Chapter 96

Along with the cold wind, a chilling interrogation filled her ears, making her heart race. As an assassin, Nana was unaccustomed to such harsh reprimands. It signified the enemy's alertness, and in missions, this usually meant a significant increase in difficulty, with the target potentially hiding and the mission failing...

Fortunately, Nana's purpose in coming here was not these people.

Supplies and equipment don't grow legs and run away; the only thing to watch out for is not letting things escalate into an uncontrollable chase... This is why Nana asked the convoy to block the hidden parking lot cleared in the woods.

"Who is it?! If you don't speak up, we'll treat you like a black bug!!"

Nana didn't know what 'black bugs' were, but through the cover of the vehicles and forest trees, and with the unexpectedly useful camouflage of her black and white clothing, Nana spotted the two men who had asked the question...

A white outer robe suitable for snow, a military vest with its identification tags removed, and stained white strips of cloth wrapped around the armbands where they should have been... Although wearing ammunition pouches, he wasn't carrying a gun; his only weapon seemed to be the poorly maintained machete in his hand.

At first glance, it looks completely out of place.

Nana felt she could take them down as easily as Frostleaf could take down her own family. (Umbrella)

Neither the machete nor the single-shot hunting crossbow was a problem for Nana.

Considering that the opponent had stopped advancing and was instead looking to retreat and find reinforcements, Nana's fingertips brushed against the pouch at her lower back, and a blue and white chitinous butterfly knife was swung out of its sheath.

As the members who used white cloth strips to identify themselves as the Guerrillas grew increasingly uneasy, Nana decided to take immediate action.

As the crossbow-wielding the Guerrillas suggested retreat, before their comrades could respond, the matter was over in the blink of an eye. (Weeping)

The sharp whooshing sound was followed by the breaking of the taut hunting crossbow mechanism. The crossbow wire lashed out to both sides like a whip, and the terrifying snapping sound startled the user. At the same time, a dark shadow came crashing down on his face... It was his companion, who had been dealt with without a sound and even turned into a blunt weapon to attack him.

Further ahead, the Halo dimmed, and like a shooting star, she darted out and punched the knife-wielding man in the stomach, knocking Nana unconscious and foaming at the mouth... The assassin girl even instinctively caught the two of them, preventing them from falling face-first into the snow.

"... So weak..."

Without any magical counterattack, warning, or anticipated counterattack, and without even the willpower to persist in sending out an attack signal, Nana easily took down the two the Guerrillas members who were unaware of their allegiance.

However, thinking that her own members were probably not even as good as them, Nana had to purse her lips... Then she directly tore off one of their white robes and put it on herself, and casually used zip ties to tie their fingers and legs, gagged them, and threw them under the bushes, hoping that they wouldn't mind the pine needles around them when they woke up... At least Nana used the pine needle sap to stop the crossbowman's nosebleed.

She retrieved her butterfly knife, picked up another person's sword, adjusted Nana the Guerrillas attire, pulled up her hood, and continued forward. She soon spotted the ribbon markings that Frostleaf had mentioned... but unlike Frostleaf's description, these now included a flag in addition to the single ribbon.

Like an hourglass, or like the threads of life—genes... The intersecting marks at the four corners are like engravings given by Originium, while the paint on the flag itself has peeled off, making it look even more mottled, as if fresh, bloody flesh is being peeled away.

Silently memorizing the flag, Nana began to observe this so-called Easter Egg Point... It was a camp that expanded outward from a semi-buried building, seemingly prioritizing concealment, as both its living facilities and storage cellars were built in a very inconspicuous manner.

Because there is no water source, this place was never intended to be a long-term living camp from the beginning, and naturally there is no dedicated watchtower.

Two or three the Guerrillas dressed in snow camouflage were on guard duty in the treetops, but seemingly because they were on guard against the Landship, they were mostly looking up at the trees... while the camouflage they were using to protect themselves was completely exposed to Nana under the Bloodfiend's Witchcraft.

Using the blind spot to enter the camp, these unknown the Guerrillas seemed to have been there for some time, with various supplies that should have been stored in the frozen cellar now piled up haphazardly on the ground.

Just as Nana was looking at the camp scene, which was completely different from what Frostleaf had described, and was at a loss as to where to start, the camp gate was suddenly pushed open. Nana subconsciously turned around and pretended to check the supplies, but the chilly feeling on the back of her head made Nana lunge forward to avoid the sneak attack from behind.

"So... how did Sankta infiltrate our demon race's ranks?~"

Turning around, she saw a Sarkaz mercenary dressed as a Mercenaries, wielding his signature Mercenaries... Nana first glanced at the scattered cans of food, many of which had been cut open in the attack, then realized her Halo was still on...

