NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

Despite being Niki, she somehow manages to give the illusion of being as light as a feather.

Rudmila had seen the pilgrims; more accurately, she had witnessed the legendary fairytale version of Niki—Snow White—more than two weeks ago.

Even someone like Niki, in terms of speed, couldn't match a third of the speed of this Niki wielding the knife...

Or perhaps a quarter?

Actually, this comparison is not rigorous, since Snow White's weapon load is far greater than that of Crimson Lotus, who carries two swords at her waist.

However, Rudmila, also a member of the Niki family, was still confident in her judgment—even if Snow White were to shed all her burdens, she would still be no match for the knife-wielding Niki in terms of pure speed and explosive power.

They are pilgrims...

Niki, who was standing on the top of the rock face, was also a pilgrim.

The captain of the Limitless Squad looked at Lieutenant Phoenix, who was being held by the waist by Honglian, with surprise, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

As the rumors suggested, this infamous commander did not play by the rules at all.

Fang Zhou had racked his brains but still couldn't contact two of the pilgrims. He even had a close relationship with one of them.

"Alice, the Hatter and I have some very important things to discuss. The Hatter won't be leaving the far north anytime soon, so stop being naughty," Rudmila gently advised, her expression returning to calm.

Alice always obeyed Her Majesty the Queen's words unconditionally.

The girl pouted, just like Tia, and reluctantly approached the Queen. Her pitiful, dejected expression was practically screaming "Unhappy!" She was practically begging to tell everyone how unhappy she was.

"It's okay, they didn't really exert their strength."

At the top of the rock face, to prove he was unharmed and to defend the behavior of the two childish kids below, Phoenix had no choice but to do a few chest-expanding exercises in front of Honglian to show that his shoulders were not damaged.

"I know that the two of them meant no harm."

Honglian rolled her eyes at someone with a charmingly annoyed expression.

"But I observe that in this world, fights often go too far and result in injuries. How can you, young master, guarantee that you won't hurt yourself by continuing to indulge their mischief because of others' anger?"

Actually, I already wanted to call it a day, you just beat me to it...

After listening to the old woman's pedantic lecture, Phoenix, who was speaking the truth in his heart, opened his mouth with a strong desire to survive.

"I'll pay attention next time."

Presumably because of her overly good attitude in admitting her mistake, without the lieutenant's instruction, Honglian took his arm and climbed back down to the ground from the top of the rock wall.

“Let’s go, to…to Her Majesty the Queen’s new palace.”

Considering that the innocent and carefree Alice was still present, Phoenix was too embarrassed to reveal his true intentions, so he could only make things up based on his intuition after Anick's explanation.

"Once we arrive at the palace, I would like to discuss with Her Majesty the Queen the plan to exile the Knight of Hearts."

"no problem."

Seeing that the lieutenant had not disrupted Alice's understanding of the world, Rudmila burst into laughter again.

“Then follow in my footsteps, servants.”

……

……

Dilapidated steel-framed houses, old-fashioned electric heating coils, and air so dry and stuffy it was nauseating.

The new palace Alice spoke of was actually just a long-abandoned ground military outpost.

"Huaerqiulei, what are you doing here? Is it convenient to talk?"

In a room, Phoenix, who did not choose to sit on the sofa because of his weight, asked this question.

Faced with the instructor's question, Huaerqiulei, without any suspicion, simply and clearly stated her purpose.

"Commander Anderson wants me to come to the far north to make contact with Niki, codenamed 'Snow White,' and if the opportunity arises, to try to investigate a Lecher individual that resembles an ape."

After explaining her task, the stubborn girl bluntly asked a question.

Where are the instructors?

"I?"

Compared to the original protagonist's simplicity, Phoenix, who is willing to frankly discuss the mission's details, is more indifferent.

"I'm in charge of tracking down those several thousand Lechers that migrated here from the K region and figuring out what kind of trouble they're up to."

But as you know, even if several thousand Lechers migrate together, the heavy snows of the far north are enough to cover their tracks. So I wanted to ask you and Rudmila if you've spotted any large Lecher herds these past few days.”

“That Lech group… I suspect their final destination is ‘Celestial Ring,’ which was originally a meteorite crater in the far north, with a diameter of 826 meters and an average depth of 157 meters.”

