The structure of the National Guard headquarters was already well-known to me. I had met Colonel Lannister Kael several times.
There were two staircases leading to the headquarters from the interrogation and detention facilities that spanned the entire underground area.
One was a small annex exclusively used by the investigation unit personnel, and the other led directly to the main building of the headquarters.
‘Lannister said the investigation unit was probably unrelated to this coup.’
The investigation unit.
Although it could be considered powerful within the three major organizations under the National Guard, when the entire National Guard was involved in the coup, they would have been powerless.
Naturally, they would have no power within the organization because investigations are closed off and target external entities rather than internal ones.
‘Then there’s a possibility that the personnel might be detained here.’
I turned my steps toward the main building and went up to the building of the investigation unit.
A passage blocked by tightly wrapped chains.
It was clearly sealed off internally within the detention facility, not externally.
“Fire Pierce.”
I grabbed the chains and released mana from my body, a crimson mana that rippled along my veins.
As soon as I chanted the incantation for the cell door, a flame erupted from my fingertips and pierced through the chain’s hinges, shattering them.
Clang, clang!!
As soon as I opened the door, someone reacted to the loud clanging of the chains.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone came from below?”
“Weren’t our people locking it?”
“Hold on… This is the detention area downstairs.”
Voices filled with tension. I could tell these weren’t innocent personnel from the investigation unit who were wrongly imprisoned.
“Who’s there…”
BANG! As I pulled the trigger towards the head peeking over the railing, a black-clothed man tumbled down the stairs.
“Who are you!!”
I jumped over the rolling corpse and quickly ascended the stairs.
Another guard, so startled he hadn’t even aimed his weapon—
BANG!
Before he could react, he became a cold corpse.
bl**d gushed from his forehead, and he fell like a broken puppet.
Despite the possibility of others still being around,
I felt no presence.
“Two guards at the entrance. Seems like they’re short on manpower.”
Or perhaps they thought the suppression was complete.
Having two guards at the entrance meant they needed to be vigilant, regardless of how they allocated their forces.
As expected, all the doors in the long corridor of the annex were shut. It felt no different than if it were a makeshift detention center.
I burst into the room right ahead, which was labeled ‘Office of the Investigation Bureau Director.’
Upon entering, a man with a startled expression looked at me.
Director of the National Guard Investigation Bureau, Lieutenant Colonel Erich Avakov.
We had met before.
Once, through an introduction by Colonel Lannister Kael.
Sure enough, he had been detained due to opposition against the coup.
“Y-You…!?”
“How much do you know about the situation?”
“I’ve been locked up in this room all day since yesterday. All communication lines are cut off, and I can’t go outside.”
Lieutenant Colonel Erich hurriedly stood up and approached me.
“Civilian and National Guard clashes have occurred in Kayeif City. We must prevent the worst-case scenario.”
“…So it has come to this. I understand.”
He nodded firmly.
Even if the National Guard was the main force behind the coup, there was no need to oppose everyone.
Now was the time to turn the attitude of the field personnel currently on-site.
The frontline soldiers were helpless.
Rather, they were forced to follow orders from high-ranking commanders and bear all responsibility.
If a spark of doubt grew, they would readily side with the citizens.
“Gather all National Guard personnel in the investigation bureau and try to stop them somehow. But aren’t the traitors controlling the current situation?”
“I’ll handle that.”
I pulled the charging handle of the submachine g*n, ejecting the spent shell. The acrid smell of ammunition tickled my nose.
“Traitors, step back!! Bring us King Co-king!”
The protests continued to escalate. The protesters, who had been repelled a few hours ago, were now marching toward the National Guard headquarters with several times more citizens.
Men, women, and children, all holding flags in one hand and newspapers in the other, were enraged citizens.
Just as the guards at the entrance were mumbling nervously and exchanging anxious glances—
Preparations for a real deployment were underway inside the main building of the National Guard headquarters.
“Stay focused! If we fall here, everything will be over!!”
“Yes!”
“sh**t anyone crossing the final line, regardless of who they are!!”
“Yes!!!!”
Though orders to sh**t civilians had not yet come from above, the commander of the Special Military Unit of the National Guard believed that firing was the only answer against the advancing protesters.
Protests broke out simultaneously across the city.
Without additional security forces deployed, city hall had already been seized by citizens.
Rumors spread that a massive crowd had gathered in the central district of the capital, slowly heading toward Petrovna Palace.
