Liberi Reader

Gah! The lift fell over––

If it had been a little lower, m-my leg would've...

Hold on.

I mean, hold on to my construct!

You idiot... Don't drag me down too! It's hard enough to stay afloat bringing you bunch with me!

C-Captain... Thank you...

Next time, be smarter about how you run so you're less of a nuisance.

Watch out, Captain!

That's... an artillery shell?

No, it's far more destructive than normal artillery...

And, it was aimed so precisely at a small area?

......

Manfred... You've been watching us this whole time?!

Bloody hell, that slimy devil!

Alright, everyone stop right here! We don't need to chase after those Sarkaz. As for the driver...

He's dead.

This accursed place...

......

Lieutenant, wh-what is this...

............

How can the city's defense artillery do this...?

Londinium's wall defenses were built almost seventy years ago.

This is the first time...

Their cannons have been aimed... inside the city.

Not too shabby.

Even 10% of its firepower is enough to melt ordinary structures.

So this is Londinium's ultimate defense.

That was only an auxiliary cannon.

Our weapon experts have said the main guns are able to easily penetrate the armor of any high-speed warship.

A weapon expert...? Are you talking about the officer from the defense forces' engineering team?

I must thank you for capturing his wife and daughter.

Is he still alive?

As long as he is of use to the Sarkaz, he will not die.

Artilleryman, target Lift 11.

The shot went wide.

Unfortunate. We'll have to improve our accuracy.

These cannons were meant to point outwards, after all.

Outwards... Before we entered Londinium, the defensive artillery was aimed at the ducal army outside the walls.

When we entered the city under the guise of quelling the dukes' conflicts, they never even once thought to put us in their sights––

Does that count as pointing outward?

Since the fall of Gaul and the silence of Iberia, a long time has passed without Victoria facing any real external threat.

Indeed, which is why His Majesty found this opportunity for us.

Such sophisticated weaponry should be put to greater use, rather than sitting here as ornaments adorning the doorway.

Artilleryman, activate dynamic target tracking.

Very good, it's working.

We had to spend nearly a whole month to calibrate them...

Luckily, they seem to be working well enough.

These weapons put us in control of everything that enters and exits Londinium.

Once all our cannons are in place... There will be nowhere to hide under the shadow of these steel walls.

Dublinn seems to be drawing away the artillery fire.

Is this... a test run? Is their purpose really just to calibrate...

No, they're ultimately unconcerned with this port.

Lieutenant, what do we do now?

Continue to withdraw towards the city.

However... the rest of Sudean is no longer safe.

The Sarkaz are tightening their grip on Londinium. As long as the city's artillery is pointed inwards, our lives are in their hands.

Unless...

What's your plan, Lieutenant?

It's nothing. Let's go, we'll talk after we've made our escape.

These bloody walls! These bloody cannons!

Captain, your constructs got destroyed again...

I don't... have time for this!

Don't just stand there staring! Away with you! Get out of here!

Forcing us to run, eh? Mark my words, Manfred, you insult me like this today, I swear I'll...

Captain, that one I just saw running off that way... looked rather familiar...

The Lupo brunette? Is it her?!

Get her——

Ugh!

Be careful, Captain!

What have you done?!

I'm... protecting you... run! You still have to... find... for the Leader...

Fine... fine.

You're the thirteenth.

The thirteenth Taran life. I will mark you down in the Leader's place. One day, I will personally make the Sarkaz pay for each and every life.

General, we've routed Dublinn's team.

I saw.

But we couldn't find the rebels... Those sly insects! They peeked their heads out for a moment, but they vanished again after we activated the cannons.

Uhh, could they have been killed already?

What do you think?

I... I don't think our job would be that easy.

I'm glad you understand.

Then, did they blend into the crowd? Should we notify the patrol so they can detain the civilians and continue the search?

No need.

Continue to bombard the port. Oh, and increase the firepower.

Increase the firepower? The port is almost completely destroyed. I can't imagine anyone would be hiding there still.

They won't ever take this route again. Besides, have you ever seen a Sarkaz draw only half his sword?

Now that we've begun, why not let them see exactly what we're capable of?

You're putting on a show of force for them. You want... to cut off their escape and force them to come out.

This game of hide-and-seek has gone on long enough. Even if I don't mind waiting, the same cannot be said for His Majesty and the Royal Court.

Doesn't matter who it is. If they have a plan, I'd like them to hurry up with it.

Doctor, we don't have anywhere safe to hide!

Even if we all took cover under the structure, we'd still be...

...Vulnerable to their artillery blowing us to bits!

I've done some rough calculations. If those cannons are fully charged, they'd be able to shoot clean through a standard city plate! This flimsy sheet plate above our heads on the wall there won't stand a chance!

Siege, Londinium's cannons here are serious business!

This is the first time I've seen them fired off on such a scale.

That means they're rolling out the red carpet for us, right?

If that were the idea, we would be wiped out fifty kilometers outside the walls.

Urgh...

Ahhh, I can't take it anymore––!

Amiya, my drones can't reinforce these plates any further. At this rate, we're going to get blasted sky-high!

We need to get out of here.

Dublinn also scrambled to get away as fast as they could... but they used Arts constructs to defend themselves and left their wounded behind.

Ugh... Argh, why's our luck so rotten...?

Are we going to die here?

We won't leave a single Londinier behind.

Scout team, have you located the artillerymen?

Not yet...?

I'm afraid we can't find them.

Londinium's urban defense cannons, and this wall looming in front of us, have always been a single entity.

In other words... we have no way of stopping the barrage if we can't scale the wall or get inside it?

We can't just hide here waiting to die either!

Why don't I run out there and try to draw their fire? With my skills, I should be able to buy a few minutes...

Not happening.

If you're not letting her do it alone, then let's all go.

Settle down, you two. Dagda, have you been hanging around Indra for so long that your brain turned to muscle?

Hey...

If it was as easy as getting some live bait out there, would the two of you still be here making a scene?

Our armor could maybe take two hits from a standard crossbow. Our friends in Engineering spent months working hard to make it.

If you're going to run out there and get yourself killed, you never should've come to Londinium in the first place!

......

Alright, I get it. But I swear, I'm not letting anything happen to Vina!

We... haven't even been home yet!

Doctor, do you have a plan?

Drones...? Hmm, hmm, I see... Oh, so that's where you're going with it. That makes sense.

What are you mumbling about now, Closure? The Doctor barely said two words, but you're acting like you had a whole conversation!

Oh, my bad. I just got an idea.

Those cannons seem pretty intelligent, and at such a long range, they can't be completely manual. They must have some way of locking onto moving targets near the ground.

One or two guys running around won't be enough to get the cannons off our backs.

If I deploy all my drones at once, the targeting algorithm might see them as a higher-priority threat than us and the civilians, but...

But there's no guarantee?

Well obviously, I can't promise anything!

Closure, the reinforcement failed. The pressure is too great for the drones to withstand!

The base plate is going to collapse within thirty seconds...

We have no other choice. Let's give it a try.

On the Doctor's signal, all operators prepare to withdraw.

Five, four, three––

Two––

Drones, launching!

Run, everyone! Go, go!

Did it work?

It bought us just enough time to move to a structure a few steps away... but this place won't last long either.

That was our one shot, too... My precious drones have all been reduced to scrap, and even I can't just conjure up another batch.

We can't safely move forward or retreat backwards. If we want to escape the cannon fire, we're going to have to take some risks.

I wish there were some way around all of this...

I heard you needed a guide?

Huh?

Who's there?!

Miss Cautus, I'd like to talk to you.

But before that, I'd appreciate it if you could have your people lower their weapons.

You–– Who are you?

Let's save the introductions for later.

Claws, a machete, and this... Uhh, this hammer? Ma'am, your weapon looks plenty brilliant, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep it away from my head.

......

Otherwise, this friend of yours might be in danger.

––Doctor!!

Not too close now.

One more step, and your friend's head becomes a mess on the wall.

A-Amiya, the drone...!

One of the drones wrapped around when we weren't paying attention, and it's locked onto the Doctor's head!

You sure know your stuff, Miss Pointy-Ears.

To be honest, I'm getting more and more curious about you lot.

......

All hands, weapons down.

There we go, that's nice. Oh, make sure you get the message to your snipers around the corner too. I bet they haven't blinked once since I showed up.

Do as he says.

Lovely.

––Sir.

I hope you believe us when we say that we'd never move to harm a stranger unprovoked, but––

Harm one thread on the Doctor's hood and I promise you, right here, right now, I don't need a weapon to ensure you never threaten another human being.

Ahem...

Ugh... This place is already dangerous enough. Are we seriously going to get blown up before we even start our mission?!

Right, if we don't want the Sarkaz to turn us to dust, we don't have time to be pointing weapons at each others' heads.

Listen up, I have an idea. Please come with me, nice and easy.

I'm gonna keep borrowing your friend here until we get where we're going––

Sorry, but you don't get a say. Behave yourself and come along with me, my faceless friend.