BXBX NOVEL Chapter 166: | 166 | Concluding End
Mercedes\'s eyebrows was hesitant at first, but with the flickering determination in her heart. She felt compelled to utter the truth, however largely because of the words he had said to her. It made her feel an emotion she hadn\'t felt before.
\'This is a problem.\' Laplace squinted her eyes as even though her slightly dense lover wouldn\'t be able to perceive it. Her unique and sensitive perception could see it clearly. It was the face of a somewhat lovestruck girl.
As a dragoness, she was arrogant and wanted hers to be only hers. Even Abraham was a monogamous man, so their love-live could only be with the two of them. However, she wanted Abraham to be an open man.
Looking at him, she could feel that he hadn\'t fully settled into this world. Unlike his subordinates who could easily accept it, he was thrusted into this foreign world without his knowledge. While he appeared to have accepted his circumstance, Laplace knew that it was far from the truth.
\'But this is a problem for the future. Let\'s handle it as it goes. I\'ll let destiny handle it for now.\' Laplace felt that there was no need for her to control every aspect of Abraham\'s life. The only thing she needed to do was observe his choices and react depending on it.
Returning to the discussion, Mercedes began explaining how the SRU 01 had taken care of the enslaved assassin. To execute him must have been a difficult endeavor for the operatives under the first lieutenant\'s command.
...
"I don\'t know how to handle an assassin. I was a child during my time in the Argentum Clan. I wasn\'t there enough to perceive their secrets. But even if he\'s an assassin, we are the operatives personally trained by the dragoness herself." Mercedes uttered while the edges of her lips rose.
"Handling him however we want, that\'s what I\'m hearing from you." Espada smirked while arming his M2 Browning machine gun. The operatives surrounding Mercedes followed suite, preparing their machine guns and miniguns.
Mercedes stepped forward and closed her eyelids. She let her senses consume every action and reaction throughout her surroundings. The hum of the darkness, the raging of a torch\'s flames, and the dripping of droplets. She could hear it clearly.
Soon, she opened her eyes and gazed at Yote, who was surprised to be looked at by the first lieutenant. He had already hoped for them to take care of the rebel leader. After all, the leader would be after his hea-
At this moment, he had finally realized why Mercedes looked at him. Before he could speak another word, he felt his head falling from this body. The rebel leader had beheaded him from behind, instantly killing him in a mere moment.
"Thank you for reminding me about the Argentum Clan." Mercedes uttered into the darkness of a particular pillar in the throne hall. "Along with serving the United Navy into its utmost glory, I will be hunting all of you down."
Her operatives didn\'t hesitate and immediately fired at the pillar. All of them pulled their trigger, bringing about constant flashes flickering out of their barrels. A thunderous roar twinkled, echoing throughout the building.
*BBRRRrrrrrrttttt!*
*Bbrrrrttt!*
*Bbbrrttttt!*
*BBBBRRRRRRTTTTT!!*
The lone pillar had its marble exterior peeled off in a single second. The rumbling followed while pieces of its exterior were blasted apart. The wall behind the pillar was riddled with bullet holes, signifying how much firepower the operatives had thrown at it.
Mercedes gave a signal and the operatives stopped firing at the lone pillar. She gazed at it with a slight smile and calmly asked. "Are you still alive?" Her words resounded, and what followed was a grunt. Hearing it, her smile became wider.
"I guess you\'re still alive.\' It makes one wonder why she would be delightful to see her enemy alive. Though, the operatives beside her knew well why she was happy. An easy death would be too easy. The more suffering the assassin felt, the more she would be satisfied.
This was in some way an act of revenge. Though, under the orders of the United Navy.
"As an assassin, you are a remarkable individual. But the firepower of the United Navy isn\'t to be underestimated. And the one before you are disciples of the dragon. The moment you let yourself known was the time you had already lost." Mercedes calmly explained the circumstance of the rebel leader.
"You are bidding your time to embraced death."
Espada raised his eyebrows as it was rare for Mercedes to speak this much. Though, it was understandable. His first lieutenant had a grudge against the assassin. A deep hatred that was shackled before, but unleashed now.
