Three days ter at the periphery of the Heavensend Continent.

  Large fleets were coming to the shore of the continent. They were preparing for a nding operation. As for the navy fleet, they were there to secure the nding from interference from the opponents.

  And so, the nding ships were deployed.

  “Report! Landing ship number three is going in the pnned route toward the shore. Nothing significant.”

  “Landing ship number eleven is having a slight problem. Requesting for an overall check after the nding operation.”

  A rge amount of radio reports could be heard from among the bridges of the navy’s ships. As the commander of the offensive, Bruce was the one who oversaw it.

  “Continue with the nding operation. I want the nding forces to secure a three-kilometer area within the nding site as soon as possible!” Bruce said over the radio.

  “Yes, sir!” hearing the commander’s words, they had no choice but to follow through.

  From the nding site, there were numerous people from the Heavensend Kingdom. They were the ones who could prevent the nding. But the problem appeared when they wanted to move their long-range artillery.

  “What!? Some of the artillery are malfunctioning. Repce them then!”

  “The repcement is no better, you say! What are you all doing!?”

  Curses could be heard from the radio frequency of the Heavensend Kingdom. The rooted problem of the Heavensend Kingdom became apparent in the crucial battle against Hinon Federation, which was corruption.

  The corruption rate of the Heavensend Kingdom was the highest even among the superpowers of the Cerulean Pnet. This indicated that the Heavensend Kingdom was nothing but a paper tiger.

  Therefore, the higher-ups of the Hinon Federation unched the Offensive Campaign No.10 directly. They believed that in a direct confrontation against their forces, the Heavensend Kingdom forces would colpse faster than a domino.

  And objectively speaking, that was what happened on the field.

  The nding ships of the Hinon Federation finally arrived at the shore and the infantry came out of it with full arms.

  “Go!Go!Go!” the leader of the squad shouted loudly. He noticed that the enemy stationed in their nding site were not able to mount a full defense. Considering that, the squad leader knew that this was the opportunity to move innd with speed.

  The infantry then ran toward the defense position of the enemy forces as fast as they could. Of course, they also had to face some shoots that came from the defense.

  So they ran to the nearest thing possible for their protection. Fortunately, they did not see any machine guns being shot at them.

  This also meant that the vulnerable infantry that nded would not be entering a meat grinder like the intelligence had said.

  This also increased the chance of successful nding operation. Now, all the infantry had to do was to eliminate the defense stationed near the nding site. It was the usual job where both sides exchanged fire at each other.

  But the difference was that the Hinon Federation’s infantry had the support from several ships from the sea, ready to fire their cannons at the enemy's position while the Heavensend Kingdom could not prepare one for their defense.

  The result was that the nding site was filled with the nding forces and the defense could not keep up with the incoming wave of soldiers.

  Sounds of guns being fired could be heard across the battlefield as both sides exchanged fire at each other. Other than that, several shots were fired from the ships at the sea, bombarding the defense position.

  This caused casualties among the defense, worsening the situation. The nding forces then moved innd and found out that some of the equipment that the defense was avaible did not get to the standard of combat ready.

  This included arms, artillery, ammunition, grenades, et cetera.

  But there were some casualties among the nding forces too. Although the number was small, it was still life lost so no one took it lightly among the nding forces.

  The leader of the nding forces then confirmed the security of the nding site before he reported back to the commander of the campaign.

  “Report! The nding site has been secured.”

  “Stand by for now. The rest of the nding forces are going to make their way. Fortify your current position and wait until all the units are on the nd.”

  The commander gave his order. He took out a cigarette and lit it up. He took a puff before he let out a sigh.

  “Currently, the nding forces are arranging themselves for further instruction. This is a good time for you to move, Miss Charlene.” Bruce said.

  “Then I will get moving. Once again, thank you for your assistance.” Charlene who stood near the captain’s chair said before she went out from the bridge.

  As the nding site was full of moving units, whether infantry or armored vehicle, Charlene went to the currently fortified nding base along with the special unit that was to operate under her in this situation.

  Meanwhile, the aircraft from the SS Bruce began to take off to scout things ahead and around the perimeter of their gathered forces.

  They were tasked to report if anything was spotted in their field of view. It also created air superiority as they dominated higher ground.

  As every human on Cerulean Pnet knew, acquiring the higher ground meant that they had an advantage with both vision and tactics.

  Some of the aircraft were moving innd to the pce that the nding force would supposedly go and the other to the sea area around the nding site to set up an early warning net.

  Having done that, the commander of the offensive campaign Bruce then ordered the nding forces to advance deeper to the Heavensend Continent.

  -

  Dian looked at the moving Special Forces that Charlene was in. He could not help but think that this effort changed something.

  As for whether it was good or not, only the involved person would know the answer.

