{Chapter 29} Request for help!

“Are they here too?”

Kaelis blinked, but after pondering for a moment, she instead turned to look at Remi.

“What's wrong?”

“Huh?”

The two girls stared at each other, surprised.

After a moment, Remi finally came to her senses and scratched her head.

“Right, given your current status, there's no way you'd have any chance to interact with them anymore.”

The situation had changed too quickly, she hadn't even realized that Kaelis was no longer an ordinary person.

Being a Brigade Commander meant that even those on equal footing with Kaelis numbered fewer than a hundred across the entire army.

Being a viscount's descendant was decent, but compared to Kaelis, it was far too inferior.

Unless something unexpected happened, those few people would probably never meet again in their lives... so indeed, there was no need to care anymore.

Shaking her head, the two chatted for a while longer, and at Remi's enthusiastic invitation, Kaelis stayed behind to share a meal before leaving.

The rest period passed quickly. On the twenty-third day of the simulation, Kaelis received her mission order.

[Advance into the Inner City]

Capturing the outer walls did not mean the game was over. On the contrary, it might just be the true beginning of this war.

The city behind resembled a wasteland, scattered with building ruins. Main pathways were blocked, and the only routes leading to the royal castle were narrow alleys.

And the enemies here were no longer ordinary soldiers, but the last loyalists of the Dias Empire.

These people were far harder to deal with than the frontline troops.

No matter how strong an ordinary soldier was, five or ten could still overwhelm him through sheer numbers.

But among these people, many were Ascenders... and even some Warriors!

Each of them was a true one-man-army capable of taking on a hundred. As Kaelis led her squad forward, they encountered attacks from such individuals multiple times.

Just like now...

“...Fall back!”

Kaelis quickly ordered, recalling her team.

Looking at the blood-soaked woman before her who still refused to abandon the fight, Kaelis immediately flicked her wrist.

“Whoosh— !”

The dark Blood Crow shot forth like a streak, its form like black mist, darting toward the enemy.

The woman roared fiercely, raising her staff once again.

But this time, she wasn't attacking. Instead, she screamed.

“Dias shall never fall!”

She bellowed, and cracks suddenly appeared across her body.

Brilliant light surged violently. Despite her nearly-disabled state, she charged straight at Kaelis!

But the Blood Crow will not allow this to happen.

Its wings flapped violently as it lunged beside the woman, sharp claws hooking directly into her collarbone, then soaring skyward with her!

“Boom— !”

Suddenly after ascending into the sky, the woman's body suddenly gathered white light.

With a deafening explosion, her body disintegrated within the radius.

The shockwave pierced through Kaelis's body, making her feel uncomfortable.

But at least the battle is over...

“Seren?”

Kaelis rubbed her temples and called out.

“I'm here.”

“Find a place to set up camp and let everyone rest. Also, tally up the casualties.”

“Yes.”

Seren nodded, then immediately turned to faithfully carry out Kaelis's orders.

Kaelis reversed at her weary soldiers before shaking her head slightly.

Then she turned to look at the spot where the woman had exploded.

“This isn't right.”

Kaelis frowned, murmuring to herself.

Their fighting spirit... was too high.

Dias's downfall was now practically inevitable, something that could not be changed.

Kaelis could understand the virtue of loyalty and patriotism, that some people were willing to give their lives to perish alongside their homeland... and she respected such individuals.

But the problem was... after several encounters, Kaelis realized these people weren't coming with intentions of mutual destruction.

Fighting them felt less like a final desperate struggle and more like they were executing a prearranged plan...

These people weren't burning their lives in these final moments, they were carrying out some long-prepared mission.

What exactly were they trying to do? Could it be... Dias still had a trump card?

But that didn't make sense either... If the enemy still had a trump card, why wait until such a critical moment to use it?

Surely they wouldn't have simply failed to react earlier?

Kaelis couldn't quite understand.

After waiting a while, Seren returned with the vanguard unit.

With a brief arrangement, everyone began setting up a temporary camp around several abandoned buildings.

Kaelis sat in her makeshift resting area, deep in thought, while Seren approached to report.

“The casualty count is in. Our unit has lost about twelve comrades, and over twenty others have sustained varying degrees of injury, but there are currently no severely critical who are unable to move...”

Seren stood beside Kaelis, speaking with a grave expression.

The losses were heavier than they had expected.

From assembling the team until now, no more than four or five hours had passed.

Yet in that short span, they had already suffered four ambushes...

Although each attacker was alone, they were all Ascenders.

Every surprise attack costs them several comrades.

Moreover, due to the power gap, ordinary soldiers could hardly deal with these Ascenders, barely managing to hold them off until Kaelis or Seren stepped in to finish the job...

But this couldn't last. After all, they were still only on the outskirts, not yet truly penetrating the enemy's core territory.

And this was only the first day!

“If we continue to advance, enemy numbers will increase, and their strength will grow even greater.”

She knew that if they kept going deeper, the only outcome awaiting them was total annihilation.

But the problem was, they couldn't just refuse to act either.

After all, orders had been issued, halting progress for an extended period or withdrawing without a withdrawal order would be considered desertion.

In other words, they had no choice but to keep moving forward.

This was too dangerous!

"...I know, Seren. I know."

In response to Seren's warning, Kaelis painfully rubbed her temples.

This couldn't go on.

If they wanted to survive, they needed to gather more manpower...

But in a place like this... who else could they recruit?

There seemed to be only one answer left.

“Seren, assign a few faster soldiers to scout the surrounding area. If they encounter any remnants of other units, try to recruit them into our squad... At this point, we must consolidate every possible force we can.”

Kaelis pondered, then gave her decision.

This was currently the only feasible option.

Since the main army wasn't advancing, squads and platoons like theirs had to rely on their own unity.

And not long after Kaelis issued the order, a soldier quickly rushed back, his face urgent as he spoke to Kaelis.

“Commander, 324th Squadron is requesting reinforcements!”