Read Novel Full Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Chapter 255 – Escape from the Sand
“…Eh?”
I tilted my head as we drove. We had just crossed a loose, dune-like ridge when we suddenly plunged into a scree-like depression. In addition, the area was littered with rocks, making it a perfect place for an ambush. I was curious to hear what the shrine maidens had to say, but I couldn’t take my eyes or hands off it right now.
“We’ll talk later! Hold on, everyone!”
Perhaps it is a place that has escaped the erosion of the wind, but the rocks, some nearly a meter in diameter, are scattered about.
“Prince, is there a way around it?”
“We’ll have to take a long detour to the west or east. To the west is a walled city occupied by the Empire, and to the east are the mountains.”
“How far will we have to go before we pass through the hollows?”
“A little over a mile.”
About two kilometers. Our speed will be reduced, and I will have to worry about damage to the tires. We can expect a few more ambushes, but the only way to travel the shortest distance is to keep going. The large, sturdy tires certainly grip the car, but because of the weight of the car, the shaking is tremendous, and the passengers in the back seat scream as they are swung around.
Myrril, who has better eyesight and situational awareness than I do, leans forward in the passenger seat, alert to the surroundings.
“Mir!”
“I can see them. Leave it to me!”
Sure enough, a group of soldiers with bows, spears, and stone-throwers could be seen hiding on a ledge at the end of a cliff. As expected, they could not run on horseback, and there were no cavalrymen in sight.
On the other hand, these guys had been contacted long before they came on foot to a place like this. Or they had been packing all along, anticipating the passage of a hostile force that may or may not come. Either way, the Empire’s military preparations were strange.
“Myrril, if there are people in white…”
“I know!”
Ignoring the flailing body of the vehicle, Myrril-san quickly moves to the gun emplacement. The shooting starts immediately, and to my surprise, every time a close-range shot is fired, the enemy soldiers are slaughtered without fail. I wonder if Nojaloli-san is equipped with a fire control system.
“All right, threat eliminated, Yoshua, advance!”
I wonder if she is okay with being swung around on the gun emplacement, but it is not safe to ask her to dismount yet. There are too many places for the enemy to hide.
It took us almost an hour to get through the steep slope, which was less than two kilometers long. There were about 40 enemy soldiers in position. There were no shrine maidens in sight, and they had only projectile weapons, not long-range artillery. Either way, they would have been wiped out by Myrril’s fire.
“There was no sign of the shrine maiden. There were some survivors, but they don’t seem to have any intention of attacking us.”
“Roger that. We’ll keep going.”
Once again, Casspir climbed the dune and headed north. There seemed to be no settlement for a while and nothing to be seen on the horizon.
Myrril also seemed to confirm that the road was safe and climbed down to the passenger seat.
“Thanks for your help.”
“Umu, the PKM is not a bad weapon. It is powerful and has a straight trajectory. It’s a little fast, so I’m a little worried about the heat.”
The PKM’s 7.62 x 54 mm R round is a full-size rifle round, much more powerful and accurate than the 7.62 x 39 mm assault rifle round used in the AKM and RPK. It is as powerful as the thirty ought six rifle rounds that were the mainstay of Casemaian ammunition, and it can easily penetrate shields and heavy armor that is about as heavy as a man can carry. It would collectively shoot through any light infantry that could fit into the scree slope. In fact, they were shot through.
“Are you all right?”
I finally had enough time to turn around and ask the Prince and the others, as well as the shrine maidens, in the rear compartment. Some of them were a little stiff from bouncing around in the wobbly car, but they didn’t seem to be badly hurt.
“”””It’s all right.””””
“So which Demon King were you talking about before?”
It’s not like there are four heavenly kings in the demon world or something, is it? If that’s the case, I’m definitely the weakest one. No, I’m not an inhabitant of the demon world.
“”””Kaienholt.””””
“Kaienholt? That guy is dead. Our Demon King ripped his guts out, and the Prince and the twins put a stop to him.”
“”””But there is no mistaking it.””””
“I also felt a presence peering at me.”
The Prince supports the words of the shrine maidens. It sounds like something from the occult to me.
“If he was still alive after that, he must be a monster.”
This is not the time to smile happily, Myrril-san. It’s actually the first time I’ve met someone who can’t be killed by bullets or anything like that.
Although the shrine maidens can sense the presence of Demon King Kaienholt moving and approaching, they don’t have any idea of his exact position or even how he moves.
I don’t think he has legs that exceed Casspir’s movement speed, but if Kaienholt really did survive his body being split open and turned into a beehive, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some special movement ability that I don’t know about.
Like teleportation.
“Let me know if you find anything.”
“”””Yes.””””
The shrine maidens who are still working together to lay siege to the area are receiving sensory communications, but they are a series of numbers and symbols that we cannot discern, so they are of no use to us, I hear.
“I see; the shrine maiden’s communication is an open channel, so it is encrypted.”
The Imperial Army is more modern than I thought.
“Opun chaneru?”
“It means ‘anyone can listen in.’ If the Imperial Army doesn’t make a code that only they can understand, if even one shrine girl is taken away from them, all their secrets will leak out.”
This was an idea that had never occurred to the Casemaians, who had only a small territory. Although we sent scouts into the enemy territory, it seems that we exchanged information directly among ourselves.
“Well, when a failure shows up, that’s when it happens. This time, we will send him back to the underworld.”
After driving for a while, we decided to take a break for lunch since it was around noon. There was no time to clear the dishes and clean up in the face of an expected enemy attack, so Simon gave me a military ration as a service. I ate it in a retort bag at room temperature. The drink is bottled water. Since this is a desert area, I advise them to take more, even if they are not thirsty, to avoid dehydration. Well, I guess that goes without saying since they are from Solbesia.
Myrril and I went up to the gun emplacement and continued to watch our surroundings while we ate. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is absolutely no obstruction in our field of vision. We would know if they approached.
“But… it’s an amazing landscape, isn’t it?”
“This is also my first time in the Land of Sand. Being in a place like this makes me feel like a tiny person.”
Yes, I have only traveled abroad a few times, and my destinations have been in Asia, so this was my first experience in a desert. I had never seen a landscape where there was nothing but a 360-degree horizon.
It was beautiful and majestic, but I also felt a vague sense of unease or helplessness.
What if Casspir breaks down here? What if we get separated from our companions? What if we lose our supplies? What if we get injured or sick, and our actions are hindered? The feeling that death is just around the corner is much stronger than when I was in Casemaian, the Kingdom, or the Republic.
“I wonder if this is what it would be like to be thrown into the ocean.”
“Oh, yes. I have no such experience. It’s like being surrounded by things beyond human understanding.”
“Do the people of the northern continent feel the same way?”
The Prince, who was eating his meal in the shade created by the Casspir’s body, said with a smile in his voice.
“What do you mean, the same way? We are not a part of it, but for you this is your homeland, isn’t it?”
“Even the people of Solbesia feel the same way about being trapped in the sand. It may be even stronger because we have no other choice.”
“Is that something you can’t escape with the currency of grace?”
“It’s like watering this sand.”
No matter how much grace is poured, nothing remains, nothing is born, and everything is absorbed into nothingness. It is too roundabout and useless a waste to think that one day it will sprout.
With that, the Prince laughed softly as if he had reached a point of optimism or resignation.