Bad Born Blood Chapter 331

331
Karilmanda Romus, commander of the 5th Regiment under Francec.

Carilmanda is an Imperial Army officer and probably a nobleman.

As far as I can remember, I have never met Karilmanda in person. However, Karilmanda may know my face.

‘Lukaus Custoria.’

If you’re a famous person, then you’re a famous person.

‘I don’t want to make contact with Francesca or her army here.’

I lowered my head, smoothed the brim of my hat, and thought about all sorts of things.

As the accident dragged on, time seemed to pass more slowly. Even the sand on the ground shaking from the vibration of the vehicle was vivid.

‘Will Carilman recognize me?’

I don’t know how good Karilmanda’s eye is. Most people who know me probably only remember Luca from my boyhood.

‘Calmly.’

Karilmanda told me to raise my face. Hesitating and hesitating would only arouse more suspicion.

“Euuugh, you mean, you mean me?”

This miserable voice is not mine.

The shooter behind me raised his head. His face, where I had hit him, was swollen and purple. Even I, who had hit him, felt sorry.

“… … Your face looks like a mess. Did you get hurt because of us? I’ll call the medic and treat you.”

I too had my face half-turned to look at the shooter. I felt Karilmanda’s gaze on the back of my head and then it disappeared.

‘That guy is also helpful.’

It was unlikely that Karilmanda would recognize me, but I still wanted to avoid meeting her face to face.

“Sir, first of all, could you please tell me the buyer and location of our cargo? According to company regulations… … .”

The team leader stepped forward and said, He tried to find out the location and buyer as I advised.

Karilmandado stroked his chin, thought, and then opened his mouth.

“I can’t tell you the location, but I will purchase the cargo in His Majesty Frances’ name.”

The team leader nodded, looked at the other workers, and clapped his hands.

“Okay, okay, let’s get back in the car. Luke, you get in my car.”

The team leader encouraged his distraught subordinates. The nape of his neck was also covered in cold sweat.

It wasn’t a safe situation yet.

Rattling.

Only the team leader and I got into the vehicle. The rest were scattered to other vehicles, and my shooter was treated by the medic.

“Haa, haa. I thought my heart was going to stop, damn it. Why are we getting involved in the imperial situation… .”

As soon as the team leader got into the car, he let out a long breath. After catching his breath, he put a cigarette in his mouth with trembling hands.

Tick.

The team leader let go of his lighter. I quickly snatched it and lit his cigarette instead.

“Phew.”

The team leader still puffed on his cigarette with trembling hands.

I waited for him to calm down. There was still time before departure.

“You’re very calm in this situation. You didn’t get your arms and legs cut off at the factory, did you?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve heard that the imperial nobles replace their limbs with prosthetics before they even reach adulthood, preparing for full-body prosthetics.”

… … It would be a problem if you were too quick-witted. The details were wrong, but the team leader’s guess was roughly right.

“I am from the Empire. As a criminal, it is difficult for me to return to Akbaran through normal means, so I resorted to this method.”

I said it with a fair amount of truth mixed in.

“I thought you were going to disappear once you got to Akbaran.”

The team leader crushed his half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray. Smoke rose between us.

“I apologize for using it.”

I said calmly.

The team leader sighed, stroking his hands, which had somewhat calmed down.

“Your situation is irrelevant now. The disappearance of one new employee is not a big deal. What matters is whether we can safely transport the cargo and return to the Federation. Please advise me on the current situation. I do not know the internal affairs of the Empire.”

The team leader quickly faced reality.

“The empire seems to be divided between the Ivanites and the Franciscans. It is an extension of past events.”

“If Ivan is the current emperor, then Francis… … who is he?”

“Franseuk is Ivan’s older brother. He was originally the heir to the throne. The empire went through a period of chaos, and Ivan became the emperor.”

“I don’t know much about politics, but just hearing it makes me feel suspicious.”

“At first, the two worked together to ensure the stability of the empire, but Francis was imprisoned on suspicion of collusion. It is unknown how he was released… … but he seems to be free and gathering power.”

The team leader, after hearing my explanation, was lost in thought for a long time.

“Do you think that guy named Frances will pay for the cargo properly?”

If it were the Francesque I know, it would be like that. But I don’t know what kind of person the current Francesque is. He must have changed a lot after living in confinement.

“We can’t be sure of payment, but we have no choice but to follow. We’re in the middle of Imperial territory, with no witnesses. If we don’t, they could kill us to silence us and seize the cargo.”

“Damn, that must be it. I can’t help but hope that Francesque is a good person.”

Soon after, a palm-sized drone approached the front of the vehicle and signaled for us to follow it.

Woohoo.

The team leader started the vehicle. We followed them in the middle of the line.

* * *

‘My weapons are on the floor of car number 2.’

I attached my equipment to the floor of the truck. I kept checking the location of Car 2 from time to time.

‘Let’s assume the worst.’

There are more than a hundred soldiers here.

Even if I fly and crawl, it’s impossible to deal with them in the open. There must be some strong ones among them.

‘If there is an armed conflict, Carilmanda Romus must be taken hostage.’

Carilmanda Romus was at the head of the procession.

‘If I were to pack my gear and go to where Carilmanda is… … .’

No matter how much I ran the simulation in my head, it was difficult. It was a result that could only be achieved through dozens of coincidences and luck.

‘Even Akbaran infiltration is so complicated.’

I never thought it would end here. Let’s consider this the price of our luck in finding Giselle.

Woohoo.

The vehicle went into autonomous driving mode.

The team leader must have been very tired because he fell asleep while snoring loudly.

I also closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

‘If Francesca is the same person I knew back then… … we can meet and work together. The Francesca I knew was a person of character.’

… … I wonder if it’s okay to have a little bit of hope.

I also seem to have backed down. I am under the illusion that the world might be a little more kind to me.

‘This won’t do.’

Let’s not think loosely.

‘Fransec could have been a ruthless ruler, sharpening his sword of vengeance… … .’

I have no intention of gambling with my life. I intend to walk only the sure path, knocking on the stone bridge one step at a time.

‘My life is not my own.’

Giselle’s life is also a part of mine. She spent half of her life for me.

Before we become lovers, if I have a duty, I should spend my life for her.

‘I can’t die until then. I promised I would go back.’

Even if the world burns, I must survive.

Pewpewp.

I heard a faint crack. I opened my eyes.

… … I know this sound. I was trained to distinguish between combat equipment and weapons.

‘fighter.’

I moved my arm as soon as I thought about it and woke up the team leader.

“Uhhh, what… … .”

The team leader is still unconscious. I saw a light twinkling in the sky.

A fighter jet was streaking across the night sky, and something… … was falling.

‘bombing.’

An explosion so bright it made the night pale in comparison went off in front of the formation.

Kwaaaaang!

A pillar of fire rises. Even screams are drowned out by the loud noise. Few people will be able to properly perceive the situation.

Kwajik!

I kicked the car door open and grabbed the team leader by the collar and ran.

The team leader was dragged out while being hit by various vehicles.

“It’s an attack! Move!”

“It won’t show up on air defense radar. Just aim and shoot.”

There was a commotion here and there. The soldiers had no time to take care of us.

“Oh, I can’t leave the cargo behind!”

The team leader shouted.

“Life comes before cargo!”

I said, looking up. The fighter jet that had passed by was turning and coming back again.

There will be more bombings.

I opened my eyes wide and checked the formation. The bombs would fall on the places with the most troops or combat equipment. They would probably target the anti-aircraft equipment first. I should avoid that area.

The team leader didn’t seem to want to move away from the vehicle. I just moved back.

“Team Leader, this is an order! Get down quickly and follow me!”

I ran to the back of the car and banged on the door, shouting.

“What? The team leader told us to dump the cargo?”

Damn, what kind of evil company is this that they’re just lying around and talking about cargo while bombs are falling on them!

The curse was coming out of my throat.

Ugh!

As if to represent my feelings, the car door was crushed along the palm of my hand.

Kaang!

I grabbed the car door and threw it out.

“Come out quickly! Do you want to die?”

Only after the warning was put down did the workers start moving.

“Hey, rookie, you, room, did you just break the door?”

The shooter was crawling out awkwardly. I wanted to kick that slow-moving butthole, since I had a bad temper.

