Chapter 260: The Country of Steel and the Faceless Men - 9
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 260: The Country of Steel and the Faceless Men - 9
Like any nation that has learned from countless failures, the Military State respects the judgment of its field commanders. Although they have signallers, their role is to provide information and present strategic objectives, not to interfere with command.
There are clues on the battlefield that can only be found on the battlefield. No matter how quickly a signaller makes a judgment, it cannot surpass that on-the-ground intuition.
In that sense, General Toruk was an excellent commander. He had made his decision the moment Eimeder was annihilated by the combined assault of Nabi, the Regressor, and Tyr.
“I will accept your proposal. However, we also need to be able to trust you.”
It was tantamount to a declaration of surrender, though they would never admit it. For the sake of smooth negotiations, I chose not to point that out.
“You want a hostage, I see. But we’re not fools, so we can’t just send one over. Instead, we promise our full cooperation.”
“And what is that?”
“Until everyone here is rescued, we will temporarily halt our advance and devote ourselves to the rescue efforts.”
Halt their advance? If so, that would effectively tie them down, which is perfect. But will they really accept this?
They probably will. The Regressor is against killing all the laborers, and Historia’s goal isn’t to destroy the refinery but to avoid a fight.
And Tyr… well, she’s just playing along.
Just then, the Regressor, having successfully eliminated Eimeder, approached. She clapped me on the shoulder without hesitation and spoke.
“What are you deciding on your own?”
“A negotiation. This is a Military State facility, after all, and if we want to save the laborers, we need every hand we can get.”
“What? You’re the one who activated the annihilation device!”
“I never intended to kill them. It was merely a means to ensure our safety. Look. If I hadn’t activated the device, would they have even pretended to listen to us?”
The Regressor glanced at General Toruk and the troops he had brought with him. It wasn’t a large number. Like the excellent commander he was, the moment he sensed things had gone wrong, he had already split his forces and dispatched them throughout the refinery. If the battle ended, they would need to begin damage control immediately.
…A strategist? No, more dramatic than a strategist… more like a con artist.
I said suggestively.
“Faced with a sudden disaster, we join forces with the enemy to save people. It’s a beautiful and humane conclusion. Shall we work toward a happy ending?”
“Tch, in the end, this is just helping the Military State.”
“No, it’s a little different. Shei, to save the laborers, we have to destroy the device that’s driving them to their deaths, right? Just as you wanted.”
Realizing my meaning, the Regressor let out a dumbfounded sound.
“Huh?”
“Yes! It’s a chance to destroy the refinery’s facilities to your heart’s content. And with the Military State’s meticulous guidance, no less!”
In short, it meant that the non-lethal destruction the Regressor desired would be permitted. If she were to thoroughly wreck the refinery’s facilities one by one, the laborers might remain, but the refinery itself would be inoperable for the time being.
The situation fit together perfectly.
Unlike gears, humans are all too different to ever mesh perfectly. With different ideologies, goals, and abilities, it’s inevitable that they clash somewhere along the line.
But in this situation I had orchestrated, everyone fit together perfectly. The Regressor felt a sensation that was almost a thrill.
Hughes. Just how far ahead are you seeing…?
Oh. This isn’t foresight, though.
He realized it was a trap and got ahead of us. He ruined their prepared trap and even made a plan to completely destroy the refinery. In the process… he avoided the unnecessary sacrifices I wanted to prevent, and he eliminated the battle with the Military State that the Gunmaster wanted to avoid. This is… something not even a prophet could do…
To accurately read the Military State’s intentions, predict their actions, and, with confidence in those predictions, craft a counter-plan for each of their moves… wouldn’t that be nice. It would be a talent comparable to the famous strategists of history.
But the reality was, I had simply read the mind of the Camarilla who had planned all this and eliminated the problems one by one, as if solving a puzzle.
I’m not a genius, but a con artist who saw the answer sheet beforehand. Sadly enough.
…Maybe, he really is.
The Regressor’s thought was cut short. She realized that time was of the essence. From now on, every moment of hesitation would lead to someone’s death.
Picking up the Jizan she had dropped on the ground, the Regressor left me with a single, quiet remark.
“In any case, you were a help. Thanks.”
She strode toward General Toruk and his troops. As she approached, the soldiers tensed and moved as if to surround her. The Regressor swung her sword in annoyance and replied.
“Stop the useless posturing and lead the way! We don’t have time!”
Seeing the Regressor’s confident attitude, one of the officers grumbled in discontent.
“Dammit. With this thing around, we’re the hostages.”
“You’d better start moving before I decide to treat you like real hostages!”
