Poseidon in Arknights

"Amiya, Jessica, Exusiai, suppress them."

"Understood." A small black ball materialized between Amiya's hands. The moment the ball took shape, it flew out and slammed into one of the mercenaries, the powerful impact interrupting the mercenary's charge.

Exusiai, seeing the mercenary rushing towards her, was not flustered at all. Instead, a smile appeared on her face as she reached for her thigh and quickly drew a silver revolver from its holster.

When the mercenary saw Exusiai draw her revolver, a sinister smile crept across his face. He knew these Sarkaz; these handguns were usually their guards, and even revolvers had limited power.

Bang! Bang! Two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, erupting from the revolver.

Three bullets whizzed through the air. The first bullet collided with the mercenary's heavy sword with a crisp sound, followed by an explosion.

The first bullet exploded the instant it hit the ground, and the flying shrapnel nearly tore the mercenary's greatsword apart. The upper part of the blade detached from the greatsword and fell to the ground due to gravity.

The second bullet was too much for the already tattered greatsword to withstand. The bullet struck the mercenary's body without any obstruction, and another explosion rang out. The mercenary's abdomen was almost blown open, and some fragments of the bullet even passed through his body and landed behind him.

"Hmph." Exusiai lightly blew on the revolver, which was still emitting smoke. "I never said I was weak in melee combat."

"Exusiai, you're just pretending there. Why don't you come and help me instead!" Croissant seized the opportunity to step back, causing the mercenary's heavy sword to crash to the ground. She then smashed him away with a backhand hammer.

"Oh, here it comes!"

-------------

"WHO." Exusiai breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the mercenaries lying on the ground. She first took out a few bullets from her pouch and loaded them into her precious revolver.

He bent down and picked up the empty magazines that he had just tossed on the ground for convenience.

“Um,” Jessica said, looking at Franka, who was leaning against the wall panting, “the burst attack has rather strong side effects, so it doesn’t seem very practical.”

“It’s still okay to save a few shots.” Franka looked at Jessica after catching her breath. “A burst of power at a crucial moment is still useful, although the exhaustion after the buff ends is indeed a bit of a headache.”

"However, when we tried it before, although it was a hindrance, it wasn't that serious."

"Perhaps it's because the stamina consumed during combat is different from that consumed during testing," Razer casually replied after picking up the empty magazine from the ground. "But looking at it this way, it seems that the order of bullet combinations needs further experimentation."

“Hmm.” Jessica nodded, then looked at the white pistol in her hand. “But I feel that if I use this submachine gun now, it doesn’t seem to be suitable for the order of bullet usage, as it relies almost entirely on the pre-loaded bullets.”

"It seems rather unsuitable for the complex battlefield environment."

"In that case, how about trying out my revolver?" Exusiai chimed in as soon as she heard people discussing firearms. "If you're struggling with this kind of issue, wouldn't a revolver, which can be loaded and fired instantly, be more suitable?"

As he spoke, Exusiai showed everyone her revolver. To be honest, Exusiai had a urge to change it to a half-silver-white, half-azure style, because she noticed that Xiyue seemed to have a strong preference for this blue aesthetic.

However, considering that Texas might get angry and beat her up if she did that, Exusiai would have no choice but to give up.

After all, on the night of their confrontation, Texas and Exusiai had already engaged in a full-blown physical fight in bed. Of course, to avoid disturbing Sora, who was "completely unaware" of what was happening outside, their movements were quite gentle.

However, in close combat, Exusiai is definitely no match for Texas. If it weren't for the need to prepare for the next day, a bruised and battered Exusiai might arouse Yuuki's suspicion.

Texas could probably take down Exusiai in one go, without needing any further fighting. As for what happened after that big battle, it was just some small deals, for example.

There are small agreements such as no sneaking out and helping each other when circumstances permit. As for whether to abide by them, it really depends on self-discipline.

"A revolver?" Jessica stared at the revolver in Exusiai's hand, lost in thought. From this perspective, a revolver might indeed be better than the pistol in her hand in complex situations.

"Could you guys stop talking?" The Doctor walked around the mercenary lying on the ground and pointed to the building not far away. "Wouldn't it be better if we went to take a look there?"

