Bing Shi took a mont to refresh herself on the sides as she watched the LADs clear the battleground.
So of her teammates took sips of water from their canteens, while others bent down to catch a breath, "..."
Cracks spiderwebbed across Shina’s protective gear. Her boots, once sturdy and reliable, were reduced to tatters. Likewise, her gloves, designed to provide both protection and dexterity, were in ruins. Torn and frayed, they revealed glimpses of her bloodied knuckles beneath.
"When will the next wave appear?" Juliet asked, catching up to her Lady.
"I don’t know, just preparing us for the worst-case scenario," Bing Shi took off her destroyed gloves and handed them to Juliet, "Phew, what a nice warm-up."
Liam stretched his arms, kicking his legs around to make sure there were no surprises beneath, "Warm up? More like a full-body workout!"
The group laughed, feeling relieved that they were able to successfully fend off the enemy attack. They realized that the creature they had just faced, though formidable in its own right, paled a bit in comparison to the beasts during their ordeal.
The creatures from the ordeal were physically less imposing, but they possessed a level of cunning, intelligence, and deadliness that was on a whole different scale.
"Can you reinforce gear on the go?" Bing Shi asked, looking up at Juliet.
"..." Juliet stared wide-eyed at the tattered remnants of their once-protective gear. Her Lady was always eager to test out new equipnt, and while she was always ready to improvise and reinforce gear, it was never on the go.
Without wasting a mont, Juliet rummaged through her bag, retrieving a compact repair kit specially designed for quick fixes. The kit contained adhesive patches, reinforced stitching materials, and flexible plates for strengthening damaged areas.
Bertha’s gaze fell upon Bing Shi’s shaking legs, a montary gasp escaped her lips, betraying her deep concern. She quickly clamped her teeth together, stifling the scream of worry that threatened to escape.
"Don’t let anybody see," Bing Shi whispered. She was acutely aware that her trusty exoskeleton, while durable, would not hold up under the strain of a long battle. She had already run at top speed for so long here, any more and her legs would surely collapse beneath her.
As much as she enjoyed the freedom and agility of flight, she couldn’t ignore the toll it took on her body, especially when flying at high speeds while avoiding obstacles. The adjustnts required to maintain balance were more physically demanding. Running was simply easier.
The exoskeleton could nd minor damage over ti, but the constant wear and tear accumulated during prolonged combat would eventually surpass its regenerative capabilities, leaving her exposed and vulnerable if she didn’t allow enough ti for proper healing.
Bing Shi sat on the boulder, her breathing labored as Bertha carefully attended to her injuries. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, finding solace in the cooling embrace of her monkey mask.
· · ────────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────────── · ·
The LADs made their way through the dense forest toward the heart of the battlefield, feeling a sense of shock at the remnants of the fallen beasts. The air hung heavy with the scent of sweat and blood as they carefully dealt with the lifeless, contorted bodies of the Bellatores, strewn across the ground.
"The Bellatores must have been at their limits," one LAD comnted to another, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, "Because I can’t imagine any other way they could have been defeated so quickly. Who are they, Marcus?"
They had been tasked with giving the new recruits a welcoming scare, but it seed that the tables had turned and it was the recruits who had ended up scaring them!
"They are all from St. Moon Academy," Marcus replied with a hint of amusent in his voice, "I didn’t want to waste ti with a blind pick. We still have a shitload of work to do. That’s why I gave Shina Night the task of picking her own damn team, so she could babysit them herself."
"Did you say Shina Night?" The LAD snorted as if it made perfect sense, "Damn, we lucked out. I thought for sure she would have been snatched up by soone else."
"They picked up alphas from the top clans," Mark chuckled to himself as he whispered to his companions, "Do you guys rember when she first appeared with a group of rcenaries?" he asked, "And later stomped over a hoard of Formicanths with such ease that we all thought they were just ants?"
The other LADs nodded eagerly, their own mories of that fateful day flooding back to them.
The black market had its roots reaching far beyond the boundaries of any jurisdiction. This made it incredibly difficult to eradicate, even for the well-trained law enforcent or the LADs — especially since many of them were involved in it themselves.
They recognized the rcenary group and knew those betas usually operated near the borders. Therefore, it ca as a surprise when they learned that the rcenaries had made a daring decision to venture with Shina Night into an EMP area.
· · ────────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────────── · ·
Almost a quarter of the LADs were Alphas who had united to face a dire situation. With their imnse resources and influence, they wielded more power than even the highest-ranking beta officials who spent most of their ti on paperwork and politics.
Marcus and his team imdiately knew they had to have Shina Night in their ranks. Despite the high risk of death associated with being a rcenary, Shina Night had successfully led them out alive.
However, instead of expressing excitent, that woman boldly demanded to be a part of the 7th special operation force as if it was a trivial task to achieve!
· · ────────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────────── · ·
The eavesdropping Henry walked up to Bing Shi, "What were they talking about? This is not your first ti outside the barriers?"
Bing Shi scratched her head, thinking up a way to explain herself, "I was looking for a gift for my new adoptive parents and a new purpose in life. Since military life was never my thing, I decided to go on an exciting adventure with a group of rcenaries instead of joining the LADs like the rest of you."
Bing Shi and Dai An had a grand plan to venture outside the barriers to collect rare herbs and flowers with Kuro, Xiao Pu, Baby Shiro, and Stinky Bun.
But according to her husband, it was not safe for them to go alone—he sent twenty systems to accompany her under the disguise of a rcenary group and suppressed Stinky Bun’s godhood further.
Even then, things didn’t go as planned. As soon as she took out Stinky Bun, the ground beneath them gave way, and they found themselves tumbling down into the darkness, appearing in a giant ant colony.
· · ────────── · ⊱❈⊰· ────────── · ·
Sowhere in the past, not long after Silvia’s death...
° The tunnel was vast, stretching out before them like a great underground highway. The walls were rough and jagged, with veins of glowing crystals pulsing with a soft blue light.
° Bing Shi quickly turned on the night vision on her son’s mask, "There you go. Can you see now?" she asked, adjusting the strap around his head, she began to dust off the debris off his little combat suit.
° Ying Xiong looked around the dim tunnel in wonder, "Mommy, mommy?" Mommy, where is Stinky Bun’s sword? He exclaid, bouncing up and down with excitent.
° Xiao Pu handed him the wooden sword, "Be quiet!" he hushed. The idea of being trapped in an ant colony made him shudder.
° Stinky Bun heard a faint noise in the distance, like the sound of a creature scurrying on the ground. He clutched his sword tightly. It wasn’t long before he saw movent, a swarm of giant ants a size of an adult human crawling towards them.
° XiaoPu backed away from the fray, accidentally bumping into sothing behind him. He turned to see what it was and found himself face to face with a massive ant, its mandibles clicking nacingly. He gasped in fear and stumbled backward, nearly falling to the ground.
° "PuPu!" Careful! Ying Xiong swung his wooden sword with all his might, grunting as he hit the ant on the head.
° Bing Shi couldn’t help but laugh at her son’s enthusiasm. She let Ying Xiong take care of that one with XiaoPu as she flew ahead to ward off the rest of the wave.
° The excited Ying Xiong ran towards his mommy after the ant dropped dead on the ground. "Mommy, mommy?!" Did you see , Mommy?
° Bing Shi smiled at her son, "Yes, Mommy saw your bravery! But we still have more to fight. Let’s keep going." She led the group further down the tunnel.
° As they continued down the tunnel, they collected so herbs and flowers that glowed in the dark. They noticed that more and more ants started to drop dead as soon as they got close without any apparent cause.
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