Before they could react, an arm-thick bolt of lightning with a piercing shriek flashed past their heads. The next second, several of them collapsed to the ground, never making another sound.
Kanna shook her head and activated Lightning Wedge's position-swapping effect again, returning to the top of the cliff.
Chapter 86: Before a Battle, Seizing the Weather Was Part of the Fight
After turning in the mission, Kanna looked at the newly acquired skill.
Prayer for Rain: Gather energy to trigger changes in the weather, temporarily turning the weather rainy. Duration, range, and intensity are determined by the amount of energy gathered. Under this weather, fire-type skills are somewhat suppressed, while water- and lightning-type skills receive corresponding enhancement based on the intensity of Prayer for Rain. (This skill originated from the Pokemon world.)
When Kanna saw that water- and lightning-type skills could also be enhanced according to the intensity of Prayer for Rain, her eyes lit up. She had just been worrying that the explosion was not powerful enough and that there were not enough falling rocks. The system had practically handed her a pillow just as she was getting sleepy, giving her a perfectly suitable skill.
She jumped to the mountaintop, ready to give it a try. At the time, she had no idea what would happen next.
Once she reached the summit, Kanna rubbed her chin. Although the skill description looked detailed, the crucial parts were vague. What she cared about most was how much power a given amount of energy would produce.
Since she was unsure of the result, she decided to play it safe and first pour in five percent of her energy as a test. If it was not strong enough, she would try ten percent.
After gathering energy in her hand and tossing it upward...
"What? I thought it would start raining right away, like in anime and games?"
There had not been a cloud in the sky for ages. Yet clouds were continuously gathering from the horizon in this direction.
Kanna, standing below, did not know that the instant she waved her hand and used the skill, the air pressure across the entire canyon suddenly dropped. The nearby Catastrophe Messengers all raised their heads, staring toward the canyon in disbelief. Directly above it, layers upon layers of brilliantly colored clouds had appeared out of nowhere.
Ordinary people might have mistaken it for a natural wonder, but they knew it was not a wonder. It was a warning. Those suddenly appearing clouds had a specific name among Catastrophe Messengers—Catastrophe Clouds.
They only appeared where a Catastrophe was about to erupt. But according to the calculations and observations of the Catastrophe Messengers, there should not have been a Catastrophe in this canyon, much less one that appeared so abruptly.
The border troops heading for the canyon also stopped. There were people among them familiar with Catastrophes, and they naturally recognized the Catastrophe Clouds hanging overhead ahead of them.
The commander of this force was deeply troubled. Capturing those fleeing miners was a direct order from the Grand Duke, one he could not evade with any excuse.
But a Catastrophe was about to break out between his troops and those miners. According to the Messengers in the unit, the Catastrophe ahead was strange and sudden, and even they could not determine what type it would be.
If the troops continued forward, there was a high chance they would run straight into the Catastrophe.
This unit had traveled light in order to pursue a group of unarmed miners. They had brought very little heavy equipment. If they encountered a Catastrophe, they could easily be wiped out.
Before he could deliberate for long, the sky ahead had already changed color. Moments ago it had been clear and cloudless; now dark clouds blanketed the heavens. Countless bolts of lightning swam through the clouds like fish, while a steady drizzle began to fall.
Seeing this, he could only shake his head helplessly and order the rear ranks to become the vanguard and retreat.
Only after leaving that terrifying thunderstorm zone did he send a report to the Grand Duke.
When the Grand Duke learned that the force pursuing the miners had been blocked on this side of the canyon by a sudden Catastrophe, he angrily smashed the water cup beside him against the wall. Those damned miners—running away was one thing. Even killing a minor noble would not have mattered much; he could simply appoint another to oversee the mining operation. But they had blown up the entire mine while escaping.
Now, if he wanted to continue using that mine, he would have to spend enormous manpower and resources excavating it again.
How could the Grand Duke be happy about getting played by a bunch of peasants? That was why he had ordered his Shadow Guard to coordinate with the border troops and surround that group of miners trying to escape.
Thinking of this, he asked whether there had been any news from the Shadow Guard at the front. The reply made his heart sink.
From the moment they discovered the Catastrophe, through their retreat to the safe zone and report to the Grand Duke, there had been no word from the Shadow Guard. They did not know the Shadow Guard's exact location or what situation they were facing.
But the Grand Duke knew that, as his trusted subordinates, the Shadow Guard would find a way to send news back from the front as long as there was even the slightest chance. If they had lost contact, there was only one possibility—they had been wiped out.
