Chapter 21 - No Way Out
Amid explosions and metallic sounds, the ship finally reached the shore, stopping abruptly near the coastline to allow everyone on board to disembark. The air shield dissipated, clearing the way for the group on deck to descend via a wooden and metal ladder extending from one side.
Without stopping, everyone quickly disembarked, even Sebastian, who was assisted by both Drake and Adam to descend as swiftly as possible while his mechanical bird flew erratically around, seemingly frightened. Once on land, they noticed that a clear and well-defended path leading inland had formed despite the many men fighting around them.
“Follow the path to the interior of the fortress, tell them a rescue ship has arrived and to send the wounded here, more will be coming soon!!”
Captain Magnus howled, leaping impressively to land beside the rest, issuing the orders the group needed to follow while he stayed behind to fight outside. However, just as everyone prepared to run to the designated area, a tremendous crash erupted in front of them, even louder than what was already happening.
*CLANK, CLUNK, CLANK*
A familiar sound reached them as the Reaper, the ship they had arrived on, was shattered into a thousand pieces by something emerging from below, splitting it as if it were a toy. Fragments flew everywhere, forcing them to take cover and nearly knocking them down from the shockwave. This stunned everyone, but none more so than the captain, who, for the first time since they had known him, replaced his stern and apathetic expression with one of confusion and bitterness.
“What?!”
One of the mechanized marine beasts emerged from the sea, responsible for the ship's destruction. However, this one wasn't a giant serpent but a monstrosity resembling an enormous fish with sharp teeth, huge clawed arms, and many exhaust pipes and gears releasing large amounts of white smoke. The beast seemed to pay no attention to the humans on land despite being relatively close, and after surfacing with its violent attack, it turned and submerged again.
“What the devil are the Leviathan Hunters doing!?”
It seemed that the pirate didn't quite grasp what was happening, and the same held for everyone else, who stared in astonishment at the unfolding events. But that wasn't all, as immediately after, many other ships from the pirate alliance still battling at sea were similarly destroyed, each by some other type of giant creature emerging from the depths. Following this, several explosions that shook the ocean itself could be felt like minor earthquakes, revealing multiple metal husks beginning to float to the surface.
“God damn it!”
Those pieces now floating freely on the waves were far from what one would expect. While they could distinguish half of the head of a mechanical beast among them, there were also much larger plates, and worse yet... Bodies. This indicated that many casualties had been from the submarines belonging to the Leviathan Hunters guild, the ones tasked with dealing with such creatures underwater, but the number of pieces and casualties suggested that the quantity of these sea monsters was immense, something that had not been anticipated judging by Magnus's reaction.
“What are you waiting for?! Move!”
Snapping everyone out of their trance, the pirate's words spurred them into action, no longer standing still but moving swiftly along the secured path. They could feel shots, cannon blasts, and even the occasional missile passing high above their heads as they hurried forward.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for them to arrive, even though they had almost carried Sebastian due to his age and inability to run fast. They noticed that the path had led them to the foot of the huge wall surrounding the Anchorage, stopping only when they entered what seemingly was a large but makeshift camp set up right in the middle of a huge breach in the once imposing walls.
"*Huff Puff* It’s fine, I’m fine, thank you for helping me. I'm sorry you have to carry this poor old man."
Sebastian said, panting a bit when they arrived, genuinely feeling sorry that two young men had to carry him like that. Drake quickly dismissed any apology, while Adam remained silent, distracted by analyzing the multitude of objects and characters in the area. There were many makeshift tents, piles of boxes containing various tools and supplies, and a large number of people running back and forth, dragging wounded comrades or carrying boxes full of weapons.
“Hey, you all!”
A shout caught their attention as they caught their breath, coming from a person who quickly approached them, waving their hand.
“Are you from the rescue team? We have too many severely wounded who need immediate evacuation.”
The man said, flexing his prominent muscles under a strange apron adorned with a skull and two crossed bones, a symbol Adam recognized as belonging to the Mechanica Medics, the sixth major guild responsible for the medical sector. Certainly, he didn't fit the typical appearance of a doctor, not only because of his imposing size but also due to dried blood stains on his arms, bald head, and bare chest, as he wasn't wearing a shirt.
“We are from the rescue team, sir! We came to support and under Captain Magnus's orders, you should take the wounded to the coast... But the ships were destroyed, so there's no way out until further notice!”
