The question of how Terran physical abilities compared to the "ordinary human" physique Shirou kept talking about did not trouble the group for very long.
The reason was simple.
Shirou, who was running ahead of them, seemed to have heard something and suddenly accelerated.
Only Exusiai and Texas could keep up with him, as they were the most mobile members of Penguin Logistics on foot.
"Shirou, go ahead first. We will catch up."
None of them tried to stop him.
Instead, Texas instructed Shirou to move on ahead while she and Exusiai slowed down slightly so they could continue advancing together with Croissant and Sora.
As they drew closer to the battlefield, they gradually began hearing the sounds of combat as well.
The clash of metal.
The firing of crossbows.
Trees being struck by attacks.
And the screams of people.
That was why Texas had told Shirou to go first.
With his mobility, he could provide support much faster than the rest of them.
Meanwhile, the four members of Penguin Logistics would remain together and avoid the risk of anyone becoming isolated.
"Understood."
Compared to the others, Shirou could hear much more.
The sounds of Arts being cast and the growls of beasts told him that the situation ahead was not looking good.
The latter worried him the most.
As far as he knew, nobody from Rhodes Island had brought animals with them on this mission.
After receiving Texas's instructions, Shirou did not hesitate.
He immediately reinforced his legs with magical energy, increasing his speed even further.
Within moments, his figure completely disappeared from the sight of the four women.
"Hah. An ordinary person."
Watching Shirou pull off that stunt, Croissant somehow managed to squeeze out those four words while sprinting at full speed.
The other three silently agreed.
As for Shirou?
With the aid of Reinforcement Magecraft, he had already begun using the trees themselves as stepping stones for movement.
While this method consumed more stamina, it allowed him to ignore difficult terrain and avoid traps.
After all, what kind of sane person placed traps high up in trees?
Especially trees of considerable height.
"The enemy numbers are not particularly high, but judging from the amount of Arts activity... there is probably a very powerful caster involved. There are also quite a lot of infected creatures. I wonder if there are other casters hiding nearby."
Shirou soon arrived at the battlefield.
He immediately saw Rhodes Island operators taking cover behind trees and rocks while fighting off infected creatures.
At the same time, several enemies occupied elevated positions and continuously bombarded the battlefield with Arts.
Small spheres of condensed energy formed in their hands before being launched toward the Rhodes Island operators below.
The operators had to deal with dangerous infected creatures while also making sure they never exposed themselves from cover.
Otherwise, they would be bombarded by both Arts and crossbow bolts.
"Trace, on—"
After rapidly surveying the battlefield and assessing the situation, Shirou projected a black gunblade and a white sword.
Raising the gunblade in his left hand, he aimed at the enemies positioned above and pulled the trigger.
Several bullets instantly pierced the limbs of the enemy casters and crossbowmen, rendering them incapable of fighting.
Shirou had no intention of killing them outright.
Leaving them alive for Doctor's side to interrogate might produce valuable intelligence.
That did not mean he was holding back.
To prevent any chance of retaliation, he deliberately targeted wrists, shoulders, knees, and ankles.
Each enemy received at least two shots.
Every bullet struck precisely where intended.
And anyone who was hit immediately lost their ability to fight.
There were not many visible enemies.
From the moment Shirou projected his weapons and began firing until every opponent had collapsed, only a dozen or so seconds passed.
Without the harassment of ranged attacks, the Rhodes Island operators quickly finished off the remaining infected creatures.
"Operator Shirou... is that you? Thank you very much for the help. If you had arrived any later, I do not think these trees would have held up much longer."
With the threat eliminated, the operators finally relaxed somewhat.
However, they still maintained vigilance toward their surroundings.
Only after seeing Shirou did they truly feel safe.
These operators were part of the force that had originally come to rescue Doctor.
They had witnessed Shirou's abilities many times before.
Having such an overwhelming powerhouse nearby instantly calmed the anxiety caused by the ambush.
Still...
If they remembered correctly, Operator Shirou usually fought with twin swords and a longbow.
