After tying up the Phantom Squad, everyone prepared to rest. After all, no one knew what tomorrow would bring, and being well-rested would give them more energy for the battles ahead.
Doctor then took Frostnova and went into the place where the Phantom Squad was being held. By the time he came out, most people outside were already asleep.
Doctor continued to study his notes until late into the night, finally falling asleep under Amiya's "iron fist."
Early the next morning, everyone was ready to depart. After some discussion, Amiya Squad's Blackneedle and Crooked Ear remained behind to look after the camp and the captive Phantom Squad.
The others boarded the vehicles, and the group set off majestically towards the ruined city.
Patriot, who was in charge of operations in the ruined city, received the news immediately. He led his subordinates to the city wall on the side closest to Rhodes Island.
"Captain, according to the lookout, the people approaching should be those from Rhodes Island!"
"I already see them!" Patriot adjusted the long spear in his hand, then walked down.
"There are many innocent Refugees in the ruined city. We cannot place the battlefield here. Tell all warriors, follow me out of the city to meet the enemy!"
At Patriot's command, Reunion Movement abandoned the easily defensible ruined city and gathered on a plain outside the ruins.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is your adoptive father always this unyielding?!" Even Ace couldn't help but complain upon seeing Reunion Movement's actions.
Frostnova surveyed Reunion Movement's formation and said, "There should be ordinary people in the city. Old Fogey would never let ordinary people go to war. In his words, soldiers are meant to protect the unarmed, which is why he chose to place the battlefield outside the city."
"The Phantom Squad mentioned that Reunion Movement previously sent a group of Infected from Lungmen who were from struggling families and on the verge of starvation. These Infected are currently in the ruined city and haven't had time to be transferred to Chernobog yet," Doctor said, glancing at the notes in his hand.
"So what do we do? Fight or not?" Kanna looked at the people outside with a hint of excitement. Clearly, as things stood, although Rhodes Island's high-end combat power far surpassed the opponent's, with over a thousand people marching out, their fifty or so individuals would normally not be able to withstand even a single charge.
"Since these are all Patriot's subordinates, not fighting is naturally the best option," Doctor said, giving Kanna a sidelong glance from beneath his hood.
"However, since they've already set up their formation, it wouldn't be right for us to just slink away. So, instruct the other vehicles not to get too close. We'll approach and see if we can persuade Patriot in one go." After a moment of thought, Doctor issued the command.
Hearing his words, the vehicles behind began to slow down, trailing far behind. Only the car carrying Doctor, Kanna, Frostnova, Amiya, and Ace continued to drive forward.
Seeing Rhodes Island's movements, Patriot grabbed a long spear from beside him. With a swing of his arm, the spear flew with a piercing whistle, shooting straight towards the vehicle carrying Doctor and his group.
"Indeed, there are only intersecting names, not intersecting nicknames. Your adoptive father is truly formidable, not even giving us a chance to speak."
Seeing Patriot's actions, Kanna complained while simultaneously climbing out of the car window.
Once outside, Kanna pushed off with her legs, instantly rushing to the front of the vehicle.
Then, she brought her hands together in front of her, catching the flying spear thrown by Patriot.
The moment Kanna emerged, Patriot saw her appearance, paused for a moment, and then suddenly took a large stride out of the formation.
The memories from Chernobog still lingered in his mind; Kanna's image, single-handedly holding back Reunion Movement's advance, was still fresh. Seeing Kanna, he knew he had to step forward because, besides himself, there was no one else on the field who could contend with Kanna.
After throwing Patriot's weapon back, Kanna jumped onto a vehicle and retrieved her door-sized greatsword.
"I think with Patriot's personality, we won't even get a chance to speak without a fight. You guys hold off the others, I'll go spar with him!" Kanna's voice reached inside the vehicle, and at the same time, she charged at Patriot with a leaping slash, weapon in hand.
"What should we do?" Amiya turned to the Doctor, seeing Kanna rush out to fight Patriot without a word.
"Kanna is right. With Old Fogey's personality, if he doesn't feel pressure on the front lines, he won't listen to anything," Frostnova said to the Doctor.
The Doctor remained calm, "I anticipated this situation. Order the convoy behind us to spread out, try to attract their attention, and break up their formation, but avoid casualties. We'll stay here. Frostnova, can you isolate Patriot and Kanna from the surrounding people?"
"No problem!" Frostnova replied.
"Then that's fine, go ahead! Trap us and Patriot inside, don't let anyone from outside interfere here."
Upon hearing the Doctor's words, Frostnova jumped out of the vehicle and onto the roof. As she cast her Originium Arts, the people who had been rushing to support Patriot after seeing Kanna and Patriot fighting suddenly found a thick, despair-inducing ice wall appearing between themselves and Patriot.
They had seen this ice wall battlefield isolation technique before, but it was from their comrade, one of the leaders of the squad, Patriot's adopted daughter, Frostnova.
Back in the snowy plains, this technique had allowed the guerrillas to defeat many Ursus armies. They never expected to see it again, but this time, it was their own side being cut off.
Patriot naturally saw the ice wall that suddenly appeared behind him. Unlike the others, he felt the familiar Originium Arts fluctuations the moment Frostnova began casting.
After blocking Kanna's greatsword with his shield once more, Patriot finally couldn't hold back.
"Frostnova! My daughter! How did you become like this..."
With just one glance, he understood that the beautiful little fox on top of the vehicle was his adopted daughter, Frostnova.
"Old Fogey, it's a long story. Why don't we all stop first? Rhodes Island came here with no ill intentions and doesn't want to harm anyone. We shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves; instead, we should defeat Reunion Movement's true enemy, Talulah, who is about to drag Reunion Movement into the abyss."
Frostnova wasn't surprised that Patriot recognized her immediately, as they had fought together for many years.
As father and daughter, they shared that much unspoken understanding.
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