Yet every member of that Shadow Guard had been carefully selected by him. Each possessed the strength to take on a hundred men alone, talents who would have held command-level positions in the military. For all of them to die without even sending back a single message, their enemy had to be far more vicious than he had imagined.
Meanwhile, while Kanna was still complaining that the skill's effects were arriving too slowly, the communicator hanging from her shoulder transmitted J.A's urgent, panicked voice.
"Kanna, come back quickly! We need to leave now!"
???
Kanna looked completely confused. Her plan had only just begun, and the enemy had not even arrived yet. Why was J.A already urging her to leave?
"Hurry! A Catastrophe is coming right above us!"
When Kanna did not respond, J.A's anxious voice came again.
A Catastrophe?
A Catastrophe!
Kanna stared at her skill in shock.
Prayer for Rain successfully activated. Target range: twenty kilometers centered on the canyon. Effect: thunderstorm. Duration: twenty-four hours. Intensity—Catastrophe level! During this thunderstorm, fire-type Arts are heavily suppressed, while water- and lightning-type Arts receive a two- to tenfold increase! Catastrophe duration countdown: 23:55:37
A string of new text had appeared after her Prayer for Rain skill, and that countdown left Kanna dumbfounded.
None of her previous skills had displayed effects as extensive as Prayer for Rain's. She had never expected that just five percent of her energy would directly trigger an entire day-long "temporary Catastrophe" over their heads.
After reading the message, she did not linger any longer. With a few leaps, she darted out of the canyon and reached the vehicle J.A had left on the other side.
Under a Catastrophe, even if the other side was a regular Victorian army, they would have to obediently wait for it to pass before they could continue their pursuit. Besides, the nearest route around the canyon to the other side was two hundred kilometers away. By the time they circled around, Kanna's group would already have left Victoria's border.
The instant Kanna jumped into the vehicle, it started up in a frantic rush. The driver seemed ready to stomp the accelerator through the floor, desperately driving them away.
Chapter 87: The Temptation of Home
Seeing Kanna looking up at the thunderclouds, J.A thought she was worried and reached out to pat her head.
"Don't worry. This sudden Catastrophe scared us badly, but its range isn't large. If we push a little harder, we can get out of the danger zone before it hits. But the border troops chasing us won't be so lucky. If they're far enough away, they can still retreat. If they're too close... who knows whether their unit designation will even survive this Catastrophe."
As she said this, J.A showed a rare smile. After all, having the pursuing army stopped by a Catastrophe was undoubtedly good news for Rhodes Island.
It had avoided a potential head-on clash with a regular army.
Once the convoy rushed out of the Catastrophe's danger zone, torrential rain and lightning swallowed the canyon behind them. Everyone knew they were safe.
Seeing everyone relax, Kanna opened her mouth, but she still could not bring herself to say that she had caused this Catastrophe.
After thinking it over, she decided to keep it hidden for now. Since they were already safe, whether she told them or not was not important. It would be better to give everyone a surprise later, when it was needed.
After shaking off their pursuers, the mood in the convoy immediately became much lighter. They soon crossed the border and entered Leithanien.
Kal'tsit had arranged for a team to receive them there. After winding around for a full week, they finally returned to Rhodes Island.
Seeing Outcast waiting for her on the bridge, Kanna could not help opening her mouth wide.
"Grandma, when did you get back?"
Outcast picked Kanna up and lightly tapped her forehead. "Silly child, you brought so many people with you, so of course you moved slowly. We set out two days later, but we were much faster and had a smoother trip than you. We returned to Rhodes Island two days ago. And your weapon has already been sent back to your room. You didn't use it this time, but you still need to maintain it properly!"
After hearing that, Kanna suddenly understood. A large group naturally could not move as quickly as a small team. On top of that, they had so many Infected with them. They had to keep stopping so Medical Operators could check their condition, preventing anyone from suddenly dying on the road and exploding, causing a chain reaction. So it was understandable that her group had arrived later than Outcast.
"Come to think of it, you really were lucky. J.A said that when you were in Victoria, the border troops they sent were almost on your tail. Then a Catastrophe suddenly appeared and blocked them on the other side."
When Outcast mentioned this, Kanna could no longer hold in her little secret. She quietly rested her head on Outcast's shoulder and whispered, "Hehehe, Grandma, that wasn't luck. Kanna did it!"
