That sound.
Through the noise of the battle, I heard something familiar, and I looked back at the clear sky and saw three black dots coming from the east, gradually increasing in size. Among other things, these three dots were leaving a plume behind them, indicating that they were moving fast. Even though they were far away, I could already see the familiar silhouettes of a pair of spread wings holding gas pedals on their ends.
"What's that?"
Swidok asked, clearly surprised at what she was seeing.
I, however, made a smug grin and said quietly:
"Victory."
The three shuttles approaching the city separated, flying in different directions. The first and second shuttles headed north and south out of the city, while the third shuttle flew straight here and began to slow down, activating the braking gas pedals on the nose of the ship and tilting its nose into the sky. Seeing the machine guns peeking out of the sides of the shuttle and aiming in our direction I yelled at the top of my voice:
"GET DOWN!"
My ears were instantly filled with the roar of guns. A flurry of fire covered the natives, a hurricane demolished cobblestones, and tore people's bodies into pieces like paper. Hands, legs and organs splashed in different directions in a bloody mess, mixing with rubble, dust, whistles and screams. At that time, I was still lying, pressing my cheek against the rough stone until the shuttle hovering overhead hovered exactly above us. Next, a ladder opened from which the first detachment of paratroopers began to disembark, dressed in heavy combat suits with machine guns at the ready.
It was as if heavy tanks were falling from the sky, squeezing fragile stone structures with their weight. The fighters, activating their jetpacks, landed one after another. Some did it smoothly, while others, having made a hard landing, crushed a couple of cultists under their weight, thereby breaking all their bones.
If it weren’t for the stimulants and exoskeletons, then when they fell, the paratroopers could have broken all their bones and torn their internal organs, but fortunately they had means of protection and now these warriors were fully prepared to scare the enemies of humanity to death and were going to arrange a magnificent harvest here.
Many have correctly noted...
They are here to kill.
The paratroopers fell from the ramp from a height of tens of meters onto the towers, the roof of the palace and into the courtyards of the castle, immediately starting to mow down in dense bursts everyone they met. In addition to the noise from the shuttle's accelerators, my ears could hear numerous shots and the insane screams of the cultists who were rushing to fight the earthlings. It’s not hard to imagine what kind of madness was happening around, it was difficult to survive. Even so, I tried to keep my head down so as not to become an accidental victim of friendly fire.
How happy I was that after so much time spent on this damned planet, the long-awaited help finally arrived to us. I really thought that we could stay here, if not forever, then for a long time for sure. And I was about to raise my head and see Swidok dead and torn to shreds, but there was no trace of her, she was not here.
By some miracle she disappeared behind a rising cloud of dust, which shocked me greatly, and yet the fact that she was running and not brazenly laughing in our faces was more than good, but eliminating her now was simply necessary. If she doesn’t die, then she will cause us a lot of problems with her destructive magic, and I simply cannot allow that.
"Fuck!"
I cursed, helping Will to his feet, just as the guards were helping each other.
Many natives' mouths dropped open at what they saw. They looked with fear either at the top, where the huge shuttle was still hanging, or at the massive paratroopers in strong black armor, from which came the powerful sound of exoskeleton hinges and the noise of mobile generators. If I were the natives, I would also be a little surprised and would probably think that before my eyes there were monsters in the flesh or even demons. It was quite expected for them to be afraid of such uninvited guests.
"W-what's going on?!"
One of the natives asked with his eyes wide open and short of breath, and I still answered with a grin on my face.
"These are the warriors of the Great Army of Humanity."
"Huh?"
The guard opened his mouth, looking first at me and then at the huge paratroopers.
It is impossible to convey in simple words all the feelings that the sight of these formidable soldiers evoked in me. They looked as if they were already battle-hardened and walked forward with firm confidence and also confidently killed people whom they clearly did not expect to see here, and yet they did it because they had been prepared for this for many years, as well as the fear that they might stay on this planet forever. Three of them were heading straight towards us while the rest of the paratroopers were clearing the palace territory of enemies, painting all the surfaces around in red.
