooks? Or those familiar-looking communications soldiers?"
"Neither..."
"Don't be shy, tell me! You know, you're the handsome, powerful, and incredibly charming Commander-in-Chief! With just one command from you, every girl in the Revolutionary Army will be overjoyed and come running to you!"
"..."
Nid's expression was complicated. His gaze shifted, and every time his eyes met Loxue's, he would slightly look away, but he still couldn't help but look at her.
"...I'm telling you, Sister Xue."
"Oh? You're finally willing to talk?"
"You're the one with low emotional intelligence..."
"... Huh?"
"It's nothing... let's get down to business."
Nid's expression turned serious, and Loxue also became serious.
"Hmm... it's time to prepare to take Sadington City."
"We... haven't had a proper meal in so long... it's all because of the Vatican..."
"Don't worry, madam, there will be bread, there will be milk, there will be everything."
"Sir, my eldest and second sons have both gone to the front lines. I am proud of them, but..."
"Tell me their names, and I will wish them victory, which is exactly what they need."
"Your Blood Emperor, I've heard that a new war is about to begin..."
"The West Saint Continent may be vast, but we have nowhere to retreat, for behind us lies everything we wish to protect."
"Blood Emperor..."
"Grown ups..."
In front of the military families, I tried my best to maintain a solemn yet subtly sorrowful expression, holding the hands of women whose husbands and sons were all in the military, listening to their stories, and comforting them with lines from movies I had seen before. The more I did this, the less guilty I felt, until finally I was listening and comforting them almost mechanically.
Looking around, I saw a dense mass of eager military dependents, and I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. Although I only needed to offer a token greeting to those at the very front, it was still a massive task.
"Don't worry, we will definitely protect you... Hmm?"
For a moment, I was distracted.
... Is someone there?
Isn't that obvious? This street is packed with people.
No, they weren't ordinary people like military dependents, nor were they Revolutionary Army soldiers; they were some other kind of people.
They are people who can touch my "intuition".
Having experienced so much, my sense of powerful beings has grown stronger every day. I can roughly sense any expert around me who has their eye on me.
But strangely--
"Blood Emperor?" Uncle Brad nudged me curiously, and I immediately snapped out of my daze and continued speaking.
"... Ah, we will do everything in our power to protect the lives of ordinary people, and at the same time, ensure that the fruits of victory won by our soldiers with their blood and flesh are not destroyed..."
Was it really just... an illusion?
I only vaguely felt it just now, as faint as the wind from a mosquito's wings flapping across my cheek, but now that feeling has completely disappeared.
Still not reassured, I released my senses again to explore the Blood Energy within a radius of one kilometer, only to find that there was neither more nor less than before.
It seems it really was just my imagination.
About 300 meters away, in the alley--
A girl who looked only fourteen years old leaned against the wall, dressed in the simplest coarse cloth long dress and skirt, with a drab gray hood on her head, only a few strands of gray hair peeking out from under the brim. If you threw her into a crowd, she would definitely disappear in the blink of an eye.
She lay there motionless, without a sound, not even a whisper of her breathing—because she had truly stopped breathing. Not only breathing, but there was no blood flow, no pulse, no heartbeat, not even brain waves; physiologically speaking, she was dead beyond any doubt. Moreover, she emitted not even the slightest trace of Blood Energy or human scent; she was more like a stone than a corpse.
"..." Thump.
Suddenly, a vital sound came from his chest.
Thump, thump, thump, the sound grew louder and more rhythmic. Her fingers twitched slightly; the corpse-like stiffness had vanished.
"... Did he leave?"
The woman with long pink hair in the distance was gone, and the aura of power she exuded had vanished without a trace.
Sin Annihilation began to ponder.
The mission is to assassinate the supreme leader of the Revolutionary Army.
Using the highest level of stealth, she left the Holy City Gloria, traveling relentlessly while remaining undetected, and finally arrived at Torres City in just a few days. (Incidentally, the distance from the Holy City to Torres City is roughly the length of two stages of the Northern Realm Rally, quite a long distance.) She easily bypassed the Revolutionary Army guarding the key roads, and after lingering for a day, she had completed her intelligence gathering.
The question is, which one should we start with?
She pulled out a piece of paper with three names on it:
Nid Bradwich;
Loxue Bradwich;
Blood Emperor Ye.
Bradwich and his sister were the commander-in-chief and chief of staff, and she originally planned to go straight for their heads, but this Ye made her suspicious. She seemed to be a newcomer, but her popularity was terrifying. Judging from the fact that the commanders of several divisions treated her with utmost respect, her status was probably close to or even equal to that of the siblings.
Who is the ultimate leader among the siblings and Ye? Of course, it would be best to kill them all, but the siblings and Ye have almost always acted separately, making it impossible to kill all three at the same time. If one side is harmed, the other side will definitely be on high alert or even have to evacuate urgently, which is not good for the mission.
In this situation, she had to target the "most important" person first.
"So, who is the more important one...?"
Based on the current intelligence, it is not possible to make an accurate judgment on the Sin Annihilation.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, the pink-haired girl named Ye has an extremely terrifying sense of perception. She can detect even if she just glances at her a couple of times, which forces her to put her body into a state of "temporary complete necrosis as if it were inorganic matter".
"... Um?"
There was a noise behind me; something was approaching, and it seemed very light.
Sin Annihilation immediately concealed his presence and looked in the direction of the sound—
Meow~~~
However, instead of an enemy, a furry four-legged mammal appeared.
"Based on the knowledge stored in my brain... this is a long-haired cat belonging to the genus Felis in the family Felidae of the order Carnivora in the class Mammalia."
Meow~ Meow~
The stray cat affectionately approached Sin Annihilation's feet and rubbed its paws against her feet.
"Get out of the way."
The Sin Annihilation spoke, but the audacious Meow Star completely disregarded it.
Is it because of the language barrier that we can't communicate...? Sin Annihilation (in her own opinion) has found the reason why the cat won't listen to her.
"In feline language... meow, meow~ (You, get out of the way)"
"Meow~~~"
"Meow meow meow~ (Get out of the way!)"
"Meow..."
"Meow meow meow~~ (If you don't move aside, I'll intervene by force)"
"Meow?"
"Still can't communicate... This is frustrating."
Sin Annihilation scratched his face, seriously struggling with how to communicate with the Meow Star.
"--This little sister?"
A new sound suddenly came from the alley entrance, startling the Meow Star jumped over the nearby trash can and disappeared.
"They're finally gone..." Sin Annihilation breathed a sigh of relief. Communicating with felines really is an art.
"What's wrong?"
"There's a little girl here all alone; judging by her clothes, she looks like a refugee."
A man and a woman walked in, dressed in simple dark red military uniforms with a blood-stained sword embroidered on their chests; they were members of the Revolutionary Army.
"Little sister, have you gotten separated from your family?"
Are you injured?
"Do you need your uncle and aunt to take you to the temporary shelter?"
"... Need not."
Come on, don't be shy.
"Could he be a war orphan? How pitiful..."
"Didn't His Majesty the Blood Emperor just say in his speech that the sacrifices we make now will be made up for with victory, and that the flesh and blood of our warriors will pave the way to tomorrow?"
"The Blood Emperor is truly amazing... Whether it's the incredible battle achievements she made as soon as she appeared, or her ideological awareness, they are all too remarkable, and her beauty is simply breathtaking... Ahhh, even though we're both women, I feel like I'm falling in love with her~~~"
"Hey, be serious. And you just used 'amazing' three times in a row... huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"I only looked away from her for a few seconds... Where did that child go?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My cold is almost gone... Thank goodness!