Damaged
The Blockade Running

Before entering, I would like to go back to remind you of a few things:

Catastrophe: the name for a wide variety of natural disasters that often occur. Not limited to storms, blizzards, flash floods, and even meteor showers. Disasters (Catastrophe) occur frequently, and often at unpredictable intervals. Therefore, most civilizations can only hide from disaster by moving entire cities (Normadic City) is the name of a city that can move, one of which is Chernobog. A mineral called originium can usually be found in the area after the disaster is over. Studies show that disasters can actually be indicators of Originium spread.

Oripathy: people have found that long-term exposure to Originium and its industrial derivatives makes it more likely to be infected by an incurable disease called Oripathy, his name is commonly called The Infected. Oripathy can increase the power of art in dangerous ways. But harnessing power will speed up the process of deterioration and eventually lead to death, where the body will become the source of new infections. No matter what efforts are made to deal with the disease, little progress is made.

...*****...

"The reconnaissance is over. I can make sure the enemy chasing us has been eliminated. We have managed to break through their siege. We will soon arrive at the outskirts of Chernobog." said Doberman as he walked to Amiya, Near, Ace, and the doctor.

The Doberman just finished his last assignment. They managed to break through Reunion's army, and escaped safely without a single casualty.

"While the enemy we defeated today is only a small part of the entire army, at least we are safe now" Ace said.

For the moment they are safe. And if Mephisto wanted to, he could have gone on a chase and captured all the Rhodes Island soldiers. Given the vast army of Reunion and the presence of snipers under his command, capturing Rhodes Island was an easy matter.

No one knows what Mephisto will do next. Chasing them or letting them go according to his promise, it was all incomparable to what he had done to the citizens of Chernobog.

While fighting Reunion, if Ace had not helped him, perhaps now Nearl was dead. The art possessed by the sniper made his shot very strong. It was so strong that it was able to penetrate the shield of Nearl that the rumors were indestructible. Ace swiftly ordered his troops to shoot the archer, giving the Nearl time to go to the blind spot.

As an honorable knight, Nearl felt that he should thank Ace. Ace has done a very brave act. Indirectly, when Ace saved himself, that was the moment where Ace took on his duty as the core troop savior.

"Thank you for what you've done. I owe you one." said Nearl.

"No need to thank me. I have no right to charge a Radiant Knight. By the way. about the sniper, I think we need to talk about it. How, Nearl?"

"certain. Put aside the destructive power of the balista. I think he had prepared the turret before, as well as some other automatic rifles. I was shot from a different direction, but I only saw one sniper." said Nearl.

"I have the same feeling. The first and second shots exploded at the same time, but there was a pause between them. The arrow was fired from the same balista. At the very least, when we return fire, we're not aiming for the same sniper."

"Ace, do you realize anything?" ask Nearl.

"I'm not sure. What if the enemy moves very fast...to different points at once?"

"There can't be anyone who can move that fast. I can't imagine that happening. We can't underestimate how dangerous Reunion can be."

Fighting is something very mysterious. Anything can happen in battle. This time, Nearl and Ace felt an awkwardness as they fought with Reunion, especially against the sniper. In addition to his extremely powerful attacks, he was able to move so quickly, run from one building to another, and make extremely confusing shots. Things like this need to be discussed to minimize failure if they meet the sniper.

"This is the son of a bitch who ordered his sniper to attack you. He didn't even call his sniper when he attacked us." Doberman said.

"It looks like his disgusting personality is backed up by real power" Nearl said.

"However, he didn't attack us. Even when he's angry." Ace continued.

"So between his lacking combat abilities, or because he didn't want to show his true strength? Just looking at the strength of his command, made me very suspicious. He rules his army like a puppet." Doberman said.

"After all, we are no longer in his territory." replied Nearl.

"Miss Nearl, thank you very much. If it wasn't for you, we would have been in great danger" Amiya said after they finished the conversation. Amiya just doesn't want to cut off the talk of veteran operators. As a young operator, all Amiya could do was wait.

"On the way here, I saw many atrocities committed by Reunion. I doubt they'll stop there. There's still a chance that they'll start to make a much worse mess" Nearl said.

Near then climbed on top of the building debris to see the condition of Chernobog which had been badly damaged. The passionate woman did not say, she just kept quiet while letting the wind wipe her smooth skin.

Nearl's goal was to calm down. After the goal was obtained, Nearl then said, "What if I stay here to stop them? What if I help Ursus fight Reunion? What if I stay quiet at the rendezvous point, waiting for you to come? If I were the one, maybe the result would be much worse. I'm not good at thinking about what steps I should take in the future. The only way I know to get what I want is to keep fighting. Amiya, I'm just running errands, but you have the ability to end a crisis. This is your victory, so you need to be more confident."

"Miss Nearl.."

"Hehehe.." replied Nearl with a small smile, "Oh yeah, the person next to you must be a doctor?"

"really. But.."

"Every time I meet people, Amiya has to repeat the story of how the doctor got amnesia. It's annoying." said Doberman without looking. Dobermanns are busy watching the situation around.

"Doctor..?? Did a friend of mine lose her memory, too? After all, you must know how precious it is to live in a time like this."

"....." the doctor fell silent.

"Ending this pleasantry. Lefs go. We still have to take the doctor to Rhodes Island." said Nearl.

...*****...

"I'm sorry I failed" said a mysterious man.

"No, you don't have to apologize. This is all my fault. I lost my patience. Can you track Rhodes Island? I will report this situation to Talulah first. He should have taken over the central command tower of Chernobog. It is he who will decide the fate of the insects." replied Mephisto.

"...Alright."

"Faust, careful. Your safety is most important, okay."

One more Reunion leader's name has been revealed behind the scenes. Actually not a leader, Faust is just an accomplice of Mephisto. But with his strength, Faust could already be categorized as one of the leaders of the Reunion.

To Faust himself, he had the same posture as Mephisto. Faust was a boy. He was probably almost the same age as Amiya. Just like Mephisto, he was a very dangerous young warrior.

Faust then immediately carried out the task given by Mephisto. He brought some Reunion soldiers to accompany him in tracking down Rhodes Island.

"...My mission should be done now. There's nothing more to do. What should we do? Going hunting maybe? No, someone already did. Let's go, man. There are other tasks to be done" Mephisto told all his soldiers.

All his soldiers then left according to the orders given by Mephisto. But what did Mephisto do? He just kept silent as he stared at the departure of the Rhodes Island warriors.

"What's wrong?" ask one of the soldiers.

Mephisto turned around, then said, "Let's step forward and welcome a new era!" he said with a grin.

Seriate.