A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

"Another one down."

Fengling's gaze sharpened as she drew another breath.

Though the process looked brief, whether it was tearing apart heavily armored enemies with her bare hands or cleverly resolving that wave through precise maneuvering...

It had indeed been quite exhausting.

"The enemy has been suppressed to a manageable number! Push harder!"

Judging by the situation, although quite a few enemies still survived in the rear, it was basically certain that they would have a hard time advancing the line any further.

Besides, after an explosion like that, how much could they still trust the weapons in their hands?

Creating that very suspicion was the effect Fengling had gone to such lengths to achieve.

She stood tall upon this battlefield.

She was a barrier those thieves could never cross.

And once the effectiveness of the units responsible for advancing and drawing fire had fallen...

In the unseen space behind Fengling, dozens of bows and crossbows belonging to Reunion Movement forces stood ready to reap the lives of anyone careless enough to expose themselves.

How much time had passed?

Talulah could no longer tell how long it had been since the battle began.

If the rear, where Fengling was stationed, faced an infiltration force led by a small number of elites...

Then the front was the true meat grinder of this battle.

The ground was already littered with all kinds of strange Originium crystals.

They were one of Talulah's trump cards.

The Originium crystals gave off a dim red glow. Under Talulah's control, they periodically spewed fireballs.

Once struck by one of those fireballs, the victim would be plagued as though by a parasite clinging to the bone. It was nearly impossible to extinguish by conventional means, and it would not stop until it had burned the target to ash.

This was the flame of the legendary race—the Draco.

The ashes and wreckage beneath Talulah's feet were already beyond counting.

The battle on the other side was even more terrifying.

It was a true mountain of corpses and sea of blood.

No one could halt Bocorcas's advance.

And he was not alone.

Though nothing as outrageous as Bocorcas's own heavy armor, behind him stood a phalanx of heavily armored soldiers numbering dozens.

Patriot's Phalanx.

The troops surrounding Bocorcas had originally been able to use their numbers and lives to hold him back for a short while.

But once this phalanx reached the battlefield, they became nothing more than ants trying to topple a tree.

Unmatched. Unstoppable.

This distinctive style of combat also filled countless enemies who had heard the rumors of Patriot with dread.

"Why... why is the legendary Patriot on Reunion Movement's side?!"

"It's that guerrilla force! I... I don't want to fight monsters like them! This is suicide!"

The situation had already become extremely unfavorable for the warlord's forces.

The rear infiltration team had been out of contact for a long time, while the front had unexpectedly failed to break through after such prolonged attacks.

Battles were fought with numbers, equipment, and tactical execution. Individual strength was ultimately limited—this was the conclusion the enemy commander had drawn from all the battlefields he had experienced in his life.

Numbers: two thousand against several hundred. An overwhelming advantage.

Equipment: standard Ursus military gear, plus a small amount of elite equipment secretly supplied by his superiors. Compared to Reunion Movement's civilian craftsmanship, another overwhelming advantage.

Tactically, they were hidden while Reunion Movement was exposed. They held the initiative and, based on their intelligence, had tailored countermeasures against Reunion Movement's elites—this should have been another overwhelming advantage.

They had even investigated beforehand and prepared an infiltration team to seize hostages, giving themselves several contingencies.

This ambush should have been a crushing victory!

The enemy commander felt like he was about to grind his teeth to pieces.

Not a single tactic had succeeded!

The rear had been obstructed by an expert who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

At the front, they had never expected Talulah and Bocorcas to possess such absurd single-point breakthrough capabilities.

And with the additional FrostNova, Reunion Movement's tactical execution had not collapsed at all. They continued their counterattack in orderly fashion.

The battle continued.

Reunion Movement's momentum only grew stronger with every clash.

The battle had begun at sunrise, and now the sun had already moved into the western sky.

After fighting for so long, fatigue was beginning to show on both sides.

They could not hesitate any longer!

At this rate, never mind winning the battle—even making it back alive would become a question!

"Artillery squad, prepare all guns!"

The camouflage tarps were pulled aside.

Six Originium mortars, long prepared for firing, were revealed.

And their target coordinates, transmitted by drones flying high overhead, clearly covered the area where Talulah stood!

Those eyes in the sky had remained far beyond the lines Reunion Movement could reach. Since they had shown no activity, no one had bothered with them.

But now, their purpose came into play.

"Fire!"

"Boom!" After several explosions rang out in unison, six massive Originium mortar shells rose into the air, trailing smoke behind them.

Yet amid those blasts came a different sound.

The report of an Originium Gun—a heavy anti-infantry Originium Gun.

The warlord commander fell straight backward.

"Too late. We can only leave it to Ace now, but he brought heavy battlefield-specialized equipment this time. There shouldn't be any problem."

Within an unnoticed shadow, a dark figure swiftly withdrew after completing his mission.

The corner of his clothing revealed the unmistakable emblem of Rhodes Island.

Rhodes Island's sharpshooting expert, a true master of concealment.

Scout.

Rhodes Island's rescue team had arrived. Given the special nature of the incident, obtaining the necessary authorization had indeed cost Rhodes Island some time.

But accordingly, for the sake of efficiency, every member of the rescue team Rhodes Island had dispatched was—

Elite Operators.

To ordinary people, a heavy Originium shell capable of flattening a considerable area was, in Scout's eyes, simply "nothing to worry about."

The shells rising into the sky were highly conspicuous.

But even with a mortar's firing trajectory, once you saw the shell, it was already extremely difficult to evade.

Talulah watched the shells that were clearly headed for her, and her pupils instinctively contracted.

Even with a Draco's powerful body, she might not die.

But taking the shells head-on would leave her seriously wounded at the very least!

Ceasefire

At that critical moment.

Something fell before the shells did: a burly man holding an incredibly thick and terrifying shield in both hands!

"Get behind me."

The massive shield, which looked difficult even for the burly man to hold with both hands, was slammed forcefully into the ground.

Then, almost instantly, the shield expanded into a quarter-sphere. A dim blue glow spread across its surface, clearly indicating that some kind of Originium Art or mechanism had been activated.

The shells struck the ground.

Terrifying shockwaves whipped up gust after gust of violent wind.

They also carried countless fragments of active Originium.

The explosions were enough to tear apart most living creatures, yet before the curved shield—which could be called heavy battlefield-specialized equipment even by the standards of the burly man standing before it—they could not breach its defense in the slightest.

The shield contained Originium mechanisms for "Gravity Enhancement" and "Originium Shield."

It was one of Rhodes Island Elite Operator Ace's specialized pieces of equipment.

It specialized in defensive positional warfare.

After the explosion had been blocked.

Another shadow descended from the sky and crashed into the ground with a boom.

As the dust cleared, it revealed a voluptuous female Feline holding a vicious-looking chainsaw.

"Alright! Everyone stop!"

The female Feline looked toward the warlord's forces, her eyes filled with dangerous intent as she shouted her warning.

"Of course, if you still dare to make a move, I don't mind having another round!"

The two unexpected reinforcements who had descended from the sky both wore Rhodes Island operator uniforms.

Ace and Blaze.

They had used their own bodies to make a high-altitude landing, delivering themselves directly onto the battlefield in the most straightforward manner possible.

"You are...?"

Talulah, who had been completely protected, looked at the burly man before her. Though she already understood from his uniform, she still decided to ask.

"Rhodes Island operator Ace. That is Blaze. We are here to rescue our operator."

Seeing that Blaze had already stunned the field with her stylish landing, Ace answered Talulah's question, his voice carrying its usual steady reliability. "And... to resolve this dispute."

"...Thank you for Rhodes Island's help."

They had not actually been obligated to save her. Talulah understood that, and so she expressed her gratitude for Ace's rescue.

"You're welcome. Their commander should already have been killed by our side. This conflict should end now."

Ace looked toward the enemy position.

Sure enough, immediately afterward, the signal for retreat was sent from their lines.

"Can Rhodes Island intervene in a battle like this? I mean... they have the backing of the Third Army. Did you... directly execute their commander?"

Facing Ace's towering figure, Talulah voiced her doubts.

"Our orders were to end this conflict and... eliminate the source of the dispute on behalf of others. Captain Tozayev of the Third Army, a criminal guilty of military corruption and the unprovoked persecution of civilians—this came under official orders from Ursus."

"What? But this conflict was clearly started by the Third Army's commander, that duke..."

Ace's words left Talulah stunned. Then, heartfelt fury surged from within her.

The enemy commander had clearly taken the blame for his superior.

The fact that she could not personally kill her enemy, while also being forced to abandon any hope of seeking justice through this lead...

Made Talulah furious.