At this time, the shuttle flew to the side, perhaps to the very square where the rest of the crew will be landed while detachments from other shuttles will most likely land somewhere outside the city and block all escape routes, as well as strengthen the perimeter of the city. From the very beginning, I assumed that headquarters would most likely decide to do just that, and therefore I was not very surprised by these actions.
The royal guards, seeing how the paratroopers with the weight of their spacesuits were stomping in our direction, began to back away, fearing their menacing and impressive appearance. I, in turn, activated the walkie-talkie and immediately tuned in to the desired frequency, in which I heard a quite mature and slightly hoarse female voice:
"Junior Lieutenant Kipito?"
I nodded in acknowledgement, knowing that it was the one standing before me speaking.
"My name is Captain Kurogawa, we have received your message. Mark hostile targets."
After removing my translator ring, I replied,
"I understand, Captain."
I said and pointed to the bodies of the killed natives, who, albeit slightly, differed in appearance from the natives friendly to us.
"At the moment, all of these armed natives outside this palace are hostile."
"I see."
The Captain answered, and then followed my gaze towards the pile of ash.
I wanted to bring Captain and King Lakuus together so that they could work together in the future, but alas, he was already dead. There was some uncertainty in the air about the future fate of the role of the head of this state. I simply didn’t know what to do, and yet, so that they wouldn’t ask me unnecessary questions, I said the following:
"Their leader was here… he was killed just a minute ago. I'm afraid that's a problem."
"We'll deal with politics later, Junior Lieutenant, but now..."
The captain tossed a clip for my assault rifle into my hands.
"You must join Operation «Black Angels»."
Cool name.
I noticed to myself and immediately returned my attention to the Captain, who continued to give me orders.
“It is necessary to occupy this settlement. After this, the general will wait for a report from you.”
"Understood, Captain. It will be done, Captain."
I saluted and immediately reloaded the clip and rushed down the stairs and into the castle with my platoon.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"They're already too late." Forn commented, shaking his head in displeasure.
"Don't expect more from them."
Mshkhan responded to Forn's words by receiving grenades from the paratrooper.
"It's good that they arrived before we could die."
He's right. It was not in their power to come to our aid in time.
I thought and, continuing down the stairs, prepared for battle.
The entire platoon recharged and, having received a significant surge of strength thanks to the arrival of the long-awaited reinforcements, ran to clear the palace space from the insane cultists. Now, among other things, I was worried about another and yet important question, namely, where did Swidok go?
A flurry of fire should have demolished her, torn her into pieces, and not have left a living thing left of her, but I never saw her among the bodies. And this means only one thing: she is alive and still poses a colossal threat to us. Therefore, I decided to warn the Captain by telling her everything on the radio:
"Captain Kurogawa, this is Second Lieutenant Boris Kipito, I have important information to tell you."
"I'm listening, Second Lieutenant."
"There is an extremely dangerous creature in this city that looks like a human girl in a black robe with yellow hair and red eyes. Beware of her, she can emit powerful lightning bolts and protect herself with abnormal energy."
"Noted, out."
The Captain replied.
There were notes of skepticism in her voice, which alarmed me somewhat.
I really hope that this is really taken into account, otherwise we will have losses, … very big losses.
Without thinking much about it, I rushed to the dungeon, where the entire working staff of the palace and castle, as well as the highest representatives of the kingdom of Lakuus, were hiding. Their protection was now a priority, especially that of Princess Ilifreeta, who was likely to take over as queen any minute now.
I can already imagine what her face looks like when she hears the news that Draun Rudrin is dead. He seemed to me a very worthy and courageous man who did everything for his country and most importantly sacrificed himself for the sake of people whom he may not have loved, but whom he sincerely cared about and ultimately died. I am sure these people will escort him to the afterlife with a glorious parade or a solemn feast when all this is over. I will look forward to this moment.
