Scott Outpost.
As the forefront observation post for Hollow Zero, it monitored various data and conditions within the Hollow at all times.
Helicopters, rarely seen in New Eridu, were constantly taking off and landing here. With each landing, a tactical squad fully decked out in combat gear would disembark from the chopper.
Even though these soldiers were all battle-hardened veterans who had fought countless Ethereals, right now, every single face wore the same solemnity and tension as a recruit preparing to step onto the battlefield for the first time.
The name Nineveh was like a nightmare for the entire Defense Force; the mere mention of it invariably caused expressions to pale.
But compared to these sights, a series of incredibly massive towers instantly captured Andrew's gaze.
Shiyu Towers.
These colossal towers were like pillars capable of calming the seas, thrust straight into the sky. Standing before them, one couldn't help but feel their own insignificance.
Ether energy, so dense it was visible to the naked eye and seemingly substantial, was constantly surging out from the tops of the Shiyu Towers, leaving a straight trail of fluorescent purple rushing into the clouds.
Such high towers were not rare at Scott Outpost. In fact, there weren't just one or two of these spectacular structures. Instead, at regular intervals, a pair of Shiyu Towers stood tall upon the ruins of what was once Eridu—now merely a buffer zone outside Hollow Zero.
On the fragmented ground, the scars left by the disaster seven years ago still remained. Amidst the pure white clouds churning within the fissures of the earth lay the land where people once lived.
But now, on the broken surface, there was only shattered earth and the ruins of a former city.
And Hollow Zero.
This terrifying disaster, which humanity feared every moment yet remained helpless against, stood quietly on the ground, silently looking down upon everything around it.
Everything in the surroundings failed to cause even a single ripple. The disaster that had everyone in Scott Outpost running around in a frantic mess didn't elicit any reaction from It whatsoever.
It just stood there quietly.
Like an incubating egg, constantly evolving the yet-fully-grown disaster within, waiting for the day it would hatch.
And when that day arrived, it would be the end of everything.
At that time, humanity would have no retreat left. Facing a disaster that could not be faced, that would be the moment humanity completely vanished from this world.
Current efforts were nothing more than humanity's death throes, desperately trying to live a little longer in this world.
Shaking his head, Andrew threw the involuntary wild thoughts that had arisen upon seeing Hollow Zero out of his mind and began to formally survey Scott Outpost beneath his feet.
Countless instruments, large and small, which Andrew couldn't understand, were piled up everywhere. Concise, capable, and sharp-edged, they revealed an atmosphere of streamlined austerity and killing intent unique to the military.
Countless soldiers in military uniforms were busy without pause.
In the command center, which wasn't very large to begin with, various data streams flowed constantly across screens of all sizes.
Behind the group, a huge tactical board marked Nineveh's advance route, followed by the positions of various squads within Hollow Zero. The densely packed squads formed battle lines that supported one another.
This was data transmitted to the command center by intelligence personnel inside the Hollow, updated in real-time through the physical connections between the Shiyu Towers.
Although there was a delay of over a minute compared to the actual situation on the front line, this was already the best method available under the restriction that data could not be transmitted directly out of the Hollow.
While all squads were constantly avoiding Nineveh's route to prevent an encounter, they were also doing their utmost to continuously divide and eliminate the Ethereal colonies gathering around Nineveh.
They were giving everything they had to stop the unstoppable tide of Ethereals, large enough to destroy everything, from appearing.
Fortunately, after regaining activity, Nineveh showed no hesitation regarding New Eridu and headed toward the Shiyu Tower almost immediately.
Since the Shiyu Tower was located on the periphery of Hollow Zero, the Ether concentration in the air was gradually decreasing as Nineveh moved. Accompanying the drop in Ether content, the surrounding Ethereals were also decreasing in sync.
This also slowed down the gathering speed of Ethereals around Nineveh significantly.
It could be considered a reduction in the difficulty of this disaster. However, having an incredibly clear goal, she didn't care much about these things right now.
Upon reaching the entrance of the command department, Andrew discovered something.
Inside the command room, apart from a few officers in command uniforms and the people from Hollow Special Operations Section 6 they had met before, there were also several young women he didn't recognize at all, wearing standard military equipment, standing in the command post.
