Shield of the Rose

The morning woods were always drenched. Dewdrops hung heavy on the leaves, the grass, and the rocks. The nocturnal insects that had chirped all night finally quieted down to sip the dew.

Suddenly, a soft rustle startled the grasshoppers, mole crickets, and other insects hiding in the underbrush, sending them flying in all directions.

The sound drew closer and louder, eventually turning into a sharp “hissing” and the grinding noise of something crushing the ground, accompanied by the “crack” of kicked-up stones and clods of dirt hitting the roadside.

This was definitely not stealthy. The commotion could be felt from two or three kilometers away. Fortunately, this place was far from human habitation. These paths were abandoned mountain trails that had been neglected for an unknown amount of time; sometimes, months would pass without a single traveler.

Returning to this familiar environment left Richie feeling somewhat conflicted. A year ago, this had been his hometown; the hillsides and riverbanks still held memories of his joyous past. But now, he had to tread carefully, terrified of being discovered.

The journey so far had been quite smooth. Thanks to the “roller skates” saving them a lot of energy, the women had revised their plan, combining the first and second options to take a slightly longer route.

This route was not a straight line at all; there were several sections where they had to cross mountains and ridges. If they had strictly followed the second plan, the equipment transport vehicles wouldn’t have been able to pass through at all.

The difficulty of the terrain was relative. The Norman Alliance obviously detested these paths just as much, so aside from a few patrols made up of ordinary soldiers, they hadn’t seen any trace of enemy Knights along the way.

Suddenly, Nora, who was leading the squad, made a sudden movement. Not only did she stop, but she also darted behind a tree with incredible speed and threw herself flat on the ground.

Seeing Nora’s actions, the others immediately halted as well. In the blink of an eye, the squad dispersed in all directions: the three sisters secured the left flank, Merlin monitored the right, Dana took the front, and Richie followed closely behind.

This was a standard defensive formation.

“There is a Varedin Knight legion ahead. Fifteen equipment vehicles, over sixty Knights, and at least three recon Knights,” Nora reported her findings through the comms device.

Squad Captain Calli remained silent for a moment. She looked around, then made a hand signal.

The entire squad quietly pulled back, retreating a full kilometer before coming to a halt.

This was a gentle slope. Unless the people in the camp ahead had x-ray vision, they definitely couldn’t see them.

Ducking into a depression in the dense forest nearby, Calli popped open the front hatch of her Magitech Armor and slipped out. Holding a map, she frowned in deep thought as she studied it.

The front hatches of the armors opened one after another. Trisli, Merlin, and Dana gathered around Calli, the four of them holding an impromptu meeting.

Richie slipped out of his armor, merely wanting to get some fresh air.

“Are we about to fight?” Richie whispered as he walked over to Lina. Having been away from the battlefield for a while, even though his strength had grown significantly since then, he still felt a bit nervous and scared.

Lina glanced at Richie. She could certainly guess what was on his mind. Only veterans who had rolled through piles of corpses and witnessed countless deaths could step onto a battlefield without batting an eye. Richie was still far from reaching that level!

“Scared?” Lina chuckled softly, her laughter helping to dispel some of his tension. “Relax, Calli is definitely trying to figure out a detour! For a covert operation like this, we absolutely won’t engage unless it’s a last resort.”

Seeing that Richie was still a little tense, Lina deliberately asked, “How’s your research on using that Knight’s blade coming along? Did Trisli give you any inspiration?”

“I’m afraid she hasn’t figured it out either. I don’t know what Espol intended by giving me that strange weapon,” Richie replied.

This answer somewhat satisfied Lina. That annoying woman hadn’t figured out what she couldn’t figure out either. At least the two of them were still at the same starting line.

“You’ve been with her for a whole week. Tell me, between her and me, who is stronger?” Lina stared at the little guy.

Richie wanted to dodge the question, but it was impossible, so he could only muster his courage and carefully choose his words. “There’s no way to compare the two of you. Your focuses are completely different. She pursues the essence of power, while you only care about practicality.”

