Read Novel Full Chapter 215
Here’s the chapter. Enjoy~
Chapter 215 – Deadly Gold
A few kilometers into the mountains from Aihawl, the largest gold mine in the Western Territories. As I checked the map with Sembeck-san, the deputy commander of the guard, I might have been somewhat relaxed by the fact that we were making good progress so far.
Myrril-san was standing on the roof of the Griffon, checking the surroundings with binoculars. The blizzard had died down during the move, and there was only a dusting of powdery snow. The sky was still overcast, but there were glimpses of sunshine near the horizon.
“It might be sunny by the time we get back.”
“I don’t think this is the time to be so optimistic.”
Myrril exhaled with a discouraged expression as she stepped out of the overhead hatch and into the car.
“What is it, Mir?”
“Along the road leading to the mine lies a body in a green cloak. Some in work clothes and fur coats. I think they are miners.”
“Should we attack?”
The guards are on the verge of war, but Myrril shakes her head.
“Their size and equipment are not suited for the mines. We’ll have to let them come out and finish them off.”
“Besides the soldiers in the western territories… the people are suffering too, and we’re just supposed to sit here and wait?”
“I understand how you feel. Let us take care of it. We will not make things worse.”
“Oh… no, I think killing them all is the very definition of ‘bad behavior.'”
“Excuse me. We don’t kill everyone all the time, nor do we want to.”
But as always with us, this kind of trouble ends up with everyone getting killed. Ivan-san’s concern is understandable.
If you ask me which side I’m on, I don’t even have to think about it.
“Ivan-san, please don’t move from here. With our weapons, there is a risk of friendly fire. If we need help, we will call you.”
“That’s fine. Don’t be too hasty.”
Please tell the other side. Ivan-san, who must have understood my feelings, shrugged and looked after us as we walked down the stairs.
“Me.”
Nojaloli-sensei slung her MAC10 with a silencer over her shoulder and checked the extra magazines in her carry-on bag. I took care of the M79 and UZI, so the only other equipment she has is an M1911 copy automatic pistol and a Polar revolver. The number of rounds in the magazine, however, is more than a hundred.
“I’m not comfortable without my ‘wuji.'”
“With firepower that could destroy a company of heavily armed infantrymen, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s a matter of feelings.”
I carried Myrril in my arms, and we flew to the edge of the road that led to the mine. Bodies lay here and there on the sloping, snow-covered road. Fifteen soldiers and about thirty civilians from the Western Territories. It is clear that the rebels have no intention of hiding the attack, and I sense that they are abandoning their position.
When I looked at the top of the slope, I saw that about ten Imperial infantrymen in black cloaks had formed a hastily prepared formation and were on the lookout for us.
“As expected, if they have taken over the gold mines, they expect the Republic to come and take them back… They can’t go back to the Empire now, so why are they helping the Northern Lord?”
“I don’t know, but they were probably offered a share of the gold ore.”
“So, what do you say we split up here and go on our way?”
I take the rear position, which is a blind spot, and bring Myrril down. And I pull out my Sturm Ruger Mk2 and shoot them in the head. With a .22 caliber long rifle bullet with a silencer, seven of them fall almost silently. By the time the rest of them notice us, we have finished changing the magazines, and I slowly walk up to them at close range and finish them off.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“As expected, one shot doesn’t kill them instantly.”
Even though it is a hollow point that blossoms inside the body, it is a weak bullet that would not kill even a horned rabbit instantly. A human, even a strong soldier, would writhe and roll after a solid shot through the head, depending on the angle of entry and the thickness of the skull. Considering mercy and safety, at least two bullets per person are needed.
While I reloaded the spent magazines and stored the bodies, Myrril ran to the tunnel entrance to scout it for me. As I approached, she stopped me with a hand and pointed to the back.
“There are no guards at the end of these tunnels. The closest one is about 30 feet away.”
That’s… what, a hundred meters or so? I don’t have a clear shot, so I’ll have to teleport…”
“Threat elimination.”
Just one MAC10 shot is fired, and Myrril-san beckons me to follow. I knew I was in the wrong role.
“Good thing we have night vision goggles.”
We both lower the receivers on our helmets and look ahead into the dark tunnels. About a hundred meters down the tunnel, we saw a body lying on the ground. There were no side streets in between.
“Let’s go; there’s some kind of fight going on.”
I jumped to the position of the body and confirmed that it was a Northern Territory soldier in a red coat. After stowing the body and checking the area, we moved on to the switch that was visible a short distance ahead. The reinforced beams were similar to the tunnel we had entered before but not high enough to bend over and not wide enough. In addition, the floor was hard-packed like a simple sidewalk. There were even stone slabs buried in key places.