As other the Guerrillas shouted "Enemy attack!" and surrounded her, Nana watched expressionlessly as the Sarkaz Mercenaries in front of her swung his greatsword as if loosening his wrist. Nana felt she could still salvage the situation:

"I am not your enemy..."

"Ha~ A Sankta who sneaked into the Sarkaz Mercenaries's center... You say she's not our enemy? Who knows what that means!"

Seeing the opponent launch another attack, and all surrounding routes blocked... she retreated again to avoid the slashes infused with corrosive Witchcraft. After noticing how gleaming the opponent's greatsword appeared in her vision, Nana suddenly understood why her infiltration had been detected so instantly...

It was Witchcraft. Sarkaz's sensitivity to Witchcraft was like a light in the night sky... Nana was also using Bloodfiend Witchcraft to suppress the Halo, which is why the other party could sense her approach even from inside the house...

However, since the other party knew about Witchcraft, wasn't he curious why Sankta would use Witchcraft and yet be so humble, only dodging and not retaliating?!

Clearly, the Sarkaz with his irritable expression didn't care about that.

It seemed that the frail Sankta girl before him had triggered some strange fetish in him and the Sarkaz Mercenaries around him. Amidst the jeers and laughter of the crowd, the Sarkaz greatsword user swung his weapon at Nana even faster and more frantically... Even when Nana reminded him again that she would retaliate if he continued like this, it only drew more unrestrained mockery.

Ultimately, with no way to avoid it, the splatter of Witchcraft on Nana's the Guerrillas disguise completely eroded Nana last bit of patience.

She swiftly ripped open the vest filled with rations, flung behind her a white the Guerrillas robe stained with corrosive Witchcraft... Upon seeing Nana's inner garments, the Sarkaz Mercenaries in front of her seemed to have their throats grabbed, suddenly falling silent with a 'squeak'. As Nana drew her pistol in an instant, as if ingrained in her instincts, the assassin girl expressionlessly opened fire on the group of Sarkaz before her.

Having just moved around among the supply crates, Nana had already gotten a clear look at her surroundings... three burly Sarkaz armed men, equipped with heavy armor and heavy axes. In non- Saint Mode, even a glancing blow from them would be a serious injury. Nana was constantly aware of their distance from her.

There were about ten Sarkaz greatsword Mercenaries like the one in front of him, most of them behind him. They had come out of the supply depot inside the building together... There were less than ten other ordinary races, most of them in front of him... They were the ones who were shot down in a series of shots.

As deafening gunshots erupted like flowers in the center of the crowd, Nana, with a crimson Halo like a shooting star, charged out from the front. With several Witchcraft reactions behind her, Nana suddenly crouched down to dodge a series of spells, then abruptly overturned a pile of tin cans on the ground.

"Watch out for Firearms Arts!!"

By the time the other party uttered those words seriously, Nana had already created distance and broken through the encirclement.

As the canned goods exploded in mid-air after being hit by a barrage of magic, releasing a deluge of aromas from various fruits, animal fats, and carbohydrates, the girl flicked her wrist, ejecting an empty magazine while simultaneously inserting a new one...

At this moment, both Sankta and Sarkaz were unusually angry, and both sides unanimously blamed the other for the unexpected incident in the conflict, especially the unexpected waste of resources.

Leaving aside the Sarkaz swearing in Victoria, Nana not only felt sorry for the high-quality canned goods from Victoria, Ursus, and even Columbia... but even a seasoned assassin couldn't help but frown when she saw the magazine she had quickly loaded and thrown fall into the blown-open can.

Nana decided that if the magazine didn't turn into a pineapple or lard smell, she would definitely clean up the battlefield and retrieve it later.

As the aroma of canned food made her mouth water, she remembered that she hadn't eaten any proper meat for many days, either eating refugee meals with refugees or secretly munching on compressed biscuits. Nana's anger almost turned her back into the heterochromatic-eyed Feline.

Do you even know that cats eat meat?!

Thankfully, she had initially held back and hadn't seriously injured the sentry. Feeling that her carefulness had been a waste of her emotions, Nana immediately resonated her Witchcraft with the Laterano Gun in her hand.

Black flames began to burn, and cracks like those on Chai Xin's flames appeared on the crimson Halo. At this moment, among all the Sarkaz Sorcery, Nana was undoubtedly the most conspicuous:

"You... you're courting death..."

She raised her hand and fired three shots at the Guerrillas member who was still using a crossbow to suppress her. Long-term training had enabled Nana to deliver the two most lethal shots—two to the chest and one to the head—even without careful aiming, ensuring certain death...

As Nana gathered power in her left hand that was exactly the same as the opponent's spell, a violent explosion brought up a black shockwave, blowing away the enemy's tin can bunker and all the Sarkaz... The explosion was loud enough that not only the enemies in the mountain camp and the cellars in the houses, but even the refugee group below the mountain probably noticed the battle.

