Chapter 994
Episode 246: The Great Desert Battle for Mitra (4)
“Heh, where to next, I wonder?”
Thud—thud!
Yona, with a bright smile, moved through the fallen Red-Eyed Tribe warriors, swiftly ending their lives one by one. From her pocket, she pulled out the internal map of the fortress Patl that Eltiot had prepared earlier.
“Wow, sis, your drawing skills really need work…”
The map was Eltiot’s rough sketch, based on the ‘Pibil’ fortress that the Cheongmyeong Tribe had seized in the past. Since Patl and Pibil were airborne fortresses built around the same time, some of their internal layouts overlapped.
The interdimensional tracking device.
Eltiot had predicted that this crucial piece of equipment for the alliance would be located on either the fifth or sixth floor.
Though it was currently in the spotlight due to the unique properties of Lafrarosa, the interdimensional tracking device wasn’t originally considered a high-priority system on airborne fortresses.
It wasn’t often used in battle—mostly just to track enemies who had fled or hidden. In Pibil, the device was installed on the sixth floor.
“I need to break through one more floor. Staying longer than 20 minutes—no, 15 minutes—is too risky. I have to find something the youngest will like, hehe!”
Kiiing! Waaang!
An alarm blared, signaling the intrusion. Red-Eyed Tribe warriors nearby quickly formed ranks and sealed off the seventh floor.
But the initial shockwave of the enemy’s psychic attack had escaped through the rift created by Jin and Luna, and Yona moved like a shadow, slipping through the Red-Eyed warriors.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
Every time Yona moved, the Red-Eyed warriors let out agonized screams.
For a long time, the tribe couldn’t understand why their comrades were dying. They’d turn toward the cries, only to see one of their own collapse, stabbed somewhere on their body.
Since the Sun War, the Red-Eyed Tribe had never faced an assassin like Yona. Except for now, no era had ever seen a killer of her caliber.
“Comrades! Tighten the formation! No matter how good his stealth is, if we leave no gaps—ugh!”
The seventh floor was now divided into sealed compartments, and the Red-Eyed warriors clustered tighter. The space was cramped, dark, and full of hiding spots.
So Yona killing them was no different from popping bugs trapped inside a glass jar, one by one.
{What’s going on, seventh floor? Report!}
“Comrade Bakarun! That is—ugh!”
{Comrade!}
“Hehe, hello there. You must be Captain Bakarun?”
Yona appeared before the holographic spear floating above the bracelet of a recently slain Red-Eyed warrior, locking eyes with Bakarun. He flinched at her innocent expression. Despite all the comrades she’d killed, not a drop of blood stained her face or clothes.
“That’s him! Get him!”
The warrior who shouted charged at Yona’s back but lost his head instead. Yona wasn’t just a skilled assassin.
In pure close combat, only a handful in the alliance could match her. She was no match for ordinary Red-Eyed warriors or mediocre duelists.
{You… Yona Runkandel, right?}
“Yeah, you’re definitely Bakarun! Nice to meet you. I kinda want to kill you, so why don’t you come over here? I don’t really know my way around this fortress. Hehe.”
[That seventh floor will be your grave.]
Bakarun wasn’t falling for Yona’s taunts. Yona had only thrown the words out casually.
Bakarun ended the communication and tried to strengthen the lockdown, but just as he was about to close the channel, Eltiot suddenly appeared, glaring at him.
“Yona, huff! Huff! Don’t you feel I’m being too harsh on you…?”
“Sis, you’re not dead?”
Eltiot, covered in blood and ash, had just followed Yona into Patl.
{Cheongpungje…!}
“Hey, Bakarun, you want to capture us, right? Then there’s only one way. Start the fortress’s spatial leap now. Once Patl returns to your base, even Yona and Jin won’t be able to escape.”
Bakarun gritted his teeth, showing his fury, then cut the communication.
“You made Bakarun end the comms.”
“Oh, Yona… don’t you have anything else to say?”
“Hmm, thanks for your hard work?”
“Ha, that’s enough. Anyway, Yona, because of what I just said, he’ll probably avoid using the spatial leap. That’s actually the most dangerous move for us, but since we told him not to, he’ll try other tactics first…”
Before Eltiot could finish, the interior of Patl suddenly began to shake.
“Heh, looks like my little plan didn’t work. I didn’t expect Bakarun to prepare the spatial leap so quickly.”
The tremors were caused by Patl’s power source amplifying the psychic core to open a massive dimensional gate. As Eltiot said, they were trying to pull the two of them back to the base.
Yona instinctively pressed a blade to Eltiot’s neck.
“Yona, there’s no need for that. We can just escape and wait for the next chance.”
“Hehe, but then I can’t give the youngest a present.”
“Can’t be helped…”
“How long does the spatial leap take?”
