Chapter 306

"Otherwise what?"

Carrying Nana's handbag, Rope to calm her slightly rapid breathing. In front of her was the red-haired Fidia, whom Red called 'Boss' and the underlings called 'Big Sister'.

"... you..."

"I am 'Nine,' you can call me that for now. Over there is... the Catastrophes that Rhodes Island is fighting against?"

Watching another shop being smashed to pieces by monsters in the distance, and seeing how these armored monsters, even when broken or smashed by the Black Knights, would quickly heal themselves, the woman with long red hair Fidia, stated without changing her expression the fact that the 'Black Knight' were in a bad situation:

"... It seems that Rhodes Island knight needs help; it looks like you're completely at a disadvantage... and why are you fighting unarmed?"

Regarding Jiu's doubts, Rope glanced at the Terminal in his hand and shook his head, saying:

"That's because the senior's weapon was initially used to block the sea monster's exit... Brother Red should have seen it too, Senior Medic's immediate action of welding the entrance shut with high temperature..."

"Ah, that sword that was stuck in Old Zhu's shop."

Seeing Red's sudden realization, Nine didn't press further. The red-haired woman pondered for two seconds, watching as yet another shop collapsed in the aftershocks of the battle, and noting that the battlefield seemed to be getting closer to the residential area, she pursed her lips and said:

"That knight needs help... it looks like she's lacking a weapon that can reach the monster's vitals..."

"... But we can't get to that kind of battlefield, can we?"

This time, it was a pink-haired girl named Feline who was next to Jiu who spoke. Rope recognized her; she was the one who had been following Red before, and who had disappeared the moment Red and Nana started fighting.

As silence fell over the scene, and the sounds of battle drew ever closer in the distance, Jiu looked at Rope one last time:

"The knight hasn't gone to retrieve his weapon, which means the sword is currently under important protection and cannot be taken out, right...?"

"Yes... the best course of action now is... to relocate."

"But even if we're just transferring people, we'll need time... Red, take your Avenger squad, even if it's just to draw the monster's attention to that knight, do something."

"Following the usual Fire Department drills, the others notified each household to leave with only the most basic documents and valuables..."

As she spoke, Nine took out an old-fashioned flip phone from her pocket. While the people around her began to busy themselves, the red-haired Fidia hesitated for a moment before dialing a number that looked strangely Rope:

"... Chen... I'm sorry to contact you again so suddenly, but I have some things I'd like to confirm with you..."

Squinting at the distant figure as Red drew his longsword wreathed in flames, Jiu glanced at An Rope expression was somewhat strange.

Do you know 'Rhodes Island'?

PS Liu Ling Hao Sansi Ba Ba Si: Wuwu Maomao

PS2: I'll be back in July, but I used up my sick leave at the beginning of the month because of an injury... Oh well, I'm used to it anyway. I hope the updates for the second half of the year will go smoothly.

9th Lungmen Seafood: 351 Seaborn is trying to exert its initiative.

Perhaps Lungmen isn't a big place, and Commander Chen certainly has a lot of connections, so it's quite normal for him to run into people he knows just by walking a few steps.

However, Nana would have preferred that Ch'en explain the dangers of this operation to everyone he could talk to from the beginning, instead of vaguely saying things like "What are you doing there?" on the phone...

Okay, perhaps it's really too much to ask two people who clearly have something to hide to play a game of truth or dare. Considering that Jiu was willing to check with Ch'en to confirm the situation instead of relying on her own little gang to tough it out, Nana will stop worrying about the gossip about the suspected former member of the Guard Bureau for now.

Compared to the midnight emotional drama channel broadcast from the Guard Bureau via Rope, Nana's own situation, which resembled a 'hardware shop', probably required more of her attention.

The battlefield was likened to a hardware store mainly because of the clanging of metal. Once the Armor Mode was activated, this noise clearly marked the direction of the main battlefield for those fleeing for their lives.

Now that Nana isn't wielding her greatsword and the sea monster can't close its giant pincers, the former can't deliver a fatal blow to the sea monster, while the latter, facing a state of maximum mobility and decent defense, seems capable of fighting it for an entire day.

With neither side able to deliver a fatal blow, the back-and-forth attacks were almost entirely aimed at their respective key defensive positions... Clang clang clang clang, it was impossible to tell which was the hammer and which was the nail. Only the constantly destroyed field and the screams of the onlookers highlighting that the effort exerted by both sides had exceeded that of industrial machinery, making them essentially like two rampaging demolition machines.

Adding new cracks to the already cracked chitinous carapace, she watched speechlessly as the dark purple fluid hardened and adhered like self-sealing glue. Although the Doctor had said something like, "It would be good to put some pressure on Lungmen," Nana still hoped that things could be resolved without anyone getting hurt.

Despite the fact that the spread of the Seaborn has been far more efficient than expected, even Nana herself wouldn't believe there were no victims.

The current battlefield is the Kowloon Walled Kowloon Walled City... Although gangs run rampant here, and various crimes are openly committed, the residents don't trust the Governor's government, and even victims like those Rope are among them. However, as a gathering place for the Infected laborers, the residents here have virtually no ability to withstand the risks...

Although it appears to be just house damage and people being forced to leave their homes, will this process trigger the already serious gang problems in Kowloon Walled City? And if things get out of control and cause unrest throughout the entire Mobile City, what decision will the Governor's Office make...?

Although these things seem far removed from Nana's frontline combat role, an assassin is someone who uses the most direct actions to influence city and even national policies... She is all too familiar with this kind of situation where everyone is striving for the good, but the correct choices made by all levels lead to unacceptable consequences for everyone... Assassin Number Seventy-Seven remembered several similar classic cases from her ICA courses.

To prevent things from spiraling out of control, Nana had to keep the chaotic variables to a minimum... Right now, this monster absolutely could not break through the streets and enter the public eye, and she couldn't let the people of Kowloon Walled City panic and flee. Only in this way could local gangs like Kowloon Walled City barely maintain their control over this area lacking official authority.

Nana can no longer delay the battle; she must defeat the sea monster before the residents' fear escalates into a riot.

The problem is that even if artificial muscle fibers are combined with magic to punch the opponent in Strength Mode, making them spin like a top between storefronts, the sea monster's multi-layered shell and tough muscles cushion the impact, making the 'knight's' punches and kicks ineffective.

That seemingly enormous body is not lacking in agility. Its sturdy white carapace is not only incredibly hard and physically thick, but its own dark purple fluid can also bind together broken pieces of the carapace. This is the real reason why Nana has no way to deal with it.

Even though the Guardian Gun's Incandescent Overload was used to deliver a Judgment Strike that pierced through its giant pincers, the entire pincers should have been cooked by now. Yet, the opponent was still full of energy and fighting back and forth with Nana. This makes it hard not to think of the so-called 'Seaborn Adaptability'.

Could this guy be an individual with high heat resistance, born from Nana roasting too many of her companions with her giant sword?

The only thing that gives Nana some comfort right now is probably the opponent's left pincer, which seems impossible to close... This at least shows the limit of the opponent's adaptability; the light cannon attack that can melt steel and even Landship armor is still effective against the sea monster.

So here's the question: with three guns left, can I replicate the miracle of the Guardian Gun's 'Judgment'?

While pondering, the black-armored knight watched as Red and several other similarly dressed longsword users drew their swords and stepped forward. The sea monster raised its scythe-like limbs without hesitation, pointing them in all directions, but its two main pincers remained aimed at him... Despite having already judged that Red and the others' attack would inevitably fail, Nana still activated her Strength Mode and launched an attack together.

Crimson light peeked through the gaps in the armor. In that instant, even the hundreds of tiny limbs hooked onto the ground couldn't keep the sea monster upright. The incredibly powerful kick even sent the vehicle-sized monster airborne. Seeing this, Red's blade crackled with flames, and he shouted, "Now!"

