With the leader of the Snatcher disappearing and most of the organization’s unit being either killed or captured, their influence was reduced to almost nothing.
This was due to the constant effort of the Hinon Federation Forces and also a helper.
The bomber bombed the designated target while the frontline forces entered the city after that. They entered in rge numbers after Long Wu had subdued every higher-up from the Snatcher.
The noise of the gunshots could be heard faintly as the st of the resistance was snuffed out. The Royal Guard of the Heavensend Kingdom also helped in capturing the cities that were occupied by the Snatcher.
“The city is captured!” the squad leader gave the situation report to the superior. Soon, several reports flooded the communication channel with simir information.
“Report about the casualties first.” The superior said through the walkie-talkie, prepared for the worst.
“We’ve lost two hundred of our men here.” One of the squad leaders said.
“Lost around one hundred and thirty due to the bck mist and the Abomination.”
Most of their casualties were not due to their csh with the Snatcher’s soldiers but due to the unexpected bck mist and the Abomination which was hard to kill.
“Roger that. All units, standby for further orders.” The superior said to all the avaible communication channels before he turned the walkie-talkie off.
The entire situation was turning for the better with the st movement of the Snatcher interrupted.
As for the one responsible for this, one of them was sitting on the rooftop of a building, looking down at the city that previously was in turmoil.
Long Wu looked at the entire city ndscape with longing and also relief. With Bruce, he devised and modified the tactic that the Hinon Federation would use so that they encircled every single base of the Snatcher in the Heavensend Kingdom territory.
He had successfully captured the higher-ups of this city and he also received information that the other higher-ups from other cities were also captured.
His body had sustained some injuries which were bandaged and properly taken care of. Even with that condition, Long Wu moved to the frontline where the rest of the Snatcher were being captured and grouped.
“It is a pity that some things are out of my reach.” Long Wu sighed as he spun the dagger that had accompanied him all this time.
Although he successfully caused the downfall of the Snatcher, he did not find the person who was the reason for all of his suffering.
But overall, he was happy that there was still hope for the Heavensend Kingdom and also for humanity.
But the cost of it…
As Long Wu looked closely, he could see several Hinon Federation men gathering their comrades' bodies and covering them with a white sheet. They were the victim of this conflict.
Casualties always occurred when a battle happened so Long Wu did not react much. But it was a pity to sacrifice them to eliminate a great troublemaker in human civilization. With this, at least they could rest easy that no problem would befall humanity in the short term.
‘I wonder what exactly is the afterlife. If I were to die, would I be able to go there and see the scenery of the afterlife?’ Long Wu thought as he saw them.
After confirming that the Snatcher was eliminated, the Hinon Federation Forces and the Royal Guard collected the corpses of both sides to be treated differently.
Those who were contaminated with the Undead Element would be gathered in one pce, and those who were not would be gathered in another.
The treatment of the two types of corpses was different. The tter could be directly transferred to the temporary morgue while the tter had to be quarantined in a special pce.
-
Several days had passed since the end of the conflict between the Hinon Federation and the Heavensend Kingdom.
Chi Sen, as the king, had to produce the agreement on clear paper, which served as proof of their cooperation going forward.
Bruce acted as the formal representative of the Hinon Federation and also took a pce in binding the agreement. This meant that from that point onward, the Heavensend Kingdom would be under Hinon Federation supervision in general but the specifics had to be discussed further.
This news was also spread to the other powerhouses in the Comberth Continent. That and also the effect of the world-destroying weapon. All of them had to admit that the Hinon Federation had leaped forward in the arms race.
That was also the reason why the rest of the powerhouses also chose to integrate with the Hinon Federation. At the same time that the conflict between the Hinon Federation Forces and the Snatcher raged on, the integration process had begun.
The first reason that they used was actually because the Hinon Federation had won the arms race. The second reason was that they felt that another Star Battle was near. But they did not know the exact time it would happen.
That was because according to their predecessor, the Star Battle was a battle where human civilization was at stake and they had better united before it happened.
Even though they had won two Star Battles so far, it was due to their fortune that they could win. The first was because the difference between the two sides was not big and the second was because of the various inventions against the effect of the Undead Element.
Furthermore, the Hinon Federation had realized the dream of making a world-destroying weapon. Although it was still in its infancy, with time, all of the leaders of the continent's powerhouses knew that the explosive effect of such a weapon could only increase.
They had to concede in the arms race and fulfilled the agreement. Otherwise, if they did not then the Hinon Federation had a justification to use those weapons against them as experiments.
They did not want that and the news they received from the frontlines in the Heavensend Continent regarding the atomic bomb was about its effect.
