Charry had killed people before. Some during his dark days as a slave. He didn’t like thinking of those since his master had used him as a tool to frighten his fellow victims. He couldn’t resist because of the collar, but those images still haunted him. They took his breath away and made him curl up with guilt.
Others he had killed in his service of the Revolution, and he felt no regrets about. They were all enemy soldiers, and while a few could have been convinced to switch sides, most would have no problem putting down a rebellious slave like him.
Seeing the earth mage’s head explode into red mist as he unloaded the stored charge of his rifle and overwhelmed his defenses did not move him. Instead, Charry smoothly removed the spent crystal, placing it into his pouch, and, in the same movement, grabbed a full one, slotting it in and activating it with a spark of mana.
Most of his comrades were still in the process of understanding what was going on. Some of them, like the massive Tusk who had come from the 104th Royal Corp, had instincts and experience enough to overcome the shock, but most of the 4th Revolutionary Corp were ex-slaves, and while they had developed some skills through training, they had never faced an immediate threat they weren’t prepared for in advance.
Charry should have been like them. But he wasn’t. Something inside him, some instinct or ability, let him process everything around him calmly. He didn’t freak out. He simply repositioned and prepared to make the enemy’s mistake as bloody as possible.
Despite the mage’s gruesome and quick death, he was under no impression that it would be over without an actual fight. And indeed, as soldiers started pouring out of the hole, stout shields held high to protect the invaders from the hail coming their way, Charry realized there was a real possibility this would be the last thing he did.
I probably forced them to come out before they were ready for it. Since they tunneled up to here without setting off the wards, they must have been pretty deep and could have likely gone into the town proper. But they didn’t, which means they have a way of monitoring us because they came out as soon as Anton freaked out and we told others about the possibility of a tunnel.
Aiming for the gap between shields, Charry let out a single burst from his rifle, earning a strangled gasp as a man’s torso suddenly had a new opening. The dead soldier fell back into the hole, and Charry hoped he’d take others with him on the way down.
With an earth mage, they could have gotten here pretty quickly. He must not have been a very good one. Could he have been an Apprentice? Possibly. If he had worked around the clock ever since they started probing the wards, he could have dug this tunnel even with just first-tier spells.
A group of soldiers rapidly managed to get a foothold in the open. At the same time, the defenders had also finally gathered their wits enough to start concentrating their fire on them, pinning them there and preventing an advance. Still, they were shielding the hole well, meaning more would come soon.
Charry aimed again and let his weapon sing as if it were an extension of himself. Another two men went down, their expression confused as if they couldn’t understand from where they had been shot.
That explains why his shield was so flimsy. If he exhausted himself digging the hole and then blew even more mana in opening the tunnel, he must have been running low. And it makes sense he was the first out if he was an Apprentice. He needed direct contact with the ground to get enough force for the burst. And his comrades didn’t care it would put him at risk.
The enemy shield wall was still growing, though significantly hampered by the constant gunfire coming their way from every angle.
At least a dozen soldiers lay dead, and a few others hadn’t managed to make it out of the hole, having been taken down by a stray shot.
Charry knew there must have been hundreds of them waiting to climb out, and with the low numbers at this gatehouse, the revolutionary forces couldn’t keep them pinned for too long.
Help was on the way, he knew. This much racket would have waken up the entire town. It was too different from the muted roars of cannon fire hitting the wards. Captain Rubeus would arrive soon. But was it soon enough?
Another shot cracked the helmet a tank wore, making a flower of blood bloom from where there once was an eye.
We need to do something to keep them here until the reinforcements can arrive. If they spread through the town, they’ll enter buildings and become impossible to root out before they can disrupt the wards. That’s likely their goal. If they can break into the town hall and break the protections there, they’ll be able to use their cannons freely and force us to surrender.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
It was an annoyingly good plan. If he hadn’t noticed what they were trying to do before everything was in place, the town would have fallen before the defenders realized it had happened.
But he had noticed, and so the enemy was forced to abruptly change their plans and emerge into a disadvantageous position much sooner than they would have liked.
Charry noticed Anton moving toward the armory from the corner of his eye. The dwarf saw him looking and mouthed the word “cannon”, which was enough to draw a feral grin from him.
Now more reassured that someone was doing something useful, he concentrated on suppressing the enemy's advance.
By now, there were more than enough of them that they could begin to push away from the hole, but the relentless response from the nearby soldiers forced them to hunker down. They all knew what would happen should they lose here. Unfortunately, it couldn’t last forever.
One enemy emerged from the shield wall. He bore a well-polished plate of armor with runes carved on its surface and started pushing away from the hole and toward the inner town, bullets pinging off him harmlessly.