“Since they’re supporting Simat, they won’t use full power. Fastest is five minutes, at worst seven.”
“Then let’s head to the sixth floor. Your map says there’s a passage if we break the blockade ahead.”
Eltiot looked at the blade at his neck and sighed.
“Looks like you’ll have to learn a bit about the world from me, Yona.”
Of course, Yona had no intention of stabbing Eltiot.
But before she could pull the blade away, Eltiot twisted it with his fingers.
“Huh!? Hehe?”
The blade, which had been held straight, twisted diagonally. Yona momentarily lost her balance and stepped back. This was a first.
Even Jin wouldn’t have been able to disarm her so easily in such a situation.
“Heh heh, surprised? The move I just showed can only be done by someone who lives in perfect harmony with the world. Yona, harmony includes understanding others’ feelings. Do you think Jin would want you to risk your life fetching parts?”
“But I want to give a present.”
“The fact that you and Jin just read each other’s thoughts without a word—that’s the real gift. And because of us, the Red-Eyed are trying to take the fortress in the desert. That’s progress. So don’t push yourself. Let’s go back.”
“All we have to do is break one blockade…”
“Pfft!”
“Hehe!”
“Crack!”
“Hehe!”
“Let’s go down.”
“Got it!”
So, Yona and Eltiot decided not to push further and escaped Patl.
The rift they’d used to enter was already sealed by the psychic shield formed by the enemy. Eltiot placed his palm on it and instantly neutralized the barrier.
But he coughed up a handful of blood. His body, weakened by the seal, wasn’t built to endure continuous fighting.
Seeing this, Yona instinctively pulled out some bandages, and Eltiot smiled approvingly.
He thought helping Luna break the walls of creation was one thing, but helping Yona break down the walls between herself and the world was even more rewarding.
“Hmm, the outside is filled with psychic waves. Even you, Yona, would get hurt if you just ran.”
“I won’t get hurt.”
Eltiot said nothing and naturally hoisted Yona onto his back. Yona found it fascinating how Eltiot moved beyond her reactions.
“It doesn’t seem very fast, though. What’s going on? If you had a sword in your hand, you could have cut me. How is this possible?”
“If I wanted to cut you, my hand would be filled with killing intent. And with that intent, I couldn’t move like this. You’re already doing it, but you just don’t realize it. Once you do, your assassination skills might actually drop a bit.”
“Hehe, so that’s bad.”
“As an assassin, yes. But as a person, it’s better. Don’t hold on to me so tightly. I’ll get you down safely.”
Eltiot and Yona began descending outside Patl.
Outside, the psychic waves, Luna’s sword energy, and the psychic cores of Jin and Simat covered the ground and sky.
Sometimes, sharp bursts of energy grazed parts of Eltiot’s body.
But Yona, riding on his back, felt nothing. She enjoyed the breeze of Eltiot like a pleasant dream.
By the time they reached the ground, Patl had opened the massive dimensional gate as planned.
It looked like a red sea had opened in the sky. The enormous gate rippled, enveloping the fortress and fleet.
The Red-Eyed Tribe decided to retreat for now. They hadn’t suffered enough damage to require a full withdrawal, but the unpredictable presence of the three summoned demons by Lanke was a concern.
“Let’s call it a day, Jin Runkandel.”
Simat blocked Jin’s sword and said.
Jin didn’t stubbornly pursue Simat. He was worried the demons’ ‘power absorption’ might affect Lafrarosa.
More importantly, the Red-Eyed’s airborne fortress had already fully loaded its main cannons. With their mobility compromised, the alliance could only fight on the enemy’s terms for now.
For the Balmel Alliance, it was fortunate that the battlefield would remain fixed in the great desert for the time being.
Without a word, Jin charged toward Luna, Yona, and Eltiot, ready to cover the fortress’s main guns as they retreated.
Kraaaah…!
The airborne fortresses unleashed their main cannons before vanishing beyond the dimensional gate. Jin and his group spread their protective barrier, shielding LTOT as they began to break free from the storm of enemy neural blasts.
[Hahaha!]
[What incredible power! Oh, if we keep absorbing energy like this every day, we might soon regain the strength we once had!]
Meanwhile, Srivi and his crew laughed heartily as they absorbed the main cannon blasts from the airborne fortresses, as if they were some kind of tonic. Jin’s group was too far away to see this directly.
Still, amid the crushing neural storm weighing down on him, Jin sensed a familiar energy radiating from Srivi’s side.
‘Could this be… the brain energy of the brothers!?’
Though faint, the power Jin felt was unmistakably the neural energy used by the Meiwang clan of Laprarosa.
Soon, that energy was absorbed into the souls of Srivi’s group and vanished. Jin and his team successfully pierced through the neural storm and escaped the vast desert.