As soon as the lieutenant mentioned the Lecher group, Rudmila, who had already done her homework, immediately pulled out a flexible scroll screen from her waist. After displaying a map and several photos of celestial rings on the screen, Her Majesty the Queen calmly said:

"This crater is quite remarkable in terms of diameter, depth, and soil density."

Therefore, in the early stages of the Lecher War a century ago, before Lecher was fully understood, the human coalition transformed this 157-meter-deep crater into a giant bunker.

But what happened next... you two can probably guess. Without an energy shield to support it, no matter how strong the firepower, it's no different from a target for Lecher.

Ultimately, after killing over 1,700 Lechers, Sky Ring Bunker fell, and all the Allied forces who held the bunker perished; none surrendered.

The inherent depth of the Sky Ring Bunker allowed its internal structure to be largely preserved, which led the Lechers to decide to seize it for themselves.

During the middle of the ground war, military records indicate that the Lechers, numbering nearly 20,000, remained entrenched around the Celestial Ring for an extended period, raising suspicions that they were protecting it.

Undoubtedly, Rudmila's introduction had exceeded Phoenix's understanding of the plot, but this did not prevent him from continuing to think along with Her Majesty's words.

"In other words, the Sky Ring was later transformed by the Lecher into some kind of building or facility that was beneficial to the Lechers, and the Lecher group I was tracking..."

Are they transporting something to the celestial ring?

At this point, the lieutenant was also surprised by the conclusion he had drawn, which made his scalp tingle.

He also remembered that, in order not to be abandoned by the Ark, he reported to Anderson that he had seen information that the K-08 sector might have a Lecher factory.

Admittedly, the claim that "there is a Leicester factory" was something Phoenix made up on a whim.

But! He had actually seen these scenes with his own eyes through the consciousness map: groups of Lechers patrolling the K-08 section, and a few Lechers carrying boxes of different sizes.

"wrong……"

Memories from several months ago began to surface, and the man, his brow furrowed, muttered to himself:

"What things absolutely must be transported from Region K to the far north?"

"Why should goods be transported from Region K to the far north?"

"Region K..."

Suddenly recalling the night when Bai Xue unleashed her unparalleled prowess in mowing down the lawnmowers, Phoenix's chaotic thoughts suddenly straightened out.

"The blacksmith...the blacksmith is in District K!"

"Damn it, those boxes are full of Niki?!"

Chapter 237 Conflict

Niki?

Was the real purpose of the Lecher migration to transport Niki?

Here, Phoenix had just reached a shocking conclusion. Over there, Hua Erqiulei, her face instantly contorted with anxiety, could no longer contain her excitement.

"Instructor, can I join this investigation mission? The counterattack force can also provide temporary assistance."

"..."

Faced with Valkyrie's passionate request, Phoenix did not respond immediately. Instead, he took the scroll screen and continuously zoomed out the map on it until he saw the marker of the outpost beneath his feet.

The distance between Tianhuan and the outpost is only 71 kilometers.

71 kilometers...

The lieutenant glanced subconsciously at Farin, who was perched on his shoulder, and a plan quickly took shape in his mind.

We can first move forward 50 to 60 kilometers to shorten the distance and minimize the possibility of getting lost. Then we can hand over the rest of the journey to these ghost sisters and let them record the situation inside the Heavenly Ring.

In this way, he wouldn't have to lead his men into the trap and risk his life to break into the giant fortress that Lecher had occupied for decades.

"You just focus on your task; I'll handle this myself."

Unable to explain the ghost girl situation to the two, Phoenix had no choice but to ruthlessly reject Waltham's application to join the team, saying:

"I will let you know when I need support. Now I need to go and explain the situation to my team."

"But there are at least several thousand in that place..."

The young female commander, who had been rejected to her face, was eager to say something more. However, when her eyes met the instructor's unquestionable emerald green eyes, she swallowed back the words she was about to utter, leaving only a memorized answer.

"...Yes, instructor."

……

The main hall on the first floor of the outpost.

“I think it’s fine for Honglian and me to go on this trip. If all of you come along, it will be too obvious a target.”

After recounting information about the "Lecher Migration," the "Sky Ring," and the "escort of Niki," Phoenix succinctly explained his follow-up plans to Niki and her companions.