Kazue then spoke, carried away by the emotion, speaking quite directly while giving a military salute with her hand over her head. This only caused the pirate to look at her strangely as if she were a weirdo, and even with some disgust.
"Why the hell are you talking like that? ... Wait, are you saying the escape ships were destroyed? What happened?"
"I'm afraid she's right. We came on the ship designated for troop withdrawal, but it was destroyed by sea monsters as soon as we disembarked."
Adam said, stepping forward and explaining what had happened on the coast more clearly. This left the pirate quite agitated and deep in thought.
"Damn it, we'll have to keep waiting until someone can get us out of here."
And with that, he simply turned around and left without saying anything else or giving further explanations. Unsure of what to do, the group looked at each other in confusion, however, they knew the last thing they should do in this situation was to stand around doing nothing, so they quickly walked further into the camp.
The more they saw what was happening in that place, the worse they felt. The groans of pain from the wounded men and women became unbearable, along with the complaints of frustration and exhaustion from countless medical personnel, busy trying to treat as many patients as possible.
This resonated deeply in Adam's mind, witnessing firsthand what it meant to be someone dedicated to saving lives in such a manner. Did he see himself doing that? He didn't know. At first, he would have said yes without hesitation, as it was expected of him. However, after almost losing his life and humanity to the ghost queen, he realized he wasn't as drawn to the idea of self-sacrifice for the sake of others. It was...conflicting.
"Make way! Move, damn it!"
Suddenly, a shout was heard behind the group, this time from another member of the Mechanica Medics—a burly man with a scruffy beard reaching down to his neck, carrying two more men over his shoulders. Trying to step aside to make room, they could see the pirate leaving the wounded on makeshift stretchers near a tent alongside two other medical personnel who looked quite agitated.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"We told you we don't have any more space here, take them somewhere else!"
"There’s no space anywhere! At least here they have somewhere to put them instead of on the ground!"
The medics complained, and the other pirate responded bitterly, as previously mentioned, they were overwhelmed with casualties and unable to attend to everyone.
"On top of that, the Med-005 models have broken down from overuse, and there's no way to repair them. Why haven't any of those stupid engineers arrived? Damn it!"
One of the doctors said, pointing to a set of machines in a corner that no one was using and taking up a lot of space. Drake recognized them almost immediately, as they resembled the ones they had used on the ship to treat his injuries. However, it wasn't him who stepped forward, nor was it Adam, who also recognized the machines but didn’t know how they worked. Instead, Sebastian approached them and began to touch them with both hands.
"Please, let me take a look at them."
He asked calmly without taking his eyes off the devices, surprising the pirates present, who were not about to stand by while a stranger interrupted their work.
"Hey old fart, get out of there! Who the hell do you think you are to—"
*CLINK CHIRP CLANK*
But his words were interrupted by the sudden chirping of the mechanical bird flying around and returning to perch on Sebastian's shoulder, threatening the men who had approached its owner. They stopped not because they feared a small automaton, but because it emitted a rather peculiar blue glow from within.
"Are you part of the Arcanotinker Crew? Why didn't you say so earlier? Thank God someone finally showed up to help with this!"
The bearded man said with a sigh of relief, which calmed and encouraged the doctors a bit, as it seemed they might finally be able to ease their workload. However, the others present were not as relaxed, especially Adam, who knew perfectly well that this was a serious issue. It was one thing to have helped fix a few things based on his clockmaking knowledge, and quite another to repair real problems with medical equipment. So, he seized a brief moment of distraction to approach his companion and ask if this was a good idea.
"Mr. Sebastian, do you know what you're doing? You'll be in danger if they find out you can't repair these machines."
The young man said, but the older man calmly replied without taking his eyes off his work, as he had already managed to open the lid of one of the devices to examine its interior.
"Don't worry, I can't explain it, but for some reason, I feel like I understand how it works."
⌠The title “Novice Antiquarian” is resonating with user Sebastian Rüegg⌡ ⌠…⌡ ⌠…⌡ ⌠Skill "Foreign Machinery Understanding Lv1" has been created⌡ ⌠Congratulations!⌡
A few system windows suddenly appeared above Sebastian's head, visible only to him due to his enhanced vision, indicating that the title he had earned for repairing the Ancient Aviatrix had granted him a special skill. Surprised and unable to speak for the moment, Adam tried to examine what was happening, prompting another window to pop up with information about the skill being used.
