Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 116: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (23)

After emerging from the underground passage, the Imperial light infantry, and Marcellus, raced through the deserted downtown area. Despite his desire to take the lead, Marcellus wasn’t the one at the forefront. In fact, those leading the charge were individuals who were not even his subordinates.

“This way.”

At the vanguard were volunteers who were determined to be a part of this surprise attack operation. Their reasons for volunteering weren’t driven by a desire for glory in war. Every one of them hailed from Carnela Port—their hometown.

Given the current situation of the Empire’s northern territories being occupied, countless Imperial soldiers have lost their homes. These volunteers had suffered direct consequences from this invasive war, with their families and loved ones killed and their ancestral lands taken away.

Within them, a flame of vengeance burned to varying degrees. For the strong-willed among them, the desire for revenge outweighed any fear of the perilous battlefield. Especially when it concerned their hometown, these individuals were eager to step up and fight.

The Empire’s high echelons knew that entrusting the vanguard to individuals with unyielding morale and a strong sense of familiarity with the area, even in dire straits, would be just right. While some of these soldiers tended to become reckless due to their deep attachment to their homeland, this battle was different—it marked the first step in reclaiming a major city from the invaders. Considering the events that lay ahead, they decided to heed the pleas of the volunteers to maintain the soldiers’ morale.

True to their local knowledge, these soldiers skillfully led the way through the intricate alleyways of the downtown area, reaching the warehouse district quickly.

“■■!?”

“■, ■■!”

Although they didn’t face any skirmishes in the downtown area, they encountered a group of armored soldiers in the warehouse district and port area. Upon entering the warehouse district, Marcellus and the others unexpectedly stumbled upon a contingent of Republican forces moving to reinforce the battle at the outer walls.

However, it turned out that among this group, there were also unarmed, non-combatant Khan people, clearly distinguishable as they didn’t wear any combat gear or armor.

However, they were not completely defenseless; they wore reinforced suits utilizing the same armor technology. However, these suits were designed for laborers, lacking any significant defensive capabilities or weaponry. Instead, they carried containers filled with abundant supplies on their backs. While they could potentially fight, Marcellus quickly assessed that they posed a low threat level.

“Enemies ahead! Invaders!”

“Attack the invaders! Kill them!”

“Those without weapons, spare their lives! Uh…..■■■■■■■■■■■■! (if you don’t want to die, surrender!) ■■■■■■■■■■■(We won’t kill you if you surrender)… Raise your shields!”

As soon as they spotted the enemy, Marcellus tried to calm down the charging soldiers at the forefront while issuing a call for surrender to the enemy. The words he used were those he had learned from Asumi, the female prisoner of war. The Khan people seemed surprised to hear understandable words coming from their enemies.

The non-combatants were the only ones shaken by this unexpected call for surrender. The armored soldiers, almost reflexively, pointed their guns and began firing. Thanks to Marcellus’ timely order to defend, the imperial soldiers at the front managed to raise their shields in time to block the initial shots.

The spiritual art circuits engraved on the shields glowed, enhancing their strength and deflecting the bullets. These powerful and expensive shields, which were never issued to even the Empire’s elite soldiers before the invaders’ arrival, were mass-produced as part of the Empire’s efforts to strengthen its military. It was strong enough to withstand the bullets carried by the armored soldiers. Some were injured by the bullets that slipped through the shield’s gaps, but no one was rendered combat ineffective.

“There’s no choice! Spare those without weapons! Annihilate the rest! Charge!”

“”””Charge!!!””””

“”””Understood!!!””””

They couldn’t afford to cause unnecessary damage to their own ranks while trying to minimize casualties among the enemy. Without issuing another call for surrender, Marcellus ordered them to attack.

Those who promptly charged ahead were, unsurprisingly, soldiers who hailed from the local area. They harbored intense hatred for the invaders who had brazenly occupied their homeland, and were even willingly volunteering for dangerous missions. While they intended to spare the non-combatants, they showed no mercy to any other enemies.

With shields raised, they fearlessly closed the distance, and with the swords held in their other hands, they struck fiercely. The armored soldiers also responded in kind, deploying weapons like swords and spears and using their armor’s gadgets to meet the incoming strikes.

The fighting power of the Imperial soldiers and the armored soldiers was almost evenly matched. The Empire’s frontline consisted of skilled soldiers who were able to fight the armored soldiers who wielded guns, which were powerful weapons, so it could be said that the armored soldiers in Carnela Port were also excellent in martial arts just because they were able to fight with them. Although they weren’t as skilled as the white-armored soldiers, Marcellus and the others found themselves facing a slightly challenging battle against these formidable foes.

“Die, invaders!”

“You’re gonna pay for what you did to my mother!”

“■■■……!”

“■■■!?”

“There are more of us! The momentum is on our side! Push forward! Keep pushing!”