I focused again and stared at the sky. I looked at the fighter’s turning direction and guessed the direction of the bombing.

A grid-like terrain like a radar map appeared in my head. I could intuitively see the safe zone without any complicated formulas.

“Run to that big rock over there and hide with your back to the west. You’ll be less affected by the bombing.”

I felt my nose bleeding as I swung my sword. The workers hesitated.

The workers no longer hesitated. Their only lifeline was my instructions.

I turned back to the team leader, watching the workers run away. He stumbled. The flames of the bombing continued to spread without going out, reaching the front of the vehicle.

The fire was spreading as if it were alive even without any combustible material. This was because the bomb had been made with enhanced flammability.

“Oh, no.”

The team leader tried to get back into the vehicle, apparently intending to turn the car around before the flames arrived.

To put it nicely, it was a strong sense of professionalism, but now it seemed like a foolish action.

“If you drive out of line, you will be attacked!”

We’re under machine gun attack every time. I know the Imperial Army’s combat doctrine better than anyone else.

“If we lose the cargo, we’re finished!”

The team leader was losing his mind. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him away forcibly.

‘You also need to take care of the equipment attached under the vehicle.’

I even considered knocking out the team leader. He was strangely obsessed with the cargo.

“Newbie!”

My shooter was coming this way. Another worker was following him.

“I thought something was strange. There’s no way the team leader would order us to dump the cargo.”

The worker came up to me and said:

“What does that mean?”

I asked back.

“In our company, team leaders are basically brainwashed through virtual simulation training. They’re supposed to never give up on cargo under any circumstances. You have to complete that training to be promoted to team leader.”

I squinted my eyes when I heard the explanation.

“What kind of company is this… … .”

When I think about it, I wasn’t all that different. The training in the Royal Guard was similar. It’s very difficult to escape brainwashing.

“Cargo! Cargo!”

The team leader completely lost his mind. The flames were starting from the front of the truck.

“Damn it! Uncle! Come on! Get a grip!”

The shooter grabbed the team leader’s arm.

I left the team leader in the care of the shooter and the workers and tried to go in vehicle number 2.

“What are you doing? You come over here quickly!”

The worker shouted as he dragged the team leader away.

“You go first… … .”

I squinted my eyes, unable to finish my sentence. Between the flames, explosions, and gunfire, I heard a sharp rushing sound.

‘Something is coming.’

Before we knew it, transport helicopters were covering the sky. Even if we counted them roughly, there were more than twenty of them. If each one had a platoon, the number of troops was greater than that of the Karilmanda unit.

The Imperial Army paralyzed the anti-aircraft forces with bombing and deployed troops.

Hooooosh! Boom!

Soldiers were falling from the sky. Most of them seemed to be android soldiers.

‘Since when has the Empire used so many android soldiers?’

From what I remember, androids played the role of assistant soldiers.

The fallen android soldiers seemed to be specialized in jumping, with shock absorbers attached to their legs.

Boom! Boom!

The android soldiers were falling heavily, aiming their guns in all directions. There were also logistics workers in the direction of their guns.

“Whoaaah! Murder, murder, it’s a robot!”

The shooter was dragging the team leader away while screaming.

‘fu*k.’

My hand moved reflexively. I slammed my palm against the android’s gun.

Toodoodoodoo!

The raised muzzle shot into the air.

OMG.

The android looked at me, a dull machine with red optical lenses glowing.

Kwajik!

I extended my fist and smashed the bastard’s head along with the lens. The gun fell to the floor.

Kick!

I snatched the Android’s rifle by running my fingers over it.

Crunch!

I immediately took aim, fired a shot forward, got the feel for it, and aligned my crosshairs.

Since it’s for Android, the recoil is big. Let’s increase the hardness of the shoulder and elbow joints and keep the output at about half of that when using Ruina.

Okay, I guess this is about right.

I stood up and yelled at the shooter.

“Just look ahead and run! Don’t be scared unnecessarily and hide in strange places or stop. I… … will cover you.”

In an instant, this place turned into a battlefield.

Familiar smells, familiar screams, familiar death.

But let’s not give in to familiarity and become complacent. This is not where I belong.

I can choose an unfamiliar peace.