You Took That Seriously? / Is That Even Human?

She'd been spying on Ren for so long; didn't she know who he was?

"Mr. Ren, aside from being a bit lecherous, he couldn't possibly be the kind of person they're describing!"

Chapter 352 You actually took it seriously?

What does it mean to say that besides being a lecherous person, you're not that kind of person?

After saying this, Himeragi Yukina saw Ren looking at her and realized she had said the wrong thing. She quickly covered her mouth and said, "No, that's not how it is. I didn't mean to say that at first."

"You have a really good eye for people."

Ren chuckled, leaving the others bewildered.

Twelve hours have passed again.

During this period, the Sanctuary Organization has been hyping up the threat of Itogami Island and the Holy Annihilation online, claiming that this is a special military operation for world peace, codenamed "Epic Fury".

The sunny boy from the United States gave a speech on television, hoping that the Fourth Progenitor would take the people's demands seriously, hand over the criminals as soon as possible, and surrender. Then he turned around and claimed that there were already opposition activities on Itogami Island, but they were all bloodily suppressed by the Fourth Progenitor. Then he turned around and said that the Fourth Progenitor had sent people to talk to their people.

A series of televised speeches were broadcast, leaving Aurora completely bewildered. Did she send someone to communicate? Did she...?

At the same time, all modes of transportation on Itogami Island were suspended due to the situation, with no known reopening date.

Airports and ports were packed with people.

However, those who remained were mostly ordinary people; the wealthy tycoons and councilors had already fled when the Sanctuary Organization issued its announcement.

Ren didn't stop him; if he ran away now, it wouldn't be so easy for him to come back later.

Because the period of consideration declared by the Sanctuary Organization had passed, all the girls knew that war was imminent.

Therefore, the atmosphere in Nangong Nayue's home was unusually solemn.

Including Aurora, a total of twelve hosts have been assembled. The Original was in high spirits and planned to take this opportunity to settle both old and new scores.

Liana's expression was resolute, while her sister Veldiana looked somewhat fearful.

Her current strength is not even comparable to that of the old generation of vampires; any special forces unit could easily wipe her out.

Nangong Nayue sat on the sofa, drinking red tea.

Kirasaka Sayaka asked somewhat impatiently, "So what's our plan now?"

As a girl full of a sense of justice, she knew that the Sanctuary Organization's so-called special military operation was unreasonable. Although she was also an official, she still decided to stand on Ren's side.

Faced with an overwhelming fleet, she found it difficult to do anything with her limited power.

If it were a land battle, she would have a chance to infiltrate the rear command post, but large-scale wars are not as simple as two armies facing off.

The commander is stationed in the safest place; even if she had three heads and six arms, she couldn't possibly infiltrate it.

"The plan is simple: you'll be responsible for security on Itogami Island, preventing people from taking advantage of the chaos to buy things for free. It doesn't matter how hard you go, as long as no one dies."

"That's what Ren said."

Actually, this last reminder is optional.

After all, throughout the entire Strike the Blood storyline, these girls never actually killed a single person; even when facing criminals, they were primarily powerless to do anything about it.

"Huh? Me too?"

As Yuan Chu sharpened his knife, the Original to pounce on the pigs and sheep, he frowned slightly.

"Just like them, prevent special forces from infiltrating."

"That's what Ren said."

"Why?! I've been putting up with those guys for so long!"

"The Original, he said viciously."

She was originally created by the Heavenly Tribe to deal with the wicked god Cain, but after coming into contact with Cain, she agreed with his ideas and turned to oppose the high and mighty Heavenly Tribe.

The final result was that she was split into twelve parts by the three True Ancestors who joined forces.

"Because you're too weak."

Ren spoke his mind.

"Hmm? I... am weak? Impossible. Although I'm no match for you, I definitely wouldn't lose if my opponent were any one of those three."

Upon the Original, Yuan Chu raised his head and retorted.

"As long as you agree to let me absorb their power, I'm confident I can win!"

Seemingly sensing the Original's resolute determination, the remaining eleven hosts, including Di Shanbo, all knelt on one knee. For the victory of this war, and for Ren's sake, they were willing to return to the Original's control.

"Stop daydreaming. Legend has it that the Fourth Progenitor is the strongest vampire in the world. You actually believed that?"

Ren said without any mercy.

"Isn't that right?!"

The Original, he held his neck stiffly.

"That's not true at all. In fact, even this title of 'strongest' is just something that came from the mouths of other True Ancestors. If you were truly the strongest, you wouldn't have suffered such a terrible fate back then."

In reality, the Fourth Progenitor is the weakest Progenitor in the truest sense.

The twelve star-like beasts may seem powerful, but they were originally summoned by the three progenitors and the Heavenly Tribe specifically for the use of the fourth progenitor.

Since they created the Fourth Ancestor with the aim of making him a weapon, it is impossible for them to have created an absolutely invincible being.

Although the twelve beasts have different abilities, the three True Ancestors are definitely capable of keeping them in check.

Furthermore, the Fourth Ancestor only had twelve familiars, the First Ancestor Forgotten War King had seventy-two familiars, the Second Ancestor had nineteen familiars, and the Third Ancestor had twenty-seven familiars.

