Chapter 115: Katyusha

No matter how she looked at it, Aimeya was stumped for the first time.

“The millennium—this must mark a certain period in history. And His Majesty here clearly symbolizes the monarch of humanity… insane, hmm…”

Aimeya scratched her head, unable to discern any meaning from the paper. Frustrated, she tossed it casually to Qin Le.

“Can’t figure it out, here’s this useless scrap for you. I refuse to believe there’s only this one paper in such a vast sealed corridor!”

She plunged her hand back in, rummaging wildly, her beautiful face alternating between frowns and puzzled expressions.

Qin Le held the paper with both hands, glanced over it briefly, and then passed it to a nearby officer.

“You handle it yourselves.”

He hadn’t found anything special about the paper so far; holding onto it any longer seemed pointless and a waste of time.

“Understood.” The officer took the paper with both hands and left the room.

Every item from the New World had to be treated with utmost seriousness, especially those bearing unknown scripts.

As the officer left, the Fishhead—who had split off earlier to handle other matters—entered, his expression grave.

“Commander, Fireworks has caused trouble.”

Qin Le’s expression shifted slightly. “What happened?”

If Fishhead described it as trouble, it was clearly no small matter.

“During the previous mission, Fireworks used a pulmonary damaging agent called Photon. From what I’ve gathered, he brought it on his own accord,” Fishhead said sourly.

During the Empire era, this wouldn’t have been an issue; in fact, he might have been commended. Back then, nearly all capable nations employed chemical weapons, and their use on the battlefield was routine.

However, due to the uncontrollable and inhumane nature of chemical weapons, the Republic strictly forbade their use. Fireworks had recklessly crossed the line—one misstep and things could spiral out of control.

“That idiot… he’s a captain of the special forces, yet so reckless?” Qin Le narrowed his eyes, asking calmly, “Any large-scale casualties? Especially civilians?”

The use of chemical weapons was both a major and minor issue. Though the Republic officially banned such weapons, research never ceased. They simply prohibited human testing and removed these weapons from active arsenals.

The Republic could forgo using chemical weapons, but research was vital—since the enemy employed them, no one could guarantee they wouldn’t turn those weapons against themselves.

Moreover, this was the New World; every weapon transported there underwent rigorous inspection.

Fishhead replied, “When Photon was deployed, all civilians near the castle had already been evacuated. Only military personnel remained. Strictly speaking, no civilians died. Enemy casualties were about a hundred, mostly ordinary militia.”

“That’s not too serious. At worst, he’ll get a year or two behind bars,” Qin Le exhaled in relief. As long as no civilians were harmed, it wasn’t too grave.

Wait—how did Fireworks get hold of chemical weapons?

This was the New World; every weapon imported underwent strict scrutiny to prevent accidents. The fact that a banned chemical weapon slipped through was peculiar.

After pondering, Qin Le ordered, “Contact the think tank for me. I want an explanation.”

“Yes, sir.”

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed nearby. Everyone turned to see the corridor on the wall vanish, leaving only faint particles of light dissipating in the air.

“There really isn’t anything… there really isn’t…” the elven maiden stood there, distraught.

Apparently, she failed to find her beloved little coins, leaving this centuries-old girl utterly disappointed.

Qin Le tugged at the corner of his mouth as usual, pulled out a gold coin, and tossed it over. “Here’s your reward.”

Aimeya caught the coin casually and sighed deeply, like a lifeless salted fish.

“Alas, never thought my first raid would yield nothing at all.”

Before, she had snuck into noble houses, at most borrowing a few things secretly. This time, she entered openly, hoping to cart away box after box of gold—but only found a single scrap of paper.

“If we wanted to loot, it would’ve been done long ago. It’s not your turn,” Qin Le said, exasperated.

Everything movable in this castle had long been taken; only undiscovered items required this elf’s help.

“Hiss~” Aimeya suddenly lifted her head, enlightened. “Looks like next time, I have to get here before you.”

“Sigh, I’m beginning to doubt if you’re really an elf,” Qin Le said with a wry smile as he left the room.

Others followed him out.

After everyone departed, a squad of soldiers armed with various tools entered, tearing down the entire west wall to transport it back home.

Xuanlu would never overlook anything with supernatural power, even if it was now inert.

***

Outside the castle, in the square before the gates, four huge curtains were drawn down, enclosing the entire plaza and obscuring the view within.

At the center, a soldier clad in camouflage carried a metal box with a solemn expression.

He slowly opened it to reveal a square metal block etched with numerous faintly glowing patterns, radiating an air of mystery.

