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Chapter 76: The Infiltration Mission (10)

Chapter 76: The Infiltration Mission (10)

(TN: the Carnela port constructed fortress walls are three layered meaning there were three walls. This has been mentioned before.)

A strange looking fire-breathing war chariot stood on four legs, firing at the white armored soldier that was facing me from behind. With Mika riding on top of it, it could be assumed that it was an ally rather than an enemy. Once that was clear, things became simple. I swiftly crushed the head of the white-armored soldier, sheathed my sword, and seized the spear and shield he had been using. Then I leapt onto the fire-breathing war chariot.

“I’m relieved to see you’re safe. Mr. Marcellus is piloting this fire-breathing war chariot, and Rinne is inside as well. Let’s escape like this,” Mika said.

“….”

Indeed, it was a relief to know that they were safe. Nodding once, I offered the round shield I seized to Mika. Instantly, he grasped my intention and accepted the shield.

As soon as our brief exchange ended, the four-legged, fire-breathing war chariot sped towards the fortress walls. While running, it unleashed explosive flaming projectiles from its thick barrel, catching the white-armored soldiers off guard, and from its thin barrel, it scattered metal fragments of similar power to those installed on the invading army’s fortress walls. The surrounding armored soldiers were left defenseless and merely trampled underfoot.

Occasionally, there were enemies who climbed atop buildings, such as those warehouses, to launch attacks at us. Dealing with these scattered enemies, whom the fire-breathing war chariot couldn’t handle, fell under our responsibility. I sliced through the exploding projectiles with the spear I previously seized, while Mika defended with that sturdy round shield I gave him.

As we reached the very front of the fortress walls, the fire-breathing war chariot made a mighty leap. It seemed to have exerted all its power, but it couldn’t achieve the height required to surpass the towering wall in a single bound. The halfway point of the wall seemed to be its limit. Or rather, at this rate, it might just fall straight down like that…

“Whoa!?”

“….!”

However, my concerns proved unfounded. Surprisingly, the fire-breathing war chariot clung to the vertical wall with its four legs. It appeared that some kind of spiritual circuit was inscribed on the claws at the tips of its legs.

While Mika and I held onto the chariot and didn’t fall, I couldn’t help but feel like Marcellus should have given us some kind of warning. After all, the change in posture was quite significant.

The four-legged, fire-breathing war chariot effortlessly ascended the fortress wall with the same speed it exhibited on the ground. Much to my amazement, despite the legs shaking in motion, the body of the chariot remained remarkably stable, just as I had observed while it ran on ground. Perhaps the ride inside was surprisingly comfortable.

The fire-breathing war chariot reached the top of the fortress wall and approached the pathway lined with defensive weapons. At that moment, something leaped out of the shadows. It was a white-armored soldier who had concealed himself until the last moment to launch a surprise attack. Damn it, I didn’t notice!

“?????!”

“Ugh!”

Mika intercepted the swing of the opponent’s battle axe, similar to the one used by Gora, with his body protected by the round shield. The sturdy shield withstood the impact of the battle axe without denting, only sustaining minor scratches.

However, Mika, who wasn’t particularly strong, was blown away by the force of the battle axe. He was sent flying off from the fortress walls. I extended my tail to try to catch him, but he slipped through… and continued to plummet downward.

“Gogogagu!” (You bastard!)

Fueled by anger, I swung my spear with all my might. The white-armored soldier intercepted my attck with his battle axe. Without engaging in a push-and-pull struggle, I swiftly raised my spear again, repeatedly striking down with relentless force. The relentless assault left the white-armored soldier on the defensive.

As I swung my spear, I searched for any sign of Mika. However, I couldn’t sense his presence. Could he have fallen to his death? No, he was skilled at masking his presence. He must be alive!

“????!”

“Gaga!?”

Although the white-armored soldier had been mostly on the defensive, he anticipated my spear and swung his axe horizontally. The heavy battle axe struck my side, shattering the exoskeleton and slicing through the flesh. Perhaps I was a bit hotheaded in my movements.

Thanks to my hardened exoskeleton, the wound was merely a superficial, and I remained unfazed since I was blocking my sense of pain. The the cold blade lodged in my abdomen felt like a foreign object, but I saw it as an opportunity. Gripping the blade of the battle axe with my left hand, I pulled back my spear and aimed for the masked part of the enemy’s face, thrusting forward.

“??????!”

“Tch…?”

However, the white-armored soldier twisted his head to dodge my spear thrust. The spear and its tip grazed the flesh of his cheek, causing only minor damage to the edges of his mask and helmet. Frustrated by my failed attempt to finish him off, I clicked my tongue and considered thrusting my spear once again. But before I could do so, the white-armored soldier suddenly froze in place.

The strength that the white-armored soldier had exerted, as if preparing to retrieve his axe, suddenly drained away, and he directly collapsed to his knees, falling to the ground. Standing behind him was a figure that appeared to be a demon, positioned with an outstretched palm… or rather, it was Mika.

The demon, presumed to be Mika, held a thick, round shield in his left hand while clad in the armor of the invading army. His helmet and mask had been removed, revealing a pair of triangular, long ears protruding from the top of his head, long fangs visible from his mouth, and four large, featherless, membranous wings bursting through the armor from his back.

“A four-winged bat… that is the creature I have been synthesized with.”

As if sensing what I wanted to know, Mika explained to me what he had been synthesized with. I see, it was some sort of a bat creature. That would explain his far superior detection abilities compared to mine. It made sense, considering I had fought against a bat before, and I knew their abilities.