Until this happens, we need to ensure the safety of the princess, otherwise there is a threat of a power vacuum, which does not bode well for us, or rather, no benefit. It would be unpleasant for us to lose an ally in the person of an entire native state from which we can receive a lot of information about this planet. To survive, it is imperative to know what we are dealing with and what we will face.
It’s really worth thinking about this some other time, but for now...
"Stop."
I said and raised my palm to stop the platoon behind me.
Looking around the corner, I saw the bodies of murdered people scattered in the corridors. They were torn to pieces with blades and spears. The cultists killed literally everyone, both the guards and the servants who did not have time to hide in the rooms. The corpses lay like a carpet so densely that they literally blocked the passage, and the smell of blood made my face curl in disgust.
In the distance, near the hanging luxurious paintings, I saw cultists, hunched over like animals looking around in search of their next victim. When the gaze of one of them fell directly on me, he immediately bulged his eyes and stuck out his slobbering tongue and screamed, attracting the attention of the other cultists.
"R-r-r-r-r-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a~!!!"
They, standing to the side, also turned in my direction at once and, screaming wildly, rushed towards us with their blades, ready to tear us to pieces.
Are they even humans?
I doubted, not seeing a drop of reason or even a grain of self-preservation instinct in the eyes of these cultists.
"R-r-r-r-r-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a~!!!"
"A-A-A-A-A-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-A-A-A-A-A~!!!"
"H-h-h-h-h-y-y-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a~!!!"
"D-d-d-d-r-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-a~!!!"
Resting the butt of the assault rifle on my shoulder and loading the clip, I quickly took aim and fired three accurate shots, after which the cultists, without their skulls, fell to the floor, turning back their nasty screams forever. The path was cleared and at the moment when it seemed that no one else would interfere with our movement, when suddenly I noticed more cultists in the same direction.
"FUCK!"
I cursed when I saw a maddened crowd rushing from the corridor towards us.
"D-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-E-E-E-E-E~!!!"
"A-A-A-A-A-A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-A-A-A-A-A~!!!"
"E-E-E-E-e-e-a-a-a-a-a-at-t-t-t-t-t~!!!"
"A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A~!!!"
They came out from around the corners so suddenly that I didn’t even notice that I opened heavy fire on them along with the platoon soldiers. The horde was pressing on us like an avalanche, and a leaden storm enveloped the corridor, turning it into another killbox. At the brightest and most dangerous moment of my life, it really seemed to me that we were in a meat grinder only in the role of a blade, I was already acting, and the meat was pressing on me, which I immediately chopped into minced meat with the tip. The main thing at this very moment of my life is not to become dull and not to crumble.
And as soon as I used up my fresh clip, the cultists stopped pushing in our direction and finally quieted down. We were able to shoot them all and this time no one stood in our way... at least for now.
"There are too many of them."
Forn commented on the situation, loading a new machine gun belt.
"I'll go first."
I nodded approvingly and followed Forn.
"Holy shit! This isn't funny at all!"
Itami said, looking at the meaty mess under our feet.
"What's wrong with these people? They don't spare themselves at all!"
"We'll discuss this later."
I said, continuing to move.
I wasn’t happy about it either, and yet we did it again for the sake of our survival. This time I reassured myself that this time we were not killing innocent people, but crazy fanatics who came here to bring death and destruction. Of course, it was much easier for me this way, but if you think about it like that, then we are... monsters.
Today we are on the right side.
I continued to convince myself that I was ready to kill again and again.
Continuing our journey, we met many cultists and, of course, we shot them. No one even thought of taking these madmen prisoner, and it was clear from their faces that they were unlikely to surrender, and therefore we continued to fight our way forward and went down until we soon reached the main passage to the dungeon. However, there we noticed one very big problem.
"What the?!"
I couldn't help but curse, kicking the barricade in anger.