Lina habitually pinched Richie’s cheek. She was smiling, but there was a hint of malicious teasing in it. “You’re getting better with words! Did you think I didn’t know? The path she chose is hard at first and easy later. My path allows for rapid progress initially, but the further I go, the smaller the improvements.”

Richie was left speechless. He had been so careful, yet he had still managed to light the powder keg.

Just then, he heard Captain Calli snap her fingers—the signal to move out.

Lina’s guess was spot on; Captain Calli’s final decision was indeed to take a detour.

However, the detour she chose was one that no one had expected.

There were many rivers near Glasslovar, and since it was summer, the rainfall was at its peak.

Calli chose to travel by water.

The riverbanks were overgrown with reeds, providing natural cover, so the squad crept slowly along the reeds.

Neither the “Valkyrie” nor the “Einherjar” were fully sealed Magitech Armors, so freezing river water poured right in through the gaps in their plating. Fortunately, these suits had all been specially modified with underwater breathing apparatuses.

The breathing apparatus utilized a tube that extended all the way up to the sharp horn on top of their helmets.

The Magitech Armors were very tall, so walking upright was completely out of the question. They could only crawl slowly. The water resistance was immense. While crawling underwater, their speed was not only agonizingly slow, but they also had to be careful not to raise their bodies too high and expose the armors, nor stir up too much silt and give away their position.

Luckily, after crawling underwater for over twenty kilometers, a fork appeared in the river. Once they entered the tributary, it became much more concealed.

The sun rose, then set, and the sky gradually darkened.

This highlighted the benefits of traveling by water even more. The rushing river masked all their noises, and they didn’t have to worry about obstacles along the way. Aside from the slower pace, everything was perfect.

After crawling underwater for an unknown amount of time, the people in front finally went ashore, and Richie followed suit.

River water poured continuously from the gaps in the armor, splashing onto the ground like a broken, leaking kettle.

A series of tapping sounds echoed through the comms device—the pre-arranged signal.

Turning on the comms device randomly in enemy territory was highly dangerous. Only recon Knights had special equipment on their armors to prevent their signals from being intercepted. The other armors lacked this capability, so they had to rely on this extremely primitive method.

The night was pitch black, making it hard to be seen, which was a good thing. But the quiet of the night also meant sounds could travel very far, which was a bad thing. Because of this, every member of the squad had to heighten their vigilance as much as possible.

The one leading the group was still Nora. She seemed intimately familiar with the terrain here, walking steadily even in the darkness. Every time she stopped, she perfectly monitored her surroundings without risking exposure.

Compared to the others, Richie was having a relatively smooth time. His dual training in recon Knight Arts meant his high perception finally came in handy. He could sense the ground conditions within four meters of his feet, at least saving him from stepping into empty air.

The path was somewhat manageable at first, but grew increasingly treacherous as they progressed.

Fortunately, these Magitech Armors were specially modified, possessing unparalleled climbing and jumping capabilities.

Of course, only the light “Valkyrie” models could climb cliffs on their own; the “Einherjar” models still had to be hoisted up using steel cables.

Luckily, there were only two “Einherjar” users in the squad: Dana, and Ailie, the eldest of the three sisters.

Richie finally understood why they had chosen that valley for training. The terrain here was remarkably similar to the area around that valley—the same limestone formations, the same bizarre and sheer cliffs shaped by long-term erosion, and even the vegetation was almost identical.

After climbing through the night, the squad finally came to a halt again at dawn.

This time it wasn’t because of a discovery, but because they had reached their destination.

Nora climbed up to the highest nearby cliff and hid behind it. Her armor featured an extra cloak compared to the others. One side was earthy gray with large and small dark green spots, looking exactly like a lichen-covered rock. The other side was like a net, allowing her to attach branches and leaves.

Curling up and lying motionless on the cliff, Nora surveyed the surroundings.

She wasn’t the only one on lookout duty. Richie carefully hid beside a cliff as well. The complex terrain blocked the enemy’s line of sight, but it also blocked theirs, making it impossible for one person to monitor everything.

