Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Fire from the Sky
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She had taken on several opponents single-handedly, showing mercy in her strikes, leaving them all still breathing.
The rest had lost the will to resist and dropped their weapons, huddling together off to one side.
Armed citizens now surrounded the soldiers, keeping watch over them.
"This place looks mostly wrapped up already."
"Yeah. Nothing much."
"...Yeah."
To Roze, those four weren't even worth mentioning as a story.
I gathered the surviving Liberation Corps members, stripped them of their weapons, and shoved them into a corner.
Roze had held back enough to let them live for now, but they'd face harsh punishment soon enough. The situation quickly calmed down.
The city hall and central square, where the crowds were thickest, had been handled by Roze and me. The rest of the districts fell to Albert and the Merdi faction.
"It's Merdi!"
"What? It really is her...!"
That's when Merdi appeared atop a shuttle rolling down the avenue toward city hall.
She stood on the roof, showing her face to the crowd.
She hated these kinds of public displays, so her expression was stiff, but the citizens cheered as if it were routine.
I approached her as she stepped off the shuttle at the city hall's main entrance.
"You're popular."
"Not in the mood for jokes."
"Smile a little, at least. Everyone's watching you."
The scene was being broadcast across the city's public comms network and hologram billboards on nearby buildings—anyone in the city could tune in.
Knowing that, Merdi tried a few forced smiles but failed miserably.
It just twisted her face awkwardly.
"...Annoying."
Roze stifled a laugh beside her.
In any case, Merdi's arrival swiftly restored order to the city.
To the citizens, she was a symbol of psychological stability.
But Merdi herself looked upset.
Staring at the civilians collapsed and bleeding around her, she gritted her teeth.
"Bothering you?"
"Bothering me? You think it's just a bother? That idiot Asana got greedy and innocent people got hurt because of it. If he were in front of me right now, I'd fry him on the spot."
Merdi vented her raw fury.
She'd been on edge the whole time, and seeing blood had finally pushed her over.
I couldn't find words to comfort her rashly.
-Beep! Master!
That's when it happened.
R3D3, blaring a warning at me, detached from my side and shifted into firing mode, unleashing energy rounds skyward.
Boom! Thud!!
Explosions roared overhead in the city skies.
I scowled up at the heavens.
"Damn it...!"
Indiscriminate bombardment of the city had begun.
I'd held out hope until the end.
Even Asana wouldn't attack his own hometown people—or so I'd thought. Wrong.
"Get to the bunkers now! There's one under city hall!"
I shouted, directing the panicking citizens.
Boom!!
'Pushed back.'
A stray shell slammed into a building.
It collapsed, crushing several civilians.
The same happened all around.
No matter how capable R3D3 was, it couldn't intercept every shot.
To hold them off, we'd need the city's defense systems online.
I herded the citizens along while yelling at Merdi.
"You head to the bunker too! Hurry!"
But Merdi didn't budge.
She glared at the sky, fists clenched so hard her arms trembled.
Without her core weapon, her nails would've drawn blood.
"...If only... if only I'd been a little stronger."
Merdi's eyes bloodshot as she muttered.
Rage triggered her ability involuntarily, surging through her body.
'No good.'
She'd go berserk like this.
I sensed she was in a seriously dangerous state.
I grabbed her arm and yanked, shouting her name.
But she stared skyward like she couldn't hear me, no matter how many times I called.
The power grew stronger, sending shocks through the arm I held.
'What do I do?'
She'd rested well enough that the overload damage had subsided temporarily, but it wasn't healed.
This was even riskier now.
Pushing herself again in this state could ruin her for good.
'I can't lose Merdi here.'
To me, she mattered more than all of Yuma's people combined.
Even if I saved everyone else, her death would make it all a failure.
'Forcing her down isn't an option.'
The emotional shock was too deep.
With berserk mode already kicking in, she needed to regain control herself to minimize the damage.
'There has to be a way...!'
I bit my lip, thinking hard, then approached Merdi.
And covered her face with mine.
"Mmph...!"
Merdi jolted as her mouth was suddenly sealed.
A moment later, her refocused eyes turned to me.
Her blinking gaze seemed not to grasp what was happening yet.
Fortunately, her ability began to subside amid it all.
The manifestations faded gradually, then vanished completely.
About then, I pulled back.
"..."
Only now snapping to, Merdi glared at me.
"You... again..."
"Sorry."
"Sorry? Worst possible response."
Her flushed face mumbled at her lips.
I didn't make excuses.
The situation wasn't leisurely enough.
"No choice. Leave this to me and get to the bunker."
No immediate reply.
She took a deep breath, swallowing countless words, then spoke.
"...We'll talk later."
"Yeah."
Merdi brushed past me into the city hall.
Our eyes met briefly as she glanced back at the entrance.
