The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

Thanks to the map scans from the officer's notebook that Mary had "automatically picked up" and Phoenix Flame's navigation function, Fish and Ange quickly determined the relative location of the laborers' sheds in the darkness.

Of course, pinpointing the location is one thing, but getting there to help the people inside escape is quite another—along the way, they saw battles everywhere between soldiers of the Imperial Guard's First Brigade who were not controlled by the "Tai Sui" and those who had been infected, or even "transformed." Stray bullets flew everywhere... including some that were deadly even to armored warriors.

"Watch out, take cover!" Not long after the two began to advance, Huang Yan suddenly issued the order—and less than half a second after Fish and Ange did so, a 105mm shell flew over their heads and crashed into the black glass ground several meters behind them... Fortunately, it was a dud.

"This is ammunition for the 'Giant Lizard' self-propelled artillery," Ange said, glancing with lingering fear at the bullet that had slammed into the glass floor. "This thing is an advanced piece of equipment that was only manufactured in the last two years, and only a few companies of the Imperial Guard have been equipped with it."

"If this caliber of ammunition hits you directly, your smart combat armor won't be able to protect you—furthermore, an explosion at extremely close range (within ten meters) could also cause serious injury," Huang Yan immediately warned. Just as she finished speaking, several more similar shells struck nearby.

This time, they weren't duds. Although the impact point was slightly worse than the first one, the shockwave, carrying a large amount of shrapnel and glass fragments, still posed a threat to the two men.

"Someone is deliberately firing in our direction," Huang Yan said. "The attack is coming from the northwest; we are currently confirming the exact coordinates."

"These damn Imperial Army soldiers, even at a time like this, they still prioritize attacking us?" Fish muttered.

"No, I'm afraid not," Huang Yan said. "There are numerous activity signals from 'Tai Sui' infected individuals in the area near the attack location, but there has been no firefight. It's likely that the self-propelled artillery company's position was already occupied beforehand."

"So... Holy crap, it can be like this?" Fish was stunned. Although he had witnessed the behavior of a "Tai Sui" host with a less severe mutation attacking humans with firearms, swords and other weapons when he was in the North.

However, those infected were basically just mechanically wielding melee weapons or repeating firing motions; they were not only very sluggish but also quite inaccurate. And now, these guys could actually achieve relatively accurate strikes with indirect fire artillery! This was completely beyond his imagination.

"Is it because the enemy's controller has changed from the 'Central Brain' to the 'Chancellor'?" Ange quickly figured it out.

"That's true," Huang Yan said. "The data processing capabilities and efficiency of 'The Overlord' far exceed the level of 'The Central Brain,' which allows the individuals directly controlled by it to perform more precise and complex actions: such as driving complex self-propelled artillery, observing the impact point, performing calculations and firing corrections, adjusting the elevation angle, and selecting the type of ammunition."

"This is truly unbelievable." As several more shells fell, Fish had to curl up and harden his vital areas with Phoenix Flame to avoid serious injury. Even so, his limbs still suffered some minor injuries.

"Let's get out of here quickly. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time before we get hit directly." While the self-propelled artillery was loading its shells, Angela pulled Fish to her feet, preparing to flee this dangerous place as quickly as possible.

But at that moment, two figures suddenly and silently landed beside them.

"What the heck?!"

Ange was only stunned for a moment before a translucent, crystal-like longsword was already thrusting towards her. Fortunately, Fish, who was standing nearby, had anticipated this and immediately blocked the attack with his wrist blade, also delivering two maximum-output ion gun shots to the attacker.

However, after being hit, the target did not explode or vaporize like a normal living target. Instead, it was blasted away a distance, and the semi-transparent crystal-like protective layer on its armor was heated to a red-hot state.

Wait... a crystal-like protective layer...

"Angie, these guys are the rest of the 'Crystal Knights'," Fish shouted. "Watch out, they're not easy to deal with!"

"I know." Ange swung her sword, barely blocking another attack from behind, and then forced the attackers back with a fierce counterattack—because the two of them had cleverly set a trap in the underground "safe house," the "Crystal Knights" special forces team, which originally consisted of seven people, now only had these two survivors. But more importantly, these two guys seemed obviously... not quite right. They neither tried to persuade Fish and Ange to surrender nor cursed at them, and there was no communication between them.

