WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 204: Land Flowing Like a River - 6

──────

Projectile weapons were trash that barely deserved to be called weapons. That had long been common knowledge.

Air infused with mana naturally repelled anything that struck it. Even arrows trying to slip through the gaps made an absurd amount of noise for their slow speed. Those with keen senses could easily detect them, and as long as they reacted in time, deflecting them was simple.

Bullets were the same. Guns, weapons surpassed by nothing in sheer noise, had always been criticized for their miserable killing power. Unless fired from point-blank range, they could not even take down an ordinary person. They were nothing but annoying swarms of buzzing flies.

The military state, though, had come up with a slightly different idea.

If ordinary soldiers could buzz annoyingly around absolute powerhouses, was that not an enormous advantage?

While the military state had been enjoying that advantage to the fullest, the Gunslinger Historia appeared like a comet.

Bang. Bang.

Since we were hiding inside a container, bullets flew in at intervals, just when we had started to forget about them.

Of course, the bullets could not even penetrate the container's outer wall. That did not mean we could relax. Just as our guard loosened, the container caved in with a tremendous blast.

Historia's bullet.

"A troublesome swarm of flies. With one hornet hidden among them... is that what you said? Hmm. It is a fitting description."

Tyr clenched her hand, and darkness flowing across the floor carried the dented bullet into the container. She leisurely appraised the incoming ammunition.

"Though the sun shines upon us, it dented steel bearing my brand. From that distance, no less."

"Yeah. It's the completed form of military state tactics. There's a reason they call her the military state's daughter."

The regressor grumbled as she shot me a sharp look.

"At this point, I'm curious what strange thing happened in Hamelin. What kind of grudge did you earn? A few days ago, they moved aside and told us to leave. Now one of the Six Generals is risking her life to hold us here?"

"I told you, it's a personal issue. Historia is probably the only one who wants to catch me."

"What did you do?"

"Ah, it's a long story. I was around sixteen. At the military state's secondary military academy, where youths in the bloom of life were meant to shave away their youth and turn it into weapons, we..."

I settled in and recalled old memories. Tyr had already begun listening closely, ready to hear my story.

My brilliant memories of school. Hamelin on a low hill, the river babbling below it. The memories and dreams I had there...

"Just give us the short version."

"Tch. You're no fun."

"Is that what matters? The enemy is right in front of us!"

"Fine, fine."

I shrugged and explained.

"In Hamelin, they tried to use the students a little like bullets. Naturally, the students got furious and used the tactics and combat skills the military state had taught them against the military state. They organized raids, set bases on fire, held out, occupied the training camp, and then tried to execute the top student in the whole school as an example."

The regressor, who had been listening quietly, flinched once she realized this was my story.

‘Wait. The top student was him, wasn't it? He nearly got executed by his friends?’

See? It was not something I could summarize simply.

The regressor asked more carefully.

"...And then?"

"Then they realized killing another student would not look good. Fighting the military state was a struggle, but attacking the top student was just rage steeped in inferiority. The message would fall flat. The message, you see. At the last moment, my classmates realized that and chose suicide instead of fighting back."

"..."

"And then they told me to join them. It was a desperate crisis. But at the last second, I used my wits, pretended to be dead, and escaped."

‘He was crazy even as a student. Well, considering the others, it would be stranger if this one were normal.’

What a hurtful thing to think. Wasn't that unfair? Hamelin's second- and third-ranked students were so strong that nobody even dared touch them. I was just the weak, easy target who happened to be first.

At this point, wasn't I the victim? Was being weak a crime?

"I barely survived and tried to go home, but the military state did not want to take responsibility, so they named me the culprit. It was outrageously unfair. I was only holding a whistle in my mouth instead of a gag, but they made it sound as though I had led everyone with that whistle."

"I get the general idea. Anyway, the military state is the bad one."

"You should remember that. If something is bizarrely evil, the military state probably made it."

Fortunately, the regressor did not seem all that interested in this matter. Since she had brought down the military state in her previous life, she seemed willing to overlook a minor incident like this.