As expected, Outcast's pupils contracted sharply when she heard Kanna's words, as though she had been deeply shocked.
She pulled Kanna into a small room nearby. "What do you mean, you did it?"
"Kanna invented a new move before. It can temporarily change the weather. But that was Kanna's first time using it, so Kanna didn't control the strength properly and accidentally made it too powerful, then... hehehe!"
As she said this, Kanna rubbed one of her horns awkwardly.
"Have you told anyone else about this?" Outcast asked nervously.
"No! Grandma, you're the first person to know!" Kanna had never intended to hide her abilities, because in her eyes, only the weak needed to conceal their trump cards in order to turn battles around.
But she was confident that she was already strong enough. Every new move merely gave her more ways to fight and more choices. She did not need to conceal what she possessed and turn it into a hidden trump card.
That was why she had chosen to tell Outcast. She trusted that Outcast would pass this important information on to Kal'tsit, but that it would circulate only among a few people in the upper ranks and would not spread further.
In future operations, Kal'tsit would take Kanna's abilities and fighting methods into consideration, ensuring that every battle involving her would not become a completely uncontrollable runaway horse.
After hearing Kanna's words, Outcast nodded and placed a finger over her lips in a gesture of silence.
"This ability is extremely important. Without my permission, do not tell anyone else about it. Remember, anyone at all. Understood?"
Kanna nodded. "Got it! If you don't bring it up, I won't tell anyone."
Hearing Kanna's promise, Outcast smiled faintly. "All right. Your friends have known you were back and have been waiting upstairs for a long time. Go play with them!"
After saying goodbye to Outcast, Kanna skipped back into Rhodes Island.
Because so many people had entered this time, Rosemary and the others had not been allowed to meet Kanna at the entrance. They waited in the corridor leading to the operator quarters, and soon saw Kanna hopping toward them.
"Amiya! Popukar! And Eyjafjalla, it's you guys!" Kanna greeted the three people at the doorway one by one.
"Hm? Where's Rosemary? Is she having health problems again?" Kanna suddenly noticed that Rosemary had not come. Of course, she did not think that Rosemary had grown distant from her after only a few days apart. The only possibility she could think of was that Rosemary's health had worsened again and she was receiving treatment in the Medical Department, unable to come meet her.
"Oh! I forgot to tell you, Rosemary went on a mission! Not long after you left, Rosemary went to Kal'tsit and said she wanted to take on field assignments too. After considering it, Kal'tsit agreed. She should have gone to Milia with LOGOS afterward. They should be close to their destination by now." As someone studying management under Kal'tsit, Amiya knew the most about Rosemary's situation.
Kanna froze slightly after hearing that. She recalled Rosemary's description in the game: "Rhodes Island's machine of destruction, Milia's calamity, Kelvin County's butcher, enemy of Infected rebels..." Milia's name had been among those titles.
It seemed that Rosemary's mission would not be as easy as Amiya had made it sound. Leaving aside the fact that Rosemary would later gain such a bloody title, LOGOS was also in the team.
If it had truly been an ordinary mission, Kal'tsit would not have sent LOGOS along merely because Rosemary was there. Therefore, this mission in Milia was bound to be extremely dangerous.
Chapter 88: 007 Might Not Be an Agent—It Could Also Mean Working Hours
Kanna and the others were preparing to head for the Sanatorium Courtyard when a red figure descended from the sky and landed in front of them.
Seeing Red suddenly appear, Popukar vigilantly stepped in front of Kanna.
"It's Red! Popukar, don't be nervous. Red is an ally!" Popukar had never met Red, but Amiya knew her. She also knew that, as Kal'tsit's hound, Red would not casually appear before others without permission.
Her sudden appearance now had to be Kal'tsit's order.
Red silently nodded to Amiya in greeting, then looked at Kanna.
"The situation is urgent. Kanna cannot be seen by more people. Come with me. Kal'tsit is waiting for you in the Control Room..."
After saying that, she walked to the side and lightly pressed something. A brand-new passage appeared before them.
"This is Rhodes Island's emergency secret passage. Only a few Elite Operators know about it. It can only be opened with the approval of two out of three people: me, Dr. Kal'tsit, and Ms. Ascalon. I haven't approved its use recently... It seems there really is an extremely urgent situation. Kanna, go in with Red first. Popukar and I will take the main route to the Control Room."
Halfway through, Amiya paused, as though she had guessed something. She let Kanna enter the secret passage with Red, then grabbed Popukar, who wanted to follow them.