In fact, Fish had already guessed their situation from their stiff and slow movements: like the thousands of Imperial Guard soldiers stationed in this black glass wasteland, these two unfortunate guys had also become victims of the "Tai Sui" infection.

"So, this is the real 'reward' Dr. Iskandar Lomonosov bestowed upon you," Fish couldn't help but sneer after understanding the two men's situation. "How about it, are you satisfied now? Hmm?"

Of course, the two "Crystal Knights" were no longer able to answer his question. They let out low growls from behind the visors of their intelligent combat armor, like two enraged, trapped beasts ready to tear their enemies apart.

However, for Fish and Ange, how to deal with these two guys was no longer the focus at this moment—these "Crystal Knights" were a level below them in terms of both the quality of their intelligent combat armor and their own talents, a fact they had already confirmed in the previous battle.

Although this group could generally suppress the two opponents by cooperating when they had a numerical advantage, Fish was certain that they had no reason to lose in a two-on-two situation.

Moreover, most of the unfortunate fellows who became puppets of the "Grand Duke Jupiter" were slow to react, and their tactics were rigid and lacked strategy. In the ever-changing battles between armored warriors, this meant extreme passivity. The real problem was... they didn't have that much time.

Because those self-propelled artillery pieces controlled by the "Tai Sui" are firing into this area.

"Are these bastards planning to take us all down with them?" Fish muttered angrily as several more shells landed in a position closer and more dangerous than the previous barrage, while simultaneously deflecting a series of fierce and frenzied attacks from the "Crystal Knights".

These two are now completely disregarding their own safety, launching desperate attacks at the slightest opportunity, their sole purpose clearly being to tie down Fish and Ange. Although this tactic won't last long, the self-propelled artillery can still fire a few more rounds of shells before they collapse.

Unlike Fish and Ange, these two unfortunate fellows clearly had no intention of surviving. Therefore, even as self-propelled artillery continued to bombard the area, they relentlessly attacked Fish and Ange.

"Tsk... So they're going to such lengths to kill us? It seems 'The Grand Master' really values ​​us." Fish began to feel uneasy—although Phoenix Flame's defensive capabilities were extremely high, if they were unlucky enough to be hit by a large-caliber grenade, they would only face certain death. And the longer the time dragged on, the higher the probability that he would be accidentally hit by a grenade.

So what to do? Continuing to maneuver and waiting for an opportunity to eliminate the opponent is the easiest and safest option for him. The only problem is that this would take a considerable amount of time. Should they simply eliminate those self-propelled artillery pieces? Theoretically, that's a good idea. But the question is, how? At the current range, they have no means of attack to deal with those troublesome things, not even Ange's loitering munitions…

Just as Fish was filled with fear and unease, an explosion came from the location of the "Giant Lizard" self-propelled artillery company, followed by more explosions. One after another, orange-red fireballs briefly illuminated the night sky—the result of the detonation of stored ammunition inside the self-propelled gun vehicles. Then, several other "Giant Lizards" in that company were hit and exploded one after another, turning into blazing pyres.

"Holy crap, you can do that?" This sudden turn of events left Fish completely dumbfounded. However, he quickly accepted this stroke of luck and intensified his attack on his opponent. After a flurry of swordplay, relying on his superior intuition and the enhanced reaction speed provided by the Phoenix Flame, Fish successfully exploited his opponent's weakness, piercing the man's chest with a single thrust, and then effortlessly slicing his ribcage, neck, and skull in half simultaneously.

In contrast, Ange usually relies on the performance of "Golden Soup" to play the role of a "turret" in battle, making close combat much more difficult for her than Fish's. However, after Fish took down his opponent, the fate of the last "Crystal Knight" was sealed: held back by Ange, he was completely unable to defend against Fish's literal backstab and was quickly stabbed through the heart.

Just as the last opponent fell, the hum of a diesel engine came from not far away—two Whiplash tanks with their headlights on had arrived nearby. But just as the two men began to prepare, one of the tanks stopped, and two men opened the hatch and crawled out from the top of the turret, which had sharp, riveted armor plates.

"It's you?!" Fish and Ange exclaimed.

"Hi, long time no see." Shana waved to them, and Melu gave a somewhat reserved smile. Then, when the driver's hatch of another tank opened, what appeared was... Fish's old friend, Luca.