Richie’s armor had also been specially modified, though not to the extreme extent of Nora’s. He only had a 25x observation scope, two high-magnification acoustic receivers, and a row of vibration sensors on the inside of his arm. As for advanced equipment like ultra-high-magnification differential scopes, phase-noise filtering receivers, overlay vibration sensors, or air-shockwave sensors—standard gear for recon Knights—he had none of them.

Lying on the edge of the cliff, Richie vigilantly watched the sector assigned to him.

This direction was a blind spot for Nora, which was why she needed his help.

He slowed and deepened his breathing as much as possible, following Nora’s instructions to imagine himself as a rock, blending in with everything around him.

It sounded easy, but only when doing it did he realize how difficult it was.

Richie could feel the vibrations of the ground, though most of them were caused by his own people.

He hadn’t noticed before, but now he realized that the footstep vibrations of every squad member were completely different.

Suddenly, his ears picked up a very faint metallic clinking—the sound of a key being inserted into a lock, followed by a soft click as the lock sprang open.

At the same time, the sound of a startled bird flapping its wings came from the distance.

Richie immediately shifted his attention toward the noise, cranking the observation scope on his forehead to its maximum magnification.

It was a heron, about five or six kilometers away from his position. Even a person with the best eyesight would only see a white speck, but through the scope, he could clearly see its flight posture and the trembling of the branch it had just left.

Richie carefully scanned everything around that tree, especially the hiding spots Nora had taught him about.

Under the 25x observation scope, let alone a hidden person, even a leaf or a sliver of shadow could be seen crystal clear.

He spotted an inconspicuous little gray snake moving slowly in the shadows. This was likely what had startled the heron.

Richie couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. No wonder Nora had once said that eyes were only for final confirmation. By the time a recon Knight turned their gaze toward you, you had already been exposed. At that point, so-called camouflage and concealment were completely meaningless.

That statement was absolutely true.

The mountain winds were particularly strong. Even hiding in the bushes, he could feel the frantic gusts. Because his acoustic receiver was on, his ears were filled with the howling wind.

As he listened, an idea formed in his mind. He had always used his body’s sense of touch to perceive the flow of the wind. Could he switch to using his ears to listen?

So Richie focused all his attention on his ears.

His ears were filled with whistling screams. The sounds were chaotic, and although he could distinguish differences, pinpointing the direction left him completely clueless.

By the time everyone else had entered the secret door, Richie had finished his task, following Nora into the hidden cave.

Richie was astonished that such a place existed in Glasslovar.

He used to play here all the time and had climbed this peak several times, yet he had never noticed anything.

He had to admit that this place was incredibly well-hidden. The outside of the door was disguised as a flaky rock face; only after removing the camouflage would a small entrance be revealed.

Once everyone was inside, Merlin turned a handle on the side to restore the exterior camouflage, then shut the door behind them.

It was pitch black once the door closed, but soon, the headlights on their Magitech Armors all flicked on.

Both armor models had their headlights mounted on top of the helmet; wherever the head turned, the light followed.

With a soft hiss, Captain Calli popped open her front hatch, pulled out a map, and studied it.

A moment later, Calli ordered, “Follow me, and stay close. Absolutely do not touch anything.”

With that, she closed her hatch and led the way.

The cave was very long, sectioned off like a sausage, with each segment stretching twenty to thirty meters. Doors separated each section, their cast-iron frames clearly serving a structural support purpose, much like pillars.

Only a few months had passed since the retreat, and the cave still retained the look of its hasty abandonment.

It was a mess everywhere. Papers covered in writing littered the floor, along with shards of broken glass vessels and the remains of overturned tables and chairs.

It was obvious that this place used to be bustling with activity, likely with many people working here. But now, not a single soul could be found. The long corridors echoed only with the heavy footsteps of the armors and the metallic clangs of iron doors being opened one after another.

What the hell was this place used for?

Richie’s mind was full of questions. He had originally thought it was a secret command post, but the papers scattered underfoot all seemed to contain medical records and anatomical diagrams of human bodies and organs.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Calli suddenly opened a door on the side.

