Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Silent Death Approaches
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Silent death approaches.
At 625 meters per second—2,250 kilometers per hour—the death hurtling toward them pierces the train's outer shell, crafted from the elves' homeland forest, and slams into the interior of the car.
The trumpet player following in its wake is utterly silent. Only a faint fwip—so quiet you have to strain your ears to hear it.
In truth, the people inside and outside the train couldn't even imagine what's happening within it right now, or what fate has befallen those of us inside.
The muzzle flash isn't visible either. Is it quite a distance away, or has some magical measure been added...?
This was the troublesome part of magic. The more preparation, the more omnipotent it became. In theory, with infinite time and infinite resources, a mage could become infinitely omnipotent. The problem was that such resources and time didn't exist in reality.
Take the present situation. The development of a rifle using conical lead bullets? Impressive, certainly, but in a world with magic, creating one or two such weapons wasn't all that surprising.
Nor was its power all that extraordinary. Early rifles weren't much different in power from outdated muskets. Rifles displaced muskets as the main infantry weapon not because of superior power, but because they could accurately deliver that kinetic energy over long distances. In terms of raw power, there wasn't a huge gap compared to the muskets used by other soldiers.
Yes. There shouldn't be a huge gap...
It's definitely been enhanced in power too.
Enri tore a curtain inside the train and used it as a makeshift bandage while mulling over the enemy's weapon. An early-model rifle with plenty of lethality even by modern standards. Enhanced with magic for reduced flash, silenced, and armor-piercing effects.
A truly headache-inducing opponent. What made it even more of a headache was having to face a modern-style sniper while protecting a delicate lady. The two ironclad rules for dealing with snipers: don't engage the sniper, or overwhelm them with firepower. Neither was possible here.
All he could do was bite his lip, hoping the train would safely leave the city. At that moment, Eve, who had been pinned beneath him, cautiously raised her body.
"Lady, it's dangerous...!"
"—I can guess what you're thinking."
Before the word "dangerous" could fully escape his lips, a supersonic bullet flew toward Eve, who had boldly exposed herself as a target in front of the window. Any ordinary person would have been unable to react and simply been blown away.
But Eve Claudia was no ordinary person. She was a mage. And a rather high-ranking one at that.
"I don't plan on just being protected forever."
The staff she had drawn summoned darkness. Pitch-black darkness billowed up like clouds, drawing mass from her mana.
The bullet, which had pierced even sound, burrowed into the darkness like cotton candy.
And stopped.
If an army is the natural predator of knights, then a mage is the natural predator of armies.
The bullet couldn't pierce the darkness Eve had created.
"Do I still look like a snot-nosed ten-year-old to you?"
Eve Claudia. To her, who gazed toward a distant future, her own personal combat prowess wasn't all that important. Even becoming a grand mage who could overwhelm battlefields alone was, from a strategic perspective, little more than a waste of resources—using Eve Claudia merely as a tool of violence.
Groups of mages capable of dominating battlefields could be sourced from elsewhere. Far more important roles than mere artillery awaited her.
However, that didn't mean she disregarded force entirely. The ability to protect oneself was basic training for any noble lady.
"Don't worry about me."
Eve, confident she could protect herself against even this mysterious sniper, issued a command to the knight gazing at her with concern.
"—Go get her."
Woooaaah—!
The train whistle blared, signaling departure.
Enri, honoring his liege, leaped out the window.
Alchemists' City Ars.
The railway connecting Ars and its surroundings had a very peculiar design: the train had to loop around the city's interior once before finally exiting the alchemists' city.
This was the result of desk-bound theorizing to keep visiting patrons in the city as long as possible. There were rumors that, when the rails were first laid, some official's relatives had taken massive bribes, but in any case.
It meant the train circling the city gave Enri time to scout until he reached the enemy sniper.
Ting—!
Enri casually deflected the incoming bullet and gauged the sniper's position, calculating the optimal distance to close in. Gradually, a city blueprint-like map began forming in his mind.
The positions, streets, and heights of every building he'd seen since arriving in the city vividly resurfaced in his head. A 3D map completed in a way even a supercomputer might calculate.