But just like similar attacks that Nana had repeated several times before, most of the supporting slashes from the surrounding area were interfered with or blocked by the scythe-like limbs on the side of the sea monster... Even when Red himself bypassed the limbs and aimed at the carapace to analyze the attack, it only added another clanging sound to the 'hardware shop'-like battlefield.

"So hard?!"

"Don't just stand there, scatter!"

These white-robed the Infected wielding longswords were mostly members of the 'Avengers' who followed Red during the Reunion Movement. Having spent a long time scheming against feudal forces in Ursus, they might not be physically strong, but they all had their own set of insights and judgments when assessing situations.

The moment Red shouted "Scatter!", the Avengers, who had been attacking from the same direction, scattered in all directions. If the sea monster hadn't taken another punch from the black-armored knight head-on, it might have spun around in place and been stunned... The way this attack was executed would have left anyone who took the hit stunned for three seconds before they could react.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Red also stood beside the 'Knight' in a commanding posture:

"Medic?"

Lingyi Qishi Wu JiuIVjiu "It's me."

Although the voice changer on the helmet made it impossible for Red to recognize Feline girl's true voice, knowing that she was still the trustworthy Rhodes Island member calmed his eyes, Red had seemed ready to run away at any moment.

"Your older sister asked us to help you, but don't count on them too much... Is there anything we can do for you?"

Nana glanced at the dents Red had made in the carapace, then at the group's longswords aimed at the users' bleeding mechanisms and the bloodied palms of the group:

"Do your spells use blood as a medium?"

"... Aren't the Infected like this? Their blood, full of Originium, is the best medium for magic, isn't it...?"

"So you know that when dealing with this kind of monster, it's best to avoid even contact with its bodily fluids, let alone getting injured?"

The electronic voice, affected by the voice changer, carried a hint of helplessness, and Red could only shrug upon hearing it.

"There's nothing we can do; it's just a matter of whether we die now or later..."

"After that, you can report to the medical station yourselves, and then... have them give me the knife..."

Seeing Red hand her his weapon without a word, Nana was slightly taken aback before accepting it.

Recalling her previous attack with steel bars reinforced with concrete, which only left slight marks on the sea monster, Nana looked at the weapon in her hand, which the user clearly maintained meticulously every day, and said:

"It might break..."

"That's still better than losing your life for no reason. You don't even have to fight that monster yourself, and there's a free follow-up medical check-up. What's there to complain about?"

As he spoke, Red took another weapon tossed to him by his underling and gestured for Nana to look ahead... The monster that had hesitated before, unsure of who to chase, seemed to have finally identified the greatest threat at the moment. This was clearly a single-choice question with no other options.

Faced with the sea monster that was once again poised to charge at her, seemingly invincible, Nana examined the long sword in her hand, signaling Red to stay away, and pondered the final solution to the current problem.

Even though it's similar to the greatsword given by Nian, Red's longsword's spellcasting unit is also fire... However, unlike the Mica Greatsword, which can summon magma and instantly seal the hollowed-out pipes of Mobile City, the flames of Red's longsword, even if Nana activates them in overload mode, are unlikely to produce the same temperature effect as the Mica Greatsword.

Even if you overload it to the point of breaking it, it would only reach a level similar to Franka's Thermite Sword... However, Franka's Thermite Sword module can be used multiple times, and the weapon in my hand is already on the verge of being scrapped just by reaching that temperature.

However, a slash that will destroy the target in one hit does not mean it is weak... After fighting the sea monster without using the Mica Sword, Nana now understands that only by completely tearing, carbonizing, and pulverizing the opponent can it be rendered immobile.

Although Red's longsword cannot be compared to Nana's 'Silver Dancer' in terms of quality, steel is steel.

That fatal strike, which was akin to melting and self-destructing, was something even a sea monster could not ignore... The flames burned on the longsword, turning the steel crimson and incandescent, and the molten iron dripped to the ground like blood, causing the knight's hand armor components to issue overheat warnings.