At this moment, Nana only hoped that they would obediently go far away, after all, Nana had not found the 'Commander' since the start of the battle... This made Nana increasingly alert.

If it were just the Guerrillas themselves lacking a commander, that wouldn't matter. However, the Sarkaz are essentially a race that admires strength... Since they still retain the attire and combat rules of Mercenaries, there's no reason why they wouldn't have a 'leader'...

After talking with Ah Fu for so many days, Nana knows that the position of leader of the Sarkaz Mercenaries is mostly held by the strongest member of the team... So where is the strongest member of this team?

If we don't control him...

Enraged, he blasted a hole in the forehead of the Sarkaz dared to raise his weapon against him. The black light pierced through the Mercenaries, knocking him backward and simultaneously taking down a white-robed the Guerrillas... However, the Guerrillas fighter seemed to have stopped attacking him.

These people, who were just carrying ordinary civilian single-shot crossbows and poorly maintained ordinary swords, would now instinctively back away when they met Nana's gaze...

The Sarkaz fared slightly better, as they were physically stronger than the average race. Apart from a few who had their minds directly opened, most of the Sarkaz, though dazed and confused by Nana's magic, realized that she was not someone to be trifled with, and were now seriously confronting Nana with their weapons.

"... This guy..."

"Sankta, is he such a terrifying enemy?!"

"Damn, this is clearly no ordinary Sankta. Your attire... are you some kind of legendary Pontiff's Gun Knights?!"

Seeing that these guys were chattering away and steer the conversation astray, Nana, her face dark, shot down another fool who was still pointing a crossbow at her and shouted:

"... Has anyone ever seen the Pontiff's Gun Knights use Witchcraft...? I've already said I'm not your enemy, why are you forcing me to take action...?"

"Hmph, don't get cocky... The captain has a gun too. You're dead when she gets back... Ah, Captain!"

It was like a jolt of electricity to my forehead; that faint sense of Witchcraft mixed with Originium Arts suddenly appeared in the distance...

Nana could tell that it was a variant of a communication spell, but because Nana had used it occasionally in the past, she was very clear about its application scenarios... It was Originium Arts that put explosives into a ready-to-activate state.

Upon realizing this, Nana instantly unleashed all her power... The Halo and wings burning with black flames instantly turned incandescent, and as the monotonous Halo transformed into a cross shape, the Light Wings disappeared, and the dazzling light immediately subsided, turning into a faint blue.

As I experienced an incomprehensible auditory hallucination, the world itself seemed to slow down.

Upon discovering that the explosives were in the 'parking lot,' Nana mustered all her strength and prepared herself to confront the despicable enemy who was threatening her with others.

However, when she actually turned around and saw the white-haired Sarkaz girl in black clothes and a red skirt, the girl's dazed expression made Nana ultimately not pull the trigger.

The miracle was fleeting. By the time W reacted, she had already been disarmed by the gray-haired girl with the Cross-Star Halo, who had taken the bomb's detonator... But even so, she still stared intently at Nana.

Appearance, hair color, clothing...

A Sankta...

Wearing His Highness's clothes...

Although when she first saw the other woman, the Sarkaz woman with red horns and highlights did feel a sense of nostalgia, and it was as if she saw someone else over her.

But the more I look at it, the more I think about it, the more I feel it's blasphemous!

The Sarkaz Mercenaries named W inexplicably became extremely angry in Nana's eyes:

"How dare you defile His Highness like this?!"

Before Nana could react, the person who was being restrained, even at the risk of having their shoulder dislocated, turned around and kicked her... Just as Nana was about to ask what the other person saw through her clothes and was considering loosening her grip slightly, the Mercenaries named W suddenly smirked and tossed out a package... bomb?!

At such close range?

Moreover, without a detonator, the bomb, detonated using Originium Arts, exploded almost directly next to the two of them.

Protected by the 'Lord' Nana only left two tracks in the snow before standing up immediately. From a distance, she saw Sarkaz Mercenaries with a crazed expression, covered in wounds from the explosion, showing Nana the 'detonator'... Wait, what's this in my hand?!

Without time to think, seeing that this crazy guy really intended to press, Nana pounced again at top speed. The two collided with a loud 'bang', making a painful sound, and then rolled together in a heap.

Just as Nana had placed her hand on the man's neck, preparing to snap the neck of this guy who might be the source of her nightmares, the Mercenaries known as W frowned again at Nana's expressionless face.

"Wait, we seem to have met somewhere before... Ah!! You son of a bitch!!"

Without hesitation this time, Nana, along with the other party's second controller, clenched her hand into a ball, a mixture of flesh and blood... Just as Nana began to move her other hand, the voices of the Sarkaz came from afar:

"You--don't--fight--anymore--!"