Of course, if asked to draw it out, Enri would fumble and not recite a single accurate measurement.
But within his mind alone.
Finding the optimal path for his body to move was instinctive, without any strain.
"Huuu..."
Breathing lightly to raise his heart rate. He couldn't produce flames from his body like in some stories, but he could achieve comparable feats.
The moment a bullet flew in— Enri kicked off the train and launched himself. He leaped between buildings, forcing a path.
Parkour straight out of a superhero movie chained together, and in an instant, he crossed between the structures to arrive where the sniper was. Enri grinned, raising his sword.
"Hello. Lady Ars."
"...Monster."
"Monster? That's harsh—"
Ting—!
Enri reflexively batted away the incoming bullet.
Whoosh! Flames erupted from the bullet. A magically enchanted round that would drive military experts mad. Enri toyed with the flames caught on his sword before casually flicking his arm to send them far away.
"Impressive. How many years ahead of this world's technology are you, all by yourself...?"
"..."
"Aren't you curious what kind of world would come if that tech went into mass production?"
Makina silently reloaded her bullet.
Enri slowly advanced, sword raised. Like a matador luring a bull with a red cape. Making it clear he could subdue her at any moment.
She ignored it, finished reloading.
Another bullet fired.
Crang!
Enri, about to remark that it was pointless again, froze as he looked down at his sword shattering like glass. He'd forgotten: his opponent wasn't just a soldier with a fancy gun, but an alchemist wielding a magically enhanced one.
"Thermal Shock. The phenomenon when rapidly cooling a superheated object."
Makina, having shattered his sword, calmly explained the effect she'd caused and drew a new type of rifle. It was based on an idea she'd had while developing the steam engine.
An automatic rifle, inspired by steam pushing a cylinder.
A concept far ahead of its time, able to replicate the firepower of dozens of soldiers alone.
"Goodbye."
Makina said, aiming at Enri. Staring at the gun trained on him, Enri instantly recognized it. The design was all too familiar to him.
With a sword, maybe. But facing a gun barehanded was foolish. Wasn't the basic tactic to avoid even sword-wielding foes without a weapon?
So.
What he was doing now.
Was a foolish act no tactician in history had ever conceived.
"—?"
Makina looked at Enri extending both arms forward like he'd lost his mind, then pulled the trigger without further words. In an instant, five or six bullets flew at him. Dodging based on trajectory alone was extremely difficult.
Knights didn't wear enchanted armor for nothing. If you can't dodge, block. But with no sword or armor, neither was an option for Enri.
If you can't dodge or block, deflect.
"Huuup—."
Left arm: yin. Right arm: yang.
The arms harmonized yin and yang, tracing a taiji.
The advancing taiji met the bullets and deflected them.
Deflect, deflect, deflect, deflect, deflect...
Tai Chi Fist
Deflects incoming projectiles through harmonized yin-yang flow.
Makina emptied a full magazine in seconds and stared at Enri in disbelief.
"What is this...?"
"Enga."
But Enri smiled casually and replied.
"—Tai Chi Fist."
"...No."
Makina pointed at Enri's hands in disbelief.
"You got hit by all of them..."
Enri's hands were a mangled mess after dozens of bullets. Holes riddled them, blood dripping gruesomely.
Yet Enri stood tall.
"How does a person deflect bullets barehanded? Read too many novels?"
"...Doesn't it hurt?"
"It hurts like hell."
In truth.
Enri's mind was flooded with adrenaline. If this hormone dipped even slightly, he might roll on the ground in agony.
So he had to end it before then.
"You know, if the Lady hadn't ordered me to bring you alive... Sigh."
Enri approached Makina, dangling his blood-dripping hands loosely. They looked incapable of even clenching a fist properly—but.
Makina couldn't guarantee victory even against such an injured foe.
So she meekly raised both hands in surrender.
"Make it painless."
Enri swung his fist without reply. His whip-like arm smashed into Makina's jaw. Scooping up the fallen woman, he dashed toward the distant train blaring its whistle.