Chapter 199: Escape From the Imperial Capital (3)
After Zald had called for everyone, my comrades who were on the second floor quickly came downstairs. It seemed they had already heard the plan from Zald and had decided who would be positioned where. Tigar’s and Asumi’s efficiency in such matters brought me huge relief.
“I heard everything from Zald, but you’re not pushing yourself too hard, are you?”
“No. There’s no problem.”
Tigar, who had come down first, was concerned about my physical condition. He had been with me throughout this journey, and he was aware that at one point, I had been so exhausted I couldn’t even stand on my legs. He was worried I might be overexerting myself.
However, I had truly recovered. Therefore, I confidently met Tigar’s gaze head-on and nodded my head. Seemingly satisfied, he briefly said, “I see,” and added nothing more.
While we were having our brief exchange, the others had nearly finished preparing for our escape. Finally, Marcellus, who had not yet regained consciousness, was carried onto Apao’s wagon, completing our preparations. Now, all that was left was to escape from the imperial capital.
“So… is everyone ready? As you might have heard, I will be leading the way. Shuu, Apao. Follow me without looking aside. Don’t fall behind.”
“Bumo!”
“Hihiin!”
“Tigar, Zald, Asumi. I leave the command of the guard to you.”
“Right.”
“Understood.”
“Leave it to me.”
“And… Decius. Why are you riding on top of the wagon?”
While I was doing the final check, Decius had climbed onto the roof of Apao’s wagon by himself. I had heard some noise and wondered what it was, but since I couldn’t see it from my position, I didn’t realize who was doing what until he appeared on the roof of Apao’s wagon.
Decius, with a wide grin on his face, raised something he had placed on the roof to show us. It was a gun, presumably used by some of the imperial soldiers.
“I found this while we were escaping. Actually, I pride myself on being second to none in handling this kind of weapon. I can’t fly, but may I provide cover from here?”
“Come to think of it, you did pick up something while I was guarding you,” Tigar said.
It seemed he had retrieved it when he was acting separately from me. I hadn’t noticed it when we regrouped, as we had other concerns at the time.
Decius was an excellent soldier in the imperial army, but his skills were still a notch below those of the special operations unit members. This wasn’t a problem with Decius himself, but rather a testament to the fighting power of the demons in our unit.
Originally, these men, who had survived despite being heavily mistreated as atonement soldiers, had become demons and lived through the war with the republic, finally forming the current special operations unit. Their strength as a unit would probably rival that of the “Dragonblood Knights” led by master.
Moreover, we needed to keep running until we escaped, so it was uncertain if Decius could keep up. While it was possible to enhance his physical strength and reduce fatigue with his fighting spirit, the members of the special operations unit could do the same. Keeping pace with the physically superior demons would be difficult for him.
Considering these circumstances, I had thought to leave the decision to fight to Decius himself. But it seemed my question was unnecessary. Decius would fight from atop the roof.
“Alright. Reduce the enemies as much as possible.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Mika and the others, the sky is in your hands. Inform me by telepathy if anything happens.”
“Understood. We’ll keep a close watch.”
“Is that all for the checks? Then…”
I created two sand pincers with my restored spiritual power. I compressed the sand to its limit in order to maximize its strength. Now I was ready to fight. I couldn’t use any other spiritual arts, but I had reliable comrades behind me. There shouldn’t be a problem.
“Let’s go!”
“””””Uooooooo!”””””
I vigorously swung my tail as hard as I could, following the demons’ cheers, dramatically smashing a large hole in the first floor’s wall. This created an exit for the wagons to burst out of. I then leaped out through the hole I made in the wall. Outside, I saw the imperial defense soldiers startled by the sudden noise as they turned around to look at me in panic.
They attempted to ready their weapons, but it was already too late. Before leaping out, I had deployed the sand pincers, synchronizing their release with my tail strike against the wall.
“A demon…!?”
“Gyaaaaaa!”
I bisected the two nearby soldiers with my two sand pincers, and after stepping forward, I cut down another soldier in the back with my twin swords before sweeping others away with my tail. This way, I successfully disrupted the formation of the imperial defense soldiers.
Now, I just had to believe in my comrades and charge forward without hesitation. Although I could see what was happening behind me, there was no room to provide support. I focused solely on cutting down the soldiers in front of me, carving a path through the battlefield where Remus’s soldiers and the imperial defense soldiers were clashing.
“Follow the Boss!”
“Grrrrrr!”
“Gaaaah!”
My comrades roared as they followed me, widening the hole I had made and mowing down the soldiers. By focusing solely on moving forward rather than defeating enemies, we quickly broke through the imperial soldiers’ ranks.
However, what awaited us ahead were the spirited soldiers of Remus. Unlike the defense soldiers, these men were not caught off guard. They seemed surprised that we were a large group of demons that were accompanied by two wagons, but most were actually pleased that an opportunity for a feat of arms was approaching.
