"Black fog?"
Lin Lan's unease grew as he listened to Mainz and recalled the words of the Liuzhou elder. He turned to the Liuzhou people living in the inner district and said:
"You should go to the outer district to find a safe place. It's not safe here, and staying might lead to accidental injury."
Having heard Mainz's words, the Liuzhou people quickly understood what the incoming mechs intended to do. Even though it had started to rain heavily, they said their goodbyes and left in the downpour.
Now, only Lin Lan and the four Iron Blood shipgirls—Ulrich, Mainz, Nimi, and Z46—remained in the empty factory.
The metal roof above rattled with the pounding of large raindrops, and the abandoned factory seemed on the verge of collapsing under the storm.
Although it was only around six o'clock, the sky was thick with dark clouds, casting an almost nighttime darkness.
Lin Lan glanced around at the girls who stood by his side.
Nimi and Z46, the two cute little shipgirls who had been quiet throughout, looked up at him.
Mainz stood upright with her sword, her silver hair shining with a heroic grace.
Ulrich remained almost imperceptible, arms crossed and silent, staring out at the rain as if deep in thought.
The gusts of wind carrying the scent of rain hit Lin Lan's face.
In such harsh weather, having the company of the girls around him brought a sense of warmth to Lin Lan's heart.
"Don't hold back against these mechs. The pilots are nothing but lackeys for the consortium."
Lin Lan spoke firmly and then addressed Mainz:
"Inform Weser to use bombers for unrestricted attacks on the mechs. Keep an eye on the inner district and report any unusual activity immediately."
Mainz nodded and conveyed Lin Lan's orders to Weser.
"Today, I want to see just how capable this so-called Tian'ou Group agent really is."
Lin Lan pondered the descriptions of the culprit given by the Liuzhou people.
In his impression, the Tian'ou Group was a major consortium driven solely by profit.
The Tian'ou Group controlled the civilian shipping routes across the Orlan United Nations and had large reserves of oil.
Logically, a consortium focused on profit should not engage in actions that contradict their development philosophy.
The Tian'ou Group was known for its tolerance towards detained civilians within the Orlan United Nations.
After all, they had operated shipping routes across various countries, treating all races equally as business partners.
Even with the Saint Lothar nation, which had nearly gone to war with Orlan due to differing technological paths, the Tian'ou Group was its only trusted partner.
Liuzhou was no different. Before the Siren disaster, the large-scale migration and employment of Liuzhou people was proof that the Tian'ou Group had a good reputation in Liuzhou.
Many Liuzhou people had even risen to important positions within the Tian'ou Group after years of hard work.
Setting aside the pre-Siren disaster history, currently, Liuzhou's detained civilians were among the Tian'ou Group's most significant clients.
Every winter, Liuzhou people from Orlan's eastern and western continents had a custom of returning home for the New Year.
Even though they could no longer return to Liuzhou, the migration between Orlan's continents still brought significant profits to the Tian'ou Group.
Lin Lan found it hard to understand why the Tian'ou Group's reputation with the Liuzhou people would deteriorate so much.
As for the Battle Axe Military Industrial, which has been at odds with the Tian'ou Group for the past two years...
Although its predecessor was primarily involved in the military industry, it also needed a large amount of cheap labor.
So, the persecution of the Liuzhou people was likely carried out privately by the Tian'ou Group agent in Lihu County using his own power.
But why does he hate the Liuzhou people so much?
Two years ago, when this guy arrived, he not only took over the county's naval office but also managed to drive out several commanders of the nearby port area, leaving it abandoned.
How powerful is this guy?
Or rather, could everything in Lihu County really be the work of just a mere consortium agent?
Adding to this, the black fog that even Weser's carrier aircraft could not defeat...
Lin Lan was at a loss.
He could only conclude that Zhang Wei, the Tian'ou Group agent, was indeed not an ordinary person.
But he couldn't believe that this guy could be more powerful than the +13 460mm main gun.
The consequence of this rumor was the loss of hundreds of Liuzhou lives, which made Lin Lan's expression even colder and his resolve stronger. He would not let this person go.
Even if it meant tearing apart his relationship with the Tian'ou Group, the fully upgraded Iron Blood shipgirls around him were more than capable of handling it.
At that moment, the sound of explosions faintly reached the factory through the heavy rain.
Lin Lan looked towards the factory's entrance, knowing that Weser had likely begun bombing the ten mechs.
Sure enough, Mainz soon brought good news.
The ten mechs had been completely annihilated by Weser, and the carrier aircraft were unharmed.
Lin Lan nodded slightly. Seeing that the rain outside seemed to be easing, he prepared to head to the inner district.
He had overestimated the mechs.
He had expected the battle to spread here, but it seemed he had been overly concerned.
The three extremely fast mechs he had seen at Dongyun City's dock were indeed just experimental models by the Battle Axe Military Industrial and had not been widely deployed.
Moreover, even if the performance of these experimental mechs had improved and they could fight five against one, Weser's ability to eliminate ten mechs unscathed proved that his shipgirls could deliver a decisive blow to Orlan's military.
This wasn't something that could be countered by sheer numbers.
Just as Lin Lan was about to set off when the rain subsided, a thin figure silently appeared outside the factory in the storm.
"Who's there?"
Mainz, Z23, and Z46 immediately went on high alert, watching the newcomer.
Lin Lan also turned his attention to the man emerging from the rain.
He was an Orlaner wearing sunglasses and a high-quality blue suit.
Walking as if on a casual stroll, he moved steadily through the storm and slowly entered the factory door.
At that moment, Lin Lan was alarmed to notice something strange.
The man with the sunglasses was completely dry, as if the rain had not touched him at all!
Ulrich, dressed in a black sweater and knee-length pleated skirt, stood silently in front of Lin Lan, her expression grave, protecting him.
"If you had stayed in the port area, waiting to be driven away by the Sirens, nothing would have happened, young commander."
"Why did you choose to come here and face death?"
With the man's voice, lightning flashed outside the factory, momentarily illuminating the scene as if it were daytime.
Then came a deafening thunderclap that reverberated across Lihu County.
Hearing the man's sinister, malicious voice, Lin Lan felt an intense disgust.
But he also guessed the man's identity.
"Zhang Wei."
Lin Lan said coldly.
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The shipgirls behind Mainz had already activated their battle gear, with the Iron Blood dragon's cannons aimed at the seemingly frail man in sunglasses.
Z23 and Z46 also deployed their gear, targeting the man with their main and secondary guns.
"It seems you already know everything. The Liuzhou scum have also been released by you,"
Zhang Wei, surrounded by numerous gun barrels, showed no fear. He stopped at the factory entrance and said:
"Truly... unpleasant."
Lin Lan watched as Zhang Wei slowly raised his hand and removed his sunglasses, revealing his entire face.
But what was uncovered was not eyes, but—
A pair of condensed black mist!
"These Liuzhou scum should all be turned into sacrifices to nourish the resurrected Demon Lord!"
The thick black mist surged forward with a deadly aura.
"Zzzz!!!"
Mainz instantly activated her counterattack shield, and the black mist clashed with her energy shield, making a corrosive melting sound!
"Boom!"
The moment Mainz activated her skill, her main gun fired, and Z23 and Z46's main guns also aimed and fired simultaneously at Zhang Wei.
The intense explosions shook the entire factory, and the factory, already in poor condition, collapsed under the force of the blast!
Debris and rubble fell from above, but at that moment, a gigantic, scythe-shaped black-red steel dragon appeared above Lin Lan and the others.
Ulrich's battleship gear, resembling a real evil dragon descending, blocked and sent flying all the falling debris.
However, the area around Lin Lan was now enveloped in swirling dense black mist, obscuring the view of the outside.
The eerie, evil aura emanating from the mist completely isolated the space, making Lin Lan feel as if he were trapped in a deathly place.
Even his soul seemed to shiver with the swirling mist.
"What magnificent battleship gear, what powerful shipgirls! It's unprecedented, unimaginable!"
Zhang Wei's voice came from all directions, but now it had turned into a harsh, inhumanly sharp sound, extremely grating.
"Everyone, protect the commander!"
Z23 shouted, staying close to Lin Lan and scanning the surroundings, but finding no clear target.
The three of them huddled close to Lin Lan, focusing intently on the surrounding black mist.
Zhang Wei, after speaking, attempted to attack with the black mist twice more, but was blocked by the Iron Blood shipgirls each time.
Unable to breach the flawless defense, he seemed to be stymied and merely used the black mist to trap Lin Lan and his team, delaying further attacks.
Just as Lin Lan felt trapped in the black mist, unsure of what to do, Ulrich made her move.
"Boom!!!"
The massive battleship gear fired a powerful main gun shot towards a direction within the black mist.
"Ah!!!!"
The next second, accompanied by Zhang Wei's eerie, ghostly scream, the black mist seemed to explode and dissipate, revealing the normal scene around them.
The storm outside had stopped, though the sky remained overcast with clouds.
"Well done, Ulrich. Where did you fire the shot to hit that monster's vital point?"
Lin Lan hadn't yet recovered from the terrifying black mist.
Taking a deep breath, he felt a sense of distance from the outside world as he saw people from the outer district drawn to the scene by the commotion.
He looked at Ulrich, the black-haired battleship, and asked.
The massive scythe-shaped battleship gear slowly disappeared, and Ulrich casually replied:
"The location where Weser's carrier aircraft were destroyed, the tallest building in the city."
With Ulrich's answer, Lin Lan took a deep breath and realized the key point.
He looked at Ulrich with immense admiration. The crucial detail that everyone else had overlooked was carefully noted by Ulrich.
You can always trust Ulrich!
Just as everyone was relaxing their guard, including Ulrich, no one noticed a black shadow merging with the ground, rapidly approaching Lin Lan.
"We should go to the inner district. The chaos caused by the destruction of a building could be significant. We need to stabilize the situation in the county first."
Lin Lan said, preparing to deal with Zhang Wei's strange power and his mention of the "Demon Lord."
This guy was definitely not human, but there had never been any record of such monsters in the Orlan United Nations.
Moreover, the resurrection of the so-called Demon Lord requiring Liuzhou people as sacrifices was certainly some new cult.
But speaking of the Demon Lord, Lin Lan remembered that there was indeed a concept of a Demon Lord in this alternate world.
That was from more than half a year ago, when he had just crossed into this world and was at the Maple Leaf Naval Academy, researching relevant materials about this world online.
At the time, he thought it was just a legend.
In the Liuzhou Nine Islands, which faced the Orlan United Nations' eastern continent across the sea, a Demon Lord had appeared a thousand years ago, leading a demonic army to ravage ancient Liuzhou.
Back then, the powerful figures of ancient Liuzhou summoned a hero from another world to completely defeat the Demon Lord.
Even though he was also a traveler,
He had laughed at this material when he first saw it, thinking it was like a plot from a heavy cherry blossom-themed light novel.
While Liuzhou Nine Islands differed from the technologically advanced Orlan United Nations, especially in their use of elements and magic, they had once defeated Orlan's invasion.
But even so, it seemed unlikely that they were actually enacting a hero vs. Demon Lord scenario.
However, after witnessing such a bizarre scene just now, Lin Lan felt that he might have been too naive.
After all, this was an alternate world, and for him as a traveler, anything could emerge.
Moreover, it was strange that the Demon Lord's army, which should be in Liuzhou, was appearing in Orlan across the Siren-blockaded sea.
"This might be a Siren experiment?"
Considering how Sirens in games love conducting various experiments to seek variables, Lin Lan felt that this incident was likely related to the Sirens.
Compared to facing Siren fleets, the various experiments conducted by Siren experimental mechanisms were what he needed to be most wary of.
It seemed he needed to be more cautious in the future and not let his guard down.
Lin Lan silently resolved, turned, and prepared to leave with his Iron Blood shipgirls.
Just then, an overwhelming sense of danger struck him.
"Commander!"
Z23, who was closest to Lin Lan, had already noticed the unusual black shadow rapidly approaching the ground beside them.
Without hesitation, Teacher Nimi directed her shark battleship gear to aim at the shadow while shouting to push Lin Lan away.
Lin Lan, alerted by Z23, also saw the black shadow approaching him on the ground.
"What is this thing? Is it still not dead?!"
Overwhelmed by the sense of danger, Lin Lan instinctively lunged forward, trying to avoid the shadow while closing the distance with Z23.
But to his surprise, the shadow suddenly accelerated, grabbing his foot and slowly merging into his body.
"Commander! Damn it!"
Ulrich and Mainz quickly rushed to his side. Mainz even drew her naval sword, slashing at the shadow that hadn't fully penetrated Lin Lan's body.
But the sword cut through nothing, as if slicing through air.
In that brief moment, the shadow completely entered Lin Lan's body, as if it had never appeared.
_______
20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta
_______
If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!
I'll fix it as soon as I can.
Upload rate: 1 chapter a day
Don't forget to check out my other translations!
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