Chapter 103: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (10)
After I had boarded the battleship that Linardo and Tuhru were attacking, I heightened my senses and kept myself acutely aware of their presence as I raced to their rescue. Linardo had been on the verge of death, but he was slowly recovering. If he hadn’t become a demon, he would have undoubtedly perished.
Yet, the situation was far from favorable. Upon stepping foot on the battleship, I immediately detected it—a presence of over thirty enemies lurking in close proximity to Linardo and Tuhru. had to hurry to reach the rescue or both of them would die. Demons were resilient, but they were not invincible.
“■■■!”
“■■■, ■■……!?”
This was enemy territory, swarming with numerous foes attempting to hinder my advance. However, time was of the essence; I couldn’t afford to pay them any attention. I cut down every enemy that stood in my way with my two swords.
Among the regular armored soldiers here, there was no one with exceptional skills like the armored soldier I had fought earlier. With no hindrances to impede my advance, I mercilessly slaughtered the enemies, fracturing their skulls, severing their torsos, and dispatching them with poison.
“Gigugega!” (Found you!)
As I descended further down the corridor, I finally arrived at the passageway where the two of them were located. At the far end of the passage, a wall of ice stood, and the enemies unleashed flaming balls to break it apart. With each explosion, the icy barrier cracked and groaned.
At this rate, it would soon be destroyed. If it shattered, the two individuals on the other side would be reduced to a mangled mess. I couldn’t let that happen!
“Gaaaah!”
“■■■!?”
“■■■!”
I intensified my spiritual power and conjured sand. Without giving it any particular form, I simply used brute force to push aside the enemy soldiers before me. They struggled to escape from the sand, but since it would be troublesome if they escaped, I compressed the sand, crushing the soldiers within.
With the corridor now quiet, I turned my attention to Linardo and Tuhru. They remained frozen, still holding their weapons. What’s wrong? We need to hurry and escape. I gestured towards the path leading outside.
“Damn it, And I was just about to show off my good side from here… Ouch! W-what was that for!?” Linardo said.
“You were trying to act tough… Thank you so muuuch!” Tuhru said
Just as the two of them snapped out of their frozen state, the battleship lurched violently, causing a significant tremor. Then, from behind the two of them, came an unpleasant grating sound. It appeared that as a result of the sabotage carried out by the two, the battleship was slowly sinking. We have to escape quickly!
Perhaps also aware of this, the two of them sprinted alongside me towards the deck without uttering a word. During our run, we felt several more tremors and the same creaking noises as before. The intervals between the tremors gradually narrowed, indicating that the battleship had suffered severe damage.
“■■■!”
“■■! ■■■■!”
However, there were times when enemies stood in our way, attempting to obstruct our escape. Yet, I broke through them all. Although Linardo appeared unaffected and composed, he had sustained deep wounds and was barely able to run. Tuhru supported him, leaving me as the sole combatant.
After we drenched the corridor with the blood of our enemies, we finally made it outside. Waiting to greet us were around a hundred enemies, including a white armored soldier.
“■■■!”
“Are you serious!?”
“Watch out!”
Linardo and Tuhru dove into the corridor, evading gunfire with cries of alarm. However, I had no need to shield myself from the bullets. While facing the rain of bullets head-on, I observed the leader of the enemy forces—the white-armored soldier.
The shape of his white armor was identical to those I had swiftly dispatched before. In his right hand, he wielded a single-handed sword with a wide, thick blade and a hilt that seemed intricately designed. Meanwhile, his left hand held two vertically aligned guns with thick barrels.
Hmm? He bears a resemblance to someone I fought before. It seems like he was a different person considering the different aura I felt now while facing him directly, however, considering his identical armament, his fighting style should have few differences. I bent my body, assuming a low posture, and lunged forward.
“■■■!”
“Gugh!”
As expected, the white-armored soldier aimed his left-hand gun at me. In an instant, the barrel glowed, unleashing countless small bullets. It was a single blow with significant impact, but I knew all too well about it. I had experienced this attack before.
Being aware of it made it easier to deal with. I further lowered my stance, evading the bullets while twisting my body then swinging my black sword to sever the guns. However, the white-armored soldier calmly lowered his gun and brought down his right-hand sword. I intentionally intercepted the strike with the blade’s edge rather than deflecting it with my white sword.
“■■■?”
In that moment, the white-armored soldier unnaturally moved his hand that was gripping the hilt of the sword. As expected, bullets were also fired from the sword. While the weapon initially surprised me, once I knew its secret, avoiding it was a piece of cake. I tilted my head and dodged the bullets.
“Giie!”
“■■■…!”
Seemingly caught off guard by my evasion, the white-armored soldier froze in surprise. Seizing the opportunity, I swiftly curled up my knee and delivered a powerful side kick, accompanied by a spirited shout.
The armor contorted, and I could feel the sensation of his bones through my knee, which should have been protected within, shattering. A natural smile formed on my face, while the white-armored soldier let out a pained groan. Pressing on to launch a follow-up attack, I raised my white sword to deflect the opponent’s sword, then swiftly struck his torso with my black sword.
“■■■■■!”
“Gagooo!”