There was a gentle-looking onee-san with a blonde ponytail, wearing goggles that obscured almost the entire upper half of her face, carrying a sniper rifle on her back.
There was a... young girl? She had blue hair, stood barefoot on a balance board, looked indifferent to everything, and resembled a child.
And there was a girl with orange hair and long, pointed ears. Her body looked mature, but her face carried a childishness that couldn't be concealed at all. On her very flexible tail, a hand cannon was actually mounted.
This mismatch between physical appearance and psychological age made Andrew subconsciously associate them with the clones of the Silver Squad.
The leader of these individuals was a mature woman with green hair. She wore a black military uniform, a unique black flower hair ornament pinned to the tip of her hair, and a white rose on her chest that stood out incredibly against the black uniform.
Her outfit, resembling mourning clothes, gave her the aura of a widow, as if she were mourning something at every moment.
At her waist, she carried a military saber that looked very exquisite, appearing to bystanders as if it were merely a decoration.
However, the habitual standing posture she subconsciously adopted allowed Andrew to quickly discover that this military saber was definitely not something as simple as a decoration.
Poised and ready to strike, a sharp aura capable of piercing out at any moment faintly radiated from her movements, like the thorns on the stem of a rose.
It was just that all this sharpness was hidden very well by her, making her look calm and steady, like a gentle clerk. It was as if she were quietly waiting for an opportunity to stab her target.
If Andrew hadn't also done some research on single-handed swords, he would have almost missed this point.
As for that seemingly weak little girl from before, she seemed to be discussing something with the man acting as the commander-in-chief...
No, that wasn't right.
What the gray-haired commander was discussing with was a... gun?
"Commander Roland, my squad already has a very powerful and reliable cannoneer and sniper. Plus, Orpheus and I, while serving as sub-attackers, also have to handle the responsibilities of auxiliary fire support and command."
The voice coming from that gun was very hoarse, sounding like a mature woman who had weathered many storms.
She was speaking to Roland, who was responsible for command and dispatch, in a tone that was clearly suppressing her temper, enunciating each word methodically:
"What my squad lacks most right now is a Main Attacker who is powerful, fierce in offense, yet reliable enough to engage Ethereals in close quarters to create output windows for other members—not these ragtag rejects!"
"Given the intensity of our squad's missions, what is the difference between letting them join as Main Attackers and sending them to die!"
Faced with this barrage of words from the pistol, Roland couldn't help but rub his somewhat aching head.
"I understand. Of course, I know what kind of teammates Obols lacks right now."
He then couldn't help but sigh, saying with a bit of helplessness,
"But Captain Ghostfire, you should also be clear about how rare people who can undertake this kind of high-risk position are in the army."
"Most of the people who meet the requirements you mentioned are currently on the martyr list. And those few remaining treasures were snatched up tight by other squads long ago. Other squads aren't fools; how could they possibly release them?"
Hearing Roland's words, Ghostfire was also rendered somewhat speechless for a moment.
She naturally knew Roland was telling the truth.
As the role that charged at the very front of all squads, the Main Attacker was basically the first to meet with mishaps when huge dangers arose.
Although this position was considered the easiest to train and get started with among all roles, putting aside the fact that knowing how to do it and mastering it were two different things, there was only one main reason why the Main Attacker—despite being the easiest to train—had the fewest number of people.
Danger.
When most squads encountered dangers they absolutely couldn't cope with, the Main Attacker was, in all probability, the one to be sacrificed first.
Even if not the first, if the sniper and cannoneer were sacrificed first when danger struck, the Main Attacker, lacking fire support, would basically find it hard to escape death under the siege of Ethereals.
So in most situations, even if someone escaped, it was basically only the sniper or cannoneer, who had been in the distance the whole time, who had a chance to run away.
This led to the main reason why, in most cases of squad reorganization, other positions were easy to fill, but the position of Main Attacker was the only one for which suitable candidates remained elusive for a long time.
And this was the situation the Obols Squad was facing right now.
Looking at the batch of people Roland arranged in the beginning was actually done with the lucky mindset that they might pick up a hidden gem.
The result was reality.
Let alone perfectly fitting, among so many people, there wasn't even one who passed with a sixty percent score.
