Chapter 199: The Land That Flows Like a River - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 199: The Land That Flows Like a River - 1
Just as Azzy showered me with attention, the Regressor also showed her interest. She pointed to herself and asked subtly.
“Azzy. What about me?”
“Woof? You’re kinda small!”
Azzy’s gaze lingered strangely around the Regressor’s head. The Regressor fidgeted with the air above her hair and thought.
‘She must be talking about influence, right? It has to be.’
“What if I lend him my power?”
“Then I’d be happy! Woof! The more the merrier!”
With talk of investments and even four-character idioms, I was losing my mind. Look at this dog, spouting proverbs. Did she go to school while I was away?
“Woof, but you’re still small. Small plus small is still small.”
Math concepts, too? What, have I completely misunderstood what dogs are? Is this only possible because she’s the Dog King?
As I stood there with my mouth agape, the Regressor nodded as if she alone understood.
“I see. I think I get it.”
‘The qualification the Beast King requires… it’s the influence an individual can wield. Until now, I thought it was about power, but hearing Azzy, it seems influence isn’t limited to just that.’
Deep in thought, the Regressor made a sharp clicking sound with her teeth.
‘This kind of influence is the problem. The kind I can’t easily obtain, since all my relationships reset with every regression… Power, I can seize by force one way or another, but that complicates my path. For someone who needs to try various approaches, power is too heavy a burden.’
She then glanced at me, her eyes becoming just like Azzy’s. They sparkled as if she were looking at prey, sizing me up from every angle.
‘In that case, what if I use this guy? If I find a way to increase his influence…!’
Her thoughts concluded.
Hiding her dark intentions, the Regressor offered with an uncharacteristically gentle smile.
“What do you say? Do you want power, like Azzy said? If you do, I can give it to you.”
“No, the way this woman says it, it doesn’t sound like a joke. She talks about power like she’s got it tucked away in her pocket.”
“It’s not quite like that, but I can introduce you to a suitable position.”
The Regressor’s kind offer was quite unfamiliar. At this rate, I’d be pestered by her not just in this timeline, but the next one as well.
The me of the next timeline might be a different person, but being harassed by the Regressor across all possible futures sounded rather troublesome. It would have been a perfect farewell if we had just parted ways after saving each other’s lives in Tantalus.
What should I do? Do I really have to travel with her?
As I muttered in disbelief, a good idea came to mind. I crossed my arms arrogantly and looked down on the Regressor.
“Hoh. A moment ago, you said you’d help me, didn’t you? Does that mean you’ll be my subordinate, Shei-ssi?”
“What?”
A surge of anger swelled within her, and I flinched involuntarily. What is she, a gangster? Getting mad when things don’t go her way?
After taking a moment to calm herself, the Regressor thought.
‘If he obtains the qualification, I’ll have to entrust all negotiations related to the Beast King to him… Well, I can play the part of a subordinate.’
“More like a partner… but fine, I’ll be your subordinate for now.”
Haha. We’ll see. Let’s see if she still says that after seeing how I act.
I swaggered, tapping my foot insolently. I understood the advantage of my position and immediately put it to use. I spoke with a defiant tilt of my head.
“In that case, you can start with the cooking and cleaning from today. I’m sick of this one-man childcare—no, dog care—thing, you know?”
“…What? One-man?”
Whoa, look at that glare. She looks like she could kill someone.
But I had already accepted Azzy’s investment.
“If I say it’s a one-man job, it’s a one-man job. How dare you talk back? Azzy, I can’t do this. Go find somewhere else to invest.”
“Woof-woof?! No! Woof!”
Azzy yelped and clung to the Regressor with her big, pleading eyes. The Regressor, who had been glaring at me, trailed off with a deeply troubled expression at Azzy’s desperate plea.
“Woof, you just have to put up with it! Being a handful is his special power!”
“Tch.”
‘Honestly, the moment things start looking even slightly better, he pulls some bizarre stunt. Is he trying to provoke me? Seriously, should I just deal with him from the very beginning in the next timeline?’
Just as I was about to succeed in managing her affection for me…
A massive wave of hostility swelled. It wasn’t coming from the Regressor, but from outside the container. The moment I sensed it, Azzy moved.
She whipped her head around, her ears twitching rapidly. Her fur, unable to keep up with the speed, followed a moment later, slapping her cheeks mercilessly. But Azzy paid it no mind and launched herself at me.
“Woof! Danger!”
Azzy bit my collar and yanked. Having sensed the hostility at the same time, I immediately followed her lead, not resisting her pull as I threw myself to the ground. Not that I could have resisted the difference in our strength anyway.
Regardless, thanks to her, I was momentarily safe from the barrage of gunfire.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Countless gunshots rang out. The continuous sound, like a torrential downpour, filled my ears with a deafening roar.
Bullets rained down on the container’s walls like hail. The noise that tormented us was beyond comparison to the frantic beating of a drum.
Sensing the attack, the Regressor drew Chun-aeng and Jizan and rose to her feet.
“An ambush? There was no one there when I checked ahead earlier.”
“It’s not from the front. It’s the side!”
“An ambush? Tsk. I was so focused on the terminal ahead that I neglected the sides.”
As the Regressor clicked her tongue, Tyr’s voice echoed in her ears. It was a heavy, deep resonance that seemed to emanate from the vibrating darkness itself, as if filtered through a coffin, filling the container.
[It is noisy outside. Must I intervene?]
“No, it’s fine. Their goal is likely to wake you.”
