Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

But when W noticed something was wrong, he didn't make a fuss about it. Instead, he continued to examine the terrain ahead with his binoculars.

She said she didn't know how many landmines were planted, but of course, she was just joking and trying to scare people.

W remembers exactly where the Originium explosives are located and their yields, as well as the locations and yields of the numerous explosives buried nearby.

But now she'd rather she'd remembered wrong—because there were absolutely no signs of it being triggered.

The unusual activity at the outpost was enough to indicate what had happened, but no explosives had been triggered—either there was a mole, or the troublemaker knew the outpost inside and out.

"Tsk!"

W subconsciously exerted force, causing the lens of the telescope in his hand to crack even more noticeably.

"What's wrong, little girl? Did someone ransack your house when you went out? I don't understand why you two would go out to eat when you live so close to home."

In that year, they directly referred to this dilapidated place as W's home, and at the same time raised a question that had been puzzling them since the beginning.

“They’re mercenaries, after all. They should at least ensure the safety of their rear when they go out.” Tomat also noticed that the stronghold W mentioned was having some problems, and added, “You can’t even organize a picnic properly?”

Faced with the two men's provocative questioning and the unclear situation at the base, W's veins bulged even more. She simply threw down her binoculars and angrily explained why they had deliberately set up a large pot outside to cook rice.

"How could it be a picnic! It was all to lure out this guy who's been causing trouble around here lately. Who knew we'd end up drawing you out instead?"

According to W, an unidentified man named Lope, who carries various weapons, has recently appeared in this abandoned city.

The man plundered food everywhere and attacked the nearby Sarkaz indiscriminately, regardless of their strength.

Caravans, residents, mercenaries—they robbed almost anyone they encountered, then fled after taking what they had, only to reappear some time later.

Because of his agility and elusive nature, he has yet to be captured or killed by anyone.

For safety reasons, after summarizing some patterns, W led a group of people to set up a pot not far from the stronghold, preparing to lure the person out again—as for the so-called pattern, it was that the prisoner always launched an attack at mealtimes.

"In the end, instead of luring that guy out, we encountered someone even more troublesome."

When W used the word "trouble," he was looking at Tomat, not Nian, who was with him.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Six - Hungry Dogs Inside

"Wait...you mean that guy goes around stealing food?"

Thomas called out to W, who was about to head deeper into the stronghold, his brow furrowed as if he had just snapped out of deep thought.

"That's right, they only steal food and don't seem interested in anything else—no, they occasionally steal weapons, but it's like they're only interested in melee weapons, ignoring guns or other better weapons."

The clues left by the other side were very limited. Even a veteran mercenary like W could not confirm the other side's true intentions with such a lack of information.

"Alright then, I'll go look for something else to eat. If all else fails, I'll just go hungry for today. It's just one meal, I won't die."

Just as W thought Thomas would offer some insightful comments based on the question he had just asked, he waved to Nian, who was standing to the side, as if he was about to leave on the spot.

"Shouldn't we also go and see what's going on?"

Seeing this, Nian complained about Tomat's decision, but she had already turned around and was preparing to leave.

"They might steal everything if we go there, and besides, it was their business anyway."

Thomas pointed deeper into the stronghold and, after answering Nian's question, continued:

"There are still some faint breaths over there, but they're not moving anymore, so they're probably all alive. Then there's an even fainter breath moving around inside, quite fast. That's probably the person you're looking for."

He didn't offer to help, but relying on his ability to sense the aura and combined with W's explanation, he told them the general situation inside.

Even though he didn't have much interaction with W, Tomat knew that mercenaries were not exactly benevolent people to be associated with, and the attacker they were talking about, judging from his actions, didn't seem like a benevolent person either. After all, what normal person would go to such a place to plunder food and weapons?

It's impossible that he got lost and had no food, so he had no choice but to attack someone.

"Although, like you said, this has nothing to do with you, are you really serious? That guy is inside?"

Thomas shrugged at W, who had asked the question, without commenting. W, who had never expected anyone to help them, also took the casually given information into account in his countermeasures. He immediately led his men in and stormed in, thus parting ways with Thomas and Nian.

