Chapter 86

Soldiers in gas masks fired their rifles, pressing the line. Shots ricocheted hundreds of meters away. Bullets rained down on the trenches.
“Boom!”
The head of the soldier firing from behind the saddlebag was pierced. Even Pekatum could not survive a bullet through the brain.
“Holy shit…!”
The Bastiterra soldiers hunkered down in their pits, holstering their old-fashioned bayonets. The sound of battle was louder than they had imagined. The friction of spears clashing was drowned out by the sound of gunfire and explosions.
“Don’t hide, fight back!”
The knights shouted, but the poor quality of their equipment didn’t change. The only good news was that the Legion was closing in on them.
In a skirmish, they have the advantage. The Legion, with Minos as its placenta, would be at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat. Bastitera’s commanders were not so sure.
It’s a matter of patience. We just need to draw them in a little bit more.
Battlefield commander Moron waited for his chance to turn the tide.
300 meters, 200 meters, 150 meters.
As we got closer, the shots became more precise.
The soldiers held their breath in anticipation of the upcoming charge order, and they shared the experience of feeling my heartbeat as loud as the gunfire.
When the two armies were less than a hundred meters apart.
Degurr.
Gas-masked Legionnaires tossed their canisters, and the distinctive black smoke began to blanket the battlefield. It wasn’t just a smoke screen to obscure the view.
Moron recalled the information he had received from the Minos. A smoke that deludes humans. If it enters their respiratory system, they lose their reason and become aggressive, rampaging like animals.
“Did I really?”
I heard it beforehand, but I wasn’t prepared.
Providing gas masks to every soldier is a hassle in the first place. Especially if you’re in a unit that’s considered a liability by the military.
Most of all, it was unbelievable and ego-stroking. No hardy Bastitera warrior could be so deluded by smoke and mirrors. That was the conclusion of the commanders.
The enemy continued to advance through the smoke screen.
Several soldiers were struck down by blinding bullets. The overwhelming difference in skill of the soldiers, aside from their physical performance, was overwhelming. At this rate, the line was going to collapse for nothing.
The professor, monitoring the situation, radioed in an order.
“Now.”
A number of holograms floated before the Professor’s eyes. The spell of non-combatant Selim. If you set up a ‘camera’ in advance, you can view the footage remotely in real time.
-Cheap Profit!
Buried beneath the snow, the machines spewed air like turbine units. Hot gases mixed with graphite, slowing progress.
That wasn’t all.
Sandwiched between the soldiers were agents, handpicked by the professor. One of them was a Navy SEAL who was temporarily on Kim’s ops team.
A layer of air created in front of the trenches pushed the poisonous gas out, and somewhere else an artificial wind was generated. The winds were everywhere, as if blocked by an invisible wall.
The professor breathed a sigh of relief.
“Okay, we’re on track.”
Battles against the Legion have always followed a similar pattern. The tactic of incapacitating the enemy with gas, and then breaking through their lines in one fell swoop.
When you’ve been there, you’ve learned to cope.
– Professor, are we still on hold?
– Raila has changed a lot. You really want to fight like that?
– No, it means…….
Leila flinched at Rosetta’s words. It wasn’t a joke, but everyone in the lab knew it was meant to calm her down.
Under normal circumstances, the professor might have behaved like Leila.
But this was wartime, and she had a duty to protect her friend, the Bastitera soldier, and more importantly, the Lab’s agents.
“Wait. Not yet.”
We had to prioritize soberly. You can’t save everyone. Kim would rather bait three hundred soldiers than let thirty of his men die.
‘……I’m sure it is.’
Of course, I don’t think Kim is always right. He sometimes makes extreme judgments. But the principle of his behavior resonates deeply with the professor.
The professor looked to the rear of the Legion. The figures, obviously dressed differently from the regular soldiers, were not moving. Neither was the long-haired woman who appeared to be the ‘godmother’.
Next, we looked backward.
Even here, away from the battlefield, there were non-snipers. The other combatants were on standby, ready to jump in at any time, but one was left out.
It was Asterike.
“…….”
The professor knew little about the Asterike. He knew that it follows the strings, and that the tension difference between being near the strings and not being near the strings is significant.
And that it’s as strong as an elite agent.
“Excuse me, Professor.”
Asterike spoke up. It was hard to read her eyes as they stared out of the tent. There wasn’t much emotion in them.
“When is the string coming back?”
“That, I don’t know. I don’t know, maybe….”
“I see.”
He closes his mouth again. Squatting down and hugging his knees, he looks vaguely vomitous. His childlike demeanor doesn’t match the urgency of the situation.
“I wonder if the strings will be okay.
The battle was just beginning.
* * *
Drrrrr!
The belt of rounds dragging on the floor shortened rapidly. The shells spilled out in a torrent of water. In less durable equipment, the barrel would have overheated and bent long ago.
It was impossible to steer. It was impossible to coordinate. Some were lucky to get a single bullet through the brain, while others were infected with dozens of bullets in their limbs alone.
But one chapter was certain.
The bodies of the infected pile up at your feet. You feel pity, but no guilt. The infection is caused by a spell. There is no known cure.
‘The contagiousness disappears when the mother, Camellia, dies, but….’
There is no cure for an infected person who has already been eroded by the bacteria. They’re doomed to die from cellular necrosis, just as they are now. I don’t think it’s a cure, but it’s a relief from suffering.
