Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

She took a deep breath, shaking off a terrible thought from her mind. Feeling frustrated, she casually summoned Shanghai, hugged it tightly, and rubbed it against her for five minutes before calming down a little—the little doll fled the moment she let go, flying away in a flash to hide behind Penglai, who had spread her arms in a protective gesture.

She didn't seem to care much. Instead, she casually connected to the internet and began checking if the armed forces in the city were making any major moves.

"Hmm... the police haven't been dispatched. They haven't found this address yet?" She frowned slightly. "No, as long as we exist in this world, we're bound to bring disaster, and at least some of that will be foreseen by those Awakeners. There's no reason for Death to leave such a useful tool unused... Does Death have different regions and factions?"

According to her prediction, if speculation two is true, then by tomorrow morning at the latest, the local armed forces will have made contact with her group. And tonight, the local police should be busy conducting searches, laying the groundwork for future contact and conflict.

She stood up and walked to the window to look outside. The night was deep, and scattered lights dotted the dim town. The heavy rain showed no sign of stopping as time went on. On the contrary, it grew heavier and more intense, as if 'the heavenly springs had all opened, unleashing a devastating flood,' obstructing even the view and making it difficult for sound to travel amidst the rumbling thunder.

Such heavy rain, such torrential rain!

"If this is a natural phenomenon, then that's a gross underestimation of my intelligence," she muttered to herself, her fingers lightly tapping the edge of the windowsill.

Direct surveillance via satellite networks has become difficult to implement. Approximately one-third of North America is shrouded in thick clouds, and electrical discharges within the clouds, along with electromagnetic interference from outer space, have rendered communication signals across the entire region chaotic. Looking directly down into the atmosphere yields only an endless expanse of clouds.

This is not normal, this is very abnormal.

"By trapping us here with this celestial barrier... what exactly are you planning to do?"

She stretched out her hands and made a cross in front of her chest.

"Fine... Do whatever you want, I'll just flip the table if necessary. This is North America, where ritual magic based on the myths and legends of the Church can be used to its fullest potential. So..."

She took a deep breath, and the magic in the atmosphere was immediately mobilized.

“Sakiel is the ‘Decree of God,’ an archangel residing in the First Heaven, overseeing humanity and presiding over water and the four seasons. And I will act on behalf of God here…”

The next moment, she suddenly opened her eyes wide!

"The ceremony cannot proceed? Why!?"

"Could it be—"

She could no longer care about anything else. She looked out the window and waved her hands, instantly unleashing a gravitational wave that blocked the rain curtain within a radius of hundreds of meters. Then, the scene that appeared in the rain made her eyes freeze.

—It was an army, an elite force equipped with full waterproof gear and carrying both light and heavy firepower. They had silently crept to within a mile of the villa and were ready to attack at any moment!

They didn't even want to talk, skipping the contact part and going straight to taking action!

The next moment, gunfire erupted in the night!

"Enemy attack—!!!"

………………………………………………………………………

"The reconnaissance unit has been spotted, sir." Dozens of kilometers away, a general with eyes as sharp as a bald eagle stared at the flickering lights in the rain-soaked city, reporting loudly to his superior without turning his head. "Sir, what should we do?"

"Cut off all signals from the reconnaissance forces. They know what to do." The commander, with four stars on his shoulder insignia, replied calmly. "Intelligence from the Revelation Court indicates that the enemy possesses destructive power and cyber control far exceeding that of ordinary people. Excessive communication is more harmful than beneficial to us. To ensure the success of this operation, the motherland must, and is willing to, make sacrifices."

He paused for a moment and then asked.

How much longer will it take for our positions to be set up?

"At least three hours, sir. Although the rain here is lighter, it still has a significant impact on us."

"Is that so?" The commander lowered his eyes, thought for about five seconds, and then immediately gave the order: "Notify the 7th, 10th, and 11th Armored Divisions. The motherland needs them to die."

"Yes, sir." The officer who spoke saluted him sharply, then turned and left without hesitation to carry out the orders he had given.

He then looked up, his gaze passing through the window of the temporary command post and gazing into the distance. Outside, torrential rain poured down, and the rumbling thunder in the clouds covering a third of North America eliminated the possibility of direct bombing by aircraft and conventional missiles. But it also hindered many of the methods employed by 'certain creatures' within the city.

"[Apocalypse] must be stopped. It's worth any price to pay," the commander said coldly. His gaze then moved downwards, past the rain-soaked trenches, past the artillery positions that stretched across the hillsides—about a thousand heavy cannons were being loaded and positioned one by one under the control of the most experienced engineers, and further away, even more artillery formations were being moved to this area from other theaters of war via covert railcars or large transport planes flying at low altitudes.

