[Click, click, click, click]
"Wake up."
At the end of the black Armored Train, a slightly weary Laskey gently nudged Marta, who was leaning against the outer wall of the carriage with her eyes closed. She slowly opened her eyes, transitioning from drowsiness to full alertness in less than two seconds.
"Is it morning already?"
"Yes."
For the past three days, due to their height, the two of them had ultimately failed to disguise themselves and blend in with the Hunter Group. Left with no other choice, they had resorted to playing a game of hide-and-seek with these people.
Whenever soldiers came to inspect the end of the train, they would jump onto the roof of the carriage to avoid detection. If they needed food or water, Laskey would sneak into the train.
With the speed of 'Soru,' the fine control of 'Kami-e' over his body, and his professional skills as a spy, he was able to remain in the blind spots of people's vision at all times, completely unnoticed.
When there were too many people around, he would use his fingers to grip the iron sheet above the carriage, clinging to the top like a gecko, and then seize the opportunity to grab water and rice balls.
It must be said that the gap in their abilities had kept Laskey from being discovered so far.
As for the call of nature.
The Hunter Group wasn't always on the train. Every evening, they would stop the train along the way. Through their covert observations, the two had noticed that they needed to replenish the steam boiler at the front with fresh water, inspect the train's condition, hunt for meat reserves, and allow people to get some fresh air around the area.
This time was more than enough for the two of them to take care of their own needs.
There was just one particularly annoying thing: whenever the train passed through areas with hills on both sides, many Kabane would frantically jump over.
This forced them to take action to ensure the cleanliness of the small space at the end of the train.
Fortunately, the two quickly adapted. After some discussion, they decided that one would sleep while the other kept watch.
With trust in each other's abilities and a will already accustomed to dangerous environments, the one who was sleeping didn't need to worry about anything, and there were no major issues with the quality of their sleep.
Now, it was morning.
"Hey, I never thought our height would cause us so much trouble. Why are the people in this world so short?"
Marta complained as she stood up and straightened her clothes. Laskey didn't respond to her comment because he had already grumbled about it in his heart.
"That Amatori Biba is suspicious!"
"Last night, I ran from the roof to the front of the train and discovered a strong presence of Kabane below. Among them, there was a particularly unique and intense mental fluctuation, filled with a disturbing negative emotion. Combined with their previous actions of capturing Kabane alive, he must be planning to use these Kabane for something."
[Woo woo woo woo————]
Just as he was about to continue, a whistle sounded from the front of the train, indicating that it was about to stop.
"Hey, what's going on?" Marta looked over in confusion, as the black train had never stopped this early in the past few days.
Laskey gazed at the azure river that had come into view and the city gradually becoming clearer in the distance, reminding her, "We've arrived at the station!"
"Great, we finally have a chance!" Marta exclaimed with excitement.
"Let's get off the train first and then walk into the city. Otherwise, we'll definitely be spotted by the soldiers in the city."
After speaking, Laskey jumped down without hesitation, completely disregarding the fact that the train was still moving at high speed. Seeing this, Marta didn't hesitate either and decisively turned into a blur as she followed closely behind.
The black train continued along the tracks towards the city gate of the Station. As it approached a certain distance, the massive gate slowly descended, and the tracks above it perfectly connected with the tracks at the broken bridge.
Below the bridge, a clear river meandered through, shimmering under the morning sunlight, welcoming this noisy visitor.
Its arrival woke the people inside the city who were still in their dreams.
"It's the Hunter Group!"
"Long live the Liberators!"
"Ah, being with the Hunter Group again, the sense of security is overwhelming!"
Whether it was the gun-wielding soldiers guarding the city or the residents who had rushed out upon hearing the news, everyone's face was lit up with excitement and admiration as they cheered towards the black train slowly entering the city gate.
"What's going on? Who are these people?"
But clearly, there were also some in the crowd who didn't recognize the Hunter Group, their faces filled with confusion as they asked those around them.
"The Hunter Group."
"An independent unit formed to exterminate the Kabane."
"They have been undefeated against the Kabane. Wherever they go, the Kabane are swept away, and the land returns to human hands!"
At that moment, a group of gun-wielding soldiers in black uniforms, exuding a powerful aura, stepped down from the now-stopped black train. Each of their faces was so indifferent, showing no concern for the enthusiastic welcome from the people on both sides.
But the people didn't mind their attitude either, instead thinking that experts should be like this.
And when a handsome man with pink long hair, holding a long sword with a red sheath in his right hand, walked over with a golden-haired beauty behind him, surrounded by a group of elite officers.
The atmosphere instantly reached its peak.
"It's Lord Amatori!"
"What a magnificent figure!"
"Truly worthy of being the General's son!"
Laskey and Marta, who had already hidden in a corner, had somehow donned loose kimonos, making themselves blend in better with the city.
At the same time, they carefully observed every detail around them.
"What do we do next?"
"First, contact the base and listen to the intelligence gathered by other teams. Then report the Hunter Group's activities to the base, especially the aura I sensed at the front of the train."
"Hmm?"
As soon as Laskey finished speaking, his gaze suddenly focused on a little girl in red who ran up to Amatori Biba, squinting his eyes as he said, "Another person emitting the aura of the Kabane."
Back on the train, he and Marta had already noticed that Amatori Biba and the golden-haired woman were emitting an aura different from others.
After comparison, they found that this aura was very similar to that of the Kabane. Moreover, judging from their combat performance when they first saw them exterminating the Kabane.
Amatori Biba and the golden-haired woman with tied-up hair were clearly 'supernormal' in terms of strength, speed, and reaction—exceeding the level of others in this world.
"She seems to call Amatori Biba 'brother'," Marta said, listening carefully.
"Wait, there's one more!"
But Laskey paid no attention to this. His sharp gaze, like an arrow, precisely locked onto a boy standing at the back of the crowd across from him.
It was a boy with ash-green hair, wearing glasses with a light green lens only over his right eye, and dressed in an emerald green shirt. At that moment, he was looking seriously at Amatori Biba, who was conversing with a red-haired girl in the center of the scene.
"What exactly is going on with them? Or are people like this actually not uncommon?"
At the same time.
A beautiful young girl, dressed in a pink Japanese-style ceremonial gown with her black hair tied in a ponytail, approached Amatori Biba and the red-haired girl. She was accompanied by a black-haired Warrior, also with a ponytail, dressed in blue-black attire and carrying a sword at his waist.
"You must be Lord Amatori Biba, correct? I am Ayame, the leader of the Shikizawa family."
"Shikizawa... So, the elder statesman's..."
Laskey narrowed his eyes as he observed this newly appeared girl. Her self-introduction as the leader of the Shikizawa family had piqued his interest.
"A young girl serving as the family leader?"
Seeing this group follow Amatori Biba toward the black train, Laskey had already concluded that this gathering of four individuals, all exuding the aura of Kabane, was a key target.