But as expected of a mercenary who is not one to easily trust others, even as they ventured deeper into their stronghold, W made sure to have the men at the back keep a close watch on the rear, lest these two men, who had no reason to launch a sneak attack, suddenly attack from behind.

Until they fully entered the stronghold's complex, and from the time they had been looking at the building, Tomat, who was about to leave and complaining about wasting time gathering food, was stopped by Nian.

"Hey Tomat, something just occurred to me. After this is all done, I'll..."

Whether it was premeditated or just a sudden whim, Nian whispered a few words in Tomat's ear with a smile.

"...You're not lying to me?"

Thomas stared at Nian's smirking face with a hint of suspicion, then looked at the location of the stronghold that W and the others had penetrated, and asked.

"Don't look at me like that. I admit I have some 'bad ideas,' but they're all for that acquaintance of mine. As for what I promised you, I'll never go back on my word!"

Nian didn't mind Tommat's distrust of what she said at all; on the contrary, she was happy that the other party actually believed her to some extent.

Thomas said nothing more and followed the scent of W and the others, heading deeper into the area.

If you enter the base by flying, you don't need to worry about Originium explosives buried on the ground. Even anti-air mines that can detect flying objects will not be triggered because Tomat's altitude is higher.

The deeper you go, the more obvious the temporary protective measures that have been set up around you become. You can even see a wire mesh barrier that has been damaged at the entrance, which surrounds the relatively tidy low-rise buildings inside.

Judging from these things alone, W has managed this place quite well.

Occasionally, a few fallen horned figures could be seen on the ground, with various weapons scattered around them. Judging from their clothing, which was not uniform but still had a certain style, these people were probably the other Sarkaz mercenaries that W had left behind at the stronghold.

The influence of Originium made it impossible for Tomat to judge the strength of most people by their aura. However, as a mercenary, he should be stronger than most ordinary people or ordinary infected people who have been enhanced by Originium. The fact that he knocked them all down without killing them indicates that the attacker had considerable skill.

He must also be an infected person, and despite having a more severe illness than these mercenaries, he displayed strength far exceeding theirs.

However, such a judgment is not very meaningful for Tomat, since this degree of deviation is not enough to change the gap in hard power.

At this moment, Thomas had already sensed the presence of W and the others. They were very close to the attacker, whose aura was faint but whose movements were agile. Without the ability to sense auras, W was able to locate and surround a person in the vast stronghold using only other clues. This was a testament to W's superb skills as a mercenary.

W and his group are now surrounded in front of a warehouse at the outpost. The gate, which had been repaired and reinforced, now has a large hole in it, still emitting black smoke. The only damaged warehouse door, which was used to store various resources, was the one where food resources were stored.

Although a certain degree of trading network exists in these ruins, this is ultimately a remote and sparsely populated area far from the city. The interruption of food supply affects more than just morale; it directly endangers lives.

The warehouse echoed with the sounds of various things being overturned. After confirming that there were no other entrances or exits created by the destruction, W and the surrounding team members had one group continue to surround the warehouse, while W, along with the others, picked up various melee weapons suitable for indoor combat and unlikely to damage supplies, and rushed into the warehouse through the large hole.

"Kill this sleazy bastard!!!"

W's annoyed attitude was not only because the other party had stolen from him, but also because he was venting the frustration he had been enduring since the square.

If I can't beat him, I can at least beat you, a robber.

They rushed in and looked at the figure atop the hill of overturned supply crates—

She wasn't particularly strong, and was even completely obscured by the weapon rack on the back of the man, which resembled the tail feathers of some kind of Liberi. With her back to W and the others who had broken in, she held dry, hard, compressed food in both hands and kept putting it into her mouth. On her unkempt yellow hair, a pair of Pero ears swayed with each bite.

"Hiccup? Ugh—!!!"

The figure, as if choked, reached out and pounded its chest, which was bouncing beneath its tattered clothes, before turning around with a face full of surprise and food scraps.

"Wang?"

------

According to the official storyline, Xiao Ke's movement route is as follows: Starting from Bolívar, he travels to the border of the three eastern kingdoms (Yan Kingdom, Dong Kingdom, and the third one is unclear), and then turns back from there. On his return journey, he takes a large detour from the north, and finally is picked up by Yan Rong and his team who are on a mission in Letania.

