The presence looming above us never ceased, persisting even as the sun set and darkness shrouded everything. From the early morning hours, we concealed ourselves, yet it continued its relentless flight throughout the day. With it persisting like this, we wouldn't be able to move on the ground right now, let alone during the day.
If it were just me, digging through the ground would be easy. However, I had Mika and the captive white armored soldier with me now. If there was a collapse, the two of them would be buried alive. In such a scenario, it would be my responsibility to rescue them. Thus, the notion of going underground was promptly dismissed.
"It seems like they intend to find us no matter what it takes, even if they have to search every blade of grass. Now, how should we escape…"
Mika put his hand on his chin, lost in thought. His eyes seemed determined, as if he had made up his mind about something. I hope he's not still thinking of sacrificing himself or something like that.
I understand that you're suffering to the point of wanting to die, but consider my feelings after I leave you behind as a sacrifice and escape. I didn't consider myself shameless enough to abandon my benefactor without hesitation.
So there, I carved the letters on the underground wall with the tip of my tail. The underground was pitch black, but both Mika and I had excellent night vision. So reading the inscription posed no difficulty.
[If we're going to escape, let's do it together. I'll bring the weapons, and you take the female (female animal) with you,] I wrote.
"Together, you say… Understood. However, may I say something?" Mika responded.
[What is it?]
"Referring to a female of the human species as female (female animal) might not be appropriate. It's more common to use the terms man for males and woman for females."
[Is that so? I'll make that correction from now on]
Hmm, I see. Male is man, and female is woman… I've learned it now. It's utterly foolish to have disputes over mere words. I should simply accept the advice.
"However, if that's the case, there's no other choice but to force our way through. It will be a thorny path, but are you okay with that?" Mika inquired.
[No problem. Unless we encounter those white-armored soldiers or those fire breathing war chariots, my exoskeleton can withstand any attacks. If all we have to do is fend off some small fry and escape, it should be a piece of cake, right?]
While proclaiming such words, I pounded my forearm with a pat-pat sound. If that flying thing was part of the invading army, they probably had one or two weapons capable of shattering my exoskeleton, but I deliberately chose not to consider that possibility.
Mika must have also realized that possibility, but he responded with a soft smile and a nod. For now, he wouldn't express an immediate desire for death. Alright then, let's get going.
"Then, before we depart, please deliver that blow. The girl seems about to make a move."
[Understood]
"■■■…!"
Immediately after carving the words of understanding with my tail, I pierced the neck of the female white-armored soldier—no, the woman—with my poisonous stinger, injecting paralysis poison. This poison was slightly stronger than what I had used before, ensuring that even if she had developed some resistance, it would be futile. The woman groaned in pain, then went limp, no longer moving.
Mika lifted the woman, and I held the weapons. Then, I demolished the portion of the underground ceiling above us and leaped out to the surface.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The moment we stepped outside, muffled sounds echoed from all directions. The source of the noise was the thing flying in the sky. It looked strange when seen with my compound eyes.
Overall, it resembled a thin, saucer-shaped object with cylindrical weapons extending from beneath it. At the base of those cylinders, there was a reddish light that seemed to be of spiritual origin. All of that light was directed at us. Perhaps it had been searching for us with this light.
Within our field of vision, I could spot approximately five of those floating saucers, each simultaneously unleashing their cylindrical weapons. Wait a moment! We have your comrade, the woman, in our company. What will become of her if she's caught in the midst of this crossfire? Do they possess enough confidence to avoid harming her, or perhaps… do they simply not care?
If it was the latter, then, even though we were already enemies, they were quite unpleasant. After confirming that Mika had raised his shield, I hardened my exoskeleton to protect his back. The metal fragments still couldn't penetrate my exoskeleton. There should be no problem with this.
Mika and I exchanged a swift glance, then started running south. The saucers pursued us, launching metal fragments, but I endured all of them. It seemed they thought they could pierce through if they closed the distance, so the saucers chased. However, they were underestimating me a little too much.
"Gaga!"