Sighing, Roland could only say, with the spirit willing but the flesh weak,
"In short, all the personnel available for selection in Scott Outpost are already here. If you think none of them will do, then the only way is for you to find someone from the outside yourself."
"But..."
Just as Ghostfire wanted to continue striving to see if she could make Roland think of another way, Hoshimi Miyabi and Andrew's group stepping into the tent immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.
The arrival of these people also caused Ghostfire to forcibly swallow the words she hadn't yet spoken.
Subsequently, she simply stepped aside silently to make room for the upcoming mission arrangements.
After all, she knew very well.
It didn't matter if her Obols Squad sortied forcibly without this replenishment, but if Hoshimi Miyabi was delayed by even a second, the subjugation of Nineveh would be a second late.
In the final analysis, the work of people like herself was actually just to play support for this person. As long as Nineveh was dealt with...
Once Nineveh's Withering Sickness and pollen were gone, all remaining Ethereals apart from that would no longer be a problem.
After Orpheus stepped back, Roland also saw Hoshimi Miyabi, who had been revealed and was entering the tent.
Upon seeing this sufficiently reliable reinforcement, Roland instantly couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.
Two minutes ago, Tsukishiro Yanagi, acting as Hoshimi Miyabi's deputy, had just assured him that she had contacted her and that she was currently on her way.
The result was that she arrived almost in the blink of an eye.
The speed was so fast that Roland couldn't help but sigh with emotion: as expected of a Void Hunter, such powerful strength was truly beyond reach.
It was just that one thing exceeded his expectations: she had actually brought a few people he didn't know at all.
Looking at the three people in front of him who could be completely described as dressed in eccentric outfits—especially the one in the center carrying a Tachi that looked completely unlike something for human use—Roland, who had never seen them before, was somewhat confused for a moment.
However, with a major crisis at hand, he almost instantly threw these unimportant trivialities to the back of his mind.
These were people brought by Hoshimi Miyabi.
Since they were brought by the Void Hunter, there must be her own considerations and reasons within this. He only needed to convey everything he was supposed to convey.
Thus, Roland very decisively ignored this point and said directly,
"Miss Hoshimi Miyabi, currently Nineveh's symbiotic Ethereal swarm has basically been completely held back. As the core of this symbiotic group, Nineveh will be left to you alone, just like usual."
As someone who had already cooperated with the Defense Force many times as external aid for Slash-and-Burn operations, superfluous explanations were completely unnecessary for someone already familiar with the process.
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi also understood instantly. She nodded, doing her part, and said,
"Okay, leave it to me."
Saying that, Hoshimi Miyabi immediately lifted the sword in her hand and intended to walk toward the outside of the command room.
But just as Hoshimi Miyabi stood up, she was directly held down by Andrew, who reached out a hand, all under the incredibly astonished gazes of Roland and Tsukishiro Yanagi.
"Don't forget what we agreed on from the start. For this subjugation, I'm going with you."
What made the two of them drop their jaws even more was that not only did Hoshimi Miyabi not refuse, but after hesitating slightly for a second, she nodded and agreed.
Leaving aside that this person actually held Hoshimi Miyabi down as soon as he reached out...
One had to know that for battles of this magnitude, because she was afraid others would encounter unnecessary danger, Hoshimi Miyabi generally rarely allowed others to take action to prevent accidental injury.
Even whenever he wanted to assist from the side, he had to make an application, and it wouldn't necessarily be approved.
Although a large part of the reason was that the time they had spent together wasn't long, so they didn't completely understand each other's strength yet...
But Andrew just said it so casually, and Hoshimi Miyabi agreed immediately with almost no hesitation?
Just who exactly was this person?!
Looking at Andrew in front of him—who had a slender build and a body that wasn't considered particularly muscular visually, and apart from the shockingly large weapon, really didn't show anything special—Roland, whose heart was equally churning with countless doubts, couldn't help but ask obliquely,
"Then, may I ask how I should address you?"
Hearing this, Andrew finally remembered that he hadn't had time to introduce himself since arriving here.
So he waved his hand directly and said casually,
"Hunter. Just call me Hunter. Don't use honorifics or anything, it sounds weird."
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ Access up to 40 advanced chapters of ALL stories!
✅ Receive exclusive content and updates!
Help us hit our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters of ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan