"No backup… what do you mean?"
When Kosma said this, he felt a chill creeping down his neck, but it wasn't because of the cold. It was a visceral sense of dread.
Ato looked at his communicator and said, "Kosma, why do you think this virtually useless squad was formed?"
"Why…" Kosma frowned, "I don't know why… what's the point of this squad?"
The most distinctive feature of this team was that it was composed entirely of useless new recruits. They were neither a group of soldiers with excellent personal capabilities nor the most dedicated soldiers. Their greatest significance was that they had no significance.
To confront a Herrscher like this, and without backup, wasn't that just a suicide mission…
Suicide mission…
Kosma's fingers went stiff.
"It seems you already know." Ato glanced at him, then deliberately raised his voice, "That's right, the purpose of this squad is to 'die.' The Moth of the Fire's command to me is to lead you to your deaths."
"…"
It happened in an instant.
Before Ato's voice had completely faded, the group, who had been uneasy from the start, scattered in all directions and disappeared without a trace, except for Kosma, who remained frozen in place.
However, Ato merely showed a rare smile.
Even though his mission had failed, and the members of this hastily assembled squad had all deserted, they probably wouldn't return to the Moth of the Fire.
"You should go too, Kosma." Ato let out a comfortable sigh, picked up his gun, and smiled at the stunned Kosma, "What's wrong? Were you scared?"
"Are you telling the truth?" Kosma was clearly still reeling from the shocking reality. He asked, "The purpose of this squad is to 'die'? Why?"
Why would the Moth of the Fire send soldiers who fight for humanity to their deaths?
"Why… Perhaps it's to use insignificant people to exchange for intelligence on the Herrscher, or perhaps for some other reason… But most likely, someone believes that 'dying' at a necessary moment is a meaningful action." Ato was no longer as severe as before, but much more relaxed, "This is my duty as a soldier."
Kosma looked seriously at the man who had turned his back, a man who was abandoning his past honor simply to execute an order and fulfill his duty.
"Just don't let Kevin know about this. He's still young, like you, and like that kid… he can't accept a decision like 'sacrifice'… Heh, I'm probably the same." Ato gave a self-deprecating laugh, thinking of the young man he had sent back on the transport plane to Headquarters.
But Kosma did not move to follow the others who had fled. He said to Ato, "If this is your duty, then why would you tell us everything at this critical moment… You are essentially betraying the command and mission they assigned to you, and you are about to betray your own life."
"Because they are young like you. You still have your own lives. I can't let you walk this path without knowing anything, so I told you this, to let you choose for yourselves." Ato smiled, "Choosing to advance or choosing to retreat are both not wrong. They just chose the smiling faces of their families."
"But if you do this, you won't see the smiling faces of your family." Kosma's eyes were resolute, "Your death alone is meaningless. If we fight together, we can survive."
"You might be able to do it, but they can't. If this is your persistence, then don't forget it. But I still suggest you think more about others. There's nothing wrong with being a retreatist."
Ato had seen this same persistence in Lin, but that person had paid a heavy price for that persistence.
If Lin had taken a step back amidst his many choices, he wouldn't have reached this point today.
"I have to go, Kosma. You should leave quickly." Ato shook his head, throwing out the superfluous thoughts.
"No, Ato, you're wrong."
"They are not retreatists. They are heroes."
"It's just that now is the moment to decide who they are."
Ato turned back in surprise.
Just then, scattered footsteps gathered from where the soldiers had left. The people who had fled had all returned, not one less, and were reassembling here.
Kosma gave Ato a slight, satisfied smile.
But in the next second, his smile froze like the rain in this cold wind.
"…This is… Lin… next… I will provide operational support… please… do not… attack…"
A terribly weak voice was entering their ears through the communication channel. This was also the reason why those people were willing to return.
"We… we have backup." The returnees said to Ato with pleasant surprise.
They didn't notice how fragile Lin's voice was. No, they did notice, but the joy of not being abandoned had already overwhelmed their doubts about Lin's weakness.
Anyone will believe what they want to believe, even if it is a lie constructed by the self.
"Lin?" Ato picked up his communicator in shock, initiating communication with Lin almost immediately, "Lin! What are you doing!"
"Whoosh————"
A gust of wind swept over their heads. In the eyes of everyone, a high-speed black shadow flew past them toward the frozen orphanage.
…
There were no Honkai Beasts.
The vicinity of the orphanage was eerily quiet. Logically, this place had the highest concentration of Honkai energy and should have given birth to many Honkai Beasts or incubated High-level Honkai Beasts, yet it was as silent as a graveyard.
The entrance was also blocked by a thick column of ice. Lin manipulated three floating cannons to carve out a door using high-output cutting mode, and then flew straight inside.
Minus ninety degrees Celsius.
The coldest place on Earth is in Antarctica, where temperatures can reach nearly minus sixty degrees Celsius. For humans without specialized protective equipment, it is a hell facing death.
But now, in an orphanage in the central city of the human world, the temperature was a full minus ninety degrees Celsius.
Even with Lin's protective equipment technology far exceeding the current human level, it began to stiffen in this extreme cold.
A small, transparent ice cocoon was hanging upside down from the ceiling of the orphanage's main hall.
Ice-blue streamers were solidified into an elegant shape. A long dress spread out in waves, and long hair was crystal clear in the ice crystals. Her fair skin was also displayed like a work of art in this transparent showcase.
This was the Fifth Herrscher.
However, when Lin saw the Fifth Herrscher, when he saw her face, he murmured blankly—
"Hina?"