That kind of explosion was several times stronger than their conventional explosives. Add to the fact that there could be other effects that the Hinon Federation did not disclose served as additional deterrence.
That was all for the other powerhouses of the Comberth Continent. As for the Hinon Federation themselves, they along with the Heavensend Kingdom soldiers were wrapping up the battlefield and the casualties there.
They entered a truce period in which both sides could not attack each other. In fact, they had to restore most of the cities that they occupied to their previous state.
It was not an easy task since most of the Heavensend Kingdom’s people were afraid of the foreigners that came to their pce.
Chi Sen then decred the kingdom’s state of restoration and told the civilians to cooperate with the foreigner who once invaded their nd.
This caused some unrest among some people. In fact, some of the civilians did not want to restore the city with the people from the Hinon Federation.
Despite the fact that this was happening, the people from the Hinon Federation did not lose their enthusiasm toward the people from the Heavensend Kingdom.
But this could not be done immediately to bridge the gap between them due to the battle and also some impression the civilians from the Heavensend Kingdom had towards them because of the widespread propaganda.
A few days ter, Bruce received a direct command that ordered him to station the troops in the Heavensend Kingdom as a safety measure and also as a deterrence. Of course, this troop size would be smaller than the one involved in the Offensive Campaign No. 10.
After the campaign was done, most of the sent troops would have to return to the Comberth Continent.
While the truce period was ongoing, they also learned a lot about the Heavensend Kingdom in general. The Hinon Federation was interested in the making of the battleship that the Heavensend Kingdom had done so they spent most of their time to reverse-engineering it.
Other than that, they spent their time restoring the damaged buildings, getting familiar with the customs and traditions there and also preparing to go back to where they came from.
Most of the people from the Hinon Federation were interested in drawing pictures stories that they got from some of the people from the Heavensend Kingdom. It was a new culture that they did not know about and they were drawn into it.
But then someone among them called that comics and that term became the one where it referred to the special drawing picture story of the Heavensend Kingdom. Of course, the civilians of the Heavensend Kingdom called it manga/manhwa/manhua depending on their background and culture.
While this was happening, several scientists who were sent to the frontline to witness the effect of the atomic bombs finally could visit the site directly.
This could also serve as a further observation of the effect of the world-destroying weapon and they did not want to miss this.
The two sites of the bomb were the Nine Suns City and the Marsh City.
When they went there, all they could see was the devastation caused by the bombs and few people were there. Most of the people were evacuated outside the city due to the effect of the bomb itself. Somehow, the people felt that the center of the explosion was dangerous.
One of the scientists then arrived at the Marsh City where he and the units that were sent with him witnessed the devastation. The bombs caused several buildings to be directly razed to the ground.
“According to what Miss Charlene has said, there could be a dangerous aspect of the atomic bomb that needs further observation. She gave me this device, supposedly to detect the effect of the radiation near the explosion site. Let’s test it.”
The scientist then grabbed the device in his hand and directed it toward the center of the explosion. A cracking, intermittent noise could be heard slightly from the device which caused the scientist’s eyebrow to furrow.
“There is some remnant of the radiation effect. Fortunately, it is small enough that according to the standard that the Hinon Science Institute has released, the effect is not considered dangerous much less fatal.
“But if the explosion caused by the fission reaction is a hundred or thousand times stronger than this, it probably meant that the radiation it could emit probably was dangerous and even lethal to the human…no, scratch that. It could endanger the living beings altogether.” The scientist realized that the world-destroying weapon truly lived up to its name.
Even though it looked like a prototype to the real things, it could be called as such so he thought deeply about it.
“Alright, we are done here. Let’s go back.” After a two-hour tour near the explosion site, the scientist then called the units that were brought together with him to return.
“Yes, sir!”
In another pce, at the temporary base for the Hinon Federation Forces…
Charlene was helping the people from the Nine Suns Orphanage in their preparation to go to the Comberth Continent.
This had to be done sooner or ter so they might as well prepare themselves for that as early as possible.
Charlene was carrying a small piece of luggage that actually belonged to Tatsumi and Nene. Behind her, Tatsumi and Nene were trailing behind like a chick following the hen.
“Come this way. This ship will carry you all to the Comberth Continent. At least, it will bring you to the Hinon Federation territory…” Charlene’s words were resounding when the three of them saw that the Captain was the one who would send them off.
“It’s rare. You’re the first to arrive here.” The Captain said. He wielded an assault rifle when he was on duty so Charlene instantly knew that the Captain was still on duty despite in the middle of the secure base.
