Chapter 43
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Armored Train Assault (3)
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A silence as if time itself had frozen.
Every living creature in the Crimson Mountains held its breath.
The only sounds were the wind sweeping across the red dust...
And the faint gulps from the ambushing rebel soldiers.
That was when it happened.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-kung...
The ground began to rumble.
What started as a faint vibration swelled into a massive roar that shook everything.
Far in the distance, at the end of the tracks, a colossal black silhouette approached.
The armored train Ares revealed itself.
"It's coming."
Kellogg, hidden in the crevice of a rock, muttered softly.
In his hand, he gripped tightly the detonator connected by a wire.
Ares's imposing presence up close surpassed all imagination.
A massive locomotive belching endless black smoke.
Its front was covered in thick steel plating reminiscent of an enraged buffalo's head.
The dozens of cargo cars trailing behind were no different.
Gun ports dotted the sides everywhere.
On the roof, heavy Gatling guns and small turrets protruded like vicious fangs.
The nickname "moving fortress" was no exaggeration.
Tension returned to the faces of the rebel soldiers.
'Can we really win against a monster like that?'
Sensing their unease, Kellogg shouted in a firmer voice.
"Snap out of it, everyone! Trust me! Trust us! Trust Ghost!"
The name of the phantom reignited their courage once more.
Ares charged onto the rickety iron bridge without slowing in the slightest, full of confidence.
The old supports creaked like screams under the train's immense weight.
Kellogg narrowed his eyes.
The moment the massive locomotive reached the bridge...
"Now!"
Kellogg slammed down the lever with all his might.
In that split second.
Kwaaaaaang!
A deafening explosion rocked the entire mountain range.
The bridge's supports shattered into pieces amid the blast.
Unable to bear Ares's weight, the bridge deck split open like a gaping maw and collapsed.
Kiiiiieeeek!
The frantic engineer yanked the brakes in panic, but it was too late.
Unable to overcome its momentum, the enormous locomotive and the three or four cargo cars behind it floated briefly in the air before crashing wretchedly onto the sheer drop two or three meters below.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gwang!
With a tremendous roar, the steel twisted and bent like taffy.
Screams erupted from the fallen cargo cars as their loaded supplies burst out in all directions.
But Ares didn't stop there.
A mechanical groan echoed from within the train.
Woooong!
"Battle stations! Battle stations!"
The remaining dozens of cargo cars managed to halt just short of derailing.
And immediately, gun ports all over the train snapped open.
Chak! Chak!
The rooftop turrets swiveled toward the ambush points with mechanical whirs.
These were rapid-fire small cannon turrets, mimicking dwarven technology by the Trade Federation.
That was when the rebels rushed toward the train.
Kellogg's shout rang out.
"Everyone, hit the dirt!"
The rebels flattened themselves on command.
Tatata-tang!
A hail of bullets whistled overhead.
The curtain rose on a hellish firefight.
"Fire! Turn them into Swiss cheese!"
Officers inside Ares bellowed.
The train bristled like an enraged porcupine, spewing steel quills from every inch.
The rooftop cannon turrets spat fire, pulverizing the rocks sheltering the rebels, while Gatling guns unleashed hundreds of rounds per minute, mowing down entire swaths of brush.
From the side gun ports, volleys from Federation regular troops rained down.
"Cover fire! We have to get inside no matter what!"
"Keep your heads down! Damn it, their firepower's too much!"
Batu cursed as he huddled behind a boulder.
The rebels fired back with their magic rifles, but against Ares's thick armor, it was like throwing eggs at a rock.
Their blue mana bullets sparked faintly off the plating, dealing no damage whatsoever.
Instead, the overwhelming suppressive fire from the turrets and Gatlngs kept them from even raising their heads!
"Captain! At this rate, we're all dead!"
Desperate reports came from all sides. Some young recruits, facing such barrage for the first time, trembled uncontrollably, still clutching their guns.
If they dragged this out, they'd be ground to dust without a trace.
"No! Hold on just a bit longer!"
Kellogg refused to give up.
True to form as the rebel leader, he rolled between boulders, dodging the hail of bullets, and screamed at his despairing men until his throat bled.
"Snap out of it, everyone! It's not over yet!"
"But Captain! How do we beat that monster...!"
"Have you forgotten Ghost! He planned all this! This situation was all part of his calculations!"
His words carried a blind faith bordering on madness.
"Hold the line! Just hold on somehow! Ghost said to hold! There has to be a trick!"
He didn't know what Ghost's trick was.
But he had to believe.
Only then could they endure.