However, the numbers were heavily skewed in favor of them. Marcellus and his group, who entered the warehouse district through the underground passage, numbered around five hundred Imperial soldiers. In contrast, the enemies they encountered consisted of at most two hundred soldiers, with nearly half of them being non-combatants. There was no way they could lose against such odds, and one by one, their foes fell before them.

“■■■!■■■■!”

“■■■■!”

“Dammit, reinforcements! Be careful!”

“If they bring reinforcements, so will we.”

Perhaps due to their bold and flamboyant fighting style, more armored soldiers from the warehouse district came one after another. Although Marcellus felt a sense of urgency at the arrival of enemy reinforcements, he couldn’t help but turn around when he heard a voice from right behind him.

Behind him stood Decius, the one who had been tasked with defending the exit of the underground passageway. Marcellus couldn’t fathom why Decius was here at this moment, but the answer soon came from Decius’s own lips.

“I left the defense of the exit to the following units. I thought it was about time I brought you reinforcements.”

“The timing couldn’t be better. Brave soldiers of the Empire, rally! We shall drive away the invaders!”

“””Uooooh!!!”””

With the Imperial forces’ reinforcements arriving just a little late, the tide of battle clearly shifted. For the Republic forces, who had been at a disadvantage, their own reinforcements felt like a divine blessing. However, just as their spirits were starting to rise with renewed hope, their enemy’s numbers swelled to twice their previous count.

The crushing despair that followed hope was profound. Especially for those at the frontlines, the blow was particularly severe. As soon as the reinforcements arrived, some armored soldiers threw down their weapons and fled.

“■■!■■■!”

“■■■■!”

“Don’t pursue them too far! Don’t forget our objective!”

Marcellus halted a soldier from Carnela Port who was trying to chase after the fleeing armored soldiers. Those who had been fighting on the frontline were all battered and bruised, with not a single one left unscathed. In fact, they had suffered the most casualties and injuries. Fatigue had taken its toll, and each one of them was breathing heavily, shoulders heaving.

However, their fighting spirit remained unbroken. Their eyes glinted with deadly intent, driven by a thirst for revenge as they relentlessly pursued their foes.

Yet they were not losing their reason like Karelvo’s demons. Their commander, Marcellus, had issued clear orders, and despite their frustration, they halted their pursuit.

After the Republic forces fled in defeat, Marcellus swiftly reorganized his troops. He apprehended the non-combatants who were left behind and herded them into a suitable building. Then, together with Decius’s unit, they began to secure control over the warehouse district.

They stormed into the warehouses, either finding them empty and moving on swiftly if there were no hidden enemies, or overpowering any lurking threats in numbers. Throughout this operation, Marcellus didn’t forget to offer surrender terms, and surprisingly, more people complied than he had imagined.

“Seems like a lot of them are willing to surrender.”

“After ruthlessly slaughtering the Enzo Continent’s people, they suddenly value their own lives!”

Decius replied without concealing his contempt in response to Marcellus’s remark. The Republic army had committed merciless massacres across various regions of the Enzo Continent. Because of that, it was assumed that the Republic soldiers, the armored soldiers, lacked the emotions that other races had.

In fact, the majority of those who surrendered were non-combatants, but that didn’t lessen Decius’s animosity towards the Republic army. He firmly believed that everyone involved in this invasion war was equally guilty.

Even if they hadn’t been on the battlefield, Decius couldn’t forgive those who stood by while their fellow compatriots slaughtered and enjoyed the spoils. Many others shared the same sentiment, and even Marcellus himself didn’t think they were innocent. Therefore, as long as their emotions didn’t lead to violence against the surrendering individuals, he had no intention of reproaching them.

Moreover, now wasn’t the time for discussions. They were in the midst of securing control over the warehouse district, which was a far cry from a safe battlefield. Just moments ago, they had a skirmish with a group of armored soldiers, and it could have been much worse if the local soldiers hadn’t warned them of the possibility of an ambush.

“By the way, it seems the other unit is doing well too.”

“…. Yeah, it looks like the burden is halved.”

To avoid dwelling on gloomy topics, Marcellus decided to change the subject. Decius, who was aware that he had been emotional, didn’t object to this abrupt shift in conversation.

The “other unit” referred to those who entered through the northernmost exit of the three-dug underground passageways. They, too, were moving to seize control of the Port’s functions, and sounds of battle could be heard from another part of the warehouse district.

The intermittent sounds of fighting gradually approaching suggested that, like their own unit, they were advancing through the warehouse district while winning small-scale skirmishes against the Republic army. The situation of the Republic army being unable to concentrate their forces on one side seemed to be working effectively for both units.

“We’ve completed the takeover. The captured individuals have been restrained and confined inside the warehouses as instructed.”

“Excellent. With this, we have secured this entire area. Let’s move forward.”

“Yes, sir!”

Having received the report from the soldiers that had returned from the warehouse takeover, Marcellus resumed the march. Marcellus’ unit proceeded smoothly, taking control of the warehouses as they advanced northward.