Chapter 175: Ninth Update, The Arriving Army Unit Train!
"Uh, no, they've already arrived too."
"We met up with Mata first, then they stayed there to guard the 'Kotetsujyo' and those key targets, while we came over to find you," a male CP9 member quickly explained.
"Okay, that's good then." Captain Raschi nodded casually, continuing to watch the fierce battle in the distance, but it was clear that Steve Gus was completely overwhelming the opponent.
Although both sides were 'Nue'-transformed Kabane Warriors, there was still an insurmountable gap in their basic Strength.
Steve Gus himself was a genuine Sea Star Person, his innate Physique was much stronger than the people of this World, and he was proficient in Rokushiki Body Techniques, having also awakened Observation Haki.
This battle had no suspense from the start.
It was just so that Group Leader Ron could observe as many details as possible that he restrained his Strength and entered a stalemate with Mekko.
Even so, the scale of the Combat was quite exaggerated.
Especially the spherical Energy Bullets occasionally fired from the latter's mouth; it was practically demolishing Iwato Station. Even the Governor's Mansion not far away had been reduced to a large area of ruins.
"Oh right, we found hundreds of Kabane locked in Cages in the front car of the 'Kotetsujyo', and a Heart glowing with Blue Light that was nourished by their Blood!"
"What, really?" Group Leader Ron looked at the CP9 member who spoke in surprise upon hearing this. Following that, Lucci smiled and said, "Not only that, but Dr. Shouei, who specializes in researching the Kabaneri Virus, is also with Mata. You two should have plenty to talk about."
"That's great! Let's go, let's go, quickly go meet Dr. Shouei!" Group Leader Ron said impatiently.
"What about Steve Gus over there? Aren't you going to watch anymore?"
"Have him capture the person. After bringing her back to Shishikari Base, maybe Vice Admiral Tsuru can restore her Consciousness when she arrives. Tell him to be careful with his Force and not injure the person!"
Saying this, Group Leader Ron hurriedly had the CP9 member next to him take him over.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, a grey-green haired young man holding a peculiar yellow canister launcher in both hands blocked Group Leader Ron. This caused the two CP8 members responsible for his safety to instinctively step forward two steps and shield Ron behind them.
"I don't care who you are, give Mumei back to me!"
This person was precisely the 'protagonist' of this World, named Ikoma. He was also a Kabaneri, half-human and half-Kabane, and extremely skilled at developing Steam Equipment.
"Oh, another key target. Group Leader Ron, this kid is also a Kabane Warrior, but they call them Kabaneri," Lucci walked over and said softly.
"Then capture him first. We can explain slowly after returning to the Base. I'm not very interested in him right now," Group Leader Ron said casually with a nod after finishing.
He and Lucci didn't know yet that this kid in front of them was the only wild and male Kabaneri in this World, meaning he was an existence who had turned himself into a Kabaneri.
The second point was that Man were far less tolerant of pain than Woman, so after many experiments, Dr. Shouei and his team discovered that the success rate of turning Woman into Kabaneri was much higher than that of Man.
"Kid, do you want this little Girl? That's fine, but are you going to obediently come with us, or do you want to be knocked out and carried away like her?" The CP8 member holding Mumei walked over and grinned.
"I suggest you just come along honestly. It'll save us the trouble, don't you think?"
Ikoma tightly gripped the handle of the 'Piercing Gun', his finger poised before the Trigger, ready for Shooting at any moment. However, when he heard this person's words, he immediately became conflicted.
He was sometimes impulsive, but that was when he was sticking to his convictions. Normally, however, he was very rational.
The current Situation was that with his own Strength, it was unlikely he could snatch Mumei back from so many people. Instead, he might just die in vain.
Fortunately, the other party asked if he wanted to be knocked out, which meant they didn't want to kill him for now. Since that was the case, the optimal choice was to stay conscious and follow them. Only then could he keep an eye on Mumei's Situation.
"I understand, I'll go with you..."
Ikoma reluctantly put down the 'Piercing Gun' he had developed himself. This was a Weapon he had personally researched and developed, possessing stronger penetration and Impact Force than ordinary Steam Guns.
Its Power was enough to easily pierce through ten-centimeter thick Steel Plate!
In the distance, the 'Double Nue Battle' between Steve Gus and Mekko was still ongoing. The former seemed to be enjoying himself and had no intention of quickly ending the Combat.
Lucci and the other few CP9 members who stayed behind to continue monitoring watched the newcomer playing around there, speechless.
"Captain, should we remind him?"
"Let's wait and see. I'm a bit curious about their Strength too."
On the other side, Mata and the four arriving CP9 members who stayed at the Station had already brought Dr. Shouei, Yotsugawa Ayame, Yukina, Kurusu, and others to the Head Train Car of the 'Kotetsujyo', guarding the peculiar Heart that was blooming with bright Blue Light.
To be honest, this thing looked quite beautiful.
But the thought that it was fed with the Blood of hundreds of Kabane made Yotsugawa Ayame and the others shudder. They couldn't believe at first that Mima Amatori actually wanted to bring them to Kongokaku!
"Group Leader Ron and the others are coming over."
"Then where is Captain Raschi?" Mata quickly asked.
"The Captain stayed there to continue watching Steve Gus and the 'Nue' called Mekko fight," the female CP9 member who had just arrived not long ago said, glancing at Dr. Shouei beside her.
"Looks like nothing's wrong, that's good." Mata breathed a sigh of relief, but Dr. Shouei looked at them in surprise and said, "Fighting Mekko?"
"How is that possible? I know perfectly well how terrifying the Combat Strength of a 'Nue' is! That's the Strength to easily destroy a section of the City Wall with a single blow!"
The female CP9 member sneered, "The 'Nue' you speak of, our Biochemical Research Institute has already manufactured it, and it's the kind that can retain a clear Will."
"Right now, our 'Nue' is fighting the 'Nue' you created. However, judging from the feedback over there, the latter is completely no match for the former."
After hearing this, Dr. Shouei became furious and shouted, "Impossible!"
"There is no Researcher in all of Hinamoto who understands the Kabane better than me! I've researched it for over ten years! A 'Nue' that retains its self-Will simply cannot exist, or rather, it's impossible for anyone other than me to create one!"
"Heh heh, Group Leader Ron will be here soon. You can ask him yourself then." The female CP9 member curled her lip in disdain, thinking to herself, "Natives are just Natives, they have no insight."
Just as the dispute between the two sides had eased slightly, and while Dr. Shouei was still about to ask something further, a series of 'woo woo woo' Alarm Whistles came from the distance.
This sound made Mata look up instantly. There was no helping it; it was too Familiarize.
"What is that? Another Train?"
Everyone looked up and saw another black Iron-Armored Train slowly approaching along the Track. Since the City Gate was already wide open at this time, the Train didn't need to wait for the gate to open.
"Huh? Why is there a second 'Black Train'?"
Yotsugawa Ayame asked in surprise and doubt. One should know that all Iron-Armored Trains in the entire country were white; only the Hunter Guard's 'Kotetsujyo' was deliberately painted black.
"By its appearance, it seems to be the 'Yashiro Train', a type of 'Iron Fortress' mainly used for transporting Iron Body, but the color has changed," Yukina, the Train conductor who understood 'Iron Fortress' the most among the people present, said hesitantly.
"Our Army has arrived!"
(End of this chapter)