At Kellogg's desperate cries, the fear-stricken eyes of his men began to waver once more.
"Right, Ghost is with us!"
If it was him, he'd definitely have something prepared to turn this hopeless situation around.
As their faith reached its breaking point...
A miracle occurred.
Clank!
The firing turrets began to malfunction one by one, grinding to a halt with eerie squeaks.
Kellogg shouted.
"See that! Ghost's helping us! Charge!"
"Waaaaah!"
The rebels surged toward the train.
Jinwoo silently watched the chaotic battlefield from his distant sniper perch.
'Guess it's reaching the limit now.'
Hearing Kellogg's desperate shouts, he readjusted his grip on Hawk Eye.
In his sights entered the Gatling turret rampaging most fiercely against the rebels.
Red Eye
Slow-motion perception engaged
Jinwoo's world slowed to a crawl.
The Gatling's barrel spinning and casings ejecting unfolded like slow motion.
And in his eyes, he spotted the single small 'gear' connecting the spinning barrel cluster to the main body.
The one fatal weak point of that heavy weapon he'd shot hundreds of times in the game.
Whoosh!
A silent sniper shot.
The blue bullet threaded precisely through the narrow gap between spinning barrels, smashing the tiny gear.
Kigigi-gig-!
The roaring, fire-spewing Gatling choked like a beast with a bone in its throat and ground to a halt.
Jinwoo didn't hesitate.
Whoosh!
Next target: a cannon turret.
He aimed for the hinge of the breech cover that briefly opened to load shells.
Whoosh!
Then the rotation shaft bearing on another turret swiveling its barrel.
One, two, three.
The armored train's turrets, which had been dragging the rebels into hell, began malfunctioning grotesquely one after another, falling silent.
Watching it all, Kellogg couldn't believe the scene unfolding before him.
The overwhelming barrage that had dominated them moments ago ceased as if it were a lie.
With eyes mixed of shock and ecstasy, he stared at the distant ridgeline of the mountain range.
Nothing was visible there.
But Kellogg knew.
The phantom had finally drawn his blade.
Ares's firepower visibly weakened.
As the steel barrage crushing the rebels halted, the battlefield's momentum flipped in an instant.
"Now! Their teeth are gone! Everyone, counterattack!"
With Kellogg's roar, the rebels who'd been cowering behind rocks leaped out in unison.
"Charge!"
"Waaaaah!"
Flames of vengeance spat from the magic rifles in their hands.
"Damn it! Why aren't the turrets working!"
"Shit, sniper! Can't tell where it's coming from!"
The Federation troops inside the train plunged into extreme chaos.
With their protective steel spines broken, all they could do was fire back through the narrow gun ports.
The tide slowly turned in the rebels' favor.
Right then.
A spectacle seized the attention of both rebels and Federation forces alike.
Far away, from the cliff top where Jinwoo had been perched, a massive shadow burst forth.
What appeared was a hooded man riding a gigantic blue bird.
The blue Falcon began gliding down the near-vertical cliff face at breakneck speed.
"W-what the hell is that!"
A Federation soldier cried out in horror.
A slope no four-legged beast could dream of tackling!
Falcon balanced on steel-hard legs, digging claws into the ground like skis, hurtling down at incredible velocity.
Red dust trailed behind like a skier's powder spray.
An oppressive presence, as if an avalanche had taken human form and was bearing down.
"Ghost!"
Kellogg murmured unwittingly at the overwhelming entrance.
Even as he descended the cliff, Jinwoo didn't stop.
He pulled several sticks of dynamite from his belt and lit them.
'This'll shut them up for good.'
Jinwoo hurled the dynamite.
Targets: the remaining Gatling mounts still sporadically firing, and the cargo car thickest with troops.
Swoosh!
The dynamite arced through the air and landed on the train's roof.
Kwabang! Kwakwakwang!
Chain explosions rocked the train.
"Aaaargh!"
The last resisting heavy weapons were utterly demolished.
Horrific screams burst from the cargo cars caught in the blasts.
Thud!
Piercing the heart of the chaos, Jinwoo's Falcon finally touched down.
Before it even stopped, Jinwoo leaped off its back and wedged himself, gun first, through the gap in a cargo door warped by the explosion.
Kellogg and the rebels watched the entire sequence as if witnessing a scene from myth, utterly entranced.
The external threats were now completely neutralized.
The real hunt began now.
Jinwoo pressed forward into the train's exposed, battered interior.
"Let's back up Ghost!"
"Neutralize the train!"
The rebels' cheers erupted behind Jinwoo's back as they followed.