It's obvious who is stronger and who is weaker at a glance.

Not to mention magic power, the accumulation of time, and combat experience, the Original was completely overwhelmed by the other three True Ancestors.

If they were to actually go on the field, Ren felt that the Original would be defeated in less than five minutes.

After listening to Ren's analysis, the Original, despite recognizing the gap between himself and the other True Ancestors, remained unconvinced.

Ren didn't bother arguing with her and simply gave her an order not to make a move, leaving her speechless.

The other girls couldn't offer Ren any advice; they could only perform their respective duties within the plan Ren had laid out.

Then, amidst the expectant gazes of the girls, Ren left the apartment, his figure rising into the sky without wind.

Before leaving, he looked at Aiba Asagi.

"Oh, right, I have another task for you: investigate whether there are any ultra-high-definition cameras in the Sin God's Legacy. I need you to broadcast the upcoming battlefield footage live worldwide."

"No problem."

Aiba Asagi immediately ordered Mogwai to search, and sure enough, they found many floating cameras and video recording devices for military use on the newly emerged artificial island.

To achieve a better live broadcast, Aiba Asagi also had Mogwai control all of Itogami Island's surveillance satellites, striving to make the live footage clearer.

"They're gone."

Ren nodded slightly to the girl below, and then flew towards the multinational fleet.

His idea was simple.

Since the other party is targeting me, I'll just have to deal with it myself.

And... what's that saying again?

Oh.

A single punch can ward off a hundred more.

Chapter 353 Is that still human?

Sanctuary Organization Army.

A multinational joint fleet.

A missile destroyer named "Krosli" is on the outer perimeter of an aircraft carrier group, advancing at a steady pace toward Itogami Island, a magical artifact of mass destruction.

The captain of this destroyer is a white male with the rank of lieutenant commander.

He originally belonged to the North American Union Pacific Fleet, but after the Sanctuary Treaty Organization passed the resolution on Itogami Island, he was temporarily assigned to the Sanctuary Treaty Organization Military's multinational fleet by the cheerful big boy president.

Many sailors crowded on the bridge, analyzing intelligence gathered by patrol planes and drones.

While no one doubts the outcome of this war, reconnaissance is also a necessary step, especially since losses in military operations are naturally minimized.

Moreover, this is a joint fleet of multiple countries. If any problems arise, it would be best to have friendly forces at the forefront.

The lieutenant colonel, standing on the bridge, gazed at the model of Itogami Island projected onto the screen.

This is a massive fortified city with a coastline stretching over a thousand kilometers.

Artificial islands of this scale are considered masterpieces even on a global scale.

Unfortunately...

Apart from Itogami City at the very center, the surrounding lands are almost entirely filled with things summoned by the target using the Holy Annihilation.

"Is it the legacy of the wicked god?"

The lieutenant colonel concealed his inner turmoil with a slight, cold smile.

"It's not exactly exhilarating to massacre half a million civilians, but at least it makes you feel a little less guilty, right, Vice-Captain?"

"The enemy's combat strength is unknown, and it's impossible to judge at this stage whether things will become easier."

The major, seated in the vice-captain's seat, answered in a calm tone.

Upon closer inspection, one will find that his face is perfectly symmetrical, possessing a stunning beauty that rivals that of a model.

-- An annoying guy.

The lieutenant colonel cursed inwardly. How could this mere artificial life form behave more like a human than he did?

That's right.

The destroyer's executive officer is an artificial life form.

Although research on artificial life forms has been banned worldwide, the technology is already quite mature. Even though it is prohibited, countries around the world will still conduct research in secret, giving them jobs that are difficult for ordinary people to perform.

For ordinary people, things that would take a long time to learn, artificial life forms can have the corresponding knowledge implanted into their brains during the manufacturing process.

Although the technology for inputting knowledge is still not very mature, it is still much shorter than the cycle of training a normal person.

"What about the images from drones and surveillance satellites?"

The lieutenant colonel asked impatiently.

The artificial life form's vice-captain, however, handed over a tablet computer with a serious expression.

"What the hell is this thing?"

When the lieutenant colonel saw the image on the tablet, his brows furrowed immediately.

What should have been a detailed battle report about Itogami Island was turned into an animated film specifically for young children.

The adorable yet foolish characters are dancing lively and cutely, which seems quite ironic given the current situation.

"These are images transmitted back by unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, patrol aircraft, and surveillance satellites. It appears that control of our tactical data links has been stolen and modified by the other side."

"So... the system was hacked? How is that even possible?"

The lieutenant colonel was immediately shocked.

It should be a closed military system on a local area network, how could it have been hacked?

"There's a chance that a highly skilled hacker could do it."

The vice-captain said calmly.

That being said, he also thought the other party's methods were too sophisticated.

If this were a battle between two countries, the country with such hacking capabilities would see its chances of winning drop by 20% to 30%.

"Never mind, can the destroyer's main guns be aimed at Itogami Island and fired?"

The lieutenant colonel asked, unconsciously biting his nails.

"We are currently within the main gun's maximum range, but there are still twenty minutes until the attack commencement time announced by the Sanctuary Treaty Organization."

"It's not like we're attacking Itogami City, so other targets don't matter."