“This place is cleaner than the Mole’s Cave.”
“That place is made of cheap magic stone or scrap coal, and it’s an abandoned mine. There is no comparison. There is a difference in the amount of money they put into the mine and the convenience of shipping out the heavy gold ore. Here.”
Mirryl pointed to a spot where hoof prints and ruts had been left in the hardened earth. Is this supposed to be accessible by horse-drawn wagon or sleigh? No wonder they do so much maintenance.
“This way.”
I followed Myrril down a gentle slope to a stairwell. It was about ten meters in diameter, but it had a spiral slope that wound its way down to the basement.
In short, if we moved normally, we would be discovered.
“…Mm?”
Myrril peered over the edge and raised her voice in suspicion, motioning for me to point down.
I looked down with her and saw two groups of people on the bottom floor, about 30 meters down, staring at each other with their swords drawn. Both were soldiers wearing cloaks, but the green-tinted night vision goggles made it impossible to tell red from black.
I lifted the receiver and looked again. The group of about 30 soldiers emerging from the light of the campfire was the Imperial Army, and the group of about 50 was soldiers from the Northern Territories.
“…%@&%@…”
“…!&#@*#&…”
The echoes in the distance made it hard to hear what they were saying, but even a fool could tell that they were arguing over a share of the loot, as there were several horse-drawn sleighs with huge horses hitched next to the horses. On the back of the wagon is a pile of what looks like rocks. I am not sure what color they are, but they are probably gold ore.
The problem right now is not that. It is those who are not wearing cloaks who are lying on the ground around them, not moving a muscle.
“They killed all the miners.”
“They can’t just stand there, can they? They’ll start killing each other in a few minutes.”
The Imperial Army soldiers attacked from the side of the miners, and one soldier from the Northern Territory was cut down and killed. From then on, it was a wild battle.
“…That saves us a lot of trouble.”
Myrril muttered with a look of dismay on her face. A small group of about five people appeared from the sidehole next to us.
“Sorry, could you bow your heads a little?”
Myrril brandished her MAC10 and took it out with a single shot. It was a Northern Territories soldier in a red cloak. Since he was carrying a longbow, he may have been trying to launch a support attack from a high vantage point. However, it is highly doubtful that he was able to kill him accurately in a situation where the two armies were completely intermingled.
After a while, the survivors were reduced to a few. A man who appeared to be the commander, protected by a few soldiers, was lifted onto a nearby platform. Most of the soldiers remained standing while the commander and his two guards rode off on horse-drawn sleighs. Though the horses were huge and powerful imperial horses, they were slow as they climbed the incline, and the weight of their load was evident.
As the next sleigh was about to leave, a soldier in charge of the driver was caught, dragged off, and tortured to death on the spot.
“They were the only ones to escape.
They frantically whipped the horses and came up the ramp. As they approached, they saw that the person sitting on the platform, who appeared to be the commander, was a woman. Could she be the money-grubbing Vixen Lord?
“I guess it’s time to come out of hiding.”
“I guess so.”
I take the offered MAC10 and spare magazines and return her beloved UZI. I stowed my Sturm Ruger and switched to my AKM.
“You take care of the horse-drawn sleighs coming this way.”
“That’s the master, isn’t it? Should we catch them once and for all?”
“I think so. If possible, keep her unharmed, but if she resists, kill her.”
I teleported to the lowest floor and shot at the Imperial Guardsmen clinging to the horse-drawn sleigh. As soon as I fired a 7.62 millimeter round into each of them, none of them moved.
“Hey! Is anybody hiding? We’re here to rescue you from the southern territory of the Republic!”
No reply. More than a hundred corpses, military and civilian, lie in the surrounding area, but not a single person moves.
Well, I knew that, but I had to check just in case.
There were three horse-drawn sleighs. Each one had a pile of gold ore on the back. I put it away as a reward for my efforts. Taking pity on the angry horses, I took the sleds and their equipment out of storage. Freed, they snorted and rode off to wherever they were going.
As was my custom, I stowed all the bodies and their equipment. I looked into the sidehole, but it was just a series of tunnels. I had neither the time nor the inclination to check everything. Even if someone is hiding somewhere, I can’t take care of them. I want them to live strong.
“Well…”
Some shots were fired up there a while ago. I think there was some screaming as well. I don’t think Myrril-san will be able to use any leverage against the three of them, though.
“Myrril?”
“Oh, no problem. This is also threat elimination!”
She sounds unhappy. No big deal. Looks like we’re going to kill everyone over there as well.
You were right, Ivan-san.