Ancient Dragon in Arknights

"Next, it's you."

A fierce wind surged in, and the Sarkaz squad leader felt himself being squeezed and lifted by an unseen hand. His consciousness was gradually fading, and he was powerless to resist.

Chapter 158 The Great Retreat

As the gym doors were flung open, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance—who dared to kick the door like that?! A challenger?

"Oh! Isn't this Brother Nesario? It's been a while. Come on, go tell the boss."

In an instant, the tense atmosphere dissipated. They were all family, and the one with the biggest fist in the family at that. Nobody wanted to be grabbed by Nesario and used as a punching bag, so everyone chose to follow their hearts.

Nesario entered the building—he carried luggage in his left hand and an unconscious Sarkaz soldier in his right. Behind him, Dagda, after emergency treatment, had barely regained her mobility. She was out of place in the Glasgow Gang's atmosphere, and most of the others stared at the armored girl, looking her up and down.

"follow me."

Nesario walked straight toward Vina's room, but of course, he didn't barge in; instead, he politely knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Upon entering the room, Indra, Morgan, and Vina were all there, each busy with their own affairs as always.

"Emergency situation—Vina, you need to be prepared."

"What happened? And...who is this person?"

"Tower Knight—ah!"

Vina's appearance as Aslan was never hidden within the Glasgow Gang, and the Tower Knights, as royal supporters, naturally wouldn't mistake her.

She immediately wanted to kneel down in respect, but Nesario stopped her before she could do so.

As far as he knew, the Glasgow gang members only knew that Vina came from an extraordinary background and was born into nobility, but they did not yet know that she was a crown princess.

This is something Vina herself should say; it's inappropriate for anyone else to reveal it.

The Glasgow Gang is thriving, and Vina and the others are beginning to see a bright future. They've been doing quite well lately.

"The thing is..."

Nesario made no secret of the events, recounting in detail the Grand Duke's entry into the city, the Sarkaz's infiltration of Lontinim, and Dagda's identity; of these events, the noble Tower Knight was ironically the least classy.

“Let this young lady knight receive treatment first, Indra.”

"Alright, boss."

Indra knew that she was not usually involved in such mentally taxing tasks, and she herself did not like to think too much, so she took the wounded away first.

"Is the news true?"

"100% certain."

"..."

Vina began to ponder what these intertwined events might lead to... Ultimately, she only saw a chaotic Lentinium.

"The war between the two dukes is beyond our control, but there is one thing I cannot understand—why are Sarkaz soldiers in Londinium?"

Nesario threw the prisoner he was holding onto the floor with a heavy thud as his heavy armor struck the ground, and he was starting to regain consciousness.

"They wiped out the Tower Knights immediately... Could it be to eliminate the resistance forces in Londinium?"

"The Sarkaz are known as mercenaries on Terra. Would their regime accept such a commission?"

"It's not impossible... rather, it's the only possibility! If Duke Victoria were to actually destroy Lontinim's defenses, his reputation would plummet. But if the blame is placed on the Sarkaz, they could not only dismantle Lontinim's defenses, but they would also have another reason—to defend Lontinim."

Is the legitimacy of power so addictive? Would someone really do something like inviting a wolf into their home?

Nesario couldn't understand what the Grand Dukes were thinking, but he knew he had to take action. No matter who the final winner was—a Drak or an Aslan—they would not let them get away.

"Vina, I'm leaving Lentinium. What are you going to do?"

"I...give me some time, I'll give you an answer tomorrow morning."

'I guess I'll hide and discuss things with that big lion... Before, I wasn't strong enough to know what that guy was up to. Now...'

Forget it, Nesario and Vina are still friends, and he has no intention of vying for the throne; rather, he just wants to get rid of this hot potato.

In all of Victoria, there were only a few people he could still cherish.

Rita is someone Nesario will never give up.

"I'll leave that Tower Knight to you. Anyway, they're loyal to Aslan now, and I don't need a burden."

If the Tower Knights were at their peak, Neltharion would have fought for their strength, but now—only one Tower Knight remains, and there's nothing left to do but mourn.

Dagda is not even as good as three Palicoes.

......

After leaving the Glasgow gang's stronghold, Nesario headed straight for the stronghold of the three Eto's Cats.

"Oh! Nesario meow! Congratulations on graduating."

"As a hunter, I haven't graduated yet."

"Meow, you still have a long way to go."

The three Palicoes are currently packing their belongings quickly—taking away important documents and leaving behind things that are inconvenient to take, whether they hide them in the basement or bury them in a hole, in order to ensure that they can escape smoothly.

"Tomorrow... no, now, I must buy a land vehicle, otherwise we'll be at a great disadvantage."

"The things your companion cat mainly carries are hunting weapons and tools, right? Good, you have the least to do."

Hunters value speed, agility, and versatility, and the Palico, inheriting this fine tradition, doesn't carry much luggage; like Neltharion, he only has a few clothes and equipment.

The Craftsman Cat and the Scholar Cat are more troublesome.

The main reason why the craftsman cat still has monster materials in his possession is that he originally came here with a box of Kirin materials, and he originally wanted to use these materials to craft equipment for Terra for Neltharion.