[Skill: Foreign Machinery Understanding Lv1] [You have seen the skill twice, data is being collected] [Low-level passive skill, allows the user to understand and comprehend the full functioning of technology-based objects and Common to F-rank treasures within a story.]
That explained quite a bit, although discovering that a skill could be created naturally, even when assisted by a title, was significant information—something he needed to share immediately with the others. So, he simply let him work and moved away to rejoin the group and explain what had happened.
Interestingly, the one who reacted most calmly was Li, who simply raised an eyebrow and watched the elderly man work.
"How curious, it's very rare for something like this to happen. That old man has been quite lucky."
With that, he simply shrugged, showing that he didn’t care much. However, both the blond and the girl seemed quite pleased about it but decided not to interrupt Sebastian. After all, if he could repair those machines, he would have a lot of work ahead of him.
Having resolved something but still unsure of what to do, the group remained indecisive for a moment until a shout from a familiar voice suddenly shook them.
"HEY! Why are you just standing there? Move to the front immediately! ... Why are there only five of you? Where's the one who's missing?"
It was Magnus, who had reached them and was demanding to know why they were still in the camp. Without hesitation, both Drake and Adam explained the situation they were in and that Mr. Sebastian seemed capable of helping with the workload of the doctors and nurses.
"Hmm, I understand. Well, leave him there then. You’ll come with me to the front immediately."
The captain said without missing a beat, turning and nodding for them to follow. However, before he could move forward, Nikolai began to speak.
"But if poor Mr. Sebastian is staying here, then he needs someone to protect him from any problems that may arise, right? I’ll stay here as his bodyguard and make sure he can work without any issues."
The young man said as he pulled out his pistol to demonstrate that he had the means to do what he said; however, the look he received from Magnus was one of deep disgust.
"Fine, stay. A disgusting coward would just be a nuisance. Besides, reinforcements of class 5 have already been requested. Who goes, as long as they can hold out for a bit, doesn't matter."
“Heh, I’ve been called worse”
In response to the captain's disgust, Nikolai simply laughed mockingly and walked toward the tent where Sebastian was working, knowing he would be much safer there than in the middle of the battlefield.
None of the other group members knew what to say about it, though many had expected that attitude after seeing how he had behaved in the workshop the day before. Still, they didn’t waste any more time, and the four individuals, along with the pirate, began to run through the camp until they reached one of its edges, which was well-guarded and filled with people entering and exiting at full speed.
"Once we’re outside, I’ll split from you. You just need to run into every factory you see, taking out any members of the Armada you find inside, understood? Don’t hesitate, because they won’t hesitate to do the same."
Everyone nodded and hurried out through the settlement gate, only to be greeted by a spectacular sight: an industrial complex that made even the Gearspire Stronghold’s infrastructure seem small, though the visible walls indicated it was much smaller than a city. Massive steel factories spewed thick black smoke everywhere, while towers and pipes jutted out all around, remnants of the multiple battles taking place.
Magnus wasted no time and vanished from sight using a powerful steam boost from his heavy mechanical arm, leaving the group alone amid a war that wasn’t theirs. Still, both Li and Kazue seemed excited.
"Alright, this should be easy enough, it's time to farm some points. Stick together and support me as much as you can."
The man said, which was met only by a cheer of enthusiasm from the girl, raising both arms excitedly and showcasing her mechanical gauntlet in one hand and a serrated sword in the other. Meanwhile, the other two simply exchanged worried glances.
Setting aside the countless people fighting in the streets and various machines in the distance, the group quickly entered the nearest factory, encountering a sizable group of around seven soldiers clad in metallic armor with gears protruding from all sides. Each soldier wielded swords resembling the serrated ones used by pirates, but with the difference that these appeared slightly curved and had a trigger on the handle.
"Enemies have entered! Escort the workers outside to the extraction point!"
One of the soldiers shouted, the only one holding a large metal shield. Two of the others quickly obeyed the order, finally revealing what they had been protecting behind them: a group of at least ten men and women trembling with fear. They were factory workers who had nothing to do with the siege at the hands of the seven pirate guilds.
Adam, Drake, and even Kazue suddenly stopped when they saw them there. However, the man beside them stepped forward, adjusting his hat as he summoned his spellbook.
“I was dying to try this.”
Said Li holding his grimoire, which began to glow intensely as he smiled widely.
”[RAAJIA IGNIS]”