With the cooling turbines in its lower back and ankles running at maximum power, even a monster devoid of reason could probably understand that the black-armored knight before it was no longer planning to roam... Opening its intact right pincer, the scythe-like limbs sliced through the ground, the clattering limbs charging to their limit. It also understood that only a head-on confrontation was its only chance to injure that terrifying black-armored enemy.

Unaffected by the atmosphere of the decisive battle between the parties involved, Rope, who had been watching the central government from afar, became increasingly uneasy.

The Little Bunny with long purple hair kept looking around. Of course, she remembered that Nana had given the instruction before the battle. "Just wait for permission to carry out the annihilation battle." But she didn't understand why the sea monster seemed to be cooperating with her side, with its battle pace sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

If the other side were simply following their captain's lead based on their 'warrior' instincts, that would be fine. Nana could have reasoned whether to wait or not, but why should the sea monster cooperate with their rhythm?

Based solely on his own experience living in the shantytown, Rope completely failed to understand those monsters... Just yesterday in that building, they acted quite naively, simply accumulating nutrients and 'living' based on biological instinct, weren't they?

So... while everyone else awaits further permission from Lungmen, and while the people in the neighborhood are currently far from the battlefield, what is that monster waiting for?

If the sea monster was truly driven only by instinct, shouldn't it have fled when it realized the battle was going badly and victory seemed impossible? Why did it insist on staying in that neighborhood and fighting to the death?

Having always lived as the underdog Rope knows that if someone insists on not retreating when facing someone they seem unable to win... aside from what they consider the elements of victory on the battlefield, there must be no other reason.

Seaborn definitely has some kind of conspiracy, but it's too much to Rope to judge, given that she's a complete idiot and only has a superficial understanding of the enemy... Fortunately, Rhodes Island never needs anyone to fight alone. Rope, who was live-streaming on her phone, quickly reported her guesses to the Frontline Command. Meanwhile, the team members who had finished their encounters with Seaborn in other areas were also giving Rope advice.

[Mika: Watch out for the water tank! Yesterday, when we were getting close to our target, we saw flower-like monsters sprouting from it... They can launch long, spear-like projectiles, and they're quite powerful.]

[Liskarm: A monster nurtured by the Nethermark that extend along the waterway. Speaking of Nethermark, it's not just about the toxins they create; even a thin, invisible layer can cause mental damage to unprotected individuals... Today, when the Thunder Team was eliminating Seaborn, they discovered some poor souls experiencing hallucinations. Their delirious behavior almost made us think they were members of the Church of the Deep or the Shanhai Congregation... Thankfully, we didn't kill them outright.]

The cultivation of Nethermark on waterways... are there still ordinary people without protection?!

The Little Bunny's first reaction was to cover her breathing mask, then she looked in horror at the Kowloon Walled City buildings behind her, which were completely unprotected and had become a complex network of waterways after years of renovations...

While searching for various water storage devices hidden in the narrow gaps of buildings, relying on childhood memories, Rope, after being reminded, quickly noticed several leaking water filters or storage tanks that seemed unremarkable at first glance but are now highly suspicious:

"Ninth Miss, could we try attacking those things?! They might be Pollution!"

"What?"

Clearly, although Rhodes Island's identity had been confirmed by Chen, even a former member of the Guard Bureau was momentarily stunned by the Little Bunny's demand to destroy the property of its own residents.

The water tanks seemed to react to Rope's words. Seeing that the containers he pointed out deformed differently due to the different materials of their outer shells, and that they all expanded from the inside out, Rope's subconscious reaction was that these people were hopeless, and then he tried to hide.

In times of crisis, you may not be the fastest runner, but as long as you anticipate danger before those around you, you can be safe before others die, and then you just need to wait for things to be resolved... Rope is very experienced in this.

But as she watched several water tanks around her swell and deform, the girl, instinctively wanting to hide in the shadows, looked down and saw the Rhodes Island uniform in her arms. Its owner was fighting for everyone... Should she really run...? Could she really run?