According to the official map, Kelp should theoretically have passed through Kazdel.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Seven - The Little Puppy Can't Take This Fright

One of them sat there, looking utterly surprised and innocent.

The other group stared at them with wary and resentful eyes.

The silence and standoff lasted for about a second—the blond-haired Pero immediately grabbed a piece of unopened compressed food in his mouth, and with two smaller supply boxes in each arm, he leaped down from the small hill of supplies and jumped toward the window on the wall opposite the door.

The instant her feet left the ground, several cold glints flashed from behind W and the others, those were gleaming, sharpened daggers, flying straight toward Perot's back.

"Clang clang clang!!!"

But after the crisp sound, all that could be seen was the dagger being blocked by the bundles of weapons she carried on her back. Then, after another sound of shattering glass, her figure had already disappeared into the warehouse.

"Tsk, you guys outside, fire at will!!!"

W, having thrown his dagger but missed, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. Then, he shouted even louder orders to the mercenaries surrounding the warehouse. He then switched to a Sarkaz rifle, stepped back outside the warehouse, and circled around to the direction where Pero had escaped.

As Sarkaz mercenaries possess speed and skill, they are more than capable of arriving on the other side the instant the enemy escapes, or of giving the surrounding mercenaries a chance to react.

But within those few seconds of breaking the glass and rushing outside, the violent conflict had already begun and ended.

—After smashing through the glass and leaping out, Perot used incredible arm strength to throw the supplies he was holding in both arms directly forward, sending them flying in an arc at a high position like a cannonball.

At the same time, in the instant the mercenaries were stunned to see her rush out and throw what might be an explosive device, she shrank back and began to fall.

Once the mercenaries realized that the thing had only flown overhead, they immediately unleashed their attacks on it, but deliberately reduced their output because of the nearby supply warehouse.

As a result, Pero, who was carrying weapons and falling in a whirl, used those weapons as a shield as he spun, directly blocking and even deflecting magical attacks and projectiles.

The moment it landed, the force generated by the spin acceleration had not yet completely disappeared due to contact with the ground, and Pero used this force to throw the two old spears behind him to the left and right.

"I can catch even those reckless attacks that don't even look at their target!!!"

The spear flew toward one of the Sarkaz mercenaries who happened to be in the path of the attack. His excellent dynamic vision allowed him to clearly judge the point of impact, and his protective gear, combined with his physical abilities, made him unafraid of the simple attack launched by this amateur.

He simply shifted his body slightly, allowing the spear to just barely glide past him.

"Idiot! Get away from me!!!"

Just as he was about to do so, W shouted a warning to the mercenary who was indifferent to the attack on Pero, and raised his Sarkaz gun, ready to shoot Pero, who had steadied himself on the ground but then bent his feet to make a sprinting motion.

The bullet shattered the ground beneath her feet, but it only struck the blurry afterimage she left behind and a small piece of tattered cloth trailing behind her.

As W had warned, the spear seemed to be imbued with some unknown Originium Arts, causing it to generate far greater destructive power than it appeared upon impact—the ground began to cave in from the point where the spear tip landed, and even wider cracks spread out with the enormous impact.

Its power was enough to blast away mercenaries who thought they were in a safe zone. Only a few of them could barely stand after they stuck their melee weapons into the ground to stabilize their bodies.

While everyone staggered, Pero, who had sprinted out from where she stood, precisely dodged every bullet that followed her, even though she was facing away from W and the others. She then immediately arrived at the location of one of the spears, stopped, and easily pulled it out of the deep pit.

The brief pause was a good opportunity to attack, but W, who was preparing to shoot her back, found that her opponent seemed to have already considered the possibility of being attacked if she stopped walking. The moment she drew her spear, she pulled out a chain-like weapon from the weapon rack on her back, casually swung it, hooked it onto another spear not far away, and pulled hard, immediately lifting herself up and leaving her original position.

"There was no hesitation in the execution, but every step seemed meticulously planned..."

W was somewhat surprised by Pero's meticulous fighting style and his sudden intrusion into the camp.

Of course, this is not admiration for her personal abilities.

A playful smile appeared on W's face.

Because the moment Pero left the warehouse, they no longer needed to worry about using weapons or spells.