Chapter 50: Man-Made Disasters (5)
“We’re short on hands at the hospital! The front’s sending tons of wounded!”
Mili blinked in confusion, her gaze flickering with hesitation.
The nurse sized her up:
“You know some medical stuff, right?”
“You look like an inner-city girl, probably from a decent family.”
“…” Mili opened her mouth but swallowed her words, tacitly agreeing.
“No worries, nothing tough,” the nurse smiled warmly, mistaking her silence for shyness, easing her concerns:
“Stick with me so you don’t get lost—just help push beds, stop bleeding, disinfect, stitch wounds… simple stuff!”
“Most are trauma cases, easy to handle.”
Mili hesitated.
She was stuck here anyway, and helping people couldn’t hurt…
She nodded.
“Great!”
Relief washed over the nurse’s face.
She quickly moved the chairs, sorted the wounded, reported bed vacancies, then pulled Mili into a relatively clean changing room nearby.
“Here, put this on.”
The nurse handed her a clean white shirt and pants: “That skirt’s too cumbersome, and it’s filthy.”
Mili silently changed.
The oversized white outfit made her look even smaller.
She bundled the dirty, tattered Saintess robe and stuffed it into a locker.
“What’s your name, kid? What should I call you?”
“…”
“So quiet. How about Little Black?” The nurse eyed Mili’s changed appearance:
“Your face is covered in soot. Wanna wash it?”
“Sweat’ll mix with it and make a mess, bad for your skin.”
Mili shook her head, declining.
“Fine, but you gotta wear these.” The nurse handed her a surgical mask and goggles, quickly tying her hair into a bun and covering it with a cap.
“Keep yourself covered to avoid infecting wounds.”
She shoved half a pack of wet wipes at Mili: “If it gets too much, wipe it off quick.”
Mili put on the mask and goggles properly.
Wrapped up tight, only her soot-smeared face remained exposed.
“Let’s go, Little Black.” The nurse patted her shoulder.
“Stay close.”
“We’ve arrived, Divine Envoy.”
At the junction of the west and south walls, an armored vehicle crunched over charred remains, jolting to a stop at a breach in Eisenburg’s steel fortifications.
Blood and flesh smeared the heavy wheels, a severed arm crushed into a sickening pulp.
The gray-braided girl twisted open the vehicle’s door valve, stepping onto a torso fragment as if it were a common stone step.
Her purple robe fluttered, her expression calm as still water, unfazed by the carnage beneath…
Other doors opened, and guards swiftly disembarked, clearing nearby threats.
Joined by a detachment from the front lines, a squad of dozens soon formed around Murphyxia.
Fully armed, faces painted with camouflage, their eyes burned with fervent devotion.
As the vehicle rumbled away, diesel fumes mixed with smoke, blood, and unnameable stenches, overwhelming and dizzying…
Murphyxia stepped through the breach, entering Eisenburg.
Her team fanned out, scouting ahead to eliminate dangers or ambushes.
Their movements were crisp, coordinated—battle-hardened elites…
The shattered wall still smoldered, rubble strewn everywhere, twisted rebar clawing at the air…
Streets were littered with tattered cloth and crumpled metal, pockmarked with craters, some jagged shards still dripping blood…
Gunfire and explosions echoed intermittently, the city’s battle already ignited…
The girl surveyed the war-torn city, her gaze deepening in the firelight.
“Divine Envoy,” the guard captain approached, his face smeared with ash and blood:
“Should we link up with Lin Lan?”
“Comms are completely down, her status…”
Murphyxia glanced at her communicator.
The signal status made her lips curl slightly, and she shook her head.
“No need.”
The captain froze, puzzled, staring at the young envoy.
She turned, smiling softly: “Strange, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“She’s not in danger.” Murphyxia caressed the communicator, her voice gentle. “Not yet.”
She looked toward Eisenburg’s central tower, her purple eyes glinting eerily in the firelight.
“Do you think I’d act without certainty?”