As Rope glanced at his phone, examples of his companions 'being able to throw spears' and 'affecting unprotected ordinary people' flashed through his mind. Although he was terrified, the newly recruited Rhodes Island special agent gritted his teeth and threw out the grappling hook. Only now did Jiu and the other locals notice the containers that were severely deformed, with petal-shaped chitinous shells of varying sizes unfolding from them.

"Everyone be careful--!"

The slender grappling hook moved in tandem with its Rope owner, precisely entangled the one closest to the crowd within several transforming containers.

The water filter, which was barely squeezed into the gap in the building, was severely deformed under Seaborn's shaping. The sand and other filter materials inside were only saved by the support of the Nethermark, which prevented it from becoming a ticket to another world for a randomly selected member of the public.

Like a flower unfolding its javelin... or rather, an arrow-like sea monster flower, it had just locked onto a distant target with its eyes when a sudden trap and external force dragged it and forcibly changed its direction.

The chitinous arrow slammed into the wall, its sharp point embedded and unable to be fired... Just as Rope and the others cheered, the Rope suddenly pulled Ansuo to the ground, her blue-trimmed Rhodes Island uniform obscuring the fallen girl's vision.

All people saw was Seaborn, who was only half the size of a person, pull the arrow straight out of the wall, and then point the arrow and his gaze at the end of the grappling hook.

In this silence, Seaborn's creation silently carried out its mission... The three 'flower' crossbows were quietly fired.

Of the three arrows that were originally aimed at the black-armored knight from different directions, only two successfully hit their original targets. However, thanks to Rope's warning, Nana simply dodged the 'long-handled arrow' that was spraying some kind of liquid in the air, and the knight's incandescent, high-heat flaming longsword cut straight into the gap in the armor.

As the Avengers continued to toss weapons to the 'knight,' the molten longsword cut in and solidified, the sea monster's howls grew louder, but its movements gradually stiffened... Clearly, no matter what kind of animal it is, once its joints are damaged, it cannot move... This should be as obvious as a person dying when killed, but in Seaborn's case, 'how to achieve' this effect took a considerable amount of time to figure out.

Stepping back down the molten, longsword-like staircase to the monster's spine, Nana finally fired the original shot into the monster's ganglia, burning all the flesh along with the eyeballs. Only then did she look uneasily into the distance.

The previously composed Ms. Jiu was now frantically waving and calling out something. After recalling who the person originally surrounded by the crowd was, Nana arrived at the front of the crowd like a storm.

Is that child still alive?

"Has the doctor not arrived yet?"

"No one else should touch her to avoid causing further injury..."

Ignoring the gradually falling silent crowd, the knight, covered in dried flesh and blood from the Seaborn, didn't even greet Red, who had just fought alongside her. Nana squeezed into the silent crowd and then saw her own uniform lying on the ground, struck by an arrow. The crimson splattered in the center of the arrow was dazzling.

Huh? My own uniform?

Before the sorrow could reach his heart, a 'mental damage' warning suddenly appeared on the knight's armor, the source of which was the bright red stain spreading on the arrow shaft.

Furthermore, Rope's current upward-facing posture and the structure of her uniform... if Nana remembers correctly, wasn't that thing modified for bulletproof protection in Siracusa?

It's new technology from Continental Hotel, after all. Even if the other side is a sea monster, it should still be somewhat effective.

With mixed feelings, Nana knelt down on one knee and then tried to lift her uniform... Then Nana saw Anso's expression turn into a dead Rope.

Yes, the arrow did not penetrate the bulletproof material... The scarlet color seemed to be just Seaborn's enhanced mental damage toxin.

[System notification: Operator Rope suffered severe mental damage. Please begin first aid immediately.]

Looking at the Little Bunny, paralyzed and unable to speak, only able to express her dissatisfaction through facial expressions, Nana, whose helmet armor plates had folded down, showed a hint of apology. But in her slightly dark, heterochromatic eyes, perhaps still lingered a smile of past regret: