Time rewinds to the moment when the Hades Scorpion demon bravely shielded the fire-breathing war chariot before he descended towards the ground. Although it was an enclosed space, somehow the four-legged Flame Blaster tank allowed for observing the outside.
Within the chariot, various mysterious touch-sensitive boards displayed vivid images and emitted sounds, providing a comprehensive view of the surroundings—front, back, left, right, and above. Taking charge from Marcellus, who was engrossed in piloting and attacking, Rinne diligently reported the situation outside, keeping an eye on the external images.
“Oh no. That person fell.” She said.
“What!? Damn it!”
“But it seems he can catch up. He is incredibly fast.”
In her usual monotone voice, yet conveying a sense of urgency, Rinne made the report. Marcellus cursed under his breath, racking his brain for any possible way to retrieve the fallen person.
However, even with his reasonably sharp mind, he couldn’t come up with a viable solution. It was clear that they didn’t have enough manpower. Fortunately, it seemed like even though he fell down from the chariot, the scorpion demon was still chasing after them. Marcellus could only hope that the demon would catch up in time.
“Guuuuuu!”
Meanwhile, the white armored soldier continued his relentless pursuit. Mika single-handedly fended off his beam light attacks, but the burden was too heavy to endure for long. Though, Marcellus wanted to support him, he could only do his best to hold off the other fire-breathing war chariots that were chasing after them.
Rather than finding a way to turn the tide, it felt like they were on the brink of complete annihilation. Such thoughts raced through Marcellus’ mind. He knew he couldn’t afford to adopt a defeatist mindset, but circumstances had pushed him into this desperate situation.
“Huff, huff… If I’m going to do it, it has to be now,” Mika muttered.
“Mika? What are you…!?”
Rinne didn’t miss Mika’s words spoken through the visual boards. Sensing an ominous atmosphere, she shifted her gaze to the overhead recordings of the fire-breathing war chariots. There, Mika had leaped out of the chariot, shield at the ready.
He pounced on the white armored soldier, tumbling and grappling with him on the ground. Ignoring the two’s struggle, Marcellus accelerated, making the chariot’s four legs move even faster while keeping his sights set on the south.
“Stop! Mika! Mika jumped out!” Rinne exclaimed.
“We can’t stop! This is our only chance!” Marcellus declared.
Ignoring Rinne’s cries to stop, Marcellus bellowed at her with a heart of stone. This was the opportunity that Mika had risked his life to create. If they stopped now, their actions would render everything Mika had done in vain.
Deep down, Marcellus didn’t want anyone to die. However, as a soldier, he wasn’t given the option to turn back at this moment.
“….Ugh!”
“Hey! Stop!”
Rinne opened the entrance of the fire-breathing tank and twisted her body, trying to get out. Marcellus hurriedly grabbed her ankle, holding her back. The war chariot didn’t stop since all Marcellus had to do to make it move forward was press the pedals at his feet.
Rinne, leaning out, desperately moved her legs, but Marcellus couldn’t allow her to sacrifice herself needlessly. He held onto her legs with all his might.
“Stop! Stop it! Are you going to abandon the two of them!?”
“Ugh… There’s no other choice!”
After being kicked in the face by Rinne, Marcellus spat out blood as he uttered those words. They were in the midst of an infiltration mission, and he had to say those words not out of emotion but for the sake of the mission. Overwhelmed by the strength in Marcellus’ voice, Rinne regained her composure.
Almost simultaneously, a tremendous surge of spiritual power emanated from behind them, causing both of them to shudder involuntarily. The ground transformed into a vast desert of sand with astonishing speed, extending right beneath the four-legged, fire-breathing war chariot.
The sand rose abruptly, forming a gigantic sphere that swallowed the entire group of pursuing enemies. It then crushed them mercilessly. It took a few seconds for Marcellus, who saw this through the visual boards, and Rinne, who witnessed it with her own eyes, to fully comprehend the phenomenon that had unfolded before them.
“D-Did… Did he annihilate them all…?” Marcellus stammered.
“Go back now! We might still…!”
The pursuing forces were wiped out by the widespread spiritual art. If they returned immediately, they might be able to save the two of them. However, as if shattering Rinne’s hope, two fire-breathing war chariots and five metal horses approached from the southwest as enemy reinforcements.
Marcellus continued to move forward without slowing down. Rinne clenched her lips tightly, determined, as she stepped outside the chariot. Marcellus was about to ask what she was doing, thinking she had lost her mind, but before he could, Rinne took action.
“Haah!”
As she intensified her spiritual power with a strong determination, the scenery distorted slightly, and five four-legged war chariots appeared, each heading in a different direction. Simultaneously, Rinne herself and the war chariot she was touching vanished into the darkness of the night, as if melting away.
This was, of course, caused by Rinne’s illusion techniques. When they escaped from Carnela Port, they were outnumbered and already being tracked, so using it would have been pointless. That’s why she hadn’t used this method until now.
However, in the current situation, where they hadn’t been spotted yet, its effect was tremendous. The enemy reinforcements paused in confusion, each chasing after one of the illusions created by Rinne. At the same time, Marcellus and Rinne managed to escape from their pursuers’ grasp.
