Arknights, Suika's Messenger Journey

But there was one crucial question.

What kind of object or force could split a landship nearly a hundred meters tall and over three hundred meters long cleanly in two with a single blow?

The images sent back clearly showed that there was nothing else at the point where the landship had broken apart.

Where had the object that attacked the landship gone?

And where had something capable of causing such immense destruction disappeared to?

If the enemy could instantly destroy the Warrior, could it also pose a threat to a mobile fortress?

For a moment, cold sweat kept running down everyone's backs.

Faced with this situation, Ursus naturally no longer had the courage to continue pursuing Suika. Compared to Suika, they wanted even more to find out what kind of attack had produced such a terrifying result.

After they stopped chasing her, Suika finally got some peace and quiet.

In a cave more than ten kilometers away from the attack site, after dealing with the local inhabitants, Suika lay down in a corner and slept soundly.

When she woke up, it was already the next morning.

Farewell, Ursus!

At this moment, Ursus was in complete chaos.

Detectors all over the country had picked up the frequency of that same vibration that had appeared before.

The source was precisely the location of the destroyed Warrior.

After witnessing the Warrior's miserable state, the military unanimously concluded that this had to be Great Yan's newly prepared city-destroying strategic weapon.

The first time had been a preliminary test outside Lungmen. The second time had been a test on a stationary target in the Ursus interior.

This was the third time. It had directly attacked a High-Speed Battleship in motion and struck successfully, completely destroying the warship in an instant.

If Great Yan used this weapon against Chernobog or another mobile fortress, what would the outcome be? They did not even dare to imagine it.

"We need to reinforce the Great Yan border. We must begin conscription immediately!" someone proposed.

The proposal received unanimous approval. In the eyes of these nobles, whether it was the Reunion Movement or the New Reunion Movement, even if they raised their heads, they were nothing more than minor irritants.

But if this thing truly was a secret weapon from Great Yan, then it might spell national ruin for Ursus.

Faced with Ursus's sudden troop buildup, Great Yan was baffled. Thinking that Ursus was preparing to attack, they had no choice but to mobilize a large army toward the Ursus border as well.

Although no war broke out, the distant standoff between the two armies drew all of Ursus's attention away.

Although The Black Snake believed they should take the opportunity to eliminate the Reunion Movement, he had to admit that this was also the best opportunity for the New Reunion Movement to develop.

Thus, for the sake of his upcoming plans, he could only temporarily leave the Reunion Movement alone.

Completely unaware that a single punch had diverted all of Ursus's attention, Suika walked along a broad road.

"Wow! What a tall mountain. I should be out of Ursus now, but where exactly am I?"

With her hands on her hips, Suika looked at the mountain ahead and could not help sighing. It seemed she had gotten lost again.

She had actually expected this already.

After all, when she left the Reunion Movement, she had not been very sure where heading south would take her. On the way south, she had been chased and intercepted by Ursus troops, forcing her to change direction several times.

She had not dared enter cities in Ursus so easily. After causing such a huge commotion, if she had been wanted, running into someone else's city would have been walking straight into a trap.

So she had headed south for a long time, only relaxing once even the flowers, grass, and trees around her had changed.

Although she did not know her exact location, the style of the area made her certain that she had probably crossed out of Ursus territory.

Whether this was Victoria, Leithanien, or Kazdel, she would have to meet someone to find out.

Not knowing where she was, Suika decided to climb the mountain and look out from the top to find the nearest signs of habitation.

As a mountain deep within what was practically a primeval forest, there was no path leading from the foot of the mountain to its summit.

But that was no challenge for Suika.

With a light leap, she bounced onto the branch of a large tree, then found another place to set her feet and jumped over.

By constantly hopping from tree to tree, she soon reached the mountainside.

"Hmm, people?"

When she reached the mountainside, she sharply noticed smoke rising from the other side at the same elevation.

If it was not a natural forest fire, then there had to be people nearby.

It was spring. The surrounding area was shrouded in mist, the air noticeably damp, and the temperature was not even twenty degrees.

In this environment, spontaneous combustion was simply impossible.

So the smoke could only mean that someone was there.

Since there were people nearby, Suika naturally would not foolishly keep climbing. Instead, she changed direction and jumped toward the smoke.

When she got closer and looked from afar, she found that the source of the smoke was not a household hidden deep in the mountains, as she had first guessed, but several simple field tents.

A fire burned in the clearing outside the tents, where two women were boiling water and cooking.

The only man was gathering firewood some distance away.

After seeing the appearances of the three people, Suika was certain she had left Ursus, and that she was most likely in Leithanien.

Two of them had very obvious Caprinae horns, while the remaining person's traits were less pronounced, but she was one hundred percent not Ursusian.

In addition, the area around the tents was packed with all sorts of instruments that looked extremely advanced at a glance.

So Suika guessed they were Leithanien explorers.

After all, goats were goats. Even based on genetic instinct alone, Caprinae might have a stronger interest in mountain climbing.

Since they were not Ursusians, Suika relaxed and continued approaching them.

When she arrived not far from them, Suika could not help swallowing as she looked at the delicious food in their pot.

It was not as though she had lacked food in the Reunion Movement, but its conditions were what they were. In the wilderness during an Ursus winter, there was practically no game to catch, so having an extra meal was incredibly difficult.

Other than the banquet she had held with her powers before leaving, she truly felt that her mouth had gone bland from eating the same things for more than half a year.

Hearing someone swallow, the three people who were serving food immediately looked over warily.

The only man grabbed a wooden stick beside him and stared alertly in Suika's direction.

