Fragrance of Rebellion (5)
Impatience surged through me. I wanted to leap into the river right then and there, vaporizing the water with an explosion that would shred every damn thing lurking underwater and on the surface. But to pull that off without leaving any loose ends, I'd have to slaughter the ability users on those patrol ships who had detected my presence—total elimination. Then wipe out every sailor and officer who witnessed it, and thoroughly destroy the underwater acoustic data recorders and black boxes. Hell, it might be better to just sink the patrol ships outright. What a ridiculous inversion of priorities.
This wasn't a situation where I could afford to hesitate unless Becklux was absolutely safe. I decided to take the risk and focus my full power.
"All machines, from now on, focus entirely on covering the patrol ship! Think of it as ending in five minutes!"
Becklux could hold out long enough even if enemies swarmed the deck. That's what I'd rebuilt its guts for from the start.
The patrol ship Ruojou, on the brink of losing its deck, entered a desperate last stand. The captain's urgent orders boomed through the external speakers.
"All crew, get inside the hull! I repeat, all crew, get inside the hull! Close all doors before the Black Sea Party bastards break in! Hurry!"
It was an order born of hope that we'd sweep away the ticks clinging to the hull. Good intentions, but expecting cold execution in a crisis like this was wishful thinking. The sailors desperately holding the deck bolted the moment retreat was permitted, crowding toward the narrow doors. Officers and enlisted alike shoved and fought to get inside first—a total clusterfuck.
"Close it! Close the doors!"
On a modern warship, the bridge could monitor the status of every watertight door at a glance. With enemies finally storming the deck and doors still wide open, the captain's voice grew frantic. But the doors and corridors were barely wide enough for one person, jammed with dozens of sailors and officers elbowing each other. The more he barked, the worse it got.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The barrel of my heavy machine gun glowed reddish from overheating. No time to pause for cooling. Trajectory still steady—every target I aimed at exploded in a spray of blood without fail. No ability user could swim armored or stuffed with sandbags, so the assault team fresh from the water was practically naked. Tracer rounds or AP, didn't matter; one hit ripped from crown to crotch.
Even I couldn't survive a vital hit right now.
Each round carried 18,000 joules of kinetic energy—no joke. An ability user with above-average muscle and bone reinforcement would only amplify the damage absorbing it fully. With that kind of power, the Black Sea Party attackers scrambled to dodge even after reaching the deck. Some climbed up only to dive right back into the water.
The shadow under the anti-ship missile launcher was one of the few safe spots. Blind-firing risked detonating the missiles. The clustered Black Sea Party there started hacking at the mast's rear plating with axes. Modern combat ship upper structures weren't built to withstand full-force axe blows from ability users for long. Especially aft of the bridge—not outward-facing, so even the thickest plating was under a centimeter.
Gunfire erupted through the narrow gash the axe had pried open. Desperate up close, laughably clumsy from afar. I deliberately herded the Black Sea Party under the launcher and yelled aft.
"Console! Notify 592! Fire the missiles!"
"What missiles? They're asking!"
"Anti-ship, obviously! Roast 'em with the backblast!"
"They say it'll cause massive civilian damage if it hits the city! Protecting the people is a soldier's duty, right?"
"Max range is 120 klicks—what city? Fire south; worst case, you smash some unlucky fishing boat! Shoot now if you don't wanna die!"
Even if it hit the city, no big deal. Unlike Guangzhou, the heart of Guangdong's economy, Dongguan tolerated more destruction. Slim chance it'd hit one of the few mansions or still-operating foreign factories. Civilian ships might ping the auto-targeting, but unavoidable.
Talk of duty or not, nobody wanted to die. The captain finally gave the launch order.
Fwhoosh! Massive flames jetted fore and aft from the launcher. Even a handheld rocket's backblast could kill; an oversized subsonic anti-ship missile's? Catastrophic. I'd ordered one shot, but the captain ripple-fired the whole load.
The guys in the kill zone didn't even scream—dropped like sacks. The four missiles climbed to half our altitude, arced south. Turbofan roar and flames faded fast.
In the sudden quiet, half-roasted ability users' screams filled the void.
Meanwhile, on the forward deck, a Black Sea Party squad had breached inside. Sailors too busy fighting to enter first had left the door ajar. The intruders traded fire with crew deeper in across a narrow corridor. Buff ability users skewered corpses on blades as shields—hard for personal weapons to penetrate. Bullets weakened punching through flesh couldn't reliably drop tough-boned foes. Especially drugged up; might take a full mag per kill.