"With such a commotion, the person we're looking for should have already escaped, right?" Croissant looked up at the buildings not far away. "Not to mention that they were lying in ambush beforehand. If they were going to run, they would have done so long ago."

“I don’t think so.” The doctor shook his head and waved his phone. “After the battle started, I had PRTS deploy drones. At least during the battle just now, I didn’t see anyone trying to escape.”

“At least PRTS didn’t issue any similar alerts just now; on the contrary, that guy was just observing us from the rooftop.”

The doctor showed everyone the drone's footage. W was standing on the rooftop observing them with binoculars. He seemed to notice the drone and waved in its direction before going back inside the building.

"What about the sewers?" Razer looked at the surveillance footage. "There's no way to monitor the sewers, is there?"

“There are always limitations.” The doctor shrugged. “Whether he’s in that building or escaped through the sewers, we still have to go and check.”

“That makes sense.” Razer nodded. After loading all the bullets in the magazines, he put them back into his tactical straps, picked up his shield, and walked at the front.

Exusiai looked at the magazine and bullets in her hand, thought for a moment, then walked over and put the small bag of bullets and empty bullets into the Doctor's hand.

"Huh?" The Doctor looked down at the small bag that had been forcibly shoved into his hand and at Exusiai with a puzzled expression. "I'm not in logistics."

"Hehe." Exusiai chuckled twice at the Doctor. "Since the Doctor doesn't have anything else to do, why not reload me and keep my fighting strength up?"

The Doctor looked at Exusiai helplessly, then reluctantly tied the small bag to his waist and began loading the magazine with bullets one by one, muttering to himself as he did so, "I've never heard of a tactical advisor needing to load bullets."

Croissant and Razer kicked open the half-open door together, and the two quickly grabbed their shields. They went inside, surveyed the hall to make sure nothing was amiss, and then signaled to the people behind them that it was safe.

The Doctor cautiously entered the hall, and immediately hid behind Croissant. After looking around the hall, he said, "Exusiai, Franka, and Liskarm, search the first floor to see if there are any traces of her escaping through the sewers."

"OK."

"Understood~"

"clear."

--------------

"The first floor is safe." Razer walked out of the innermost room, carrying a shield.

"Me too." Franka, who had already returned to the hall, shrugged. "Top student, you were a little slow this time."

"Same."

"It's a bit quiet here. Is that person really still here?" Exusiai retrieved the compressed magazine from the Doctor. "No matter what, she doesn't seem like the type who wouldn't fight back, does she?"

“W would never do that, but the situation is definitely strange.” Amiya looked around warily. “Any signs of them escaping into the sewers?”

"Unless she had the time to completely erase all traces of her entering the sewer and then conveniently escape through it, it's unlikely."

Exusiai thought for a moment and then pointed to the toilet: "Oh, if he has any magic similar to changing his body, that's also possible."

“Hmm, Miss W probably doesn’t have that kind of magic.” Amiya shook her head, then looked at the stairs not far away. “So, you should still be upstairs right now?”

"Everyone, please be careful this morning. Miss W is very skilled with explosives. In this confined space, Miss W's destructive power is formidable."

Amiya looked at everyone, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up again: "If the situation allows, please minimize the harm to Miss W..."

“Uh, about this…” Exusiai thought for a moment and then said, “When Yuzuki came out, she told me that if necessary, I should use force as much as I could, just leave him alive, and then drag him back to find him.”

"His exact words were, 'No matter what, our lives are more important. If we have to capture her, we can use any means necessary. Just leave her alive, then drag her back to find her, or call her over.'"

"Hmm, is that what Miss Yuzuki said?" Amiya looked at Exusia. "In that case, should we at least leave her alive?"

"Hey, Amiya, you really trust a doctor like that?" A flippant voice suddenly came from the stairs. "Taking away a breath, hmm, it feels like a pretty good method."

As the sound rang out, several dark objects were thrown into the middle of the group.

"Watch out, it's a bomb!" Seeing several dark objects flying over, Razer instinctively shouted and pushed the Doctor and Amiya, who were standing next to him, backward.

But after a while, there was still no sound coming from inside.

"Hahaha." W stood on the stairs and laughed as he watched the group scrambling to avoid the stones. "Why are you so scared? They're just a few rocks."