\'He could only blame himself for bringing up a sensitive memory. He would have died faster by shutting his mouth.\' The giant Minokin thought to himself, but soon noticed that they didn\'t have time.
He glanced at Mercedes and reported. "First Lieutenant, we only have 5 minutes until the bird picks us up." She turned her head towards the Minokin and calmly responded. "I know... And we don\'t have to waste our time in this place."
"He\'s already dead." Hearing her, Espada and the operatives were flabbergasted. They couldn\'t believe and swiftly but cautiously walked towards the devastated pillar. They looked behind it and saw the body of the rebel leader riddled with holes laying on the ground.
"He didn\'t immediately die after getting hit by gunfire. He was alive for a few seconds, suffering before dying." Mercedes continued and left the throne hall through the hallway. Meanwhile, her men finally understood the meaning of her words.
However, this wasn\'t the time to be dumbfounded. They needed to get out of the southern city, or they\'ll be stranded in a city brimming with rebels. Espada walked up beside the first lieutenant and remarked. "That was rather anti-climatic."
"It was to be expected. If he was truly strong, he would have begun the rebellion the moment he regained his strength. But instead, he decided to bide his time, signifying his weakness as an individual. He should be the lowest-ranking assassin of the Argentum Clan."
Mercedes explained while slowly increasing her pace. It didn\'t take long before they were sprinting through the building trying to get out of it. They met with several groups of rebels along the way, but they handled them swiftly and gave them the chance to meet their maker.
After a few minutes, they were finally out of the building. The problem? They were being chased by a cavalry of rebels. Running away from a cavalry had its own sets of challenges, but it wasn\'t something that the operatives of the SRU 01 couldn\'t handle.
Though as they sprinted through the streets, one of the Minokins running behind Mercedes asked her for authorization. "First Lieutenant, Permission to Engaged!" Hearing him, Mercedes shook his head and rejected him without situation. "Don\'t engaged!"
"We will be wasting our time if we fight them. What\'s important is we reach the designated Exfil point." Mercedes stated their priority at the moment, which they understood was of utmost importance.
The group continued running through the streets while getting chased by rebels that now amounted to a hundred. But fortunately for them, they had reached a vast clearing that became their designated Exfil zone.
Mercedes and her men stopped running, finally cornered by the large group of rebel fighters. Though, before their adversaries could reach them, a thunderous roar resounded from behind. A UA soldier was firing at the rebels with a machine gun, mowing them down in the dozens.
He stood in the rear loading ramp of the Osprey and smiled at the SRU 01 before him. "First Lieutenant Mercedes, it appears your operation was a success, congratulations." He uttered while Mercedes and her operatives entered the Osprey.
"It was because of my responsible subordinates." Mercedes smirked at him while the soldier nodded and kept firing at the charging rebels. The Osprey soon lifted off the ground and immediately thrusted itself into the skies.
"I guess you have good subordinates." A voice resounded from the cockpit of the Osprey. All of them turned their gaze towards it and saw the commanding officer of the UNS Guardian of the High Seas, Captain Howard.
...
"Quite an adventure, right, Laplace?" Abraham felt as though he had heard an epic of some military veteran. Although most of the situations they were forced into could be a legend in the eyes of ordinary military personnel.
"Interesting, to say the least. Though, I didn\'t expect Captain Howard to leave his warship." Laplace remarked, to which Abraham clarified. "Our commanding officers are eccentric ones. Even you and I couldn\'t be considered a normal commander in general terms."
"That makes sense." Laplace nodded in agreement as she was also strange when compared to the Lieutenant Colonels. Though, she turned her gaze towards the first lieutenant and walked towards her. Abraham raised an eyebrow, but then saw the dragoness patting the silver wolf.
"You succeeded in your mission, so I\'m proud of you. But you have to be true to yourself. You\'re a lycanthrope, right? Don\'t you think that the fleet admiral would be curious about your other form?" The dragoness uttered as she patted Mercedes\'s soft head.
"Eh?" Abraham was confused as he hadn\'t stated himself being curious about Mercedes\'s more human form. But it was also intriguing in itself since he had heard rumors about it.