Far beyond his sight, in military bases where communications were cut off, tanks, aircraft, armored corps, and an endless expanse of elite army were slowly but methodically moving. Many missile silos were even ready to be activated at any moment, awaiting only the necessary command.

There are approximately three hours left until midnight on the first day. And in three hours, the battle will advance to the second phase.

The next day is approaching, regardless of night or morning. The water will spread out and cover the dry land.

Author's Note:

----------

Another 3000 words... I clearly... didn't set a bounty _(:з」∠)_

Um, just to clarify, all the newcomers in this installment were characters originally written by a certain author. And that author made them even more disgusting… I've already gone easy on them.

Section Fourteen: Firefight

Miscalculated.

When the rain curtain outside was instantly cut off by the gravitational waves, and the group of fully armed soldiers launched an attack on the location of the villa, Xiao Honglu realized his mistake in the instant the firelight flashed.

Thinking too much and doing too little. More importantly, he was misled by death.

The heavy rain was merely a cover; Death deliberately held back, waiting to deliver the fatal blow. In other words, Death is about to get serious!

The next moment, he saw the rocket's exhaust flame!

Alice!

With a deafening boom, over a dozen rockets launched from a mile away exploded in an open area spanning nearly two hundred meters around the villa. That was the barrier Alice had set up; its effect was to trigger a physical force field wall upon contact with a high-speed moving object, and this time it had worked perfectly!

The rain wasn't fast enough to trigger the barrier. But the missile was fast enough to cross the critical point for triggering the barrier—the purpose of this gravity field wall was to trigger the warhead fuse of long-range firepower to hinder rockets. Alice had set up several similar protective barriers around the villa.

But that's not enough...

He instinctively rushed to the side of the newcomer and the main character of the story, and with a flick of his wrists, he drew a rune crackling with electricity in mid-air. The next moment, a rune shield appeared.

'Rumble, rumble—!!!!'

The blinding flames and smoke obscured everything, and even the 'Runic Protection Shield' skill, acquired through the Three-Eyed Clan bloodline, nearly overloaded in those brief seconds. Although it ultimately held up, the main structure of the villa was beyond saving!

Those were grenades, slower than raindrops, but with a destructive power no less than that of rocket grenades. At the moment they exploded, Xiao Honglu could see at least three effects.

Fragments, burning, poison gas.

Without a doubt, the army that launched the attack aimed to wipe them out from the very beginning. The next moment, Xiao Honglu heard Zheng Zha's roar—he saw a streak of blood-red light suddenly slash down, and Zheng Zha, with a pair of energy wings unfurled on his back, rode the shockwave of the explosion, sliding hundreds of meters towards the attackers. And the instant he landed, a chilling flash of light appeared!

In that instant, at least fifteen soldiers were cut down by that flash of light. This signified the start of the battle, and also the end of any room for maneuver—no, there was no room for maneuver from the very beginning; it was a fight to the death from the start.

Xiao Honglu shook his head vigorously, and he heard Zhan Lan's voice in his ear.

[Xiao Honglu, are you alright? Where are the newcomers and the main characters?]

Xiao Honglu glanced quickly at the inside of the rune shield and drew a conclusion in an instant.

(I'm fine, and all the main characters are here, but two newcomers aren't! Two men, Wang Xiaoxiao and Zheng Xue!)

[Understood. I'll arrange for others to search immediately. How long can you maintain the shield?]

(Maximum three minutes.)

[Understood. Resolve these issues within three minutes. Lead them towards the garage; we must leave immediately!]

The exchange ended within seconds. Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, which had been reduced to ruins, Zhan Lan rubbed her temples vigorously.

In the split second before the explosion, she used her psionic energy to reinforce the wall in front of her and reacted in time to dodge the falling rocks as they crashed down from the second-floor ceiling. The price she paid was a slight stinging pain in her temple. However, compared to the regret in her heart, this slight stinging pain was insignificant.

[Damn it, I just missed scanning the surrounding neighborhood, and this happened in that short gap!]

She exhaled softly, a slight sense of unease crossing her mind. She shifted her body slightly, and several bullets grazed past her, the force of the gusts of wind touching her exposed skin.

As planned, she and Alice would take turns inspecting the area around the villa. She would scan with her mental powers, while Alice would use magic, with their reconnaissance intervals ranging from ten to thirty minutes. This was supposed to perfectly ensure the safety of the surrounding area, preventing enemies from sneaking in unnoticed.

[It was my mistake. The 'Apocalypse' information brought by Sakura-chan distracted me. I spent too much time studying that 'seemingly important'... no, it was indeed very important document. This delayed the time spent scanning the surrounding changes.]

[So that's how it is... Sakura's ability to find that document was also a bait set by the Grim Reaper. Why wasn't He this clever in the movie!]

Zhan Lan gritted her teeth in annoyance, her sharp ears, characteristic of the Eldar after their enhancement, twitching slightly. Her enhancement was only in its early stages, and her Eldar prophetic abilities were not yet fully activated. Right now, she could only sense slight dangers… she was completely ignorant of the fragments and details of the future, or even the advanced applications of psionic energy. But…

This does not mean she is incapable of handling the current situation.

She wielded her chanting spear, easily slicing through several bullets that were difficult to dodge. In an instant, psionic energy enhanced her physique and amplified her senses, allowing her body to move like a swift in a storm.

The attackers were numerous and heavily armed. There is no doubt that they could only be the local government.

Since it is the government, its subsequent offensive will inevitably be even stronger.

This large area is completely surrounded. There are at least two hundred, close to three hundred armed personnel. They are equipped with infiltration gear. So... there must be snipers among them.

She heard the roar of a Gauss sniper rifle overhead, followed by a burst of sparks about a kilometer away.

It seems we don't need to worry about snipers for now.

With a light leap, she jumped from the gap created by the grenade on the first floor to the second floor. Her gaze immediately met Saito Hajime's in mid-air as he manipulated several translucent tentacles to move the collapsed rocks.

“What happened?” she asked.

"Those two newcomers seemed to be whispering something, and then they were trapped under the rubble by the falling rocks. But don't worry, Miss Alice secretly set up trigger-activated protective shields for each of the newcomers, so they won't die anytime soon," Saito replied.

He witnessed the rain curtain blocked by the sky on the outside and the projectiles that self-destructed in mid-air after adjusting the barrier. He shook his head almost imperceptibly.

“Miss Alice is very busy right now. Zhang Heng and Zero are working with Zheng Zha up there, while Zhao Yingkong is suppressing the enemy from a distance. The only ones who can spare the time right now are the two of us. Do you want to come and help? Or are you planning to do something else?”

Zhan Lan knew what he meant and what she should be doing. She immediately closed her eyes and activated her senses to the maximum.

"I need to undergo a mental scan to cover for me."

The translucent, pale red tentacles instantly erected a wall behind her the moment she spoke. In that brief moment of delay, many soldiers had already noticed the two on the second floor and opened fire on them—their resolve was unwavering, their morale high. Even after Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong had killed nearly a third of them in those few dozen seconds, these soldiers had no intention of retreating an inch.

[Fanatical believers, martyrs…they fight for ideals and beliefs. Therefore, the government must have a compelling reason to allow them to fight so desperately. We need to capture a high-ranking prisoner to find out what's going on behind the scenes. What exactly is driving these soldiers to fight so fiercely?]

Her will swept across the battlefield like a gust of wind, and in an instant, it pierced through the rain and expanded outwards by nearly ten kilometers!

She saw it!

"Armored forces!" Zhan Lan's eyes snapped open. "At least three divisions of armored forces are advancing towards our position from the west. We must respond immediately!"

She turned her head and looked at Saito Hajime.

Just then, Saito Hajime's tentacles completely moved aside the collapsing rocks. Two young men, protected by a semi-transparent shield and looking terrified yet unable to hide their excitement, rolled out. The shield that Alice had set up collapsed completely the next second, turning into scattered fluorescent fragments.

Section 15: The Awakening of Insects

Zhao Yingkong's figure blended into the shadows, using the rain and thunder outside the gravity field to quickly move outwards. Her battlefield wasn't around the villa; Zheng Zha alone was enough to handle a direct confrontation there—her target was the more distant urban area, because about a minute earlier, she had received a mental communication from Zhan Lan.

Approximately three armored divisions are advancing towards our position and will reach our area soon. A direct confrontation would be too disadvantageous for us, so we must stall for time.

This raid came too suddenly, so we must figure out the government's plans. In any case, a prisoner of sufficiently high status is essential. We'll handle the battlefield around the villa; Alice will provide remote magical support.

【I need you to assassinate the commanders of these armored divisions and disrupt their command centers. Of course, you must also bring back a living general.】

Communication ended.