The moment she vanished, I headed to the soldiers in the square.
"Anyone who can control the city's defense systems, on your feet! Anyone who knows how to operate those ships too!"
Most of the spacecraft landed in the square were multipurpose vessels equipped for transport and combat.
Not heavily armed, but right now, we needed every paw we could borrow.
"...Superhuman bro. You forget we were just fighting you?"
No takers.
The soldiers still saw me as the enemy.
I yelled at them.
"Stupid talk! You blind? You think Asana gives a damn about you if he's pulling this crap?"
"No, but still..."
"Asana doesn't care about you at all! He's just venting. You gonna keep loyalty to a guy attacking the civilians he's supposed to protect as governor?!"
The soldiers fell silent.
They knew damn well things had gone off the rails.
They weren't blameless, sure.
Even if comms with mid-level and higher-ups were down, blindly following a rampaging Asana who'd wreck a Drive Gate was a problem.
If I didn't need their hands, I wouldn't bother persuading them.
Luckily, my words hit home, and they came around.
"You're right. Can't just die like this."
"Yeah. Since when was Asana our boss?"
"Outta the way! I'll do it."
Volunteers stood up.
The watching citizens eyed me warily.
Anxiety lingered in their gazes.
"It's fine. Trust me for now."
They'd been aiming guns at each other moments ago.
Even with my reassurance, they couldn't fully relax.
No other options right now, though.
"If you're still worried, assign guards. Have them watch from behind—if they try anything funny, shoot 'em."
I persuaded again.
They were facing reality too.
The barrage pouring on the city was at the limit even with full defense systems.
"Gotta survive first, right?"
After some more hesitation, the citizens nodded, agreeing to my plan.
The soldiers balked briefly at the escorts but had no choice.
"I'll relay orders via panel. Move out now."
R3D3 was giving its all, but limits were closing in.
Even as a combat machine infused with Fontana's essence, it was still small-scale.
Blocking around city hall this long was already heroic.
'This should buy a little time...'
The city's defense systems activated.
Spacecraft in the square fired engines one by one, turrets swiveling skyward.
Interception rates climbed.
But I knew this wouldn't last.
'Too one-sided.'
We could shoot back, but we lacked weapons effective against foes maneuvering freely in space.
Snowbill, fixed in place, would just eat every hit.
If those ships hadn't come down en masse for the soldiers, no counterfire would've been possible.
I dashed past city hall to the secret base.
Roze was there.
She darted around chaotically, hurling debris to intercept R3D3's misses, rescuing injured civilians—putting on a tremendous show.
Thanks to her, the critical city hall showed no blast damage yet.
She was doing everything one person could.
I shouted as I blew past her.
"Roze, hold city hall! I'll handle the bombardment."
"Don't worry, go!"
I reached the secret base and plunged into the underground passage.
At the lowest level, blocked off, Albert waited ahead.
I stopped, and he opened the door with a reluctant face.
"You're really doing this?"
"Of course. Let's go."
"Not taking responsibility if you die."
Light spilled in, revealing a long tunnel and a mid-sized spaceship with its own AD Drive.
Old model, but the gleaming hull showed good maintenance.
I eyed the decent runway setup.
"Secret base lives up to the name—prepared for everything."
"Not the words of a guy hitching a ride."
"Just launch."
"Yeah, yeah. Boss-man's gotta die, right."
The ship launched.
Stealth mode on, we exited via the breach on the city outskirts.
Still dim enough that they hadn't spotted us—lucky.
"You got a plan once we're out there?"
"No clue."
I planned to feed them red-hot payback.
Problem was aiming.
I'd counted on R3D3 for targeting, but left it to defend the city, so no guarantees.
Breaking atmosphere, the ship closed to engagement range with the enemy fleet.
"Get as close as possible."
"Closer from here? We'll get spotted."
The ship's stealth was mediocre.
Their gear was junk too, letting us hide, but real scanners would've nailed us leaving the city.
"Not spotted yet."
"Don't wanna lose my boss day one on the job."
"Quit yapping."
Albert grumbled, but his eyes grinned.
Confidence he could space-jump out solo if needed, but he was clearly enjoying this.
The ship crept forward.
Ahead, on orbital tracks aligned straight-on with Snowbill, eighty-odd Liberation Corps and Asana ships mingled, evenly spread, pounding the city.
"Grip the stick tight. Keep comms open."
I unsealed the hatch and stepped into space.
Just a safety tether linked me to the ship.
Packed thrusters sans R3D3, but one slip and I'd tumble into the void.
'Can I hit 'em?'
Range: about 100 km.
Way too far for human senses to aim.
I fully released the seal on my left arm, locking my body firm to the ship.
'Max output.'
Accuracy was key, so I tapped the core weapon's power.
Dense energy flowed down my left arm, shifting properties.