Vol 3 Chapter 7 (2/2)
Not only had the bureaucrats not rectified thisin the corner, while the Praetorian guards were standing aside in a stupor Others were prostrate on the ground, praying to the Gods to save them
Naturally, neither Piña nor Sugaere questioned Neither did anyone try to ieway
As she saw the sad state the palace had been reduced to, Piña grabbed her head and ordered her guards to find the officials in charge of the court in order to gather the
In any event, they needed to restore order to this chaos For that, they needed to gather the people in charge
“Hhed as she saw the soldiers frozen in just about every corner she cared to look
She had experienced it firsthand, so she could understand their terror at a natural disaster they had never seen before However, she was still disappointed by how disorganized the Praetorians were
They had taken away a lot of officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) froions The soldiers who replaced theative results of that approach were on display now
And so, Piña and the others finally reached the Emperor’s bedchamber
As they looked around, they found that shockingly enough, the Praetorians assigned to protect the bedchaone They must have fled or otherwise disappeared at soth leave her body, and she took a deep breath to regain her spirits
“Sugawara-dono I will introduce all of you to the Emperor Until then, could you keep quiet?”
Since this was a necessary part of courtly etiquette, Sugaould obviously obey After that, Piña let the maids open the door to the bedchamber
“Oh? I believed the first one here would be Diabo or Zorzal To think it would be you, Piña”
The Emperor sat up on his bed, his face covered in cold sweat as he welcomed Piña
It looked like he wanted to see which of his children would coency
Although he was slightly disappointed that reality did not match his predictions, noas not the time to be so relaxed
“Your Majesty Please prepare yourself”
Piña ordered a uards surround them for protection as she accompanied her father to the audience chamber
The Eh he still needed to hold onto Piña’s shoulder to move
After entering the audience chaathered there all had panicky looks on their faces Then they closed in on Piña and the E their aid
Piña helped the Emperor onto his throne
“Don’t panic You lot, bring the ministers and the other officials in here”
“Military officers, go get control of the troops and prepare for battle Defend the Palace Also, have the troops find the generals throughout the Capital and have them report to the Palace”
As they heard Piña’s voice, the various officials re froained their discipline and beganin the same direction
Piña breathed a sigh of relief as the court finally resu
However, as she looked around carefully, she saw that the candle stands and other articles in the audience charound, and the shattered reround
She suppressed a gasp at the sight of the audience chamber’s dismal state, and ordered the maids to tidy this place up
Organizing the audience chamber should have been the job of the E, Piña and the maids would be forbidden from this room What they did was in defiance of the court’s rules However, in this tiency, only she and the others could act normally, so it could not be helped
At these occasions… no, it was precisely because of occasions like these that nity was evenpeople could cal the stern discipline of the audience chamber In contrast, if the audience chamber remained a mess, it would only intensify the confusion in their hearts
The first tirumbled that they were useless frippery, but now she saw the purpose of the grand display here That was to say, without those decorations, the audience chamber itself would be useless frippery
Until recently, Piña and her knight band respected practicality and looked down on the extravagance of the palace’s furnishi+ngs But after taking on the task of being the intermediary for the Empire’s diplomatic relations with japan, she finally understood their purpose
“Piña, you seem to have shed a layer of skin”
However, Piña did not understand the hiddenin the Emperor’s words, and replied, “My skin is in place, and it is undaed”
And then, the Emperor’s serious facade crumbled
“Piña, for a while now, there’s been a group of unfamiliar people by your side Since there is soather, why don’t you introduce them?”
Piña nodded, and then slightly lowered a voice Then she opened her hand and indicated Sugawara like she was slashi+ng at him
“Allow awara-dono”
Sugawara took a step toward the Eh, then lowered his head in respect Behind hiawara The way they did things was slightly different from the usual courtly etiquette
“The land of japan? I see, so you have accepted the role of a mediator between our Eht them here at this time? They have come all this way, but we have not yet welcomed them properly
“Forgive eable about this earthquake, and they said there would be another quake Therefore I kept them by my side to benefit from their advice”
Those words made Piña’s father blanch
“You, you said there will be another shaking of the earth?”
