"Heave-ho!"
Drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, Shirou took aim at a Fowlbeast perched in the distance and released the shot.
The arrow pierced straight through the creature, sending it tumbling from the tree.
"My, my, that Fowlbeast is really plump. It would definitely smell amazing on the grill."
The moment they confirmed that the target had fallen, Croissant and Exusiai hurried over with a small detection device in hand. After verifying that it was not an infected creature, they immediately extended their greedy little hands toward it.
It was already noon.
Sora had brought field rations with her, so lunch itself was not an issue.
The problem was that Exusiai and Croissant could not accept a lunch consisting solely of rations.
To them, that was simply too cruel.
In the end, after being subjected to four pairs of sparkling, hopeful eyes, Shirou had no choice but to climb another tree and go hunting again.
There were not many animals to be found in the frozen wilderness.
Aside from the Fowlbeast that Exusiai and Croissant were currently processing, the group had also managed to catch a few small animals earlier.
After sorting through them, however, only one creature that looked as though it actually had some meat on its bones was kept. The rest were released.
After all, they wanted meat, not bones.
"Birds and rabbits, huh? It is a shame there are no Meatbeasts around."
Watching the two work on the Fowlbeast, Shirou could not help feeling a little disappointed and even briefly mixed up the names of the animals.
He was not particularly skilled at preparing either of those meats.
Although it was called a Fowlbeast, the only similar animals he had ever cooked were chickens, ducks, and geese.
Still, the others seemed to have experience handling them, so there was no need for him to get involved.
Besides, Shirou had no intention of eating any of it.
He simply grabbed some rations and began chewing on them nearby.
He wanted to finish eating as quickly as possible so he could continue reconnaissance work.
Earlier, he had dealt with quite a few infected creatures and had even gotten close enough to inspect them personally.
Large amounts of Originium crystals were embedded throughout their bodies, and beneath their fur were concealed mechanical devices.
Everyone understood exactly what that meant.
Before discovering those devices, they could still convince themselves that the Catastrophe had simply attracted infected creatures to the area.
That explanation helped relieve some of the pressure.
But once mechanical components entered the picture, that excuse no longer worked.
From that point onward, the atmosphere within the team had become noticeably heavier.
Only after lunch began did things improve somewhat.
As the saying goes, delicious food is the best seasoning for a good mood.
Under such limited conditions, they could not prepare anything elaborate, but with a campfire, fresh meat, and a little salt, they could still make remarkably tasty barbecue.
More importantly, they had hunted, prepared, and cooked it themselves.
That alone made it taste even better.
"Want some, Shirou?"
Seeing Shirou sitting in a tree with nothing but rations while keeping watch for danger, Exusiai grabbed a roasted Fowlbeast leg and ran beneath the tree.
"No thanks. These are enough. I already ate food from the camp this morning. You all can have it."
Taking a bite of his energy bar, Shirou glanced at the leg in Exusiai's hand and declined.
On second thought, he took back his earlier praise.
The group certainly looked experienced while preparing the meat.
Their actual cooking skills, however, were another matter entirely.
The poor Fowlbeast had suffered a tragic fate.
People had coveted its plump meat while it was alive, and after death it had practically been cremated over the fire.
Surely that was not his fault, right?
Thinking back over the past year, Shirou realized he had handled almost all of the cooking duties himself. The others had barely stepped into a kitchen during that time.
No, he refused to take responsibility for this.
Undercooking was one thing.
This thing was practically charcoal.
Exusiai, who had been in charge of grilling it, had definitely gotten distracted halfway through.
"The camp food? You mean the soup? If I remember correctly, there was not much in it. Is that really enough? You need to eat more if you want enough energy to fight."
Exusiai accepted Shirou's refusal without much concern and happily kept the Fowlbeast leg for herself.
However, the moment she took a bite, her expression visibly twisted.
Only for an instant.
The next second, she pretended nothing had happened and resumed trying to persuade Shirou to take the roasted leg.
Having personally witnessed Exusiai bite into it,
Compared to animals that had spent years surviving in snowy terrain and naturally developed camouflage, humans were actually far more conspicuous.
That was, of course, assuming no invisibility-type Originium Arts were involved.
If someone truly possessed stealth-based Originium Arts, even someone with eyesight as sharp as Shirou's would only be able to detect subtle signs once they got relatively close.
The problem was that such Arts users were rare.
And even when they did exist, most could only apply the effect to themselves or a small squad.
In situations like that, the only reliable methods were pre-arranged traps and detection devices.
Shirou had learned about these kinds of Arts from Scout. For snipers, they were practically ideal abilities.
Through his terminal, he had already heard reports from other patrol teams that stealth-capable mercenaries had infiltrated the area.
Fortunately, several had already been blown apart by the mines buried throughout the region.
That report served as a warning bell for Shirou.
As a result, the patrol area assigned to Penguin Logistics was gradually being reduced.
The same was true for the other patrol units.
In fact, under Doctor's strong insistence, the other teams were being even more conservative than Shirou's group, remaining almost entirely within designated zones.
From Doctor's perspective, patrols existed to monitor enemy movements and lay mines when possible.
They were not meant to hold the enemy outside the defensive perimeter.
After all, achieving a decisive victory in a frontal battle generally required at least twice the enemy's combat strength.
And that estimate was already conservative.
Even with Shirou's ability to conduct long-range strikes, there was still only one Shirou.
They could not keep working a single person to death.
Not to mention that if they actually tried, Shirou might collapse from exhaustion first.
And the people closest to him would undoubtedly be the first to show up and protest such blatant exploitation.
For example, the four members of Penguin Logistics, Blaze, Rosmontis, Amiya...
Actually, Amiya was somewhat debatable.
After all, she had been working their "cute little bunny" nonstop for the past two days since she woke up.
Regardless, relying entirely on Shirou for combat was simply impossible.
Even if he could wave his hand and destroy mountains and seas, the answer would still be no.
There were too many unpredictable factors in battle.
And psychological pressure was another major issue.
Whenever there was fighting, people died.
Surely no normal person felt happy about taking lives.
At the very least, Shirou certainly did not.
Furthermore, he needed to conserve his strength for the possibility of fighting multiple Emperor Blades.
Because of that Doctor could only choose a more conservative defensive strategy.
While that strategy consumed more resources, it offered stability.
If the enemy wanted to cross the minefields and attack the camp, they would first have to spend considerable time clearing mines or simply lose personnel trying.
That alone significantly reduced the burden on the frontline operators.
"Penguin Logistics squad, start packing up and prepare to reduce your reconnaissance area. There appears to be movement in the south. There is a high possibility we may be caught in a pincer attack."
Just as Penguin Logistics finished their impromptu cookout and began cleaning up, Doctor contacted them through their terminal and informed them of the next phase of operations.
"A pincer attack... that is troublesome. Should we eliminate the southern force first?"
The moment Shirou realized it was Doctor calling, he immediately jumped down from the tree and regrouped with the others.
Hearing that the camp might be attacked from both sides, his expression became serious.
As far as he knew, most of the camp's explosives and mines had been concentrated north of the camp.
If mercenaries were also approaching from the south, then a considerable number of defenders would need to be reassigned.
However...
If the enemy in the south was composed of the infected rioters who had stirred up chaos in Chernobog, then Rhodes Island would not even need to intervene directly.
Reunion alone should be capable of handling them.
Still, Shirou could not shake the feeling that things were not that simple.
Those infected rioters had only gathered together because someone had deliberately guided them.
Someone who understood both the fragility and ugliness of human nature.
Someone who used words to awaken the darkness buried within the hearts of long-oppressed infected people and then exploited it for his own purposes.
Because Shirou had faced them personally, he understood this better than anyone.
Most of the infected people he had fought were not soldiers.
Many had never seen a battlefield in their lives.
Some had simply picked up a metal pipe, thrown on a coat and a mask, and rushed into the fighting.
Much of the tragedy could be traced back to one individual.
Or rather, to Black Snake, Kashchey.
Without his deliberate manipulation, perhaps the situation would never have become so disastrous.
Then again, that was difficult to say.
Ursus's treatment of the infected had gone far beyond reason.
That was precisely why Reunion had come into existence in the first place.
As for Lungmen...
Well, comparing it to Ursus was not particularly meaningful.
That was also why Shirou wanted to establish a place capable of taking in infected children.
There was only so much he could do.
All he could offer was a helping hand during the period when those children were unable to stand on their own.
If the southern force consisted solely of infected rioters, Doctor would not be nearly this concerned.
Reunion could simply be sent to deal with them.
The fact that Doctor was worried enough to further shrink the patrol perimeter suggested a very different caliber of enemy.
At this point, Shirou could more or less guess what they were facing.
Their situation was genuinely terrible.
Ahead of them stood hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of mercenaries preparing to attack.
Behind them lurked infected rioters, the mastermind controlling events from the shadows, and some of Ursus's most dangerous enemies.
They were being squeezed from both sides.
The filling trapped in the middle of a giant sandwich.
Having considered even the worst-case scenarios, Shirou immediately requested permission to engage.
"I know you are eager, but hold on. There are too many of them, and they are spread out. We need to wait until an opportunity appears to eliminate them all at once. For now, Mr. Patriot has stated that Reunion can handle the southern front. The reason we are shrinking the perimeter is simply to ensure the operators' safety."
Doctor naturally understood what Shirou was implying.
However, they had no intention of letting him take action just yet.
Based on the intelligence obtained from Talulah, if Shirou did not make a move, those shadowy figures would not make a move either.
After all, they had come specifically for Shirou.
Simply put, those people were after Shirou's body.
As long as he did not appear openly on the battlefield, they would remain hidden somewhere in the shadows, patiently waiting for an opportunity.
During that time, the other operators would be responsible for dealing with the majority of the enemy forces and threats.
Only when the enemy could no longer resist making their move would it be the perfect moment for her to deploy the unbeatable Shirou.
Shirou was the key piece at the center of everything.
If he moved, they would move.
If he remained still, they would continue holding back while waiting for a chance to strike him when he least expected it.
As long as they could exploit that fact, Doctor was confident that they could reduce casualties on both Rhodes Island's side and Reunion's side to an absolute minimum.
"Understood."
Texas responded immediately.
She trusted Doctor's command abilities quite a bit.
Just yesterday, she and the others had watched Doctor use a PRTS terminal to direct a squad that efficiently eliminated infected rioters who had infiltrated the Chernobog refugee population.
The operation had been clean and decisive.
So smooth, in fact, that it barely caused any disturbance at all.
Had they not witnessed it personally, they never would have realized how many incidents had already occurred within the camp.
After seeing Texas agree, the other three members of Penguin Logistics did not object.
After all, she was the team leader.
"Then let us clean up and get moving."
As the current acting squad leader, Shirou had no objections to the order either.
Shrinking the defensive perimeter was a perfectly reasonable decision.
Even if he wanted to act recklessly, he still had to consider the safety of everyone else on the team.
Boom—
Before Penguin Logistics could finish packing up, Shirou heard a loud explosion.
Someone had probably triggered one of Rhodes Island's traps.
This was not the first time they had heard such a sound.
However, this time there was something else mixed in with the explosion.
The sharp sound of metal colliding with metal.
Which meant fighting had already begun.
"I can hear the sounds of weapons clashing, someone is in combat . Lets go check the situation. It is not very far away."
Shirou looked toward the source of the noise
The others stared at him.
"...?"
Combat?
What combat?
They had not heard anything.
Well...
After the ringing in their ears from the explosion faded and they concentrated carefully, they could vaguely make out something.
But the sound was so faint it was almost quieter than someone's breathing.
So how had Shirou heard it immediately after the explosion, while everyone else's ears were still ringing?
This was the same guy who constantly claimed he was just an ordinary human and that his physical abilities could not compare to those of Terrans.
Then what did that make them?
People who could not even compete with an ordinary human?