On the other side, after Remilia left, Flandre once again entered her unsupervised "happy mode." She seemed to have set her sights on the girl named Mudrock, and she would often appear around her from time to time.
Mudrock didn't think it was a problem; after all, Flandre's strength was evident, and she was very obedient. There was no need to worry about her safety or her causing any trouble. Occasionally, she would show off some earth Magic to exchange knowledge with Mudrock. Although earth Magic derived from the Seven Elements was completely different from the Sarkaz Incantations Mudrock used, different paths often lead to the same destination.
For instance, to soften or harden the soil in a certain place, Flandre would unhesitatingly use the two spells [Transmute Rock to Mud] and [Transmute Mud to Rock]. While Mudrock's incantations didn't share those names, the actual effects were identical. Flandre simply hadn't researched water Magic much; she had dabbled in all the other elements. Thus, the conversations between her and Mudrock were very pleasant for both sides.
[Flandre, Flandre, are you there?]
Just as Flandre and Mudrock were conversing enthusiastically, Alina contacted her through their Bloodline Connection.
[Sister Alina, has something happened?] Flandre replied.
[We received word this morning that a group of Infected coming from the north lost contact in the northeast. That area is a primeval forest; could you please help look for them?] Alina explained the reason.
Since the founding of the Reunion Movement, Infected had been coming from all directions to join them. Some would contact the Reunion Movement in advance, and the movement would provide timely support. This particular group of Infected was said to have come from a certain mine in the north. Logically, they should have reached the Reunion Movement's sphere of influence last night and met up with the people arranged to receive them.
But the reception team waited until after ten in the morning without any word. They quickly contacted headquarters. Headquarters naturally had ways to contact that group, but there was no response after the signal was sent. Realizing something was wrong, the Reunion Movement prepared to send someone along the path they were supposed to take.
Usually, Alina would handle such matters because she could fly and was the fastest. But today, Alina had left early to pick up another group. The members of the Flight Squad she trained could only fly and rely on their eyes to find people; they couldn't distinguish heartbeats to detect nearby individuals like Flandre and Alina could. In a dense primeval forest, searching for people solely by sight while flying at low altitudes is very dangerous and difficult.
So, Alina thought of Flandre.
After hearing the explanation, Flandre patted her chest and said she would take care of it. She then mentioned she had things to do, bid farewell to Mudrock, and left the construction site. After leaving the mobile module, she headed directly in the direction Alina indicated they might be.
Before long, Flandre arrived at the primeval forest. Looking at the vast expanse of forest, Flandre also felt it was a bit troublesome.
"Wow, this place is really big!"
With that, she split into four and searched in four different directions. An hour later, Flandre stood in the center of the forest; she hadn't found anyone there. So she quickly notified Alina. Alina was also shocked to hear the news and then gave Flandre the location where the last message had been sent.
Flandre flew off in that direction. Upon arriving, Flandre quickly found her target. But the number of people was wrong; Alina had told Flandre there were over a hundred. Yet there were only a dozen or so here, and every one of them looked terrified.
Flandre descended directly from the sky.
"I was sent by Alina of the Reunion Movement to pick you up. Wasn't it said there were over a hundred people? Why are there only this many now?" She stated her identity directly to avoid causing panic. After all, these people looked like they had been scared out of their wits.
They were indeed startled to see someone drop from the sky, but they sighed in relief after hearing Flandre state her identity.
"It's the Reconnaissance Squad. We were attacked by the Reconnaissance Squad last night. Everyone scattered, and only a few of us escaped back here."
Hearing this, Flandre stomped her foot in annoyance. "Those Reconnaissance Squad villains again."
Just then, her ears twitched as she heard footsteps approaching from outside. These footsteps were very heavy, sounding like they came from fully armed individuals. A bloodthirsty smile appeared at the corners of Flandre's mouth.
"Come to think of it, Flandre hasn't had a proper meal in a long time!"
The next moment, she split into four, and three figures turned into streaks of bloody light and charged out. There were no screams, no wails; those Reconnaissance Squad members died the instant she made contact.
At the same time, she flipped her face-down card and activated the Magic Card [Ritual Magic: Bloodhound]. Several clearly visible red trails appeared in Flandre's eyes. The three figures turned back into streaks of light and sped into the distance.
The Reconnaissance Squad was currently celebrating the attack. As long as they caught the last dozen or so escapees, they would have successfully captured the entire group of Infected. You see, since the establishment of the Reunion Movement, most of the Infected in Ursus had fled into its sphere of influence. This caused the number of Infected in other areas to drop significantly.
But the quotas for "heads" set by the nobles above for the Reconnaissance Squad hadn't decreased at all. Consequently, the Reconnaissance Squad was under a lot of pressure. Catching over a hundred Infected at once completed a large portion of their quota, significantly reducing the pressure on their region.
But they didn't expect that they had already enraged The Demon Little Sister.
Just as the members of the Reconnaissance Squad were wondering when the last team would return, they saw three streaks of bloody light approaching.
"Enemy attack!" the scout let out a sharp, explosive cry before instantly bursting into a mist of blood.
The Reconnaissance Squad members scrambled for their weapons, but their bodies were instantly twisted and folded, turning into unrecognizable lumps of flesh. In less than a minute, this Reconnaissance company of nearly fifty men was completely wiped out by Flandre.
At this moment, the captured Infected nearby hadn't even reacted. After scanning the crowd, Flandre looked at a man covered in blood who clearly seemed to be the leader.
"How many Infected were heading to the Reunion Movement in total this time?"
The man was in a semi-conscious state but managed to wake up under the influence of Flandre's Magic.
"A total of one hundred and twelve people..."