Terra Tinkers Construct is fine.

Amiya blinked, looking puzzled.

"I mean, you guys will have to handle the rescue of the doctor yourselves from now on."

Milan lowered his head and ruffled her hair, then straightened up with a sharp look in his eyes: "Alexei, you'll lead the team and take the Rhodes Island people to the research institute. I'll show you the location; the guards at the Energy Research Institute should have been redeployed by now, so you won't be stopped."

“You are responsible for guarding the outer perimeter, and the rest is up to Rhodes Island; the situation in Azazel is still unclear and it is not suitable for too many people to appear, so I will go with the old man.”

"If things go smoothly for you, you can return via the same route; if things don't go smoothly for you, I will come as soon as possible after I've dealt with things over there."

"Any more questions?"

He looked at his subordinates and then at the Rhodes Island group; he ignored the strange look in Hrag's eyes, Alexei and the others stood at attention with their heels together, and he himself said in a low voice, "No problem, sir, leave it to me."

"very good."

His gaze shifted to Rhodes Island. Neither Ace, leading the team, nor the blonde-haired knight protecting the medics behind them spoke. Amiya, still somewhat uneasy, said, "Mr. Milan... is this alright? You've already given us enough help. Perhaps we should bring more people..."

"The situation with the Reunion Movement is different from what you imagine. It's a large group of infected thugs. If they make a big fuss, it will only attract more people. It's easier to move around if there are fewer people."

Milan explained, and was about to say something when a chaotic series of footsteps suddenly came from the street corner. Accompanied by firelight and frenzied shouts, a group of Reunion Movement thugs appeared, dressed in different clothes but wearing the same simple white masks and orange ribbons tied around their bodies.

"We've found them!"

"They're over there! Don't let them get away!"

Before the operation even began, a conflict that could have been completely avoided, barring any unforeseen circumstances, had already arisen. Milan's armor instantly materialized, covering his entire body like a suit of armor, his somewhat scholarly, slender frame shrouded in silver and black. Amidst the shocked gazes of the Rhodes Island operators, he spoke:

"Look, you still have a battle to face. Time is of the essence, so fight quickly and decisively. Don't be careless, go for it."

As he spoke, he took out his shortbow and fired an arrow at the charging Integrators from a distance.

Amiya opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then gritted her teeth and said, "I understand! Mr. Milan, Mr. Herag! Please be careful!"

"We'll handle things here quickly, and we'll come back to support you after rescuing the doctor!"

Then the girl turned around and raised her hand high in front of the rushing thugs.

"If conflict is unavoidable... then, Rhodes Island!"

"Ready to fight!"

Azazel's situation was even more complicated than Milan and the others had imagined.

The Reunion Movement has evolved to the point where it is no longer the small organization that originated in the snowfields. Instead, it has absorbed a vast number of infected individuals of varying quality from across Ursus. When these infected individuals are concentrated in the city of Chernobog, they have an overwhelming numerical advantage on most fronts, which is the real reason why they were able to capture Chernobog so quickly.

Regardless of where they are infected, anyone who wears an orange tag and a white mask can be part of an integrated movement that shouts slogans like "Speak out for the infected" and justifies violence against others.

But now, at Azazel's gate, the Reunion Movement members wearing white masks have split into two groups.

"Get out of my way! You docile citizens of Ursus! Have you forgotten the slogans you shouted when you joined the Reunion Movement?"

"Now you want to play the good guy? Who's going to appreciate that? Have you all forgotten what you did?"

"The path of Talulah is the only way out!"

The fanatical Reunion activist brandished crude weapons and shouted hoarsely. He held the water pipe high as if it were a sword, and the firelight cast his shadow on the building wall, making him look like a demon or monster.

On the other side are the local infected in Chernobog... What kind of place is Azazel? Don't they know it even if others don't?

"No...we can't do this! They are different!"

Someone shouted, "The people here are our fellow infected! Not those Ursus people who oppress us!"

"You don't know! Azazel is a place of salvation, a place that heals us!"

"The clinic gave us medicine, which is why we've survived until now; otherwise, we would have died long ago!"

"You can't do this!"

The sounds of arguing, roaring, and crying mingled together, creating a chaotic cacophony. Inside the clinic, the lights flickered on and off. Nain's fingers, gripping the katana, turned white as she cautiously observed the outside world through the window, while simultaneously giving quiet instructions:

"Forget about the stuff that can't be moved! Move quickly! Prioritize personnel safety!"

"No need to bring food! We can just give it to them! Uncle Jung's side will never lack food, no matter what they lack!"

"Younger siblings, go first! Is everyone here? What about the medicine, medical records, and valuables we need to be prepared for any eventuality?"