As the Regressor led them away, I secretly called Tyr over from behind. Seeing my gesture, Tyr approached leisurely.
[Thanks to you, I have avoided a nasty sunburn. If not for your quick thinking, I would have been forced to show myself as a charred mess. Quite a sensational gift, wouldn’t you say?]
Such a show-off. She was quite surprised by the Military State’s artificial lights that they used to overwhelm her with sheer volume.
Though lacking in many ways compared to sunlight, the density of the light surpassed even the sun. If she had taken that light head-on, even Tyr would have been rendered combat-ineffective for a time.
A vampire in the light is like a human underwater. Every movement is met with immense pressure, and they can’t exert their full strength.
Well, she probably could have escaped one way or another. She could have resisted the light with darkness, or moved just 30 meters to the side to break through a wall. But by then, we would have all been dead.
Wait a minute. In truth, I was saving myself more than Tyr.
I scratched my head, feeling a bit awkward.
“It was nothing. Ah, if you’re done with it, could you return that cloth?”
At my legitimate request for its return, Tyr, who was still wearing my Queen of Diamonds on her shoulder, flinched and clutched the fabric tighter.
[…Was it not a gift?]
“I never said I was giving it to you. It’s expensive. Please give it back.”
[You haven’t a shred of romance in you. What kind of man takes back a handkerchief he has offered?]
“What era are you from? These days, plenty of people ask for their gifts back when they break up.”
[The end of days is upon us!]
“I doubt the apocalypse will be triggered by me asking for my stuff back.”
Tyr was too much of a gentlewoman; when I persistently demanded it, she reluctantly handed over the Queen of Fabric she was wearing. I couldn’t just give away something this valuable. I turned the Queen of Fabric back into a card and put it in my pocket.
But Tyr held a grudge. Still displeased, she continued to grumble.
[I simply cannot comprehend it! To do such a thing, you must have no sense of decency!]
“Haha. I have a use for it. And Tyr, I have a favor to ask.”
[Your hide is so thick a needle wouldn’t even leave a mark. Is it the custom these days for one who asks a favor to shamelessly take back what was given?]
I don’t like taking back gifts either, it makes me look petty. But the Queen of Fabric is a valuable tool for me, too. I can’t just give away a luxury item that could fetch the price of a house.
And she’s starting to take it for granted that I’ll just give her things.
“Tyr, you’re older and richer than me. You even built a nation! Isn’t it a bit much to try and take away one of the few remaining assets of a humble commoner struggling to get by? You might as well try to squeeze blood from a stone!”
[Would I be stingy in what I bestow upon you? You must first show sincerity, and then I shall reward you with treasures or gold, would I not?]
“Oh, right. You said you’d give me gold or treasure as payment for my lectures or massages, but you never gave me anything useful, did you? I was waiting, trusting in the good name of the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka. When can I expect to receive that?”
[…Let us speak of this matter later. The situation is urgent, so let us hear your request.]
Tch. Not bad. Using the urgency of the situation to evade an unfavorable question. Her experience founding a nation must have made her a better talker than a certain Regressor.
I glanced around once, then lowered my voice and whispered to Tyr.
“If they save the laborers, they’ll surely be released from their restraints for a moment. While pretending to help them, Tyr, at that moment when the laborers are freed.”
[At that moment?]
“Cover their eyes with darkness, and sneak them out of the refinery. Have them scatter in all directions, to give the arriving Military State forces something new to worry about.”
Realizing the importance of my request, Tyr also lowered her voice and replied.
[Is that truly alright? I heard the humans here are all heinous criminals. Releasing them into the world will surely cause many problems.]
“Why should I care? As long as they didn’t commit their crimes against me, it doesn’t matter.”
[Law and justice. Your attitude of paying them not the slightest heed is thoroughly delinquent.]
“Are you disappointed?”
Tyr shook her head and gave a faint smile. Her red lips curved into an arc. It was a smile of camaraderie, as if looking at a co-conspirator who had waded into the same muddy waters.
[Not at all. In fact, I like you even more for it.]
To Tyr, this refinery wasn’t a horrific place that trampled on human dignity. It was merely the most advanced of the historically common methods for efficiently consuming human beings.
There was likely nothing more meaningless than discussing modern morality with a thousand-year-old vampire queen.
[Wait a moment. What do you intend to do in the meantime?]
“Me? My work would be of no help, and if I make a scene and get taken hostage, I’ll just get in Ria’s or your way. So I’ll just stay here and be protected.”
[Yes. That seems for the best.]
“Good. Tyr, please go and liberate those laborers. Not for justice, but for me.”
Tyr chuckled and accepted my words.
[I shall grant your request.]
And with that, Tyr also departed the control room, trailing darkness behind her. From within her receding shadow, dozens of dark knights sprang forth.
A vampire saving people, huh… It’s a common enough occurrence. The species that has killed the most humans is other humans, but the species that has saved the most humans is, surprisingly, humans who have become vampires.
Well. The preparations are complete. I stretched my arms wide and turned around. In one corner, Azzy was struggling, caught on a wire fence, while Nabi was gleefully finishing off the fallen lights one by one. The lights, glittering with residual light like shards of glass, were destined to become Nabi’s footprints in the near future.
Off to one side, Historia was briefly explaining what had happened to Shiati and the princess.
Shiati was gritting her teeth, while the princess, unable to adapt to the sudden change in circumstances, had a question mark floating over her face.
“What? What? Wait a minute. Kerapald… betrayed us? He activated a trap, so Sir Shei cut him down…?”
“I don’t know the full story. Whether he was the real Kerapald, or someone in disguise. In any case, it’s clear something has happened to him.”
“I can’t believe it. He’s not someone who would betray us…”
“Because he’s human, you never know how he might change.”
The princess shrank back and looked around. Although the lights were broken, it was still quite bright, and the inside of the control room was clearly visible.
“…But.”
The princess, who had been scanning the control room, asked with a puzzled expression.
“Where is Kerapald?”
Historia flinched and whipped her head around. Her gaze fell upon the spot where Kerapald had collapsed, bleeding, just moments before.
But there was no one there. Not even a dried bloodstain was visible. Historia’s tension skyrocketed as she extended her arm.
“…It seems Kerapald wasn’t the real one after all.”
“Oh, then that’s a relief! So Kerapald didn’t betray us after all!”
Toward the princess’s naive reply, Historia shot back with a look mixed with contempt.
“It’s a misfortune. Someone disguising themselves as him means his identity has already been exposed, which means Kerapald was likely horribly tortured until he gave up all his information, and then executed.”
“W-Whaat?”
“But, to deceive my senses and that kid’s… How is that possible?”
Ah, that. It was a masterful performance.
Zigrund’s acting wasn’t something mystical. He was a true actor, one who had honed his craft for the sole purpose of one human performing for another. Because it was purely in the realm of skill, both the Regressor and Historia were completely fooled.
His greatest ability was his Gam Qi Art, which infused his body with Qi. His Qi Art, which had barely touched the edge of the Axiom, allowed him to fabricate his body’s reactions at will and even transform into other beings.
“Nya?”
Crack.
Nabi, who had been finding amusement in breaking the lights, lifted a paw, sensing a strange reaction. As if something was wrong with that particular light, a loud explosion erupted the moment Nabi’s paw left it.
“Nyahahak!”
A firework-like light burst, scattering sparkling dust. Historia reacted instantly, nullifying it with a blast of wind from her Qi Art, while a startled Azzy and Nabi barked in every direction.
Amid the instantaneous chaos, Historia’s voice rang out.
“Everyone, group up! Don’t scatter!”
Historia stopped mid-sentence. Someone had just walked out in front of her. A tall, female general with languid eyes and braided hair was glaring at her, eyes wide.
She looked exactly like Historia—no, it was as if she was Historia herself. Shiati and the princess, who knew her fairly well, were stunned to see the two, who were as identical as reflections in a mirror.
“Two Gunmasters?!”
Historia didn’t waste time being shocked at the sight of her double. With only the briefest of pauses, they moved simultaneously. One Historia shot out a long leg. The other ‘Historia’ smoothly deflected it, trying to wrap her knee and elbow around the leg to break it. The kick changed direction sharply in mid-air, met by a dizzying flurry of arms and legs.
BOOM! Historia’s Qi Art, the Explosive Discharge Domain, detonated, and the two figures were pushed back. The ‘Historia’ quickly reached a hand toward me and shouted.
“Huey! It’s dangerous! Hide behind—!”
“Can’t hide there. You’re the fake.”
Leaving the princess where she was, I immediately ran toward the real Historia. As I moved away, the hand that had been extended in vain clenched and unclenched a few times.
Seeing me reject her and run away yet again, the ‘Historia’s’ face was stained with despair.
“H-How…”
Putting on an act won’t work. The best way to see through an act is, paradoxically, to remind yourself that it’s all an act.
The ‘Historia’ realized I wasn’t just testing her, but had truly seen through her. The ‘Historia’s’ expression changed in an instant. Tilting her head with pure curiosity and wonder, Zigrund, wearing the face of ‘Historia’, voiced her question.
“You knew I was the fake, didn’t you?”