“A demon has come!”
“Kill it…!?”
The two soldiers, who were just about to clash swords with me, were caught off guard when one of them suddenly lost strength and collapsed before I could even do anything. The soldier beside him and I were both surprised, but since I quickly grasped what had happened, I was less shocked and quickly beheaded the other soldier as if nothing had happened.
What actually happened to one of the soldiers was simple and clear. He had been sniped by Decius, who was on top of the wagon. The soldier was wearing armor and had probably enhanced his body with fighting spirit or spiritual power. In such a state, it’s difficult for a gunshot to inflict a fatal wound, but Decius managed to kill him instantly.
The method was precise: shooting the bullet right through the soldier’s eyeball. It sounds straightforward, but it was indeed a remarkable feat. Firearms are powerful weapons but have a critical flaw: the bullets… may not always hit the target.
When we first heard this from Asumi, we were puzzled, thinking, “What is she talking about? Soldiers get injured because the bullets hit them.” But she seemed to anticipate our confusion and continued to explain about guns amidst our bewildered looks.
Using the power of spiritual circuits, metal bullets are generated and fired through the air. This is the mechanism of a gun. Whether made in the Republic or the Empire, the principle is the same.
The difference lies in the fact that the Republic-made guns, although less powerful, consume less spiritual power, whereas the Empire-made guns consume more spiritual power but are more powerful. The former had to be designed that way because the spiritual power of Republic soldiers was weaker.
Returning to the subject at hand, guns fire bullets at high speed, but these bullets are small and light, despite being made of metal. They are greatly affected by wind and air resistance, and if the recoil at the time of firing isn’t controlled properly, the bullet’s trajectory can significantly deviate from its intended target.
If it were a normal spiritual art that was launched instead, one could track and adjust its trajectory following their line of sight, but this is impossible with the process of bullet firing. This makes it difficult for amateurs to even hit a target with such a weapon.
So, why do such weapons continue to play a significant role on the front lines? The answer lies in the innovation of making the bullets hit their target, one of which is rapid firing, which has been widely adopted. The idea was to fire repeatedly in the hope that some bullets would hit.
This was the conventional wisdom about guns and bullets, but Decius shattered that notion. From atop the swaying wagon, he shot precisely through the gap in a helmet, piercing a soldier’s eyeball. With Decius’s skill, a gun could be considered not just a weapon to scatter bullets and cause injury but a deadly long-range weapon capable of delivering fatal blows.
The fact that this was not a fluke was clear from the continuous fall of Remus’s soldiers. Decius’s shooting skills were evidently genuine. He was providing support from the shadows as I carved a bloody path. Thanks to his help, though, I was able to break through the formation laid by Remus’s soldiers without ever stopping.
“””Broken through!”””
“Don’t stop! Keep running! Keep going!”
“”””Uooooooooh!”””””
However, breaching the enemy lines was not our true objective. Our real goal was to escape from the imperial capital. This was merely the first obstacle in our path.
No one had forgotten that fact. When we finally breached the enemy lines, some couldn’t help but cheer, but a single sentence brought everyone back to focus. The real challenge was just beginning.
In truth, I believed escaping the imperial capital would be relatively easy. The city’s vastness must have made it difficult to defend. However, this also meant fully controlling it and preventing escapes was difficult.
In fact, during the battle with Karelvo, it was hard to pick out individual sounds, but in the imperial capital, amidst the shouts and screams, I could hear the voices of those trying to flee. Rather than cowering in fear, these people showed great resilience in their attempts to escape the city-turned-battleground.
[Master, I have a report.]
[What is it?]
As I ran, Mika’s telepathic message reached me. It looked like he had some news to share, and they were likely not good, judging by the tone of his voice. I decided to listen to the report.
[The gates leading out of the imperial capital are now battlefields, crowded with Remus’s soldiers, imperial defense soldiers, and civilians preparing to flee.]
[What did you say?]
[Soldiers from both sides have been deployed, probably to prevent civilians from escaping.]
[…I see]
I had an inkling of what Mika was trying to convey. Regardless of who emerged victorious between the two camps, the winner would reign over the imperial capital as emperor. Without civilians in the city, this victory would be meaningless. Both sides needed the civilians to stay, not escape.
Both sides were hostile towards each other, and the civilians were trying to escape under the watchful eyes of both. It was a three-way battle, huh? Inside and around the edges of the imperial capital, both areas had become hellish battlefields. My initial thought that escape would be easy was overly optimistic.
[I understand. Then our target must be that.]
[That? What do you mean?]
[You must have seen it too. The large hole that was recently made from the inside. How is it? Any people around that place?]
“…No, there’s nobody there.”
The target I had in mind was the large hole created by Karelvo’s breath. It was unlikely that civilians would approach such a place. If soldiers were being dispatched to deal with civilians, that hole could be our best chance.
Mika confirmed that there were no enemies in sight there. Good, we should head straight for that hole!
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