Her heterochromatic eyes were fixed on the window, her pointed ears perked up and twitched, alert to the escalation of the conflict; but the internal conflict within the Reunion Movement did not last long. Someone in the crowd shouted sharply, and psychological fanaticism and physical fire ignited at the same time.

"They're stalling for time! Are they waiting for the military and police to come and suppress us?"

"They only give the medicine to obedient infected people!"

"Charge in! They have lots of supplies! They have inhibitors! They have medicine to cure Oripathy!"

"Take everything that belongs to us!"

It's unclear who made the first move, but the faint sounds of resistance were instantly drowned out; someone threw stones at the windows, someone threw out burning balls of fire, and the fake fence outside Azazel was pushed down in an instant, the gate groaning weakly.

"...We can't hold them off, there are too many of them."

Nain bit her lip, looked at her brothers and sisters who were not professional warriors either, and said resolutely.

"Let's retreat!"

Chapter 97 - Exploding Chicken (4.5K words)

—Prioritize the safety of the people! Children go first, valuables and medicines second, and we can leave the food and equipment behind! We'll leave through the underpass!

—But Sister Nain, what if Grandpa Herag comes back and doesn't see us because we didn't protect the clinic?

—Don't worry about Father…Even if the house is gone, Father will definitely realize we ran away when he comes back, and then find out where we went; more important than that, we need to protect ourselves, do you understand?

—Then… Sister Naon, where should we go after we escape?

"Go find Uncle Jung! Father went to his place, and even if we missed each other along the way, Uncle Jung wouldn't ignore us!"

Should I say that she is indeed a woman with rich experience in wandering, or perhaps she is indeed the adopted daughter of Hrag?

In the critical moment, Nain's logic was very clear, and she quickly sorted out the priorities of the escape plan; under her leadership, the Azazel members, most of whom were minors, also calmed down and united to act quietly and help each other amidst the chaos outside the door, and quickly completed most of the necessary transfers.

Nai and the few boys who had led the charge had just breathed a sigh of relief.

The situation on the street suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse: under the deliberate instigation of someone in the crowd, the infected rioters, who were already filled with fanaticism and had no sense of the world, finally lost their last bit of rationality; the local infected who tried to stop them were violently scattered, and the rioters of the Reunion Movement, like a flood that had burst its banks, swept away the clinic's doors and fences, and smashed doors and windows in all directions.

The strategy that Helag had devised from the very beginning when choosing the location for Azazel finally paid off: the mob was ultimately not capable of directly demolishing the walls and houses, and the remote location, the oddly shaped houses with small street frontage, few large windows, and early railings made it look like a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Although it didn't have much effect in the face of sheer numbers.

But at least it bought Nao time to assess the situation.

"There are too many people; we can't defend from the front!"

"Retreat inside the building! Ignite the obstacles! Utilize layered defenses!"

The girl's orders were extremely decisive.

Although young, Azazel's members were not without resistance under Hrag's usual tutelage: with the primary goal of protecting the basement escape route, they did not hesitate to set fire to the furniture themselves, adding more chaos to the situation inside the house; at the same time, they defended themselves layer by layer through narrow passages and secret passages, retaliating with projectiles and crossbow bolts, and for a time managed to stop the mob's advance.

"drink!"

The katana in Naon's hand reflected a sharp arc of light.

The girl's martial arts skills, honed under Herag's guidance, were already quite impressive. In a location where numerical superiority was not an advantage, she was enough to block the door. With the help of several skilled young men, she temporarily halted the onslaught of thugs from several directions. Since there was still no news of a full retreat from the secret chamber behind her, she gritted her teeth and knocked down another person, subconsciously wiping away her sweat.

These thugs were basically no match for her.

But there are too many people, too many people!

It was as if she hadn't actually defeated the people, but rather they had been pushed out from behind her to squeeze her space and exhaust her energy in a relentless battle!

"Don't even think about running away!"

In just a few minutes, Nain had no energy left to count how many people she had killed; but more thugs came up behind her. Adults dressed in disheveled clothes, with only masks symbolizing their identities and concealing their other identities, shouted fanatical slogans, overflowing with indescribable madness and malice, and reached out to grab her. Their figures were so tall that they even covered the slender girl in shadow.

Nain wanted to swing her sword, but the foreign longsword in her hand hesitated more than ever before. Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and the dirty hand kept getting closer, making her mind go blank.

"Zheng——!"

The stagnant time continues to flow.

What brought her back to reality was the sound of strings like a zither.

The shadows and murky air in front of the girl were instantly swept away. She subconsciously turned around and saw an Ursus boy squatting down, struggling to carry a strangely styled crossbow, and another Liberi girl looking nervous, gripping the trigger and aiming the sights. She herself was also surprised.

"I hit it... Naon-nee-nee, I hit it!"

"..."

—How could I forget about this!

She called Milan "uncle" for a reason.