So where had that gunblade come from?
It certainly looked impressive.
For a brief moment, it even made them want to learn how to use firearms themselves.
Then they remembered how difficult firearms were to master and how expensive engraved ammunition was.
The thought died immediately.
As for Shirou's changed appearance, they had already heard rumors.
It was not drastic enough to make him unrecognizable.
To those who did not know him particularly well, it mostly looked as though he had simply dyed his hair white.
"I happened to be nearby. Did you not contact anyone else?"
Seeing how relaxed they appeared, Shirou guessed that nobody had been injured.
He then asked the obvious question.
After all, he had received no requests for support while rushing here.
That was one of the reasons he had come at full speed.
"Our communications were cut off. Neither our communicators nor our terminals can contact anyone outside. We cannot receive messages either."
The lead operator tapped the signal-less communicator on his chest as he explained.
"I see. Mine is the same."
Shirou pulled out his own communicator and pressed a few buttons.
The only response was a burst of loud, unpleasant static.
"It should recover within a few minutes. What concerns me more is how large the affected area is. We do not know whether people elsewhere have encountered danger. We only reacted in time because they accidentally triggered one of our mines."
Putting away his communicator, the lead operator voiced his concerns.
There were many ways to disrupt communications, but most worked according to the same principle.
In enemy territory, without the advantage of operating from a prepared base, such interference usually could not be maintained for very long.
"Unfortunately, I cannot determine the exact range or duration."
The lead operator shook his head.
"At the very least, I have not heard any other sounds of combat or seen signs of fighting nearby. There should not be anyone else engaged in battle around here."
After getting a general understanding of the situation, Shirou immediately climbed to a higher vantage point and surveyed the surrounding area.
The forest appeared peaceful.
Aside from the members of Penguin Logistics still making their way toward them, he could not spot anyone else.
"That is good."
Learning that only their squad had been attacked brought everyone some relief.
After all, they had suffered no casualties.
And now that Shirou was here, they were practically guaranteed to be safe.
Ironically, the moment they felt safe themselves, they began worrying about whether other patrol squads had suffered similar attacks.
"You should all take a break and reorganize yourselves. Once my people arrive, we can move together."
Seeing their visible relief, Shirou found the situation slightly amusing.
After quickly assessing the operators' condition, he decisively took over reconnaissance duties and instructed them to rest.
The Rhodes Island operators did not refuse.
They genuinely needed the opportunity to recover before whatever battle awaited them next.
"Whew... Shirou, you are... way too fast..."
Several minutes later, Penguin Logistics finally arrived, led by Texas.
The moment Croissant saw the defeated mercenaries and the resting Rhodes Island operators, she voiced the thought that had been occupying her mind despite being completely out of breath.
Shirou blinked.
"...?"
"You should probably save your breath. It looks like you are about to collapse."
For a brief moment, Shirou felt as though there was a hidden meaning behind her words.
But seeing how exhausted she was, he decided to let it slide.
More importantly, he was worried that the "croissant" might suddenly pass out.
If that happened, her hammer and shield would probably have to be left behind until someone could come back for them later.
"I think so too."
Hearing Shirou's response, Croissant swallowed the rest of her complaints.
She simply leaned against her giant hammer for support, pulled out a bottle of water, and began drinking greedily.
She was genuinely exhausted.
Nearby, Sora, Exusiai, and Texas immediately began replenishing their own water supplies as well.
Nobody knew when the next crisis would arrive.
Maintaining their condition was critical.
As for Shirou, once he saw everyone settling into recovery mode, he stopped speaking and turned his gaze toward the distance.
Every so often, he pressed the switch on his communicator.
Their movement speed would inevitably be slow from this point onward.
After all, they now had a group of captured mercenaries that needed to be transported back for questioning.
The camp was not particularly far away.
However, with communications disrupted and no reinforcements available, Shirou could not guarantee he could protect everyone if something unexpected happened.
As the saying went:
If you find one cockroach in your house, there are probably many more hiding somewhere.
The same logic applied here.
One infiltrating squad had already appeared.
