Suddenly, the rumbling of the helicopter sounded from above. Jeanne looked over and said, with a voice full of joy, "It's the reinforcement! The reinforcements are finally here! Keiko, just a little bit more and we will be saved!"
Keiko didn't have the leeway to shift her focus yet; the zerg swarm tide had breached the drawbridge and was only less than 20 meters away from Keiko.
The bridge was full of corpses, and the piles were getting higher and higher. Keiko's bullets were almost out, and there were only the last two guns and a crossbow left.
The helicopter hovered directly above them, and two officers, a man and a woman, descended, bringing a large bundle of rope with them, and quickly landed on the armored car's roof.
Jeanne immediately recognized Captain Amanda and Sergeant Antonio.
They didn't say anything and began tying not only the injured soldiers' bodies, but also Jeanne and Leah. To ensure their safety, Captain Amanda was on the top, and Sergeant Antonio was on the bottom.
"Keiko, get here quick!"
Jeanne's voice echoed on Keiko's intercom. Keiko turned her head around and take a glance at them before facing forward once more.
The machine guns had already run out of ammo when Captain Amanda and Antonio were still busy tying people together. So just like before, Keiko carelessly threw it off as soon as they were empty. Then she picked up two sabers and gripped them tightly.
She retreated with her body still facing the swarm tide.
It wasn't that she didn't want to turn around and rush, but she couldn't.
Firstly, the fatigue slowly ate away her stamina and she could only barely hold on right now. Showing her back to the enemies in this situation was equivalent to forfeiting her life to the swarm tide.
Secondly, at least in this way, she could also prevent the monsters from attacking the survival and rescue team behind her. This way, more people could be saved.
Keiko moved back, staggering, with four sabers strapped around her wrist and two sabers in both of her hands, busily chopping all the monsters that pounced on her.
The tide of insects had come close; fangs, claws, venom, all directed at her.
She didn't even know what she was fighting; she just slashed, evaded, blocked, slashed, evaded, rinsed and repeated, with the fighting instinct she had developed over the years.
One second felt as long as eternity; it seemed like a never-ending battle.
She felt so tired; she didn't want to fight anymore; she really couldn't hold on anymore.
There were many wounds on her body and she was in pain all over her body.
But she kept swinging her sabers anyway.
Her swinging power wasn't as good as before, her rhythm was already messed up, her dodging speed continued dropping, and she got more and more wound all over her body.
"Keiko!" As Jeanne's voice grew louder and louder, Keiko became agitated and distracted.
"Major, just go first. I still can handle it. Let's meet again inside," Keiko's voice sounded hoarse, her unsteady breath intermittently entering the intercom.
"What nonsense are you saying?!! Quick, come here! We'll go out from here!"
"Major…"
"Second Lieutenant Keiko Lee, I order you to go back here right now!!"
"I'm sorry Major, I can't obey you this time…" Then a chuckle soon followed, "It seemed that I never obeyed you before either… see you later, Major."
"YOU!!!"
Jeanne gritted her teeth in frustration as she knew very well how stubborn Keiko could become when she was determined to do something.
'Does she want to play hero and sacrifice herself for us?! Don't fucking kidding me, you dumb stupid rock!'
She then looked at Captain Amanda and spoke into her intercom. At the same moment, Keiko's voice also appeared on Amanda's intercom.
"Captain Amanda, wait a moment! Second Lieutenant Lee is still there, we need to save her!"
"Captain Amanda, pull up the rope right now! They'll soon reach your position!"
Captain Amanda was stunned. There were two people asking her for two opposite requests. She was stuck between a rock and a hard thing.
On one side, one of her most promising subordinates was in imminent danger. Major Jeanne, who was usually cold-headed, calm, and collected, now asked her in an urgent tone to save Keiko. It showed how much this eldest miss valued her.
On the other hand, Keiko was also right. It would be too late if they were waiting for her. Although Keiko could be said to be one of the most promising cadets, she was still only a soldier.
After all, her value couldn't be compared to the safety of Major Jeanne, who was the daughter of one of the seven stars generals and the youngest prodigy in the Federation.
But, if she ignored Major Jeanne's request, she most likely will form a grudge against her.
Captain Amanda didn't know how to respond, and soon two voices sounded on her intercom again.
"Captain Amanda, this is an order!"
"Captain Amanda, please!"
Hesitating for a moment, Captain Amanda finally spoke.
"Second Lieutenant Keiko, are you sure?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"What the hell are you talking about, Keiko! You want to die?!" Jeanne roared into the intercom.
Keiko didn't try to argue with her as she was now currently busy engaging with the incoming swarm tide. Instead, she asked Captain Amanda.
"Lieutenant Lu and Seol-Hyun Ae aren't here, they are deployed with mecha to support us, right?"
"Yes."
"I still can hold on until they come. I promise I'll go back alive."
"Major Jeanne, what do you say?"
"…"
"Major!"
"Fine! But if you dare to die, don't think I won't turn hell upside down and bring you back here and then send you back down there personally!"
Jeanne's voice turned cold, but there was also a hint of anxiety and helplessness contained within. If someone could peek under her helmet, they would see blood dripping from her lower lips and tears swimming in her eyes, about to burst out.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Keiko replied weakly but determinedly and then continued her struggles with the group of zerg and predators that came after her.
"General Frode, we're ready! Pull up the rope, right now!"
"Pull it up! Pull it up!" In the cabin, General Frode was yelling at the pilot through his earphones.
"Yes!"
"Pull them up! Sistine, at the rear, was directing Antonio and three other military police to activate the rope winch and pull everyone up.
While the rope was slowly pulled over to the helicopter, Jeanne looked below, and her watery eyes never once left Keiko's heroic figure.