“Indeed, which hy I asked them to come with us”
The Emperor wiped off the sweat that suddenly beaded on his nose with his pajama sleeve
“Very well Ambassador-dono, I bid you welcome”
Sugawara, who had been introduced at last, spoke the words he had been rehearsing in his mind
“Thank you very ood spirits”
“How could I be in good spirits after this cataclyshter has grown I must thank you for that”
“No, your Majesty All this was the result of her Highness’ training and refinement”
“I always thought she was just playing war games”
“Her Highness has long graduated froo to war now, I am certain she would be an excellent commander!”
The sudden interruption came from Hamilton
Right after that, Hamilton realized that she had rudely interrupted a conversation between the En ambassador, so she blushed and tried to awara and the Enored her If they did not, they would have to censure her for her rudeness
“Aretfully, we are busy at the reat feast for you Forgive our poor hospitality tonight”
“Yes, your Majesty There will be many other opportunities to discuss the future of our nations”
Sugawara bowed once more and then retreated behind Piña He had said what he wanted to say However, the Eawara
“Speaking of which, does your country of japan have a king?”
This question was asked to ascertain what exactly Sugawara knew about the E infor information on japan
But how had he done it? Suddenly, the questions welled up in his mind
“No Our country is not ruled by a king, but by an Eely a symbolic position”
“A figurehead position, you say? It is hard to i power fro one The world beyond the Gate is indeed alien Then again, there should be a person who rules you in that world, am I correct? Until this day, I have not met an equal to ive me for any accidental rudeness in communication”
Just as he was speaking, a great sound came from the hallway behind them
“Father, Father, are you alright?!”
Zorzal charged into the audience chamber like a wild horse
His lackeys had their breastplates on backwards and their sandals on the wrong foot, and some of them had their scabbards but no swords They were clearly in a panic
Zorzal had a chain in hand, and the other side was linked to a whole mess of collars, which were locked around the neck of Tyuule and soed naked all the way here from her bed, and there was a bitter expression on her face Beside her were other girls, with black, blonde and red hair, and their bodies were covered in abrasions froed here in the nude Their condition seemed quite serious
As Itami, Tomita and Kuribayashi+ saw this, they were shocked speechless
Sugawara the diplo his tongue softly
“Father, are you hurt? Good, let’s flee together!”
“Where e run to?”
“In any case, we need to get out of here”
Piña turned to her elder brother, as harassing the Eenerals to report to the Palace If we leave now and the officials return to find nobody here, the palace will be thrown into chaos”
However, Zorzal replied, “We don’t have tiht be a second or third shock, so we must leave here immediately!”
If this went on, ithis throne
Piña thought, no matter what, I need to calet his attention, and then she spoke to hiain, with a tone to sooth him
“Ani-ue, I was not aware that you knew about the aftershocks Even I only just learned of them from these people”
“I told you didn’t I? Noriko said so”
“And who is this Noriko?”
As Piña asked her question, Zorzal yanked the chain leading to one of the collars
“Ah!” Tyuule and the other women cried out
“It’s this black-haired girl, I caught her from the other side of the Gate”
Zorzal indicated her with his chin But at this moment—
“You son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”
Ita-fast punch that connected with Zorzal’s chin
“You son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”
Ita-fast punch that connected with Zorzal’s chin
It rocked him back on his heels, and the tallhis chin as he cursed loudly “You hit me, you bastard! You dare strike lared at Itami
Itaht fist “O! Why’s his face so hard? I’m not cut out for this at all,” he whimpered as a tear leaked out from the corner of his eye
“You fools! To think you actually raised your hand against his Highness! Your families will be exterminated for this!”