[In that case, I shall remain a while longer. Call when you need me.]
Tyr’s voice faded as she fell back into slumber. It was less like sleep and more an act of accumulating power or preserving her active time, but it was hard to find a similar concept in humans other than sleep.
In any case, with Tyr asleep, the Regressor listened intently to the sounds beyond the container. The hail of bullets continued as if testing the container’s durability.
I covered my head and shouted at the still-composed Regressor.
“What are you doing! Go take care of them!”
“You said you didn’t want to be the only one taking care of the dog. In that case, I’ll do my part, so you have to do your part with the outside work. Fair’s fair, right?”
“Is this really the time for that? Fine, I was wrong!”
Perhaps pleased with my apology, the Regressor smiled and tapped the container wall.
“Relax. This container was reinforced by Tyrkanzyaka’s Sanguine Mark and further fortified by my Barrier Magic. Mere bullets can’t pierce it.”
“That line sounds a little ominous.”
“Ominous? They’ve been doing nothing but showering us with bullets without trying to board. The fact that they’re using guns means they’re regular soldiers, not officers. Pushing disposable soldiers to the front is a ploy to wear down our nerves. We lose if we let it get to us.”
The Regressor wasn’t wrong.
You couldn’t use high-level alchemic steel for disposable bullets. Not only was it not cost-effective, but if the enemy captured and used them, it would be a loss in itself.
In contrast, armor that protected one’s life was often forged with legendary metals or high-level alchemic steel. The reason was self-evident.
Even without the existence of Qi Deflection, the imbalance in the value of metals meant that projectile weapons had clear historical limitations.
At best, they were for harassment or as sacrificial pawns.
The Military State was a rather peculiar nation, mad enough for war to arm its regular soldiers with difficult-to-produce guns. Still, their combat doctrine was more rational than anyone’s…
However.
‘I can hear it. Tracing the sound of bullets striking steel, I can reconstruct the interior.’
My mind-reading was picking up a slightly different line of thought.
‘The walls are reinforced, and the inside is quite empty. Likely for residential purposes. The uneven reverberations suggest structures have been placed against the walls. In that case, the spot where the sound is strange is…’
On one of the few roads running alongside the Meta Conveyor Belt, three military automaton carriages were racing in a line.
Their wheels thundered across the hard-packed earth. Surpassing the speed of the Meta Conveyor Belt, the military carriages let out fierce screams as they raced against the flowing land.
The regular soldiers aboard fired their guns on their officer’s command. Dudududu. The officer’s shouts were buried in the explosions. It is said that even a constant drip of water can pierce a rock, but the container, faintly glowing with a crimson mark, was not only unharmed by the hail of bullets but was actively deflecting them.
It seemed like a meaningless act, unable to create a single hole even after two magazine changes. But the soldiers simply followed their orders in silence.
All for the sake of one person.
I shot to my feet, grabbed the Regressor’s shoulder, and yelled.
“Historia is out there!”
Historia stood atop the lead automaton carriage, aiming a long rifle that was nearly the height of a person in our direction. Her braided hair whipped violently in the harsh wind. Her casually worn uniform flapped wildly.
She seemed to be battered by the wind, but in truth, this was her unique way of reading it.
The weight of her hair, the flutter of her sleeves—to Historia, these were sensory organs for feeling the wind. Click. After calculating the wind’s direction and speed with her entire body, Historia aimed at a section of the container through her sights.
She pulled back the bolt, loading a massive bullet. At the same time, a sharp blue energy gathered on the barrel and the round.
‘There.’
I didn’t know exactly where Historia was aiming, or its precise location inside this container. But I could roughly guess the height.
‘Huey. Just don’t get hit and die.’
She was aiming at a height that would be around my thigh if I were standing. A direct hit would certainly blow something off, but it wouldn’t be fatal…
You think it’s fine as long as I don’t die? You monster!
At this height, it would be near the Regressor’s pelvis. It was likely to miss, but I couldn’t be sure.
I immediately threw my arms around the Regressor and pulled her to the ground with me.
BA-ANG!
A long, drawn-out gunshot echoed. Amidst the countless smaller noises, like crashing waves, one colossal sound stood out, and at the same moment, something massive struck the container.
With a deep groan, the container, struck squarely in the side, cried out.
Screeeech, clank. The impact was so great that the container actually shook for a brief moment. It felt as if the world had stayed still, but gravity had wavered for an instant before righting itself.
I rolled on the floor with the Regressor. She pushed me away, saying.
“Hey! What are you—!”
“Look up before you talk!”
When I lifted my head, the outer wall of the container directly above us was horribly crumpled. The Sanguine Mark that had been glowing inside the container had now lost much of its light, leaving only a faint red trace.
Light seeped through from the edge of the dent. Even the barrier that completely separated the interior from the exterior had been partially destroyed.
Historia’s bullet was powerful enough to threaten even the steel reinforced by the Sanguine Mark and punch a hole in the barrier!
“The Gunmaster? She caught up to us already?”
“She must have been driving on the belt! There’s no rule that says you have to stay still on it!”
I yelled as I threw the scattered items on the floor in every direction. The steel objects clattered loudly. As the sounds ricocheted off the dented container walls, even Historia, who was reloading, furrowed her brow.
‘…The sound has become chaotic. Is it because the wall is dented? Or have they already come up with a countermeasure?’
But this had only bought us a little time. If there was no response from inside, she might just try to blow open the same section of the wall.
It was time to come up with a plan.