"I'll go with Grandma!" Kanna raised her small hand.
As everyone looked over, she shrugged, "You haven't assigned me anything in this round, have you?"
Hearing Kanna's words, Oliver felt a bit awkward. Indeed, he had deliberately skipped Kanna when assigning tasks. In his opinion, based on Kanna becoming an Elite Operator and the rumors he had heard about her, she was very likely a genius girl with maximum combat talent.
Considering her age, if she was fully developed in combat, she might have deficiencies in other areas, making it difficult to develop comprehensively. Moreover, at her age, even if she went out for disaster relief, others wouldn't trust her, which is why he hadn't assigned Kanna any tasks.
"No problem, Kanna can come with me. Grandma can teach you how Rhodes Island conducts rescue operations during disasters." Outcast spoke up to relieve Oliver's awkwardness.
At this moment, Saileach stood by the window, frowning as she looked outside.
"Are you guessing who was bold enough to launch so many saturation bombardments on the city center? Actually, you don't even need to think about it!" Year walked over and looked at the flames outside, which were gradually being extinguished by the rain, and said.
"This idea is too vicious. Throwing active Originium bombs into the urban area, even those 'Victoria expletive' thugs wouldn't do such a thing!" Oliver, having recovered from his awkwardness, looked at Year. It was clear from her tone that she had already guessed the culprit behind this attack.
"To be able to bombard almost the entire urban area of Hillock County in such a short time, the mastermind and initiator of the operation must have deployed at least ten of the most advanced ground suppression howitzers." Outcast also guessed the hidden hand behind it, as there were only a handful of people capable of achieving this level, let alone setting up so many artillery positions right under the defenders' noses.
"I've observed these thugs in the city. Some of them are powerful casters who can provide a certain degree of stealth to their team, but this isn't enough for them to bring so many weapons of mass destruction into the city without being detected by the highly vigilant garrison.
Moreover, how could they possibly aim their cannons at the urban area they had just captured? Are they trying to blow up both the local residents and their own people here?"
Outcast analyzed the source of the shelling word by word.
"The answer is obvious, isn't it? Besides the local garrison, who else could have secretly prepared so many shells and also timed it perfectly for the impending rain, using the sound of thunder to cover the sound of artillery fire?"
"No... that's too absurd. Our people shelled the urban area! It was us... who killed so many civilians and planned to drag even more into the abyss of oripathy..." Saileach's eyes were wide open, and the tears constantly falling showed how heartbroken she was by this answer.
"It's clear that the garrison believes the enemies and local residents in Hillock County are now mixed together, and they have no way to distinguish them. Moreover, the Tara people are on the opposite side of the garrison. Since some in the city are spies and others are opposed to them, the solution is simple: wipe out both the enemies and the civilians... The use of dirty bombs is to eliminate future troubles. Even if they survive the bombing, they are highly likely to be Infected in this situation, and the Infected must accept centralized isolation. This way, they can justifiably clear out the Tara people and the enemies hidden within."
Misery continued Outcast's explanation to Saileach.
"This... treating human lives as a means to victory is too despicable. Shouldn't our Victorian army protect the people of Victoria?" Saileach seemed very agitated. She still couldn't believe that the true culprit behind this attack came from the garrison that was supposed to protect the area.
"In the face of war, are you sure that rebels and enemies are still considered people?" Kanna suddenly interjected.
"When I was in Chernobog, to cover our team's retreat, I once carried out an annihilation operation against everyone who showed their heads on an entire street. To achieve the objective and win the battle, no one shows mercy to the enemy.
In the eyes of that garrison commander, the Tara people who betrayed Victoria and sided with the mysterious resistance forces have long fallen into the category of enemies. Before, perhaps he endured because he had no excuse, but now... he must have a perfect excuse. This excuse allows him to unleash his anger on the Tara people in Hillock County without being accused by the Londinium high command. It's even very possible that this upheaval had the tacit approval of the Londinium high command."
"I'm glad, Jane, that you still retain a kindness that soldiers lack, but for these past few hundred years, Victoria's army has crushed countless nations and peoples, becoming a powerful nation on Terra. It has never relied on kindness." As everyone processed Kanna's astonishing words, Outcast comforted Saileach.
"Heh, no wonder in the eyes of the Tara people, these rebels are righteous..."
"They are all organizations that seek profit from the blood of innocent civilians. Even with various different masks, the numb faces beneath are actually all quite similar, with no difference."
"Is Rhodes Island the only one doing the right thing?" At this moment, Saileach didn't know what to do. She had always been proud of being a Victorian soldier, but now, learning that the attack on the city came from the very identity she was proud of, she suddenly realized that in her perception, only Rhodes Island had consistently done what she considered correct.
"How much do you know about Rhodes Island?"
"I trust Uncle Oliver and them. From the day you and your companions arrived until now, I have deeply trusted you all..."
"How much do you know about me?" Outcast continued to press, looking at the girl whose eyes had lost their sparkle.
Hearing Outcast's words, Saileach felt a wave of confusion. How could she know someone she had only met for less than a day? Her trust in the other party stemmed solely from her long-standing understanding of Oliver and what she had learned about Rhodes Island from Oliver, so she subconsciously believed that everyone at Rhodes Island was good. "Head, why are you so serious? Jane needs time to accept..."
"It's okay, Uncle Oliver, I understand what Ms. Outcast means... Although I always wanted to take a side, I was criticized for not belonging here. At least at this very moment, I understand what I need to do!" Under Outcast's relentless questioning, Saileach's intellect regained control of her mind.
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