As one of the saucers carelessly approached, it entered the range of my tail in an instant, and I swiftly crushed it with a swing of my tail wrapped around the battle axe. The saucer itself didn't seem particularly sturdy, as it was easily sliced in half.
Beep, beep, beep…
Just as I destroyed one saucer, I heard the same peculiar sounds emanating from the others. The previously continuously illuminated red light began flickering on and off in rapid succession. I wondered what their intention was, but before I could ponder further, the saucers charged towards us as if they had lost all reason.
"I have a bad feeling about this! Instead of using weapons, please destroy them with your spiritual arts!" Mika said.
I had originally planned to shatter them with my battle axe as they approached, but following Mika's rushed instructions, I immediately unleashed a sword made of sand. The moment the sword pierced the center of one saucer, it exploded in a dazzling flash of light!
Though the range was small, it resembled the explosion caused by the beam of light from the white armored soldier that almost killed Mika. Could it be that those saucers, if their enemy was impervious to metal fragment attacks, would self-destruct upon impact? If that were the case, it would be too dangerous to let them get close!
To further intensify my terror, a multitude of saucers came soaring towards us at high speed from beyond the horizon. The approaching flock of saucers, flickering with red lights, had an eerie aura. It reminded me of the time when I was growing up, being forced by Georg to fight swarms of rats.
(Back then, my exoskeleton hadn't fully matured yet, so the gnashing teeth of the swarming rats were terrifying. Yet now, on top of that, I have the added responsibility of protecting Mika and the hostile woman. It's even more challenging.)
With a wry smile, I used my spiritual power. Trying to counter these saucers with my own saucers, I created large sand saucer shaped entities to the best of my ability. Then, I moved them chaotically, without a specific target in mind.
The shattered saucers exploded one after another, engulfing nearby saucers flying in their vicinity. The chain reaction of explosions illuminated the darkness of the night with a row of lights.
However, most of the saucers either evaded the explosions or powered through the blasts, continuing their pursuit of us. The sand saucers I had created were scattered by the shockwaves, necessitating the creation of new ones for interception. As I was about to employ my spiritual power, which wasn't much of a hassle, a thunderous roar echoed from the southwest, precisely from our front right side.
"Damn it! It's the enemy's fire-breathing war chariots! They're firing at us!"
"■■■!?"
As Mika and the woman shouted, a flaming projectile fell and exploded a short distance away from us. Mika shielded himself from the scorching blast with his shield, while I relied on the strength of my exoskeleton to endure it. It didn't hurt, but if we continued moving like this, Mika would have a hard time.
From the southwest, around ten fire-breathing war chariots and over thirty armored soldiers mounted on metal horses appeared. They only launched flaming projectiles from a distance, without approaching us. It seemed they intended to annihilate us with the self-destruct attacks of the saucers.
"There's nowhere to hide! Endure until we reach the wheat field! Keep running with all your strength!" Mika shouted.
I barely had the time to respond, but I activated my spiritual arts and started shooting down the saucers. Since I needed to focus on our rear, I ran while Mika, holding his shield, led the way in the front.
Maintaining our formation, we continued running relentlessly until the break of dawn. Mika was covered in wounds from the blasts he couldn't fully defend against, and the White Armored Soldier woman he carried in his arms had disheveled hair and a soot-covered face. As for me, I was feeling quite exhausted from using my spiritual power for two consecutive days.
Above all, both Mika and I were approaching our physical limits. While we could temporarily conceal our fatigue with our fighting spirit, we had been running nonstop until now. Moreover, Mika was defending against enemy attacks, and I was continuously using my spiritual power. Fatigue had accumulated to the point where it couldn't be fully masked.
Just as we reached our limits, I caught sight of a tall wheat field basking in the sunlight from the east. If we could see it, that meant we were nearing the river that separated the Imperial army from the invading army. Just a little further! Just a little more!
Without a moment's hesitation, Mika and I leapt into the wheat field, relying on our acute hearing to track each other's movements as we pressed further south. However, our pursuers showed no signs of relenting. The invading army persisted, relentlessly launching metal fragments towards the area they presumed we would be. This is your wheat field, isn't it? Do they not care if it gets destroyed?
