Chapter 212 : To the Usurpers (2)
Chapter 212: To the Usurpers (2)
Bang! KWAANG!
KWA-A-A-ANG!
As the Beasts rampaged, the surrounding buildings collapsed one after another, and thick clouds of dust blanketed the area.
The already overcrowded plaza became complete chaos as fleeing civilians poured into it.
Those trapped beneath the crowd, sprawled on the ground screaming, lost consciousness without even being able to resist amid the even louder roars and explosions.
Those who trampled over them in a desperate attempt to escape didn't get far before the Beasts' claws tore their bodies to shreds.
Lieutenant Colonel Ewald, an officer of the Defense Force who had been waiting at the train station to return to his operational area after regular leave, could only stare at the horrifying scene before him with his mouth hanging open.
“W-What in the world is this...?”
Normally, the Imperial Defense Force rarely engaged Beasts directly.
However, that had not been true in recent decades.
As Beast appearances around Benamaur had increased dramatically, the Defense Force's combat experience against them had grown to rival even that of the Special Task Force.
Especially after the northern Beast overflow, nearly every Defense Force soldier with more than four years of service had fought at least B-Rank Beasts.
Lieutenant Colonel Ewald was no exception.
A rare eight-year veteran lieutenant colonel, he possessed enough skill to hold his own even against A-Rank Beasts.
That was precisely why his body moved instinctively.
But mentally, he still had no grasp of the situation.
Pushing through the dust and sandstorm until he reached roughly 150 meters from the Erosion Pillar, the severity of the scene became unmistakably clear.
“Kh...?!”
More than seventy corpses already littered the battlefield.
Most had been mercilessly mutilated by Beasts, but there also appeared to be well over ten victims who had been crushed to death.
Among them were not a few who had desperately resisted and perished together with low-ranking Beasts.
Kyaaak!
Grrr...
Two Beasts that had been repeatedly smashing the corpse of someone already dead against a wall shrieked upon noticing fresh prey.
“Tch...!”
His equipment wasn't fully prepared yet, but he couldn't run away after coming this far.
Protecting civilians and dedicating himself to defending the nation—
That was their mission.
As Ewald steeled his resolve and prepared to defend and counterattack, a gigantic slash suddenly swept past beside him.
Swooosh—!
The slash bisected both Beasts in a single stroke before embedding itself into the wall.
When Ewald instinctively turned his head, he saw a man in ordinary clothes standing there with a single-edged sword in hand.
“Judging by your uniform, you're from the Defense Force. Are you alone?”
Normally, he would have demanded the man's unit first.
But this was an emergency.
This wasn't the time for formalities.
'Besides... that man looks strangely familiar.'
Was it during the Imperial Summit?
Or perhaps during the Duel—Mallet Joint War?
He vaguely remembered seeing him on stage several times speaking about the Special Task Force...
“...Wait. Eugene Carter?!”
“Why are you introducing yourselves at a time like this? Just answer the question. Are you alone?”
“Ah... Y-Yes.”
“Any means of communication?”
“No.”
“Which battalion is responsible for this area? The 17th?”
“Yes. The 17th Battalion and the 4th Regional Defense Force are jointly responsible.”
“Which unit are you from? Is there any way to contact them?”
“...There's an emergency transmission orb at the train station, but they're probably already preparing to deploy, so I don't think it'll make much difference...”
Only then did Ewald realize that he had been answering as though he were reporting to his own commanding officer.
Completely unconcerned, Eugene Carter continued issuing orders.
“Preparing to deploy is one thing, but they still need to know what's happening here. Go contact them. Designate everything within a one-kilometer radius of Centre Central Plaza as a Beast Habitat Zone. Issue a no-entry order within a 500-meter radius. Tell the 4th Regional Defense Force to focus solely on evacuating civilians. And make sure they only bring Artifacts that can be worn on the body. That lunatic Demonic Tree absorbs every bit of mana left on the ground and uses it to grow.”
“Ah...”
“If they can't get here within three hours, the Beasts will reach the train station. At that point, even I won't be able to stop them. So hurry.”
“U-Um... what you said earlier about the Artifacts... could you repeat that one more—”
Before Ewald could finish speaking, Eugene was already sprinting toward the Erosion Pillar.
Watching his departing figure in a daze, Ewald continued trying to remember who the man was before finally shaking his head and turning around in haste.
Now wasn't the time to worry about someone's identity.
The only thing that mattered was eliminating the disasters spreading across the Empire as quickly as possible and ensuring the people's safety.
As Ewald ran toward the train station, deafening explosions erupted one after another behind him.
The war had begun.
Since no Gate had appeared, the Beasts were relatively weak.
Several C-Ranks, three B-Ranks, and one A-Rank.
Even so, the Beasts' natural coordination remained formidable, allowing them to minimize casualties by making full use of the Erosion Pillar's barrier.
“...What a nuisance.”
Even before it fully bloomed, the barrier had already been incredibly troublesome.
If I could simply exhaust all of its barriers, I could cut it down in one stroke.
Unfortunately, my fighting style specialized in concentrated strikes rather than overwhelming firepower.
I excelled more against individual opponents than armies, and more against humanoids than monsters.
Even with Lukezax's barrier-shattering slash and the Dark Spear, I'd still have to struggle for at least an hour.
'The problem is... it's already fully bloomed.'
A mad tree that absorbed mana from everything—including the ground itself—devastating the surrounding area before using all that mana to create Beasts and protect itself.
Its barrier would regenerate faster than I could destroy it.
If that's the case, what was the point of attacking it?