‘That's quite a tragic past... Well, everyone has a story. Still, compared to the Gunslinger or Lankart, he's better. He doesn't hurt people much.’

There was a little consideration for me in that thought, too.

"Anyway, their intentions are obvious."

"They aren't pressing the attack, and they aren't approaching. They clearly intend to stall until they join up with the main force."

"We either break through or wait."

As the two modern people briefly considered it, the vampire whose understanding of warfare had stopped several centuries ago made a confident suggestion.

"Let us break through. In war, strength comes first and momentum second. If we only retreat, we will inevitably be driven onto the defensive."

It was a decent plan. If you had the strength for it, smashing through and crushing the enemy was always right.

"Well, it's not a bad method. Want to give it a try?"

"Wait only a little. I shall return before the tea grows cold."

Oh, what confidence. As I looked up at her in admiration, Tyr casually shrugged.

‘Bullets or anything else, none of it can stop me. Go on, shoot as much as you wish.’

Without the slightest hesitation, Tyr stepped out. She stood exposed alone on the flat ground that stretched out like a river. The moment she did, Tyr covered her face with one hand and frowned.

Bullets rained down on her. Tyr was not especially tall, yet a volley battered the vampire's body. Unable to react while shielding her eyes, Tyr endured the hail of bullets.

Of course, bullets could not hurt her.

But bullets were not what stopped Tyr.

"...Cursed sun."

Not even a few minutes had passed. Tyr had been about to advance with an umbrella, but she could not endure it and returned.

I handed the dejected Tyr a cup of tea that was still warm.

"You're right. The tea's still warm. Want a sip?"

A few dented bullets were embedded in her body. More precisely, they were lodged in the darkness surrounding her body, but still.

As I removed the bullets one by one from Tyr's body while she could barely keep her eyes open, Tyr muttered bitterly.

"...They happen to be east of us, so the sunlight is strong. Cursed sun."

"Isn't that harsh on someone who faithfully reports to work in the east every day?"

"Do you dare take the sun's side before me?"

‘If not for that sun, I would have already taken you wherever you wished to go. I could have cast aside this pathetic interference!’

She had a point. Thinking about it that way, the sun was a little irritating. Hey, mister. You could take a day off once in a while. Just sleep in for a bit.

Wait, calm down. Without the sun, we die. Sunlight sustains this land, humans included.

Whew. I almost got overwritten by vampire instincts. Calm down.

"If sunlight were not seeping through the gaps in my darkness, those scraps of iron would not even make me itch."

"Huh? So you're itchy right now?"

Tyr, furious at the unpleasant sensation, realized what the feelings scattered across her body actually were. Stimuli far too small and weak to be pain, but subtle sensations she could not help noticing because they existed.

Ah. That was itching. Tyr muttered at the unfamiliar feeling.

"...Come to think of it, I do feel strangely itchy. How peculiar. Such a sensation should not exist for me."

"If Tyr feels itchy, it means it's affecting your power. Are these not ordinary bullets? Hold on."

I carefully examined one of the bullets I had pulled from Tyr's body. On its crushed tip, white crystals glimmered like stars in the faint light. Even without tasting it, I knew what that familiar white powder was.

Still, it was better to taste it. I put the bullet to my tongue. The undiluted salty flavor hit me at once.

Tyr recoiled in shock.

"Hyu?! What are you doing? How improper!"

"Ptooey, ptooey. As expected, they're salt bullets... Huh? I was checking the ammunition. What is improper about that?"

"No, nothing."

‘To put something that touched another's body into his mouth without the slightest hesitation... Humans these days are bold.’

Even with mind-reading, I could not understand a vampire's mindset very well. Perhaps because bloodsucking was their only joy in life, they cared more about things touching their mouths than exposing their chests (or rather, chest bones).

Anyway. White salt had been used since ancient times to drive away evil things. It was only natural that folk remedies existed saying vampires disliked having salt thrown at them.

Humans would dislike being hit with salt too, honestly.

