"As for me, I will go to the front line and fight," Misaka Mikoto said after thinking for a moment. "After all, I cannot do much in the rear; I can only use my combat power."
Aside from her superpowers, she was just a junior high school student with limited abilities. What she could do, others could do as well. Therefore, only fighting would allow her to play a significant role.
"Master and I will just follow the arrangements; we can do it." Komatsu did not mind.
The reason he brought Granny Setsuno here was that he had been entrusted to do so by Takumi. Thus, it was natural to obey the arrangements.
Nico Robin smiled and said, "Then I will also obey the arrangements. What else would I do? I do not understand the situation well enough to know how else I can help."
"..."
Lacus Clyne responded silently. She had no real choice. She possessed no combat ability and could not participate in the battle. It had already been decided that she could only assist from the rear.
"Well, Mikoto will join us in the front-line encirclement and suppression operation. As for the others..." Takumi thought for a moment before saying, "Just stay in the rear and help."
"The main task in the rear is to conduct a large-scale investigation and flush out the hidden Dark Faction members. Since we do not know who is hiding there yet, there may be powerful enemies. Therefore..."
Takumi looked at Setsuno.
"Before we finish the battle on the front line, I will ask Lady Setsuno to help guard the rear."
"Oh, haha, is that so?" Granny Setsuno smiled and nodded. "Then leave it to me. I guarantee that those rats in the dark will not cause any trouble. Regarding this, I am still very confident."
Takumi had no doubts about this.
He had read the original manga Toriko and understood the plot, knowing some of Setsuno's methods. In the final battle, Setsuno could use her pressure cooker-like barrier to protect the planet from destruction, withstanding almost all the damage in the early and middle stages of the war. It could be seen that Setsuno's strength was not much weaker than that of Ichiryu or Jiro, perhaps even stronger than the current Takumi.
Her techniques were also unique; she could use energy to construct various cooking vessels to trap enemies. She was an excellent crowd control fighter. Setsuno's moves were perfect for capturing people. Once trapped by her, given the power levels in this world, even gods could not easily escape. At the same time, the trapped individuals could cause no harm to their surroundings.
Therefore, Takumi was very relieved to have her assisting in the investigation and arrests at the rear.
"The same applies to everyone whose name has not been called. You are all responsible for the investigation work at the rear, and Hestia will be responsible for management."
"Riveria will also stay behind to take charge of dispatching. Just follow her instructions."
"Yes!"
The remaining girls responded in unison.
Takumi nodded and looked at Arcueid.
"Arcueid, please help me prepare a batch of communication tools first. In addition to ours, we need at least a thousand sets to distribute to the other helpers."
"No problem."
Arcueid nodded, raised her hand, and used Marble Phantasm to materialize a large number of radio headsets and several radio stations.
"Hestia, take some people to deliver these items to the Twilight Manor for Riveria, then stay there and coordinate with her. Go now."
"Okay."
Hestia responded, then asked the girls to pick up the items and left, taking Setsuno and the others with her.
After they left, Takumi spoke a few words of encouragement to the remaining girls to boost morale and discussed the details of combat cooperation.
Then, he took a bracelet and several medicine bottles from the Gate of Babylon and handed them to Misaka Mikoto.
"Take this. Inside are equipment and tactical supplies for you. The potions are for healing injuries and restoring stamina respectively."
"There is a set of battle armor inside the bracelet with very strong defensive capabilities. It is so durable that few people in this world can break through its defense to cause fatal damage to the wearer."
"It also has considerable firepower, flight functions, and a specialized team communication channel."
"With it, you will not be easily injured and can better cooperate with everyone."
"However, the only drawback is that it consumes the wearer's stamina significantly. Because of that, I have given you a few extra bottles of recovery potion. You must wear it during the upcoming battle."
Misaka Mikoto was different from the other girls. The girls from Dimensional City were all registered in the Hall of Heroes; even if they were accidentally killed in battle, they could be resurrected by the spring water back home.
Misaka Mikoto did not have such a guarantee. Therefore, Takumi did not dare let her take too many risks and arranged the best protection he could for her.
Misaka Mikoto was a little confused at first, but after hearing Takumi's explanation, she realized he was worried about her safety. She was touched. She quickly took the bracelet and potions and said solemnly:
"Thank you. I will protect myself."
"Good, just be careful," Takumi gave a final warning.
He took out the dimensional terminal and contacted Najenda, who was monitoring the Dark Faction's lair. After confirming there were no changes, he waved his hand, connecting himself and everyone in the room. They were all teleported to Najenda's location.
After landing and looking around, Takumi made a lifting motion with both hands.
Two light curtains, one large and one small, rose quickly, visible to everyone in Orario.
A large light curtain rose from the edge of Orario's city walls, surrounding and sealing off the entire city. The smaller one surrounded the Dark Faction's lair where Takumi and the others were positioned.
"What happened?! What is going on?"
"What is this? Whose magic is it?"
"Are you kidding me? Whose magic can cover all of Orario?"
"Who knows? Maybe it was caused by some god."
"This looks... like some kind of barrier."
"What does this mean? Are we trapped?"
In Orario, the unsuspecting adventurers were shocked and the city almost descended into chaos.
"That is the signal. The operation begins."
In the Twilight Manor, Riveria looked at the commotion outside the window, turned to Finn and the other Familia leaders, and spoke.
"Is this the signal?"
Finn and the others looked at the scenery outside, the corners of their eyes twitching. No wonder he hadn't explained the form of the signal beforehand, only saying they would definitely see it. It was certainly obvious!
Good heavens! The barrier directly blocked the entire city of Orario; how could it not be obvious!
"Why are you still standing there? Tell your people to take action immediately," Hestia, who had already arrived, frowned and urged them when she saw they were still dazed.
"Yes!"
Only then did the leaders of the Familias react, quickly contacting their members through the radio stations provided by Hestia and the others.
The encirclement and suppression operation against the Dark Faction... had officially begun!