Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 420: Upcoming Action?

The next day, the weather on the Şikilia Peninsula was exceptionally gloomy. A thick dark cloud covered the sky of the peninsula, just like a huge whirlpool, swallowing all the buildings, vehicles and forests on the ground into the bottomless abyss.

White-incandescent electric snakes shuttled through the clouds. Thunder came from the east, rolling over and crashing into the majestic Shikilia Mountains with a deafening roar. It almost made people think that the huge and fragile island bridge was collapsing, submerging countless earth, rocks and mud, and would turn this place into a desolate place where no one would live for thousands of years.

All signs seemed to indicate that a storm was approaching, but there was not a trace of moisture on the ground. Instead, it was dry and dull. The plants were dying from the intense heat, and the curled branches and leaves took on a pale color from excessive blood loss. In the coastal city of Cold Lanterns, Martial, a large group of sharp-billed gulls that inherited the memories of their ancestors passed over the tallest lighthouse on the island like a dark cloud and fled in a hurry, abandoning a century of memories in this desolate place.

It was clearly evening, and the swamp was as dark as if it had fallen into eternal night. The heavy fog came with the rapid drop in temperature, covering the cold water, the dense mangroves, and the sparse sky. Leticia squatted on the edge of the island, looking up and staring at the vague shadows in the fog. Her absent-minded posture was like she was studying a problem that had once given birth to the world but also destroyed it.

Metien tiptoed to her side, not wanting to disturb her thoughts, but was still discovered. Leticia came to her senses, turned her head and saw the pink-haired girl tiptoeing, and asked in confusion: "What are you doing, Metien?"

"Hey, hey, nothing."

Metien chuckled and said something else: "I just wanted to ask you what you are doing here, don't you want to go to the house and rest for a while?"

"no need."

Leticia shook her head, looked up at the sky again, and said, "I'm watching to see if there will be a moon tonight; if there is, will it be a full moon?"

Of course, Medien was very curious about why Leticia didn't like the full moon, but when she saw that her friend seemed to be in a bad mood, she was considerate and didn't ask any more questions. She prepared to find another topic to distract her attention.

Metien's eyes lit up: "I know! Because vampires are a race born from moonlight, so on moonlit nights, their combat power will be stronger, especially when the moon is full, they will become complete, right?"

"Oh?"

At this time, Shemi flew over from the direction of the cabin, shouting as he flew: "Metien, Leticia! Linger is calling you back!"

What an unexpected answer.

"oh oh."

She looked at her friend expectantly. Leticia was speechless for a moment: "Who told you this?"

"She lied to you." Leticia exposed this cruel fact: "The blood race is not a species like moon elves or moonlight fairies. It has nothing to do with the moon. We like to be active on moonlit nights because the moonlight is bright and the vision is clearer."

"Sister Alice."

Ok.

Leticia shook her head. For some reason, her voice suddenly became a little low, just like her mood: "I am different from other vampires. I hate the moon, especially the full moon. So I was thinking that it would be best if there was no full moon tonight."

"Oh……"

"Do not."

Metien nodded in sudden realization, but he didn't mind that Sister Alice had lied to him. After all, she had been talking nonsense for a long time. He asked curiously, "So you were just observing whether there was moonlight tonight to see if it would be convenient for you to take action?"

"Hey, Shaymi?" Metien asked in confusion when he saw his friend in such a hurry, "What happened?"

"Oh, Alice said her game is complete, so Linge thinks we can go and save Leticia's grandma."

As soon as Shemi finished speaking, Leticia stood up with a bang, and without even saying hello to the two, she hurriedly ran towards the cabin and soon disappeared from their sight. Medien could understand her friend's anxiety. In fact, she was also very anxious, so she grabbed Shemi, who was still flying in the air and couldn't stop, and skillfully put him on her head, saying, "Let's go over there quickly!"

They followed Leticia's footsteps and left, leaving only the sound of splashing water. Perhaps a fish under the water was startled by their footsteps, and it swung its tail out of the sand pit where it was hiding, and suddenly dived into the turbid and dark abyss and disappeared.

The fog is thick and the night is quietly encroaching. There is no full moon over the Şikilia Peninsula tonight.

……

Dickens was also observing the moonlight. He was standing on a high ground outside the swamp, holding in his hand a "Super-Viewer V-type visual aid plug-in" that looked like a telescope. Although it was a relatively backward model, it could still help him cross long distances, penetrate the blocking fog, and clearly see the dead and dim scene in the swamp.