As the black sword made a slight dent in the armor, the back of the armor opened up, emitting flames. Without any prior motion, the white-armored soldier leaped backward and fired his left-hand gun at close range. I was struck in the chest and thrown back, making me unable to pursue immediately.
With distance between us, it was time to regroup. Yet, my approach remained unchanged. Get close and strike. That’s all there was to it. Steadying myself on the deck once again, I burst forward.
“■■!■■!■■!”
The white-armored soldier aimed his left-hand gun at me and repeatedly pulled the trigger. Each time, small bullets flew towards me, but I evaded them by leaping sharply to the left and right. Even just moving in a zigzag pattern proved effective.
Perhaps growing frustrated, the white-armored soldier tightly gripped his left-hand gun. As a result, the armored part of the arm slid, covering the surface of the gun. This transformation occurred in an instant, and the white-armored soldier pulled the trigger once again.
At that moment, I sensed a sudden surge of intense spiritual power. I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell it was a dangerous attack. It couldn’t be taken like the previous bullets. Instinctively realizing this, I made a big leap on the spot
“Ooh!?”
“Kyaah!?”
The enhanced gun fired ordinary bullets. However, those bullets were launched at a speed incomparable to before. To illustrate just how fast they were, they burned up in mid-air.
The booming sound and shockwave accompanied by a purple flash caused the battleship to tremble greatly. Linardo and Tuhru, who had taken cover in the corridor, cried out in terror, while the armored soldiers on the deck stumbled, unable to maintain their footing.
Without paying any attention to the surroundings, the white-armored soldier aimed the muzzle at me, who fled into the air. Just as I witnessed intense flashes of light at the depths of the gun barrel, it once again unleashed a deadly bullet accompanied by a thunderous roar.
“■■?!”
“Gagugagagga!” (That was close!)
There was no way I would flee into the mid-air where further evading became difficult without any preparation. In that instant, I created a pair of sand pincers and used them as a foothold to leap forward. The bullets that were fired not only shattered the sand pincers that had fulfilled their purpose but also melted them into a gooey mess. If I had taken a direct hit, I would have suffered the same fate.
However, the bullets hadn’t struck me. That was a fact, and it was also a fact that I was already directly above the white-armored soldier after I leaped. It was here that I activated the spiritual circuit engraved on both of my swords for the first time.
Sensing the danger, the white-armored soldier reflexively took a defensive stance, using his sword as a shield. The blade faintly shimmered, making it evident that he, too, had activated the sword’s spiritual circuit. The two blades clashed… and without any resistance, my white sword effortlessly severed his sword before bisecting him from the crown of his head down to his groin.
“■……■■……■……!”
The white-armored soldier, who had been cleaved in two, seemed to utter some final words, but they didn’t reach me. I couldn’t understand his words. Silently, I picked up the gun he had been using. Then, I aimed the barrel at the bewildered armored soldiers, who stood dumbfounded at the ease with which their comrade had died, and pulled the trigger.
Once I placed my finger on the trigger, I felt a sensation as if my spiritual power was forcibly drained from my body. And the moment I pulled the trigger, a bullet shot out from the barrel at an incredible speed, accompanied by a deafening roar.
“■■■■■?!”
“■■■! ■■■!”
“■■■■■! ■■■■■■!”
The armored soldiers that were hit didn’t fare well. Those struck directly had their bodies and armor incinerated, resulting in their immediate demise, while those caught in the aftermath had their limbs torn apart and they started screaming in agony. It was an extraordinary level of power, although belatedly recognized. It was the right decision to heed the warning bells sounded by my instincts.
The others began shooting wildly in my direction. Even though they must have realized it was futile… it was the consequence of their lack of calm judgment.
“Usshaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Gorurururu!”
However, Linardo and Tuhru had calmly assessed that now was the perfect opportunity. Bursting out from their hiding spot in the corridor, they swiftly dispatched the panicked armored soldiers one by one. Despite witnessing their comrades being impaled by spears and crushed by war hammers in close proximity, it was likely out of fear that they continued to target me.
The armored soldiers could be left to the two of them. While I was endured a hail of bullets, I aimed my gun towards the closest battleship’s cannon. The ultra-fast bullet pierced through the base of the cannon and seemed to have ignited something within. After I fired a few shots, the cannon started to burn from the inside and eventually exploded.
“That’s some incredible firepower, but damn, it’s loud.”
“Uu… My ears feel like they’re going crazy.”
The explosion caused the battleship to shake once again. By this time, the rain of bullets had ceased, and I noticed that the armored soldiers had been completely wiped out, their bodies drenched in blood. It seemed that the two of them weren’t particularly fond of this gun. Despite its strength… I won’t deny that it’s noisy.
Right then, Mika and two other flying demons saw us on the deck and they approached us. The three of them had come to retrieve us. Due to the sinking state of the ship and the fire on the deck, the remaining enemies previously couldn’t afford to shoot down our flying companions. The three of them swiftly collected us and took off.
After we had moved away, the battleship we had just been on listed heavily, with its bow rising before it began to sink. The remaining battleships should meet the same fate, but we must never let our guard down as we continue to sink them.
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