“Rinne, well done!”
“Haa… haa…”
Marcellus, completely focused on piloting, was unaware, but Rinne had beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she turned pale. Illusion techniques were a type of spiritual art, and spiritual arts consumed spiritual power, the energy of the soul, to activate. When using spiritual power close to one’s limits, it would rapidly deplete one’s physical stamina.
Rinne was currently exhibiting symptoms of having spiritual power overuse. Nevertheless, she continued to expend her spiritual power to maintain the illusions until they reached a safe location. The sweat on her forehead continued to increase.
Seeing Rinne return to the chariot, Marcellus finally realized that she was pushing herself too hard. He pressed the pedal to the limit, trying to increase the speed as much as possible.
However, a challenge stood before him. It was the wheat field that had been of great assistance to them during their infiltration. While Rinne’s illusion could make them disappear, they couldn’t pass through physical objects like ghosts. Therefore, instead of concealing the massive war chariot, the wheat field would only reveal their presence to the surroundings.
Thanks to Rinne, the pursuing forces had their attention diverted, and the enemy’s presence couldn’t be seen in the surroundings. However, if they were to proceed straight through the wheat field, their actions would be visible even from a distance. Understanding this, Marcellus decided to take a slight detour and head towards the sandy beach on the coast.
“It’s still quiet around here, as usual. The enemy hasn’t arrived yet… Let’s push through this place all at once. Just a little more; give it your all,” Marcellus said.
“Ok….ay…”
Marcellus raced across the white sandy beach, hearing Rinne’s heavy breaths. Despite the considerable weight of the war chariot, it moved smoothly without sinking into the sand. Without being attacked by the enemy, they were moving much faster than anticipated.
Continuing along the beach, they reached the planted forest along the river before sunrise. The river was wide, making it impossible for the four-legged war chariot, even with its impressive jumping ability, to clear it in a single leap. It was Marcellus’ turn to take charge this time, and he prepared himself mentally.
“Let’s go!”
The war chariot leaped high into the air and landed on the water’s surface of the river. In that instant, sweat beads formed on Marcellus’s forehead. He had used his own spiritual art to solidify the water’s surface, creating a platform to stand on.
Marcellus was capable of using spiritual arts to a certain extent, but his affinity was with fire. Anyone could use spiritual arts outside their affinity, but it was extremely challenging. Despite this, Marcellus had managed to solidify the water to support the war chariot. He was pushing himself just as much as Rinne was.
“Ughh…! One more!”
Marcellus made the chariot leap once again and landed on the water’s surface. They repeated this process several times until finally reaching the Empire’s planted forest. They had escaped that perilous dead end.
Once they reached the land, Marcellus maneuvered the war chariot into the heart of the planted forest. He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, opened the doors of the war chariot, and stepped outside.
From his pocket, he took out a cylinder like object and pulled a string that extended from its bottom. With a light, swift sound, something flew into the sky from the end of the string, exploding in a bright burst of light and a loud noise above the planted forest.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a device created by the Empire, using technology borrowed from the invading army. It’s called an illumination flare. It produces sound and light, but its explosive power is low. If our allies see this… Ah, they’re here. Rinne, dispel the illusions.”
Following Marcellus’ instructions, Rinne dispelled all the illusions. Right then, the four-legged war chariot appeared in the midst of the planted forest, and the illusory war chariots that were running through the occupied territory, although unseen from their current position, vanished as well. Rinne, seemingly relieved, leaned back against the seat and fell asleep.
As if waiting for her to fall asleep, imperial soldiers emerged from the southern edge of the planted forest. They displayed a tense vigilance upon witnessing the illumination flare and the unfamiliar shape of the war chariot. In response to these soldiers, Marcellus boldly proclaimed his allegiance and rank, projecting his voice from the depths of his stomach.
“I am Marcellus Stius Orox, belonging to the 8th regiment, 1st division of the imperial army! I have just returned from an infiltration mission in the occupied territory!”
While reciting his full name and rank, Marcellus proudly displayed his military insignia as a member of the imperial army. The soldiers, who had their weapons at the ready, gradually lowered them, and their highest-ranking captain stepped forward.
It appeared that the two were acquainted, as they exchanged a military salute. Afterward, Marcellus inquired about the whereabouts of his subordinates, requesting the captain to provide him with information.
“I don’t mind informing you, but what do you plan to do?” the captain asked.
“There are some individuals we left behind in the occupied territory. They got separated not far from the river. If possible, I want to rescue them,” Marcellus replied.
“That is……”
The soldier struggled to hold back his words of caution. Deep down, he understood the desire to go and save those in need, for he would feel the same if he were in a similar situation.
After much deliberation, the soldier finally disclosed the location where Marcellus’s subordinates were commanding their unit. In order to signal that they were part of the imperial army, the soldier even suggested using the Imperial army uniforms as makeshift flags. Expressing gratitude to the soldier, Marcellus set off with his four-legged war chariot towards that direction.