What, can't we kill anyone like this?

I'm just one step away from killing her.

"Um... My Lord? Take a look over here?"

Hearing the familiar voice mixed with the uneasy sobs of a young girl, Nana looked in that direction in disbelief... Although Ah Fu, being Sarkaz, didn't seem to have been treated rudely, Mary, dressed in a nun's habit, was surrounded by several Sarkaz wielding weapons, while Frostleaf, alone with her weapon, didn't know whether to look ahead or behind.

Seeing this, Nana, her face dark, grabbed W, who was barely breathing and still had a foul mouth and a lot of "motherly" remarks.

"... So, do you really think we can negotiate after attacking first, taunting first, and fighting to this point?"

Nana shook the W in her hand, whose neck had begun to weaken after being gripped by fate, and pointed her gun at the Sarkaz opposite her:

"I'm giving you one last warning: drop the hostages, or there's nothing more to discuss."

Nana's toughness surprised everyone. And seeing Nana pull the hammer and cock her pistol, the Sarkaz, lacking any confidence in gaining an advantage in the fight, exchanged glances, as if collectively holding their breath... Then, in unison, they immediately threw their weapons to the ground and raised their hands high.

"... Then... does what you said before, that we're not enemies... still hold true?"

PS: A grumpy cockroach meets an even grumpy cat... Even Nana's Saint Mode has been activated, and her W skill is just one step away from sending everyone to their deaths with its electric signal... Clearly, Nana's Sandevistan is still the stronger one...

As we all know, warlocks cannot cast spells normally when in severe pain... so it's understandable that W couldn't use the backup spell portal to activate the stockpiles in those trucks... let's just leave it at that.

Otherwise, I really can't explain why W couldn't activate her bomb... It can't be that it just can't be lit without the detonator.

PS2: Meow Meow Cat

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 101 Loyal Dog II

Nana hates all unnecessary fighting, not just because of a habit she developed during past ICA missions of only targeting mission objectives... but more importantly, because fighting itself is just pointless destruction.

Even excluding the extra work of cleaning up the battlefield and erasing traces, which might be more difficult than the mission itself, Nana rarely fought so extravagantly as she had today, out of consideration for the ICA Cleaners. (Lin)

While it might not reach the point of being questioned about 'what exactly did you protect?', in a long-term mission with unclear follow-up steps, a single all-out battle could easily result in the embarrassing situation of expending great effort but gaining nothing.

The Sarkaz Mercenaries moved nearly half of the supplies from this Easter Egg Point, and then nearly a third of the supplies piled on the ground were destroyed in the battle between Naiqun Liu Bajiu V Lingsi and the Mercenaries.

In the final battle between Nana and W, the small amount of fuel in the supplies was directly ignited, further exacerbating the damage to the supplies and the base... One warehouse was half burned down, over 80% of the supplies piled on the ground were destroyed, and much of the remaining supplies had damaged packaging, either exposing the contents or making it impossible to recognize what they were. Qi

If they remained optimistic, perhaps they could still hope for the remaining supplies in the underground warehouse... but Nana wasn't in the mood. After the Sarkaz Mercenaries surrendered, Nana, along with Ah Fu and Eileen, devoted themselves to treating the wounded.

Of course, only the Guerrillas and Sarkaz Mercenaries were injured, so logically Nana could just leave them alone... But the problem is, Nana needs intelligence from the Guerrillas... and W's team is a staunch supporter of the White Emperor, certified by Ah Fu.

Ah Fu even said that this guy named W was the kind of person who would perish with the Babel, and it wouldn't be surprising if he ultimately self-destructed... Even Eileen agreed with Ah Fu's assessment.

Finally, with the added persuasion of Lady Athena, Nana completely gave up the idea of silencing the Mercenaries... Unlike Ah Fu and Eileen, who were seen in towns and the Babel, W followed the prince like a puppy.

Lady Athena testified that she once saw W, as a guard, talking with that prince and a green Feline on Rhodes Island... Although the conversation itself was just some mundane stuff, like whether the automatic doors on the Landship would open or not, or the dormitory's power supply was insufficient... seeing W at Babel and seeing W on Rhodes Island were completely different things.

Just as the agent has a very close working relationship with Kal'tsit, the relationship between Babel and Rhodes Island might be similar to that of the agent... If we extrapolate from that, W's relationship with Rhodes Island might be similar to my relationship with Rhodes Island.

Nana is now starting to worry that she might have attacked the wrong ally... However, when asked if W was from the Babel, the Sarkaz girl seemed to ignite her crimson eyes with rage:

"The Babel... Ha, I have nothing to do with that organization now..."

"Now that Ah Fu and Eileen have confirmed your identity, are you going to sever ties with the Babel?"