"Shit, they've hidden inside!"
"What are you doing! Set the explosives immediately!"
Beyond the door, the enemy's footsteps were drawing closer by the moment.
"Lieutenant Colonel… the enemy has seized the first floor of the embassy. Breach is only a matter of time."
Hanna reported.
It was obvious even on the [minimap]. Red dots stacked in layers over the first floor. There were even bastards trying to come straight to the basement through the drainage pipes.
"Ammunition? Report on our remaining armaments."
"Only pistol magazines remain now…."
The soldiers spoke in hollow voices.
"If I squeeze my mana… to the limit, I can take them with me when they break down the door."
Seraphina stepped forward with a grim expression, but I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back.
"Shut your mouth. Who said you could just die whenever you feel like it?"
There wasn't even time to 'tune' Seraphina.
I turned my gaze to the corner of the basement. There was a manhole cover connected to the sewer, but the enemy was already coming that way.
'That's no good.'
I turned my gaze once more. This time, to the pipes and building debris piled in the corner of the basement.
'There's only one way.'
I'd get another nosebleed, but it was better than kicking the bucket.
"Everyone, watch the entrance. I'm finding another exit."
I took advantage of the darkness to hide my body in a blind spot the others couldn't see. Then I placed both hands on the debris.
'Material Conversion.'
[Skill 'Material Conversion (Lv.4)' activates.]
[Consumes mana to reconstruct the target's properties.]
Vrrrrm—!
A terrible headache surged as if my skull were being struck by a sledgehammer. A warm liquid trickled down from the tip of my nose.
That sensation I had experienced in Rosenheim. The agony of my incomplete mana circuits screaming as if tearing apart.
'Fuck, more! Convert more!'
Thanks to the efficiency of Lv.4, mana leakage was minimal, but synthesizing a large amount of explosives at once brought an overload of an entirely different dimension.
[Target: (Construction scrap iron and stone) -> (Improvised high explosives and 9mm ammunition)]
A mechanical process flashed through my mind. Iron decomposed into casings and detonators; nitrates and chemical components within the rocks reconstituted and condensed into black powder and high explosives.
Thud, thud.
More than ten heavy magazines and a crude bundle of improvised explosives wrapped in tape fell from my hands to the floor.
"Lieutenant Colonel! The enemy is setting explosives on the iron door!"
Hanna's urgent cry.
I roughly wiped away my nosebleed with my sleeve, then stepped out with both hands full of the synthesized magazines and explosives.
"Catch!"
Clatter!
Intact rounds clattered to the floor. The group's eyes went wide.
"Wh-what is this…?"
"Why on earth would something like this be in the corner of the basement…."
The group's expressions were strange. Elise, who had been approaching me, halted her steps, and Hanna's shoulders stiffened as well.
I had neither excuses nor time. I shoved the explosives into Erica's arms. Wrapped in tape and covered with steel plates, Erica immediately recognized what the object was.
"G-good heavens! A shaped charge?!"
I checked the [minimap] and punched the northern concrete wall of the basement with my fist.
Thud! Thud!
"Here, the part that sounds hollow. Beyond this should be a sewer pipe construction zone."
"......Blow it open to clear a path?"
One of the embassy guards asked back.
"I-is that true, Lieutenant Colonel Yaeger?! We could all blow up and die in this cramped basement!"
Josef was startled as well, but I replied nonchalantly.
"It's shaped, so it'll be fine."
It had to be. Despite my bluff, the other subordinates nodded stoically, as if used to it.
Kwaang—!!
Meanwhile, the basement's iron door bent heavily. The enemy's breaching had begun.
"Erica! Start!"
I shouted without delay, and Erica quickly attached the explosives to the wall.
"Everyone, hide behind the pillars! Open your mouths and cover your ears!"
"Br-brace for impact!!"
Erica ran back toward us and pressed the detonator switch.
Kwaaaaang—!
The basement wall of the embassy residence collapsed instantly. Before the thick dust could settle, a damp black tunnel reeking of sewage was revealed.
There was no time to lament becoming a gutter rat again.
"Run! Hanna, you take point!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Led by Hanna, Minister Josef, Elise, and the guards threw themselves into the sewer hole.
And.
"Detonate!"
Kwaaang—!
"There! The Imperial bastards are fleeing into the sewer!"
Rebel infantrymen pouring in through the breached iron door began spraying their rifles at us.
Bang! Bang! Ratatat—!
"Go in first! I'll cover the rear!"