"Who's there?! Come out!"

Suika poked her head out from behind a tree and blinked at the three of them.

"Hello!" After trying to recall the Leithanien language, she realized that after half a year without using it, she had almost forgotten it all. After thinking for a moment, she answered timidly in the common tongue.

"A child? How did you end up here?" When they saw Suika walk out from behind the tree, the three of them finally relaxed.

The female Caprinae waved at Suika.

"Child, you look hungry. Come have something to eat."

"Really?" Suika had no objections to acting cute if it could get her food.

After Suika approached, the man went to where she had emerged and looked around. Only after finding no signs of anyone else did he return and nod at the other two.

"Slow down, don't rush. Look how hungry this child is." After handing Suika a bowl of food, the Caprinae woman watched kindly as Suika shoveled down the contents.

As people who worked outdoors, their usual rations were not particularly good. Yet the girl in front of them ate with great relish, making them wonder how long she had gone hungry.

The Volcano Couple

"Burp!" After finishing the food in her bowl, Suika bowed to the three of them with an embarrassed look.

"Thank you for the food, Uncle and Sisters."

"Wait... why do you call me Uncle but call them Sisters?" Now that they had established that Suika was alone, the mood had relaxed. Hearing the girl's thanks, the man could not help complaining.

Suika raised her head and looked at the man. Though she called him Uncle, he did not actually look that old. Of course, that might have been thanks to how most people on Terra lived far longer than ordinary humans.

So it was normal for someone in their thirties or forties to look young.

"Isn't that right?" Suika asked, pretending to be confused.

"Right, right, you're absolutely right, little sister." Unlike the dissatisfied man, the two women instantly beamed when they heard Suika's words.

As women, who did not like being told they looked young?

Compared to adults' hypocritical flattery, a child's "unintentional" praise made people much happier.

"Little sister, what's your name? It isn't safe here. How did you end up here all alone?"

Only after Suika finished eating did the other woman ask.

"Me? My name is Ibuki Suika. I'm from the Eastern Country. I was traveling with my friends in Ursus, but the Ursusians suddenly attacked us.

While we were running away, I got separated from my friends. Those adults who looked really mean kept chasing me, so I didn't dare stop. I just kept running and running, until I met you."

They looked at Suika's clothes. They were indeed rather ragged, and there were several obvious tears that looked as though they had been cut by something sharp.

As for this place, it was in northern Leithanien, indeed not far from the Ursus border.

For a child to have run so far, one could imagine how dangerous it must have been.

"When I passed through the town yesterday, I heard some news. Ursus seems to have been under martial law lately, like they're searching for someone..."

The woman who had just asked the question spoke.

The martial law and search she mentioned did indeed have something to do with Suika, and Suika had not lied to them. She and her friends, the Reunion Movement, had been attacked in Ursus. Then she had left, or gotten separated from, the Reunion Movement and headed south, only to be pursued by Ursus all the way here.

Because most of what she said had not been fabricated, after hearing those scattered reports from Ursus and matching them to Suika's story, the woman naturally filled in the rest of the experience herself.

"So that's it. Ursus has become increasingly xenophobic in recent years. Remember when our application to study the volcanoes there was rejected last year, Magna?" the man said, looking at the woman sitting beside Suika.

"Yes. Kella prepared so much information for us at the time, but the immigration bureau suspected that Katya and I were using volcanic research as an excuse to survey Ursus terrain, then rejected our entry.

It was utterly unreasonable."

The woman puffed out her cheeks in anger, then looked apologetically toward the other person in the distance.

"I never expected Ursus to reject you and Katya for that reason.

But that rejection gave you time to reorganize your thesis, didn't it?

Speaking of which, I heard your newest paper is about to be published in a journal. I haven't even congratulated you yet."

The woman smiled and shook her head. As she served everyone another bowl of hot soup, she answered.

"Wasn't that partly thanks to you, Kella? Otherwise, I couldn't have refined it so thoroughly.

Speaking of which, Kella, you don't blame the two of us for dragging you from Siesta's beautiful beaches to this wilderness, do you?"

The woman's words lit up Suika's memories like a beacon.

A male and female Caprinae who looked like scholars, along with this Liberi-like woman—were these not Eyjafjalla's parents and her teacher?

She vaguely remembered that the couple had died during some volcanic expedition, leaving Eyjafjalla an orphan. She had not expected them to still be alive at this point in time.

"Little one, it seems we've neglected you. Don't mind us." While Suika's thoughts raced, the woman named Magna reached out and patted her head, warmth in her eyes like overflowing spring water.

"Come to think of it, my child is about your age. Looking at you reminds me of Adele."

Suika blinked. She had a great deal of respect for this couple who had died unexpectedly.

It was not only because she liked little Eyjafjalla, but also because she respected these two people, who devoted themselves to research and academia without wanting to become involved in war.

As the saying went, a meal given in need was a kindness greater than heaven. Suika felt that she ought to do something.

But she did not remember which expedition or accident had caused the couple's deaths, so she could only help them in some other way.

After the meal, Katya said, "We still need to continue our exploration here, and bringing along a child would be inconvenient.

Kella, I'll have to trouble you to take this child to the nearest city tomorrow morning, then see whether you can help her contact her relatives."

It took nearly an entire day to return to the nearest town from here. It was already noon, and he assumed Suika must be exhausted after walking so far, so they decided to send her down the mountain the next morning.

Kella nodded. "No problem. We're running low on supplies anyway, so I can restock while I'm there."

After eating, the group began working. Suika sat quietly and obediently beside the fire, curiously watching what they were doing without asking questions or disturbing them.