The door was very thick and had two locks; it took Merlin and Dana turning their keys simultaneously to open it.

Behind the door was a relatively small room. Sixteen mirrors were neatly arranged along one wall.

Calli jumped out of her armor and began rapidly typing on a desk covered in buttons.

Suddenly, the dark room lit up. Not only did this room light up, but the corridor outside did as well. Then, a low hum echoed from somewhere, and Richie immediately felt the stagnant air begin to circulate.

Calli continued to type furiously on the keyboard.

The mirrors on the wall lit up one by one, each displaying the situation in a specific direction outside.

This thing was actually an external surveillance system.

Calli finally stopped once every mirror showed an image.

“Nora, you’re in charge here. Merlin, guard the main door. Dana, come with me. The rest of you, search every room. Any document or item with writing or diagrams on it must be collected…”

Calli issued a series of orders. Trisli was the only exception; though Calli was the captain, she had no real jurisdiction over someone as special as Trisli.

Everyone stepped out of their armors, each taking up their assigned tasks.

Richie followed Lina. Seeing that Captain Calli had walked far away, he whispered, “What exactly is this place?”

“A secret laboratory! What else could it be?”

Lina replied calmly, her eyes constantly scanning left and right as if searching for something. “They must have left in such a hurry during the retreat that they couldn’t take everything with them. That’s why we’re here on this mission.”

“I lived in Glasslovar for so long and never knew there was a secret laboratory here,” Richie sighed.

Lina glanced at Richie, thinking to herself, There’s a lot you don’t know! It’s entirely possible that you were manufactured right here.

Suddenly, Lina’s eyes locked onto a door. It was heavy, cast entirely from pig iron, featuring a large capstan in the center. The threshold was as smooth as a mirror, indicating frequent use.

She walked over, grabbed the capstan with both hands, and cranked it hard.

The capstan hadn’t been used in months and was rusted, making it very difficult to turn. Fortunately, as a Knight, she had plenty of strength.

The capstan screeched with a harsh, grating metallic friction as it turned, followed by a soft clank.

As the door swung open, a putrid stench of rot rushed out.

Hit by the foul odor, Richie instantly felt dizzy and quickly backed away several steps.

To Richie’s surprise, Lina acted as if she noticed nothing, pushing the door wide and walking right in.

After hesitating for a moment, Richie pinched his nose and braced himself to follow her.

As soon as he entered, his face drastically changed color.

Inside the large room were numerous glass water tanks. Inside each tank lay a human body, all in advanced stages of decomposition.

Richie felt his stomach churn violently. He wanted to vomit.

He turned and bolted out of the room, running over a dozen meters before stopping. He still felt nauseous. He sniffed himself; perhaps it was psychological, but he felt as though the stench of the rotting corpses had clung to him.

Watching the heavy door from a distance, Richie waited for Lina to come out. His mind was teeming with questions, and only Lina could—and would be willing to—answer them.

He waited for quite a while before Lina finally emerged.

She closed the heavy iron door behind her, spinning the capstan to lock it once again.

“What kind of secret laboratory is this? What the hell were they researching here?”

Richie asked impatiently. His complexion still hadn’t returned to normal, and his hands were clammy with cold sweat.

Lina remained silent for a moment, appearing somewhat hesitant, but eventually she pulled Richie a few hundred meters down the hall, opened a random door, and dragged him inside.

Once the door was shut, Lina let out a sigh of relief.

“Remember this: neither you nor I ever touched that door, and we never entered that room.”

Lina gripped Richie’s shoulders tightly, staring directly into his eyes.

Flustered by her intense gaze, Richie could only nod.

“I had only heard rumors before. I didn’t expect them to be true.”

Lina sighed softly. “The Republic was secretly experimenting to create Pureblood Knights.”

“What’s a Pureblood Knight?”

Richie was confused.

“Knightly bloodlines vary in strength. Me, Robin, and Trisli all inherited some of the strongest bloodlines. There used to be a theory that if the strongest bloodlines could be combined, refined, and purified, it would be possible to create the true ultimate bloodline—that is what they call a Pureblood Knight.”