"These bastards blocked the passage!"
"Oh shit."
Forn clicked his tongue while the others sighed in displeasure and shook their heads.
I didn’t expect this at all, namely, that these madmen would think of covering their only escape route so that no one would interfere with them. We were on the lowest floor, there was a smell of dampness and a breath of coolness, and in front of us the passage was blocked by a pile of broken furniture, cobblestones, boxes, chests, parts of armor, bags and even human corpses. The entire passage was clogged with all sorts of rubbish and this prevented us from going forward and, accordingly, saving all the people hiding there.
"We can blow it up, right?" Mshkhan asked, and I shook my head in response.
"No, we can't. If we plant and detonate explosives here, the entire dungeon will collapse. I would suggest something else, for example, we could fill the area behind the barricades with smoke, but then..."
"Then those hiding there will suffocate too."
Will finished for me.
The situation was not the best. The cultists are making their way to the dungeons and will soon be able to slaughter everyone they can there. The guards protecting the aristocrats and the princess had no chance against such a horde, and there was no other choice. I was thinking quickly, trying to solve the problem that had arisen, when suddenly I saw how parts of the barricade themselves began to move.
What the?!
I got scared and aimed towards the barricades.
Parts of tables, chairs, shields, swords, armor and corpses of people moved apart in different directions, opening up an unexpected passage for us, which it seemed to us that we could rake for a very, very long time. I immediately guessed who helped us in this difficult situation.
Well done, Ilifreeta.
I mentally praised the princess for doing us such a favor and opening the way to the crowd of invaders, which we immediately began to mow down with heavy fire.
After ten minutes of clearing the underground premises, I reached the iron door and then made three knocks at a certain interval, announcing to all those who were hiding there that we were here. The door opened a few moments later and in the passage I saw the already familiar Krezhd, dressed in steel plate armor. When he saw us, he immediately asked one very important question:
"Where is the king?"
And I immediately answered him:
"He is dead."
Krezhd's face was murdered, however, not only on his face, but also on those who stood behind him and heard my words. They had just lost their king and they were feeling the grief. Surely some of them reproached themselves for not being able to protect the king, and yet, as if imitating Draun Rudrin, they tried not to show their true emotions and, even with drops of tears in their eyes, tried to maintain confidence on their faces.
"What's going on?"
Krezhd asked a new question, and I answered him.
"The Republic brought reinforcements. Fifteen hundred soldiers. They are quite enough to defend the city and carry out a counterattack."
"And what about Swidok?"
"She disappeared."
Krezhd gritted his teeth in frustration, but I understand him perfectly. Losing this creature is worse than any defeat.
"Do you need anything from us?"
I nodded.
"A negotiator."
Krezhd fell silent and, lowering his head, turned towards Princess Ilifreeta, next to whom Sigrun spent her time.
"She can't handle it."
Krezhd said quietly and immediately put forward his candidacy.
"I'll go instead of her."
"I'm afraid the general won't accept this, you're too... harsh."
I shook my head, knowing that because of Krezhd and his character, everything could end badly for him, that's for sure.
He is clearly not the one who should be entrusted with negotiations, especially with our command. We need someone who will respect our people, and not be insolent to them, otherwise the general will never agree with any proposals addressed to himself. Otherwise, Zeonid will want to resolve all issues by force alone, which he will most likely do, however, this is up to him to decide, not me. I, in turn, wanted to help them not to lose even more people because of us, and even more so our support, which they vitally need.
"Do you want the princess to represent the kingdom?"
The old man asked me seriously and I nodded in response.
"You can go with her."
I suggested it to him and he immediately agreed.
"Okay."
Well, that's great.
I was glad that the old man didn't argue with me.
Soon the first battle for Ran will come to an end, and immediately after that the second battle for Ran will begin, which will not be as desperate as this one. This time we will win, but what will happen to this kingdom only the general knows. I can only guess... he will suck everything out of here to the last drop.