Seraphina shouted, ducking behind the wall to return fire. She seemed ready to sacrifice herself, but I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and shoved her into the sewer hole.
"Kyaaack!"
"Who said you could play hero on your own, Sera! Quit acting like a hero and get in there now!"
"S-Sera?!"
I pushed her in and stood in front of the hole one last time.
"There! Shoot!"
And in that instant, the entering enemies spotted me and aimed their rifles.
'Now.'
[Skill 'Bullet Time (Lv.2)' activates.]
The flow of the world grotesquely stretched out.
The enemy's muzzles spewed fire. The trajectories of chunks of metal tearing through the air were visible.
I clenched my teeth and forcibly twisted my muscles to turn my upper body.
Taang—!
A sinister metallic sound grazed my ear as the bullet tore through my collar. A faint heat skimmed my neck.
'Shit.'
Just a few millimeters. I had narrowly escaped the road to the underworld by that infinitesimal margin.
Honestly, it wasn't the ideal way to use the skill. A mere tenfold increase in speed wasn't enough to dodge incoming bullets.
But I had bought time. Enough to counterattack.
'A gift, you sons of bitches.'
I found the remaining stack of high explosives. I had placed them under a pillar beforehand.
Aim, align, fire. In the stretched time, I slowly pulled the trigger.
This time, a 9mm round traced its trajectory from my side.
Kwaaaaaaaaang—!!
The bullet pierced the explosives. Slow motion of flames erupting with overwhelming force.
The flames, unable to expand further, became a storm that swallowed the basement, and the pillar was finally obliterated. Naturally, the ceiling, unable to bear the first floor's load, collapsed into chunks of concrete, and the rebel bastards were crushed into bloody pulp under the flames and debris.
Rumble—Boom!
I watched it all in slow motion. The overwhelmingly flickering flames and the debris pouring down like a waterfall.
I threw myself into the sewer hole to avoid the crashing rocks. Literally a hair's breadth in timing. The moment I got out, concrete debris sealed the entrance shut.
Thud! Crunch!
[Skill 'Bullet Time' enters cooldown.]
[Remaining daily uses: 0/2]
"......*Cough!* *Cough!*"
Time began to flow normally again.
"Lieutenant Colonel…."
"Is everyone alright?"
My subordinates and Minister Josef let out relieved breaths. Everyone was covered in dust and looked like they'd rolled in a mud pit, but they had survived.
"We've caught our breath for now."
But it wasn't over.
On the [minimap], the surface was swarming with red dots. The moment they confirmed the embassy residence had collapsed, they were searching surrounding manholes and sewer entrances to establish a cordon. And the enemy that had already detoured into the sewers was still searching.
At this rate, we had nowhere to go. If we wandered aimlessly through the vast Londinium sewers, we'd inevitably be turned into beehives at the exit.
"Minister."
"...What is it, Lieutenant Colonel?"
"Do we not have an emergency communication network to contact the homeland, or a prearranged extraction point?"
Even if they hadn't anticipated a rebellion, an embassy stationed in a foreign country was bound to have a Plan B based on worst-case scenarios.
"...On the lower reaches of the Londinium River, there's an underground warehouse of an Imperial trading company that was closed over a decade ago. An old encrypted communicator should still be there. With luck, we might be able to call an Imperial Navy submarine."
I didn't like the assumption of 'with luck,' but now wasn't the time to be picky.
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes for a moment. I had to review all available options.
'The next option is...... Vision Sharing.'
[Skill 'Vision Sharing (Lv.1)' activates.]
[Receiving real-time visual information from the designated target ('Sidney Welsley').]
Kzzzzt—
[...This is Control Point 2. Director, the defensive line has been completely breached by the advance of the 1st Defense Division! The Parliament side has been seized as well!]
Amidst the bad news pouring through the radio, Sidney's vision revealed the interior of a devastated building.
[Hold out... somehow...! We must find Her Majesty the Queen!]
The surroundings were littered with the corpses of agents and enemies, the building was nearly demolished into a pile of rubble, and enemy gunfire rained from all directions.
'I definitely shouldn't go there.'
Even Sidney's body, visible in the corner of the vision, was covered in blood. It was a wonder she was still alive.
'She might end up dying like that. Well, not my problem.'
I had no intention of risking my life to save one woman. Especially when it was incredibly dangerous, and the lives of my women were on the line.
[All Intelligence Bureau personnel, regroup underground! And head for the palace underground bunker line!]
'The palace bunker line, huh.'
Soon, Sidney's group entered the underground sewers.