Liberation Operation
“… Monsters…”
Nine Church Knights survived the previous magic, but five of them were sorcerers. Those five used all of their magic power to defend against the previous magic and tumbled down. The rest of the otherworlders finished them off mercilessly. There was no reason to keep them alive. There is no mercy for those who are wicked.
“I can’t believe they would even stop them from fainting.”
Takuto was also disgusted, but he probably doesn’t know how the rest of the otherworlders were treated.
“There’s no point in keeping them alive if they’re just going to be hostile later. It’s better to kill them here. Besides, we’re going to kill the rest of them anyway… including you.”
“That’s right. The survivor over there is also a s*x offender with a history of wanting to do terrible things to me.”
It seems that the guy behind the men who seemed to be the captain with unnecessarily expensive equipment had his job changed to a eunuch for his violent crimes. He was trembling as he watched the surroundings. He must be scared.
The man who seems to be the captain survived thanks to a barrier, but the magic tool that created it was broken at that time, so there was nothing to protect him now. He looked like an Orc, but Orcs actually have muscles, while this man was all flabby. He looked like a corrupt Knight leader at first glance, but he was also the same on the inside.
“Don’t think you can get away with this by doing this to me… you monsters. In the name of the Church, you are enemies of God!!”
“I’m tired of hearing that. You should say that after you have a proper faith.”
Since he said something that a typical corrupt priest would say, Takuto stabbed his heart in one thrust, killing him. The luxurious and extravagantly expensive armor, which was of the highest quality, was easily pierced. The captain’s life ended without even being able to reveal his name.
“Now, what should we do? If we’ve made such a flashy move, the Imperial State will probably get seriously involved. I think we should say goodbye to this country as soon as possible… but we don’t have any money.”
Takuto shook his empty wallet. After investing money in the information broker, he and Kazuhito had left the forest and returned to the Imperial Capital. They had no money; their food came from wild animals and edible monster meat. Kazuhito, who was treated almost like a slave, had never received any money, merely being given equipment. He was probably even more unfamiliar with this world’s economy than Takuto. And the remaining people from another world were in the same situation.
“First of all, I’m grateful for your help. My name is Hotsuki Yukari. My specialty is warping the trajectory of weapons in space. It’s an ability that makes defense difficult, although it doesn’t go as far as teleportation.”
“I’m Satou Akira. I have superpowered kicks. It’s an ability that becomes more powerful with consecutive strikes.”
“Um… I’m Nat Formas… I can control water.”
“I’m Kurai Akemiyo. I can use the Kurai-ryu spearmanship… I know about the Shishido-ryu too. My ability is spearmanship specialization. I can handle a spear almost as well as a part of my body.”
“Well, I’ll skip my self-introduction. I have the ability of fire. I can use most fire magic as it appears in novels. And everyone knows Kazuhito here.”
Hotsuki Yukari was a 17 to 19-year-old girl with a sword. She had short black hair and sharp, round eyes. Her height was probably around 160 cm.
Satou Akira looked like he played baseball, with a shaved head and wearing gauntlets on his hands. He also had metal shoes with spikes on his feet. He seemed to fight like Kazuhito, but unlike the powerhouse Kazuhito, he was only around 150 cm tall.
Nat Formas was a boy with blonde hair and odd-colored eyes, red and blue. He appeared to be around the age of an elementary school student and was carrying a staff about his own height.
Kurai Akemiyo had long black hair tied with a ribbon up to her waist. She had a slender and toned physique. Her age was probably similar to Takuto’s.
She was holding a holy silver spear with no decorations, clearly designed for practical combat.
“My name is Shishido Takuto. I’ll be honest; helping you was more of a side effect of helping Mai, but what are you going to do now? I think if you guys cause trouble on your own, you’ll eventually get caught.”
Takuto explained that he didn’t initially intend to help them, and his primary goal was to save Mai. There was a slight chance of getting caught in the process.
The other four people, excluding Mai, had a brief discussion. Meanwhile, Takuto collected money from the dead bodies. It was essentially an act of theft, but he planned to share the money with the otherworlders as a compensation.
In just a short two minutes or so, the discussion ended. They understood that this was enemy territory, and support would arrive if they stayed here any longer. Therefore, they quickly decided on their future actions.
“”””We will follow you.””””
“I figured as much. However, supplies and money… I managed to get some money, but it’s not much for a life on the run.”
Takuto looked at the gold he had collected. There were 40 gold coins. In normal circumstances, it would be more than enough, but he couldn’t earn much while on the run. Until now, he had been able to act based on his analysis of the Imperial State’s movements. They probably wouldn’t issue a public warrant for the escape of someone from another world, but the number of attackers would undoubtedly increase. Moreover, they would likely send more skilled individuals. No amount of money or supplies would be sufficient.
“There’s a supply depot for the Imperial Capital nearby. They’ve been stockpiling equipment, food, and money for an imminent invasion of a country called Arland, or at least, that’s what the Church Knights have been saying.”
Everyone fell silent at Akemiyo’s words. What she meant was that they could steal from there.
“Isn’t that risky? The security is tight, and we don’t have the equipment to carry such supplies. We’ll have to make a quick getaway for a while, so we can’t carry too much baggage. I can’t agree with looting from the citizens either.”
Kazuhito added, clearly perplexed.
“Well… I guess that works. It’s probably supplies meant to cause trouble for other countries anyway. I have a storage-type ability, so Kazuhito, Mai, and I will go to steal. The rest can attack the Imperial Capital’s strongholds and try to rescue as many of our fellow otherworlders as possible. You can ignore dangerous opponents or escape. Let’s meet at the outer wall in two hours.”
Takuto immediately accepted the plan. If it was supplies that would inconvenience others, his guilt would be somewhat alleviated. He wouldn’t touch supplies meant for famine relief, of course.
He knew that having more comrades would make it easier to escape. Otherworlders had superior physical abilities and magic qualities compared to the people of this world, so they could move swiftly in a group. Having more comrades would also make it easier to escape from the pursuit of the Church and the Imperial State.
Another reason was that among the otherworlders, only Takuto and Kazuhito knew about a few places outside the Imperial Capital. In an unfamiliar world, in an unfamiliar environment, he wanted as many allies as possible.
And on that day, the Imperial Capital fell into chaos. A hundred otherworlders, including thirty high-level combat-oriented otherworlders, were taken by bandits and many strongholds and garrisons were raided. The Imperial State had gathered too many otherworlders in the Imperial Capital, especially in preparation for the Arland War. In the attack, a significant amount of supplies, including 5 tons of rations intended for the Arland War, spare weapons, and armor, were stolen.
Fires broke out in many parts of the Imperial Capital, but there were no casualties among the citizens. The burning buildings seemed almost calculated not to harm other structures. There were a fair number of people who suffered minor injuries, stumbling in the chaos, but even the most severe cases were no more than broken bones.
This event would later be referred to as the “Uprising of the Otherworlders’.”