As soon as Jeanne and the others were on board, General Frode and Sistine rushed over to them with a relief expression on their faces.
"Glad that you're safe, Major Jeanne," General Frode gently said.
"Thanks the Nine Gods!" Sistine hurriedly knelt down to support Jeanne and examined her body carefully, "Are you okay, Jeanne? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Thanks, but no need. I can do it myself," Jeanne quickly brushed off Sistine's hand and responded perfunctorily while standing up on her own.
"Ah… Okay," Sistine was momentarily stunned before drawing his hand back with a disappointed expression on his handsome face.
Jeanne ignored Sistine's abandoned puppy looks and turned her over to General Frode.
"Thank you for the rescue, General Frode," Jeanne bowed down slightly and then hurriedly asked, "Where is the mecha squad? How long do we need to wait for them? Second Lieutenant Lee is still down there. We need to rescue her fast!"
General Frode slightly frowned when he heard Jeanne's tone. After all, considering the vast difference in rank between them, this kind of interrogative tone wasn't appropriate and should have warranted Jeanne's severe punishment.
But he decided to let the matter go and didn't pursue it because he was aware that what happened to Jeanne this time could be said to be his blunder. So, he still needed to provide a proper answer to appease this young miss's anger.
Before he could answer, Captain Amanda spoke on his behalf, "The Mecha team has already docked and is ready to be carried down in 5 minutes."
Jeanne looked at the top of the wall, and indeed there were six mecha hanging from the cranes, slowly descending. However, it still didn't ease her heart at all. She turned her head below, looking at a single female soldier among the flood of monsters anxiously.
Looking at how restless Jeanne had been for this seemingly insignificant soldier, Sistine felt really displeased and accidentally blurted out his thoughts, snorting in disdain.
"It's good that she knows her place. At least this way, her life will be a little bit more useful."
But just after he made this comment, he could feel a chill creep up on his spine as many sharp gazes fell on him, causing his body to shudder inexplicably.
He could sense at least four pairs of eyes looking at him with killing intent, stronger than the others.
"What do you say?" a toneless voice icier than iceberg entered his ears through the intercom.
"I… Jeanne… I just..." When he saw Jeanne turn her head, facing him, he somehow had an illusion that she was staring at him like she was looking at a dead man, even though he couldn't possibly know what exactly the expression was that Jeanne had currently under her helmet.
He frantically searched for words to defend himself but found that the words choked in his throat vehemently refused to be uttered.
"Bug off!" Jeanne couldn't help but snap at him and immediately blocked his ID to vent her anger.
General Frode shook his head, giving him a mocking gaze under his helm, looking at him like he was looking at a fool. It was evident to the eyes how much Jeanne valued this little officer known as the "Death Reaper."
Even he had grown to appreciate Keiko's tenacity and potential from what she had done this time. Had she survived today, General Frode was even entertaining the thought of poaching this little girl into his team. She might be able to replace the vacant seat of his adjutant after Colonel Rajeev's betrayal.
'It's a pity…'
He glanced below once more, looking at the figure of a soldier wielding a pair of sabers in both of her hands while surrounded by uncountable monsters' dead bodies and spilled blood scattering with her in the center, which seemed like a blooming red spider lily grown on the shore of the nether river, then shook his head, sighing in lamentation.
Despite the upcoming reinforcement, she needed a miracle to stay alive until then.
Although the rescue mission could be counted as successful, the atmosphere turned dark, like attending a funeral.
At that time, a hoarse but calm voice broke the gloomy silence in the room.
"Don't worry, Major Jeanne. Second Lieutenant Keiko is much harder to kill than you thought. Believe me, I was there with her in so many deadly situations, but both of us were still alive and well until today," said the simpleton Antonio to Jeanne, and it didn't sound like just a simple consolation but stemmed from his own deep conviction, making Jeanne's heart move.
"Yeah, that girl is a tough nut. She is more of a cockroach than an actual cockroach," Dr. Leah added, in a slightly joking tone.
"She is one of my best personnel. I believe she will survive through this hell," Captain Amanda nodded in agreement.
Jeanne didn't muster a response, her eyes still fixed on the descending mecha, keeping track of their movement, which was as slow as a snail in Jeanne's eyes.
She tried her hardest to convince herself to believe what they said was true.
General Frode, who kept his silence before asking Jeanne, "We should get out of here while there is still no flying Zerg or predator in sight. But, Major Jeanne, what do you think?"
"We wait," Jeanne replied with a determined voice, "I want to see her rescued with my own eyes."
Although he wanted to say that it was better for her to not see the tragic event that was soon to unfold, he kept the words in his heart and didn't say anything more other than instructing the helicopter's pilot to increase their altitude.
As the helicopter ascended, a rumbling sound suddenly came from below, causing everybody's expression to turn ashen.
They instantly lowered their heads to look below and saw that Keiko was already on her knees while waves of monsters were about to drown her alive at any moment soon.
Keiko's face lost its color, and a grieving scream echoed through everybody's intercom.