“Has the other not arrived yet?” Charlene looked around but did not see other people from the orphanage.
“Well, speaking of which, there they are!” the Captain pointed with his finger in a certain direction. Charlene, Tatsumi and Nene were looking at the distance and saw that several people were coming in their direction.
The headmaster of the orphanage, Feng Mo, was in the front, and behind her were Hua Fei and the other children.
“Is that Tatsumi in front of us? He’s so fast.” One child said loudly. Tatsumi only stared at the child and did nothing more. The child realized that something was strange so he did not say anything more.
“I am first. You all are not bothered by it, right?” Tatsumi said.
“No. Why would we? You are first because you are capable.” The other child said.
“Thank you for listening to Grandma. You are all a good child.” Tatsumi added before he went beside Charlene and stood still looking at the ships that they were all going to be in.
‘Why did he say it like some adults?’ that thought fshed through the children’s minds but they did not mind it one bit. Feng Mo chuckled while Hua Fei furrowed her brow.
“Brother, are you alright?” Nene suddenly asked with worry pstered all over her face. Tatsumi who looked back at her in return then opened his mouth.
“It is just that I also want to be the source of pride for Grandma and the other children. That is why I said all those words.”
Nene caught something in his word but was unable to form a word for it. But she knew that her brother had a vision for his future which made her admire him even more.
‘I also want to do something for Grandma as well. But…I don’t know what it is I have to do.’ Thought Nene as she heard Tatsumi saying that.
The children pyed some interactive games while Hua Fei tried to keep the children within the group's range and did not go too far. That was not an easy job since the children were active in their movement.
Feng Mo then came near to Charlene. She knew that Charlene was someone who came from afar, across the continent so she got to know her in the past few days.
Charlene too got to know Feng Mo through interaction as well as some words from Miyamoto Mamoru.
“Are you feeling good? The sea wind is a bit strong.” Charlene asked with concern.
“This is just a gentle wind. My body is not that fragile. And your words are even more suitable to the locals for someone who just recently learned it.” Feng Mo praised Charlene sincerely.
“Thank you. But I still have much to learn from everyone else.” Charlene smiled when she heard that. That acknowledgment was something that Charlene needed to verify the mastery she had when learning a new nguage.
“By the way, you seem to be closer to Tatsumi. Why are you looking after him that much?” Feng Mo was curious about something so she asked.
“Well, It is because he is special in a certain sense.” Charlene said truthfully but could not expin it in the short term.
“Is that so? It is good that you can also perceive something within Tatsumi. That child is always a fast learner.” Feng Mo commented.
As Charlene and Feng Mo exchanged words, Tatsumi was able to hear it due to the proximity and he felt that it made sense. Charlene was looking for him because he was a bit special.
But that also caused something in his heart to desire something else. Tatsumi did not know what that was but he had it and it was growing.
“Hello everyone.” A loud and stern voice could be heard from somewhere and all of the people on the pier which was the Nine Suns Orphanage group and Charlene focused all their attention to that person.
“Is this group all of you?” the person in question was a sailor with white clothes and blue lines on it. He questioned them to make sure that all of the group was gathered properly.
“Yes, sir!” Charlene looked around carefully and saw that all the Nine Suns Orphanage group was here. She even pointed to a certain child and Hua Fei went there to bring the child back.
“Alright, you all have to gather here.” Feng Mo cpped her hands hard so that the children could hear it. All of a sudden, the children became extremely obedient and gathered behind her forming a line.
“The headmaster is the one that can make these children obedient. I am not even close.” Hua Fei sighed in helplessness.
The children then looked at the sailor with a glint in their eyes. They had never seen such an outfit so they were attracted right away.
“Alright, please go this way to board the ship. This is the one ship that can bring you across the ocean to the Comberth Continent.” The sailor gave way to the bridge that connected the pier to the ship. That bridge was wide enough for two people to directly cross side by side.
Then slowly, the group led by Feng Mo crossed the bridge and arrived at the deck of the ship. Charlene also followed suit as well as several scientists and soldiers. The soldiers came from a certain unit and were tasked to escort the Nine Suns Orphanage group.
Charlene knew this and informed Feng Mo about it. Feng Mo was gd that there was an escort as that could ensure the safety of the children.
When all of the passengers were on board, one of the sailors then put away the retractable bridge that they used to load and unload people. The ship was not the SS Bruce which was used to stay in this port as a deterrent but a frigate.
The frigate was slightly changed in its purpose to be able to carry more people. Actually, the frigate was the one that was used as an emergency additional nding ship.
With that and the navigation route decided, the ship then set sail to the Comberth Continent.
Ikhsannorm
