Chapter 970

“Kachien!”

“Kanna, you’re here already? You still don’t look well...”

As Kanna joined up with Kachien, she shook her head at the wave of concern around her and spoke in a firm, humorless tone.

“The Deputy Commander can’t be absent for long. I need to help too. The most urgent issue right now is identifying and repairing the damaged parts of the seawall, right?”

Kanna’s speech flowed so naturally, it was as if she had been at the strategy meeting all along. She spoke like someone who already knew everything without needing any briefing. The others were quietly surprised, but Kachien simply nodded without blinking.

“Yeah. With just the people we have here, we can’t check everything or fix it all.”

Kachien had been working to assess and regroup the available forces after Kishiar left. During that process, they had discovered the seawall’s structural issues. The high seawalls built jointly by the Cavalry and the Imperial Army had held back the sea waves and monsters until now. But after enduring thirteen consecutive attacks, some sections had weakened, collapsed, and developed gaps within.

If all Cavalry members were present and at full strength, they could’ve inspected and repaired it swiftly. But right now, they were short on manpower, low on energy—and pressed for time.

Unlike the anxious members around him, Kachien’s face was steady. Kanna, gazing at her friend’s calm expression, asked:

“Kachien, do you have a plan?”

“Hmm... Kind of. Thankfully, the seawalls in other regions are fine. It’s just the ones near Sharloin that are the problem.”

“Right.”

“I’m thinking of asking Elpokin to bring # Nоvеlight # Captain Suns here, just briefly.”

Captain Suns was currently in charge of a low-lying, vulnerable village. That area had already suffered from tremors and waves that carried monsters inland. But thanks to Suns’ clairvoyance, there hadn’t been any casualties so far.

That came at a cost, though—he had collapsed multiple times from overusing his ability while constantly monitoring the ground and surroundings.

“If he can make it, that’d be great... but is he in any condition to use his power?”

“I just exchanged messages with him. He said he could manage for a short while. Besides, the medical tent is right behind us, so we can get him treated immediately if anything goes wrong.”

Kanna paused, then nodded. She had already experienced firsthand just how capable the two medics in the Cavalry’s medical team really were.

“If he’s here, we’ll be able to pinpoint the most serious weak points in the seawall. So what’s the plan for the repairs?”

“Well... we can’t exactly dismantle and rebuild the seawall from scratch. But... I think we can attempt something temporary—just enough to reinforce it.”

“Something temporary?”

Kachien scratched his head and cast his eyes around at several nearby members. As Kanna followed his gaze, a realization dawned.

“Ah! I see.”

The people Kachien had gathered didn’t have flashy or destructive powers. Their abilities were more subtle: shifting the position of objects by touch, stretching or compressing objects temporarily. They were members of the Support Division, the very group Kanna led.

Their powers weren’t often needed in the middle of combat, which is why they had been able to last this long without burning out. But if used cleverly, those same powers could seal gaps and cracks in the seawall from the inside—where damage wasn’t visible from the outside.

“...Us?”

“What do you mean? You think we can pull this off?”

“Of course. Just think about it. If Captain Suns identifies the weak points, you just have to put the right stone in place and expand it to fill the gap. Sounds simple, right?”

For something that had been devised on the fly, it wasn’t a bad plan at all. But even so, the members glanced nervously at each other.

“My control’s a little off right now... If I mess up, couldn’t the whole seawall collapse?”

“Those who built it—people like Shingua and the others—probably knew the structure inside and out, but we don’t...”

“Don’t worry. We’ve got Kanna here too. Just give it a try, okay?”

Kachien gave them a gentle pat and smiled. It was the kind of smile even Yuder had admitted could win anyone over. The nervousness in the group slowly began to dissolve.

‘Poor Kachien... He’s working so hard in the Commander’s place. If he needs us, we can’t just stand by.’

“...Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Thanks.”

The members of the Support Division weren’t as tight-knit as the Combat or Recon squads, given their small numbers and diverse abilities. But they had trained together for a long time. That meant they knew each other’s powers well—an advantage in situations like this.

And the one who knew them best was, naturally, Deputy Commander Kanna.

“You all heard what Kachien said, right? Once Captain Suns arrives, I’ll read the information he gathers and translate it for you. We don’t have to succeed on the first try—just take it slow and steady.”

“Got it.”

“But what if we’re not done when another wave hits?”

One cautious member frowned as they asked the question. Kachien gave a slightly different kind of smile and scratched his head.

“Don’t worry about that. Just focus on the work. I’ll find a way to protect you all until it’s done—no matter what.”

“You?...”

Kachien wasn’t the type to make bold promises like this. But that’s precisely why it worked—his rare confidence had a strangely reassuring effect.

Kanna looked into his eyes. Somehow, she could tell what he was planning—even without him saying it.

‘He’s going to use that shadow barrier again. The one from the hailstorm.’

Back then, Kachien had created an enormous shadow dome strong enough to imprison Naham during his rampage. Kanna had always assumed he only pulled that off thanks to Kishiar’s help.

But now... Kachien seemed determined to do it again. Alone.

Kanna hesitated for just a moment—Could he really pull it off, in this condition? But then she nodded.

‘Of course. We trained under Yuder himself, didn’t we?’

It wasn’t blind faith born from hope. Kanna knew exactly how tenacious Kachien was. Since that day, he had probably never stopped practicing the shadow barrier in secret.

If he said he could do it—then he could. As Deputy Commander, all she could do now was support him.

“Alright. I won’t stop until we’re done. I’m counting on you.”

When Kanna voiced her trust so solemnly, the other members’ expressions grew firm. If Kanna, who knew Kachien best, believed in him this much—then so would they.

“Let’s do it!”

With that, they gathered and headed for the seawall. Not long after, Elpokin arrived with Suns in tow. Emmon, who had recently recovered from exhaustion, greeted him excitedly.

“Suns! I’ve never been so happy to see your face.”

“Emmon, wait... I feel sick... Ugh.”

It was Suns’ first time flying through the sky in someone’s arms, and his face was pale as a ghost. But he still knew what he had to do. Swallowing his nausea, he glared at the seawall and closed his eyes. A faint shimmer of mirage-like energy flickered around his temples.

“Captain Suns, can you see where the problems are?”

“Yes. I can see about five serious weaknesses.”

Opening his eyes, he immediately slumped from dizziness and collapsed onto Emmon’s back. But even as he gasped for breath, he stammered out what he had seen—locations of gaps within the seawall.

Anyone else might have struggled to understand. But standing before him was Kanna Wand.

Supporting him gently, Kanna activated her ability. In her mind, the seawall appeared as a three-dimensional structure, and Suns’ vague descriptions snapped into place as precise coordinates.

“Got it. Thank you. Please rest now.”

She turned immediately to the others.

“I think we did a similar training exercise with Yuder before, remember? This time, it’s real. Let’s begin.”

At first, there were of course mistakes. Moving stones into invisible gaps was no easy task. A few times, the seawall seemed like it might collapse.

But gradually, one by one, they began to succeed.

Kachien stood nearby, terrifyingly focused, ready to jump in at any sign of danger.

And finally—when only the two largest holes remained—

–Rumble...

“Kachien! Look over there—something’s wrong...!”

A low, ominous tremor rolled in from the sea. In the distance, a strange, massive blue wall appeared.

It was—of course—the final, fourteenth wave.

One Support Division member flinched, nearly losing control. Kachien shouted in a firm voice:

“Don’t look! I’ll handle it!”

“...Got it!”

Kachien summoned his power. Shadows surged from beneath his feet, crawling across the seawall and enveloping the members and Kanna—then rising, forming a barrier even taller than the wall itself.