That was a reinforced concrete bunker more than two meters thick, built to withstand direct fire from a modern main battle tank.
And yet a stray round from over five kilometers away, having missed its intended target, crashed down at the edge of the base.
Boom!!!
The explosion did not penetrate it, nor did it shatter it outright, but the bunker looked as though it were on the verge of splitting apart.
At the same time, the impact of the metal projectile itself drove the concrete bunker backward, gouging a deep trench through the ground.
There happened to be a soldier nearby. He was not crushed by the moving bunker, but the shockwave was not fully absorbed by the reinforced concrete and struck him.
In an instant, his whole body became a mass of blood.
The phrase "bleeding from all seven orifices" became a literal reality.
And it was not blood slowly flowing out. It was practically spraying.
It was safe to say that every organ in his body had been pulped. Even his bones were probably shattered.
So after he fell, he collapsed in an extremely grotesque posture.
Like a plastic cup that had softened from heat and then twisted as it crumpled down, because no one could even imagine what state the shockwave had reduced his insides to.
And that horrifying destructive force had not come from the release of explosive energy inside the shell.
One could say the round was almost solid, essentially an enlarged metal bullet, the kind of ammunition fired by an Arm Slave weapon.
The source of such destructive power was—
"Lambda Driver!"
A system that absolutely should not exist in this era.
A technology capable of converting human willpower into physical force.
That oversized metal projectile fired by the sniper had only reached such terrifying power because it had been enhanced by that system.
It was as if the converted energy had wrapped itself around the projectile, magnifying the impact until it struck with the force of a heavy artillery shell.
With that kind of power, if one of the tanks in this base took a direct hit, the result would be like a child's toy car being smashed flat with a hammer.
And because of the Lambda Driver's amplification, the projectile moved so fast that it glowed from friction with the air, much like an object entering Earth's atmosphere from space.
As a result, every shot left behind a streak of blazing light, making it look almost like a laser beam.
And that laser-like bombardment was sniping toward the silver metal devil charging straight at the sniper.
That was what the soldiers in this base were really calling him now.
As the silver metal devil drew closer and closer, the sniper's glowing trajectories became more and more vicious, brushing by with ever smaller margins.
It felt as though the next shot would hit him for sure.
"N-No, this won't work. At this rate, he'll lose. The other side can still use the Lambda Driver to form a shield."
The one murmuring that was Kaname.
Through a bionic animal surveillance device provided by A2, Tessa was also watching the scene and sharing the feed to Kaname's eyepatch display.
After witnessing it, Kaname suddenly seemed to turn into an expert on Lambda Driver technology and made that analysis, concluding that Mr. Kain would lose.
"Mr. Kain won't lose, Chidori-san. We need to hurry to the transport plane!"
In truth, Kaname's analysis was not wrong. In his current state, Mr. Kain would probably be hit before he could close the distance.
With that much power, even with a shield, his defense would not be able to withstand it.
But Tessa believed he would be fine, because he did not seem like the sort of person who acted recklessly without a plan.
Yet the instant those words left her mouth, just as she grabbed Kaname's hand and started to run, her whole body suddenly went rigid.
A new shot had landed!!!
"Heh? Did that hit? Lost an arm? A leg? Or did he just blow apart completely?"
Inside the Codarl, its pilot Gauron bit down lightly on his lip.
Wait.
No.
The irregular destruction in the area where the projectile struck made Gauron realize something was wrong.
A normal explosion radiated outward from a single point.
But this time, the blast pattern looked like overlapping destruction radiating from two separate points.
Combined with the things he had already observed this guy doing before, could it be—
"So it really is like that!"
The other figure revealed itself.
The sword in his hand was held perfectly upright along the centerline of his body.
He had actually split the sniper round in half!
Then, in the next moment, the sword in his hand was no longer upright. It rotated ninety degrees until it was parallel with the ground, taking on the posture of a thrust.
Here it came.
So fast!
Adjust!
Bang!!!
"What—?!"
Gauron froze in astonishment.
The other side had not dodged.
He had split the sniper round again.
It was so precise that it looked as if the tip of the sword had cut directly into the projectile. Yet it also almost seemed as though the projectile itself had been drawn toward the sword tip and split apart, with one-third flying one way and two-thirds the other.
This was a speed beyond Mach 5, and this guy could still capture its trajectory?
Another shot.
The other side hardly seemed to move at all, just continuing that straight-line charge, as if he and the sword had become one single spear thrusting forward, and once again he sliced Gauron's sniper round apart.
Suddenly, Gauron realized something.
This was the real explanation.
It was not that the other man could track the projectile itself at that speed.
It was that he could see Gauron's motions.
By reading the smallest details of his handling before the shot, he could predict the firing path, make slight adjustments, and bring the sword into perfect contact with the round, splitting it cleanly in two.
Earlier he had not charged straight in because the distance had still been too great.
But now that he was close enough, he could read Gauron's movements in that much detail?
This was bad.
Hm?
This damned gun was already at its limit.
And the Lambda Driver was nearly at its critical point too.
Which meant there was only one last shot left.
This shot would decide it.
Either the other man died, or he did.
After all, his machine had also been pushed too far by using the Lambda Driver to this extent. It was overheating and could no longer operate properly, let alone run.
Worthless junk.
Licking his lips, Gauron waited for the final moment.
The moment the other man jumped.
...
Yes, the other side would have to jump.
Because of the terrain Gauron had chosen, if the enemy wanted to rush in and kill him, there was a trench ahead that had to be cleared in a leap.
That meant a brief instant of suspension in midair.
The other man had no choice.
That trench had been perfectly placed. Going around it or dropping into it and jumping back out would both kill his speed.
Especially since the trench was full of mud, which made it even harder to stabilize his body.
It was coming.
Almost here.
This was, without question, the most tense and exhilarating moment of his life.
Then, in the next instant, a silver bolt of lightning leaped up.
Bang!!!
A near-explosive gunshot.
No, correction, it really had exploded. That description was accurate.
The immense recoil tore the machine's arm clean off and hurled it dozens of meters away. The remaining shock was so violent it nearly shook the whole unit apart.
And Gauron saw it.
An explosion.
This one was right in front of him.
Not the split explosion from before, but a direct impact explosion.
Then the shockwave blasted his AS nearly a hundred meters away.
"I..."
His voice cut off.
The word "won" died in his throat.
Because the silver metal figure had landed right in front of him.
How was that possible?
He had clearly hit him. Clearly—
His pupils widened.
Now he understood.
So that was it.
Looking at the hilt in the other man's hand, a hilt with no blade extending from it, Gauron instantly grasped the truth of what had happened.
"Then let's have a fine time in hell together!"
With that delighted shout, he pressed the remote control in his hand.
The explosives buried throughout this hill, enough to blow the entire hilltop into the sky, were triggered at once.
In that instant, a mushroom cloud rose like a miniature nuclear blast.
(End of Chapter)
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