Ch.218The Road to Peledias (3)

WAAAAAANG!

With the blaring siren, soldiers began to move.

I led my party members out of the captain’s quarters with my sword gripped tightly, and even in that situation, the shaking of the ship showed no signs of stopping.

[Additional hull breach detected! Reserve units move immediately!]

“Damn it! If this were a real ship, it would have sunk already!”

I could already see more than 30 transport ships with my own eyes.

Even with an army of over 10,000… it was uncertain whether we could hold out against more than 1,000 Aura users. We needed to act as firefighters as quickly as possible.

As we moved toward the closest point of intrusion, gunfire gradually became audible.

Ratatata! Ratatatatata!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The rapid fire of submachine guns and the dull impact sounds of shotguns came one after another, with gunshots continuing to echo.

“They’re engaged in combat! Let’s join them!”

“Lead the way!”

I charged forward with my sword raised high, while the dwarf brothers and Simon followed behind, panting heavily.

As soon as we turned the corner, I discovered dozens of Aura users slaughtering soldiers like beasts, and my own soldiers crushing them with overwhelming firepower.

Ratatatatatatata!

The gunfire was so intense that it was impossible to speak.

The Aura users were emitting blue light throughout their bodies as they regenerated, but they were getting hit by shotgun blasts as fast as they could heal, making their movements painfully slow despite their flailing bodies.

“First squad reload! Second squad fire!”

Click! Clack!

The pause in gunfire lasted only a moment. My soldiers, having swiftly changed formation, began pushing back with firepower the Aura users who had already approached and started slicing through our spearmen with twisted blades.

“Just die already!!!!!”

The desperate battle situation made us hesitate momentarily.

I knew Aura users had super-regeneration and super-acceleration abilities, but even in this narrow straight corridor where we were unilaterally projecting firepower, they were instantly repairing their damaged organs and limbs while gradually wearing down my soldiers.

“These damn bastards…!!!!”

“Lord Victor!”

“Make way! I’ll handle them!”

As the soldiers parted to either side, I rushed in without hesitation, thrusting my sword into the heart of an enemy who was regenerating his eyes, and infused it with Aura.

Sizzzzzzle….

With the sound of burning flesh, the enemy died without further regeneration. Seeing this, about ten other Aura users all charged at me, their weapons glowing blue.

“Damn it! This isn’t what we were told! What kind of kid is this?!”

“You! Do you know who I am?!”

“I was promised money to kill you!”

“How dare you!”

I roared as I split the dual-wielding warrior charging at me in half.

At the same time, the outer wall was blown away, filling the corridor with a savage high-pressure wind. Taking advantage of this, I moved at tremendous speed, systematically slaughtering the remaining warriors.

Only then did the protective door come down, barely stopping the wind. I sheathed my sword and glared at the scattered corpses with rage-filled eyes.

These creatures whose faith and beliefs were merely means to money… Such vermin deserved not only to forfeit their right to live but even the minimal right to survive…

As I was thinking this, I remembered the soldiers and companions behind me and turned around.

“Lord Victor. Thank you. We were outmatched on our own…”

“It’s not your fault. How many did we lose?”

At my question, the platoon leader gritted his teeth and answered.

“Thirty men died… Thirty men to kill just ten of them.”

It seemed like an acceptable exchange ratio, but for a battle inside an airship where one-sided firepower projection was possible, it was far from acceptable.

Even considering the lack of heavy weapons like machine guns or cannons, if this had been an open field with no constraints, twenty Aura users could completely annihilate one of my full platoons at the cost of some pain.

“You should join up with other friendly forces nearby. I am their target. They’re not necessarily trying to occupy this airship.”

“Understood. Please be careful.”

The platoon leader saluted me and disappeared somewhere with his remaining soldiers, while I led my companions toward the sounds of gunfire and screams.

*

“Hah.”

Thwack.

Crack!

“Urghk…”

One Aura user who was regenerating his heart collapsed after being hit by an arrow infused with Aura.

The soldiers turned around at the sudden arrow, and there stood Berkman adjusting the angle to launch grenades, Haukman regulating the valve of a flamethrower, elves stringing arrows, and Simon casting spells.