The two closest revolutionaries unsheathed their swords and charged him down, identifying his attempt to break through.
In a single, smooth motion, the two fell to the ground, their heads lopped off before they could even realize what was going on.
That has to be at least an Expert. Fuck, it might be a Master. No, what would a Master be doing here? He could have broken the wards in the time they spent bombing us. Fuck. I don’t know, but we need to stop him.
The presence of a significantly stronger warrior among them seemed to bolster the invaders because they let out a cheer and began to follow his tracks as he marched forward, unharmed by the hail of bullets coming his way and serving as a shield for those behind him.
The man was not moving towards him, but Charry still felt very strongly that allowing him to leave the area would be a terrible mistake.
Aiming for the gap between his helm and the rest of the armor, Charry powered up a shot. He held it in, feeling his blood thrum in his veins as he waited for the perfect moment.
More than once, he almost let go but didn’t at the last second, knowing he couldn’t afford to miss. But time was tight, and he couldn’t wait for too long.
Finally, just as the man cut down another of the defenders with almost contemptuous ease, Charry pulled the trigger.
Having fed the bullet significantly more mana than normal, the shot cut through the air in a fraction of a second.
It hit precisely at the juncture between gorget and helm, where a slip of mail could be seen.
The man was blown off his feet before he could swing his sword down upon another revolutionary, rolling on the ground for several feet until a piece of rubble stopped him.
Charry craned forward, desperately trying to see if he had gotten the kill, but felt all the air leave his lungs when, instead of a bleeding corpse, he saw him pick himself back up.
Where before he had looked contemptuous, his target was now furious. A choking aura exploded through the plaza, pressing down on everyone. The sheer intensity of it was enough that, for a moment, no one could move.
Then, with gritted teeth, Charry brought his rifle back into place and snapped another shot.
This time, it was halted before it could even reach the target by a shimmering blue barrier, which flickered unstably upon being hit.
“You made me waste it!” The man roared, long steps bounding away from the direction he had initially chosen, seemingly only interested in getting revenge.
Not wasting any time talking, Charry shot two more times before he got too close. The barrier finally gave way at the second bullet, but it was too late by then.
With mana flooding his system, Charry jumped back from a heavy overhand blow that split the stone ground, sending shards flying away.
“You are gonna pay for this, you slave scum!”
Dodging again by a hairsbreadth, Charry couldn’t help but feel he was being unfairly targeted. “If you hadn’t come here, it wouldn’t have happened, you know?” He quipped, which had the effect of making the very dangerous man even angrier.
Ah, I always knew I would die because of my mouth. I kind of hoped it was because I stole a pretty lady away from a noble, but I suppose dying for the cause of freedom is good, too.
Another long step brought the man too close for Charry to dodge, so he was forced to sacrifice his rifle to deflect the sword trying to bisect him.
Unfortunately, that only gave him enough time to dodge to the side and take two steps because he could feel the mana coalescing into a powerful skill.
BOOM!
It was also enough to bring the enemy warrior into Anton’s cannon’s way.
For all his enchanted armor and no doubt extraordinary resilience, the terrifying enemy was still mortal. His upper body disappeared into red mist while his sword and legs clattered noisily to the ground in the sudden silence.
Looking back, Charry saw the usually grumpy dwarf cheekily waving his way and that the enemy soldiers had frozen in surprise.
Predictably, that was when a horn was blown, signifying the arrival of the reinforcements.
And not a second too soon.
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Being hailed as a local hero should have felt good. And it did, for the first couple of hours. Charry enjoyed the attention of the ladies and his comrades paying for a few beers, but after the initial rush, he was left only thinking about how close he had come to death and how he hadn’t minded it all that much.
Silence had finally fallen over the town of Margì. The night felt heavier than any he could remember.
“I would have thought I’d appreciate not having my hearing ruined by cannon fire, but since the bastards retreated, it feels like something is missing.” Rhea’s soft voice broke his musings, and Charry turned to see the woman pull a shawl over her bare shoulders, looking into the dark where there had once been the enemy camp.
“They retreated, but they cannot be too far away. Not knowing where they are means we can’t relax.” He explained though he didn’t believe it himself.
The carnage at the hole the enemy had opened had been enough to turn any man’s stomach. It was enough that even Captain Rubeus had seemed queasy, but they had been given no choice, and thus, hundreds of men had died fruitlessly trying to create a foothold in the town.
Charry allowed a small smile to grow as Rhea sat beside him, their shoulders touching. He was still unsettled by what had happened, but it had also reinforced his resolve. The enemy couldn’t be reasoned with. They would never leave the slaves be now that they had been freed.
And I’m not going back to that. Whatever I have to do, I’ll die free.