“Why call it a Pureblood Knight? That sounds more like a mongrel.”

Richie was quite curious.

Lina looked at Richie with an indescribably eerie expression, a faint smile playing on her lips.

“Have you ever heard of pureblood horses? They are the finest breed of horses, and purebloods are created through repeated crossbreeding.”

Lina finally satisfied Richie’s curiosity.

“Treating humans like horses… I really don’t know what the higher-ups were thinking. If this gets out, it will definitely cause a massive uproar.”

Richie suddenly remembered something and hastily asked, “Would the higher-ups silence us to be safe?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt a bit stupid.

If the higher-ups really had that intention, they wouldn’t have assigned Squad 105 to this mission. With people like Lina and Robin in the squad, who would dare order their execution?

Lina giggled for a while before explaining it to him.

“Even if it leaked, I doubt anyone would care. Every country actually conducts similar research, just in slightly different directions. Do you remember those Franca Knights we encountered? That ‘Instantaneous Burst’ Aura they used in their final desperate attacks was one of those research outcomes.”

Richie’s face twitched. Of course he hadn’t forgotten those terrifying foes, nor their impossibly fast reaction speeds and unstoppable power.

“As far as I know, the Franca Empire originally planned to develop a super Art. Their initial concept was for this Art to be powerful yet easy to cultivate. Regardless of innate talent, practicing this Art for about ten years would make someone an Ace Knight, and someone with good talent could become a Knight of Honor in twenty.”

Richie listened in stunned silence. He had actually found a whole pile of such whimsical Arts in that dusty room back then.

But that had been Rosa playing a prank on him.

Ever since he gained a better understanding of Knightly matters and witnessed advanced Arts, he had long thrown those whimsical ideas to the back of his mind.

He hadn’t expected the Franca Empire to have entertained such fantasies, or to have actually produced such a formidable failure.

Richie’s heart wavered; perhaps there really were hidden treasures among those bizarre Arts.

Lina playfully pinched Richie’s cheek. “If it weren’t for that aphrodisiac you were injected with, Calli would never have let you get your hands on her. Have you ever wondered where that drug came from?”

Richie immediately understood. Lina had been talking about the research directions of various countries; bringing up the aphrodisiac suddenly meant it was definitely tied to the Varedin Empire’s research.

Thinking about it carefully, it made perfect sense. Ordinary women simply couldn’t endure a Knight’s caresses, but after being injected with that drug, most women could withstand a Knight’s unbridled ravaging. That drug was absolutely more than just an aphrodisiac.

“Are you saying this is another failed research product?”

Richie asked.

“Besides Pureblood Knights, there are other bizarre theories. One is called ‘Bloodline Awakening.’ Ordinary people actually have Knightly bloodlines within them too, just extremely diluted. So someone proposed using a method to awaken that faint trace of bloodline. The most viable approach was inventing an awakening serum. Not only are the Varedins researching this, but every country has people working on it, including us.”

Richie felt a wave of gloom. After all this, in the eyes of the higher-ups, Knights were nothing more than high-end toys. Then, a chilling thought struck him—did researchers like Espol and Madame Char also have an unknown dark side?

Suddenly, Richie remembered something else. He pointed down the corridor. “Why did your old rival tag along? Those old empires should be investing even more in this kind of research than we are, right?”

Lina shook her head. “Countries like Packington, Aumor, and Rosotto highly revere the power of Knights. Over there, a Knight’s status is paramount, so the Pureblood Knight theory has absolutely no market there. Only countries like ours would dare conduct this kind of research.”

A bitter smile touched Lina’s lips. For a Knight, this was absolutely nothing to be happy about.

The secret laboratory was vast, boasting at least a hundred rooms.

Covered in dust, Richie emerged from one of the rooms. Following Miss Calli’s orders, any item with writing or diagrams had to be gathered. He had just dragged out several large bundles of books from under a bed, completely coated in dust, just like the floor.

