Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 5 Chapter 29   Infiltrate an enemy base

“Is this the enemy’s stronghold?”

“It seems so.”

Carter had asked us to do something about what seemed to be the enemy’s stronghold that they had discovered.

Although they requested our help, there were other knights who had also arrived, so we left the investigation to them.

This made us wonder what our purpose was. It turned out that we were being asked to act as decoys.

Even with other knights present, there were several other locations outside the cathedral that had also been attacked, and those areas needed to be dealt with.

Thus, while we had found what appeared to be the enemy’s stronghold, we were hesitant to launch an immediate attack due to concerns about our forces.

However, given some time, the enemy might take some action or even retreat.

For this reason, our plan involved launching a flashy frontal assault, while the knights would sneak in from other entrances to handle various tasks during the commotion.

I wanted to go to Miyano’s place right away, but in the end, I decided to fulfill Carter’s request.

There’s no doubt that I wanted to do something about the Salvation Army, as leaving them be not only causes harm to the town but also puts Miyano and the others at risk. Our well-deserved trip has already been ruined, and I don’t want to burden them any further.

So, I agreed to Carter’s request but asked for the protection of Miyano and the others in return.

According to what Carter said, it seems that gates have opened in various parts of the town, not just where we are, and there were also gates formed in the area where Miyano and the others were.

Fortunately, it seems that the situation has already been resolved, probably thanks to Miyano and the others’ actions.

Hearing that relieved me, but it doesn’t necessarily mean everything is safe now.

I don’t think it’s likely, but if dragons were appearing on their side as I suspected, Miyano and the others would have to fight with all their might. However, in that case, even after the battle ends, they would be completely drained of their strength. If they were attacked in such a state, they wouldn’t be able to handle it properly.

That’s why I asked for their protection. With that, I can avoid going there myself and focus on attacking with peace of mind.

So, we arrived at the enemy’s stronghold, but it turned out to be a rather ordinary place.

Honestly, it was just a store.

Well, it’s more like a supermarket, so it’s not strange for them to transport large items and blend in with the urban area.

Well, the Knight’s headquarters is also an ordinary place in a sense, so it’s not strange for them to be hidden in such locations.

However, when we entered, it looked like an ordinary store. But as Carter had mentioned, when we headed to the manager’s office, we found an entrance leading to the basement.

It was said that they gathered this information from the surviving enemies through interrogation, and it turned out to be accurate.

Once we discovered the entrance, we exchanged glances and proceeded cautiously yet swiftly down the stairs.

As we descended the stairs and continued straight, we immediately encountered enemies at the first corner.

The moment Sieg, who was leading the way, peeked around the corner, a barrage of bullets came flying from ahead. Not just one or two, but an overwhelming amount that was hard to determine.

The gunshots reverberated in the underground space, making it difficult to gauge the exact number of enemies, but judging by the sheer number of bullets, there were quite a few.

“So, the enemies are armed with firearms.”

“Does that mean I won’t be of much use?”

Against monsters or a single formidable opponent, I can manage reasonably well, and in stealth situations, I might be able to handle things. However, in a fight where we are overwhelmed by their numbers using guns and bombs with no escape route, I must admit that I won’t be of much help.

In this straight and obstacle-free passage, advancing would only lead to being shot dead without achieving anything.

“If you want to fight, feel free to charge ahead, okay?”

“I don’t want to fight, so you go ahead.”

However, while I would be taken down easily with a single shot, Sieg was different.

Getting hit by bullets wouldn’t affect him much, as they would be as harmless as an airsoft gun. At best, they’d be like a slingshot made of disposable chopsticks.

That’s why sending Sieg in was the right choice.

Sieg seemed to understand that too. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his sword, and as soon as the storm of bullets stopped, he dashed forward.

In an instant, Sieg’s figure disappeared beyond the passage, and immediately after, the sound of gunfire resumed, but this time, it was accompanied by the rough cries of the men.

