"These weapons are pretty advanced—no comparison to Reunion."
Watching the equipment used by the Deep Pool forces below, Daniel Davis couldn't help but recall the gear Reunion had used before. Compared to this, it was like heaven and earth.
Reunion's weapons had been almost entirely outdated, most of them crude, improvised creations. But Deep Pool? They were already using gear that hadn't even been officially deployed yet.
Take, for example, those Deep Pool soldiers floating mid-air—they were using Victoria's steam-propulsion devices, which were supposed to be experimental tech from the military labs. Apparently, Deep Pool had been turned into their field testers.
"And their leader—now there's a real idealist. Looks like they're trying to build an elite force by combining the strengths of all Terra's nations."
Deep Pool's units were clearly divided by class, and their battle formations even showed echoes of formal military doctrine. They weren't just charging blindly like Reunion had. Instead, they had studied and combined military tactics from Victoria, Minos, and others.
The same went for their gear: a fusion of technology from Victoria, Laterano, Kazimierz, and Minos. For instance, the masks worn by Deep Pool soldiers weren't basic masks like those of Reunion. These were crafted by shadow casters—refractive masks that could resist Originium Arts to some extent.
"They thought they were welcoming saviors—turns out it was bringers of death. Heh."
Daniel watched a Taran rush forward, excitedly waving as Deep Pool soldiers arrived, expecting to be rescued. What he got instead was a massive fireball from a Deep Pool caster.
And this was precisely why neither Daniel nor the Doctor could stop the war: both the Victoria military and Deep Pool had chosen to support one side. Each bore responsibility for the conflict, and innocents were caught up on both sides. Supporting either would go against Rhodes Island's principles—so withdrawal was the only option.
Not even Outcast could use her well-known method to end this war. Once, she'd been ordered to mediate a conflict between two factions. When negotiations failed, she decided to eliminate both leaders. The result? The factions turned on her and hunted her down. But with their leaders dead, larger casualties were avoided.
But those had been ordinary factions. This time, the hatred had been deliberately stoked—ethnic conflict between entire peoples. Even children had been affected, like that Taran boy named Craig.
In this situation, even if the leaders were killed, the people below would keep fighting—perhaps with even more desperation. The only thing that could make them pause was the harsh reality of war itself.
"Waivan. No wonder they're called Waivan."
Daniel soon lost interest in the Deep Pool troops wrecking havoc in the streets. Instead, he went looking for Outcast and Kirara. He found Kirara swinging a makeshift wooden stick and knocking a Deep Pool heavy infantryman flying. A Taran girl—likely the Cielsha she'd mentioned earlier—was by her side, with Oliver following behind them.
Outcast was there too, using her revolver to suppress a group of casters guarded by heavy infantry. Though it was a revolver, her bullets had the power of hand cannons, forcing the heavy troops to defend with all their might and keeping the casters from showing their faces.
"Mist Veil."
Seeing more Deep Pool troops rushing in, Daniel clapped his hands together. A thick mist enveloped the area around Kirara and the others.
"This way."
The sudden fog made Outcast and the others tense up—they thought it might be an enemy Arts attack. But when they saw Daniel's silhouette, they finally relaxed.
"What are you doing here? What about the Doctor?" Outcast asked once they reached a safe place.
"Don't worry, she's safe. You should head back and get ready to evacuate."
"What are you planning?"
Noticing that Daniel wasn't coming with them, Outcast asked curiously.
"Even if we can't stop the war, we can still reduce the damage. There are a few people on the Deep Pool side that need to be taken out."
Daniel was referring to the six Deep Pool commanders Outcast had once taken down in a suicide mission. These six were infamous and powerful—and all were wanted by Laterano. Now Daniel understood why Outcast had been willing to sacrifice herself to eliminate them.
As far as Daniel was concerned, Deep Pool wasn't worth respecting. In fact, after the Little Hill County incident, the name "Deep Pool" wouldn't even be known. The world only knew them as the Ghost Army.
It was only after the Deep Pool incident that they began operating publicly under the banner of "liberating the Tarans" and "resisting Victoria's tyranny."
But those were just slogans. The fact that they had made those six people commanders said it all—Deep Pool was a terrorist organization.
An accountant, a convict, an arsonist, a toxicologist, a bandit, and an orator—these six were infamous terrorists across Terra. Compared to them, even Mephisto and that cat-thief Mandragora seemed like saints.
"You know about them?" Outcast looked at Daniel in surprise.
"I came prepared—with the Doctor. Evil must be punished."
That line had been spoken by Nearl before—and Outcast had said something similar herself: "If justice can speak for itself, what use is my gun?"
"What did you say?"
"All the Originium bombs were fakes—filled with potatoes."
Hearing that, the reporting soldier shuddered under Colonel Hamilton's cold gaze. Hamilton had believed the battle was under control—ordering the garrison to retreat while the enemy would be wiped out by the bombs. But now, at the most crucial moment, the bombs weren't bombs at all. That made his whole plan a joke.