The bat I had fought in the arena, which belonged to a different species from the one Mika fused with, possessed an exceptionally keen sense of hearing. Even when burrowing underground, it could accurately pinpoint my location and unleash wind spiritual art from above. As soon as I realized that hiding was futile, I emerged from the ground and created a sandstorm with my spiritual power, causing it to crash towards the ground, and then swiftly stabbed it with my poisonous stinger, securing my victory.

Back to the current matter, while Mika had fallen from the fortress walls, being a flying type of demon, he must have managed to return without crashing to the ground below. It seems there was no need for me to go to his rescue. In fact, he had managed to take down the white-armored soldier from behind. I have no idea how he did it, but it’s reassuring.

After confirming Mika’s survival, the fire-breathing war chariot piloted by Marcellus leaped once again. This time, it made a diagonal leap, successfully transitioning from the innermost wall to the middle wall. If it could make one more leap, it would reach the outermost wall… provided the two individuals standing in front of us allow us through.

“?????.”

“???, ???.”

Already stationed on the middle wall was two white-armored soldiers, positioned in a way that blocked the path of the war chariot. What would Marcellus do? Would he forcefully break through, or would he deliver a significant blow to ensure our safety before making the leap?

Marcellus’s choice was to prioritize ensuring our safety. He adjusted the barrel and aimed it slightly to the right, not at the white-armored soldiers but at the passage in front of the fortress wall. The flaming projectile was launched, causing the wall to crumble, unleashing a blast that engulfed the soldiers. The shattered debris from the broken wall scattered and ricocheted off the surface of the fire-breathing war chariot.

Simultaneously, the white-armored soldier on the left side dashed towards us. By directing the barrel to the right, it meant exposing the chariot’s vulnerable back on the left side.

“Gagaah!”

“????!”

It was I who intercepted the approaching white-armored soldier coming from the left side. with the spear in my right hand and the black sword in my left hand, I clashed head-on with the opponent’s sword, which was one size larger and thicker than the great sword Tigar wielded. As the solid weapons collided, a deafening roar reverberated through the air.

While our physical strength seemed evenly matched, I was at a significant disadvantage due to the weight of the weapons. My sword and spear were effortlessly deflected. However, that was exactly what I wished for.

“????……??!?”

Confident in his impending victory, the white-armored soldier took a bold stride towards me, sensing my faltering posture. Swinging his colossal great sword overhead, both the arms were severed from the elbows. And of course, it wasn’t my arms.

Just moments ago, there was a white-armored soldier who wielded a battle axe that Mika had defeated. In fact, I had managed to retrieve the axe by winding my tail around its tip, and with the force of my tail, I swung it forcefully. My long and thick tail possessed greater strength than my limbs, allowing me to wield the massive battle axe with ease.

However, I couldn’t precisely hit the intended target. Originally, I aimed for his neck, but the battle axe only succeeded in severing both his arms without delivering a fatal blow. Well, my current objective was merely to escape from here, and it wasn’t necessarily essential to kill him, so it wasn’t a significant failure.

“Gogah!”

“???…!”

I delivered a front kick to the chest of the white-armored soldier, who had retreated after losing both arms, sending him plummeting beneath the fortress wall. With my left hand, I sheathed the black sword I held, and then I lifted the great sword that remained gripped by the white-armored soldier’s severed arms using my left hand.

A solid weight, befitting its size, could be felt through the handle, but it wasn’t as heavy as a battle axe. It was just light enough to be wielded with a single hand. I forcefully untagled the severed arms from the handle before I hurriedly jumped on top of the fire-breathing war chariot.

“?????!”

“Nuugoooooo!”

The other white-armored soldier, who seemed to have withstood the fire-breathing war chariot’s attack, was soaring through the air, manipulating and confounding the war chariot. Emitting flames from his back and agilely leaping through the air, he swung a metallic whip, intending to destroy the fire-breathing war chariot. Each time the whip struck something, purple lightning crackled, indicating it was imbued with electric power. How troublesome.

While in mid-air, Mika also flew and protected the fire-breathing war chariot from the versatile attacks of the whip using his round shield. However, it seemed that he was struggling to carry the heavy shield while flying. His movements appeared sluggish as he managed to barely fend off the attacks.

As for the fire-breathing war chariot that was being protected by Mika, it seemed to be constantly maneuvering the barrel’s tip in a frantic attempt to avoid hitting Mika. If things continued like this, Mika might end up being killed in front of the fire-breathing war chariot. The moment I thought that, my body moved on its own accord.

“???!?”

“Phew! Thank you for the help!”

Using the fire-breathing war chariot as a foothold, I leapt and thrust my spear into the enemy’s whip, causing it to entangle my weapon. Electric currents coursed through my body through the spear, but I ignored them and pulled the spear with all my might, raising the great sword in my left hand.

Perhaps sensing the danger, the white-armored soldier released the whip just before the approaching great sword could strike. In that instant, the electric shocks attacking my body ceased, indicating that the weapon required physical contact to exert its electric power.

With the release of the whip, the great sword merely sparked against the armor’s chest area. Without hesitation, I swiftly drove the battle axe held by my tail into that very spot once again. The white-armored soldier seemed to attempt to evade, but the blade inflicted damage to the mechanism on its back used for flight. The momentum of the flames emitted from his back rapidly weakened, and the white-armored soldier began to fall.

Now, there was no one left to impede our escape. Almost simultaneously, Mika and I climbed onto the fire-breathing war chariot, and Marcellus immediately made it jump. Landing on the outermost fortress wall, we swiftly jumped outward once again. And with that, we successfully managed to escape from Carnela Port.