Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Upon reaching the shore, the waves became even larger and more ferocious. If it weren’t for Hebrew Adam’s quick reflexes, grabbing Ruo Manni just as the waves crashed over her, she might not have made it to the shore and could have been swept back into the sea.

Sheila was also in a similar predicament. Being naturally more delicate and light, she nearly clung entirely to Tamaki Kazia, tightly wrapping her arms around his waist and refusing to let go to avoid falling and swallowing seawater.

At that moment, no one cared about any awkward or ambiguous situations; their only thought was to quickly leave the shoreline to avoid being knocked unconscious by the waves.

With Hebrew Adam’s support, half embracing and half carrying her, Ruo Manni finally escaped the reach of the waves. The other four team members huddled together, following closely behind them.

Once out of the wave range, Ruo Manni immediately broke free from Hebrew Adam’s support and collapsed weakly onto the ground, saying, “These waves nearly knocked me out.”

Hebrew Adam also sat down beside Ruo Manni, glancing at her face. Ruo Manni, too, noticed his expression—he was clearly exhausted. Yet, even in such a dire state, he still sat upright, exhibiting a soldier-like demeanor that Ruo Manni couldn’t help but admire.

The others also followed their captain and vice-captain, sitting on the beach, looking completely drained, like soaked and bedraggled chickens, too tired to even speak. Even Sheila, usually quick with a retort, remained uncharacteristically silent.

The heavy rain continued to pour down, with lightning and thunder rolling across the dark, oppressive sky, creating a daunting atmosphere. Sitting on the exposed beach like this, were they being too reckless?

“We should move to another place; the lightning is too frightening here, and it’s not safe,” Ruo Manni thought, recalling what she knew about lightning.

“Don’t worry, the lightning on Imperial Capital Star is different from that on other planets; it never strikes ground targets,” Hebrew Adam reassured her, understanding her concern.

Ruo Manni was momentarily stunned—how could the lightning on Imperial Capital Star be so unique? But she wasn’t a scientist and had no interest in figuring it out, especially not in their current situation.

The pouring rain washed away all the sea salt and sand from their bodies, leaving them clean. Other than the sound of the wind and rain, the surroundings were eerily silent. There was no one else on the beach—no other people, not even a signpost.

After about five minutes, Ruo Manni had recovered about half of her stamina. She had been carried for the latter half of the journey, so while her mental energy was heavily drained, her physical exhaustion was minimal. She had only felt a bit dizzy from the waves earlier, but after resting for a while, she recovered and stood up to observe the island.

Ruo Manni couldn’t estimate the exact size of the island, but through the blurry rain, she could still see the distant, towering peaks. She roughly estimated that the mountains were at least four to five thousand meters high, and they didn’t seem far from them—the base of the mountain appeared to be less than a thousand meters away.

Judging by the island’s terrain, it seemed to be a single mountain, with the beach area being at a lower elevation, eroded by the sea. As Ruo Manni looked towards the island, she could only see the treetops of a forest at the base of the mountain.

Using her psychic powers, Ruo Manni “scanned” the area. Beyond the beach was a forest, and beyond that, about a meter and a half deep into the forest, she “saw” a distinct man-made camp. However, she could only get a rough outline of the camp…

Ruo Manni withdrew her psychic power and massaged her throbbing forehead. There seemed to be a barrier around the camp that repelled her psychic power, making it impossible for her to see if anyone was inside.

“Captain, there’s a camp in the forest. I’m not sure if it’s our target for tonight. Sitting here in the rain isn’t an option, and the other teams might catch up soon. You stay here with the others; I’ll go check it out,” Ruo Manni suggested.

Ruo Manni wasn’t sure if there were people in the camp, whether they were friends or foes, so she planned to sneak over and take a look. Given that even Hebrew-Adam was visibly fatigued, Ruo Manni, being in the best condition, was the most suitable candidate for the task.

Her teammates were all exhausted and needed some rest. If the camp turned out to be occupied by “enemies,” a fight might ensue.

The best candidate for scouting was a psychic like Ruo Manni, especially since her combat ability was second only to Hebrew Adam’s. Hearing her proposal, Hebrew Adam nodded in agreement. “Don’t go too far, don’t try to be a hero, and if anything happens, contact us immediately.”

Ruo Manni made an OK gesture and walked off the beach alone. She first “scanned” the forest with her psychic power and, finding nothing unusual, cautiously proceeded into the woods.

The rain was still pouring down, and the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves was even louder in the forest. Ruo Manni remained on high alert, keeping an eye on her surroundings.

Although Ruo Manni didn’t detect anything unusual in the forest with her psychic powers, her sharp instincts told her that something was lurking within. She remained highly vigilant, watching her step.

Suddenly, Ruo Manni sensed something and quickly dodged to the side. A masked figure in black leaped down from a tree and missed his target. He quickly recovered, his short sword slashing toward Ruo Manni.

Ruo Manni swiftly ducked behind a tree to avoid the attack. As she did so, she reached for her waist while letting out a long whistle. With a swift motion, her whip lashed out from behind the tree toward the masked figure. Instead of dodging, the black-clad assailant flipped through the air, lunging at Ruo Manni.

Ruo Manni couldn’t evade in time, and the masked figure grabbed her whip with his left hand. She realized that the black-clad figure was far more skilled than she was and that she had no chance of retrieving her whip. So, she used the force from the whip being pulled to lunge forward, her left hand forming a fist aimed at the masked figure’s head.

Thanks to the borrowed momentum, Ruo Manni moved quickly, but just as her fist was about to land, the masked figure tilted his head slightly, causing her punch to miss.

Ruo Manni quickly withdrew her attack, but before she could recover, the masked figure had already discarded his short sword, seized her left arm, and twisted it behind her back.

The black-clad figure moved with such speed and force that Ruo Manni, completely overpowered, was pinned to the ground like a ragdoll, utterly helpless.

The masked figure used his knee to press down on Ruo Manni’s back, then grabbed her whip and tied her hands together. Ruo Manni struggled to lift her head to avoid being drowned by the rainwater on the ground.

Although this masked figure was terrifyingly strong, Ruo Manni didn’t sense any killing intent from him, which led her to guess his identity. As a result, even though she was bound and thrown to the ground, she didn’t use her psychic powers to attack his mind.

However, Ruo manni “saw” that her teammates, who had been resting on the beach, had received her distress signal and were now all in the forest, with Hebrew Adam leading the charge, rushing towards her.

As Hebrew Adam arrived, he immediately saw Ruo manni pinned to the ground by a masked figure, who was holding her down in the water. Without hesitation, he drew his sword and charged forward.

The masked figure calmly picked up his short sword from the ground and prepared to face Hebrew Adam head-on.