  -

  As the nding forces went deeper into the hinternd, Charlene and the Special Forces from Hinon Federation went to a different pce.

  They went directly to Bornea Region where they had to look for someone. The problem was that their appearance made it hard for them to blend in with the people of the Heavensend Kingdom.

  It was because some of them had different iris color, hair color and skin color. Furthermore, their clothes had to be set in a way that would not raise suspicion and alertness when they followed Charlene.

  “Bornea Region…” The Captain of the Special forces was starting to expin things so that everyone understood, including Charlene.

  “…is located not far from the nding site. In fact, it is only thirty kilometers from the perimeter established. But we are in its adjacent region so this is what caused us to move separately from the nding forces.

  “But the Nine Suns city is in the northern part of the region so the destination is farther. Approximately almost double the distance, meaning near sixty kilometers.”

  Charlene furrowed her brows. That was not the most difficult part. Since this was a wartime, of course there would be Heavensend Kingdom’s forces throughout the region.

  That was the reason they had to slightly alter their appearances. They became a bit more ordinary in looks as that would not catch the eye of anyone who is not looking into something.

  “From the test intelligence, most of the troops stations in the Bornea Region have been moved to intercept the movement of the nding forces. This is a perfect moment for us to infiltrate the pce and gather some information regarding the Snatcher.” The Captain said with a serious tone.

  Other than helping Charlene look for the young boy, they were also tasked to gather some first-hand information about the Snatcher.

  Previously, the Strategic Intelligence Division had thought that the Snatcher had infiltrated the Heavensend Kingdom. But upon scratching the surface of the situation around the Comberth Continent and some important verification, they finally concluded that the Heavensend Kingdom was the one behind the Snatcher.

  Therefore, they retaliated against the Heavensend Kingdom harshly. They had the justification and they also wanted to show the world their world-destroying weapon. The Hinon Federation wanted to achieve both goals at the same time.

  “But…will this endanger the young boy?” Charlene inquired.

  “No. We will move covertly and stay within the range of the Nine Suns Orphanage. Furthermore, this is for you Miss.” The Captain replied and then gave Charlene a rectangur things.

  Charlene recognized this tool. It was the thing the troops used during the war for communication. It was a walkie-talkie.

  “Remember the frequency in which my unit is under. We can communicate under that frequency and it will be better if no one is around when you communicate.” The Captain reminded Charlene.

  Charlene then slightly altered the frequency so that it became the same with the communication frequency.

  “Can you hear me?” Charlene said to the walkie-talkie.

  The Captain was a bit amused. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and replied, “Loud and clear.”

  Of course, they did this in a way that allowed them to hear each other's voices through the devices.

  Charlene nodded in satisfaction before she put the walkie-talkie inside her pocket.

  Then their journey continued until they were directly in front of the location of their destination. For the person involved, they felt like they were dreaming.

  It was because no one disturbed them and most people stayed away from them. The Captain had already noticed that the situation was not like in the Federation or the other cities in the Comberth Continent.

  The Captain took note of this and cautioned the rest of his unit.

  His unit was actually a commando unit which was trained to the extreme possible. So they became alert and looked at their surroundings.

  The pce was a bit dipidated but the entire Nine Suns town was like that. But the orphanage, despite looking like an abandoned house in the eyes of the newcomer, looked habitable for people.

  They also noticed that the signs of people were recent and the people somehow did not show themselves in front of the newcomer.

  Charlene followed right behind the unit. They secured an abandoned building right next to the orphanage as their temporary base and their appearance matched that of a homeless people of the Heavensend Kingdom.

  Charlene intensely looked at the orphanage and noticed a strong sensation within herself. She felt like her heart tightened as she looked at one of the young boys inside the orphanage building.

  “Is it him?” Charlene murmured. From what she saw, the young boy was not remarkable from appearance. But that was because the young boy was cute just like the people at his age.

  But one thing that Charlene had noticed about the boy was that he had a shimmering light in his eyes. As for what that signified, even Charlene did not know.

  She could only look at the boy from afar, afraid of involving them in the upcoming intelligence-gathering operation.

  The Captain opened up the local map he had acquired through some secretive channels and looked at it thoroughly. He then used a marker to circle a certain pce within the Nine Suns City before he id the map on the floor.

  His unit then discussed the strategy for the operation. In this operation, they would gather the information about the Snatcher from the nearby people.

  “Alright folks, it’s time to talk about the pce I circle on the map. This is supposedly the headquarters of the Snatcher. From what we have seen so far, their vigince has dropped from the fact that their security is more x.” The Captain opened the discussion.

  “We can spread around the headquarters to gather intelligence about the Snatcher. But remember, blend with the people here first before you are going to gather information regarding them. Understood?”

  At that moment, one of the people under the Captain raised his hand.

  “Excuse me, Sir. I have a question.”