The soldier held the block with both hands, eyes closed, focusing as instructed by his superior.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

When his hands trembled slightly, the metal block in the upper left suddenly burst into a dazzling red light.

In the next moment, a crimson fissure slowly tore open in front of him, splitting the surrounding scene.

Gazing at the rift, the portal opener marveled sincerely, no matter how many times he saw it, it always felt wondrous.

He also found it incredible that he possessed such a gift—to open a portal to another world.

Though not the only one with this talent, he considered himself exceptional, a one-in-a-thousand.

Thinking of this, pride swelled within him; he could contribute to the Republic in this way.

He chuckled to himself, imagining winning a first-class merit award, bringing honor to his family and impressing his old man.

“Hey! Why are you standing there dumbly? Wanna get hit?”

“Oh, sorry, sorry.”

With the portal opener departing, nothing blocked the gateway.

Seconds later, accompanied by roaring engines, several oddly shaped armored vehicles rolled out.

These wheeled armored cars had thin armor, clearly only capable of stopping ordinary bullets. They resembled trucks, except each had a thick, long iron pipe mounted on the back.

From a distance, Orlina, curious, asked, “What kind of weapon is that? It looks so strange.”

After months of study and exposure, Orlina had developed a basic understanding of Xuanlu weaponry. These steel monstrosities looked like trucks for transporting goods, but the details differed greatly.

Like human men and women—both humanoid, with two eyes, one nose, and a mouth—but vastly different in intricacies.

“Rocket trucks, though we usually call them ‘organs,’” Qin Le smiled rarely.

“Back in the day, I even gave this weapon a nickname—Katyusha.”

***

Riev City—the most prosperous city in all of Tokyo—was unusually quiet today.

Scores of travelers and merchants, backpacks slung, gathered nervously at the port.

Large sailing ships, usually responsible for transporting goods and people, were docked, their owners shouting prices tens of times higher than usual.

Such prices were outright robbery, yet many still paid, boarding the ships in haste.

The entire city was on edge; everyone knew war was imminent.

Those with connections knew the Eastern Duke’s knights had breached Weir City and would soon besiege Riev City.

Even the common folk, unaware of details, could infer from the wealthy and nobles’ behavior that war was coming.

Once war erupted, the fate of everyone in the city was uncertain. Especially once the original lords were defeated, the occupying army would pillage the city.

At that time, merchants and nobles would be the most vulnerable.

Amid the chaotic crowd, a filthy boy stumbled against the flow, struggling into Riev City.

“Brother Harvey, I’m hungry,” little Kark complained, his small face scrunched up in tears.

“Be good. We’re going to find my uncle first,” Harvey comforted gently.

“Almost there. Just hold on a bit longer, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll hold on.”

As dusk approached, Harvey followed his memory to the knights’ residential district.

Rows of red and yellow cottages stood behind three-meter-high iron walls, isolated from the outside world.

Inside, a dozen or so neatly dressed children played and romped about, while several heavily armored knights stood guard at the entrance.

Noticing the disheveled pair, a guard stepped forward, voice harsh.

“What are you looking at? This isn’t a place for the likes of you.”

The two boys were filthy, clearly commoners.

Harvey didn’t back down; instead, he stepped forward, cradling little Kark, and weakly pleaded, “Sir, I’m looking for Mr. Regan Harvey who lives here.”

“Like I said, this isn’t a place for worthless commoners like you.” A knight drew his long sword, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

He ignored their words, unwilling to listen to these filthy peasants, considering their speech a stain on his ears.

If they pressed further, he wouldn’t hesitate to draw blood today.

“Waaah!” Kark burst into tears, terrified.

The loud cry instantly drew the attention of children playing beyond the iron bars.

One by one, the knight’s children ran over, curiously eyeing the dirty boys.

“Old Pi, cut it out. The kids are watching; don’t scare them,” a companion urged, and the knight sheathed his sword.

He didn’t care about these peasants but didn’t want to frighten the children because of them.

“Hmph! Consider yourselves lucky.” The knight turned toward the children, his fierce expression melting into a kind and gentle smile.

“The city’s been restless lately, good children should stay away from here.”

“Okay!” The children responded brightly, tilting their heads.

Several mischievous boys climbed onto the knight like agile monkeys, tugging at his beard and hair.

The knight laughed heartily, joining in their play.

“Ha ha ha, don’t pull Uncle Pi’s beard too much! If it falls off, you’ll get a spanking.”

Suddenly, a girl in a plain, pale dress carrying a basket approached from afar.

She looked at the dirty boy outside the iron bars uncertainly. “Harvey?”

Harvey froze briefly, then beamed. “Lia!”