He tossed the books into the corridor. Although Miss Calli hadn’t explicitly said so, everyone could guess that these items definitely weren’t going back with them; they were going to be destroyed.

Richie walked to the next room and kicked the door right off its hinges.

This row consisted entirely of dormitories. Compared to the previous rooms, this one had far more belongings. He guessed that the occupant had probably been away when the retreat happened, or perhaps they had died prior to it.

Bending down, he peered under the bed but found nothing besides a few pairs of shoes.

However, there were some books and documents piled on the desk. Richie flipped through them casually before tossing them out the door.

He pulled at a drawer, finding it locked. But such an ordinary lock couldn’t stop him. With a slight exertion of force, a crack rang out, and the lock, along with the wooden frame of the drawer, was yanked right off.

When he saw what was inside, Richie’s eyes instantly widened. There were over a dozen finger-thick gold bars, as well as several wads of cash.

Swallowing hard, Richie glanced around. Seeing no one, he casually pocketed everything.

He was now somewhat regretting his choice of combat suit, as there were no places to hide things in it.

Bolstered by this harvest, Richie’s enthusiasm skyrocketed. Not only did he kick open every door and turn the rooms upside down, but he even went back into rooms others had already searched to rummage through them again.

He had to admit, the people here had indeed retreated in a massive hurry, leaving plenty behind, which meant Richie reaped a hefty bounty.

At first, he tried stuffing things into his clothes, but eventually, he just found a sack and carried it by hand, figuring the rest of the squad wouldn’t say anything anyway.

Having scoured every single room—except for the restricted area Miss Calli had designated—Richie only had the boiler room left to check.

He had left the boiler room for last because it also served as the incinerator. The paper scraps dropped on the floor all seemed to lead in this direction, and a dense carpet of papers paved the area in front of its door.

Richie originally thought no one would be here, but to his surprise, Lina was inside.

Lina was crouching half-upright, a pile of unburned paper scraps at her feet. She was holding a few pieces, staring at them absentmindedly.

Richie craned his neck to get a peek at the papers in Lina’s hand.

They looked like hospital certificates.

Before he could get a clearer look, Lina noticed him and smoothly flipped her hand, hiding the slip of paper away. She glanced at the sack in Richie’s hand, a flash of disdain crossing her face, though she quickly masked it.

She knew full well that if Richie wanted money, it would be incredibly easy. Whether he asked Haiget or Trisli, a simple request would instantly net him two or three million.

Though Richie had done a lot of favors for Haiget, it was hard to say who benefitted more; nine times out of ten, it was Haiget who owed him a favor.

Despite seeming greedy, this little guy had his own principles.

“I’ve searched this entire place. The things you’re looking for aren’t here,” Lina said with a smile, casually sweeping the scraps of paper on the floor into the ash pile.

Richie didn’t notice Lina’s subtle movements; he hadn’t held much hope for this place to begin with.

Watching Richie leave, Lina retrieved the papers from the ash pile.

They were indeed hospital certificates—copies of birth records from three maternity hospitals in Glasslovar.

She had suspected the existence of these documents a long time ago, and now it was finally confirmed.

These copies proved that at least six test subjects had been sent to those three maternity hospitals, where they had been swapped with normal infants.

Although Richie’s record wasn’t among them, she was certain he was one of those many test subjects.

And not just Richie; Lina also thought of the girls around him.

Out of those six girls, three were confirmed to be Psions, and another was suspected to be one. Their mothers all possessed Psion potential as well. Such a high ratio was highly suspicious.

It forced her to draw numerous connections.

Perhaps Glasslovar itself was a massive testing ground created solely for the Pureblood Knight experiments.

Suddenly, she thought of Trisli. Did that woman and the people behind her know something as well?

To those in the dark, Richie’s awakening seemed like a chance occurrence, but if Glasslovar was a massive testing ground, then it was absolutely no accident; it was proof of a milestone success.

If Trisli already knew all of this, then her joining the squad—and this mission—was not as simple as initially thought.

Lina’s heart inevitably grew heavy.

