Chapter 111: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (18)

Chapter 111: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (18)

The drainage channel extending from Carnela Port was also under surveillance by the Republic Army. It was expected that they would anticipate our infiltration route through this channel, and they likely had guards stationed at every exit to either monitor or block them. The Imperial army did not underestimate their enemies, especially those who had forcibly seized their own territories.

However, I was confident that they wouldn’t completely seal off the exits. The network of underground drainage channels that spread throughout the depths of Carnela Port was too intricate. If they forcefully demolished it, some part of the port above would crumble as well. That’s why destroying the drainage channels was not an option. It was only natural that the Empire was well aware of the intricacies of Carnela Port, as it had once been Imperial territory.

And so, we successfully dug an underground passage leading to the remaining drainage channel. However, our goal was not to proceed toward the exit of the drainage channel. Our next task was to create an inclined path that would allow us to ascend diagonally. In other words, we needed to create a path that pierced through the underground passage above and reached the surface of Carnela Port.

From the beginning, the Imperial Army never believed they could reclaim Carnela Port without any damage. They didn’t harbor such naive thoughts. If they were bound to incur some casualties, they didn’t mind causing some destruction themselves. Their priority was to swiftly and efficiently send as many soldiers as possible into the depths of Carnela Port.

“...!”

I carved a hole towards the surface, similar in width to the underground passage we had dug. The drainage channel and the ground seemed to melt, transforming into sand, and even the neatly laid cobblestones on the surface turned into sand. I put all my strength into it.... and forcefully pushed into the sand that had been created, and right then, with a powerful surge, the sand got launched out of the hole almost like a dragon’s breath.

From the newly formed hole, gentle sunlight poured in, accompanied by the sound of structures collapsing and turning into rubble. They must have been swallowed by the torrent of sand. Did I go too far? I briefly wondered, but there was no time to dwell on such things.

“Go! Go! Go! Run!”

“””””Garrroooarrr!!!”””””

Marcellus bellowed out orders. After transforming into our demon forms, we raced up the incline, aiming for the surface. Leading the charge, I ran while reinforcing the walls to ensure the hastily constructed hole wouldn’t collapse. The fruits of my daily control training were apparent even in this situation.

As I sprinted through the hole I had created, I found myself in the heart of Carnela Port’s downtown area. I spotted the tall brothel where we had taken a break during our infiltration mission. It remained as desolate as ever, devoid of people... or rather, enemies. I was relieved that we didn’t emerge right in the midst of enemy ranks.

With a sense of relief, I surveyed the surroundings of the hole. To the north, many buildings had crumbled due to the transformed sand, but conversely, the south remained intact. It seemed that pushing the sand out diagonally had proven successful.

As I unsheathed the two swords from my waist, I climbed onto the roof of the tallest building on the south side. From there, I surveyed the entire Carnela Port, and it seemed that, as planned, the Imperial army had launched their attack from three locations, including this one.

(One of them is not too far from here, on the outskirts of the downtown area. It’s slightly north of here, so like this area, there are hardly any enemies in the vicinity. The problem is...)

While we initiated our surprise assault from underground, the attack on Carnela Port from the surface had also commenced. It involved more intense long-range bombardment than before. Thanks to that, the enemy’s presence seemed concentrated on the southern side, where the outer walls stood, with only a few stragglers in the warehouse district and elsewhere.

Mika murmured softly behind me. Indeed, it hadn’t been a significant amount of time since we completed our infiltration mission. However, within that short span, many things had happened. Even the relationship between Mika and me had changed significantly. Somehow, I felt quite sentimental...

Ah, there, that building was the one I destroyed in a flashy way. Now it has been neatly repaired. Seeing it, I couldn’t help but be curious, so I focused and searched for any signs of activity in the surroundings.

I could sense about eight strong presences inside the inner part of the outer wall. They were likely white-armored soldiers. Among them, two of the presences were swiftly heading towards the central area of the barracks, near the hole that had been created there. It seemed those two were making their way there to deal with the situation.

However, the most important thing was that I couldn’t sense any presence of the Popi race within my range. It could be assumed that those who were captured at that time had managed to escape safely. Relieved, I let out a sigh of relief.

“■■■■■!”

“■■! ■■■■!”

Oh, it seemed they finally noticed us on the rooftop. The armored soldiers pointed at us and mercilessly showered us with a hail of bullets. I jumped down from the roof and landed; then I used the strength of my exoskeleton to charge forward before slaying the armored soldiers without mercy. Tigar and the others followed suit, and together, we easily dispatched around a hundred of them.

“...”

After that, I created sand using my spiritual art, before shaping the sand particles into spears and hurling them toward the buildings surrounding the outer wall. Just like before, as the sand spears pierced the structures, they exploded, demolishing the buildings.

The inner parts of the buildings, protected by the outer wall, couldn’t have dramatically improved their defenses within such a short time. Just like before, the sand spears lodged themselves and exploded, creating significant holes in the buildings and igniting fires due to the impact. Demons skilled in spiritual arts like Sharl also joined in destroying the buildings, causing the damage to escalate rapidly.

“■■■!?”

“■■■, ■■■■!

Our flashy rampage had paid off, as the enemies were now flocking towards us from different directions. Even the white-armored soldiers on the outer wall seemed to be redirecting their attention away from Marcellus’ group and towards us.

It appeared that we had succeeded in our mission of luring the enemy. From this point on, we had to fight in order to survive. I firmly gripped my two swords once again and pounced on the group of incoming enemies.

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TN: I don’t remember everything, but those buildings are supposed to have some chemicals or stakes that upon impact explode. That’s why they exploded once attacked by sand spears. Mc’s sand spears don’t have exploding properties to my knowledge.