While Michael knew that Karson didn't like him and was going to refute any idea he proposed, his suspicion did indeed carry some merit. Considering where they were about to go, it was of utmost importance for them to be careful.

"The aliens are sadistic creatures. They will not hesitate to take on human appearance to fool us. However, they don't know we are watching them from afar. Since there wouldn't be any real benefit for them to act like scavenging humans, we can conclude that they are indeed real humans."

Karson visibly tensed, his eyes going back to the survivors. He was clearly debating how he could refute Michael's words, yet nothing came to mind.

"He is right." Stephen patted Karson's shoulder. "If they were aliens, I would have felt it. Their disguise can't go past me."

Seeing that Stephen agreed with Michael's words, nobody bothered to go against them. If a Grandmaster claimed the scavengers were humans, no one could say otherwise.

"What are we waiting for?! We must hurry!" Enzo urged them to enter the city immediately.

The trauma of Celestia's fall was still showing. He wanted to redeem himself by saving the trapped civilians.

"Not so fast." Michael shook his head.

"If they have survived for so long, they aren't in any immediate danger. Going in blindly in an attempt to save them could not only doom us, but we could even reveal their position to the aliens by mistake. I reckon we have about a week to rescue them."

Michael said managing to relay the information of the quest without stating it outright.

Evelyn nodded. "Not to mention we don't know how many of them there are. The tigers could carry only so many people."

A discussion that lasted an hour began. Several plans were proposed with the best courses of action. At the end the soldiers came to a unified decision.

They would enter the fallen city, making sure to not attract the enemy's attention. They will find the survivors, assess the situation, and act accordingly.

'We can take at most ten humans with us. Anything more than that would require a transport.' Michael analyzed.

Not wanting to waste any more time, the soldiers slowly made their way to the east flank, since that was the least guarded entrance.

[Threat ahead, danger level: General]

Cyberfang announced, leading them to stop in their tracks.

"Let's go."

Stephen and Evelyn exchanged glances, going low.

Only the Grandmasters could hope to silence a General before being detected, so nobody else joined them.

Using the blizzard as cover, the two neared the threat.

"Now!" Stephen whispered just loud enough for Evelyn to hear.

"...!"

The eyes of the General enlarged. Before the monster could react, a blade had been thrust into its head while simultaneously being beheaded.

Thud

Lifelessly the corpse fell on the ground. After waiting several seconds in silence, the troops breathed out a sigh of relief.

They hadn't been spotted.

Slowly they neared the city. Soon enough they entered the protective barrier that kept the cold blizzard at bay.

For unknown reasons the Overlord hadn't disabled that function of the city. Whatever the case, nobody was going to complain.

While the functional barrier was positive news, it held a gruesome downside. One that the soldiers quickly realized when they began to see the gates of the city with their own eyes.

Before them were numerous sharp poles. Each one was laced with the dried blood of the corpses that had been mercilessly impaled on them.

There was no mistaking it. These humans had been skewed while still conscious.

"Fuck…" Enzo hissed, biting his tongue in pure rage, suppressing his frustration.

"Monsters." Leo shifted his eyes to the ground, unwilling to look at the scene.

Most did the same, cold chills running down the spines of the scouts. Part rage, part frustration.

"Breathe in and out, stay calm, and keep it together. Don't forget civilians rely on us." Michael spoke in an awfully calm tone. "This is their strategy to provoke us. Don't let their plans be successful."

Even the Grandmasters seemed discouraged, Michael being the only exception.

"I know…" Ava's fists clenched tightly. "But still… How can I stay calm? T—They haven't even spared the children..."

Swiftly the two Grandmasters dealt with the lone Generals that interrupted their path.

Slowly but surely they managed to reach the walls.

"You know what to do." The Azure troop quickly boarded Cyberfang.

[Affirmative.]

The tiger's claws dug deep, starting to climb the colossal wall. Opening the gates would have announced their entrance. This was their best option to remain undetected.

"Now." Stephen commanded one of his personnel when they reached the desired height.

The woman with purple hair and green eyes nodded calmly before casting a concealed technique.

"Fortunately Vespera possesses capable Masters." Ava murmured, glancing at the woman.

Her name was Natalia, and unlike Karson, she proved to be useful. The whole operation relied on her.

The moment the two tigers followed by Claire's mecha scaled the walls, they didn't linger and descended, entering the enemy territory undiscovered.

"It's good that no one saw us." Evelyn sighed in relief. She had lost count of how many Generals she had sneaked up on until now. Even if they were much weaker than the one that assaulted Triton, they still weighed her heavily.

"We can rest when we take shelter." Michael urged them to take cover.

He was feeling exposed in the city's streets, and he didn't like that.

Wordlessly the soldiers moved, finding a suitable building and entering it alongside the mechas.

"It reeks here." Victoria proclaimed, pinching her nose. Many humans had been slain here.

Left with little choice, they piled up the corpses in one of the rooms and locked it. Minimizing the stench and potential diseases.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Once they were settled, Ava went towards Michael.

"What is it?" He flashed her a warm smile, not letting the heavy tension affect his mind.

"How are you always so calm?" She asked. "I want to be level‑headed like you, but sometimes it feels impossible. Anger, sadness… How do you keep all of that at bay? Do you just ignore it?"

Michael understood her feelings well. Had it not been for the experiences of his past life, he would have been disheartened too.

"I don't ignore it." He answered calmly. "Rather than letting my anger slow me down, I channel it against my foes. What keeps me going is simple. I want to make sure the aliens would pay for their deeds… With interest."

They rested for a few hours, giving the Grandmasters the necessary time to recover their strength.

Once they were at their peak, they departed towards the last place they saw the human scavengers.

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