Chapter 155

In the midst of the black market.

Suddenly, a gigantic pillar of flame began to rise.

A turquoise blaze soaring into the sky.

That was a mix of blue aura and blazing flames.

It started pouring countless flames towards the location of the Brittania Empire Army.

“What… what is that?!”

“Damn it! Run… get out of here!”

A sudden torrential strike unleashed.

The Brittania Empire Army, which had been maintaining formation, felt an instinctive fear and scattered in an instant.

Having cornered the enemies step by step, the situation flipped in an instant.

The smugglers, witnessing this, were momentarily caught off guard…

But their leader, Urielle, quickly regained her composure and shouted.

“Everyone run! This is the chance! We need to get out of here now!”

Even she didn’t fully understand what was happening.

However, now that the enemies who had been blocking the entrance were scattered, it was truly the perfect opportunity.

Urielle instinctively recognized that this was the only chance to escape.

People began to rush toward the exit in accordance with her words.

But among them were not only Urielle’s smugglers.

There were also merchants conducting transactions here,

And customers who had purchased items.

They all tried to seize this opportunity to avoid losing even a single coin or item,

And as a result, the “order” that had been forcibly maintained by the Brittania Empire Army crumbled in an instant.

“Everyone stop! I said stop!”

“Those who move will be executed on the spot! If you don’t stop… cough!!!”

In a situation where complete control was lost, even threats like those had become ineffective.

It was also not possible to openly aim guns at the crowd now fully intertwined with soldiers.

In the midst of this chaos, people began to squeeze out of the black market.

“Ah… no…”

Witnessing countless people disappearing before her eyes,

Rodney’s face was filled with deep confusion.

“Major… people are not following orders at all!”

“What should we do? At this rate, the mission will…”

Her subordinates asked urgently.

However, there was no way for Rodney to stop the people in a normal manner in this already chaotic situation.

It might be possible to engage in battle and sweep them all away, but that would be a complete reversal of the situation.

After some deliberation…

Rodney eventually gave the command for what she thought was the only possible solution.

“Target their legs…”

“Huh… What?”

“Aim for their legs… at this point, we have no choice but to accept a certain level of sacrifice.”

“Ah… understood, Major.”

It was an extreme measure, but it was the best option Rodney could choose.

Following her orders, the Empire Army soldiers began to wield their guns and swords, attacking the people.

“Ugh!!!”

“Ahhh!!”

“From now on, anyone attempting to escape will be executed immediately!”

“Stay still if you want to live!”

Rodney was trying to restore order even by spilling blood.

However…

Despite her efforts, the order that had been broken could hardly be restored.

Even if they were permitted to attack, aiming at those tangled up with soldiers was still no easy task, and more importantly, capturing over ten thousand people in chaos with just a few hundred soldiers was nearly impossible.

People rushed out like a pot with holes.

Watching this, Rodney was engulfed in deep despair.

‘I was wrong… now… I can no longer stop… that person…’

*

“Huff… huff…”

“Made it… I survived!”

Urielle and her subordinates, gasping with relief, rushed forward.

Having seized the opportunity to escape before anyone else, they were leading the escape line.

Just behind them were subordinates carrying goods and money,

And behind them were an endless line of black market merchants and citizens who had successfully escaped with them.

“Okay, we’re heading straight to the port. We need to leave this city immediately!”

“Oh? Then where do you plan to go next?”

“That hasn’t been decided yet, but the Congo region seems good?”

“Why Congo of all places? There are many other options.”

“Well, because that’s where our hideout is. Did you forget that? We’ll hide there for a while, and when things calm down, we can come back…?”

While discussing future plans,


Urielle suddenly recognized a familiar voice penetrating her ears…

A woman’s voice.

Feeling puzzled by this realization, Urielle and her subordinates turned their heads.

What they saw was…

“?! Wh-what’s going on… you?”

“Navy?”

Standing before them was a woman dressed in attire they desperately didn’t want to confront.

With blonde hair and golden eyes, she looked toward them and flashed a bright smile.

“Hello~ and goodbye!”

And then…

-Pop!

*

Countless people were rushing out of the black market.


And among them was the one who created this escape opportunity with a timely strike…

Including Franklin and Lemain, the pirates.

“Alright! We made it out.”

“Impressive, as expected of the Vice-Captain.”

A large-scale attack using aura.

Though the actual destructive power was not that strong due to the limits of the aura, the visual effect was anything but ordinary, and it did cause some damage.

“Even if it looks like this, I didn’t waste my experience. Anyway, let’s hurry up and get out of here. If we attract any unnecessary attention, it’ll be a headache.”

“Yes, understood.”

“We’ll clear the way. Let’s go, Schrödinger.”

“Yes, sis.”

Cheshire and Schrödinger used their unique brute strength to quickly shove people aside.

Following them, the pirates could more easily make their way down the road.

But then…

“!”

“Huh?”

-Crackling…

In the next moment,

Something began to register in Franklin’s and Lemain’s senses.

It was extremely sudden,

Chilling,

And an overpowering force that couldn’t be disregarded…

“Damn it! Everyone duck….!”

-Kwa-zziiizzzzz!!!

Before Lemain’s words could finish, a colossal beam of light shot toward them.

Among the group, the one furthest back and essentially devoid of combat ability, Chomski…

Queen Louis was suddenly overtaken by a sensation that made every hair on her body stand on end.

A tingling feeling washed over her, as if she had just been swept by a tidal wave.

Even though she wasn’t directly hit, the unsettling and discomforting sensation compelled her to instinctively drop to the ground.

A fleeting moment felt like hours in intensity.

As the blindingly dazzling light faded,

Queen Louis cautiously looked ahead.

And then.

“…Huh?”

As the scene began to unfold before her, Queen Louis uttered a dazed voice.

The first thing she saw was Lemain, who was at the front, unfolding an aura barrier.

And before her, strangely contorted and unusual for her, were the bodies of numerous charred corpses on the ground.

Half of them had been cooked to a crisp, becoming blackened charcoal,

While the other half were only partially roasted, with parts of their internal organs spilling out.

People entangled in a hurried escape attempt had been mercilessly slaughtered like grotesque piles of meat.

“Ugh!… Ugh!!!”

“Are… are you okay?”

Faced with a sight too horrific to bear, Queen Louis choked back vomit.

Immediately, Auriel, standing before her, hurriedly handed her a handkerchief.

“Huff… huff… y-yes, I’m fine… but what on earth is this?”

“I can’t say for sure… but… such power…”

At least hundreds of people had died before their eyes in an instant.

This scene of destruction was incomparable to the battle previously seen between Napoleona and Franklin.

Feeling fear and confusion, Auriel began to gather her aura to protect the youngest, Queen Louis.

At that moment…

“Oh~ this is quite something. I didn’t expect anyone to be able to block that…”

“Ugh…”

“…you are…”

A relaxed voice accompanied a slowly descending woman from the sky.

With blonde hair, golden eyes, and brilliant golden lightning surrounding her entire body.

The moment they laid eyes on her, the faces of Lemain, Franklin, and Cheshire suddenly stiffened.

“And… now that I look closely, I see some rather familiar faces here?”

The woman lightly swung the staff in her grasp.

Wearing navy attire, she looked at them with a deep smile on her lips.

“Oh, it’s been a long time, Vice-Captain Lemain.”

“…Nelson.”