Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 200: Escape From the Imperial Capital (4)

I had decided to head for the large hole created by Karelvo instead of the imperial capital’s city gates. Mika was telepathically guiding me to the trench formed by the dragon’s breath tearing through the ground. Karelvo’s breath had melted the ground while piercing through the city walls. Following its path would lead us straight out of the imperial capital.

However, the route Mika provided wasn’t the shortest. This was because the width of the wagons following me meant that we couldn’t pass through overly narrow alleys.

I could have forced my way through by destroying the buildings, but that would inevitably result in a path filled with severe undulations. Forcing the wagons over such terrain could damage them, and in the worst case, they might break before we could escape.

More importantly, the wagons carried injured people, including Apao. Rough travel would be detrimental to their wounds. And Marcellus’s condition was particularly precarious. We had to try to avoid jostling them as much as possible.

“Demons! Take them down!”

“What’s that wagon—Guh!?”

Choosing somewhat wider roads inevitably increased the likelihood of us encountering enemies. Fortunately, Mika and our other comrades who were able to fly were keeping watch from above, preventing any sudden encounters.

Still, the threat of battle was ever-present. Every enemy encounter made me fear for the wagons’ safety. It was incredibly stressful. I was desperate to escape the imperial capital as soon as possible.

[We’ll reach the desired trench if we continue this way.]

[Understood. Let’s keep moving.]

After racing around the imperial capital for a while, it seemed we were finally approaching the trench carved out by Karelvo. However, this was not the time to let our guard down. It was precisely because we were on the verge of escape that we needed to be more vigilant.

Following Mika’s guidance, I stepped into the trench. Once inside, the peculiarity of the scene became strikingly clear. The buildings lining both sides of the trench had each lost a portion of their structure. Yet, when viewed together, the trench and the damaged sections of these buildings formed a perfect circle.

This indicated the precision of Karelvo’s breath, its power so immense that it didn’t cause unnecessary destruction. The terror of a dragon, a glimpse of its dreadful might, was laid bare before us. Karelvo was clearly on a rampage, but if he had become a dragon demon with stable strength and mind, I wonder if I would have won… To be honest, I wasn’t sure.

“Move forward! The exit is up ahead!”

“””Uooooooh!!!”””

No, this was not the time for wondering the what-if scenarios. My current focus had to be on sprinting through this trench and escaping to the outskirts of the imperial capital. Prioritizing this goal was imperative.

Fortunately, the ground that had been melted by the super-heated breath had already cooled down and hardened, making it as easy to walk on as if it were a paved road. There were areas strewn with debris, but these were mostly at the edges. Running through the middle posed no problem at all. In fact, this path was more stable than the debris-laden roads we had encountered before.

“Haha! This is great! Nothing in our way!”

“I can see the outside!”

“Hey, you bastards, don’t let your guard down!”

“Tigar’s right! Stay alert until the end! Zald, what about the rear?”

“They’re swarming! Don’t stop for anything!”

Some of my comrades seemed reassured by the trench that stretched straight to the outside, but Tigar and Asumi scolded them and tightened the group’s discipline. Zald, who was responsible for our rear, appeared to have pursuers behind him, so the judgment of the two was absolutely sound.

It seemed like there were enemies behind us, but for now, it appeared that no one was in front of us. However, I was almost certain that someone was lying in ambush. Because I could feel the presence of numerous foes around the hole, and they were not even hidden.

[Something is coming from outside the hole… that is!]

[Yes, I see it.]

Then, outside the hole, we encountered foes far more troublesome than I had anticipated. Emerging from both sides of the hole were two self-propelled artilleries.

They were similar to the four-legged ones used by the Republican army, but they were larger than the wagons pulled by Shuu and Apao, and their shape was subtly different. Most notably, the jet-black body was adorned with the imperial army’s emblem in golden paint.

“Are these self-propelled artilleries made by the Empire?”

“Boss, this is bad! We might manage, but if they target the wagons, there’s no escaping!”

Tigar was right; if we were targeted, we could simply dodge. However, it would be bad if the wagons were targeted. Shuu and Apao could detach and avoid them, but the carts would likely be blown away.

