Chapter 537: The Last Mission

“‘Captain Hodge’.”

Hodge waved his hand. “I merely went ahead first. The White Mist had already closed in—this was the last thing we could do.”

The Conductor gritted his teeth and replied quietly, “Alright.”

The whistle sounded, its long and short notes carrying the message outward.

Hodge walked toward his men.

“Boys, I have a mission. I need a few hands!”

“Is it dangerous?” a young man asked with a playful grin, drawing a burst of laughter.

Hodge was the highest-ranking officer here, yet instead of directly issuing an order, he came to ask. Everyone already guessed the nature of this task.

Hodge also laughed. “Not dangerous, but you’ll need a loud voice. I plan to take a look inside the White Mist and want to bring a few people along.”

“That’s good. We thought you were going to ask us to help Miss Gwen change her magazines.” The Soldiers all stood up, then exchanged glances.

No one backed down, no one hesitated. Gwen’s machine-gun fire hadn’t stopped. They had long held a breath in their chests—they wanted to prove Castel’s courage before this lady of the Resistance Army.

Hodge looked around and saw that no one refused, so he simply began naming them.

“I’ll go in first. No matter what I see, I’ll shout it out immediately. Then comes Blue—enter when my voice disappears and continue reporting information. Then Milo, Lawson, and Hoof. Oh, and Lord Ash, please help cover us at that time.”

They had to step out from the Train and confront the surge of White Bones directly. They did not fear death, but they feared the message would never make it out.

“No problem,” Ash said in a low voice.

Soon, a small squad of Expeditionary Army Soldiers stepped out of the Train. Hodge personally led the team, while Ash followed far behind, her ghostly glowing eyes sweeping the nearby monsters from time to time.

The White Mist had pressed close. No matter how dense the bullets were, some White Bones slipped through unscathed. The Mist kept squeezing inward, bit by bit. It wouldn’t be long before all of them disappeared within the White Calamity.

The machine guns on the roof struggled to clear a path for Hodge’s group. They reached the edge of the White Mist smoothly. Hodge licked his lips, stared at the Mist not far away, clenched his teeth, and prepared to charge in.

But a comrade’s shout came from behind.

“Captain!”

“What is it?”

“The whistle sounded again—it’s from outside. Should we listen first?”

Hodge nodded, fumbling to pull out his notebook and began recording the whistle sounds.

The long and short blasts transmitted a message in Hughes Code. Hodge wrote down each letter stroke by stroke, then pieced them into words.

“‘Don’t enter, reinforcements… arriving soon!’”

“Mm… reinforcements? What reinforcements? They still can’t get through the White Mist.”

“Cap–Captain, look!!!” a Soldier shrieked behind him, his voice cracking.

Hodge froze and looked around. Nothing seemed unusual. He was about to ask when the surroundings suddenly darkened.

A massive shadow blocked out the sun, shrouding the earth.

He sensed something and slowly lifted his head—then his body began to tremble.

An enormous oval-shaped body, with a snarling maw painted across its front, and eyes the color of blood glaring with pure violence—its appearance was a threat to any Enemy.

But at this moment, the Expeditionary Army felt nothing but excitement.

An Airship—it was Castel’s Airship!

The White Calamity’s Mist stood like an insurmountable Wall, forcing Mortals into despair. But the Airship soared above the skies and passed over the White Mist from above!

“Damn, how did I forget this?” Hodge’s eyes burst with joy. The Expeditionary Army Soldiers broke into cheers.

For a moment, even the assault of the White Bones halted. They all lifted their heads toward the sky, then turned back toward the Train and charged in madness!

The bomb bay doors of the Airship opened, and the machine guns below fired first.

This time, Hodge’s team needed no orders. They immediately turned and rushed back toward the Train. Ash rose upright, her six arms opening fire in all directions to cover them.

The assault of the White Bones surpassed every previous wave. As if sensing these people wanted to escape, they charged forward without care for their lives. The once wave-like assault surged into a tsunami!

“Someone is absolutely commanding these monsters! Damn Devil Fish—one day I’ll rush into the White Mist and drag him out!” Hodge shouted while struggling forward with his Soldiers.

Three Airships had come in total. One descended slowly while firing its machine guns; the other two remained farther away, constantly dropping Aerial Bombs.

The Aerial Bombs had far greater destructive power than machine guns, but their kill radius was hard to control—they could only bomb the outer areas to ease pressure on the Expeditionary Army.

Soon, the first Airship descended close to the ground and tossed down rope ladders.

Airships required solid ground to land safely. If not, they needed a secure area where more mooring cables could be tied. Here, neither condition existed.

If the Airship actually landed, it would block the Train’s machine-gun firing arcs. They were already barely holding back the White Bones—if the monsters damaged the Airship, it would be over.

“Up! Get on the Airship, quickly!”

Hodge directed the Soldiers one by one to climb the rope ladder. Each rope ladder had a weight limit. After one squad ascended, the crew above pulled the ladder up and threw down a new one.

The White Bones pushed against the roaring machine guns, inching forward. Soon, even the Dragon’s Breath Cannons on the roof fired—their effective range was only within a hundred meters.

Fortunately, most Soldiers had already been evacuated by ladder.

“Gwen! Get up there! You don’t need to keep fighting here!”

“No! Without me, the White Bones on the right will break through! Your machine-gun firepower is weaker than mine—I must hold this position!”

“You can fire from the Airship too!”

“No! If I’m gone even for a moment, the White Bones will surge through!”

With fewer Soldiers remaining on the Train, its firepower inevitably weakened. The Airship relied mainly on bombing; its machine-gun stations were limited. The ground battle began to falter.

Hodge looked anxiously at Gwen, then at the White Bones in the distance.

He knew Gwen was right—but before departure, he had been ordered to ensure her safety. If they waited too long, she might not be able to board the Airship at all.

“Gwen, listen. There’s still plenty of explosives inside the Train. Lord Ash already tossed them in a circle outside. We’ll detonate them in a moment and use the chance to get you up!”

Gwen glanced at the White Bones around them and frowned. “That doesn’t seem workable.”

“We can only risk it!”