Even if she wasn't used to the crossbow Milan gave her, it didn't affect the fact that it was added to Azazel's weapon stockpile; the boy, who couldn't help, remembered that he still had this thing and immediately dug it out—even though Milan had deliberately reduced the weight of the materials for the Terrans to use, it was still a bit heavy for a teenager.

So they simply went together as a pair.

As for the attack effect... "The Tinkers' Soul Crossbow can only realize its true value when used with the matching arrows." This accelerates the 1.5 kg arrows to a speed of over 80 meters per second, allowing the crossbow bolts to carry excessive kinetic energy and move forward like javelins!

In an instant, it pierced through the chest of the first thug who almost grabbed Nain, and the huge kinetic energy was still there, forcing his body to fly backward in the crowded environment—smashing over the two people behind him before finally pinning them to the door frame!

The astonishing scene instantly stunned the rioters behind them, making them hesitate even as they pushed forward.

"well done!"

Nain, who had caught her breath, still had a hint of fear on her face, but she immediately gave a thumbs-up in praise; realizing that she was running out of energy, she quickly asked, "Bavra, how is everyone else?"

"My younger siblings have mostly left! The rest of the area has been shrunk to the warehouse entrance, so it's basically just you and your sister left..."

The little girl, Li Boli, who had come to report the "retreat is possible" information to the last few outposts, nodded and quickly drew back the crossbow string to nock an arrow while speaking crisply. Before she could finish speaking, she saw the person who had just been nailed to the door frame being pushed down, and the rioters behind him seemed about to rush in again. She was so frightened that she quickly shot another arrow to block the door, causing a commotion at the entrance.

Li Boli's aiming talent is quite remarkable.

But what interrupted her was not just the sight of that arrow, but a heart-wrenching wail that came from the next room, which seemed to be separated by only a wall.

...It was as painful as if I had lost something.

“Ouch——!!!”

"...What's going on next door?"

—Yeah, what's going on next door?

"A bunch of brats, how dare they resist!"

Just a wall away, in another room with a secret passage, Azazel's boys were originally using the terrain to retreat and ambush, but they didn't expect that the mob was not just ordinary thugs, but also a hidden expert; it was a scavenger who appeared from the crowd, whose thin and tattered clothes could not hide the shocking crystals and strong body odor, making the other thugs unwilling to go with him.

He possessed an incredible strength from who-knows-where, smashing a hole in the thin wall in just a few blows. The furniture used to block the way was also broken in half as he caught up with him. The defending boy couldn't withstand this power and was knocked down in a few blows, unable to get up. He grinned maliciously at the remaining, even younger boy—who was waiting outside the secret passage to provide backup. Now, unable to restrain himself any longer, he rushed out driven by a surge of bloodlust, only now realizing that he should be afraid.

"You're one of them too! You must know where the medicine is, right? You must know where everyone else is hiding, right?"

The burly man's expression was violent and ferocious, and the blood-stained club in his hand was still dripping blood. He slowly approached as the young senior cried out in pain.

"Tell me! Where did they all go! Tell me!"

"Don't come here!"

The terrified boy stumbled, looking around several times but finding nothing he could use as a weapon. He could only fumble with his clothes and pull out a small knife he always carried.

How should I put it—that was the product of Milan's material experiment, testing "tools made by hand outside of MC rules"; he was indeed a knife-making enthusiast, but his practical skills were really clumsy. This knife looked crooked and ugly, with a terrible appearance, and even the blade line was uneven, which made the boy's companions tease him for a long time.

If we had to point out any advantage, it would be that this weapon is only a long dagger for Milan, but for the young man, it could be considered a short knife.

But as soon as the dagger was revealed, even the scavengers let out a harsh laugh.

"Haha! Hahaha! What are you trying to do by bringing out this piece of junk?"

"You think you can use this to fight me?"

"Give it to me! I've caught you, look at you little brats..."

The boy frantically swung his short knife, his movements completely haphazard and relying solely on brute force; but to the thug, this brute force seemed rather endearing. He didn't even have the patience to parry, and reached out to grab the dagger directly, intending to subdue the boy on the spot.

What danger could a little kid with a broken knife pose? Even if he cut his palm, would it hurt as much as these broken stones growing into his flesh?

The scavenger didn't care at all.

But just as he grabbed the unsharpened blade of the short knife—a strange light flashed across the dark blade, and the thug's face changed drastically! His eyes bulged, his mouth opened wide and drool dripped down, his face turned red, then white and then green, and his legs instinctively clamped together, freezing him in place.

Immediately following, a piercing, distorted scream erupted from his mouth.

"Uhhhhhh-!!!"

【Cola Iron - Dagger】

- A small, poorly made sword blade; a tool handle made of insufficient material.

-Chicken Severance: Attacks have a chance to strike a critical hit, dealing additional magic damage and inflicting Weakness and Slow effects.