"That's impossible," said not Hamilton, but his adjutant Hill.
"Let's go."
Hamilton stormed out with Hill and several soldiers. He needed to see it for himself.
Bang.
At the scene, Colonel Hamilton looked down at the disassembled Originium bomb, revealing potatoes inside. His gaze darkened. He drew his saber and slashed at another bomb, startling the nearby soldiers.
These were Originium-based weapons—if even one still functioned, a careless strike could detonate it and kill them all.
But their fears didn't come true. Daniel had removed every trace of Originium—energy was too valuable to leave behind.
Hamilton, consumed by fury, had acted recklessly. He immediately regretted it—but when he saw the potatoes spilling out, his rage boiled over again, and he hacked at the crates repeatedly.
"What happened?" he growled, turning his glare toward Hill. The entire shipment had passed through his adjutant's hands.
"Colonel, I don't know! I checked them myself!" Hill was now thoroughly panicked—terrified not only of Hamilton but of Deep Pool. Their internal punishments were harsh, and failure—even from someone in his position—meant a brutal end.
"How dare you! You even dared to touch this?"
Without another word, Hamilton stabbed forward with his saber. The cold flash of steel passed through Hill's heart just as he began to react.
Hill had not been weak—but Hamilton was stronger. His rank wasn't earned through nepotism.
As Hill collapsed, he stared at Hamilton, seemingly wanting to speak—but the Colonel kicked him aside.
A Deep Pool spy who had manipulated Hamilton, nearly turned all of Little Hill County into infected victims, was killed—by a man who didn't even understand the full truth.
Hamilton's reason was simple: he thought Hill had embezzled the bombs, stolen the Originium. That kind of corruption was common in the military—especially in the chaos of today's Victoria.
It was like Cocolia from Honkai Impact 3rd—a principled officer who reported corruption in the army. She was imprisoned for it because everyone, even the military court, was complicit. From there, her options were to join them or die. She eventually escaped—only due to the Honkai outbreak.
You couldn't blame Hamilton for suspecting Hill. The value of those bombs was immense—enough to live a luxurious life in any city, in any nation. Who wouldn't be tempted?
"Lieutenant, you can't go in there—" A commotion broke out nearby, followed by several figures stepping into view.
"Colonel, why are we retreating? This is—"
It was Horn, Bagpipe, and the rest of the Storm Assault Team. When Deep Pool launched their sudden attack, they had naturally sided with the garrison. But midway through the battle, the garrison had begun withdrawing, and Horn had sensed something wrong. She brought her team to investigate.
If she found the Colonel guilty of betraying Victoria, she was ready to arrest him on the spot.
Just as she was about to confront him, she saw the bombs and artillery nearby. Even though they now spilled only potatoes, she recognized them for what they were.
"You were going to—" She instantly understood why the garrison had retreated.
"Lieutenant, who gave you permission to enter?" Hamilton snapped.
"Colonel, it seems your plan didn't go too well," Horn replied coldly.
"This doesn't concern you, Skamandros. Leave at once."
"I'll be reporting this to Londinium," Horn said. "But right now, we should work together."
Though furious at Hamilton, she recognized that now wasn't the time to settle scores. Repelling the enemy came first.
"…Fine." After several deep breaths, Colonel Hamilton relented.
"Did he fail?"
Meanwhile, the expressions on the Deep Pool side turned grim. According to the plan, the dirty bombs should have exploded by now—that was the most critical part.
If the garrison had really used the bombs, Deep Pool could claim moral high ground.
"What now?"
The lack of an expected explosion made them hesitate. If they attacked now, and the enemy fired back using the same bombs—against them—it would be an absurd twist.
But waiting wasn't an option either. Deep Pool had no means to actually occupy Little Hill County. It was like Reunion trying to hold Chernobog.
Not far from Little Hill County was Cavendish County, home to another garrison. Deep Pool had cut off communications to Londinium, but it wouldn't last forever.
Che City had repelled the Ursus army thanks to Daniel—but Deep Pool had no such power. Even with Reed's sister, whose strength rivaled Talulah, they couldn't stand against Victoria's army.
"Damn it. We'll have to move."
A green-haired Feline muttered to herself and stepped forward after waiting in vain for the bombardment to start.
"Leader, the plan failed. It's up to you now—wipe them out." She smiled at Drach, who sat quietly nearby. Though she called her "leader," her tone carried no respect.
"That bastard ruined everything. I'll make him pay." A black-haired Feline growled.
"You'll go with the leader and attack," the green-haired one said, glancing mockingly at her black-haired companion before turning to six shadowy figures behind her.
"It's finally our turn. But why did you pull our troops back earlier? Are you hiding something from us?" one of the six asked suspiciously.
"The plan was made by the leader. If you have doubts, take it up with her," the green-haired Feline replied. This time, when she said "leader," her expression showed genuine respect.
"Hmph."
At that, the six fell silent.
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