Chapter 81
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Night of the Empire (5)
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“Kraaaaaaargh—!!”
A horrific roar echoed from beyond the iron bars. It was a primal fear that anyone alive would instinctively feel, enough to make even the mages of the Intelligence Directorate flinch and shudder.
They were men who killed without a second thought and handled the most despicable acts of torture, yet the scene unfolding before their eyes was something even they struggled to accept.
Of course, their superior, Inspector Egor Ivanov, was grinning with intrigue.
“Excellent.”
“I am immensely grateful to hear the Inspector Comrade thinks so.”
Major Karl Schumann, the administrator of the Riemansk Armory, bowed his head. Originally not from the Sovye military, Karl Schumann had his academic credentials recognized and was now a major in charge of the overall experiment.
“But isn't this just a slaughter? They are savage and brutal, but they are not the warriors His Majesty desires.”
“I anticipated you would say that, so I prepared this.”
At a signal from Karl Schumann, a soldier waiting nearby pulled a lever. A massive gear on the opposite side meshed with another, and a group of men and women armed with firearms appeared.
They all wore expressions of pure terror.
“Who are they?”
“Criminals captured from the vicinity. We selected only those with relatively healthy bodies.”
“Those are Western-made, are they not? The weapons I provided?”
“As expected of your keen eye. They are indeed the weapons you captured directly from the Ukran. We already have the blueprints, but it would be a waste to just leave them be.”
“You have worked hard.”
The major gave a chilling smile and clapped his hands. The soldier who had pulled the lever earlier pulled yet another one.
And then.
The partition that had been isolating the mutants, which had just torn the criminals to shreds, slowly began to rise.
“Grrrrr... Kaaayaaahk!!!”
As soon as the mutant caught the scent of fresh meat, it let out a guttural growl and charged before the partition was even fully open.
BOOM!! A shockwave that could be felt even from a distance. The sheer destructive power came from nothing more than a physical collision.
“Y-you bastards!! We told you to leave us alone! We told you everything you wanted to know!”
Finally, one of the men, unable to hold back, raised his firearm and fired at Major Karl, but a magic barrier activated, and the flying bullet was harmlessly deflected.
It was a multi-layered, compressed magic barrier, resistant enough to withstand immense physical force.
The man didn't give up and fired several more shots, but it was clear that this would not change their fate in the slightest.
The barrier was so solid that one could confidently say it was the result of Major Karl Schumann, a 1st-class Yellow Mage, pouring his very being into it.
“Kraaa, Kaaayaaahk—!!”
“Shit! Fuuuuck!!”
“Mom, save me! Mom!!”
As the mutants forced their way through the gaps in the partition, the armed experimental subjects began firing without pause.
BANG! BANG-TANG!!
The rifles used Springfield cartridges, the standard .45 caliber of the West. Their piercing power was enough to go through human flesh and even the hide of a black bear, but they did little damage to the mutants.
Bullets that pierced their skin were spat right back out. Even as their flesh was torn away, their eyes gouged out, and their heads pierced with holes, the mutants simply stood their ground, stubbornly enduring it all.
And finally, at the moment their ammunition was completely exhausted.
“Kraaaaaaaahk!!”
The laboratory was covered in the gore and blood of the innocent. They couldn't even finish a scream before being blown away with a single swing of a hand.
It was literal.
They had only been hit by a fist, but with that single blow, they were transformed into an unrecognizable shape.
“…….”
At the gruesome sight, several of the men accompanying Inspector Egor Ivanov lowered their heads. It was a spectacle even they could not bear.
As the last man’s head was torn off and devoured, Karl Schumann released gas into the laboratory. *Fssshhhhh*, as the purple gas poured down, the wildly rampaging mutant collapsed on the spot with a thud.
“It's a sleeping gas. It's still a prototype, so this was the only way I could put it to sleep.”
“That needs a bit of improvement. When deploying it externally, the enemy won't be so easily affected by gas.”
“Of course. I'm already considering a method to inject a drug directly into the head to control them.”
“However, the result itself is extremely satisfying. The weak Western dogs will likely wet themselves the moment they lock eyes with these ferocious Imperial warriors.”
The ‘Super Soldier’ (супер солдат) project, a top-secret initiative underway in the Sovye Empire. Commonly known as the SolDat Project.
The Sovye Empire was an undeniable superpower with a massive military, but the gap with the Western liberals, who continued to develop on the other side, was gradually closing.
