"And then? You never thought about going back?" Amiya asked, curiously imagining herself in Flandre's shoes—her very first instinct in such a situation would certainly have been to find a way back home.
"Of course I did, but back then I was completely dazed and ended up getting abducted by a mercenary band that took me all the way to the border of Leithanien," Flandre explained with a bright, unfazed smile. "I had no idea how to navigate back, so I just wandered around wherever my feet took me. Besides, my fate is bound to my sister's. She would definitely be able to find me!"
Flandre Scarlet beamed with an immense sense of pride. Though Amiya didn't fully grasp why she felt so proud of getting lost, she deeply admired Flandre's unreserved, absolute trust in her elder sister.
"So you traveled all the way north to Ursus from there?" Stormeye asked from nearby, breaking his silence.
Flandre nodded cheerfully. "Since I was out exploring anyway, it didn't really matter where I went! I just picked a random direction and ambled along. Then I happened to bump into an Ursus patrol squad hunting down Infected..."
She went on to recount her bizarre adventures during that period.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long amber shadows across the woodland, the small group prepared to pack up and head back to the landship. Suddenly, an Operator tasked with monitoring the perimeter reported abnormal acoustic activity at the far end of the forest—though dense foliage obscured the exact cause.
Hearing the report, Stormeye immediately picked up his longbow and tactical gear. He instructed Amiya to lead the other young Operators and staff back to the safety of the main vessel. Should any actual danger manifest, they were to evacuate aboard the ship immediately while he bought them time.
Amiya didn't hesitate, promptly gathering the group and steering them back toward the boarding ramps.
Only Flandre remained behind.
"I'll go take a look with you!" With a light, graceful spring, Flandre launched herself up into the high forest canopy.
Amiya looked back just in time to see Flandre floating effortlessly among the treetops. Considering Flandre's incredible aerial mobility, ordinary threats posed zero danger to her. Given the uncertain situation and her responsibility to lead the other children back safely, Amiya could only call out a quick warning: "Be careful out there, Flandre!"
By the time Amiya and her group reached the primary entrance ramps of Rhodes Island, Flandre and Stormeye had already arrived at the coordinates of the disturbance.
"Wow... look at all those Pincerbugs and Originium Slugs!" Flandre whispered, her voice reaching Stormeye's ears from above.
Stormeye nimbly scaled a tall tree trunk, peering out in the direction Flandre pointed.
Scarcely one or two hundred meters away, a fierce battle was unfolding within an obscure, rocky valley. The two opposing factions were massive swarms of Pincerbugs and Originium Slugs, locked in a violent territorial clash over a localized water source.
Seeing the nature of the threat, Stormeye let out a quiet sigh of relief. His primary concern—a hostile mercenary force or elite enemy squad—hadn't materialized; it was merely two aggressive swarms of wild creatures clashing, which was relatively good news.
Just as he prepared to signal a quiet retreat, he noticed Flandre watching the chaos below with sparkling, rapt eyes, repeatedly swallowing her saliva.
"Hmm?" Stormeye gave her a questioning look.
Flandre turned to him, her eyes gleeful. "Roasted Pincerbug legs taste absolutely delicious!"
Stormeye was rendered temporarily speechless. The child was simply being a glutton!
Looking down at the canyon floor, the two swarms numbered at least several hundred individual creatures. Even for a fully equipped Rhodes Island security team, clearing out such a dense, volatile nest would take considerable effort.
He had originally intended to inform the landship's bridge to monitor the sector's coordinates and adjust their course if the swarms moved closer. He certainly hadn't expected Flandre to harbor grand plans of wiping out the entire nest single-handedly.
"That is extremely dangerous," Stormeye warned seriously.
Flandre shook her head enthusiastically. In her eyes, that massive horde represented an endless mountain of crispy insect legs—she was definitely going to eat her fill today!
"Can you help me contact my sister?" Flandre asked, aware that Elite Operators like Stormeye carried long-range comms units linked directly to the bridge.
"You want to call your sister?" Stormeye asked.
Flandre nodded firmly. "There are way too many insects down there for me to gather quickly by myself. It'll be so much faster if my sister or Patchy comes along!"
Stormeye relayed the request to the landship's command center. Kal'tsit, who received the incoming transmission, was equally curious to observe the exact operational capabilities of Flandre's elder sister, so she granted authorization and forwarded the message.
Remilia Scarlet, who had been taking a casual tour of the vessel's upper decks, received the notice and immediately took to the air, accompanied by Hong Meiling and Sakuya Izayoi. As for Patchouli, she was buried deep in research within the library, so Remilia opted not to disturb her.
Upon arrival, Remilia hovered beside Flandre, asking why she had summoned them.
Flandre pointed toward the valley below, her eyes gleaming. "There are lots and lots of big insects over there, which means lots and lots of delicious legs!" She swallowed her saliva again as she explained.
How could Remilia fail to recognize her little sister's food-driven motivation? She smiled indulgently. "Fine, lead the way."
Just as the Scarlet Devil Mansion group prepared to move, Stormeye stepped forward with his tactical unit. "We shall accompany you. If you handle the main force, my squad can assist with perimeter control and clearing the battlefield."
Seeing that Rhodes Island was offering auxiliary support, Remilia nodded in agreement and led her team soaring toward the target valley.
Looking down from above, the brutal conflict between the two swarms raged on. The central pool and surrounding banks were littered with torn carapaces and creature remnants, presenting a gruesome scene.
Rather than diving directly into the fray, the Scarlet Devil Mansion team split into three tactical units.
Flandre and Remilia maintained high-altitude dominance, observing the slaughter from above. Meanwhile, Hong Meiling and Sakuya Izayoi fanned out to the left and right, scouting the primary hives of both swarms.
They returned shortly with precise intelligence.
The Pincerbug nest was located somewhat farther out, situated on a barren rocky flat roughly one kilometer from the watering hole.
The Originium Slug hive was much closer, nestled inside a narrow canyon less than five hundred meters away—which also served as the primary choke point for the slugs entering and exiting the basin.
It was evident that the basin had originally been the territory of the Originium Slugs. However, a migrating swarm of fiercely aggressive Pincerbugs had moved in. Upon discovering the slug colony, the Pincerbugs had launched an immediate, predatory assault—after all, to both species, the other represented a primary food source. Under such conditions, an encounter inevitably spiraled into a war of total annihilation.
After evaluating the terrain, Flandre and Remilia conferred and decided to strike the Pincerbug hive on the rocky flats first.
The rationale was straightforward: the Pincerbug nest lay on an open, exposed plain. If the front-line forces broke and scattered in panic, hunting down individual Pincerbugs across wide terrain would prove incredibly tedious. Conversely, the Originium Slug canyon possessed only two narrow access paths, making it exceptionally easy to lock down and contain.
Once the tactical outline was set, they shared the plan with Stormeye.
Upon hearing the strategy, Stormeye nodded in approval. "The operational logic is sound. However, are you certain you can resolve an entire hive on open ground in a single strike?"
A voice echoed from Stormeye's comms unit—it was Kal'tsit, who had been listening to the channel from the bridge.
"There is no issue whatsoever," Remilia replied smoothly, her tone filled with supreme confidence. "Though their numbers are vast, they are merely mindless beasts. Furthermore, they have committed the vast majority of their primary combat forces to the front lines to contest the water source."
Remilia's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked down at the rocky flats. "We need only strike their rear hive with absolute force to cleanly eliminate them."
"Very well," Kal'tsit's calm voice responded over the radio. "However, Pincerbugs are highly aggressive creatures. Exercise caution during engagement."