Fishes swim and dive, water birds fly across, spores and mosses like fireflies illuminate the rotten tree trunks, and the huge shadows looming in the depths of the fog are the ancient castles and courtyards built by aliens, but now there is no trace of their owners. Only the pushed aside water plants, traces in the sand pits and footprints in the depressions hint at their whereabouts.

They all lead to the central area of ​​the swamp, which is marked as the "Arc of Kua" on the map.

"It seems that those aliens have been bewitched by Gundaruf's words." Dickens put down the visual assistance plug-in and said to Christian beside him, "A century ago, they fled in panic, hoping to escape to a place without the alliance of the cult to survive; a century later, they made a completely opposite decision. They knew it was a conspiracy, a trap, and a bait in front of the mechanism, but they still came in an endless stream... The temptation of eternal life for them is so strong, it's really ironic."

This chief government official who used the name of a writer as his code name for a philosopher seemed to have some of the temperament of a writer, and therefore expressed such emotion. This was not surprising, after all, the code name of a philosopher was originally chosen based on the preferences of the qualified person. Most of the members who chose the name of a philosopher were good at thinking, and most of the members who chose the name of a scientist were rigorous and prudent. Then, naturally, the members who chose the name of a writer would be more delicate and elegant than others.

Corresponding to this, Christian, who chose the name of scientist as the code name of philosopher, had a meticulous expression and her voice that never fluctuated: "In essence, aliens are not obviously different from humans, and in some ways they are even better. Just like most of us may be able to resist the temptation of eternal life, knowing that the archives of the Fang of Eternal Life are sealed in the vault but still remain unmoved, but more people are ordinary, mediocre and mundane, such as the group of people who followed the 'Eye of No Sleep' Vannos in the S-112 incident, and even angered the leader, triggering the second purge. This cannot be considered a weakness of human nature, but a commonality of life."

"That makes sense." Dickens nodded slightly and said with a smile, "But the S-112 incident has been treated as confidential. Although there are only two of us here, it is better not to say anything casually, Mr. Christian."

Christian was silent for a moment, then replied, "I was negligent."

Dickens said, "No problem. I think the leader has probably forgotten about this. Let's talk about work. Sir Andrew told me before that all the members of the Valenhild family who colluded with the aliens in the Port of Desolate Rain have been controlled. The final flame produced by the Rutal Steam Engine Factory is on the way to transportation and is jointly guarded by the Deathbirds and the Night Watch. What about the situation at the Balance of Order?"

"Everything is ready." Christian replied in a cold tone, but this coldness was not directed at Dickens, but at the aliens in the swamp who were destined to face a catastrophe: "The mecha troops and tank troops are occupying the commanding heights, and 316 arbitration teams have established a blockade along the periphery of the swamp and arranged "blockade positions" and "ether optical positions" to prevent them from escaping; in addition, 96 trial teams have been led by Chief Judge Andrew to go deep into the swamp to conduct the first wave of inspections and are ready for a firefight; the action can start at any time, but my suggestion is to postpone it for half an hour."

"Half an hour?" Dickens quickly responded: "Is it to wait for Master Fei Er to arrive?"

"Yes." Christian nodded gently: "If Lord Fei'er is at the front line to command, the morale of the soldiers will definitely be higher, which will be very helpful in reducing the overall casualties of the operation."

At the beginning of the operation, the factor of Grand Inquisitor Fei Er joining the battle was not considered. Even now, Christian only suggested that she be in command instead of participating in the battle in person. This is certainly because of his confidence in the military force dispatched by the Balance of Order, but also because once Her Majesty Fei Er leaves the Fei Ye Men Te, she will be in a state that is not convenient for fighting. If she is forced to participate in the battle in this state, the cost will be very heavy.

His Majesty himself was aware of this, so he clearly stated in the communication report he sent back: I brought a few ship officers back to confuse the test scores, and I am good at slacking off, so forget about the rest. Also, you are not allowed to report my confuse test scores to the leader and the Special Assessment Bureau!!!

The tone was so strong that three exclamation marks were added at the end.

These straightforward words caused Christian to fall into silence for half an hour as he faced the report.

But these are all unimportant matters and will not affect the implementation of the plan.

"Just do as you say."

Dickens gazed deeply into the dark, foggy swamp, as if he was looking at a wild beast that was about to be tamed by human reins and swords. His tone was understated, yet it was filled with tremendous force: "In half an hour, Operation Spark will officially begin."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)