The door at the end of the corridor opened. Captain Calli walked out carrying a leather suitcase, with Trisli following closely behind.

No one knew what was inside that suitcase, which was immediately shoved into the trailer.

“Has everything been cleaned up here?” Calli asked.

“All clean.” Dana had performed the final inspection, checking every corner.

“Throw everything into the incinerator. Make sure it all burns completely; absolutely no scraps can be left behind,” Calli commanded.

“Won’t the smoke from the incinerator expose our position?” Richie asked with concern.

“Don’t worry. You lived in Glasslovar for so long and never knew there was a secret laboratory here. That goes to show that when this place was designed, secrecy was already taken into account,” Merlin explained from the side.

The gathered papers were crumpled into fine shreds and tossed into the furnace. Because they were shredded, the fire burned incredibly fiercely, without producing even a wisp of smoke.

On the other side, Randy was tinkering with something—an arm-thick Energy Crystal wrapped in a messy tangle of metal wires.

There were six of these devices in total. Seeing Randy’s careful handling, one could imagine just how dangerous they were.

Even though no one told him, Richie could guess they were explosives.

He had seen the devastation of an Energy Crystal explosion before; it was truly earth-shattering.

Everything that needed to be destroyed vanished into the dancing flames.

Everyone got back into their armors. Randy placed the explosive devices in predetermined locations: four on the structural doorframes, one inside the mysterious “restricted area,” and the last one—just as Richie had predicted—inside the room full of water tanks.

Once everything was set, Calli walked into the central monitoring room. With a flying kick, she smashed the central control desk into the monitor wall.

Amidst a jarring crash, everything shattered into pieces. Simultaneously, the room and the corridor plunged into pitch darkness.

No one turned on their headlights; there was no need. Over the past few hours, they had scoured every corner of this secret laboratory and were incredibly familiar with it. They could find their way out even in the dark.

Naturally, they left through the same way they entered.

Nora was the first to climb out. She carefully scanned the surroundings, taking a full fifteen minutes to confirm there was no danger outside.

The members of Squad 105 emerged one by one, with the closely guarded trailer bringing up the rear.

By standard protocol, they absolutely could not take the same route back; that would be too dangerous.

Although they had remained hidden on the way here and hadn’t alerted anyone, they inevitably left some traces. These traces were very likely to be discovered, and if the enemy commander was meticulous, they would ten-to-one lay an ambush along that path.

This was the very reason the third option had been eliminated during the planning phase.

They had ascended the mountain from the south, so they had to descend via one of the other three directions. Captain Calli chose the east.

About an hour into their trek, a muffled explosion rumbled in the distance, followed immediately by violent tremors shaking the earth.

Richie turned to look back and saw the towering peak collapse, abruptly sinking downward. Billowing clouds of dust surged up, rapidly spreading in all directions.

Needless to say, the six explosive devices had done their job. Four were meant to destroy the supports to trigger a mountain collapse, which they clearly achieved, while the other two ensured the absolute destruction of the most crucial evidence.

Before Richie could finish admiring the spectacular sight of the collapsing mountain, frantic tapping echoed through the comms device—the signal to move out double-time.

No one dared disobey. Everyone knew such a massive commotion would definitely alert the enemy. A lockdown would follow, then a full-scale mountain sweep. They had to get as far away as possible before the enemy could react.

At this point, stealth went out the window. The entire squad immediately broke into a dead sprint.

One reason they had chosen the eastern descent was that the mountain paths here were relatively gentle. They easily leaped over ditches and ravines, and even the occasional cliff drop was only twenty or thirty meters at most. With the “Valkyrie’s” shock absorption systems, they could easily handle the impact. The only ones who needed to be careful were the “Einherjars.”

“We’ve been spotted! We’ve been spotted! Four o’clock direction, six kilometers away. A squad of Knights is pursuing us, no fewer than nine,” Nora relayed the bad news.

Stealth was meaningless now; the most important thing was to break out before the enemy could finalize their lockdown. Captain Calli shouted over the comms, “Ignore the pursuers! Everyone speed up, get to flat ground as fast as possible!”