An unfortunate enemy to eliminate. That’s all it feels like.
‘I’m running out of steam.
This is when the ammo will run out. Before he could use up all the ammo, the minigun was out of his hands. He could have made another, but he didn’t want to risk the recoil of duplication.
There’s no shortage of weapons to use.
A mace was forged in Kim’s right hand. An iron ball with spikes growing out of it like the paws of a beast. The golden hilt connected to the pendulum is engraved with a blessing.
Kim abandoned her fledgling comfort zone and plunged into the horde of infected people. In the short time she was running at breakneck speed, her brain took in and processed the information around her.
The corpses get in the way, causing the infected to stumble. Other infected fall like dominoes on top of the writhing body. In other locations, the corpses were relatively sparse.
Perception of the space around you. And prediction and action.
Billion!
Kim slammed his fist down on the flailing infected. The layers of meat burst apart. His augmented strength and weapon damage modifiers alone gave him unrealistic power.
He glanced at the blood-stained pendulum and began to count the seconds in his mind.
’13, 12, 11…….’
When he realized the danger ahead had passed, he let the handle slip from his hand. The chain dangling from the bottom caught in his grasp.
You swung the chain as if to throw it at a group of infected approaching from the right. The struck infected were sent flying, their bones crunching.
Movements were instantaneous, even as detailed judgments were made in real time. Accelerated thinking completely separated the mind from the body. It was like being out of body and observing yourself.
“There’s still a lot of dirt.
We’ve taken out a lot of them, but the offense hasn’t waned. Time is of the essence, but so is stamina. Even if you’re successful, you can’t stretch yourself too thin.
‘It’s not that I don’t trust the professor, but…….’
I’m guessing you’re going to have a hard time with this.
The Legion has a Godmother. Camellia is also said to be an extremely dangerous foe, but if you’re only focused on “combat,” the Godmother is by far the hardest to deal with.
At the extreme end of the spectrum, Camellia is a city, abandon the civilians, and you’re done. Once the infected are all necrotic, you’re done with her.
Godmothers are different.
He’s a formidable foe for the professor and the lab’s agents. You need to get back to the lab as quickly as possible, while keeping your stamina intact.
It sounds like an oxymoron. But.
“Why not.
Kim’s eyes quickly scanned the area. She spotted a shadow moving stealthily through the barrier of phosphorus formed by the infected.
Slowly but surely, we’re getting closer.
Wedge!
The stake came flying, aiming for the square. Kim bent at the waist as she swung her mace. A rusted iron rod whizzed past her ear, just inches away.
‘8, 7, 6.’
The stake was thrown from a completely different direction than before. It didn’t hit this time either. But it was the difference of a piece of paper. The aim was clearly sharper than the first.
It was an odd way to fight.
Shadowdoor, Snowfield, Mithril. Each of the Legion’s officers who have fought against Kim so far have done so in a way that puts themselves on display.
Camellia, on the other hand, is an assassin, hiding behind soldiers. A tactic that allows her to wear her opponents down to the bone.
It’s not “bossy,” but I don’t think it’s mean.
“Rather reasonable.
Camellia doesn’t need to critically wound an enemy. A single slash is all she needs. Unless the wound is cut immediately, the fungus will quickly spread through the body.
In the game, this is implemented in the form of a compensation to Camellia’s overall stats when soldiers are around. There is even logic for her to fall back if there are no soldiers in front of her to use as a shield.
In the full-blown 14-6 stage, the mobs are almost endless. The standard strategy of clearing the surrounding mobs and focusing on the boss doesn’t work here.
But.
As always, there’s always a trick. Kim became conscious of the mace’s iron balls. It had a faint glow to it that was hardly noticeable.
‘4, 3, 2.’
The third stake shot like an arrow.
Only a dozen steps away.
They’re coming at you from all sides.
There’s barely enough room to duck and dodge.
My judgment was quick.
Kim turned only his upper body to the left, a minimal evasive move to organically lead into the next move. It was a reaction made up of a split second divided into several.
But just a little bit, the timing was off.
Boom!
The stake swept across Kim’s forearm. It ripped her jumper and carved a circular gash into her skin. The bacteria that quickly invaded began to discolor his skin.
“Done.
Camelia was confident of victory.
She’d been plagued by an emptiness since the day she learned of Snowfield’s death-no, long before that.
For a moment, my desolate, empty heart was filled with joy. That alone was meaningful. Best of all, it wasn’t even half over yet.
“I will kill her with your own hands.
Thus the revenge is complete. Having killed one in a rather futile manner, I would inflict more pain on the other. I had to see their faces contorted with hatred.
“Ahhhhhh.”
Camellia shook her head, a twisted smile on her face.
A moment’s delay.
All these thoughts, slowed my reaction.
‘……light?
For some reason, the mace had been scattering intense light. Only three steps separated them. Kim brought the mace down on the infected, who stood over Camelia like a shield.
There was a flash of gold.
The infected’s body exploded without resistance. Even Camelia’s left arm, which was in its path, was crushed. The iron spindle, its momentum still not dead, slammed into the ground.
-Quack!
The noise was like a bombing raid. The floor cracked and the entire station shook. Shockwaves shot out in all directions, shattering the lights on the walls.
Occiput.
Glass shards rained down like hail. Kim lifted up [Sacria], its light gone. A small pit had been dug where she had struck it with the mace.
“Oh, this is off.”
The voice muttered, and Camelia shuddered.