Zorzal’s flunkies drew their swords
Nor a weapon in front of the E of actually offering violence to a member of the Imperial family However, the court was currently paralyzed in the wake of the earthquake The Praetorians who should have defended the E Since there was nobody to maintain order, the area before the throne was a sea of chaos
To from the side, flicked his Type 64’s fire selector to レ(automatic fire), while Kuribayashi+ inspected Tyuule and the black-haired girl on the ground
“Are you alright?”
As she heard soirl raised her head in surprise
“We’re from the JSDF Are you japanese?”
When the girl heard those words, her tears fell like a waterfall, and then she clutched Kuribayashi+’s hands She ht, and that thought filled her with strength She took out her survival knife and cut the girl’s collar off her before throwing the severed leather away
“Did you come to rescue me?”
“Yeah We’ll bring you home”
In truth, the JSDF did not know girls like this had been captured by the ene However, once they knew there were japanese citizens suffering here, they could not possibly abandon them They would definitely rescue them Itami and his team were of one mind, and they prepared for battle If anyone tried to stop them, they would be bloay They each prepared theht
On another side, Sugawara sighed as he realized his efforts up till now o up in sirl had been kidnapped and subjected to such brutality, he could not suppress his anger either He smiled bitterly to the Emperor, and then asked him a question in a tone that sounded polite, but was filled with mockery
“I believed the prince-dono mentioned that he captured her from the other side of the Gate What is this, your Majesty? And Piña-dono, did you know about this from the start?”
“Su-Sugawara-dono?”
Piña did not understand why Itah idea of as going on It must be the way they treated their captives, because she knew the japanese placed great value on human life
Even so, she did not think it was enough to jeopardize the status of the talks between japan and the Empire They should have been able to separate their personal feelings from the benefit of the nation
However, Itami now had his sidearm trained on Zorzal, ashe could not cover up No, right now, even Piña er because of his actions
She kneell the power of guns, and she thought that if anything happened, she would have to protect the Emperor with her own body and fall before the throne She decided to try talking hian
“Itami-dono! Please stop at once! Everyone, please stay your blades For my sake, stand down!”
However, Zorzal’s flunkies still had their weapons ready, and they were spreading out to encircle the group There were 15 of thee in numbers As such, they did not think too much about the situation After all, all they had to do was kill all the enemy in order to win
Zorzal laughed froined thecut to pieces
“You barbarian scum, you’ve just sealed the fate of your homeland! We will exter to his people will die! Your lands will be nothing but ash!+ This is all your fault! Reflect on your sins as you die in agony!”
Itanore him Fire at will”
Kuribayashi+ drew her bayonet from her waist and fixed it onto her rifle Then she flicked her own fire selector to AUTO before stepping forward
“Don’t break your gun again”
Kuribayashi+ sirinned in response to Tomita
The dancer: Kuribayashi+ Her partners: Itain
Bayonet fighting (not to be confused with jukendo) was a combat art that was still in use in the present day
Much like how aircraft cannon were still useful in the age of guidedwas a core part of the infantry combat curriculum It was essential in melee combat, and could not be allowed to waste away
In the Falklands War in South Aes were crucial to finishi+ng off their foe
In addition, unlike kendo, which waswas practiced for actual coned for war
Even in the world ofa weapon would put onewas exceptionally useful against other ardless of how skilled the practitioners of the latter tere This was because if a bayonet fighter’s opponent was skilled in close cohter could just back off and fire their rifle This was not being unfair — it ar, and it was different froed contests
The Type 64 rifle weighed 43 kilogra weapon even as she slashed and stabbed with the razor sharp bayonet, before deflecting a sword sith the body of her weapon
They could not keep up with her niraceful movements Not toin a shi+eld wall, so they were hard-pressed to engage Kuribayashi+, as leaping all over the place
Their e into contact with the enemy, bash with their shi+elds, and slash with their swords
However, Kuribayashi+ did not charge them
She shot the ene swords, and then thrust her bayonet into her opponent's arot too close, she bashed them with the butt of her rifle and slashed their carotid arteries while they were stunned
It did nota warrior was or how fine his blade if he could not hit his eneth and trained themselves intensively for that purpose, but Kuribayashi+ mocked them as they flailed uselessly at her The only way they could fight her was by overwhelht of their numbers
However, Kuribayashi+ was covered by Tomita
As an eneer A 762h to penetrate 10 mm of steel plate When it hit a anby the time it entered the body Then, it tuans before exiting through his back
As they saw their coave up their plan of flanking Kuribayashi+
And then, in front of them was an unfettered beast
Kuribayashi+ licked her lips after hth corpse and sneered, “Who’s next?” as she eyed Zorzal’s lackeys However, none of them dared take a step forward
“Well, if you’re giving up, thron your arms!”
