'Water.'
In the world I used to live in, and here in this game world as well, there was nothing quite like a water attack (水攻) for overturning an overwhelming gap in strength.
And what I could see now was a structure connected to that very water. A massive pipe linked to the upper level, and a large valve control device connected to that pipe. On the [Minimap], it appeared as a thin little line.
If only we could control these, we could use the water from the huge pipelines and the upper waterways as it was.
No matter how large a unit they had, no matter how heavily plated their armored vehicles were, before thousands of tons of water, they would be nothing more than toys.
"The problem is how we get up there."
Sydney pointed that out after hearing my explanation. She was right. Reaching that height was a problem in itself, and one wrong move could see us swept away and killed before the enemy was.
"Of course, I'm not saying we climb up the front."
I quickly scanned the [Minimap]. I could see the catwalk structures tangled across the ceiling. Lines even fainter than the pipes from earlier.
"We can approach through the catwalks. Of course, we'll have to avoid being spotted."
Sydney murmured.
"If we're spotted, we'll be riddled with holes on the spot... This is like trying to find a needle in the desert."
"It's more like trying to fit a camel through the eye of a needle."
As if she liked my comparison, Sydney gave a faint smile.
"...I know this facility's layout to some extent. I'll guide you."
She volunteered. Even with the [Minimap] and [Mana Detection], her knowledge would be useful. I nodded immediately.
"Director Sydney. And Hanna and Erika. Lastly, myself. The four of us will climb up to the ceiling catwalks."
"Understood."
"...Yes, sir."
"Leave it to me...!"
Then the group heading up to the ceiling was settled.
I turned back. I could see the rest of our party. The guards who had followed us from the ambassadorial residence, the intelligence bureau agents who had joined us in the bunker, and the royal guards. Lastly, Minister Josef, Major Elise, and even Queen Charlotte.
"The remaining personnel will draw the enemy's attention at the exit, then escort Her Majesty and the Minister to the upper tunnel at ten o'clock. It's about five meters off the ground, so even if the floodgates open, you won't be swept away."
"Understood."
My subordinates began moving without delay.
"...Don't overdo it, Lieutenant Colonel."
Elise grabbed my arm one last time and said that.
"...Please, be careful."
Serafina also spoke with anxious eyes. It seemed she was bothered by the fact that she couldn't come up with me.
I answered by lightly patting both of them on the shoulder.
And just as I turned away, my eyes met Charlotte's for the last time.
A dress stained with dust and blood. The incompetent monarch who had lost her country was looking at me without the slightest wavering.
I gave a slight bow of my head, then turned around.
Sydney, Hanna, and Erika followed behind me.
"Let's go."
We climbed the ladder running up the wall.
Creak— creeeak.
Every time our weight pressed down on the rusted iron ladder, it let out an unpleasant metallic sound. After several minutes of climbing like that.
"...We've arrived. From here on, it's the catwalk."
Sydney arrived first and said so.
I climbed up from the ladder as well and flattened myself against the surface. The view below through the damp iron grating was nothing short of terrifying.
"And we were actually thinking of breaking through that..."
Erika muttered with a sickened expression.
We soon began crawling along the catwalk.
"If even one rat slips through, the general will have our heads! Stay sharp!"
"Front clear!"
The enemy's voices came from right below. I thought we might be able to breathe a little thanks to that, but.
Creeeak!
The damned catwalk wouldn't allow it. I had definitely moved as carefully as possible, but the badly rusted iron structure made noise on its own.
"...!"
The metallic sound traveled along the concrete ceiling and echoed through the wide space.
"What was that sound just now?"
"The ceiling! There was a metallic noise from the pipes up there!"
"Raise the armored vehicle searchlights! They might have climbed up!"
Shouts erupted one after another from below. The sound of motors began to rumble, and the enemy searchlights started moving toward us.
"Kh!"
Instinctively, I pressed down Sydney's body, which had been ahead of me. Behind me, I could see Hanna and Erika somehow curling themselves up. I could feel Sydney's heartbeat clearly beneath me.
And then.
Shaaak—!
An irritatingly bright white light swept past barely a handspan above our heads. I could see the dust particles moving where the light touched.
"There's nothing there."
"Must've been the old pipes creaking. Happens from time to time because of the water pressure."
"Stop wasting your strength and keep your eyes on the tunnel!"
The searchlight turned elsewhere.
"Phew..."
All of us exhaled the breaths we'd been holding. It was an experience I never wanted to repeat. I slightly lifted myself off Sydney.
"No time to rest. Keep moving."
The group began moving again.
Like that, we relied on the [Minimap] to find blind spots, and followed Sydney and Hanna's guidance to detour around broken paths.
But by the time we had gotten about halfway to our destination, the large valve control room.
"Lieutenant Colonel... This won't work."
Sydney, who was leading the way, stopped and turned her head.
Where her gaze pointed, a section of catwalk stretched out in a long, straight line. The only cover was a few thin iron pipes.
On top of that, directly below that section, a man who appeared to be the enemy commander had set up position with dozens of guards.
"Fire flares at the pipes up there too! Don't leave a single dark spot!"