I couldn't even begin to understand how a fully formed Pillar-type Scatter could exist in the middle of the Empire instead of just a seed.
Still, if even a single Defense Force battalion managed to arrive, stopping it should be possible somehow.
Perhaps because the main forces had been concentrated at Arfe, there wasn't a single Beast here above S-Rank.
Which meant that once the Scatter was destroyed, the damage could be contained within roughly a two-kilometer radius.
That was also why I was prioritizing hunting high-ranking Beasts over breaking the barrier.
I intended to eliminate every powerful Beast that could interfere, allowing everyone else to focus entirely on the Scatter raid.
Kyaaaak!
“My arrival at Arfe will probably be delayed... but they've got dozens of one-man-army fighters over there. They'll manage somehow.”
I casually dodged the claws of a charging C-Rank Beast while simultaneously swinging my sword and splitting it in half.
Blood splattered onto the blade.
I tore off part of a tent caught between the ruins of a collapsed building and wiped it clean.
From atop walls, beside windows, and inside the fountain, the Beasts watched my every movement, openly radiating killing intent.
“You think staying there will save you?”
Locking onto the Werebeast inside the fountain—the one with the greatest amount of mana—I charged without hesitation.
Shrieks erupted from every direction.
.
.
.
Bang!
Kiiieeek!
Two with one shot.
Three with one shot.
Each attack erased the Beasts without leaving even a trace, as though explosive shells had struck them.
The Beasts that had initially charged fearlessly eventually began keeping their distance after more than fifty of their comrades had been slaughtered.
Taking advantage of that brief lull, Lieutenant General Alvin Caldwell surveyed both the surrounding area and the opposite side.
“......”
More than two hundred people had died amid the chaos.
That was only the minimum estimate.
Had he arrived just a little later, another fifty or more would have been added to the death toll.
“At least their movement radius is limited... Otherwise, this would've turned into a sea of blood.”
They'd probably been ordered not to leave a certain distance from that pillar.
Judging from the reports during the Joint War, that thing had to be a fully bloomed Erosion Pillar Scatter.
A tree that continuously absorbed all surrounding mana and functioned as a Beast Nest all by itself.
As long as they protected that thing, they believed they couldn't lose.
“The one who gave that order... who could it be?”
After muttering softly, Alvin gathered mana into the barrel of his weapon once more and fired another magic bullet toward the pillar.
KWA-A-A-ANG!
A tremendous explosion kicked up an enormous cloud of dust before it quickly settled.
“...This is driving me insane.”
The enormous barrier completely enveloping the pillar remained utterly unscathed.
'Even if I poured every ounce of my available mana into it, I doubt I could strip away even half of it...'
The situation on the opposite side didn't seem much different.
The Captain of the Imperial Guards appeared to be successfully blocking access to the Imperial Palace, but at best that merely maintained the current situation.
Unless someone produced enough firepower to destroy the pillar, the battle would only become more unfavorable with time.
And above all...
“...The Platinum Dawn Society Chairman's real objective lies elsewhere.”
This was nothing more than a diversion.
The true target was the Imperial Palace.
Preparations for the invasion had undoubtedly already been completed.
They were merely waiting.
Waiting for the perfect moment—when we'd be least capable of responding.
“But if you're too careless, you'll get stabbed in the back.”
We didn't have enough time to raise everyone's specs as much as I would've liked...
But when it came to the Special Task Force, we'd become incomparably stronger than we were during the Joint War.
So by all means...
Keep underestimating us.
Our enemy.
.
.
.
From the rooftop of a high-rise building in District 4, it wasn't difficult to assess the current situation in the capital and its surrounding areas.
Following the flow of the Adens River, several bridges connecting both sides came into view.
Even at a glance, severe traffic congestion was obvious.
Far more carriages were leaving than entering, and some areas had become especially chaotic because those trying to escape were driving recklessly.
Alternating her gaze between that scene and the turmoil in the capital's plaza, Abatua Evelyn scratched her forehead in irritation.
“...At this rate, I won't even get to avenge our dead leader.”
Jack Brown, who had been silently watching her from beside her, tilted his head.
“I'd say there has never been a better opportunity for revenge. When else would you ever be able to stab Eugene Carter in the back during battle?”
“Hmph. If that's what you think, then go to Centre yourself. Reports already say he's fighting there.”
“...Even if I took revenge on him now, what would it change? To begin with, I never hated him that much.”
“......”
“That may be true for me, but didn't you have quite the grudge against him?”
“I did. I still do...”
At Jack's words, Evelyn grabbed the back of her head and grumbled.
“But if that bastard dies in a situation like this, I don't think anyone will be left to stop our Chairman.”
“...That's true.”
“I agreed with bringing down the Empire...
But looking at how things are unfolding now...
I don't think the Chairman intends to stop there.”
“So you're planning to betray us after all? Like Dale Wedmeyer or our former leader?”
“Not really.
I just don't want to side with either of them.”
“You're an awfully dishonest woman.”
“Shut up.”
Chuckling softly, Jack shifted his gaze toward the plaza.
“We aren't much of a fighting force, so they've probably ignored us...
But if even the Mercenary Corps changes sides, it'll deal a considerable blow to the Chairman.
Though I'm sure they'll demand something for themselves in return.”
In any case, worrying about others wouldn't solve anything.
He had chosen this path out of necessity and had even taken some pride in it.
That didn't mean he had abandoned all sense of justice.
Signaling to the companions who had chosen to stand with him, Jack leaped from the rooftop to the ground.
“We still have to save people.”