"The requirements for using this emergency passage are extremely strict. Since Red didn't say we could follow, we can't go in on our own. But since we know Dr. Kal'tsit is in the Control Room, we can just take the main route. We might even get there before them."
Although few people knew of the emergency passage and its conditions of use were strict, it had been built extremely winding and convoluted in order to conceal its location. Even with Kanna and Red's speed, they could not match Amiya and Popukar taking the main route.
When Amiya and Popukar arrived at the Control Room, they saw that besides Kal'tsit, Ascalon and several Elite Operators were indeed inside.
When they saw Amiya enter, they all nodded in greeting, and Amiya greeted each of them in return.
Then Amiya walked to Kal'tsit's side. Kal'tsit casually handed her an intelligence report, and after skimming through it, Amiya appeared somewhat flustered.
Meanwhile, Popukar stood by the door after entering. Although her emotions were usually unstable, in this room, even though she felt uneasy and afraid inside, when her mental state reached its breaking point, someone beside her glanced at her. For some reason, she calmed down again.
After that, the Control Room fell silent once more.
Another two minutes passed. Accompanied by heavy footsteps from overhead, the ventilation fan above them opened. Under everyone's gaze, Kanna and Red jumped down from above.
"Ah, this secret passage is way too small! Other than children, normal people would have to crawl through it, right?" Kanna had just emerged from inside, but the atmosphere around her did not make her nervous. She could not help complaining about the passage instead.
"It is a secret passage, after all. It was never meant for everyday use. As long as people can pass through, that is enough. Establishing a secret passage in a space as compact as Rhodes Island already required genius planning and technology. We need not demand too much from its conditions." Kal'tsit rarely had the energy to chat with Kanna.
"Click!" With the sound of the door opening, Outcast entered from outside with a puzzled expression. The moment she saw the situation in the room, she instinctively sensed that something had gone wrong.
"Kanna, during the earlier retreat, near that canyon affected by the Catastrophe, did you kill any pursuers sent by the other side?" Once everyone was present, Kal'tsit asked.
"Yes! I was preparing to use lightning to destroy the canyon road, and those people rushed out after discovering me. But I should have dealt with all of them! I can guarantee there couldn't possibly have been any survivors left nearby."
Before and after taking action, Kanna had carefully checked the surrounding area. There had been no omissions. Combined with the Catastrophe afterward, every trace left by the battle should have been completely destroyed. So she believed that under normal circumstances, she should not have been exposed. But if Kal'tsit said this, had she been exposed even in that situation?
"Sigh... This isn't really your fault. Before fighting you, those people left a location marker nearby. After the Catastrophe, they sent people to inspect the area. Under normal circumstances, no traces should have remained after a Catastrophe, true enough. But one member of their team happened to be a caster capable of using Arts to reconstruct what had happened near the marked location..."
When Kal'tsit received this intelligence, she had almost wanted to curse. Why did everything have to line up so perfectly? It was truly fucking Perro luck.
"Now they have issued a warrant for Kanna through the Victorian authorities. Since the convoy entered Rhodes Island, we have just received word that the Grand Duke has used his connections in Leithanien to pressure Rhodes Island internationally and will send people to search us. The official notice will probably reach me through formal channels within three days at most.
"Rhodes Island is currently not in a position to fall out with Victoria, so this search cannot be avoided. We can only limit its scope. The simplest response I can think of is for Kanna not to be on Rhodes Island. Their influence may be great, but Rhodes Island is not somewhere they can remain for as long as they want. As long as they cannot find you quickly, we will have grounds to expel them."
Kal'tsit spoke calmly.
"No wonder you had me come through the secret passage. You wanted as few people as possible to see me return, so even if they have extraordinary abilities, it will be difficult for them to detect my presence. Then where do I need to go next?"
Kanna calmly accepted Kal'tsit's proposal. This whole situation was absurd enough already, and leaving the other side with no leverage was the best option. She also believed Kal'tsit was not planning to "expel" or "exile" her.
"You know Specter, don't you?"
"I've met her a few times. What happened to her?"
"A few days ago, her condition suddenly became rather unstable, and she repeatedly mentioned Rock Bay Town in Iberia. I am very interested in that, and I plan to go there personally to investigate. This operation requires secrecy, so I cannot bring many people. Your strength is sufficient, and I happen to need a guard. So, Kanna, how about coming with me?"
Kal'tsit blinked, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
Before you continue