She hardly needed to say it; everyone was already sprinting with all their might. Because the “Einherjar” was slightly clumsier, Richie and Margaret each lent a hand to push Dana’s armor forward, while the two younger sisters pushed their eldest sister.

The two groups of armors bolted through the mountains. This was no ordinary race; it was a spectacular scene. These one-or-two-ton behemoths stomped across the terrain, kicking up billowing dust and causing the ground to violently tremble. Trees along the way were constantly side-swiped—large trees had chunks of wood gouged out with splinters flying, while smaller ones simply snapped in half.

“Another squad of Knights, a lot of them, at our eleven o’clock! Seven to nine kilometers away!” Nora warned again.

“We’re about to enter flat terrain! Everyone prepare to switch movement modes!” Calli fired off a string of commands.

The area ahead was entirely downhill. Switching to “roller skates” would be like sprouting wings.

It all came down to speed now.

Would the enemy finish deploying and seal off all routes first, or would they break through in time?

Leaping over a trench, the mountain slope ahead indeed flattened out significantly.

The members of Squad 105 all leaped into the air. While still airborne, the leg compartments of their armors popped open. The roller-skate boards normally hidden inside flipped forward, locking tightly onto the soles of their boots with a sharp click.

There was not a second of hesitation; this exact maneuver had been meticulously accounted for during the design phase.

With Nora in the lead, the rest of the squad formed a long line, speeding through the mountain ridges.

The chaotic thud of footsteps vanished, replaced by the grinding of wheels on the ground and the ear-piercing hiss of high-speed axles.

“The enemies ahead are only two kilometers away. We can’t go around them,” Nora reported, keeping a constant watch on the two groups of pursuers.

“Change formation! Arrowhead formation! Prepare to attack!” Calli quickly commanded.

Nora, who had been leading, dodged to the side, immediately yielding the vanguard position to Dana, who was right behind her. The single-file line instantly shifted: Merlin moved slightly to give space to Lina, followed closely by the three sisters.

“Activate the charging mechanisms!” Calli ordered again.

A faint yet piercing hum rang out as the spherical protrusions covering the armors began emitting a faint glow.

The two kilometers vanished in the blink of an eye. Rounding a bend, they saw a line of Varedin Knights standing ahead. Numbering fifteen, there were slightly more of them than Squad 105, but they were entirely composed of Iron Crusaders.

This enemy squad had already assumed a defensive stance. At the front stood four heavy Defenders wielding massive shields, blocking the path like an impenetrable wall.

Unfortunately for them, this impenetrable defense happened to run into Squad 105, led by Dana.

A blinding streak of lightning shot straight toward the exact center of that thick wall.

In that instant, Dana, her spear, and the lightning merged into a single, unstoppable line.

With a deafening explosion, the two Defenders in the center were blasted away, tearing a massive hole in their defensive line.

In the exact moment Dana struck, Lina vaulted into the air. She spun her Knight’s sword five or six times before bringing it down in an unstoppable cleave. Wherever the blade passed, the air trembled violently, and faint, transparent ripples could be seen expanding in all directions.

This strike plunged right through the torn opening.

The earth violently rippled, then seemed to burst open, launching the people standing on it into the air.

Back when Lina was the only Ace Knight—with only Calli, Richie, and Nora behind her—they had mowed down enemies like cutting grass. Now, with Dana—an even more ruthless and powerful Ace Knight—and Trisli, a genius girl with unfathomable strength, it took mere moments to wipe out the intercepting enemy squad completely.

Richie, having quick hands, managed to take down one enemy himself. Because it had been so easy, he even suspected the person he killed had already been shocked to death by the vanguard, and he had simply picked up a free kill.

“Should we take out the pursuers behind us too?” Richie asked, eager to try. That brief clash had been far too unsatisfying.

“We’re not lacking supplies, no need to waste time,” Calli’s mind remained forever cool and calculating.

Since the captain had made her decision, no one raised any objections.

The squad continued on their way.

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