
While Charlene and the Captain were doing their best to get acquainted with the people from the Nine Suns Orphanage, the offensive from the Hinon Federation was going smoothly.
Even Bruce who was the commander of the campaign was surprised to see this result. He had not expected that the resistance from the Heavensend Kingdom was this weak.
But the landing forces had to be careful as the supply line started to stretch further the more they went to the land.
Furthermore, the aircraft that patrolled the landing site had spotted some ships from the Heavensend Kingdom. They came to interrupt the landing forces deployment and Bruce could not ignore this.
SS Bruce and several warships moved from the landing site to the nearest open sea and conducted another battle.
This time, Bruce sent off several aircraft to attack the enemy vessels. The aircraft passed through the enemy vessel and dropped their bomb, resulting in some damage to the vessels.
Furthermore, the destroyers and cruisers from the Hinon Federation Navy also joined in attacking the enemy vessels' formation. Their cannons let out a deafening roar as they unleashed a barrage.
Some of it hit the enemy vessel, causing more damage and even secondary explosions. The secondary explosion caused the vessel’s demise as it started to sink.
When the first one was sinking, the aircraft above switched their target to the more intact vessels, damaging the vessel more while they waited for the second barrage from the destroyers and cruisers.
Of course, the enemy vessel also launched their attack but the range was shorter and their attack only damaged one cruiser in the hull and that was not even threatening.
What made Bruce order the attack was that the scouting aircraft did not spot any battleship or the Invincible Armada. Meaning, this was a separate fleet.
That was why Bruce wanted to eliminate this fleet was that it was to weaken the Heavensend Kingdom even more.
“All ships are to sink the enemy vessels!” Bruce ordered through the radio communication.
“Orders received, sir! Proceed to sink the enemy vessels!”
The cannons fired by the destroyers and the cruisers caused additional damage to the enemy vessels while the enemy vessel only damaged a destroyer in its hull.
As time passed, the number of enemy vessels that were sunk increased while the Hinon Federation Navy fleet only suffered some damage.
The enemy commander could only listlessly sit on his chair, his confidence was shattered.
The enemy commander thought that the enemy fleet was in the middle of deploying their landing forces. They were likely to suffer some damage and unable to act for some time.
But who would have guessed that was not the case at all? Of course, the Hinon Federation had prepared for this deployment for some time and prepared the supply and transport ships for the fleet to resupply if necessary.
That was why the firepower of the Hinon Federation Navy fleet did not decrease much.
The enemy commander then felt the bridge shook before a loud explosion engulfed the entire bridge. The bridge was hit by the cannon from the cruiser.
Only then that Bruce confirmed that the target was actually the flagship of the enemy fleet as the movements of the rest of the enemy vessels became chaotic.
It only accelerated their demise at the hands of the Hinon Federation. After all of this, the fleet then left the open sea to return to the landing site where they had built a simple dock.
“Report, we have sunk thirteen vessels of the enemy fleet. It is also the entire fleet which means we annihilated the enemy.” The deputy said to Bruce.
“Have you received any information for this fleet? Why they are sent here?” Bruce asked.
“So far, this fleet is moving under the command of its commander who is already confirmed dead. Other than that, we have nothing noteworthy to report.”
On the other side of the battlefront, several infantrymen were met with resistance on their way deeper into the land.
To prevent the enemy from catching them by surprise, they had built several outposts so that their flank was secured. The outpost was built temporarily so that once they were done, it could be dismantled quickly.
They moved slower than expected since the enemy knew the terrain and launched guerrilla tactics. Of course, the infantrymen only passively defended. It was because they had to pave the way for the armored vehicle behind them.
After the armored vehicle rendezvous with the infantry, the enemy would not attack them anymore.
But their action caused the area of the enemy to be reduced, which was the objective of the strategy.
“Report!” a voice echoed out from the walkie-talkie of the deputy commander.
“We have established seven outposts and increased our area of influence by ten kilometers from the landing site. Several of our units were attacked by the enemy but we managed to repel them. Awaiting further orders.”
The deputy commander then contacted Bruce about this.
“Commander, our landing forces have advanced ten kilometers and have built several outposts. Should we proceed with the next step?”
Bruce who heard this then realized that the landing forces were advancing at quite a low pace. But it was understandable as the terrain was foreign to them. Furthermore, the Heavensend Kingdom had attacked them in a guerilla tactic.
“Proceed as planned! Sweep every single area from the enemy units!” Bruce then gave the order to the deputy commander. The deputy commander then gave the order to the rest of the landing forces.
