And here is the new chapter, with several new characters making their debut.

Hope you like it!

Chapter 3: What a nice morning!

Helicopter carrier-Marine nationale de Fontaine - Le fougueux

Chevreuse, like everyone else coming from Fontaine, was accustomed to the sea. It wasn't a daily occurrence for her to be aboard a carrier. The Fougueux was capable of transporting up to eight helicopters and reaching numerous theaters of war. Despite its usual use to combat piracy, his mission for today was entirely different.

Eight helipads were visible to the officer, but five of them were empty. For a brief moment, she had a scowl on her face. This mission was something she and many others wanted to go on. Despite their understanding of why their head of state chose to use adventurers and mercenaries, they have been deprived of the opportunity to go on foreign land and save many lives.

"I hope they will find them quickly."

She made her way up the stairs that led to a walkway near the control tower. There, she could see the woman she was looking for.

"Clorinde."

The older girl stared at her for a moment before returning to her task of smoking a cigarette.

"Oh, you smoke. I didn't know about that."

"I do not."

"Ho…" An awkward silence appeared. The cries of birds or officer shouting orders to their subordinates were the only interruptions.

"So, any news?"

They left an hour ago. Of course not."

"True. True." The captain gazed at the sea. It was quite calm. The war vessel was the sole source of the waves. The estimated time for them to arrive on the island was around 20-30 minutes. So, it means that they already reached it and with some luck managed to get to the survivors. If everything is going right, then the first return of the survivors should take place in less than two hours. Time for them to take control of the situation and form an evacuation plan. They should contact us a little before the first flight." However, Chevreuse's train of thought was interrupted by her colleague placing the rest of her cigarette in an ashtray that she had placed on the handrail. She grabbed her packet of and proceeded to take another one. As she ignited it with a lighter, Chevreuse held out her hand. For a few seconds, Clorinde was unsure before she finally grasped her intention. She gave her the packet and the youngest also took one. She placed it on her lips and her friend lit it for her.

As they were smoking in the fresh air by the end of the late morning. Both of their gazes were turned towards the direction of the island. Hoping that the castaway will be brought back home safely.

Island of Khaenri'ah

Landing bay.

Team Bravo

"At first, I thought that carrying so many weapons for a simple rescue mission was too much. But right now, I do believe that it's a fortunate thing." Aether put a grenade into the launcher under his rifle barrel. He looked at his weapon. He used it for years, but it was still in very good condition as he took truly good care of it. And now. It was ready for some action.

"Furthermore, we are still uncertain about what took place here. Why are there so few survivors from the ship? Something nasty brewing and I do not want it to bite my ass."

"Aether!" He was joined by Mona who came from the helicopter. "A message sent by the Delta team. A suitable location for a camp has been found by them. It seems that this was a former observation spot. This location is approximately six kilometers away. They have already started to fortify the position."

Her leader merely nodded to acknowledge the new information.

"At least now, if there is a problem, we have a place to retreat and reorganize ourselves." He turned around "Are both of you ready for a forest trip?"

Fischl and Bennett came to his side and stood ready. Bennett's primary weapon was his submachine gun, despite the fact that a multiple grenade launcher was secured by a strap on his back. His handgun was also holstered by his waist on his right side. Behind his back, he had a combat knife in its sheath.

Fischl made the decision to keep using her rifle. Her pistol was holstered, but she was also ready for action. A large pouch was attached to her back.

Aether's primary weapon was his assault rifle and he also had a pistol holstered on his thigh. A combat knife and a machete were in his possession.

After inspecting his teammate, the team leader nodded with satisfaction.

"Mona, head towards the high cliff that we noted while we were here. It's not too far from our destination. You should be able to send the drones to scout and let us know if you notice anything unusual."

"Okay, I am taking off in two minutes."

"Be careful Mona, this corpse didn't become like by itself." Fischl cautioned her friend.

"I should be the one saying that to you. I'll be leaving now. Careful Bennett. Don't trip because of the roots!"

"I'll give it a shot... But I can't promise anything."

The operator entered the helicopter again while the team of three began their advance towards the forest.

"Here is Bravo One. We are entering the forest from the landing area. Aerial reconnaissance has revealed a footprint. We are tracking them. As I said earlier, the probability of hostiles is very likely. If any of you wonder, be cautious. Bravo one over. "

He turned towards his colleagues.

"We are starting the search and rescue operation right now. Remove the security and watch out for any threats."

The adventurers made their way into the forest.

Former observation building.

Team Delta.

The observation building was peculiar. It was a large building made of concrete that resembled more of a bunker than a place to watch out for fauna and flora. Except for the very large observation windows, which allowed people to watch from behind discreetly. It was made in a round shape.

Fortunately, there was very little vegetation before it. Team Delta was able to land the three helicopters due to this.

It appears that the center was equipped with a helipad at the center of the building, but a fallen tree prevented it from being utilized. Apparently, the use of a helicopter was the only way to get to this structure since there was no road.

It was a little strange, but at least it was more than good enough to serve as a base for the search and rescue mission.

"Come on everybody! Move, we don't have all day!" The man who shouted orders was named Arthur. He was a middle-aged man and the leader of Delta.

Delta was not here to explore like the other two teams, but rather to provide support. There are eight people instead of the usual four. Three helicopters are loaded with supplies for the mission.

Some of those supplies included guns. Heavy guns. In fact, three volunteers were setting up a heavy machine gun near the large entrance gate.

Initially, he was reluctant to mount it so soon, but a report from Bravo indicated that they were probably not the only ones on this island, along with the survivors of the disaster.

"Better safe than sorry."

His gaze shifted to his right. A number of his personnel were retrieving medical equipment from one of the helicopters. With the risk of getting injured increasing, a treatment room would become necessary. In addition, the Delta team has two adventurers specializing in emergency care to help anyone they find on this island.

"Well, it does seem to be going well. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes. He picked one up and lit it with his lighter. After a few puffs, he got closer to one of his men who was occupied with opening a supply crate.

"How is it going?" His subordinate, a young man with glasses who let what he was doing before answering.

"Good progress has been made, sir. The generator has been installed. Food and water have been placed inside the building. We are currently in the process of installing the medical zone in the event of an injury. After that, we will finish installing the remaining defenses. I've located several positions where we can put barricades."

"Good. And what about the spare weapons and ammo?"

Still in chopper number four.

Can you give me an update on the building? Did they finish exploring it?"

"Dehya and Genji are on it. It is not that big and only has a floor but many rooms."

The older man grumbled before reaching for the comms.

"Dehya, Genji! Hurry up and move your ass. Help your little comrades to carry the crates and install the defenses."

"Ok sir, we just check the last room and we are coming." The one who responded was a mercenary from Sumeru. Dehya. Her outfit consists of black knee-high boots, black cargo pants, a belt, elbow-length fingerless gloves, and a green tactical vest with a green shirt underneath. She had a shotgun as her main weapon and quite a large handgun holstered on her right hip.

She sighs before talking to her inspection partner.

"This is the last room. Let us hurry. I do not want him to berate us because we took our time."

Genji, the man who went with her, was from Inazuma. His outfit consisted of a black tactical pant and a black tactical jacket. He had his hair tied up in a ponytail.

He had a carbine as his main weapon and he also had a handgun, but it was on his left hip.

"I agree. Let's get this over." Both of them got into the side of the last door. It was a luxurious one. It is crafted from oak and features golden letters.

Reception room

"Is…Is that gold?" Asked the inazumian.

"Don't be ridiculous. Who would do… That?" The dark-skinned mercenary scratches the golden letters and notices that they are indeed made of precious metal.

They paused for a moment before resuming their mission. Dehya, using her shotgun first, slowly opened the door. Upon a quick scan, she came to the conclusion that the room was safe.

"Wow." Upon entering, she and Genji were astonished by what they saw. A large oval table made from the most valuable oak. Silver cutlery was scattered on it. Crystal glasses still half filled with wine. Some plates have the remains of food that were long ago taken over by flies. Furthermore, it was only the center of the room. A large white screen was added at the end. Dehya noticed that a video projector had been installed in the center of the table. Nonetheless, without a computer nearby.

The sound of cracking came from her foot. As she looked down, she noticed that she had crushed the remainder of a bottle of wine that probably fell from a long liquor cabinet on the left side of the room.

"Rich peoples are really something. Don't you think so Dehya?" Her colleague looked on the right side to see if anything of interest was found.

"I don't believe there's anything left here that's of interest. We go back." To show his approval, her partner nodded. Then Dehya reached for her comms.

"Here is Delta 3 and 5. We have completed our inspection of the building. Nothing that is dangerous or of great interest. We will be returning outside. Delta 1 do you copy?"

The only response she received was static.

She has thrown a worried gaze to Genji, who sent it back to her.

"Delta 1, do you copy?"

Once again, only static. They were prepared to rush outside to check what was happening, but they finally received an answer.

"Delta 3 and 5, I was taking a piss. I copy. See you outside and try to be there quickly there are still a lot to do."

They breathed a sigh of relief as they returned to the main entrance.

Arthur finished scrubbing his hands with a bottle of water. He picked up another cigarette and ignited it. While he enjoyed it, he took the opportunity to look around him to check the scenery.

"Trees, tall grass, bushes, strange footprints, birds-what is it? He made his way to the trail, imagining for a brief moment that it had been left by one of the survivors. He quickly became aware that this was not the case.

"Three claws or something? What kind of strange animal could have left that?" He turned back and joined his team to help them. Not seeing that behind the tall grass a little further away, dozens of similar tracks were there.

Island of Khaenri'ah

Eastern Forest

?

"Come on, it shouldn't be that far!"

"I-I am trying. I am so tired."

"Are you even sure that they are here? And that it's the right direction?"

"Yes. I caught sight of the helicopters flying that way. We must push a little further again."

Five individuals emerged from behind the tree. Clearly relieved to have reached the end of this part of the forest.

In the beginning, there was a young girl who wore a golden qipao dress with a black leotard. She had fingerless gloves and boots. Her hair was made with bangs is swept to one side by a golden hairclip the rest of her hair is braided in a looped bow-like updo at the back of her head fastened with a small orange ribbon.

The second was another girl with a hair band that looked like cat 'ears. She had pale, ash blonde hair that sticks out in tufts and green eyes. She was wearing a dark colored cropped top made up of two pieces of fabric and decorated in the middle with a large yellow ornament with a jingle bell and two yellow tassels. After this, she wears a patterned light blue tunic with detached sleeves and a pleated blue skirt and a set of black leg warmers.

A young girl was being carried by her on her back.

This carried girl was considerably smaller than the other members of her group. A large dark indigo cap covered her short pink hair and teal green eyes. She was wearing shorts, a dark midriff-barring sleeveless turtleneck shirt with an orange-yellow scarf, pale pink sleeves, a vest of the same color, and white gloves. Even if she was transported, she seemed to be very tired and hurt. See some blood come through her clothes at her waist.

The fourth member was a young man with dark navy-blue hair and asymmetrical bangs. His attire consists of a long coat made of silk with shades of navy blue. The coat's underside is a contrasting yellow with a faint, wavy pattern decorating the fabric. He too was lightly wounded and bleeding a little on the forehead and a big red mark on his right cheek. Indicating that he has been hit there. Despite the fact that the fabric he used to wear was expensive and of very good quality. It was tethered near the extremity. On his left shoulder, he had a purple messenger bag and a large stick in his right hand.

The last one was also a young man. His hair was light blue and he wore a white hoodie with navy embroidery that was symmetrical. Under this, he wears a blue shirt over white pants with gold cuffs, along with a dark navy undershirt. He squeezes his left shoulder with his right hand because it was bleeding a lot.

It appears that the five of them are very dirty, hungry, and exhausted, as if they have been running all night. But they kept advancing, like if something very dangerous was chasing after them.

They finally reached the edge of a cliff, which provided them with a stunning view of the surrounding landscape.

It wasn't long before they realized what they were looking for.

The man with navy blue hair was the one who first reported it.

"Right here!"

"Where? Xingqiu where do you see it?" The girl wearing the golden qipao inquired.

"Look down Xiangling. It's over there! After looking where he pointed, the group finally spotted them.

Three helicopters were present before a solitary building. It appeared that there were also people around them. Each of them felt a smile when they saw this sight. Their tired hearts are filled with hope.

"Finally. They are truly there." The other man whispered to all over his voice.

As the sound of a broken branch resonated through the forest, this moment of happiness was abruptly ended. This made them all too sharply look back behind them. Towards the sea of trees. Anxiety and fear splattered all over their face. Tears even started appearing on the cat-ears girl.

"Don't cry Kirara! Everything is going to be fine." The girl on her told her in a small effort to reassure the older girl who simply nodded and fought back her tears.

"Thanks, Diona." Kirara managed to calm herself down and looked back at the boy with light blue hair.

"Chongyun, how far are they?" The man remained silent for a few seconds before replying.

"I would estimate that it is between ten and fifteen meters away. They aren't far but we can still distance them if we leave right now." The group gazed back at the cliff. Seeking a way to reach the helicopters. They were not too far away. A distance of maybe a kilometer and a half, but for a group that hasn't taken a break for hours, it could be challenging. Chongyun spoke after a brief moment.

"There is a passage that seems to go down, through which we can pass and join them. It will not be easy but we don't have a lot of choice."

Xiangling started walking towards the passage, and she noticed that it was falling quite steeply. However, she glanced back towards the forest.

"We are still being chased by those things. Our best option is to reach this building. I don't know if those peoples are nice or not but they are probably one hundred time better than that."

She began to move forward before yelling

"On the road again!"

Forest near the landing area.

Team Bravo

The midday sun had already begun to shine. The mild heat of this summer morning slowly but surely became unbearable.

"It's starting to heat up in there. No?"

"Bennett shut up and kept focused."

Aether paved the way, Bennett followed, and Fischl came up behind a few meters later. Upon reaching the forest and hearing their chopper take off, they continued their walk. Attempting to uncover clues about the missing person. Although they were already 600 meters deep in the forest, they found only some footprints and barely any signs of the survivors. The most recent was blood on a pine tree which did very little to reassure them.

"Honestly, what happened to them? We didn't find any firearms except for the gun at the beach. Not a single bullet casing. If you go against one hundred people, you shoot. That does not make any sense."

Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared in their ears.

"Team Bravo, this is team Alpha. What is your status?" The voice was still decipherable but the static indicates that the interlocutor was quite far away.

"Alpha, this is Bravo 1. The landing site gave nothing except for the corpse that I mentioned earlier. But we did find a footstep going deep in the forest, and we are actually following them. "

"Understood. Be careful. Team Alpha will carry on with their reconnaissance in the northern sector. We shall make a point later this afternoon."

"Roger." The team continued their search after having a brief conversation when they heard a voice calling out to them.

"Team Bravo, this is Bravo 2. Do you copy?"

"Mona, I'm here. What is your status?"

"I found a nice spot to land to the south of your actual position. I am preparing a small camp for you."

"Are you confident that you are secure?"

"I am putting a second drone in the air to prevent anyone from coming to my location."

"Good job Mona."

"And what about you three? Can you give me an update on the search? Have you found something new?"

Fischl responded this time. "This forest is comparable to the others I have visited. Full of bug, full of mushroom, and spiders everywhere."

Mona chuckled at her friend's complaining, but she asked Aether again.

"Aether, did you check the tracker? "

"No. For now, it does not detect it. We are still too far away from it." He picked up a small device that enables tracking the location of a tracker.

During the briefing, the Iudex informed that their main target, Furina de Fontaine, had a tracker with her to use in case of an emergency. In the event of danger, she was instructed to activate it. It would first send a GPS signal to Fontaine, which they could use to locate her.

However, once the signal was sent, it quickly disappeared once it reached the island. The GPS signal was small to make it easy to carry, but it lacks a large battery. Moreover, it was prone to breaking, and it could have been damaged during the evacuation from the ship. However, a second function was concealed and more difficult to hinder. A tracker that is capable of indicating its distance within a 180-meter range. It has been conceived to last for at least 20 days. If Furina still has it with her, then her location would appear on the device once within range.

To guarantee that every team can locate her. Neuvillette provided each team leader with a device.

But for now, they haven't had much luck.

"Yes, I confirm, there is nothing on the screen. And you? Can you see us?"

"The first drone was sent to close to your location, but there are excessive amounts of trees. To guide, the drone must be positioned below the canopy. I can do but it would be more complicated."

"Don't do it now. Maybe later. For now, continue conducting reconnaissance of the area. And contact us if there is any problem."

"Roger that. Enjoy your trip and make sure to bring me some mushrooms! Bravo 2 over."

Mona placed her headset on the pilot's seat and made use of this brief moment of calm to stretch. Once done, she looked at the computer on the copilot's seat. The drones' vision was displayed on a dual screen to her. In the first it was the drone was floating above the forest. She inspected the machine's battery level.

"49% left. It's the drone that I deployed here. It's no wonder that it's starting to run out of energy. I'm going to recharge it."

She turned her attention to the second screen. An aerial view of the chopper and its surroundings was displayed in this one. She chose to land near a cliff so that she could escape quickly with the helicopter in the event of danger. Through her drone, she witnessed the condition of the body found on the beach, and it would haunt her mind for some days. Not wanting to be next was quite understandable.

She left her seat and walked to the weapons rack. She retrieved her heavy machine gun and inserted a fully loaded magazine. She inserted a bullet into the chamber and secured the gun strap to her left shoulder.

"Here, better safe than sorry." She returned to the computer and tapped a command that directed the first drone to return to its charging station.

"It will take some time before it returns here. So, let's open one of those famous Fontainian military rations."

Not that far away from the pilot. Several mysterious beings observed her from the safety provided by the shade of the trees. While they were spying on the metal construction, another one approached them.

"Unu"

"Movo"

"Ya"

"Kundala"

Back in the forest, team Bravo was still following the footsteps in the hope of reaching the survivors. But for now, it was fruitless.

Until their marksman intervened.

"Stop! Don't move anymore." Both of her teammates concealed themselves behind trees. Their weapons are scanning the area and ready to shoot if necessary.

Fischl made slow movements before abruptly stopping.

"A trap lies ahead of us. A cord on the ground."

After a few moments, Aether managed to recognize the trap by looking towards the pointed direction. It was posed near an area with many large rocks. He grabbed a stick from the ground and hurled it toward the concealed device.

The cord picked up the stick and threw it against a rock that was a bit further away. Although the sound wasn't too loud, it appeared that someone was anticipating it. Immediately upon hearing it, two shadows appeared from behind the largest rock and jumped straight at them.

"You damn monsters! The Arataki Gang is not going down without a fight!"

End of chapter 3

Here is additional information about the equipment.

Dehya carries a shotgun similar to the M590A1 and a handgun similar to the Desert Eagle.