“Everyone down!”

“Everyone down!!!”

When I gave the order, the non-commissioned officer echoed it, and the soldiers quickly dropped their weapons and flattened themselves on the ground.

Then grenades were launched, flames were sprayed, arrows rained down, and finally, spells struck the enemies.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

A primal scream was the last thing heard, and when the smoke cleared, all that remained was a crumpled, hole-riddled corridor and the shattered bodies of enemies.

Seeing the enemies’ deaths, the soldiers hurriedly returned to standing position, and a blood-covered non-commissioned officer approached me with support.

“Lord Victor…”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but… the captain and lieutenant are all dead…. Our company… over 70 men dead… we can no longer fight.”

The non-commissioned officer was still bleeding from his abdomen.

Judging by the condition of the other soldiers and the severely compromised structural integrity of this area, they had fought fiercely but eventually been pushed back.

As if to prove this, nearby were completely destroyed machine guns, scattered corpses, and a severed arm still holding an unpinned grenade.

“Gather your men. It seems the enemies have mostly been dealt with now.”

“…”

The non-commissioned officer fainted before he could answer.

Seeing his abdomen expanding, he probably wouldn’t die. Well, if he did die, he would die as a soldier, so he would have no regrets.

BOOM!

“!”

At that moment, part of the wall exploded and an Aura user with a mangled body walked out wielding a mace.

Click! Clack!

Immediately, the surviving soldiers raised their gun barrels and aimed at him…

“Ah, shit…”

Having chosen the wrong place to emerge, the Aura user was struck by thousands of bullets from 45 gun barrels and met his end.

*

-AAAAARGH! Damn it! These guys are completely insane! Such firepower inside an airship…!-

-Retreat! Retreat! The assassination has failed!-

-76% of our total force has been lost! What the hell are these bastards! Why do they have so many guns!?!?-

BOOM! BANG! BANG! Dudududududu!

“…”

I was looking at the desperate radio transmissions leaking from the dead enemies’ radios with a very satisfied expression.

Yeah, damn right. With how much I’ve invested, getting shredded by firepower is only natural.

No matter how well-equipped they are, they can’t overcome the weakness of being human-sized.

But when we unleashed area attacks from the storage with 155mm field guns, concentrated grenades, and 15mm heavy machine guns, prepared to blow up with the airship if necessary, even Aura users couldn’t withstand it since their regeneration isn’t infinite.

“Huff! Huff… huh?”

Then I spotted enemies desperately fleeing from an alley, and when one saw me, his face showed that he knew he was doomed.

“Shall I kill him? Party leader?”

“Kill him.”

BANG!

“Ugh.”

I wonder what it feels like to have a grenade embedded in your body as it explodes?

It must be terribly painful, but at the same time, perhaps there’s also a refreshing sensation?

Well, I wouldn’t know since I haven’t experienced it myself. I continued hunting down enemies trying to escape through the transport ships still attached to the hull, methodically slaughtering them. After more than six hours of battle, the assault force of 1,650 Aura users was completely annihilated.

Our losses from this attack were about 2,300 enlisted men and non-commissioned officers, about 130 junior and field-grade officers, totaling around 2,500 casualties.

Literally a quarter of our forces gone.

It’s fortunate that my army was well-armed with firearms and composed of experienced soldiers who followed commands well…

If they had been conscripts with poor weapons, the entire army could have been wiped out.

“Damn it! To mere mercenaries…!”

“This is actually quite impressive. It was a surprise attack that caught us off guard. It’s no small feat for ordinary people to kill and repel Aura users. Now calm down and let’s deal with the aftermath.”

At Simon’s words, I suppressed my anger, cleaned my blood-soaked sword, and sheathed it.

Right. Now it’s time to clean up.

Since we had fired field guns inside, the interior of the ship was a complete mess, with severed metal and flesh scattered everywhere.

“Gather the surviving soldiers. Collect the bodies and repair the ship.”

“Yes, Lord Victor.”

The brigade commander who barely survived was missing an arm.

Is losing an arm a small price to pay for survival?

I don’t know.

My mind was in complete chaos with anger, and I glared at the innocent outside before moving to the captain’s quarters.