WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 203: Land Flowing Like a River - 5

──────

Once morning came, the military state's troops began their march. Their forces were divided among airlifted automated carriages as they raced along the narrow Meta-Conveyor Belt, avoiding the containers that appeared from time to time.

Traveling over moving ground made their marching speed incredible. They crossed five administrative districts in one go and passed famous mountains and rivers in an instant. At the end of that miraculous march, a literal art of shrinking distance, a reddish container surrounded by ominous darkness appeared far ahead.

It was the container occupied by the hostile entities, including the Progenitor.

Absolute Spear called a halt, then raised his voice without bothering with a loudspeaker.

"You are surrounded. Surrender peac..."

Absolute Spear stopped mid-sentence, frowned, and immediately readjusted his grip on the spear. Thud. Raising the long spear over his shoulder, he threw it with all his strength without another word.

A blue meteor flew over the moving land.

The spear cut through the wind and pierced the container. After passing through the rear, it soon smashed through the front lid and flew out. With a tremendous crash, the cargo packed inside spilled out like shattered entrails.

Everything inside the container had been swept away by Absolute Spear's throw. Partlaxion calmly examined the items pouring out.

Beans and flour rolled toward them on the headwind, along with scrap metal for alchemy.

"...It doesn't look like my spear wiped out the enemy after all. Right?"

Colonel Gand, Absolute Spear's adjutant and disciple, rushed ahead to inspect the inside of the container.

"That's correct! It's an ordinary cargo container!"

"Right. We've been fooled."

They had not neglected reconnaissance. Yet to scout enemies moving along the belt, they needed to approach by belt as well. Otherwise, they would only fall behind.

But the more terrifying the opponent was, the farther away the scouts' limit of approach became.

Their opponent was Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka, the owner of an authority that could directly control darkness. Darkness was normally a scout's ally, but not this time. Every scout who found something lost contact.

While she had covered herself in darkness, taking advantage of the gap in their reconnaissance, the containers had been switched.

"They replaced the container during the night."

Absolute Spear spoke calmly and hopped onto an automated carriage. The carriage, which had paused briefly, began moving again.

Even after learning that their targets had hidden themselves during the night and put more distance between them, none of the generals looked troubled or disappointed.

Because the military state would have done the same in that position.

"...As expected. If they were being pursued, there was a strong chance they would act while they could move freely at night."

"So they used their heads too. Rationally enough, they chose to move forward."

At night, the enemy's strength, including the Progenitor, surpassed that of the military state.

It was an unfair and unreasonable calculation, but it was plainly true. Fighting an inexhaustible immortal legion was something they must never do.

During that time, the military state had to avoid engagement while the enemy could act freely. On this Meta-Conveyor Belt, freedom came down to one of two directions: forward or back.

The rational choice was forward. Moving ahead brought them closer to their objective while slowing the pursuit. It could also wear down the ordinary soldiers, who had to walk against the wind. It would not make much difference to their overall fighting strength, but it was still an advantage.

It was an outcome they had fully anticipated, with countermeasures already prepared.

The golem beside Absolute Spear looked at the empty container and reported evenly.

『This is Captain PU, military-state communications officer assigned to the Meta-Conveyor Belt. Observation data updated. Point One is a decoy. Switching the target to Point Two.』

Without even looking at the golem, Absolute Spear gave an order while staring ahead along the belt.

"Tell the military state's daughter who went ahead that this was a decoy."

『Major General Historia has already received the report. This information is more urgent for the separate detachment.』

"Oh, is that so?"

Partlaxion scratched his head, then shouted to the main force awaiting orders.

"Either way, they won't be able to move as quickly during the day as they did at night. All right, prepare to march again! Pursue the enemy!"

"Yes, sir!"

The well-trained army advanced in perfect order. As though their present situation had nothing to do with them, they moved onward while avoiding the containers drifting along the route.

"Hey, Colonel Gand. Come here."

At that moment, Partlaxion called his disciple. Colonel Gand quickly ran over.

Though Gand was Absolute Spear's disciple and possessed strength comparable to a general, their position was only that of a young adjutant. Absolute Spear, on the other hand, was a commander whom even generals had to treat with great respect.