There could easily be one or two stragglers hiding somewhere that Shirou had not discovered.
Open attacks were easy to defend against.
Hidden attacks were not.
While Shirou could sense hostility directed toward himself to a certain extent, that ability became far less useful when the target was someone else.
In those cases, he had to rely on ordinary reconnaissance methods.
Those hidden enemies represented a potential threat.
Which made reestablishing contact with the camp a top priority.
Not only did they need reinforcements, but Doctor also needed to know that enemy forces had already breached the outer defenses and infiltrated the area.
Only then could preparations be made for whatever came next.
After repeatedly trying to reconnect, the terminal in Shirou's hand finally responded.
"Beep— Th... Rhod..."
"Finally connected."
A small amount of tension left Shirou's face.
"Although the signal still seems unstable."
Even if they could not yet transmit useful information, the fact that a connection existed at all was encouraging.
Perhaps his luck was not so bad after all.
Now all they needed was for the channel to stabilize and for reinforcements to arrive.
Things were gradually improving...
Or so it seemed.
When Shirou announced that communication had been restored, everyone visibly relaxed.
Some people even started chatting and laughing again.
The prisoners, however...
Their expressions were strange.
Not obviously strange.
Just wrong.
Shirou could not quite put his finger on it.
They were not crying, not panicking and not struggling.
Instead, they sat quietly where they were, calmly resting.
That made no sense.
To prevent any possibility of resistance, Shirou had deliberately targeted their arms and legs.
There was no realistic way for them to break free and fight back.
Which left only one conclusion.
They were waiting for rescue.
Remembering several cases that Yith had once discussed with him, Shirou quickly arrived at that possibility.
Support capable of making captured operatives this confident...
His expression darkened.
Putting away his terminal, he tightened his grip on the black gunblade in his left hand.
At the same time, he reduced the scope of his surveillance.
Instead of scanning for approaching enemies, he concentrated entirely on the five-hundred-meter radius surrounding their current position.
Earlier, he had been looking for anyone moving toward them.
Now, he was searching for people who might already be hiding nearby.
Shirou had never underestimated other people.
Nor had he ever underestimated the existence of Originium Arts.
He genuinely believed that Originium Arts were incredibly powerful.
On Terra, whenever one encountered or observed something that defied understanding, blaming it on Originium Arts was usually a perfectly reasonable explanation.
After all, there were people who had genuinely said:
"Originium Arts can do anything."
"..."
Once he focused entirely on searching for hidden enemies, Shirou did begin noticing several things that seemed unnatural.
Perhaps it was simply because he now suspected there were still ambushers nearby.
Places that had appeared perfectly normal earlier suddenly looked suspicious.
He carefully memorized all of the locations that felt out of place before returning to the ground and sharing his thoughts with the others.
Croissant thought Shirou was being overly cautious.
Exusiai, Texas, and the Rhodes Island operators, however, largely agreed with him.
There was nothing wrong with being careful.
Especially in an environment like this, where even the slightest suspicious detail could become fatal.
As he explained his reasoning, Shirou crouched down and activated Structural Analysis.
This time, the area covered by the spell was not particularly large.
He only extended it toward the nearest suspicious location.
Although he now possessed enough magical energy to use freely, years of habit still made him economical in how he spent it.
Part of it was simply conserving energy.
The other part was preparing for whatever battle might come next.
That said, the amount of magical energy consumed by this particular use of Structural Analysis would have been quite significant for the Shirou of the past.
For the current Shirou, however, it remained well within acceptable limits.
"A mechanical device?"
That was the conclusion he reached after receiving feedback from the spell.
The analysis told him that some sort of machine was hidden there.
As for its exact purpose, he had no idea.
As long as it was not a landmine, an explosive, or something similarly dangerous, he was not particularly concerned.
For an unknown mechanical device, figuring out its function was unnecessary.
Destroying it would solve the problem regardless.
Still, before taking action, he felt it would be best to inform the others.
Perhaps someone else might recognize the device and know exactly what it was capable of doing.