Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 44: Fortress Siege (4)

Chapter 44: Fortress Siege (4)

Four days after receiving weapons from Orvo and enjoying the incredible delicacy of dried fruits that seemed otherworldly, I was brought by Orvo to the grasslands north of the fortress. The forces of the coalition army were deployed on top of the hill, and we had the geographical advantage.

From here, we could clearly see the invading army’s formation as they marched from a distance. Compared to the ten thousand strong coalition army forces that set out from the fortress, the invading army had only around two thousand troops at most. In terms of numbers, we had a significant advantage.

However, the invading army was accompanied by autonomous metal boxes, some of which were large boxes with cylindrical weapons mounted on top. There were about twenty of them. The fact that they could move and fire flaming projectiles while on the move was a significant threat. Our numerical advantage could easily be overturned.

“Oh, it’s spectacular!” Orvo exclaimed with excitement as he looked down on the enemy formation from the top of the hill. It was easy for him to be carefree since he wouldn’t be at the frontline. As for me, I was still anxiously waiting for instructions, not knowing what I would be tasked with.

Unconsciously, I reached out my hand towards the scabbards of the swords draping on both of my hips. I couldn’t even dare to say out loud that I had become proficient in using them, but thanks to these swords, there might be a chance for me to survive. Well, I really hope so.

“Um, about today’s mission… It’s almost the same as before. Approach from a different direction alone and destroy several of those fire-breathing war chariots… those ones with the cylindrical thing on top, you know? They’re asking for the impossible, saying that regular projectiles won’t work against you,” Orvo explained.

Fire-breathing war chariots, huh? The naming could use more creativity, but I suppose it’s better to be straightforward since it’s an enemy weapon. It’s true that they’re war carriages used to launch flaming projectiles.

To approach such weapons alone and destroy them, it’s an unreasonable request. I wish I could refuse, knowing that it’s impossible, but since Orvo has already accepted it, I have no choice but to do it. Ah, I don’t want to die… but I can’t run away. I have no choice but to do it.

“They have about twenty of them, so at least destroy ten of them. Well, you can do it, right? Do your best!” Orvo said with encouragement.

Don’t talk like it’s none of your business. You make me do more dangerous things than Georg, even though you treat me better on a daily basis. Sigh, I really don’t want to go.

As I looked at the location that would soon become the battlefield with a sinking feeling, the invading army finally began its advance. Their equipment looked different from when they were defending the fortress.

Their armor was noticeably thicker, boasting larger shields and massive battleaxes that surpassed the equipment of the coalition army. It appeared to be tailored for close-quarters combat, exuding an air of specialization. The sight of the army corps, reminiscent of a mass of steel, marching in neat formation was intimidating even from a distance.

The fire-breathing war chariot, my designated target, loomed behind them, curiously stationary since it had first emerged. Could they be planning to launch flaming projectiles from there? I contemplated whether I would need to engage in a chase-and-fight scenario while traversing the battlefield, but it seemed that might not be necessary.

“Well then, looks like they’re moving too. Alright, take care.” Orvo said.

“……”

As I prepared to head towards the battlefield, fully aware of the mortal danger that awaited me, Orvo waved his hand as though seeing me off for a casual outing. I had lost even the will to protest inwardly, and with a suppressed sigh, I sprinted across the grasslands to destroy the fire-breathing war chariot.

This time, I had circled around from the western side of the coalition army, using my spiritual power to turn the ground into sand and burrow underground to approach the war chariot. I made sure to keep my fighting spirit and spiritual power restrained to the utmost. I didn’t want to die, so I wanted to avoid combat as much as possible.

“Powerful spiritual energy… Has the battle of spiritual arts begun?” I sensed the surging spiritual power from the coalition army’s side on the ground, flying towards the invading army. Surely, a powerful spiritualist had unleashed large-scale spiritual art, just like during the siege of the fortress.

On the other hand, I didn’t sense any significant spiritual power from the invading army’s side, and there were no signs of any detonation of spiritual arts. They must have somehow managed to defend against it using means beyond my imagination. They were capable of employing technologies that I couldn’t fathom, and could easily pull off such feats.

(I should be getting closer to the first war chariot about now; there are no signs of power nearby….then let’s finish this quickly.)

I moved effortlessly underground, making my way towards the first fire-breathing war chariot.I sharpened my senses and searched for any presence around me, but fortunately, there were no formidable foes like the white armored soldiers. With haste, I aimed to swiftly eliminate this war chariot and move on to the next one.

When I arrived directly beneath the war chariot, I utilized the reinforced claws of my exoskeleton arm to pierce through its bottom, opting not to draw my sword. Despite its sturdiness, the war chariot seemed unprepared for an attack from below, and my two arms easily penetrated its underbelly. The force of my sudden assault caused the war chariot to flip over, succumbing to the momentum of my strike.

As I pulled out both arms, I swung my tail with all my strength. The impact from my tail, encased in an exoskeleton, bent and distorted the fire-breathing war chariot. There seemed to be soldiers inside, but they were likely dead by now.

“?????!?”

“???!????!”

The soldiers from the invading army, presumably the escorts of the fire-breathing war chariot, shouted something at me as they fired metal projectiles from their tube-like weapons. I defended myself against their attacks with my hardened exoskeleton and then dove back into the sandy ground without retaliating.

My mission was to destroy the fire-breathing war chariots, not to kill the soldiers who were guarding them. I held no grudges or hatred towards them, and there was no reason to go out of my way to kill them. So I ignored them and focused only on the targets of my mission.

I continued to move underground and attacked the nearest fire-breathing war chariots repeatedly. I only had to do this ten times in total. As time progressed, I successfully destroyed four war chariots quickly.

(Only six more to go… but there is a strong presence near the closest fire-breathing war chariot. There might be white armored soldiers. Let’s try to bypass them.)

Sensing a formidable presence, I abandoned the idea of attacking the nearest fire-breathing war chariot from my current location. I had thought this during the battle on the outer walls as well—the white armored soldiers were on a different level. I didn’t think I couldn’t defeat them, but failing to complete my mission because of them would be disastrous. Avoidable battles should be avoided.

Considering the possibility of my imperceptibility being compromised, I took a significant detour to avoid detection. The strong presence I sensed remained stationary without chasing after me. It seems I went unnoticed.

Having successfully avoided combat, I resumed my mission to destroy the fire-breathing war chariots. Preventing surprise attacks from underground was challenging, hence the war chariots were being destroyed one after another. My mission was progressing smoothly, and I finally succeeded in destroying nine war chariots.

(Should I choose that spot for the last one?)

As I had chosen, it was a location without a strong presence. I emerged from underground, swiftly punctured a hole in the war chariot, and demolished the tenth target with my tail. I could hear the invaders’ curses echoing in the air as I quickly retreated back underground, thinking the ordeal was over.

However, to my surprise, a powerful impact struck my head—not just once, but repeatedly. I was taken aback and fell abruptly from the force, rendering me unable to retreat back into the sandy ground or to the fortress.

As I took a defensive stance and stood up, I sensed danger and leapt backward. Just then, something dropped where I had been standing. If I hadn’t heeded the instinctive sense of crisis whispering to me, I might have been trampled on.

“????, ?????”

The fallen figure was indeed a white armored soldier, as expected. However, this soldier was different from the ones I had fought before. The quality of his fighting spirit and spiritual power felt distinct, and most notably, his armor and weapons were completely different.

His right arm was not a rotating blade, but a regular human arm. Instead, he wielded a strangely designed sword with a slim blade and a haphazardly arranged hilt and guard. In his left hand, he held a cylindrical weapon with two thick barrels arranged vertically.

I tried to escape by crouching low, but before I could, the cylindrical weapon in the soldier’s left hand fired flames. As one of the barrels lit up, I felt an incredibly heavy impact on my shoulder. I rolled on the ground again.