Colonel Gand stood beside Absolute Spear as briskly as an ordinary soldier.

With the utmost seriousness, Absolute Spear pointed at the container he had pierced.

"Hey. Doesn't it look like I shoved a spear up its asshole and straight through its mouth? I did that once before, and its guts all burst out of its mouth. The container looks pretty similar, doesn't it?"

"..."

They did not show it, but the generals nearby who had overheard the conversation rapidly developed soured expressions.

The morning of fate dawned. As daybreak approached, a round, shining sphere cautiously poked its head over the distant eastern horizon.

The sun was often described as the face of a god or an absolute being, but it was clear that it possessed nothing close to a personality.

Otherwise, it would not show its face in the east every day for eternity without getting tired of it.

"Woof! It's morning! Woof!"

I take that back. This dog had not even known me for long, yet she woke me every morning without getting tired of it. If I did not stop her, she looked ready to keep waking me for eternity.

I meant that she should let me sleep more. Why was this dog trying to wake me when we were not even in the Abyss...?

"King of Dogs, leave him be. Let him rest while he can."

"Woof? No! Morning, wake up, healthy! A regular life is important!"

"You will not die because you miss a little of that loathsome sunlight. Dawn has barely broken. What is there to be in such a hurry about?"

As expected of Tyr. Tyr was the only one who truly cared about me.

What? Morning was the time to wake up? Who decided that?

Do not fit yourself to the world. Make the world fit you! The time you wake up is morning, and it is today until you go to sleep!

"Woof! Spoiling you is bad! Bad for your health!"

"If the absence of that sun harms Hyu's body, I will see to it that he gets a body that cannot be harmed."

‘Hyu likes sleeping, so perhaps becoming a vampire would not be too bad...’

"Hup! Up and at 'em, like Azzy! Hello, today's sun!"

Being alive was important. How could it not be wonderful to face that day's morning proudly?

Having fully woken up, I opened the container door and looked outside. Dawn's warmth seeped through the night's chill while the world atop the Meta-Conveyor Belt continued slipping backward.

In the vast farmland far away, crops grew lush and green. I could see people who had welcomed the morning moving through the world between the mountains and fields.

The land thick with vegetation seemed to be soaking in the morning sunlight, as if trying to swell itself with life. The scenery was plainly different from yesterday's, making me realize anew how far we had traveled overnight.

"It seems you moved us a great deal during the night. It must have been heavy."

"Just as something submerged in water has no weight, so it goes for anything within darkness. No matter how heavy it is, it poses no problem."

Last night, after preparing a decoy container, we had switched the entire container. While the regressor set traps around the area, Tyr lifted the container we lived in and moved it whole.

Buried in darkness and floating along, the container rode surprisingly smoothly despite its intimidating appearance. Even I, who had been uneasy about it, fell asleep before long.

Thanks to that, the military state had failed to notice our movements and fallen far behind. Even if they pursued us at full speed, they would not arrive until after noon.

"Still, as I said yesterday, the wind was fierce, so we could not travel far."

"Well, Tyr's method of movement is closer to floating in the first place."

Those who walked on land could move faster if they endured the wind a little, but Tyr lifted things with darkness, so she could not make the best use of being on the Meta-Conveyor Belt.

Well, I should be satisfied that we had widened the gap at all.

"By the way, Hyu, there is something I wish to ask. If we were going to flee this way, would it not have been better to defeat the enemy during the night?"

Tyr asked again, as though she did not like how passively we were acting.

‘Would it not be better to teach those fools who dare block my path a lesson? If I gave them a proper beating, they would not dare pursue us again.’

Was this the mindset of the strong? Beings capable of fighting an army alone seemed to think this way.

Well, if it were possible, it would not be bad... but there was no need to go out of our way.

I calmly repeated the explanation I had given yesterday.

"Then we'd have to go back. There's no reason for us, who need to leave the military state as soon as possible, to turn around."

"At times, going around is the faster path."

"Most of the time, the fast path is the fastest one. We're pressed for time, so there's no reason to choose the long way around."

"...Hmm. If you say so."

Tyr sounded dissatisfied, perhaps because she did not understand. Ah, this was modern tactics. It was different from a thousand years ago.