Zorzal’s lackeys thren their weapons as one
Kuribayashi+ seemed very pleased with this display She then nodded and said, “Very good,” before ordering them out of the audience chamber
The lackeys were confused for a moment, and they looked to theirback her rifle’s bolt, they scattered a of metal
Zorzal’s eyes ide in disbelief as he looked on the slaughter in front of hi cronies
His body was shuddering uncontrollably as Itami levelled athat killed his flunkies? Would it spit fire and turn hi to die? Why, as all this happening to him?
He was the first prince He should not be subject to this unreasonable treatment
He was the future Emperor of the Empire nobody should have dared do this to him
And then, Itaun at Zorzal, and spoke
“All right, first prince-dono As you were saying, this girl was one of the people you captured froht?”
“Hmph! I have no need to answer disrespectful questions asked by disrespectful men!”
Zorzal said that in an effort to restore the tattered shreds of his dignity If this ized, then respectfully begged a favor of hiesse If not, then there was nothing to say He could go ahead and kill Zorzal if he wanted But if he did that, then thethe answer Zorzal and the knowledge he had was his own hostage
In the end, Itami smiled bitterly and called out to his subordinates
“Kuribayashi+ Make him talk”
“Roger, el-tee~♪”
This was the first tiiven by Itami
The following scene is soe limitations on this publication Thus ill describe the scene with sound alone
Pachi, gucha, dosun, gan, ban, goh, dosu, guchaboki, so like that
And of course, Zorzal was screa all this while
“Stop! Wait, stop! Stoooooop! Ahhhh it hurts! Guheee! Abbah! Gwaaaaargh! No, don’t break h!”
Unable to bear this sight, Piña and the Emperor looked away
Of course, they had thought of stopping her, but they orried that if they spoke out, Itaer on them instead
Piña was grateful for her experience in Italica After all, this was the first tier
Ha each other as they stood by the wall They were treain
This gruesome scene finally came to an end when the door to the audience chamber opened,
The ained their discipline were all led here by Count Marx However, as they saas before the throne, they froze
The first thing they saere scattered corpses, followed by Zorzal, who looked like he had been applying blood to himself as makeup
Zorzal’s broken teeth were scattered all over the floor, along hat looked like molars Blood streahtened
Italanced at the soldiers who had just arrived, then trained his gun on Zorzal once
“Well, your Highness the First Prince I believe you can answer my question now”
Zorzal did not reply However, that was because he was too dazed to understand Itami’s question Itaet his attention
However, at this moment, Tyuule interposed herself between the two of theesture
After seeing that body covered in cuts and bruises, Itami winced in sympathetic pain before he could appreciate her beauty Her injuries were probably froed around
“Please do not harm the Prince”
She was covered in wounds caused by thisspirit gave Itami pause
Her state of ht have been siht have been a form of Stockholm Syndrome, where captives empathized with their captors
In deference to her will, Itaun But he was still frustrated, and he poured that frustration into his next words
“Your Highness I believe you mentioned earlier than this woman was one of the people you captured from the other side of the Gate That means you must have other people in captivity, am I correct?
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