However, based on calculations—there weren't enough materials to create a fully covered outfit—Nesario finally understood why the Azure Star's Kirin Set had such a high degree of exposure.

Therefore, Nesario is no longer needed—he can use it for research when he returns to Colombia, or combine it with Terra's polymer materials to perhaps create better equipment.

"We must take this material with us. If it falls into the enemy's hands, who knows what will happen to it."

"Don't worry! The craftsmen will never discard any usable materials!"

As for Scholar Meow... he has even more things in his hands, and they are all priceless treasures.

His data research, observations on plants from the New World, and many local Terran survey records are all here.

Such information is usually more convenient to store in electronic form, but Ailu Cat has spent a lot of time learning about electronic devices, so the digitization of this information is only half complete at present.

"Take away or destroy all information about the New World. I'm sorry, Scholar Meow, but if Terra's schemers find out about it, you'll be in great danger. In the future... I'll help you record it again."

"Hmm... I know. I'm just a little reluctant to part with them... I wish I could store them all in there."

"We still have some time, let us help you."

The three Palicoes were all very sensible. Due to circumstances, Neltharion had to destroy the Scholar's research data, which was a devastating blow to the Scholar. However, he was only saddened and did not object; they all obeyed Neltharion's orders.

Before helping the cats pack their luggage, Nesario first spent a lot of money to buy a land vehicle.

The seller raised the price by at least 20%, and he thought he had made a profit. But in reality, his money was about to become worthless, while the land vehicle could bring him a glimmer of hope.

Chapter 159 War Breaks Out!

Two days passed after Neltharion arrived at the Palico outpost. During those two days, he didn't even sense any military surveillance, for a reason he knew very well—they were all focused on preparing for the upcoming war.

Since no one was looking after him, Nesario naturally had to take action; sitting idly by and waiting to die was not his style.

The initial, rudimentary escape plan had been finalized—Nesario's purchased land vehicle had been disposed of in a junkyard by a specialist. The mobile city generates a large amount of waste daily, and the hazardous materials within are naturally sealed or destroyed by specialized agencies.

As for what to do with less serious household waste? Naturally, it should be handed over to a recycling plant or simply dumped in the wilderness.

The mobile city is like a steel behemoth, and occasionally it will "excrete" waste. Tons of garbage are dumped from the mobile city into the wilderness, which after a while will attract countless scavengers who will fight over it. Even a little bit of what has slipped through the fingers of the upper class is enough for them to survive.

There are also many companies that set up waste recycling platforms. They specialize in finding useful items in waste, and then decompose, repair, and process them to give the waste value again.

In short—the land vehicle is now buried in a large wooden crate and a pile of junk along the route to Londinium.

During wartime, all entrances and exits to the city will be under martial law, and if Nesario and his men try to force their way in, they will definitely be blown to smithereens by the city's defensive cannons.

The next morning, Vina gave her answer—lead the core members of the Glasgow Gang away from Lentinium, while the other members would hide among the cities using the available resources.

At that time, Vina, Indra, Morgan, and Dagda—each with a different expression—were mostly in low spirits, especially Vina and Indra, both of whom were injured.

Nesario could roughly guess what had happened—Vina had gathered her right-hand men and announced her identity, which must have been quite a shock to the two children who had grown up in the slums.

The feeling of betrayal perfectly describes how they felt at the time.

I had thought Vina was just a rich girl who had been kicked out of a wealthy family or whose family had fallen on hard times—at least she had once been rich, and now she was no different from everyone else in the Glasgow Gang.

But now? Look—the knight in armor beside her is bowing and scraping to her with utmost respect.

They're from completely different worlds!

However, Vina was quite capable. The Glasgow Gang didn't collapse; instead, she transformed it.

"What should I address you now? General Indra? Or Sir Morgan?"

"There's nothing I can do... We've known each other for so long, I was mentally prepared, but I didn't expect it to be this exciting. But... isn't this a turning point in our lives?"

“Shut your mouth, Nesario. Our master told us that you are the same as her. Let me make this clear: if you ever go against our master, I will not hesitate to take action.”

Straightforward and unpretentious—that is Indra.

"The three of you tied together wouldn't be enough for me to beat with one hand. You should heal the wound on your face before you say that."

Unruly and arrogant—that's Nesario.

In short, Vina's arrival made the escape route instantly clear.

The city pipes they had previously crawled through together were now proving invaluable—they were designed with numerous escape routes for the royal family, some leading from the palace to other areas, and others allowing them to escape from the city's interior to the outside.

Of course, Vina was unaware of this; her memories of life in the palace were hazy. It was the great lion who told her all this.

The following are the names of those who escaped from Lentinium: Nesario, three Elfcats; Vina, Indra, Morgan, and Dagda.

As the last person to join the group, Dagda should have been abandoned. But her identity gave her the right to stay by Vina's side—a Tower Knight, the royal vanguard and guard.

Keeping her around is very useful, for example, for connecting with the nobility; Vina's group is now bringing together the lower and upper classes of society, and she, the crown princess, has unexpectedly become the link between them. Does this foreshadow her fate?

In fact, a certain high-ranking nobleman has been watching you for a long time.