“So where should we go?” William asked. Feodora took a map from her bag. The map was full of various different markings. Lily inched closer on her left, William on her right. “Where are we?” William asked.

Feodora looked for a point on the map, before putting her finger there.

“Here.” She then moved her finger upward. “Based on the information I gathered, the demons are attacking from this area in the north.”

The map had a lot of ink with various markings and notes written above it.

“How long have you been here?”

“Around a month”

“And you’ve been using that time for collecting intelligence?”

“I have been studying what I can in this world, so I can provide the utmost support to whoever I was assigned to.”

“When I was a guild staff, I didn't go this far,” Lily murmured.

“So you’re freeloading?”

“I do not.” Lily jabbed at him.

William did feel grateful for the two girls. One was a skilled ex-soldier who was willing to help him, the other a local who could guide him through this world. He made sure to treat the girls with respect, as they would be his adventuring companions from now on.

“Is this map a map of the continent, or a map of the world?” he asked, making sure he kept a respectable distance from Feodora.

“A map of the continent.”

“I see. Where did you get this from?”

“An adventurers' guild in a different city,” Lily answered for her. “I was the one that gave her it, actually,” she said with a hint of pride.

“I see. So you’re not freeloading.”

“I already told you I’m not!”

The map itself showed a large continent-like mass of land. Based on the era this world was in, they may or may not have entire world-spanning maps available to the public. It would be helpful if they could get their hands on one, especially considering a railgun’s range. If the Goddess didn’t put a limit to the weapon’s power, then hitting targets across the ocean should be an easy task as long as they had correct calculations.

But for now, he focused his attention on the map before him. The continent was called Kacentra, with three major countries occupying its land.

At least, that was the case before the demons attacked.

On the top side of the map, there were pen marks covering a significant portion of the northern regions. The text Principality of Leras was written underneath the pen marks, its entire area covered.

“We are currently here.” Feodora pointed toward a location marked on the map.

“And this is the closest city from here.”

“The city of Haleo Berena,” William murmured. The city was located just south of the occupied territory. North of it were some mountainous regions, spanning the entire continent. The hard-to-transverse region probably made it hard for invading demons to fight, thus the current defense line. But, from the battle he saw before, it was clear that the demon had begun, or rather, continued pushing in.

“The entire city had been evacuated a while back,” Lily added.

William reached out his hand and pointed toward the general direction from where he came from, following the road using his memories. There were a lot of tents and soldiers when he arrived, and he was quite close to a battle.

“Around here, I think,” he pointed toward a location further up north on the map, just south of the mountain range.

“I hear there have been some attacks around that area recently, and the troops are struggling to defend. Do you want to go there?” Lily asked.

“I think I want to test the railgun first.”

“Should we go to Haleo Berena, then?” Lily suggested. The city was quite close to where he arrived, so there should be something he could shoot at from there. William turned to Feodora. “What do you think?”

“Haleo Berena had been evacuated of civilians, but the military should still be there.”

“Hmm…”

He didn’t want to deal with politics. If the knights knew about him, they would probably rope him into their game. He would rather play the role of a mercenary, showing up when needed and disappearing once the mission was completed.

But at the same time, to fight effectively, he needed to coordinate with the people of this world. Firing off a random shot may harm someone, after all, and he could only escape trouble every so often.

“Are you opposed to the idea of working with the military?” Feodora tilted her head.

“Not opposed… it’s just, I want to have a reputation first.”

“Reputation?”

Lily smirked all of a sudden. “Aha, you’re quite smart, Mister William.”

Feodora turned toward her. “What do you mean?”

“People won’t push you around if you have a good reputation. All three of us are nobodies at this point, people without any significant status. If they see us, they’ll want to get their hands on the railgun and not us. That can be dangerous.”

“That is true,” Feodora nodded. “Then how about here?” she pointed toward a spot southwest of the city.

“This is described as a cliff with a beautiful view overlooking the town. People no longer visited it after the demons attacked, but we should be able to reach it just fine.”

“Nice idea.” William gave her a thumbs up. “Can you guide me there?”

Feodora nodded. “Please rely on my guidance.”

“Alright.” William turned on the truck and went down the dirt road.

* ••

William drove carefully through the mountain road. Moss grew on the cobblestone road, with tall weeds obstructing the path. The sides of the road had cracked, tree roots piercing the path. It made the journey very wobbly, the entire truck shaking left and right.

“This really is an interesting vehicle,” Lily said as she held to the grab handle on the door, keeping herself in place. She had strapped in her seatbelt, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from swinging all over the place.

William drove slowly, not yet daring to speed yet. He wasn’t used to dirt roads just yet, although he was getting the hang of it.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I wonder how they’ll react if I go at max speed?

His truck should be faster compared to a horse, assuming the horses were similar to horses on Earth, and his truck wasn’t limited in speed.

As William drove, Feodora kept guard on their surroundings.

“Something’s ahead,” she called. William brought the truck to a halt, pulled the parking brakes, and turned off the truck. He squinted his eyes, looking at the two knights on horses that passed them. They didn’t seem to notice his presence, following a path that led from the forest on the left side to the forest on the right side.

“Knights on patrol?”

“They didn’t notice us.” Feodora kept her eyes on their figures even as they disappeared behind the trees.

“Yeah, quite surprising,” Lily added. “Things must have been bad around here.”

“You think so?”

Lily nodded, looking down at the map Feodora held.

“They are next to the front lines, so I assume fighting must occur routinely. The knights held their line pretty well, though. Maybe they assumed no one passed, and that the south side is still safe."

“And they’re too tired to check?”

“Demons also emanate a terrible aura. Couldn't confuse it with a human." Lily shrugged.

The truck didn’t seem to emanate anything, so maybe they just didn’t notice his presence.

After confirming that they were too far away to hear his engine noises, William turned on the engine and continued driving up the cobblestone road. The truck itself was much more silent compared to its Earth counterpart.

“Woah… Is that it?” they arrived on top of the cliff. Standing beyond them were the mountains of Kieki, a range of mountains that formed the borders of the now-defunct principality. Various fortresses were scattered throughout the mountain tops, relics of a bygone era.

One in particular caught William’s eyes. At the peak of the mountain directly in front of them was a fortress. It had tall, sturdy stone walls surrounding it, with a massive ballista at the peak. The ballista stood imposingly, facing north toward the demons. It had a shape similar to a crossbow, but much, much larger.

“Yes, those weapons were previously used to protect the principality from invading imperial forces.”

“This region used to be under imperial control?” Feodora asked. The term imperial was foreign to William, not its meaning but the nation, and he remained silent as he followed Lily's explanation.

“Correct. Back then, the empire’s land spanned much to the east,” Lily slid closer to Feodora. Her finger traced a line spanning a distance east of Haleo Berena, around two fingers farther.

“They used to control this region here, but after a war, they lost and were pushed back to their current territory. Haleo Berena fell into kingdom hands after that.”

Politics, borders, war. All the things he hated. He loved weapons, yes, but not the things they were used for. He didn't want to listen to them, but it didn't feel appropriate for him to completely ignore them. He needed to study this world, and unfortunately, one of the ways would be studying its history, things like politics and nations.

The nature surrounding him looked much more interesting compared to the map. He lived in a busy city, where open spaces were a rarity.

“Is it safe for me to get out?”

“It should be.”

William stopped and got out of the truck, walking toward the edge of the cliff. Below him lay the city of Haleo Berena. The city’s outer walls were located quite far from the end of the cliff, around two to three kilometers, but the damage it suffered was obvious even to the casual observer. Many of its stone buildings had been destroyed, with holes torn into its walls, craters and burnt rubble scattered throughout various areas of the city.

The southern end of the city had been converted into a military base. There was a smaller area surrounded by newer-looking walls, with most of it relatively intact. The area had a mix of stone buildings and tents, with many knights standing guard.

He brought his face up toward the mountains. Based on Feodora’s map, the entire mountain range should be under demon control. It was ironic considering how the country built those fortresses to protect itself, yet they fell into demon hands. He squinted his eyes, noticing the many tiny dots scattered throughout the fortress.

Must be demons.

He had never seen a real one before, but even now it was hard to see from so far away. He heard the sound of the truck’s door opening, followed by swift little footsteps. Lily grabbed the end of his shirt, yanking him backward.

“Lily!?”

“It’s going to fire!” Feodora yelled, leaning out of the opened door. William knew exactly what she was talking about. He looked toward the massive ballista, the only one visible in front of him. The massive weapon, large even from this distance, rotated. The turning gears let out a screeching sound. Albeit faint, it was audible from this distance. William could only imagine how loud it must be when being directly underneath it.