Should I go down and clean it up? Then the hitherto silent deck gun swiveled. 180 degrees—aimed straight into the open door.
---!
The infiltrators who'd dodged our fire froze, pointing and yelling silently as the massive barrel swung on them. Brief panic. Then smirks and taunts—no way you'd fire into your own ship. Mocking the bluff.
But the gunner wasn't bluffing.
Thwoomp! The gun actually fired. Blank round—no warhead. Meant to scare off riffraff with noise. But the propellant shockwave could kill within range. Shotgun blanks kill at a meter; scale to naval gun caliber?
Thud! Crack! Doorway buckled; shockwave pulped insides. Outermost guy shredded. Blanks aren't empty—residue, casing fragments spray with gases. Naval gun scale? Each speck like small-caliber fire.
Seven blanks later, the gun fell silent. Overfired without cooldown.
Worth it. Forward corridor clogged like an arteriosclerotic artery—shredded, crushed bodies jammed solid. Eyes popped from pressure. Survivors flailed weakly amid the dead. Front-runners lived but morale shattered. Stunned attackers dropped weapons, shields, surrendered. Defenders too shell-shocked to accept—puking indiscriminately. Blood trails everywhere.
Brilliant! I inwardly saluted the gunner's ingenuity. Even in a privatized, corrupt force, talent existed.
Ruojou's last soft spot: hangar below aft deck. Mission bays flanking the crane hatch for boats/supplies—perfect for Black Sea Party to crawl in. Under helo deck, safe from our fire.
BOOM! Last circling boat engulfed in yellow flames, waterspout. Seven helos' focused fire. Rushed it—our side took more wounded. Triage-manageable now, but delay risked shock from blood loss.
I considered lowering to hose the hangar but nixed it. Risked cooking ammo or avgas.
"All machines! Withdraw to Becklux!"
That was help enough. Patrol ship's autocannon support had cut out—ammo dry. Reserves in hangar; no quick reload.
Time to scrape vermin off Becklux.
As we pulled back, protests crackled from Ruojou's bridge.
"Engaging on aft lower deck! Guangzhou Public Security direct-lift squadron, insert troops to aft deck!"
"Handle the rest yourselves! Enemy boarders are outnumbered now!"
Can't spoon-feed from start to finish—not toddlers. Demanding like that? Arrogant pricks.
Becklux belched black smoke everywhere. Tracers alone sparked fires; heavier stuff? Miracle prepped flammables were stripped, fire-retardant armor everywhere—or half the ship'd be ablaze.
Subordinates' birds mopped up hull-clingers. Water finally clear too. Enemy numbers tapped out.
I led the flagship to Becklux's helo deck. Simultaneously descended for assault.
"Pilots! Handing off controls! I'll clear the LZ—land immediately!"
Passed stick to pilot, grabbed rifle, dropped vertically ~30 meters. Telekinesis-braked silent landing. Shoved pre-landed helo #3 (rocket casualties) over railing. Stinking hull clanged into waves.
Dove inside without waiting. Kyung-tae dropped after, shadowing fast.
Radioed bridge handheld: "Commander to Becklux. Support incoming from upper deck now. All hands, watch for friendly fire."
Quick scan internals. Ruojou 100m off limited mana field, but enough to sweep rookies without missing or leaks.
Wounded were my timer. Elite direct subordinates? Priceless assets.
"Outta the way. No more needed."
Guards parted. My expanding mana field engulfed Becklux—gunfire shipwide paused instantly. Black Sea Party panicked, eyes locked fearfully my way despite walls. Like rabbits scenting tiger.
Strode forward, radioed: "Notify machines 2 and below. Kill any crawling out. Not one escapes. Understood? No survivors!"
Trembling rabbits every one. Outclassed in mana dominance, their fields pitifully shrunken. Only Kyung-tae or guard elites held near me—especially with my consideration.
Fwoom! Ignition incantation flash-burned wide area in a blink. 0.1-sec burn, but thermal expansion birthed murderous pressure storm in tight corridor. Foes hiding left/right pulped into paste.
Onrushing blast neutralized by forward telekinetic barrier. Corridor-focused, blocked shockwaves or heavy weapons easy.
Follow-up incantation circulated air. Avoid self-induced hypoxia.
Fear peaks unseen. Pre-reveal flight-doomed them fast. Outside? Helo fire. Stay? Face projected monster.
Suyeon's calm, clear voice broadcast shipwide.
"Surrender. Those who surrender will not be killed."