Unlike the West, which could utilize vast plains and oceans, the Sovye Empire, with its mostly treacherous mountainous terrain, was in a position where it could do nothing but watch.
Thus, the Emperor issued a special decree.
‘Create a soldier, each one as powerful as a Grand Archmage.’
A Grand Archmage is a tremendous weapon from the perspective of a nation. Their very existence serves as a deterrent to war and military action.
An average Grand Archmage possesses strength comparable to an entire legion.
Even if they cannot change the outcome of a war, if a few of such beings gather, they could one day become a terrifying weapon capable of turning even an unfavorable situation on its head.
The SolDat Project was precisely a project to mass-produce such ‘infantry’ soldiers.
“When do you expect the next results to come out?”
“I am thinking around three months from now.”
“I shall visit again at that time.”
Egor Ivanov was quite satisfied. It was a project that had only just been started in earnest.
Yet, with results like these, after a few more years of preparation, they would be ready to be deployed to the front lines.
It had been the right choice to trust and entrust the project to Major Karl Schumann.
“Come to think of it, the Omen Pearl taken from the Ukran. Have you figured out roughly what they intended to use it for?”
“Ah... About that. We didn't do anything special, but the artifact's magic circuits were slightly exposed. It feels as if they were just taking it apart.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Unless they were trying to create a blueprint for a replica, our research hasn't progressed beyond that. The Omen Pearl is said to grant its wielder the power of a Grand Archmage...”
“I am aware of that. It's only at the level of barely catching up to the toes of a Grand Archmage.”
“Yes, so it's an artifact with a relatively low priority for us. Whatever their scheme, they won't be researching the same technology as ours.”
Egor Ivanov nodded. It was an artifact, after all. It was completely unknown what scheme the Ukran had, but once the artifact was stolen, there was nothing they could do.
It wasn't an artifact they would try to retrieve by crossing the mountain range all the way here.
“You may use it for research and then dispose of it as you see fit.”
“Thank you, Inspector Comrade.”
“Don't mention it. It is the Empire that should thank you for your hard work, Comrade Karl.”
The two officers burst into a hearty laughter, meeting each other's gazes. They were madmen who paid no mind to the human debris exploding before their eyes, concerned only with the Emperor's command and their own interests.
The warm picture they painted was, in itself, spine-chilling.
At that moment.
BANG!!
A gunshot was faintly heard. No, was it the sound of another machine? Egor Ivanov's ears twitched.
Shortly after, the pale-faced commander of the security company rushed into the testing ground and shouted.
“We have intruders! It's chaos upstairs, comrades!”
“Intruders? Have they been identified?”
“I don't know! Whether it's the Red October bastards or some others...!”
TANG! BANG!! Now, the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard. Considering the facility was an enclosed underground structure, the fact that the sound was so clear meant a firefight was happening directly above them.
“Huh...!”
Major Karl Schumann let out a groan.
“Are they causing a scene because we captured some of them for experiments? These bastards have no fear.”
“The security company barracks and the guard post seem to have been taken down already! This is not the time! We must dispose of all related materials and escape...!!”
“Commander Comrade.”
At the icy voice, the thoroughly agitated commander took a step back in shock.
“Escape, you say? You know how important this facility is, don't you, Commander?”
“Th-that is precisely why we should quickly dispose of or transport the materials, no?”
“You are wrong. Why don't we just let them escape?”
Egor Ivanov asked, looking at Major Karl.
“How many soldiers are available?”
“Excluding the prototypes that aren't even complete, there are three, including that one.”
“Release them all. Let's see how they operate on a free stage, not one that's artificially set up.”
When you think about it, this was a great opportunity. The Red October was a reactionary organization with a decent system.
If they could wipe out the reactionaries while also obtaining SolDat's experimental data, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
“If they die, they aren't even worthy of being called SolDat. They naturally need to be supplemented.”
Egor nodded with his hands clasped behind his back.
“But if we can wipe out those reactionary bastards... what happened in this armory will become a historic event in the history of the Sovye Empire's weapons.”
His indifferent yet chillingly cold gaze pierced Major Karl.
“I understand your intentions perfectly.”
The major smirked and pulled all the remaining levers at once. The mutants trapped within immediately rushed out of the laboratory.
Like a single monster, growling and letting out cries, they
“Kraaaaaaahk!!!”
Started to charge, following the sound of the gunfire from above.