Chapter 203: The Land That Flows Like A River - 5
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: The Land That Flows Like A River - 5
As morning came, the Military State’s forces began their march. They divided their troops among the airlifted automaton carriages and sped down the narrow Meta Conveyor Belt, occasionally swerving to avoid the containers that appeared on their path.
Their marching speed was tremendous as they raced across the flowing land. They crossed five administrative districts in a single breath, passing famous mountains and rivers in an instant. After a miraculous march that was the literal embodiment of magical distance-shrinking, a reddish container shrouded in an ominous darkness appeared at the edge of their vision. It was the container where the Progenitor and the other hostile entities were staying.
Sunderspear halted the advance. Forgoing a megaphone, he shouted in a booming voice.
“You are surrounded. Surrender peacef—”
He trailed off, his brow furrowing as he immediately readjusted his grip on his spear. Thak. Hoisting the long spear onto his shoulder, he hurled it with all his might without another word.
A blue meteor flew across the flowing land.
The spear tore through the air and pierced the container. After passing through the back and disappearing, it burst out through the front hatch a moment later. With a deafening crash, the cargo packed inside spilled out like shredded entrails.
Sunderspear’s throw had swept away everything inside the container. Patraxion calmly identified the items that were now tumbling out.
Beans, flour, and miscellaneous alchemic metals rolled toward them on the headwind.
“…It seems my throw didn’t quite wipe out the enemy. Correct?”
Colonel Gand, Sunderspear’s adjutant and disciple, had already rushed ahead to check inside the container. He shouted back.
“Correct, sir! It’s a standard cargo container!”
“I see. We were tricked.”
They hadn’t been lazy with their reconnaissance. The problem was, to scout the enemy moving along the belt, they had to approach them on the belt as well. Otherwise, they would just be left behind.
However, when the enemy was a terrifyingly powerful being, the minimum safe distance a scout could maintain grew ever larger.
Worse, their opponent was the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, a master of powers who could directly control darkness. Darkness was usually a scout’s friend, but not this time. Every scout who had spotted something had lost contact.
During that reconnaissance blind spot, while she was cloaked in darkness, the containers had been switched.
“They swapped the containers during the night.”
Sunderspear spoke calmly and leaped back onto an automaton carriage. The carriage, which had briefly stopped, began to move again.
Despite knowing that the enemy had hidden themselves during the night and gotten further away, not a single one of the generals looked troubled or disappointed.
Because if the Military State had been in their position, they would have done the exact same thing.
“…It’s as we expected. For those with pursuers on their tail, it’s highly likely they would take some action during the night when they can move freely.”
“It means they’re using their heads. Logically, they chose to move forward.”
At night, the enemy’s forces, including the Progenitor, were superior to the Military State’s.
This calculation was in itself a bit illogical and unfair, but it was an undeniable fact. Fighting an inexhaustible, immortal legion was something to be avoided at all costs.
During that time, the Military State had to avoid engagement, while the enemy could act freely. And on this Meta Conveyor Belt, freedom boiled down to one of two choices: forward or backward.
The logical choice was forward. Moving forward would bring them closer to their objective while simultaneously slowing down the pursuit. The fact that it would drain the stamina of the regular soldiers, who had to march against the wind, was another advantage—though it wouldn’t make much of a difference to their overall combat strength.
It was an outcome they had fully anticipated, one for which they already had a countermeasure.
A golem next to Sunderspear registered the empty container with its eyes and reported impassively.
『This is Military State Signaller, Captain Piyu, in charge of the Meta Conveyor Belt. Updating observation data. Point 1 is a dummy. Switching target to Point 2.』
Sunderspear stared ahead down the belt and gave an order without even looking at the golem.
“Relay this to the Daughter of the Military State up ahead. Tell her this was a dummy.”
『The report has already been sent to Major General Historia. This information is more urgent for the detached force.』
“Ah, is that so?”
Patraxion scratched his head, then turned to the main force awaiting his orders and shouted again.
“In any case, they won’t be able to move as fast during the day as they did at night. Alright, prepare to march again! We’re resuming the pursuit!”
“Yes, sir!”
The well-trained army began to advance in perfect order. As if the current situation was irrelevant, they moved forward, weaving around the containers that flowed along the path.
“Hey. Colonel Gand. Come here.”
Just then, Patraxion called for his disciple. Colonel Gand responded to the summons and hurried over.
Although he was Sunderspear’s disciple and his martial prowess was on par with a general’s, his official rank was merely that of a young adjutant. Sunderspear, on the other hand, was a commander to whom even the generals deferred.
Colonel Gand moved as briskly as any common soldier and stood by Sunderspear’s side.
With an utterly serious expression, Sunderspear pointed at the container he had pierced and spoke.
“Hey. When I skewer a container like that, doesn’t it look just like I’ve run a spear through something from its asshole to its mouth? I did that once, and all its guts shot out of its mouth. The container looks pretty similar, huh?”
“…”
Though they didn’t show it, the expressions of the generals who overheard the comment soured drastically.
*
The fateful morning had dawned. As daybreak arrived, a glowing sphere peeked its head over the distant eastern horizon, turning its face to the world.
The sun is often described as the face of a god or an absolute being, but it was clear that it lacked anything resembling a personality.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have tirelessly poked its head out from the east every single day for eons without getting bored.
“Woof! It’s morning! Woof!”
I take that back. This dog hasn’t known me for that long, yet she wakes me up every morning without fail. If I let her, she seems ready to wake me for all eternity.
Just let me sleep more, I want to say. Why is this damn dog trying to wake me when we’re not even in the Abyss…?
“Dog King, leave him be. Let us allow him to rest while he can.”
“Woof? No! Morning, must wake up, be healthy! Regular life, important!”
“He will not die from missing a little of that detestable sunlight. Besides, the sun has only just risen. What is the great hurry?”
That’s my Tyr. The only one who truly cares about me is Tyr.
What’s that? Morning is the time to wake up? Who decided that?
Don’t adapt yourself to the world. Make the world adapt to you! The time you wake up is morning, and the day isn’t over until you go to sleep!
“Woof! Coddling, bad! Bad for health!”
“Should the absence of that sun harm Hu’s body, I shall take responsibility and fashion him a body that cannot be harmed.”
‘Hu enjoys his sleep, so becoming a vampire might not be so bad for him…’
“Heave-ho! Rise and shine like Azzy! Good to see you, today’s sun!”
Being alive is important. To be able to face the morning of a new day with such confidence, how could one not be joyful?
In any case, now wide awake, I opened the container door and surveyed the outside. Amidst the chill that had settled during the night, the warmth of dawn was spreading. The world on the Meta Conveyor Belt was still receding behind us.
In the vast farmlands in the distance, crops were growing green and lush. Between the mountains and fields, I could see people who had greeted the morning going about their lives.
The verdant land seemed to be trying to swell its body, soaking up the morning sun to its fullest. The scenery was so clearly different from yesterday that I realized just how far we had moved during the night.
“It looks like you moved us quite a ways during the night. It must have been heavy.”
“Just as an object submerged in water has no weight, the same goes for things within the darkness. No matter how heavy, it is no issue.”
Last night, after preparing a dummy container, we had swapped it with our own. While the Regressor set up traps around the area, Tyr had lifted the container we were in and moved it wholesale.
The container, floating silently as it was engulfed in darkness, had a surprisingly smooth ride despite its intimidating presence. Even I, who had been anxious, fell asleep before long.
Thanks to that, the Military State, who hadn’t noticed our movement, was now far behind. Even if they chased us at full speed, they wouldn’t arrive until after noon.
“However, as I said yesterday, the wind was blowing fiercely, so I could not move us very far.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. Your method of travel is more like levitation, after all.”
Those who walk on the ground can go faster as long as they endure the wind, but Tyr’s method of lifting with darkness doesn’t capitalize on the advantage of being on the Meta Conveyor Belt.
Still, I had to be satisfied with the fact that we’d put some distance between us.
“By the way, Hu, I have a question. Rather than fleeing like this, would it not be better to simply vanquish the enemy during the night?” Tyr asked again, seemingly displeased with our passive approach.
‘Should we not teach a lesson to those who so brazenly block my path? If we give them a proper thrashing, they would not dare to even think of pursuing us.’
Is this the mindset of the powerful? It seems this is how a being who can fight an army alone thinks.
Well, it wouldn’t be bad if it were possible… but it just feels unnecessary.
I calmly repeated the explanation I had given yesterday.
“To do that, we’d have to turn back. There’s no reason for us, who need to leave the Military State as soon as possible, to go out of our way to return.”
“Is it not so that sometimes, the roundabout path is the faster one?”
“In most cases, the fastest path is the fastest path. There’s no reason for us, who are pressed for time, to choose a detour.”
“…Hmph. If you say so.”
Tyr expressed her dissatisfaction, seemingly unconvinced. Ah, this is what you call modern tactics. It’s a different game from a thousand years ago.
‘I must show him a magnificent display of me crushing our foes, so that Hu will trust and follow me more. Lately, I feel I have only shown him my unreliable side. Is that why he so adamantly refuses to become a vampire…?’
So it wasn’t that, you just wanted to show off and look cool? You’re not some hot-blooded youth!
Well, she is full of hyeolgi [blood energy/vigor], but it’s a different kind of hyeolgi!
From now on, I’ll have to be a bit more patient when explaining things to Tyr.
“Even if we go on the offensive, the enemy will just retreat. Then we’ll be forced to make another choice: close the distance or turn back again. Both options would result in a greater loss than our original plan. In the end, we wouldn’t even break even. Our objective isn’t to annihilate the enemy, but to escape. So, it’s more logical to act with that as our top priority.”
“Would a nation’s army retreat so easily?”
“The Military State would. That’s the kind of nation they are. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard the term ‘Active Engagement Avoidance.’”
‘Active Engagement Avoidance… Ah, was that the doctrine that advised avoiding battle when there is nothing to be gained but losses?’
Having experienced it herself on her way from the Abyss to the capital, Tyr accepted it much more readily this time. Although, she still couldn’t quite imagine an entire legion abandoning everything to flee.
“What if we retreat, and they cling to us?”
“When they stubbornly cling to us like dogs—that’s the perfect time to fight.”
“Woof? Me? Cling to them?”
I had mentioned dogs, and Azzy, thinking she’d been called, trotted over. She wagged her tail limply and said regretfully.
“Sorry, I can’t bite humans! It’s a shame!”
“It really is a shame.”
“But I’ll do my best! Woof! I hate scraps of paper!”
“What’s this about scraps of paper… Don’t tell me you’re talking about me? Are you saying that because if I get torn to shreds like a piece of paper, your investment in me will become a worthless scrap of paper?”
“Woof!”
Azzy’s cheerful reply was delivered with the attitude of someone who was my owner or creditor.
You should at least pay me before you talk like that. How absurd. I flicked Azzy on the head. My hand hurt more, but a human has a dignity they must protect, even if it means enduring pain.
“I’ve barely received any investment from you, you know? Kid, an investment has to be worth something to be acknowledged.”
Even after getting flicked, Azzy didn’t protest and simply said.
“I will!”
“What can you do if you can’t even bite humans?”
No matter how helpful a dog is, it’s still a dog. As I chided her with an unconvinced look, Azzy hesitated for a moment before lifting her head high. Her clear, large brown eyes held a strong resolve unbefitting of a dog.
“Woof! I’ll bite everything but humans!”
Huh. That might actually be reassuring.
Having answered with firm resolve, Azzy turned from me and headed further inside. There, the Regressor, who had been guarding our rear against scouts yesterday and had returned late, was sprawled weakly on the bed.
As if waking humans was her duty, Azzy approached the Regressor’s bedside and barked loudly.
“Woof! Wake up! It’s morning!”
“Now, now, Azzy. Your dad came back late yesterday, so he’s tired. Wake him up slowly.”
“Who’s the dad…”
‘If it were Mom, maybe… Ugh. No, that’s not right. Is her influence rubbing off on me? I think I’m starting to see Azzy and Nabi as pets…’
The Regressor clutched her head, but quickly composed herself and sat up.
“The sun’s up… The enemy hasn’t shown up yet, right?”
“Not yet.”
“Just a quick bite… Let’s start getting ready.”
Accustomed to eating during battle, the Regressor didn’t even take out the Bountiful Table and began to slurp down some hastily prepared food. I also opened cans for Azzy and Nabi, placing one in front of each of them before forcing down my own canned meal.
Tyr, who didn’t need to eat, simply watched us in silence. When we were finished, she urged us on.
“Let us hurry. If we had to move at night, would it not be better to move during the day as well?”
“Ah, there’s no need for that.”
No sooner had my words left my mouth than the sound of gunfire echoed from the distance.
Rat-tat-tat-tat. Though it came from far away, it was clear the shots were aimed at us. The familiar sound of bullets striking the container’s outer wall rang out.
As if it were routine, the Regressor tossed her empty can aside, took out her water bottle, and gulped down some water. I, too, swallowed the remaining food in my mouth. I hadn’t eaten much, but my stomach, tight with tension, didn’t complain about being empty.
“Because during the day, we’re the ones who won’t be able to move easily.”
A delaying action.
A unit had arrived to tie our feet until their main force could reach us.