"Hahaha! Perhaps Kanna, you're not wrong. Kazdel owes us a lot, and not just money." Scout recalled the countless comrades who died in that war, his heart filled with emotion.
"You've been an Elite Operator for so long; Kal'tsit should have told you about Rhodes Island's predecessor!" Scout began.
"Mm-hmm!" Kanna nodded. She knew some of Kazdel's story through games, but much of it was fragmented. Kal'tsit's account of Rhodes Island's establishment was also vague, interspersed with a bunch of nonsensical riddles that left her little head utterly confused.
Now that a Sarkaz veteran was going to tell her about Kazdel, how could she not be curious?
"Kazdel is where our teammates, comrades, and beliefs are buried. Even now, Rhodes Island is not entirely welcome in Kazdel. If it weren't to bring the Doctor back, Rhodes Island likely wouldn't set foot in this territory for a long time."
Then Scout recounted the civil war he had witnessed, a war strewn with corpses.
"To be honest, those of us who are still alive are fortunate, because many more people died on this land, buried in the dust..."
Looking at the desolate land beneath their feet, Scout sighed deeply.
Kanna walked to the edge, putting her hands to her ears as if listening to something.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you hear the sound of the wind? I guess those people are welcoming our arrival!" Kanna spread her arms, a smile on her face.
Scout beside her was momentarily stunned. He closed his eyes, listening to the rushing wind. Although it was the same as always, after hearing Kanna's words, it felt different. The faces and voices of his former comrades seemed to appear before his eyes and in his ears.
Scout's lips parted, forming a smile. "Yes! I hear them; they're welcoming us!"
After only one day, the strange emotions that had lingered after entering Kazdel completely dissipated.
What was Kanna doing at this time? She was taking Rosmontis to a baseball game that Tortoise had requested. Of course, she was still a spectator, and although she still didn't understand the rules, every successful hit by a batter would elicit her cheers. Rosmontis tilted her head, somewhat puzzled by this.
In her opinion, if she were in that position, even relying on her instincts, she could easily hit every ball the opponent threw. Why was Kanna so happy watching a game with no difficulty at all?
Kanna's explanation was that watching a game was about the unknown. Even if she didn't know the rules, she could hit every ball if she played, but that would lose the fun.
But the people below were different. Because most of them were not professional players, the chances of victory and defeat in each offense were fifty-fifty, and this randomness was precisely a kind of fun.
After listening, Rosmontis looked thoughtful.
By late November, Rhodes Island had already reached the border of Kazdel. The weather was no longer hot; cold winds blowing from a direction even further north than Ursus began to cover the land with a layer of Fubuki.
Kanna had just woken up that day when Amiya pulled her to the Control Room.
Speaking of which, ever since her last argument with Kal'tsit, she rarely came here. After all, most Operators were preparing to enter Chernobog. Although she didn't have much to do, when everyone else was tense, it wasn't good for her to be too playful... And the system had started playing dead, not answering Kanna no matter how many messages she sent.
Upon arriving at the Control Room, Amiya looked at Kal'tsit, who was reviewing documents, then took a document from her own desk and handed it to Kanna.
The two walked to a corner with the document. Opening it, they read that Victoria's Duke Fox had been tragically killed in an attack by mysterious armed forces. Currently, no organization or individual had claimed responsibility for the incident. However, according to insiders, the attackers used a rare, special model of Laterano firearm, making it highly probable that the perpetrators were Laterano individuals. Laterano Pope Evangelista XI expressed regret over this news, but currently, no registered Laterano citizens possessing this type of weapon had records of activity in Victoria during that period.
After reading this news, Kanna's eyes were blank, wondering why Amiya had brought her here to read about a Victoria Duke dying in an assassination.
Amiya quietly said, "Duke Fox was the one who had been causing us trouble ever since Victoria, and he was also the culprit behind Rosmontis's injury. And, how long has Outcast been gone from Rhodes Island?"
Kanna's eyes widened upon hearing this, her face full of disbelief.
"You mean Outcast Grandma went to assassinate that Duke? Why did Kal'tsit keep it from me?"
"Perhaps she was afraid you'd blurt it out! After all, there are many Infected on Rhodes Island, and we don't know if there are people placed by other forces among them. Besides, the fewer people who know about such things, the better." Amiya thought for a moment before replying.
"Then, will Outcast Grandma be alright?" Kanna asked anxiously, thinking that Outcast had gone alone to assassinate a grand duke, and the subsequent pursuit would surely be relentless.
"Don't worry, Outcast sent a message a week ago; she's currently visiting Kazimierz." Amiya reassured Kanna. She had been a bit surprised when she saw Outcast's message about vacationing in Kazimierz, but combining it with this news, she understood. Outcast was using this method to inform Rhodes Island that she was safe.
Kanna felt relieved hearing that Outcast was fine.
She glanced at Kal'tsit, who remained completely unresponsive, then carefully began to read the detailed records in the intelligence report in her hand.
As Kanna read, she recalled that Kal'tsit clearly didn't let her seek revenge because Rhodes Island had just had a conflict with the other party. In such a situation, if she went to cause trouble for them, the grudge would clearly be placed on Rhodes Island.
But before Duke Fox died, he was exposed as having foreign connections, having betrayed many national secrets, and his death was caused by a Laterano firearm, with the culprit still at large.
In the eyes of the high-ranking officials of various countries, Rhodes Island was a pharmaceutical company primarily composed of exiled Sarkaz from Kazdel. Given this identity, coupled with Outcast's generally rare interventions, they hadn't given these countries much information. Thus, Rhodes Island was naturally excluded from the list of suspects.
After all, the first people everyone would think of who possessed this strength among Laterano people would only be the Papal Knights.
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