The cargo Shuu was pulling in his wagon was essential supplies needed after escaping the imperial capital. Our post-escape life would be difficult without these supplies; we couldn’t afford to lose them.

More importantly, in the wagon pulled by Apao were our comrades who couldn’t fight. While supplies could be gathered again if they were lost, the lives of our comrades were irreplaceable. We couldn’t afford to lose them.

As soon as the self-propelled artilleries appeared, it was Decius who acted first. He aimed at the self-propelled artillery with his rifle and fired. The bullets he shot flew straight towards the self-propelled artillery. Even with his excellent sniping skills, I wondered if a rifle could really be effective against self-propelled artilleries.

“…What’s this? One of them has stopped moving?”

“Phew…! Did I at least buy some time?”

“Nice shot, Decius.”

In response to my doubts, Decius answered with his results. Tigar and the others were too far away to see what had happened, but I saw it. I witnessed the moment Decius accurately slid a bullet into a horizontal gap in the front of the self-propelled artillery.

I knew nothing about the workings of a self-propelled artillery, but that must have been a viewing slot. The bullet that entered through there had likely penetrated someone inside. That had to be the reason it stopped moving.

“Tch, so that’s your move…”

However, the enemy seemed to have realized what had happened. The other self-propelled artillery that was still operational adjusted its angle to hide the viewing slot. Decius fired another bullet, but the angle had already changed. The bullet was deflected with a high-pitched sound.

Moreover, the self-propelled artillery that had stopped moving began to move again. Given its size, it was unlikely to be operated by just one person. Probably the driver of the artillery that was sniped had died, but someone else had taken over the controls immediately. That self-propelled artillery would not stop until it was destroyed.

“Decius, your sniping bought us enough time.”

Nevertheless, Decius’s sniping had bought us sufficient time. While he was doing that, I had already sent my sand pincers ahead. Before the other artillery could turn towards us, I dropped the sand pincers from above, clamping the two machine’s barrels with them.

The self-propelled artillery that was shot by Decius hadn’t fired yet, but the other one seemed to have launched a shell just as I clamped down on its barrel. The shell that tried to pass through the crushed barrel had nowhere to go and exploded inside.

The explosion didn’t just damage the barrel; it blew up the entire turret. Smoke billowed from every gap, likely killing everyone aboard. The other artillery’s barrel was also crushed, rendering it incapable of firing its main cannon without meeting the same fate. This meant there was no longer a threat to our wagons.

“Let’s move forward. Tigar and Asumi, take the lead ahead of Shuu.”

“Boss!?”

“Alright!”

Having confirmed the destruction of the barrel, I sprinted at full speed towards the other self-propelled artillery. The most troubling scenario now would be if this artillery positioned itself to block our path.

If it turned into a wall, we’d have to stop to clear it. We needed to completely incapacitate it while there was still room for the wagons to pass.

I leaped at top speed, spinning in the air, and slammed my tail onto the artillery that hadn’t exploded yet. The artillery was made of metal and likely reinforced with spiritual circuits. However, my exoskeleton was harder than metal and also strengthened with my own fighting spirit. Which one would prove stronger?

“…. Alright.”

My attack power triumphed over the artillery’s defense. The artillery was crushed and bent into a ‘く’ shape by my tail. Blood dripped from the gaps, and the soldiers inside were undoubtedly dead.

Although both self-propelled artilleries were now incapacitated, the situation was far from resolved. Behind the artilleries, nearly a hundred soldiers were positioned in readiness. Among them, a small unit of five armored soldiers stood out.

“You’ve done well, demon. But coming alone was foolish! Take him down!”

“Decide whether I’m foolish or not after you’ve killed me.”

Since one of the armored soldiers was speaking for the whole unit, he must be the commander here. My first target would be their leader then. Swinging my twin swords and sweeping aside soldiers with my tail, I continued to advance, breaking through the wall of soldiers. Relying on the strength of my exoskeleton, I completely ignored the blades coming from both sides.

Once I had broken through the soldiers, I was met by the armored soldiers, all poised for battle. They all wielded spears that were pointed directly at me. As expected of an elite unit, they showed no signs of panic or disorder after my breach.

“Attack!”

The five soldiers, standing side by side, thrust their spears simultaneously at me. These were similar to the ones used by the “Imperial Sword Knights” who fought against Kalervo. If so, they must have been engraved with spiritual circuits. I leaped upwards to dodge the spears.

As I jumped, five spears passed beneath my feet, their tips glowing red-hot, just like the weapons of those who had fought with Karelvo.

Having avoided the spears, the armored soldiers immediately aimed their left arms at me. If their equipment was like that of the “Imperial Sword Knights” I had seen earlier, then there should be gun barrels hidden underneath. This foresight allowed me to prepare.

“Fire…whoa!?”

As their armors’ parts opened, revealing the hidden gun barrels inside, five flame bullets were fired. The soldiers must have thought they had me trapped in mid-air. However, as soon as the flame bullets were released, the sand pincers I had positioned in the air came in between me and the armored soldiers.

A moment later, the flame bullets hit the pincers directly, and the sand was scattered in all directions. Since both pincers were layered together, this should have reinforced their strength, ensuring that at least one of them would have survived the impact.

However, I had intentionally weakened the pincers’ strength. Because of this, the explosion of the flame bullets scattered a huge amount of sand. The armored soldiers instinctively covered their faces with their arms to avoid the flying sand. When the sand cleared, I was nowhere to be seen. It was then that the armored soldiers first showed signs of panic.

“Damn demon, where did you go—Gah!?”

“Commander—guaagh!?”

The commander, who had been leading the armored soldiers, would never see me again. The reason was that, amidst the explosion, I had circled behind him and injected a lethal dose of poison inside his body. The commander collapsed on the spot, convulsing a few times before becoming motionless.

Without waiting for the commander to die, I launched an attack on the armored soldiers to his left and right. My white sword slashed through their armor, my black sword crushed them, and wherever there was a small gap, my poisonous stinger slipped in. In an instant, only one armored soldier remained.

“Stand down. If you retreat, I won’t kill you.”

“You…! How can I shamefully return to His Majesty after receiving mercy from a demon!”

His Majesty, huh? It seems Remus already considers himself seated on the Emperor’s throne. Well, this battle is likely to end in Remus’ victory anyway. The walls have been breached, the demons have defected, and the interior has been ravaged by Karelvo. In fact, it would be harder for Remus to lose from here.

Perhaps that’s why the armored soldier couldn’t flee from me, the demon most despised by Remus. More afraid of running away than dying, the last soldier recklessly charged at me.

“Ugh…!”

However, sheer willpower was not enough to defeat me. I deflected the armored soldier’s spear with my black sword, dodged the flame bullets by ducking, tripped him with my tail, and then pierced his chest with my white sword.

Fearing that the last soldier might muster his final strength to do something drastic, I quickly drew my sword and used my tail to fling his dying body towards the enemy troops. As I had suspected, he seemed to have been up to something. Amidst the enemy lines, the armored soldier self-destructed.

“Gyaaaaah, it hurts! It hurts so much!”

“The ‘Imperial Sword Knights’ defeated so easily…”

“We can’t win against such a monster! Run away!”

With their commander gone, the remaining soldiers were in a dire state. Some were caught in the soldier’s self-destruction, dying or screaming in severe pain, while others stood dumbfounded by the total annihilation of a small division of the “Imperial Sword Knights”. The most common reaction, however, was to scatter and flee like spiders.

Those who remained seemed hesitant to engage me in battle, but upon seeing my allies approaching with roars from inside the imperial capital, they seemed to realize they stood no chance. They, too, turned their backs and fled.

“You always take such risks…”

“But if the boss hadn’t gone on a rampage, many of us would have died here.”

“That’s true, but it’s still nerve-wracking!”

When I regrouped with my allies, Asumi, who had been defending the wagons in my stead, seemed exasperated with my actions. On the other hand, Tigar showed understanding for my actions.

“Save your scolding for later. Let’s keep up the pace and get as far away from the imperial capital as possible. Now….we’re finally free!”

“”””UOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!””””

My comrades erupted in their loudest cheer yet. And just like that, we escaped the empire’s control and claimed our freedom.