[Bonus chapter for 900 powerstones ... and we're apparently already closing in on 1200... *sigh*]
In truth, Leonel was a bit embarrassed that he never realized that Aina had been awake the whole time. He had done his best to ignore the fact she was on his back, or else he would have lost himself in the softness of her figure. How could he, a lifelong virgin, resist the feeling of those two soft things on his back. He ultimately had no choice but to practically ignore her completely.
Leonel shook his head as he ran at Aina's pace. Now that he had lost a couple hundred pounds on his back, his fatigue didn't seem as bad anymore. Well, that and the fact he didn't seem to be needed.
Aina was like a one woman artillery unit. She didn't seem to need Leonel's help at all. He would only occasionally snipe some danger in the distance. Now that his Force wasn't restricted, it seemed that his Internal Sight increased almost tenfold.
From what he could see, he had an area of sharpness and an area of vagueness. Within about 200 meters, he could see things as though he was looking at them with his own eyes. Between 200 and 1000 meters, everything gradually grew foggy until he couldn't sense anything.
When he paired this foggy region with the primal instincts of the primitive consciousness, he was able to sense general areas which harbored danger and killing intent. Like this, he sent warning shots in those directions. Whether he hit them or not, he didn't care. He only wanted to disrupt their rhythm so they couldn't snipe at Aina.
What Leonel couldn't have guessed was that Aina didn't actually need his help at all.
"Stop shooting, you'll only expose our exact location. Let them snipe. They won't be able to touch a hair on your head."
When Leonel heard these words, he blinked. How had the roles reversed so suddenly? When did he become the damsel in distress?
It wasn't long before Leonel understood where Aina's confidence stemmed from.
They charged down the densely packed region of residential homes.
From the inner city doors to the outer city gates, there was a main road that plowed straight through to connect them both. This wasn't exactly a great design as it made the Fort easier to breach if the main gates fell, but Leonel assumed it was like this for the sake of convenience.
Leonel thought that Aina would avoid the main road. Their only advantage now was the fact there was only a pair of them. They should take advantage of this and try to find another exit. Leonel didn't believe the Leum family would be stupid enough to make a city with only one gate. It was possible that Miles had hidden the others with his ability. In that case, he just had to get close so that he could see through them with Internal Sight.
But, Aina didn't do this. She charged through the straight main road. If one came, she cut him down. If two came, they both lost their heads. If ten came, they fell all the same.
Her efficiency was scary to the point Leonel felt numb. It took Leonel almost two hours to exit the inner city, but Aina seemed to be closing in on the Fort's gates in less than 20. Nothing was capable of stopping her.
The truth was that this was due to the fact the outer city had no Force disrupting towers, so the technology available was much weaker here. But, Leonel seemed to have forgotten this and only had endless praise for Aina.
"Halt!"
The next poor commander stepped up, trying to stop them.
Unfortunately, her fate was not much different than those who came before her. It wasn't as though the special units would all remain idle in the Fort. The one Aina took out in one fell swoop was the only one not stationed at a distant Perimeter.
Aina's eyes suddenly flashed as the bang of a sniper rifle rang out.
Leonel's heart stopped. He could sense the bullet enter the sharp range of his Internal SIght and could see that it was perfectly aimed at Aina's forehead. But, he simply wasn't fast enough to stop it.
Who knew that Aina would have begun moving even before the shot rang out? He was so lost in worry that he didn't even notice she had shifted her attention toward that direction long ago.
Her ax swung downward, cleaving the bullet in two.
Without even a pause, she took another step forward and swung again, cleaving another bullet that was aimed for Leonel.
Leonel blinked in shock. 'She wasn't faster than the bullet, she just acted before it could get here as though she predicted it…'
A moment later, Leonel's gaze focused on the headpiece on Aina's head. It had a delicate necklace-like structure that wrapped around her head like a headband. The singular jewel it had dangled from her forehead like a clear drop of water.
He suddenly understood. Leonel received a Quasi Bronze Reward. How could Aina not receive one as well?
Aina turned back and charged forward again. Her ax alternated from taking heads to cutting down bullets. The way her body danced with that battle ax twice the size of her body made her look like a crimson fairy. The night was dark all around, with the sole exception of the red-gold aura around her body.
"… I know that my mind is my greatest weakness too. But this can help me cover for that. Just rely on me for now." Aina said confidently.
Leonel finally understood. While he thought he had no choice but to bow to the demands of the Empire, Aina never even thought of that as being an option. She hid the fact she had this treasure, which was the reason why the wererat was able to catch her off guard. Now that the situation had reached this point, there was no reason for her to continue hiding it at all.
'Good… I was worried that the Junior Governor Duke might come around for a last stand and catch Aina off guard. But if her mind is protected by a Quasi Bronze treasure that seems able to increase her perception, there's no problem then.'
Leoenl felt that he could finally breathe easy. The way things were going now, even if he simulated it with his Dream World, the likelihood of them leaving this Fort unscathed was over 90%.
'What should we do after we leave though…' Leonel frowned.
Eventually, he realized that the only option was to leave Earth. They stood no chance staying here. Their only option was to hope the dictionary could find them a high enough rank Zone to enter so they could earn a teleportation award to another world.
'Uncle Montez will probably be able to tell me about which worlds are relatively safer and more accepting of outsiders…'
Leonel was lost in his thoughts when it happened.
The explosion was so loud he couldn't hear anything for a long while. No, he could hear something. It was a loud, high-pitched noise. If Leonel had to pick something it reminded him of, he would immediately think of the flat-lining of a heartbeat. It was the kind of sound a hospital's emergency room would have on replay…
Blood dripped from his ears and a searing heat assaulted him. It was like a wall of invisible fire had crashed into his body. The wind it came with was almost strong enough to knock him off his feet.
The heat was so excruciating Leonel had no choice but to close his eyes. The last sight he saw was Aina frozen in place in front of him. She was perfectly fine, but she seemed to be just as shocked as he was.
'… They…'
Leonel's mind went blank. He opened his eyes once more to find AIna in the same place. But, the residential homes that had been ahead of them were blown to pieces. A rain of stone and rubble fell all around.
As Leonel's hearing slowly came back, the first thing his ears latched onto was the screaming.
From the start of Leonel and Aina's escape, they hadn't seen a single civilian. They hid and cowered in their homes, not wanting to get involved. Likewise… The two of them left them alone.
But now, their screams filled their ears like treacherous demons clawing at their hearts.
"Ha…"
Leonel's bottom lip hung loosely, a sound that seemed a cross of a sad laugh and a sigh escaping thanks to them.
On a distant tower, Miles watched on without a hint of emotion. They had only missed because the weaker technology they were strapped to without the Force disrupting towers was a bit lacking. But, he was confident that there wouldn't be a second time.
He didn't dare to use such a tactic in the inner city. Those people were nobility. But, what were these poverty stricken leeches to society worth to him?
"Fire again." He said coldly.
Another volley was launched. This time, its aim was true.