'Analyze status.'
[Name: Viktor]
[Status: Extreme vigilance, suspicion, anxiety]
[Emotion: Those imperial bastards aren't moving. Did they detour somewhere? Or is it a trap? Search every inch!]
At this rate, a flare might come flying our way at any moment.
"...If we go like this, we'll definitely be spotted."
Hanna said, biting her lip.
A frontal breakthrough was impossible. There was no detour either.
In that case, there was only one way.
I checked my wristwatch. The time we'd arranged with Serafina's group was almost here.
'It should be about time to move.'
No sooner had that thought ended.
Kwaaaaaang—!!
An explosion roared out.
It came from the entrance to the front tunnel. Serafina's blue-white mana bullet had struck the rebel barricade blocking the tunnel entrance head-on.
"It's the enemy!! Front tunnel!!"
"Fire! Let them have it, shoot now!!"
Viktor shouted.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tang—! Dudu-dudu-dudu!!
The heavy machine guns spat fire. 12.7 mm tracer rounds drew red trails as they poured furiously toward the tunnel entrance. Concrete shattered like tofu, and enormous plumes of water rose one after another from the surface.
"They're out! The rats are crawling out!!"
"Kill them all!!"
Every enemy gaze, every searchlight, every muzzle fixed on the front tunnel all at once. Even the flare gunner who had been about to sweep the ceiling hurriedly turned his muzzle toward the tunnel.
"Now! Run!"
Perfect timing.
I sprang up from my position and sprinted across the catwalk.
Bang! Bang!
The noise and echoes of the heavy machine guns were so immense that the sound of our feet running over the iron mesh never reached the enemy's ears.
Hanna, Erika, and Sydney also kept their bodies as low as possible as they followed close behind me.
Beneath our feet, hundreds of enemies were pouring firepower into the sewer. Serafina and the others were hitting and retreating over and over, exactly as promised, completely diverting the enemy's attention.
And finally.
"Lieutenant Colonel! There it is!"
Sydney pointed with her finger.
At the end of the catwalk. On a narrow iron platform installed on the wall, two enormous mechanical valves about waist-high stood side by side.
The main controllers for the large discharge facility connected to the reservoir above Londinium.
Tak!
As soon as I jumped down onto the platform, I grabbed the valve handle.
"I'm turning it...!"
However.
"It won't budge...!"
The lump of iron that was the handle was horribly stiff due to decades' worth of layered rust. I tried to turn it with my full body weight, but it didn't move an inch.
"Urgh!"
"What the...!"
Hanna and Erika, who had followed behind me, also clung to the opposite side of the handle.
"Damn it! What the hell have those United Kingdom bastards been doing, not even maintaining their water facilities!"
Erika gritted her teeth, but the floodgate control device wouldn't budge.
"At this rate, we'll be spotted. This isn't something that can be solved with strength alone."
At that moment, Sydney stepped forward.
"Lieutenant Colonel, please step aside for a moment."
Whiriririk!
Sydney pulled a silver wire from her sleeve. She wound it around the valve, then hooked it onto a pillar on the opposite platform, creating a fulcrum.
She gripped the wire with both hands and leaned back as if lying down, putting her weight into it. The taut wire clamped down hard on the valve.
"Everyone else, get on the left!"
I moved to the opposite side, placed my hands over Erika's, and braced my legs with all my strength.
"One, two, three!"
Kagagagak—!
The lump of iron screamed.
Kiriririk—! Thunk!
The hardened masses of red rust broke away and fell, and at last the valve began to turn.
"It's turning! Keep going, keep turning!"
Once the valve began to turn, it gradually picked up speed. Hanna, Erika, and I spun the left one madly, while Sydney spun the right.
Rattle, bang! Grgrgrk!
From beyond the concrete wall came the sound of a massive structure shaking. The sealed barrier was opening, and the vibration of thousands of tons of water pressure rushing down the pipe.
Kugugugugung—!
That vibration began to unsettle even the enemies below, who had been immersed in battle.
"...What is that sound?"
Viktor, who had been pouring on the barrage, sensed something was off and ordered a ceasefire.
"Cease fire! Cease fire! That sound... it's not coming from the tunnel!"
Viktor snapped his head up.
And finally, his gaze reached the catwalk platform in the corner of the ceiling.
To us, turning the enormous valves.
[Name: Viktor]
[Status: Shock, panic]
[Emotion: Those, those crazy bastards! Do they even know what that place is?! Stop them now! The floodgates are opening!!]
"Up there!! Ceiling catwalk! Shoot up there now!!!"
Viktor screamed.
The barrels of the armored vehicles were raised upward, and hundreds of enemies turned their guns toward us all at once.
But.
"Too late."
Kugwagwagwagwang—!!!
Three enormous discharge outlets, each five meters in diameter and installed in the wall, burst open simultaneously.
"Aaaaaaaaargh—!!"
"The armored vehicles!! They're being swept away!!"
It was a waterfall like a collapsing mountain.
Thousands of tons of stagnant water and sediment trapped in the upper reservoir rode the overwhelming water pressure and, in an instant, struck the floor.