‘If I showed Hyu how splendidly I could defeat the enemy, he would trust and follow me a little more. Lately, it feels as though I have only shown him how unreliable I can be. Is that why he stubbornly refuses to become a vampire...?’

So that was it. She just wanted to show me something cool? She was not some hot-blooded young man!

Well, she was hot-blooded, but that blood was a little different!

I should speak to Tyr a little more calmly from now on.

"Even if we attack, all they have to do is retreat. Then we're forced to choose again. Do we close the distance, or turn back? Either choice makes us lose more than we planned. In the end, we won't even recover what we originally invested. Our goal isn't to wipe out the enemy, it's to escape. If that's the case, it's rational to make that our first priority."

"Would a nation's army retreat so easily?"

"The military state would. That's the kind of country it is. I don't know if you've heard the term active engagement avoidance."

‘Active engagement avoidance... Ah, weren't they told to avoid battle because confronting us would only cause losses?’

Tyr had experienced it firsthand when we traveled from the Abyss to the capital, so she accepted it much more easily. Even so, she still could not imagine a legion abandoning everything and fleeing.

"What if we retreat, but they keep clinging to us?"

"When they forcefully cling to us like dogs. That's exactly when we fight."

"Woof? Me? Cling to you?"

Azzy approached after hearing the mention of dogs, apparently thinking I had called for her. Her tail wagged weakly as she spoke with regret.

"Sorry, I can't bite humans! Too bad!"

"That really is too bad."

"Still, I'll work hard! Woof! No tissue-paper scraps!"

"What do you mean, tissue-paper scraps...? Are you talking about me? Are you saying that if I get torn to pieces like tissue paper, your investment turns into scraps too?"

"Woof!"

Azzy answered brightly, acting as though she were either my owner or my creditor.

She should at least give me some money before talking like that. What was this nonsense? I gave Azzy a light knock on the head. My hand hurt more, but humans had a dignity worth protecting even through pain.

"You've barely invested anything in me yet, you little brat. For something to count as an investment, it needs enough value behind it."

Even after being hit, Azzy did not put up much resistance.

"I will!"

"What are you going to do when you can't even bite humans?"

A dog was only a dog, no matter how helpful it was. When I scolded her with an expression that showed I had little expectation, Azzy hesitated briefly, then sharply raised her head. Her large, clear brown eyes held a powerful determination that did not suit a dog.

"Woof! I'll bite everything except humans!"

Oh. That might actually be reassuring.

Having answered with firm resolve, Azzy turned away from me and headed farther inside. There, the regressor, who had arrived late after guarding the rear to keep scouts at bay, lay sprawled limply across the bed.

As though waking humans were her duty, Azzy went to the regressor's bedside and barked loudly.

"Woof! Wake up! It's morning!"

"Now, Azzy. Dad came back late last night and is tired. Wake him gently."

"Who are you calling Dad...?"

‘Mom might have been one thing... Ugh. No, this isn't right. Is that idiot rubbing off on me? I think I'm starting to see Azzy and Nabi as pets too...’

Shei held her head, but soon gathered herself and sat up.

"The sun's up... The enemy hasn't appeared yet, right?"

"Not yet."

"Let's have a quick bite... Then we should get ready."

Perhaps she was used to eating during battle. The regressor did not even take out the Manhan Quanxi and began gulping down hastily prepared rations. I opened cans for Azzy and Nabi, set one in front of each of them, then forced down some canned rations myself.

Tyr did not need to eat, so she simply watched us. Once we had nearly finished, she urged us on.

"Let us hurry. If we had to move during the night, would it not be better to move during the day as well?"

"Ah, there's no need for that."

The moment I finished speaking, gunfire rang out far in the distance.

Rat-a-tat-tat. It came from quite far away, but it was clear they were firing at us. The familiar sound of bullets striking the container's outer wall rang out.

The regressor casually tossed aside her canned food, took out a canteen, and gulped down water. I swallowed the food left in my mouth as well. I had not eaten much, but my stomach, tightened by tension, did not complain about the lack.

"Because we won't be able to move easily during the day."

A delaying action.

A unit sent to hold us down had arrived before the main force could reach us.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried