Глава 10

Gah! The lift fell over––

If it had been a little lower, m-my leg would've...

Hold on.

I mean, hold on to my construct!

You idiot... Don't drag me down too! It's hard enough to stay afloat bringing you bunch with me!

C-Captain... Thank you...

Next time, be smarter about how you run so you're less of a nuisance.

Watch out, Captain!

That's... an artillery shell?

No, it's far more destructive than normal artillery...

And, it was aimed so precisely at a small area?

Manfred... You've been watching us this whole time?!

Bloody hell, that slimy devil!

Alright, everyone stop right here! We don't need to chase after those Sarkaz. As for the driver...

He's dead.

This accursed place...

Lieutenant, wh-what is this...

How can the city's defense artillery do this...?

Londinium's wall defenses were built almost seventy years ago.

This is the first time...

Their cannons have been aimed... inside the city.

Not too shabby.

Even 10% of its firepower is enough to melt ordinary structures.

So this is Londinium's ultimate defense.

That was only an auxiliary cannon.

Our weapon experts have said the main guns are able to easily penetrate the armor of any high-speed warship.

A weapon expert...? Are you talking about the officer from the defense forces' engineering team?

I must thank you for capturing his wife and daughter.

Is he still alive?

As long as he is of use to the Sarkaz, he will not die.

Artilleryman, target Lift 11.

The shot went wide.

Unfortunate. We'll have to improve our accuracy.

These cannons were meant to point outwards, after all.

Outwards... Before we entered Londinium, the defensive artillery was aimed at the ducal army outside the walls.

When we entered the city under the guise of quelling the dukes' conflicts, they never even once thought to put us in their sights––

Does that count as pointing outward?

Since the fall of Gaul and the silence of Iberia, a long time has passed without Victoria facing any real external threat.

Indeed, which is why His Majesty found this opportunity for us.

Such sophisticated weaponry should be put to greater use, rather than sitting here as ornaments adorning the doorway.

Artilleryman, activate dynamic target tracking.

Very good, it's working.

We had to spend nearly a whole month to calibrate them...

Luckily, they seem to be working well enough.

These weapons put us in control of everything that enters and exits Londinium.

Once all our cannons are in place... There will be nowhere to hide under the shadow of these steel walls.

Dublinn seems to be drawing away the artillery fire.

Is this... a test run? Is their purpose really just to calibrate...

No, they're ultimately unconcerned with this port.

Lieutenant, what do we do now?

Continue to withdraw towards the city.

However... the rest of Sudean is no longer safe.

The Sarkaz are tightening their grip on Londinium. As long as the city's artillery is pointed inwards, our lives are in their hands.

Unless...

What's your plan, Lieutenant?

It's nothing. Let's go, we'll talk after we've made our escape.

These bloody walls! These bloody cannons!

Captain, your constructs got destroyed again...

I don't... have time for this!

Don't just stand there staring! Away with you! Get out of here!

Forcing us to run, eh? Mark my words, Manfred, you insult me like this today, I swear I'll...

Captain, that one I just saw running off that way... looked rather familiar...

The Lupo brunette? Is it her?!

Get her——

Ugh!

Be careful, Captain!

What have you done?!

I'm... protecting you... run! You still have to... find... for the Leader...

Fine... fine.

You're the thirteenth.

The thirteenth Taran life. I will mark you down in the Leader's place. One day, I will personally make the Sarkaz pay for each and every life.

General, we've routed Dublinn's team.

I saw.

But we couldn't find the rebels... Those sly insects! They peeked their heads out for a moment, but they vanished again after we activated the cannons.

Uhh, could they have been killed already?

What do you think?

I... I don't think our job would be that easy.

I'm glad you understand.

Then, did they blend into the crowd? Should we notify the patrol so they can detain the civilians and continue the search?

No need.

Continue to bombard the port. Oh, and increase the firepower.

Increase the firepower? The port is almost completely destroyed. I can't imagine anyone would be hiding there still.

They won't ever take this route again. Besides, have you ever seen a Sarkaz draw only half his sword?

Now that we've begun, why not let them see exactly what we're capable of?

You're putting on a show of force for them. You want... to cut off their escape and force them to come out.

This game of hide-and-seek has gone on long enough. Even if I don't mind waiting, the same cannot be said for His Majesty and the Royal Court.

Doesn't matter who it is. If they have a plan, I'd like them to hurry up with it.

Doctor, we don't have anywhere safe to hide!

Even if we all took cover under the structure, we'd still be...

...Vulnerable to their artillery blowing us to bits!

I've done some rough calculations. If those cannons are fully charged, they'd be able to shoot clean through a standard city plate! This flimsy sheet plate above our heads on the wall there won't stand a chance!

Siege, Londinium's cannons here are serious business!

This is the first time I've seen them fired off on such a scale.

That means they're rolling out the red carpet for us, right?

If that were the idea, we would be wiped out fifty kilometers outside the walls.

Urgh...

Ahhh, I can't take it anymore––!

Amiya, my drones can't reinforce these plates any further. At this rate, we're going to get blasted sky-high!

We need to get out of here.

Dublinn also scrambled to get away as fast as they could... but they used Arts constructs to defend themselves and left their wounded behind.