The order was then executed flawlessly. The armored unit supported by the infantry then swept the area from the enemy occupation. They also found several villages near the landing site and proceeded to secure them.
And as expected, there were some resistances from the villages due to the fact that the Heavensend Kingdom used the village as a base.
But this was also where the cruelty of battle occurred. The infantry from the Hinon Federation initially did not want to cause any harm to civilians. But to their surprise, the civilians voluntarily joined the fight against them.
Thus, the squad leader who discovered this could not help but order to shoot down any who resisted. The civilians were even involved in the battle. They become part of the Heavensend Kingdom’s force.
“Those who resist will be shot down!” the squad leader roared angrily at this.
Anyone who showed signs of resistance was shot. Even if that was a civilian. The squad leader did this because he saw with his own eyes that these people harmed one of the people under him.
Thus, the squad shot anyone who resisted. For the people involved, this day would be one they would not forget.
Anyone from the Hinon Federation was confused as to why these people resisted that much against them. But then the matter was cleared when they received a piece of intelligence from the Special Forces.
-
“…the people in the Heavensend Kingdom are basically forced to believe that we are a demonic incarnate who will ruin their life. This is the effect of the long conditioning for the masses that we managed to discern in this place.”
The Captain reported the intelligence he had received from his unit. He was fortunate that the disguise the unit was wearing made them similar in appearance to the people from the Heavensend Kingdom.
Otherwise, they would be unable to enter Nine Suns City altogether.
The Captain reported his findings through a certain channel in his walkie-talkie. After that report, the Captain sighed and blew off some of the dust that gathered on his shoulder.
The situation in the battlefield was starting to turn into chaos but the Captain could not change that. All he could do was to assist them by gathering as much intelligence as possible while helping Charlene with her objective.
Now they all gathered back at the abandoned building. Charlene was reflecting on today’s visit to the orphanage.
The Captain and Charlene had to cut it short because they just barely started and any further action would rouse potential animosity.
“At the very least, I know the children’s favorite thing to do. And I know that young boy’s name…” Charlene murmured while thinking back to the moment when she and the young boy spoke to each other.
“Look. Dribbling the ball is not that easy. You have to know exactly which side will cause the ball to move in a certain direction. You have to get the feeling before you can do it as naturally as me.” Charlene said to the children who were chasing after the ball.
But the young boy then moved his leg in a way that could get the ball from Charlene. Charlene knew that it would be more fun if they all played together so she let the young boy took it.
“Can you do it like me?” Charlene asked.
The young boy looked straight at Charlene in the eye. He nodded and he started to dribble the ball in a similar way. Even though it was a bit clumsy, but as time passed the young boy could do it better and even managed to move around with the ball.
“It is as Sister said. Thank you for your explanation!” the young boy smiled sheepishly at Charlene.
“I want to ask something important, is that fine with you?” Charlene got closer and had to squat so that she could see the young boy eye to eye.
The young boy tilted his head. He did not know what kind of important question the sister would ask of him but he gave his consent.
He nodded.
“What is your name? It would be uncomfortable if Sister calls you something else, right?” Charlene smiled as she asked her question.
“Sister can call me Tatsumi. Grandma said it was my name from the moment she found me. I also wonder what is the significance in that name?”
“Well, you have a lot of time to search for the significance of your name. This Sister is called Charlene.”
“Sister Charlene…your action with the ball is amazing!”
Both of them smiled at each other before they continued to play with the other children. Charlene also taught the other children how to dribble the ball so they tried to imitate her but to no avail.
Only Tatsumi could do something similar quite easily.
The Captain on the other hand discovered something important from the supervisor adult.
“Yes, those invading bastards are demonic incarnate! Of course, the Heavensend Kingdom is going to repel them. Have faith in the Heavensend Kingdom, lady!” The Captain said quickly.
It was because the Captain discovered that this lady was likely someone involved with the Snatcher so he declared his stance quickly. With his ingratiating smile, he managed to not rouse any suspicion from her.
“Yes, the Heavensend Kingdom will definitely repel them off from this continent. Mister, are you someone who supports the Heavensend Kingdom?”
The question seemed to be a casual conversation but the Captain knew better. It was actually a test to see whether he was someone from outside.
But the Captain had anticipated this so he leisurely said, “Well, I am actually supporting them because I have some interest in this place. You know, it is a good thing if you can get a partnership from the official, don’t you think so?”
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, the extensive knowledge the Captain had regarding the situation in the Heavensend Kingdom helped him in this regard. That knowledge was that the one who could decide the growth of some business was the official and everyone in the Heavensend Kingdom knew this.