  The Captain nodded, indicating for the man to continue.

  “Do we also need to consider the Nine Suns Orphanage as our target to protect? From the looks of it, Miss Charlene has likely found the target. We are likely to escape with them if it comes to it.”

  The Captain thought for a moment before replying, “They are likely to be our VIP. But for now, we have to thoroughly understand the situation in this city before taking further action.”

  Then the Captain answered other questions before they concluded.

  “Alright, that is the current action we will have to take. Dismissed!” the Captain ended the meeting before coming toward Charlene.

  “I will act as your guard during this entire time of operation. You realize this, right?” the Captain said to Charlene.

  Charlene knew of this arrangement. But one thing that surprised her was actually something else.

  “Are you doing this because of the superior or because of your friend?” Charlene asked with a slight smile. She had already guessed the friend of the Captain.

  “Both. Since the interests align, I can do this with a clear mind. So I want to see just what my friend saw in you that he praised you often.” The Captain replied while looking closely at Charlene.

  “I don’t know what he saw in me but I will only act that will benefit people more. That is for certain. For now, I want to get acquainted with the orphanage. How should we approach it?” Charlene asked.

  The Captain blinked a few times before he replied, “Well, first we need to know which people associated with the orphanage. This is to ensure the clear retionship between the orphanage and the forces in this city.

  “I have a feeling that the Snatcher in this city that we will monitor is reted to the Nine Suns Orphanage. That is why I spread my unit around so that they can get information about the Snatcher.”

  Charlene nodded in agreement. She could see that the Captain wanted to gather as much information as possible. But they had to do it in secrecy.

  Their arrival in the city was likely already noticed by the Snatcher. The only thing that they managed to do was not raise suspicion from them.

  That was why the Captain only ordered his unit for an observation intelligence. They were going to blend with the people of the city and probe.

  While they did that, Charlene and the Captain would approach the Nine Suns Orphanage.

  The next day.

  It was a sunny day with some clouds hanging above the cyan sky. Charlene and the Captain went to visit the orphanage. They currently stood at the front gate of the orphanage.

  They could see that the children from the orphanage were pying in the field in front of the rge building. Laughter and giggles could be heard from the children while the supervising adult was amused by the sight.

  Then the supervising adult noticed both Charlene and the Captain at the front gate. She frowned but walked closer to the front gate.

  “What are you two doing in front of the gate? Are you here for something?” she asked.

  The Captain answered, “We are here to see our neighbor. Since we are neighbors, we have to know each other even if it is just acquaintances.”

  The Captain had observed the surroundings and its people. He knew that the Snatcher watched the orphanage from the information his unit had gathered.

  So today he wanted to get to know the orphanage as a whole and see for himself which one was Charlene’s target.

  “As you can see, this pce is a humble orphanage with nothing much to offer. You should leave.” She did not want anything with the two so she politely asked them to leave.

  But who was the Captain? He was used to this situation and then nodded with a knowing look.

  “We are here to see whether the Nine Suns Orphanage is suitable…well, at least that is what my superior told me. And we come here in peace as you can see. Would you let us enter?”

  “No.” she replied curtly.

  Just then, a ball flew out from the field right to the front gate. It directly nded in front of Charlene. Charlene grabbed the ball and unexpectedly, the young boy she watched was the one who went to fetch the ball.

  “Sister, please return the ball.” The young boy said.

  As if Charlene did not hear what the young boy had said, she dribbled the ball in a way that impressed the young boy.

  “If you want the ball to return, you have to get it from me.” Charlene said with confidence. The young boy’s spirit for competition was ignited and he tried to get closer to Charlene to get the ball.

  But Charlene easily moved her leg and that caused the ball to swiftly roll diagonally, bypassing the young boy’s legs.

  Then she caught the ball underneath her foot. The other children who arrived at the front gate was thoroughly impressed by dispy Charlene had shown.

  The Captain who saw this felt that the prepared speech he had in his mind would likely not be used. But it was not all bad as he could see that the vigince from the supervising adult.

  “Sister, huff…huff….let’s py together.” The young boy said with excitement. If this sister would py with them, it could be more fun.

  “Let’s py on the field. That way, everyone who wants to py can do so.” Charlene nodded while cpping her hand.

  “Sure!” the young boy and the children were happy. But the supervising adult could not help but put her hand on her forehead.

  Charlene went to the field and dribbled her way to avoid the ball being captured by the children. The Captain now was with the supervising adult.

  “Miss, can you tell me briefly about yourself? I go to the orphanage to investigate but since you are wary, a short introduction is fine.” The Captain smiled amiably. He knew that the first step was the hardest since the people of the Nine Suns City were wary of other people.

  But once they got to know someone, they could be your best companion. That was why the Captain wanted to befriend as many people from the orphanage as he could.