It aimed downward.

Its target: Haleo Berena.

“It’s going to fire, we need to take it out!” Lily yelled in panic.

"May I?" Feodora asked. Remy didn't know what she was asking about, but he nodded regardless. She jumped out of the cabin and ran back to the rear of the truck, climbing into the box. William quickly followed after her, Lily behind him.

Inside the box truck, Feodora took a shell and put it on the structure underneath the turret. She touched her hand on the shell and closed her eyes. Sparks started appearing from her, engulfing her body. An indicator on the rear of the shell lit up, a small dot shining purple. She pressed a button on the metal structure. The shell was pulled up and into the turret, disappearing from their eyes. She then ran toward the operator's seat, booting up all the railgun systems.

“Where should I hit it?”

“The base may take it out the quickest, but…”

If they could take over the fortress, the weapon would be a great help in fighting against the demon forces. It felt like a waste destroying it now.

“Should I try to disable it?”

“If possible,” William stood behind her, watching the screen. He didn’t know about the weapons’ inner workings, so he didn’t know if they could actually do it.

"Disable it? How!?" Lily exclaimed, squeezing next to William, staring at the screen. The ballista stood center of the crosshair, occupying almost the entire screen, a testament to just how large it was. A red aura surrounded it, its mere presence enough to shake people. Feodora pushed the trigger. The faint zing grew louder. William sprinted to the rear of the truck. In three seconds, the railgun fired.

Woah

The truck shook, the shockwave rustled the trees. The railgun, lighting up in purple just before it fired, roared. A single shell traveled through the air, slicing the sky. It headed straight for the unsuspecting ballista.

William found himself mesmerized by the sight, but quickly remembered why he got out in the first place. William ran forward, going through the smoke. He managed to arrive just in time to see the shell penetrate an invisible shield. The shield cracked, visual damage that floated up in the empty sky. The shell continued its penetration, slicing a part of the Ballista’s left limb, before crashing into the other side of the shield.

An explosion followed. Smoke and lightning bolts flew into the sky, covering the enemy weapon.

“Did it hit?” Feodora asked, coming out from the truck. They stood there, waiting for the smoke on the other side to die down. It revealed the ballista, parts of its limbs falling off, with other sections tangling off its end.

But it wasn’t destroyed. It changed its target. It slowly turned to the right, its gears working harder than before. It then rotated upward.

“We need to go!” William took Feodora’s hand and sprinted to the truck. He opened the driver’s side and threw Feodora in. Feodora crawled over to the center while he climbed up, Lily boarding from the left.

“You closed the cargo door?” William asked as he pushed the parking brake down, the truck began sliding backward.

“Yes. I locked it as well.”

“Good,” he turned the engine on and reversed, keeping his eyes on the ballista that now aimed straight for him. It looked like an angered dragon spreading its wings, pissed off after being woken up from its slumber. The ballista lit up in red, the aura that diminished after being hit returning to the structure. Such an imposing figure, one he would love to see from up close. A powerful weapon, the mere thought of it enough to give him goosebumps.

Yet being on the receiving end of it sure sucked.

The ballista fired. A line of red flames followed its projectile as it traveled the distance, cutting the air much like William’s shell. It slammed into the cliffside, causing a massive earthquake. The truck shook as the ground jumped, cracks appearing underneath them.

“Come on, come on!” Remy slapped the steering wheel, as if it was doing anything. The truck jumped left and right. William watched the mirrors, making sure he didn’t crash into anything. The ground in front of him, where he once stood, broke apart and crashed down, pulled by gravity. He managed to survive the hit, somehow.

The truck was going dangerously fast. The fact that it was reversing forced William to be careful with the controls. The crack stopped, and the shaking died down. Once he was sure that they were back on solid ground, he pushed the brakes. He turned his steering wheel, but Lily signaled him to stop.

“You see something?”

Lily squinted her eyes and nodded.

“We damaged it enough. Looks like it won’t be able to fire for a while.”

It wasn’t clear from this distance, but William could see some parts falling off the weapon. Their last shot must have damaged something, causing the ballista to only be able to fire once.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“Alright.”

"That is a good idea."

The truck turned around, going back the road it went through.