"Weren't they saying they were coming to capture me?" W looked at the group that had re-entered combat mode and quickly ran upstairs. There were two heavily armed men, four people with ranged attack capabilities, and that damned doctor as the commander. Was she supposed to face them alone? W might be crazy, but she wasn't stupid.

"If you want to, then come along, as long as you're not afraid."

Chapter 111: Muirses finally arrives

“To be honest, I don’t really want to go up there.” Exusiai shook her head as she watched W disappear down the stairs. “It’s obvious that there are a lot of traps set up up there.”

“Indeed.” Franka nodded. “That guy… I just saw a grenade launcher on him.”

“I think we can call for backup.” Croissant looked at the staircase that seemed to be radiating malice. “For example, we could call Texas or Yuzuki, or even Red.”

"Anyway, Hong has nothing to do all day long. She just hangs around Xiyue every day. Let's drag Hong out and make her do something."

“That’s a good idea.” Exusiai nodded in agreement, “provided that Red is willing to come out, or that Yuuki calls Red out.”

“I’m not entirely sure if the person you’re talking about can handle the current situation,” Razer glanced at the two discussing. “But… wouldn’t calling for backup now be a bit too late?”

Exusiai looked at Liskarm and shrugged: "But staying here like this isn't a good idea. It's obviously a trap, and we can't just go look at it."

Razer glanced upstairs and said, "Okay, I admit you're right. Let's get out of here first, in case she's desperate and blows the building up."

-----upstairs-----

W stood at the window watching the group cautiously retreat. She had indeed set up some traps upstairs, but not many. She didn't have that many bombs to waste on pointless things.

That doctor wouldn't be foolish enough to let her people step into such a blatant trap.

“Hmm. This place is completely different from Talulah.” W suddenly sighed. “We can’t get anything done in this situation.”

She didn't have many bombs on her, and she'd heard that Bonebreaker had also been captured, and she didn't want to be captured too; she had a lot of things to do.

The current situation has only forced them away, giving her time to escape.

“But then again,” W said, looking out the window at the slums, “the Reunion Movement’s plan was, at least, a failure, wasn’t it?”

To be honest, W didn't really want this plan to happen, because it would bring absolutely no benefits.

The reason the Sarkaz mercenaries chose to join the Reunion Movement, an organization that offered almost no commission, was that Talulah promised that the cities they conquered would always have a place for the Sarkaz.

Even if war breaks out later, there will always be food for the Sarkaz on the battlefield. For some free mercenary Sarkaz who have not joined other stable organizations, this may be a good thing.

From a certain perspective, this would be a good thing for almost all Sarkaz.

At least they don't have to wait for someone to hire them, since anyone could hire them on the battlefield.

It's a truly tragic reason that a race has to rely on war to survive, but unfortunately, that's how the Sarkaz live for now.

Having survived wars of blood and fire, this land is hostile to the infected, especially to the Sarkaz, whose entire race is almost entirely composed of infected individuals. Of course, there are also some historical issues at play.

“Your Highness, this little rabbit doesn’t look like you at all.” W looked out the window at Amiya peeking out from around the corner of the street. “Never mind, it’s time to go back.”

"But this Reunion Movement isn't a place to stay for long, but what does it have to do with me?"

--------------

"So today was a complete waste of time." Exusiai threw herself onto the sofa. "I should have just taken Red with me from the beginning."

"I was skeptical about whether you guys could catch W," Yuuki nodded, seemingly having expected it. "It's quite easy for her to escape."

"After all, the slum is so big. If the other party is determined to run away, or uses traps to block you, it is very easy for them to escape."

"If you had thought of this earlier, you should have brought Red over sooner~" Exusiai looked up at Yuuki next to her, and was about to lean her head over to rest her head on his lap when she felt a chill on her back.

Exusiai turned her head to look, and sure enough, it was Texas sitting on the sofa next to her.

Then, Exusiai smiled slightly at Texas, completely ignoring Texas's gaze, and moved her head directly onto Yuuki's knees.

'This girl is getting more and more shameless.' Texas's face turned cold as she watched Exusiai's actions. Her best friend was really something else; she'd get on the verge of causing trouble if she wasn't disciplined for a day.

"What does it matter?" Yuuki didn't sense the undercurrent of conflict between the two. She simply smiled and patted Exusiai's head. "Anyway, the wages will still be paid, right?"