I envied his ability to charge straight into the face of gunfire like that…

“It’s over!”

As I sighed and pondered the next course of action, it didn’t take long before Sieg called out to me in his usual relaxed tone that seemed out of place in this situation.

Reacting to his voice, I got up and walked towards him, heading to where he was waiting beyond the corner.

“You did well… There are not even ten of them. Less than I expected.”

“Well, it’s just a passage, you know. Putting too many of them here wouldn’t make much sense.”

“That’s true.”

In this narrow and escapeless space, there was a limit to what they could do.

After all, they were only shooting guns, and having enough people to create a bullet curtain was sufficient.

“I think there might be rooms ahead. Should we hide in one of them and launch a surprise attack?”

“Or we could gather them together in a large room and face them all at once.”

Personally, I prefer the idea of facing them in a large room. It might be tough in combat, but at least we won’t waste time searching, and the fight itself can be left to Sieg, and it will be over quickly.

Honestly, I feel like attacking this stronghold with Sieg alone should be more than enough.

Well, I suppose I can be useful as bait. At least they seem to consider me somewhat troublesome since they have targeted me before.

Also, I serve as an insurance for Sieg. If, by any chance, something happens to him, it will be my responsibility to confirm his condition and report it. Then, I’ll continue as the decoy, and I’m sure Carter has that in mind as well. He wouldn’t expect me to engage in direct combat against these guys.

Anyway, no matter what, we have no choice but to move forward…

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for a communication device.”

Seeing me fiddling with the bloody corpses of the fallen enemies while trying to move forward, Sieg asked with a puzzled voice. But this is necessary.

“I don’t know if it’ll be useful, but it won’t take much time.”

If I can get hold of the communication device they are using, we might obtain some valuable information. However, it’s more of a wishful thought; I doubt it will be that easy. If I were the enemy, the moment I recognize that one of ours has been taken down, I’d cut off any connection to the communication devices they were using.

So, I’m just trying it out, even though it’s not very likely. If I happen to hear something, it’ll be lucky.

“Now, the only thing left is to borrow their equipment.”

Sharon, the head of the Supernatural Countermeasures Bureau, is the one responsible for my presence in this place. She provided various equipment and tools for this operation, but understandably, she didn’t lend us firearms, especially anything more powerful than a handgun. That’s only natural, of course.

However, this leaves us with some concerns about our firepower.

So, even though I’m not familiar with it and it’s my first time using it, I want to have something like a rapid-fire machine gun.

Besides, visible threats like this can be effective on their own.

If you have an unarmed Class S and an average person with a drawn sword, most people would be more wary of the person with the sword. Even if the unarmed person is actually far superior to the Class S in reality.

So, even if I haven’t used it before and even if it ends up not being useful, I’ll take it along for now.

If I can’t use it, I can still create the illusion of discarding a weapon by throwing it at the enemy. It won’t be entirely useless, I believe.

So, after collecting various items from the enemies, we continued moving underground, and it’s been about thirty minutes by now.

Well, we made a few detours along the way, so it’s not like we’ve been running for thirty minutes straight, but the area is still quite large.

As we continued down the corridor, we came across several rooms. Although they seemed to have been used and items were left behind, there was no sign of anyone inside.

Perhaps they’ll all gather and come out at once further ahead. Who knows what will happen.

“What is this place? It’s quite spacious.”

As I was thinking that, I stepped into a space that was undoubtedly larger than the shop area that was originally on the surface.

However, in this room, or rather space, there was nothing placed around, and no one was present.

Why would they prepare such a large space for? I can’t figure it out.

It doesn’t seem like a place where they hurriedly collected and stored items… I just don’t know.

“It seems there are still no enemies here, huh? I thought we would encounter them in a space this big, but…”

“Yeah. But we’ve come quite a long way, so we should be running into enemies soon—”

As soon as I said that, the door at the back of the space automatically opened, and someone emerged from there.