That was why the Captain needed to say he knew the ways of the society here.
Charlene then took a moment to rest. Tatsumi also followed her because he found that he was sort of attached to her.
“What’s the matter?” Charlene asked.
“I don’t know why but I feel like some sort of connection between me and Sister Charlene. Is it strange?”
Charlene blinked her eyes a few times. She did not expect that the young boy she had to search for could be attached to her like this. But this was good for her since it would become easier for her to convince him to leave this place.
“Perhaps that is what we can call fate.” Even Charlene had learned a thing or two about the customs and traditions of the Heavensend Kingdom. She knew that by calling this situation like that, Charlene could form a closer relationship with Tatsumi.
“Well, it looks like it.”
Another thing that Charlene discovered about Tatsumi was that he was more knowledgeable and a bit more mature. She did not know the exact cause but she had a strong feeling that her mental model was the one causing such a thing to the young boy.
“Right, Sister Charlene. I have someone I want you to know.” Tatsumi said all of a sudden.
“Who is it? Someone you cherish?” Charlene smiled as she asked.
Tatsumi nodded. Then he went to somewhere inside the orphanage before reappearing with a young girl.
Both Tatsumi and the young girl had black hair and eyes. And their facial feature resembled each other. Charlene could see that and already knew that the two were likely blood-related.
“Sister Charlene, this is my younger sister Nene.” Tatsumi pointed at Nene.
Nene was quite a cute girl with long hair. Even though her dress was a bit old, it could not hide the youthfulness she radiated. Her eyes darted around as she hid herself behind Tatsumi.
“Hello.” Charlene looked at the girl and could not help but greet her.
The girl was extremely shy as she kept hiding behind Tatsumi. Tatsumi shrugged his shoulder, he could not help but do that because he knew this was going to happen.
“I am sorry that she is so shy…” Tatsumi replied.
“No need to say that. You are still in the development period. All you have to do is explore the world according to your perspective. Do you understand?” Charlene said this to gauge the maturity of the two.
Tatsumi nodded and shook his head, appearing as if he was getting it yet also did not understand while Nene wore a blank look, she did not understand completely what Charlene had said.
Charlene rubbed the two’s head. She found the two were a cute pair.
“Okay, let’s talk about your everyday life.” Charlene looked at Tatsumi. Tatsumi then started to narrate the everyday life he had experienced to this day.
“…then there are also some people who visit the orphanage. I don’t know what they are doing but I feel that they are harboring…hmm…ill-will?” Tatsumi put his index finger in front of his forehead while thinking hard.
Charlene took note of this information. Tatsumi could be a reliable source of information for her. It was not only because of the feeling of closeness between them but also due to Tatsumi’s mature vocabulary.
Then Charlene took time to play with Tatsumi, Nene and the rest of the children there.
The Captain however uncovered another aspect of the Nine Suns Orphanage that needed to be discussed with Charlene.
-
“I got some news that the Snatcher is involved somehow with the Nine Suns Orphanage.” The Captain opened his mouth and stared at Charlene.
“I also noticed that the people who visited the orphanage recently are among them. The children even realized that they were not good people either. This is going to be complicated…” Charlene sighed.
She did not expect that the orphanage was involved with the Snatcher. But from the looks of it, it was somehow of the master-subordinate relationship.
So…
“Can you confirm the relationship between the two?” Charlene asked.
“Actually, I want to inform you regarding this matter.” The Captain replied. He continued, “The orphanage is enduring a hard time due to the Snatcher’s influence. If you want to move them, we have to take care of the Snatcher who is involved.”
Charlene nodded.
The Captain then said, “But fortunately, the person is actually someone we can ‘take care’ of if you know what I mean. And then we can filter the orphanage populace before we relocate them. Is this plan suitable to your need, Miss Charlene?”
Charlene felt fortunate that the person who was involved was someone even the military intelligence was seeking.
“Please do this in a manner that minimizes casualties.” Charlene pleaded.
The Captain nodded. But he felt that was a bit unnecessary as the Nine Suns Town was the target for the ‘weapon’ to be unleashed.
“Even though this town is the target for your weapon?” the Captain asked.
“Even so, please do your best to reduce casualty to the minimum,” Charlene stated in a firm tone.
“Yes, ma’am.” The Captain turned away from Charlene. But as he did, a smile appeared on his face.
‘I didn’t expect that she is still so stubborn. But I understand her…’
Then the Captain used his walkie-talkie to connect to the subordinates around the city to relay his plan. He also exchanged intelligence with them before he put the walkie-talkie back into his chest pocket.