"Ahem, I say, Kanna…" Scout carefully crouched down, with a hint of a fawning smile.
"No!"
"I haven't even said anything yet…"
"Looking at you, it's definitely not a good thing. Since it's not a good thing, I won't do it, no matter what." Kanna said, looking at Scout with disdain.
Scout immediately became anxious, "What do you mean it's not a good thing? I see you have talent and want to teach you to become a sniper, that's all.
I'm not boasting, if I put out word that I'm looking for apprentices, the people who sign up would line up from Kazdel to Leithanien."
"There's a beautiful big-chested sister downstairs who wants to teach me assassination, and I didn't even do that. How about you two fight, and whoever wins, I'll follow them? But I think your chances of winning aren't high…"
Scout slapped the roof, making it echo, "Impossible, there are few people on all of Rhodes Island who can say they're better than me in assassination and sniping.
You tell me her name, and I'll personally go and spar with her."
"Really?"
"That must be true!"
"Hmm~ Let me think, that sister's name is Ascalon, she looks a bit fierce… Can you really beat her?"
"Isn't it A? What was it again? Ascalon… *cough cough cough*… Kanna-chan, the sun is a bit strong outside. I'll go get some juice, do you want some?"
Scout, who had been full of vigor and ready to snatch a student, realized he had been tricked by this kid again. Although Ascalon hadn't become an Elite Operator, in a real fight, apart from monsters like Logos, no current Elite Operator would dare say they could win easily. Even he himself would only claim a fifty-fifty chance under perfect conditions against her. So, he had to find an excuse to gloss over the matter. Thankfully, Kanna was willing to drop anything else if food was mentioned, which gave him an opening.
"Yes! Get me a big one..." Knowing Scout had chickened out, Kanna didn't mind. Why bother with anything else when a few words could get her a cup of juice?
A moment later, Scout brought a large cup of juice and handed it to Kanna.
She took a sip, enjoying the taste, and was surprised to find it was iced. Drinking a cold beverage under the scorching sun sent a refreshing chill straight to her head.
After a short break, the two began a new round of competition. As time went on, Scout had to start using equipment.
Unlike Kanna's monstrous eyesight, Scout's vision limit was five kilometers. Within five kilometers, he could still discern the landmarks Kanna pointed out, but beyond five kilometers, he was truly helpless. It was fortunate that Rhodes Island was currently located on a plain, providing enough distance for her to display her abilities. This only made Scout want to take her as his apprentice even more; such eyesight would be a real waste if not properly cultivated.
Another round of the competition began. Kanna looked to the west. Scout had already found a marker and was waiting for Kanna to speak, but he noticed she was intently staring west, as if looking at something.
He looked up, following Kanna's gaze, and understood. It must be beyond five kilometers. He immediately grabbed his binoculars and looked in that direction.
Approaching ten kilometers away, six vehicles were chasing each other, heading towards Rhodes Island. The lead vehicle had the Rhine Lab logo on its exterior. The remaining vehicles surrounded it from all sides, with people constantly leaning out of their cars, brandishing weapons and attacking the Rhine Lab vehicle.
After seeing this clearly, Scout immediately pulled out his communicator and pressed the red emergency call button.
"What is it?" Kal'tsit's cool, clear voice came through the communicator.
"To the west, six vehicles are approaching our ship. One of them is being attacked by the others. The besieged vehicle has the Rhine Lab logo. Should we send people to rescue them?"
"What about the attacking vehicles?"
"Unclear. They appear to be some kind of mercenary organization, but I haven't seen any Sarkaz presence."
"Alright, continue to observe and report immediately if anything changes. I will arrange a team to go for the rescue."
Meanwhile, in the Rhine Lab vehicle...
"Ugh, so annoying! Silence, move! Let me burn these guys to ashes..." A fierce-looking young Sarkaz gritted her teeth, annoyed, as she watched a car collide with them.
Silence, who was driving, didn't speak. Instead, she focused on accelerating forward.
According to the intelligence she had, the Rhodes Island landship would pass nearby. As long as she got close enough, she would surely be discovered. She had previously contacted Kal'tsit, and given the relatively stable relationship between Rhine Lab and Rhodes Island, they would undoubtedly receive help from them.
"Oh, Ptilopsis, say something!" Her anger, suppressed by Silence's quietness, made the young Sarkaz turn and glare fiercely at the seemingly sleeping girl beside her.
"Hoo hoo hoo..."
"So frustrating!!!" With two people ignoring her, the young Sarkaz grew increasingly irritated.
As her anger flared, the temperature inside the car began to rise.
"Warning ~ Abnormal cabin temperature... Abnormality source identified as Ifrit." Suddenly, the girl called Ptilopsis, who had been sleeping a second ago, spoke. Although her way of speaking was a bit odd, the other two were not surprised by it.
"Ifrit, control your emotions. We're almost at our destination..." Noticing the situation behind her, Silence, for once, shifted her attention from the chasing cars to ensure the young Sarkaz didn't lose control.
"Tch!" Hearing Silence's words, Ifrit let out an annoyed "Tch" and took a deep breath. With her breath, the car's temperature dropped back down.
"Alarm cleared! Resuming standby." Ptilopsis, like a robot, reported and then closed her eyes, falling back asleep.
At this moment, Silence in the front was also very anxious. Due to Ifrit's previous loss of control, a rift had formed between herself and Rhine Lab, so she secretly took Ifrit and Ptilopsis and left Rhine Lab. Of course, another person she didn't want to mention was behind their smooth departure.
After leaving, Ifrit's control over her Originium Arts improved somewhat due to her better mood, and she didn't lose control again.
But ever since they resupplied in the previous town, things changed. A team of mercenaries, whose origin was unknown, had targeted them. When they discovered there were only three people in the car—old, weak, women, and children—they immediately showed their fangs.
At this moment, she regretted it. If she had known, she would have skipped that resupply. But now, it was too late to say anything. She only hoped to successfully contact Rhodes Island before being forced to stop by the enemy.
Just as she was in a daze, a car next to them crashed into theirs, pushing her car off course onto a much rougher, gravel road. The enemy seized the opportunity to overtake them and got in front.