"Oh? The flaming projectiles aren't coming, huh? It seems they rely on this vast wheat field to produce food and transport it to the port. They wouldn't want to burn it all away," Mika remarked.
However, according to Mika's assessment, it would be troublesome if the field were to be destroyed. Now that he mentioned it, the most troublesome flaming projectiles had indeed ceased. Even the barrage of metal fragments that had been flying toward us gradually weakened until it completely subsided.
I thought we could finally catch our breath, but the hovering saucers continued to pursue us mercilessly. So, I attempted to counter them with my spiritual arts, just as I had been doing all along… but it seemed that fatigue had dulled my judgment. By the time I realized it, it was too late.
A part of the exploding saucer that I attacked fell into the wheat field. As a result, the smoldering fire ignited the field. And at that very moment, a strong gust of wind blew through… The small fire quickly escalated into a raging inferno, turning the wheat field into a sea of flames.
I never intended to scorch the wheat field, but this has grown into an unimaginable situation. The invading army was now in a frenzy, desperately trying to extinguish the fire as they hastily disembarked from their metal horses and fire-breathing war chariots. Just as Mika said, it seemed this wheat field held significant importance to them.
"…You've really done it. However, this is our chance to escape. Let's go," Mika said.
Amidst the billowing smoke rising from the wheat field, I nodded in agreement with Mika's suggestion. Taking advantage of the chaos, we resumed our escape. However, no matter how tall the wheat stalks were, running through the field would make us stand out. As soon as the invading army mounted their metal horses, they bellowed something and chased after us.
Perhaps they didn't want to further ignite the wheat field, as there were no fire-breathing war chariots and no flaming projectiles being launched. Instead, the density of metal fragments was beyond anything we had faced before. It was as if they were determined to kill us at any cost.
"Guhaa!" At that moment, Mika let out a pained cry. It seemed that he had been struck by metal fragments in an unprotected area through his shield. Moreover, the fragments had hit his thigh and waist, causing him to collapse, unable to exert strength in his legs.
A sizeable amount of blood flowed from the pierced thigh and side, staining his clothes with dark red patches. The woman's face, cradled in Mika's arms, was also splattered with blood, her eyes wide open in shock.
I hastily created a wall with my spiritual arts between him and the White Armored Soldier, then conjured sand arms with my spiritual power to grasp around Mika's waist and thigh, applying pressure to stop the bleeding as we continued to flee. In that moment, Mika said something to me. He told me to abandon him.
"Gufu… Leave me behind… There's no longer… any purpose for me to… live…" he muttered.
"Gaggagego, gagagago!" (Just shut up, you damn idiot!)
I shouted angrily as I ran. I knew that Mika desired death. When I learned of it, I felt a sense of unease. I had thought it was because I didn't want my benefactor to die, but it seemed that wasn't the whole truth.
I was angry. I harbored anger towards Mika for not valuing his own life. What each individual holds most dear may differ, but one's own life is something universally precious. I was angry at my benefactor for treating it carelessly.
"Geggagigi gugegu! Gigagegugogoga!" (I will definitely save you! How could I let you die?)
I unilaterally said that to Mika and continued running through the wheat field, creating a protective shell of sand around me. The metal fragments now concentrated their attacks solely on me, occasionally piercing through the gaps in my exoskeleton and cutting into my flesh.
Nevertheless, I gritted my teeth, suppressing the pain and pushing forward. I had no intention of giving up until the moment of my death.
DOON!
At that moment, I heard the sound of a fire breathing war chariot unleashing its flaming projectiles from ahead. Had they managed to flank us? I fortified my defense by overlapping my greatsword and battle axe… but the flaming projectiles flew over my head and struck right in the middle of the pursuing metal horses, causing a massive explosion.
I originally thought it was friendly fire, but I would have to apologize for that assumption. What actually happened was that a four-legged, fire breathing war chariot, the one that Marcellus occupied, accompanied by Tigar and the others, had attacked the enemy and saved us.
***********
TN: those saucer like things are probably drones, also the saucer term I used for translation is the dishware saucer.