If the National Guard headquarters were to be seized by the citizens—
With the king still not secured, the future of the coup plotters would be clear as day.
After all, none of the personnel in the Special Military Unit had families in the capital. Compared to other guards, they had nothing to lose.
Totaling forty men.
While it might be impossible to hold off a crowd numbering in the hundreds with just the fortified National Guard headquarters—
It was not impossible if they turned it into a fortress, much like Enoch Levanter trapped in the Army Training Grounds.
“Forty, equipment check complete! All clear!”
After the last response from the final member of the Special Military Unit—
“Deploy!”
“Deploy!!!”
The commander dispatched the troops without hesitation. Unlike the regular guards, these were true warriors.
Their pure combat skills were on par with those of the famous Special Response Brigade.
It was then that gunshots echoed through the silent National Guard building.
Bang!!
“!?”
The sound came from upstairs. The office of the Chief Inspector of the National Guard, who was leading the National Guard in place of the deceased Commander Siegmund.
There was no reason for gunfire to come from there.
Instinctively sensing something amiss, the commander tried to send troops upstairs—
“Who’s there!!”
A man appeared from the opposite hallway. His golden hair stood out even more against his black uniform.
The commander, recognizing the face of someone from Okhraine whom he could never forget, exclaimed in shock.
“Enok Levanter?! How did you get here…! You bastards, why aren’t you shooting!!”
But Enok moved faster. With a deafening noise, the commander’s head tilted backward.
From then on, it was chaos.
Click, Bang!! Click, Bang!!
Each time the charging handle was pulled, metal shells clattered to the floor. Following the commander, the two guards beside him fell to the ground, spewing bl**d from their chests.
“d*mn!!”
Bang!! BANG!!
A hail of bullets rained down on Enok. If he hadn’t rolled to the side the moment the ambush succeeded, he would have been killed instantly.
Even with the well-supplied Special Military Unit, the equipment the soldiers carried was state-of-the-art weaponry.
Among the weapons issued to frontline soldiers was the latest MP08 submachine g*n from the Rhinehardt Empire.
In terms of firepower and numbers, they were at a disadvantage.
The wall he had been standing against moments ago had become a mess.
Yet, he did not stop.
Click, Bang!!
The third shot. Calmly pulling the trigger, a flame erupted from the barrel, piercing the neck of the guard.
“Reagan, Orion! Go downstairs and flank them! We outnumber them!!”
Although the commander had become a casualty, the Special Military Unit was far from collapsing. Each individual was among the elite of the National Guard.
His adjutant took command, calmly deploying the remaining troops.
Just by slightly exposing himself, the corner of the wall he had pressed against instantly turned into a honeycomb.
Once your position is known, revealing yourself is tantamount to s*icide.
Enok turned and descended the stairs.
From the fourth floor to the third. But the situation on the third floor was no different. Crack!! Just as a hint of movement appeared, sharp bullets grazed Enok’s eyes.
Even if he had killed three with a preemptive strike, he was left with thirty-seven.
Even if five guards occupied the hallway, defending with just one rifle and a pistol was nearly impossible.
Yes.
With just one rifle.
Enok released mana.
Ssssh–
A faint thread of mana rapidly expanded, launching a massive ice block.
An advanced blue-level spell.
Arctic Stella (Arctic Stella).
Crash!!
The ice shattered the concrete floor and froze the feet of the guards who had taken cover behind the wall.
“!?”
Seizing the brief moment when the guards were immobilized,
Enok didn’t hesitate. Charging down the hallway, he dove into the guards’ midst.
Six precisely. Drawing his pistol from its holster, he pulled the trigger.
It was not easy to aim at a moving target while your own movements were restricted.
Bang!! Crash!!
The heads of the two guards at the front exploded.
Other personnel began to respond, but Enok skillfully used the guards’ crossfire.
“Hold on, hold on!! Don’t sh**t!!”
Rattle rattletattle–
“Gah, cough!!”
A guard noticed the movement too late and frantically ordered a cease-fire, but it was already too late.
One guard was turned into a horrific mess by a comrade’s fire.
The moment he stopped shooting due to the horror of killing a comrade, Enok’s revolver flashed.
Bang!!
“Guh!!”
The special response team that had deployed on the third floor was wiped out in just fifteen seconds.
He threw away his empty pistol and grabbed a bl**d-soaked submachine g*n.
Close-quarters battle.
Enok Levanter, no, Captain Kim Jin-hyuk, was most confident in utilizing a firearm for CQB.
