"Attack! Press the attack with full force!"
"Yes, sir!"
Facing the Defense Force's offensive, the Rebel Soldiers were no pushovers either. The power and equipment they'd amassed by every means available weren't meant to be squandered on fleeing at a moment like this.
Yet, to the Rebel Soldiers' shock, the Terrorbirds and other automated mechs that should have been fighting on their side now turned their guns on their own people.
"What!? Guhh!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
Caught utterly defenseless by the mechs' sudden betrayal, the Rebel Soldiers were mown down; after a frenzied barrage, over half the soldiers in the camp were dead or wounded in an instant.
"Damn it! Second Battalion Commander! What the hell are you playing at?!"
A general, confronted with this chaotic scene, felt his blood pressure spike with fury, and rounded on the Second Battalion Commander beside him, the man in charge of the ordnance.
"General, I—I don't know either."
As heaven and earth were his witnesses, the Second Battalion Commander truly knew nothing.
He was just a good-for-nothing who'd landed the job of managing inventory through nepotism, handing every actual task off to his subordinates—what could he possibly know?
Meanwhile, in a spot the two of them couldn't see, a pretty figure silently slipped into the shadows, a smug, triumphant smile curling at the corner of her lips.
"Just as planned! Time for this one to make her retreat."
With a twirl, she once again donned her familiar military uniform and breathable fishnet stockings. Number Four of the Silver Sisters—Nin—makes her grand entrance! A grand entrance indeed!
The chaos throughout the camp was entirely her doing. With her consummate disguise skills, she'd infiltrated the Rebel camp, then reprogrammed every last mech in the warehouse right under the enemy's nose—all for this very moment.
And now that everything was done, it was time for her to take a splendid bow.
Nin moved like a phantom, light on her feet, passing through every corner of the base unhindered, dispatching quite a few soldiers fleeing the fight along the way.
Just as she was about to leave the camp, however, she spotted a rather conspicuous figure.
"That's..."
A panicked middle-aged man was running off into the distance. He wore nothing resembling military attire, but judging by his direction, he'd definitely bolted from the Rebel base.
Watching him scramble away in such a frantic hurry, Nin instinctively wanted to give chase, but after a moment's thought she chose to retreat for the time being.
After all, the battlefield was in chaos right now, and she still had to relay the intel to Twiggy and the others; any more aggressive move might invite unforeseen consequences.
Besides, as long as the man still meant to keep stirring up trouble, there was only one place he could go.
That was the sole remaining Rebel stronghold—which happened to be the very intel she was to deliver to Twiggy and the rest.
Might as well go collect next month's stipend while I'm at it—wonder where they'll assign me this time.
So thinking, the girl turned away, put the matter of Sarah out of her mind, and continued toward the exit of the Hollow.
------
While Nin was leaving the Rebel base to deliver her intel, Geno and Lycaon arrived on the scene as well.
The two had followed the tracker all the way here, only to find that the signal had abruptly cut out once more.
With no other choice, they turned to the Defense Force on site, and Geno learned the current situation from familiar faces like Number Eleven.
"I see. Little Four really is something."
"But it's a shame—we've got no news about Hartman at the moment."
After so many mechs turned on their masters, the Defense Force's battle didn't last long, and they soon took a great many Rebel Soldiers prisoner.
"It's odd, though—among these Rebel Soldiers, we haven't found any of those special soldiers capable of Sacrifice-transformation like before."
Anby furrowed her brow, recalling the special Sacrifice soldiers she and Geno had encountered previously. She'd assumed this battle would pit them against those foes, yet to her surprise, they hadn't run into a single one.
"If they'd actually shown up on the battlefield, we'd never have taken this stronghold so easily."
Trigger wiped down her gun. Puzzled though she was, seizing this place at minimal cost was still a good thing.
"Damn it, cut out again?"
Geno clicked his tongue in frustration. There was no way to use Ether Sight to track anyone now—this was a battlefield, and the traces were far too muddled.
Bzzt bzzt bzzt~
Just as Geno was at his wits' end, a crackle of static came through the walkie-talkie on Number Eleven.
"Hello, hello, can you hear me? Hello, hello!"
"This voice... Number Four?"
Picking up the walkie-talkie, Number Eleven heard the familiar voice and instantly recognized who it was.
"Kindly address this one as the Chief Shadow Assassin—Nin."
No need to ask—it was definitely her.
Geno, standing nearby, also picked out Nin's voice, though he couldn't fathom why she'd be contacting Number Eleven at a time like this.
"Never mind, let's set all that aside for now. I've got intel on the Rebel Soldiers here, and I'll leave it for you the usual way."
Number Eleven acknowledged it—after all, Number Four's operations and whereabouts had always been classified.
"Also, on my way out of the camp I saw a strange figure. Not sure if you've got any leads on him."
As she spoke, she described the man's appearance.
Hearing it, the previously somewhat lost look in Geno's eyes instantly lit up.
"Isn't that Hartman? Where is he?!"
He'd worn out iron shoes searching in vain—only to find it without the slightest effort.
Who'd have thought Nin would happen to have a lead on Hartman.
"Hm? Geno, you're there too. As for where that guy's headed, I've sent you the coordinates."
Upon receiving the coordinates, Geno thanked Nin, then set off with Lycaon to continue pursuing Hartman.
After he left, Nin and Number Eleven's conversation continued.
"Oh, right—I also spotted members of The Exaltists at the base. Earlier they took all the Sacrifice soldiers and left the camp, destination unknown."
At this, Number Eleven and the others began to look bewildered.
If The Exaltists and the Sacrifice soldiers had all been here, why hadn't they appeared on the battlefield—why abandon these ordinary soldiers and leave instead?
Their entire course of action was deeply abnormal.
And the subject of their discussion, Sarah, was at this very moment leading a handful of cultists and a group of stiffly-moving Sacrifice soldiers toward the exit of the Hollow.
"Lady Sarah, we'll reach the exit soon."
"Mm, understood. Then, let us begin."
At Sarah's command, the assembled cultists began a mysterious ritual.
As red Filth energy welled up from the cultists' bodies, the soldiers—rigid as zombies—one after another wore expressions of struggle.
But soon, the soldiers' struggling vanished without a trace.
Then, the soldiers who a moment ago had been utterly stiff, like walking corpses, all regained their senses—yet from their reddened eyes shone an indescribable fanaticism.
"Progenitor! Bless me!"
The soldiers knelt as one, offering up their faith toward where Sarah stood.
Just how pure that faith was, however, remained a mystery to all.
____
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