Iloti also performs a solo dance at the end of the memorial. If only the festival could be canceled......

By the way, I can stop Ilotti!, Griffiths suddenly grabbed a glimmer of hope. Yes, let her hide at home and wait for the riots to subside. How to explain to Iloti and get her to give up solo dancing is a problem, but Griffith believes that the girl will listen to her in the end.

If there is no riot in the end, most of the Hanami Festival will be ruined~ Angry city hall and tourists...... Hey, let's not think about them yet. I can take Iloti to Holmonwards.

......

They were soon received by the mayor. This elderly civil servant is also one of the island's heads of government, and it happened that the festival came very early today. He had already heard the news of the death of the mage stationed in the battle, and his expression was very flustered.

There was also a captain of the city defense army who came with him. From the point of view of rank, although the Extraordinary Squad led by the stationed mage and the City Defense Brigade are at the same level, in the event of an Extraordinary Case or Black Magic Incident, the local City Defense Brigade must accept the leadership of the Extraordinary Team. This captain himself is also a Sequence 9, but his subordinates are all ordinary people.

The mayor listened quietly for a moment to Griffith's suggestion to send Winston to strengthen the defense, and after a long while, he slowly spoke, "Guys, I understand the situation. Even a strong man like Lord Conix has been killed, which shows what a ferocious enemy and a dire situation we are facing......"

But~ You're going to say the word "but" next. Griffith sensed something in the mayor's words.

"However, Lord Winston is not in the same system as us, and I am afraid that he will not be willing to go to Hepu Town to take charge of the memorial service," the mayor said slowly, "and I will ask the secretary to question him again." ”

Amber's brow was already furrowed, and she was about to have a seizure.

"Yes, Lord Mayor," Griffith continued, "Miss Amber has detected a powerful trail of dark magic, and if the seal were activated at the memorial site, it would have a great chance of causing a tragedy that would shock the whole nation. ”

"I understand, I know," the mayor wiped his forehead, "then, captain, your men must keep the memorial safe, and we will count on you." ”

"No, Mayor, my boys are all ordinary people!" the Captain sent Griffith an assist, "please ask Lord Winston to help us." ”

"I can't guarantee that," the mayor's face darkened, and he stood up and walked around the office a few times. How many of you?

"Then please issue martial law and end the memorial. Griffith said immediately.

"Hanami Matsuri is our most important festival, and if you've ever lived here, you'll understand what it means," the mayor said with a sincere expression. Hanami is the same as the New Year on the mainland, the beginning of a new year in our calendar. Citizens who identify with our culture celebrate on this day, say goodbye to the past year, and welcome the new year with their families.

"I understand your difficulties and will do my best to provide available resources to assist.

"However, the information available alone will put an end to the annual memorial service...... This is a decision that the town hall cannot make. Thank you for your understanding. ”

Amber was about to slap the table, but Griffith stopped her.

"Mayor, the mage stationed there, and a group of cultists running around with dangerous seals, you must have realized in your experience that the situation is so bad that it is difficult to attach to it, and the safety of thousands of people and the reputation and future of the island may be at stake," Griffith said. Time is already very short, please agree that the official Extraordinary and the Captain of Hepu Town will form a former enemy committee deployed at the memorial site of Cangyue Mountain. ”

"No problem!" the mayor immediately grabbed his pen.

"I, I can't, I'm just Sequence 9!" the captain shook his head. I will obey the orders of the Council of Former Enemies. ”

The authorization to form the Committee of the Former Enemy was immediately signed, neither in consultation with the City Council nor in reporting to the higher levels of the army. Is this authorization invalid? The mayor seems to know that. Or maybe that's because of that? He signed it without any burden.

But that's okay, I don't mind that. Griffith took the power of attorney and put it in his arms, ready to use it to coordinate the necessary supplies.

At this moment, an official hurriedly walked in and whispered a few words to the mayor. The elderly magistrate suddenly came to his senses and led the three of them towards the outside of the city hall.

In the wide streets, a group of young people was waiting in a queue. They wore shabby army uniforms, most of them had no armor, and a few were even barefoot.

However, just by seeing them from afar, Griffith and Amber felt a murderous aura fill the air. However, when he walked in front of him, he found that the eldest of them was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and the youngest was only eleven or twelve years old, not as tall as Iloti.

The mixture of youthful childishness and substance-like murderous aura made everyone who saw them feel surprised and uneasy from the bottom of their hearts. Pedestrians and police walked around them from a distance, not even daring to look a few more times.

"They?" Amber vaguely had an answer in her mind, but still asked, "Young soldiers, have you just retired from the front?"

