Bab 1458: -1439- The Attack of Armored Beetles
"This... This is...!?"
"You're kidding...!"
"An air raid alarm...!?"
As the alarm rang out and reached the ears of the members of the E601 squad, Misora, Lecty, and Rico were all shocked. They couldn't afford to remain despondent any longer and stood up one after another, almost involuntarily.
Rozen also stopped his lecture, turned his head, and looked outside, his eyes narrowing slightly.
At that moment, the alarms set up throughout Mistgun were all going off, causing a low humming sound to repeat continuously.
Then, the air raid alert was finally issued.
"Attention! Attention! An air raid alert is now being issued! An air raid alert is now being issued! A large number of Armored Beetles have been confirmed approaching Mistgun! All squads above D-rank, prepare to sortie immediately! All squads above D-rank, prepare to sortie immediately!"
As this voice echoed throughout the floating academy city Mistgun, the entire city first fell silent, and then erupted into a tremendous clamor and commotion.
"Armored Beetles are attacking...!"
"Quick...! Prepare to sortie...!"
"Get the Sky Wizards of the E-rank squads to guide the civilians to safety...!"
"Move! Move!"
These shouts kept echoing from all corners outside, mingling with the screams from the streets, making it easy to imagine the panic-stricken people fleeing in terror.
Naturally, this situation also shook the hearts of Misora, Lecty, and Rico.
"Are Armored Beetles really attacking...?"
"I... I've never encountered a situation like this before...!"
"This is bad..."
Misora and Lecty were somewhat flustered, and even Rico's face tightened, her eyes full of unease.
Due to the frontlines being guarded by the fortress floating cities against the armies of Armored Beetles, and other floating cities dealing with the Armored Beetles around the world, floating academy cities like Mistgun, which specialize in training Sky Wizards, rarely encounter large-scale Armored Beetle attacks. Usually, they follow relatively safe routes for patrols, so although they've often encountered Armored Beetles, a situation that warrants an air raid alarm is unprecedented for Misora and the others, who have been enrolled for almost two years.
Thus, it's perfectly normal for the members of the E601 squad to be somewhat panicked.
Only Rozen remained calm.
"It's the problem caused by the Variant mentioned earlier, isn't it?"
It seems that the issue discussed earlier in the office of the head of the Sky Wizard Division has become a reality.
The Variant that caused the annihilation of the squad on night watch and was mentioned in the communication is now likely leading the army of Armored Beetles to attack Mistgun.
"This is probably why Chloe has been summoned repeatedly lately, right?"
It seems that the Armored Beetles sent by the Variant as scouts and cannon fodder have indeed found the location of Mistgun, leading to this invasion by the army under the Variant' command.
This is undoubtedly a matter of life and death for the entire Mistgun.
"Yuri's ominous words really came true."
Rozen couldn't help but sigh.
Meanwhile, it seemed like the entire Mistgun had immediately started taking action.
"Buzz—!"
Accompanied by the hum of the air, a circular protective barrier rose at the edges of Mistgun, enveloping the entire floating city.
"D457 Squad! Sortie!"
"C339 Squad! Sortie!"
"B221 Squad! Sortie!"
"A177 Squad! Sortie!"
One after another, the well-known Sky Wizard squads in Mistgun armed themselves and took to the skies, heading out of the floating city.
"Please head this way!"
"Don't panic!"
"The shelter is over here!"
Meanwhile, the E-rank squads were guiding the civilians to the shelters throughout the city, maintaining an orderly process.
For a moment, the entire Mistgun was mobilized, filling the streets with people, while countless streaks of light flew across the sky, heading towards the exterior of the city.
Seeing this scene as they ran out of the squad building, the members of E601 squad gradually calmed down.
"Let's... let's help guide the civilians to safety!"
"Yeah...!"
"No other choice."
Misora, Lecty, and Rico quickly put aside their earlier gloom, regrouped, and prepared to engage in the situation.
On the other hand, Rozen stood still, quietly gazing at the sky outside the city, without making any move.
"Aren't you going?"
Misora noticed this and asked in surprise.
Not only Misora, but even Rico and Lecty turned their eyes towards Rozen.
The situation was now very clear; it was undoubtedly a crisis.
Since this is the case, as the strongest force in Mistgun and a hero of humanity, Rozen had no reason not to go to the battlefield.
However, strictly speaking...
"I'm already preparing to transfer to the Alchemist Division. I'm no longer a Sky Wizard, so I don't really have a reason to go to the battlefield, right?"
Rozen said this.
"Th-that's..."
Misora, Lecty, and Rico were momentarily speechless.
But then Rozen changed his tone.
"However, this is a good opportunity."
Saying this, Rozen turned towards Misora, Lecty, and Rico.
"You three, follow me."
Leaving these words behind, Rozen activated his flight magic, soaring into the sky and heading in a certain direction.
"W-wait...!"
"Senpai...!"
"What on earth is that guy planning...!?"
Seeing this, Misora, Lecty, and Rico were startled. By the time they snapped out of it, they had already activated their flight magic and were following behind Rozen.
The group flew in a certain direction.
That direction was not towards the outside of the floating city.
...
Sky Wizard Division, Command Center.
This facility is located underground in Mistgun and is used to monitor both the exterior and interior of Mistgun, serving as the command center and control room during battles.
Currently, this place was bustling with activity, with a large number of staff members busily operating various instruments, handling communications, and several screens standing in the center, projecting a three-dimensional image of Mistgun and displaying live footage from various locations.
"Whoosh!"
At a certain moment, the doors to the command center automatically opened, and Freon walked in briskly.
"Sky Wizard Division Head!"
The staff members immediately stood up as if they had found their backbone.
Freon didn't waste any words and spoke directly.
"Report the situation!"
Upon hearing this, the staff members immediately reported the status.
"We've detected a large number of life forms converging on Mistgun. They've been confirmed to be an army of Armored Beetles. The patrol squads outside have also sent communications confirming a large number of Arachnell-class and possible sightings of a Variant!"
"We've already notified all squads above D-rank to sortie and intercept the approaching Armored Beetles. The city's external defensive barriers have also been activated!"
"E-rank squads are guiding civilians to the shelters, expected to be completed in ten minutes!"
"Our Sky Wizards have engaged the enemy forces and are currently in combat!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the central screen immediately flashed, changing to show live footage from outside Mistgun.
Freon looked up, and her expression instantly became serious.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone