When Kanna reached the door, she heard fragmented voices coming from inside. "Catastrophe... aid... protection..."
Opening the door, she quietly slipped inside.
Kal'tsit seemed to notice something. Her eyes flicked slightly toward the door, where she spotted the Little Dragon Person sneaking in.
The moment she saw Kanna, she knew the little one had probably overheard something. After all, unless Kanna went looking for someone herself, she would never voluntarily appear within their line of sight.
For Kanna to secretly follow them here, the news had most likely leaked out.
"Fine. ACE's squad has only recently returned to the landship after completing a mission. They specialize in protection and defensive operations, and they possess extensive survival and combat experience. Have them accompany you to the area affected by the catastrophe and carry out the rescue mission."
After considering it briefly, Kal'tsit agreed to Provence's request and dispatched the experienced ACE to lead the team.
Amiya was somewhat surprised by Kal'tsit's words. Based on what she knew of Kal'tsit, while this sort of mission would indeed receive assistance, ACE would not normally be deployed.
Just as Amiya was puzzling over Kal'tsit's arrangement, a familiar voice came from behind her. "Can I come too?"
"Kanna?" Amiya stood and looked toward the doorway. Upon hearing her, Provence turned around as well.
When Provence saw that it was a little girl, she frowned. She had come to ask Rhodes Island to send a squad of operators to help evacuate a small village a hundred kilometers away that was currently suffering a catastrophe. Bringing along a child looked like nothing but a burden.
Seeing the anticipation on Kanna's face, Kal'tsit sighed. "If I refuse to let you go, will you sneak off anyway?"
"Of course." Kanna proudly raised her head.
"Then there you have it. I can allow you to go, but you must listen to ACE."
Kal'tsit had more or less developed a method for handling Kanna.
A powerful and intensely curious child like Kanna would be extremely troublesome to stop once she had made up her mind. It was better to have experienced operators bring her along. That would allow Kanna's abilities to be used to their fullest while avoiding any resentment from her.
"But Miss Kanna, was it? We're going to rescue a village and its residents from a catastrophe. Bringing a child along doesn't seem appropriate." Unaware of Kanna's strength, Provence questioned Kal'tsit's arrangement. She felt that bringing a child on such an urgent mission was disrespectful.
"Rest assured, Operator Provence. Kanna is an Elite Operator of Rhodes Island, and her abilities are more than sufficient. She is simply young, so she may lack experience. We have also arranged for ACE, one of Rhodes Island's most experienced operators, to accompany her. She will not interfere with your rescue plan."
Seeing Provence's concern, Amiya spoke up for Kanna. Although she too found Kal'tsit's order to send Kanna along strange, since Kal'tsit had made the decision, Amiya had no intention of opposing her.
Provence's eyes filled with disbelief upon hearing Amiya's words. As a Catastrophe Messenger with close ties to Rhodes Island—and an operator of Rhodes Island herself—Provence naturally knew how important Elite Operators were to Rhodes Island.
It could be said that every Elite Operator she had met was a top-tier talent capable of influencing the course of an entire battle.
Now she was being told that this Vayvan, who looked under ten years old, was an Elite Operator. If she had not known Kal'tsit's character, she might have thought Rhodes Island's leadership had taken too much Originium and lost their minds.
"Isn't disaster relief supposed to be urgent? Rather than agonizing over whether I'm suitable to go, wouldn't it be better to make a decision quickly, big sister?" Seeing Provence still hesitate, Kanna spoke up.
Hearing Kanna's words, Provence made up her mind. As Kanna had said, rather than dwelling on whether a child her age should participate in rescue work, it was better to follow Kal'tsit's suggestion. Every second sooner they reached their destination meant more civilians could be saved.
By the time Kanna and Provence arrived at the lower-level garage with the deployment order issued by Amiya, ACE had already led his squad there, fully equipped and ready to depart.
Before leaving, Kanna took out her communicator and called Rosemary, telling her that she was heading out with ACE on an emergency mission and would be back soon if nothing unexpected happened.
Rosemary was silent for a while on the other end of the communicator. Then she told Kanna to be careful on the road. Rosemary said she would cooperate with treatment and work hard to catch up to Kanna.
Soon, the group left Rhodes Island in several vehicles.
As they departed, Amiya and Kal'tsit stood by a high-level window, watching the vehicles drive away. Amiya asked in confusion, "Isn't it a little too early for Kanna to take on this kind of mission? Even if she's being deployed outside, couldn't she start with the simplest security assignments?"
Kal'tsit nodded, then shook her head. "Although you've grown close to Kanna recently, it seems you don't truly understand her. Or rather..." Kal'tsit paused. "I'll explain matters concerning Kanna to you later. For now, you only need to know that Kanna is far more powerful than you imagine. Or rather, if they truly encounter danger, Kanna will be this squad's hope for turning the tables in a desperate situation."
The Rain Kept Falling
On the way there, Provence introduced ACE to the details of the catastrophe.
"This catastrophe is codenamed 'Cuckoo.' It is a highly concentrated storm of fierce wind and rain. We are headed for a small village south of Cuckoo. According to the earlier forecasts, Cuckoo was not supposed to pass through that village, so no evacuation was arranged in time. Unexpectedly, Cuckoo suddenly changed direction midway and brought that small town within the disaster zone.
"According to the information we received, the village chief has already led some of the residents away in advance, but another group did not evacuate in time. On my way to Rhodes Island, I met another Catastrophe Messenger. After hearing the news, he headed in that direction with his guard, but there are only two of them. It will be difficult for them to bring the remaining people out, which is why I came to Rhodes Island to request support."
"So what you're saying is, after the village chief found out about the catastrophe, he ran off with his cronies and left everyone else in the village to die, right? And we're going to save the people who were abandoned, right?" Although Provence had phrased it very tactfully, Kanna immediately sorted through the information in her words.
Provence nodded sadly. "Although I don't want to admit it, you're right, Kanna. That damned official was afraid that fleeing together would let the others hold him back, so he did not pass along the warning we discovered and sent in advance. Instead, he fled early with his cronies as soon as he received the news. By the time the villagers realized something was wrong, it was too late. The catastrophe was already upon them. Without help, ordinary villagers have no way to escape from a catastrophe."
ACE adjusted his glasses. "I roughly understand the situation now. So where exactly is this village? How do you plan to get us in, and how do we get back out?"
Hearing ACE's question, Provence opened the notebook in her hands and pointed to a miniature map. "We are here right now, and this is the village. Based on my communication with the other Catastrophe Messenger, we can confirm that the disaster is moving from south to northeast. Although it will pass through the village, fortunately, the village lies on the outer edge of the catastrophe. That is what gives us a chance to conduct a rescue. If it passed directly through the center, then unless we had a sturdy landship, there would be no way to rescue anyone from within it.
"My plan is to cross this mountain range along this ridgeline and reach the village as quickly as possible. Once we pick everyone up, we will retreat along the same route. Most of these mountains are rocky, so even under heavy rain there should not be too much mud. Compared with the foothill route, which is more dangerous and prone to landslides or flooding, and this flat route, which can easily turn into swampy ground, this should be the safest way."
ACE reached out, took Provence's notebook, and carefully studied the map.
"Although we will need to take some risks, they are within acceptable limits. Miss Provence, we'll leave the guiding to you."
ACE soon handed the notebook back to Provence and approved her plan.
Before long, the convoy reached the edge of the catastrophe.
Looking at the scene ahead, where the world seemed to have been blackened with ink and sky and earth blended into one, even the steady and composed ACE drew a sharp breath.
It already looked like this from outside. One could imagine how poor visibility would be inside. On top of that, the concentration of Originium dust accompanying the catastrophe would rise. Without proper protection, ordinary people would become Infected even if they did not die in the disaster.
"Everyone, prepare your protective measures. The convoy is about to enter the disaster zone. Remember, use the lead vehicle as your marker. The remaining vehicles will follow behind in a snake formation. If you lose sight of the vehicle ahead, immediately report it through your communicator and sound the alarm inside your vehicle." After saying that, the vehicle carrying ACE, Provence, and Kanna accelerated to the front of the convoy. ACE took a constantly flashing red light from the trunk and hung it atop the vehicle. After giving the driver a thumbs-up, their vehicle charged into the catastrophe first.
Once they entered the curtain of rain, visibility plummeted. Even with the headlights on, the top-of-the-line off-road vehicle from Raythean Industries could see less than five meters ahead.
If they had not been here for a rescue mission, ACE would have turned around without a second thought in such an environment.
Fortunately, ACE had brought Kanna with him this time.
Although Kanna's vision was also severely impaired by the torrential rain, when she focused, she could still clearly see everything within a hundred meters—far beyond everyone else's range of vision.
She continuously pointed out dangers along the route. At first, the driver did not take her seriously. In such terrible visibility, Kanna was somehow identifying hazards dozens of meters away, and he simply could not believe it.
But when they got closer, they discovered that several locations were exactly as Kanna had described.
Everyone in the vehicle was astonished.
Provence immediately lifted Kanna into the front passenger seat and had her stand there, using her exceptional vision to guide the convoy forward.
When Provence first saw the rain, she had nearly despaired. The downpour was too intense. With their vision so restricted, the vehicles would not be much faster than walking.
At that speed, by the time they reached the village, it would likely have become ruins.
But with Kanna's help, the convoy's speed increased severalfold.
At this point, aside from Kanna, who continuously observed and described the situation ahead, everyone else remained very quiet.
In Provence's view, guiding the convoy was a task that required intense focus and consumed a great deal of mental energy. Even an adult would be nearly exhausted after doing it for the whole journey, let alone a child who looked so young.
ACE, meanwhile, was deeply moved. He had previously heard that Scout thought highly of Kanna and had even specifically gone to Kal'tsit to request that Kanna be allowed to study sniping with him. Scout had called Kanna a sniper talent seen once in a millennium, and ACE had laughed at him for it.
But today, ACE had to admit that calling her merely talented was far too restrained. With eyesight capable of piercing through torrential rain like this, Scout's assessment had been overly cautious.
Four hours later, the convoy successfully crossed the mountain range. With the village close at hand, ACE carried Kanna to the back and told her to rest for a while.
Kanna nodded. Her body would not tire thanks to the energy within her, but after so long, she was mentally exhausted. They had reached the plains now, and the village was less than two kilometers away. She no longer needed to report on the road ahead.
Mudfish Everywhere in the Mud by the Fields
The convoy soon stopped at the village entrance. From the intermittent lights visible within the village, it was clear that quite a few people had indeed been left behind.
At ACE's direction, the operators put on protective suits, grabbed rescue equipment, and headed into the village.
Under such a catastrophe, the villagers could only huddle trembling in their homes, hoping the disaster would not wash away their houses while desperately cursing the village chief who had abandoned the village and fled alone.
Then, knocking suddenly sounded at their doors, throwing many people into a panic. Once they learned that a rescue team had arrived, most of the villagers could not hold back their tears.
Fortunately, catastrophes were frequent across Terra, so in situations like this, everyone prioritized saving lives. There were no troublesome villagers demanding that the rescuers bring their "cattle, sheep, and pigs" or household property along.
The vehicles that had arrived were soon packed full.
Luckily, Provence had obtained the number of people remaining in the village with help from her colleagues beforehand, and they had brought enough vehicles. No one had to be left behind due to lack of space.
Just as the vehicles were about to set off, Kanna, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and looked outside.
"What is it?" ACE's heart tightened when he saw Kanna move.
"There are a lot of Giant Mudfish. They should be hungry and hunting nearby. The lights probably drew them over." With the village lights and headlights, Kanna could see a little farther than before. She saw many loach-like creatures surrounding the convoy. They were two or three meters long, and their sharp teeth made it obvious they were not herbivores.
"A lot?"
"I can see sixty or seventy of them, and each one is about as long as a vehicle. They're closing in on the convoy." Kanna looked around before answering.
ACE immediately issued a warning to the other vehicles. "All vehicles, prepare to depart immediately. Remember, do not open your windows no matter what happens." With that, he instructed the driver to prepare for withdrawal.
Kanna looked toward the road they had come from. Quite a few "mudfish" had appeared in the middle of the road there as well.
The convoy could force its way through, but if any vehicle lost control, it could easily be surrounded by those mudfish.
Under ACE's shocked gaze, Kanna opened the door and darted out in an instant.
"The road behind us is blocked too. I'll clear it. Uncle, lead the convoy and follow behind quickly."
Before ACE could reach out and grab Kanna, she vanished from everyone's sight with a flash of violet light.
"What are you doing?" Provence moved to open the door and go after Kanna, but ACE grabbed her. "Kanna is still outside! How can you let a child face the catastrophe alone without any protection?"
"Kanna is an Elite Operator of Rhodes Island. I trust her judgment, and I trust her strength. If you get out now, you'll only be throwing your life away. You won't be able to do anything. Everyone, prepare to return the way we came!" Looking at the Lightning Wedge beside the rear door, ACE gritted his teeth over Kanna's unauthorized action, but he knew what kind of person she was.
She looked very young and could be a little mischievous at times, but Kanna had never held anyone back when it mattered. On the contrary, just like on the way here, without Kanna's help, the convoy would have taken several times longer to arrive and could easily have run into trouble midway.
At that moment, Kanna's voice came through ACE's communicator. "The road ahead has been cleared. The convoy can move."
He looked up and saw a violet figure flickering in and out of sight amid the torrential rain not far away.
At ACE's command, the convoy quickly retreated toward the outer edge of the catastrophe in the direction they had come from.
After charging out of the vehicle, Kanna felt miserable. The stuff pouring down on her head could hardly be called rain—it was more like someone was endlessly dumping water over her with a giant basin.
She stepped into a puddle, and faint lightning flowed over her body. The falling water was instantly vaporized the moment it touched her.
Amid a huge cloud of steam, Kanna crashed toward the Giant Mudfish blocking the road like a dump truck at full speed.
Those mudfish could never have imagined that they had merely come out for a meal, only to be cooked by a sudden high-voltage current and scalding steam before they could eat anything.
Kanna charged into the mudfish, her left hand swinging a Palm Thunder ten centimeters thick and five meters long like an enormous lightsaber. Those struck by it were cooked through, while those grazed by it were half-cooked.
Whenever the two Lightning Wedges in her right hand were thrown, a series of thunderous explosions and scattered electrical plasma followed, instantly turning the area into a teppanyaki grill.
"Kanna, how's it looking outside?" Just as Kanna cleared the road and the convoy proceeded smoothly, ACE's voice came through.
Kanna cautiously examined the communicator. Thankfully, it was not broken! It was fortunate that Kal'tsit had anticipated that Kanna's abilities could easily damage electronic communicators, so she had given Kanna a specially made communicator crafted entirely from Originium and powered by Originium.
"I think the way these creatures are gathering is strange. They should have a leader, but I haven't spotted one. Uncle, be careful."
After looking around, Kanna found it strange that the mudfish beside the road did not flee after the ones on the road were wiped out. Instead, they continued to close in. That was not scientific. Normally, if some nearby creatures were suddenly attacked and killed, the surrounding creatures should scatter, remain wary for a while, and only gather again after discovering the danger had passed.
"Understood. I'll be careful. You should come back quickly too." ACE's voice was calm and steady.
Still worried, Kanna ran around the convoy twice more. Only after finding no suspicious targets did she relax slightly, wondering if she was simply being too paranoid.
With a light jump, Kanna instantly leaped from the rear of the convoy onto the roof of the lead vehicle where ACE was.
Hearing footsteps above, ACE knew Kanna had returned, and his heart finally eased. He might have seemed certain in front of Provence earlier, but his heart had been hanging in the air the entire time.
After all, he had never personally experienced Kanna's combat ability. He had only seen two tests at most, so he could not guarantee that she would complete the task easily.
Kanna was the same. She was preparing to use a Lightning Wedge to transfer from the roof back into the vehicle when a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the land beneath the torrential rain.
In that brief flash of light, lasting barely a second, Kanna's pupils suddenly contracted.
The convoy had just returned to the ridgeline and was preparing to leave along the original route. Torrents of water rushed down the mountain, carrying mud and sand into the river below. In that second of light, Kanna saw a massive figure in the river—and a pair of eyes belonging solely to a predator.
Everyone Knows Water Conducts Electricity
"Tch!" Kanna looked down at the pitch-black valley floor after the lightning faded, as dark as an abyss.
"What is it?" A bad feeling rose in ACE's heart when he noticed Kanna had not entered the vehicle.
"Nothing. There's a Giant Mudfish nearby. I won't come in yet. There are still mudfish chasing us from behind, so keep the convoy moving. Do not stop." Kanna threw a Lightning Wedge behind the convoy, then used the light from its explosion to see countless Giant Mudfish following behind them.
ACE instinctively felt that the "Giant Mudfish" Kanna described was not the same sort of creature he was imagining, but in such heavy rain, he did not dare leave the moving vehicle.
Suddenly, Kanna sensed an icy presence to her front right. The next second, two Lightning Wedges flew from her hands directly toward the target.
With a tremendous crash of thunder, the Lightning Wedges exploded at the intended location. Within the lightning, Kanna saw that the enormous figure from the valley had quietly approached the side of the convoy.
Fortunately, she had sensed the danger and used the lightning storm created by the Lightning Wedges to drive it away.
However, before the lightning vanished, Kanna saw it shifting toward the rear of the convoy and knew it would not give up hunting. After suffering a setback at the front, the massive creature had set its sights on the latter half of the convoy.
With only three Lightning Wedges, Kanna felt somewhat stretched thin. The convoy was too long, and she could not protect both the front and back at once.
It was like Kanna was playing hawk-and-chicks with the monster. The monster, as the hawk, was exceptionally agile, and concealed by the torrential rain, it was extremely difficult for Kanna to lock onto its position while also keeping the entire convoy safe.
"How are things outside?" ACE's voice came through the communicator, broken up by the heavy rain. Still, it eased Kanna's frustration after she had been unable to catch the creature.
Before you continue