As Kanna and the others were about to head to the infirmary courtyard, a red figure descended from the sky and landed in front of them.
Seeing the sudden appearance of Red, Popukar vigilantly shielded Kanna.
"It's Red! Popukar, don't be nervous, Red is an ally!" Although Popukar hadn't met Red before, Amiya knew Red, and she knew that Red, as Kal'tsit's hound, would not easily appear before others without permission.
Her sudden appearance now must be at Kal'tsit's command.
Red silently nodded to Amiya as a greeting, then looked at Kanna.
"The situation is urgent. Kanna cannot be seen by more people. Follow me, Kal'tsit is waiting for you in the Control Room..."
After speaking, she walked to the side and pressed lightly, and a brand new path appeared before everyone.
"This is Rhodes Island's emergency secret passage, known only to a few Elite Operators. The condition for using it is that two out of three people—myself, Doctor Kal'tsit, and Miss Ascalon—must agree before it can be opened. And I haven't approved its use recently... It seems there is indeed a very urgent situation. Kanna, you go in with Red first. Popukar and I will take the main road to the Control Room."
Amiya paused mid-sentence, as if she had guessed something. She let Kanna go into the secret passage with Red, then pulled back Popukar, who wanted to follow.
"The use of this emergency secret passage is very strict. Since Red didn't say we could go in together, we can't enter without authorization. However, since we know Doctor Kal'tsit is in the Control Room, we can just take the main road. Perhaps we might even be faster than them."
Although the emergency secret passage was known to few and had strict usage conditions, it was also built in a very winding and circuitous way due to the need for hidden locations. Even if Kanna and Red moved quickly, they couldn't compare to Amiya and Popukar taking the main road.
When Amiya and Popukar arrived at the Control Room, they saw that besides Kal'tsit, Ascalon and several Elite Operators were indeed inside.
Upon seeing Amiya enter, they all nodded in greeting, and Amiya greeted each of them in return.
Then Amiya walked over to Kal'tsit, who handed her a piece of intelligence. After a quick glance, Amiya looked a little flustered.
On the other side, Popukar, who stood by the door after entering the room, usually had unstable emotions. But in this room, even though she felt somewhat flustered and scared internally, when her spirit reached its breaking point, someone next to her gave her a look, and for some unknown reason, she calmed down again.
After that, the Control Room fell silent once more.
Two more minutes passed, accompanied by thudding footsteps from above. After the overhead ventilation fan opened, Kanna and Red jumped down from above under everyone's gaze.
"Oh my! This secret passage is too small. Besides children, normal people would have to crawl inside!" Kanna, who had just emerged, didn't seem nervous despite the atmosphere around her and couldn't help but complain about the environment of the secret passage.
"After all, it's a secret passage, not meant for everyday use. It's enough if people can get through. To be able to establish a secret passage in Rhodes Island's compact space is already a brilliant layout and engineering feat. We shouldn't demand too much from its environment in this regard." Kal'tsit, uncharacteristically, had the energy to chat with Kanna.
"Click!" Accompanied by the sound of a door opening, Outcast walked in from outside with a look of confusion. Upon seeing the situation in the room, she instinctively felt that something must have happened.
"Kanna, during the previous retreat, in front of that canyon affected by the Calamity, did you kill the pursuers sent by the enemy?" Kal'tsit asked after everyone had gathered.
"Yes! At that time, I was preparing to use lightning to destroy the canyon road, and these people rushed out after discovering it. But I should have dealt with all of them! I'm certain there couldn't have been any survivors left around."
Before and after taking action, Kanna had carefully checked the surroundings, leaving no stone unturned. Coupled with the subsequent Calamity, all traces of the battle would have been completely destroyed. So she believed that, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have exposed her target. But for Kal'tsit to say this, did it mean she was exposed even in this situation?
"Sigh~ Actually, it's not your fault. Those people had left behind positioning messages nearby before engaging with you. After the Calamity, the other side sent people there to investigate. While it's true that under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be any traces left after Calamity destruction, it just so happens that there was a Caster in their team who could use their arts to reconstruct past events near the target location..."
When Kal'tsit received this intelligence, she almost wanted to curse. Why did everything have to coincide like this? It was truly frustrating, like being played by a Pero.
"Now the other side has issued a bounty for Kanna through Victoria's official channels. And because the convoy entered Rhodes Island, we just received news that the Duke has leveraged his connections in Laterano and will exert international pressure on Rhodes Island, sending people to conduct a search. The official notification should reach me in about three days at most.
Rhodes Island is currently not in a position to fall out with Victoria, so this search is unavoidable; we can only limit its scale. The simplest solution I can think of is that you, Kanna, are not on Rhodes Island. Although the opposing force is powerful, Rhodes Island is not a place where they can stay as long as they want. As long as they can't find you in a short time, we will have reason to expel these people."
Kal'tsit said calmly.
"No wonder you had me come through the secret passage, to minimize the number of people who saw me enter. That way, even if the other side has extraordinary abilities, it will be difficult for them to detect my presence. So, where do I need to go next?"
Kanna calmly accepted Kal'tsit's suggestion. After all, such an incident was quite frustrating, so not leaving any leverage for the other side was the best option. She also believed that Kal'tsit was not planning to "expel" or "exile" her.
"You know Specter, right?"
"I've seen her a few times. What about her?"
"She suddenly seemed unwell a few days ago and repeatedly mentioned Rock Bay Town in Iberia. I'm very interested in this and plan to go there myself to investigate the situation. Coincidentally, this operation requires secrecy, so I can't bring many people. Your strength is sufficient, and I need a guard, so Kanna, how about you come with me?"
Kal'tsit blinked, a hint of a smile on her lips.
Kanna grumbled internally, "Empress Dowager Kal'tsit, do you need a bodyguard? If anyone dared to cause you trouble, I'd only be worried about them, after all, Mon3tr can directly contend with the Royal Guard."
However, since Kal'tsit had already found an excuse, she wouldn't be so tactless. It was just continuous work without a break. Which Operator on Rhodes Island wasn't a workaholic accustomed to the 007 work schedule?
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