“I wouldn’t dare speculate…”
“Ever heard of a zero-sum game?”
“Not… really, my lady.” He shook his head after a moment.
Murphyxia faced the veteran who’d fought for the Church for years.
Her voice, melodious as a nightingale, carried a chilling certainty.
“The sum of gains and losses always equals zero—”
“One’s gain is another’s equal loss.”
The captain nodded, still foggy on the meaning…
“When we deployed signal jamming across Eisenburg, I instructed all site leaders,” Murphyxia tapped her communicator, “to shut down their stations the moment our people saw the Saintess being moved out.”
“This way, we’d know if the little knight found her target…”
“—And her escape route.”
The captain’s eyes widened, his mind racing to grasp the plan’s terrifying scope.
“But all jamming stations are still active.” Murphyxia raised the communicator, its red light steady, her voice pleased. “What does that mean?”
“The Saintess… is still in the city?”
“More than that.” The envoy turned, strolling into the city with light, leisurely steps:
“The decoy we planted in the safehouse has detonated.”
“Now, both the underground city’s fallback and the queen’s palace can be ruled out…”
The captain followed, stunned.
“Combined with prior intel on the Saintess’s relief efforts, and her last known location—we can easily narrow her range.” Murphyxia paused, her purple eyes scanning the lit outer district: “The Saintess has slipped the queen’s grasp.”
“Divine Envoy…” The captain’s voice trembled. “You calculated every possibility?”
“Just basic probability.” Murphyxia smiled faintly.
“When all variables are accounted for, the outcome becomes controllable.”
She signaled the team to advance, gray hair dancing in the night breeze.
“But… what if Commander Lin hid the Saintess?”
“Two possibilities.” She raised her fingers:
“First, as I said—she hasn’t found her.”
“Second, Lin Lan found her but didn’t take her.”
“—That’s easy to handle.”
“If she lingers in Eisenburg, she’ll be caught when Seraphina, still twenty kilometers east with the transport team, returns…”
“—She needs me to get the Saintess out safely.”
“So, Lin Lan’s likely stalled with the palace guards.”
“Whether she found the Saintess or not, she can’t escape yet…”
“And we’re already inside.”
“Your foresight is flawless!” The captain gasped, his awe and fear of the young envoy peaking.
“Don’t get cocky. Underestimating the enemy gets you killed.”
“Yes, Divine Envoy. What now…?”
“Find her before they do—our little Saintess.” Murphyxia’s voice was steady, brimming with growing delight. “She’s the key to winning this game…”
A fiercer explosion roared in the distance, flames lighting the sky blood-red.
Falling rubble clattered near her feet, ignored.
“Divine Envoy,” the captain hesitated, following. “If the Saintess is in the city, how do we find her?”
“Eisenburg’s small, but searching everywhere…”
“No matter.” Murphyxia cut him off. “She’ll reveal herself.”
He looked confused.
“She’s a kind girl…” Her tone dripped with eerie affection. “She can’t ignore suffering…”
“Especially when she knows it’s because of her.”
“Hospitals…”
“Orphanages…”
“Relief centers…”
“Those are her likely spots.”
“Pass the order.” Murphyxia commanded. “Split into three groups, focus on those locations.”
“No rash moves upon sighting. Report and infiltrate…”
“Yes!”
He signaled the team, who’d cleared the area, to scatter again, slipping into the streets’ shadows.
Murphyxia stood alone at the crossroads, curiously watching Eisenburg’s frantic residents, as if the chaos didn’t touch her.
People carried stretchers, bore wounded, faces etched with panic and fear.
The captain watched the angelic girl, a chill rising in his heart.
Such terrifying cruelty and cunning…
Countless lives perished in this war, yet to her, they were mere pieces on a board.
The hospital glowed brightly, figures bustling.
“My little Saintess…” Murphyxia inhaled deeply, murmuring softly, her tone tender as a lover’s call.
“Where are you?”