It seemed that dozens of metal fragments were simultaneously shot from the thick barrel. Each individual fragment was not particularly powerful, but when they all hit at once, their combined force was not to be underestimated. I got up while rotating my shoulder to assess my condition. Alright, I can still fight.

The white armored soldier charged towards me as I got up. He fired another round of fragments towards me, but knowing their power, I crossed my arms and defended firmly.

This time, I managed to hold my ground without tumbling over. The white armored soldier swung his sword towards me. I deflected it with my tail, but immediately after, metal fragments struck my head. The fragments were fired from a concealed weapon in the hilt of his sword.

There must have been a cylindrical weapon integrated into the hilt of his right-hand sword, firing metal fragments. That must have been the source of the jumbled-up part. It appeared that the invaders had a preference for this type of weapon that shot metal fragments.

The cylindrical weapon integrated into the sword seemed to be highly advanced, capable of firing larger projectiles at a higher velocity than the invading army’s regular soldiers’ weapons. It must have been what initially struck my head. Thanks to my exoskeleton, there was no bleeding, but my head felt dizzy as the exoskeleton dented and shook. That bastard got me good.

The soldier attempted to aim the cylindrical weapon in his left hand at me again, but I blocked it with my right elbow and punched him in the face with my left fist. Though he blocked it with his sword, the force of the punch sent him flying backwards.

“giggage gugoga, gagugigaga” (If running is not an option, then I have no choice but to fight.)

Realizing that escape was not a viable option, I swiftly unsheathed my swords from my left and right hips. In my right hand, I tightly gripped a white double-edged straight sword that once belonged to the old holy knight. It was now slightly shorter, designed for easy one-handed use, with a distinctive rounded tip that could still deliver a deadly thrust when properly sharpened.

In my left hand, I wielded a black sword that had been smelted using my claws. It was a wide and thick single-edged blade, considerably heavy even with my use of reinforced exoskeleton to increase my strength. It seemed to have a weighted core inside. With my sturdy exoskeleton to rely on for strength, I could easily crush armor with a single powerful strike.

Feeling grateful toward the old man, I raised my swords and charged forward. The soldier fired his cylindrical weapon, but I deflected the bullets with a swing of my left-hand sword. Then, with my right-hand sword, I struck upwards, as our swords clashed fiercely… my sword easily cut through the soldier’s sword.

…..Was that even possible? I hadn’t even activated the swords’ spiritual circuits! Maybe it was because I hadn’t activated them that my opponent hadn’t either. Still, cutting one sword with another… What kind of sharpness was that?

Both the soldier and I were equally shocked. We regained our senses at the exact same moment. I swung my left-hand sword, aiming at the soldier’s cylindrical weapon. My sword sliced through several of the soldier’s fingers along with the weapon, and at point-blank range, metal fragments struck my chest.

The impact was tremendous, grinding against my exoskeleton and causing intense pain. But this was my chance. That soldier was an enemy who threatened my life. To increase my chances of survival, I had to defeat this soldier right here and now.

Ignoring the pain and controlling it, I fiercely attacked the soldier. This time, I activated the spiritual circuits in both of my swords, unleashing their true power. The brilliance of spiritual power trailed behind as I swung the swords from left and right, aiming to trap the soldier in between.

“Gige!” (Die!)

“?????!”

The soldier threw the sword that I had cut earlier at me. But before it could reach me, it exploded in a massive blast right in front of me. I brushed away the annoying shockwave and stepped forward… but there was no white-armored soldier in sight.

He had escaped. Realizing this, I was momentarily stunned. I hadn’t expected him to actually escape from me, as I thought I would be the one escaping.

It seemed that perhaps the enemy didn’t want to meet his demise either. This thought made sense to me. I sheathed my two swords and swiftly began moving, using my skills to burrow into the sand transformed ground.

***************

TN: die in Japanese is shine, lol that’s why he says gige!