"Yes," the mayor pulled his bow tie and opened his mouth like a goldfish, "they are ......"

"Westillo Special Warfare Force," Griffith's voice was like ice, "the mountain warfare units active in the western and eastern battlefields are all made up of orphans of the western mountain people, where did you find them?"

"It's not me, it's the Governor's Mansion of the Sea District who transferred them," the mayor wiped the sweat from his forehead despite the very comfortable temperature in the early morning, "When we learned that the garrison mage had been killed, we immediately applied to mobilize more combat forces. They were the closest, the fastest to arrive. The military was originally going to send them directly back to Verona, but the situation was urgent, so they were transferred. ”

"Where's your commander?" asked Griffith, surveying the young soldiers, large and small, to the tallest of them all.

"The squadron leader has gastroenteritis and has been admitted to the hospital in the port district, the second lieutenant fell into the sea during the voyage, and there are no officers in the squadron," the oldest boy in the junior soldier walked out and calmly looked directly at the cadet knight on the steps, "I am Sergeant Oscar, the 167 members of the Westillo Special Operations Squadron, currently under my command. ”

"I've handed them over to you," the mayor said, turning to Griffith, "and every reinforcement that arrives will come to your aid as soon as possible, so do your best to keep the memorial safe and smooth." Please!"

The captain of the city defense army on the side looked nervous.

Although there is still a lot he doesn't know. But as a seasoned local commander, he had sensed something bad in Mage Winston's actions and the mayor's words. After saying goodbye to Griffith, he gathered his team and drove to Hepu with them and the Vestelo Special Combat Squadron that had just been sent.

Griffith and Amber also mounted their horses and rushed past the silent Vestillo squadron towards the town of Hepu.

......

Residents and tourists of Neopolis have already gotten up and gathered at the public bus stop to prepare for the town of Hepu. Officials from the city hall also got up early in the morning, pulling banners and slogans to guide visitors to the memorial service.

The tragedy of the garrison mage really made the town hall nervous. Although they could not make up their minds to end the memorials, they also significantly strengthened their deployment.

The city defense army and patrol police have all been mobilized, and the military and police patrolling from the road into Hepu Town to the mountain road leading to the memorial service are everywhere. A pair of vigilant eyes watched the tourists coming and going.

Amber reacted suddenly: "Griffith, in fact, your goal from the beginning was to get the town hall to approve the former enemy committee to use artillery. You already expected that they wouldn't be able to coordinate Winston's team and cancel the memorial, right?"

"Yes, but after all, it was a helpless move," Griffith shook his head, "Hepu Town is too big to cover the memorial ceremony site and the main road with these patrols alone, and most of the community is still unmanned. ”

"There aren't many cultists," Amber began to reassure herself and her companions, "they need to protect and operate the seals, and they don't have that much manpower to attack around." As long as we can hold out until the night and wait for the Transcendent Commandos, won't it be safe?"

Will the cultists give us this time?

Griffith shook his head: "There are too many tourists, and we can't carry out strict inspections without the full cooperation of the local authorities. If the seal is activated in the memorial service, it will be too late.

"So, I have one last resort. ”

"What?"

"I'm going to lock Iloti in the house, and then use her to threaten the organizers, I won't let her out if I don't take investigation and quarantine measures! The crowd has just begun to gather towards Cangyue Mountain, and there is still time to act," Griffith said viciously, "I have the flower girl in my hand, see what they do." ”

"Why don't you become a villain, you must have a good future. Amber complimented him.

At this moment, Griffith and Amber, who had already entered the town of Heura, suddenly heard a certain voice.

"Woo——!"

The anomalous sound came from the distant sky, gradually becoming clear.

It was a rapid and poignant trumpet that lingered in the air. Griffith and Amber, who heard the voice, felt a chill of fear down their spine, as if some unknown and unstoppable horror was coming.

"What's that sound?" Amber's face turned pale, and bouts of dizziness kept coming.

The bleak, high-pitched and terrifying terror trumpet sounded like a declaration of calamity.

Griffith felt enveloped by fear and despair, and he tried to open his mouth, but he couldn't speak.

Just down the street not far from him, the bustling tourists were unaware. They were laughing and eating snacks from Tsuruura's specialties, and from time to time they cast curious glances at the two people on military horses.

Something seemed to be falling from the sky......

Griffith held out his hand, and a white flake of snow fell into his palm.

Is it snowing? Will it snow at this temperature?" The curious midshipman rubbed his hands, and the "snowflake" disappeared immediately, leaving only a black mark in his palm.

It's not snowflakes, it's ashes.

Vast expanses of ash flew out of the incinerator, falling like goose feathers and snow. The whole of Hepu was shrouded in endless ashes.