"Miss Luca, I never imagined that someone as noble as you would one day stoop to driving such a tasteless and uncomfortable car." Although Ange knew perfectly well that the sudden explosion of those self-propelled artillery pieces was almost certainly the work of Luca and her group, due to some inexplicable competitive spirit, her words turned into mockery of Luca.

"Oh dear, Princess Ange, how can you say that? I was just showcasing our products—these 'Whiplash' tanks are the latest products from Vane Military Machinery Company, a subsidiary of our Sherin Foundation. Like the 'Giant Lizard' over there, they've just begun equipping the Imperial Guard." Luca waved at Ange with a smile. "Their most distinctive feature is the use of a 75mm long-barreled cannon with enhanced anti-armor capabilities and new armor-piercing rounds... As for the effects, you just saw them."

"Thank you all very much for your timely assistance. So, what about the others?" Fish asked.

"We've all just arrived here—actually, we first arrived in a nearby town. We were quite startled when the children there told us they saw you and Miss Mary being taken away by the Imperial Guard," Shana said. "Thankfully, Miss Frostleaf told everyone not to panic, saying you were definitely taken away on purpose."

"It's obvious if you think about it for a moment," Luca said. "A Diamond-level and a Lapis Lazuli-level armored warrior together could easily wipe out several companies of regular troops. How could they be so easily taken away by the military police? It's probably just a stopgap measure to sneak into the target location."

"Then……"

"After discussing it, we decided to first lie in wait near the 'Secret Realm' and observe, and take measures as the situation changes. But after we crossed mountains and valleys to get here, we found that a battle had already broken out in the camp." As the turret hatch of the second "Whipper" was pushed open, Alicia crawled out of it. "Well, at first we thought that you two were fighting with the Imperial Guard."

"We did have some firefights with the Imperial Guard," Fish said, "but the fighting on the ground..."

"I know, it's caused by 'Tai Sui,' right?" Alicia asked. "I'll never forget those guys."

“I can’t forget it either,” Fish said softly. “However, this time it’s different. The ‘Grandmaster’ has been released, and the ‘Tai Sui’ infection here is out of control.”

"That bad?"

"Unfortunately, but denying the facts won't make things better," Ange sighed.

"That's really... well, anyway, after discovering the fighting in the camp, we took immediate action: Miss Xiaoxing and the core members of 'Red Cat' attacked the workers' shed to rescue the laborers imprisoned there, while the rest of us searched the camp for you. On the way, we unexpectedly found an unguarded armory and garage, so we 'borrowed' some equipment for use."

"But... how do you know how to drive these things? After all, tanks aren't something just anyone can drive, right?"

"It's simple, just use this." Luca took off the goggles from her forehead.

"Is this... a universal operation assistance system?" Ange quickly noticed the abnormality of the goggles. "This is a very precious relic from an old civilization."

"That's right, it's a very useful thing," Luca said. "It can quickly analyze the structure and operating principles of mechanical equipment and project the specific operating procedures into the field of vision in a visual way—that is to say, it's like providing hands-on assistance. As long as you don't do complicated actions, it can handle most situations, and it even has a night vision system."

"No wonder," Fish muttered. In this era where night vision devices no longer exist except for a few relics from the Old Era, "being able to see at night" is a huge advantage. The reason why Alicia, Shana, and the others were able to easily destroy those self-propelled artillery pieces was because they used this asymmetry in perception to launch a sneak attack.

"The only drawback is that very few of these items have been unearthed, and even fewer are usable. In addition, they have no barriers to use and are highly versatile. One piece can fetch 250,000 Imperial Dinars at auction."

"With so much money, you could buy a 'Whiplash' tank, right?" Fish complained, while also gaining a new understanding of his old flame's extravagance—after all, only Luca could afford to buy several sets of such valuable relics and carry them with her at all times.

"Alright, we can talk about these things later. But right now, we have to leave here quickly," Ange urged. "Judging from the current situation, this area will probably soon be taken over by the 'Tai Sui' hosts. Although I hate to admit it, it's too late to stop them."

"That's infuriating," Luca said. "So, can I take that our current operation has failed?"

"At least I don't think so," Ange said calmly. "In my opinion, this is just a new beginning."