"To make and distribute special ammunition like salt bullets in such a short time. I should expect no less from the military state."

"...It is fine. Once the sun rises a little higher, dealing with them will not be difficult."

"That's what they were counting on. They even circled around in front of us and are standing with the wind and sun at their backs. It feels as though they could reach us by throwing bullets, but they are firing them instead."

Without darkness around her, Tyr could advance no faster than an infantry soldier at best. To the military state's gunner unit, she was a perfect target.

An unbreakable training dummy for actual combat, with overwhelming psychological pressure.

For the next two or three hours, we could not use the unfair tactic of breaking through a single point with Tyr.

"Then, is it my turn?"

A voice sharp enough to feel like a blade against my skin reached me. The regressor stood stiffly tense, glaring into the distance.

"We need to make them wary. If I can take down the Gunslinger, I will. Even if I cannot, I will inflict some damage. That way, they will not try anything so ridiculous as sending detached units or scouts during the pursuit afterward."

I understood why the regressor disliked this. Detached units and scouts were forces you only used when you were confident that, even after splitting your strength, you would not be defeated one by one.

I understood her feelings, but immediately shook my head.

"Do we have to?"

"What do you mean, do we have to?"

"I mean, there's no reason to force a breakthrough when we're at a disadvantage, right? There's no tactical benefit, and they've obviously prepared salt bullets to buy time."

"So what, we just sit here and let them shoot us until their main force arrives?"

"No."

As if. I grinned.

"We should let them hit us properly."

They intended to stand across the road and wear down our nerves with volleys. Then, for the time being, I would use that against them.

They would shoot if someone poked their head out? Fine. Go ahead and shoot.

If you could find any satisfaction in it!

"Come out, Chubzzy!"

"Woof!"

Our team's secret weapon appeared at just the right moment. Azzy, looking plump from layer upon layer of fabric armor, barked. When I swung my arm wide, Azzy spun around once in response.

It looked less like an elegant turn and more like a dog rolling over, but the layered fabric armor gave her an incredible presence. Like a short-haired breed that had suddenly become long-haired and puffed up all its fur. It felt as though she would roll all the way to the end of the earth if I pushed her.

"These days, even dogs wear clothes. So it would not be strange for a dog to have armor too!"

"Woof! It's stuffy!"

"Endure it. With that on, you can make a mess over there without getting hurt as badly!"

"Woof, I'll endure it! For my stake!"

"Stake? What stake?"

Azzy tilted her head with bright, round eyes, but neither her thoughts nor her movements told me what she meant.

"Anyway, you get it, right? It's time to show the world just how noisy you can be!"

"Awooooo!"

Azzy dashed off like an arrow. Right afterward, bullets began flying in her direction. A sound like rainfall filled the air, and something streaked past behind her.

But Azzy could dodge or endure bullets even bare-bodied. The bullets could not even hit her pawprints. The occasional shot that landed simply bounced off her armor. Azzy raced in every direction as she closed in on them.

Screams and shouts rang out. At least we had succeeded in making a scene.

"She is noisy, certainly. There is nothing better for harassing them, but... Hyu, the King of Dogs cannot harm humans, can she?"

"Right. They will stop shooting soon."

The gunfire faded as soon as I finished speaking. An odd quiet settled over the area. Azzy stood around blankly since she had nothing to do, while the other side forced themselves to ignore her. Two groups with no intention of attacking each other faced off in a strange standoff.

"...Then is she not completely useless?"

"Right. Azzy cannot attack people... Azzy, you see."

Perhaps my words sounded ominous. The regressor flinched and looked around. Then, sensing something unpleasant, she grabbed me by the collar.

"...Wait. Hey. Did you ask me for something like a bomb yesterday?"

"Yep."

"Where is it?"

"On Azzy's back."

As though they had realized something too, the other side poured out bullets to drive Azzy away. But it was too late. Azzy was already right beside them.

Boom.

A thunderous roar erupted from the ground ahead.

Footnotes:

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