Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

Sensing that Therese's tone was a bit off, Sarkaz was startled and quickly turned around and rushed out the door.

Therese's eyes widened as she stared at the door that the Sarkaz had smashed through the entire frame in his desperation, and she felt her breath tremble slightly.

Then he suddenly came to his senses and shouted:

"Wait a minute, report the rest of the information to me first!"

"I'm coming."

Sarkaz, still clinging to the doorframe, rushed back upon hearing the noise and reported:

"The other two pieces of information are quite simple: the hostage exchange location was agreed to be in the Norbert district, and there is a steam-powered mech in the attic. It is an item that Rhodes Island traded with General Manfred and needs to be properly kept by the Sarkaz."

Theresis: ?

How can people in Manfred be traded after they've all been kidnapped?

Could it be that Manfred has a business talent that even he didn't discover?

For a moment, Therese didn't know whether to question her life or be glad she had discovered Manfred's new strengths; in short, her feelings were incredibly complicated.

Chapter 659 Biura: Eek, that's fun!

"Leave the door open, you go back and continue your mission."

After waving the Sarkaz away, Theresis decided to find something relaxing to do to ease her weary mind.

He picked up the document on supporting the Kazdel nursing home and decided to personally lead the construction project and, while he was at it, visit the Wendigo.

The support team, fully prepared and ready to go, reached new heights of excitement upon seeing their regent arrive in person, their excitement at the mere mention of the name 'Kazdel'.

Therese could understand the excitement of these people.

Deep down, he was also excited by the appearance of this name.

Kazdel truly gave Theresis a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of hope that his name would appear in the world's eyes without being destroyed by a united front.

"Let's get going."

Therese gave orders to the support team behind her, and they prepared to embark on this relaxing trip amidst their busy schedules.

Unfortunately, he underestimated the betrayal from his teammates.

As soon as the support team arrived at the checkpoint outside Londinium, Theresis was stopped by someone.

"Your Highness, there are some things we need to report to you."

The shapeshifter appeared on the roadside in its original form, waving at Theresis expressionlessly.

The moment Theresis saw the shapeshifter, she had a bad feeling, but she didn't show it and signaled the support team to leave the city on their own.

After the squad left, Theresis dropped her pretense and frowned, saying:

"You actually came to see me in person, what major event has happened?"

"The information about 'the original Originium' has been revealed in a very mysterious way. The Duke is expected to join forces, and war is imminent, Your Highness."

The shapeshifter revealed a harmless smile.

Tracy: "..."

“I don’t understand, what exactly did you do?” Therese asked with a dark expression.

The shapeshifter tilted its head and said innocently:

"It was a traitorous girl who allied with the Duke of Caesar's forces, trying to infiltrate the management, but she betrayed us instead."

Therese was completely bewildered.

He stared at the shapeshifter without saying a word, indicating that he was in a bad mood and warning the shapeshifter not to try to amuse himself anymore.

Upon receiving Theresis's warning, the shapeshifter regained his composure:

"The little girl attempted to defect from Duke Kester's forces and join Qi Yan's side, and fabricated a reason for leaving the high-speed warship group with an absurd yet reasonable idea."

In her mind, everything Qi Yan and Sarkaz did was aimed at creating a special Originium, allowing Qi Yan to reach the pinnacle of combat power on this land.

Therese had mixed feelings, but mostly she was puzzled.

He stared into the shapeshifter's eyes and demanded:

"I don't think this reason is enough to mobilize the Duke's side to unite; they are not fools who can be easily fooled."

Did you play any role in this?

"...Hey!"

The shapeshifter mimicked Shuiyue's cute, haphazard way of getting by when she made a mistake in a game, and lightly tapped her head with her fist.

Therese almost drew her sword and slashed the shapeshifter in front of her on the spot, to verify whether the other party had been reverse-corrupted by Qi Yan and was now playing tricks on her in the form of a shapeshifter.

The Shapeshifter spoke up to explain before Theresis's patience reached its limit:

"That little girl named Biura was a master of deception, she told me that there was a small meeting that would be the perfect opportunity for me to kill and impersonate the leadership."

This was the truth, but at the same time, she also used another deception on the leadership. The meeting's topic was precisely the Originium hypothesis she had proposed, and my appearance was misleading her into believing that the Sarkaz wanted to prevent this from being discovered.

"So you've all been fooled by her."

Therese felt a pang of sympathy: "Are you sure that girl named Biura isn't Qi Yan in disguise?"

“You can interrogate her yourself,” the shapeshifter replied.

Theresis: ?

The shapeshifter pointed in the direction of Kazdel Nursing Home and said slowly:

"We thought she was a talented person, so after we finished dealing with the enemies who were besieging us, we also captured her."

She seemed quite pleased when she discovered we weren't going to kill her and had even brought her to Kazdel. What an interesting girl.

“She is indeed a talented person,” Therese agreed, then changed the subject, “But if that’s the case, why didn’t you bring her here directly instead of sending her to a nursing home?”

Are you recruiting talent for Sarkaz or for Qi Yan?

If this girl and Qi Yan join forces, I can't even imagine what would happen..."

This time, Therese really couldn't hold back anymore. She rambled on and on, and several times she couldn't help but put her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, wishing she could stab the shapeshifter to vent the evil fire in her heart.

The shapeshifters, on the other hand, seemed somewhat puzzled:

"Sarkaz, why do you need talent from outside the tribe?"

"...It's time for the Sarkaz to make a change." Theresis had clearly made up her mind. "Also, you should hurry up and bring back all the individuals you have infiltrated outside."

If you're really bored, you can go to the 'Spine of Life' to look for your lost individuals... but remember to stay away from the flower transport teams up there; that mission is not to be missed!

After giving her instructions, Therese, not wanting to continue talking to the shapeshifters, turned and walked towards the nursing home without looking back.

He decided to contact Biyura before Qi Yan returned. If she was truly a talent, he wouldn't mind pioneering the 'talent introduction' for the Sarkaz clan.

Wilderness is perhaps the largest terrain feature on this land.

However, the Victoria Wilderness has become quite lively these days.

In the small village nestled in the wilderness, the villagers had to arrange for people to keep a round-the-clock watch on the outside world, day and night, to prevent themselves and their houses from being crushed into nutrients for the land by passing high-speed warships without their knowledge.

This is not an unfounded worry; those dukes' high-speed warships, in order to execute orders faster and safer, hardly care about what they consume in the process.

The rumbling sound coming from the edge of the earth was somewhat distorted, like the roar of an unknown behemoth.

"They've come after all! Quickly tell everyone to assemble and be ready to evacuate at any time!"

A young man, who was peering through binoculars from a high vantage point, shouted to his companion, "It's Duke Windermere's high-speed warship! Judging from this direction, it's heading back to Londinium. Immediately retreat to a point outside the warship's course!"

"The Duke of Windermere doesn't have the same frightening reputation among the people as the Duke of Wellington, so she probably won't be too cruel, right?"

One of the youth's companions couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Are you going to gamble?" the young man asked seriously. "To risk everything you have, along with your family, friends, neighbors, and relatives, on the image a duke cultivates in the public eye?"

"Okay, okay, don't scare me, I'll go right now... Wait, what's that?"

The youth's companion suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

The young man frowned: "Given Victoria's notoriously bad weather, with nothing but dark clouds and thick fog in the sky, how could you possibly see... that's... an airship? At that altitude?!"

The two of them stared wide-eyed, as if they were witnessing the most outrageous scene in the world.

At an altitude that people had never imagined being able to reach, a menacing-looking airship slowly emerged from the clouds.

Then, these two ordinary villagers from the desolate village witnessed a terrifying scene that only city dwellers like those in Lentinium had ever seen.

A surge of heat rose in the air, connecting the airship with the high-speed warship approaching from the horizon.

The next second, the high-speed warship was stained with a fiery orange-red, half of its hull shattered, and a magnificent spark bloomed on the land.

As the molten iron spilled onto the ground, igniting clusters of flames, a deafening roar, like a raging torrent, rushed in and filled the ears of the two villagers who were already stunned with fear.

Chapter 660 No comparison, no harm

"It has been confirmed that a high-speed warship belonging to Duke Windermere was attacked by Sarkaz high-altitude weapons, and there were no survivors."

"Preliminary confirmation indicates that the weapon is the Sarkaz airship that fired at Qi Yan, and its firepower is even greater than before."

"It is currently uncertain whether this weapon has the capability for mass production. It is recommended that this target not be classified as the highest threat level for the time being. Subsequent response actions have already begun."

"In addition, the Norbert district has separated from the main body of Lentinium city and is currently located between the city and the outer lines of Lentinium constructed by the various dukes."

"According to intelligence analysis, Duke Windermere's personnel transfer from the mobile fortress 'Galava Iron Shield' is likely related to the situation in the Norbert district."

"Both Rhodes Island and Sarkaz have teams advancing towards Norbert District."

At the rear of the Duke of Caesar's high-speed warship fleet, in the highest-level conference room of a warship, a serious-looking officer clearly and logically reported the complete situation.

In front of the officer, she was a graceful and elegant woman.

She held a delicate short-handled opium pipe in her hand, her white dress was intricately carved with patterns, and green ribbons adorned her body, adding a touch of affability to her dignified aura.

The woman brushed aside a strand of white hair that fell across her forehead and said softly:

"It seems the Sarkaz are prepared. What's the situation regarding the shapeshifters and that Biura, which you reported to me before?"

The officer said solemnly, "Reporting to the Duke, according to intelligence, Biyura was abducted by the shapeshifters and taken to the Kazdel retirement home site."

"Send them to a nursing home?"

Caster frowned, his carefully groomed eyebrows furrowing in bewilderment at the result.

The officer immediately offered additional intelligence:

"According to intelligence personnel at the front, shortly after Beura arrived at the nursing home site, Therese personally led a small team to land on the site."

The Wendigo who remained on the nursing home site did not stop Qi Yan, nor did he clash with Theresis. Qi Yan himself seemed completely unconcerned and had already traveled to the Norbert District with the Rhodes Island team.

"Are these the two choices Qi Yan has presented?"

Kester frowned, deep in thought: "He forced us to choose between a seemingly eccentric girl and what was about to happen in Norbert, and to investigate only one of them in depth."

The officer was somewhat puzzled upon hearing this:

"Why must a choice be made? With your forces, Your Excellency Duke, you are perfectly capable of splitting your troops into two groups."

“Theresis and Wendigo are no pushovers,” Kester shook his head. “And there are other dukes eyeing us covetously; we must remain vigilant.”

"So, Your Excellency's meaning is..."

"Airships are now right in our face; they have the potential to change the nature of warfare."

"I understand."

The officer turned around and prepared to carry out the order.

Kester suddenly called out to him:

"How is Alede doing?"

The officer, unlike the Sarkaz in Theresis's hands, immediately grasped the deeper meaning of Kester's question:

"After Qi Yan forcibly took her from us, she completely cut off contact with us and helped that person obtain the national sword. Now that person is carrying the national sword to the Norbert District with Rhodes Island."

"It seems our 'Sword Throne' won't be able to start on time."

Caster shook his head regretfully.