Ch. 74: The Enemy Base
I drew in a deep breath to address Corally and Hati once more.
Werner: “I’m going to disable the Barrier that’s surrounding this area. When that happens, we will know more about what’s happening around us. They’ll also be able to understand what is happening here.”
Corally: “.........okay.” Werner: “Corally, please head straight towards the enemy location.”
Corally: “........understood.” Werner: “It’s close, right?” Corally: “......yes. It’s right there.”
And Corally pointed towards the back of the Tavern.
Looks like the enemy’s hideout’s entrance is right outside the backdoor.
Werner: “Okay. Then let’s go.” I deactivated the Barrier Generator.
As soon as the Barrier came down, we heard noise from the outside.
Even so, it was well into the night with snow coming down. It was very quiet.
From entering the tavern until now, only 30 minutes or so had passed.
But the snow seemed to be falling more heavily now.
It was at the brink of calling it a blizzard.
As I gazed at the snow, Corally exited the backdoor and began picking at the wall next to it.
As she did so, a hidden handle that was buried into the wall appeared.
As she pulled on it, a door that was disguised as a wall began to open.
Looking into the entrance, a stairway leading down into the basement appeared.
There was no light and pitch black inside.
Corally: “..............”
Corally remained silent as she descended the stairs.
I left Hati inside my shirt as I followed her down the stairway.
As I step inside, I shut the camouflaged door behind me.
Light was not completely shut out, and we were left in complete darkness.
I held out my hand in front of me, but I could not see it.
As I looked at my surroundings with Magic, we descended the steps and found another doorway.
It was a sturdy looking wooden door.
Corally knocked on the door.
“............”
No one answered from the other side.
But I sensed someone approaching the door.
When they opened the door, I stepped back far enough to be outside of their view.
As I confirmed that they couldn’t see meーー
Corally: “.........Corally.”
Corally spoke her name, and the door swung open as a man’s face popped out.
“It’s not time for your report. What happened? Did you run out of materials for the drug?”
Judging from his reaction, Corally probably served as the messenger to go back and forth between the Tavern and here.
Corally: “.............”
But Corally remained silent.
“Hm? What’s wrong?” Suspecting something, the man looked up towards the staircase. In other words, he looked in my general direction.
I immediately leaped forward.
Reaching the bottom of the steps quickly, my fist connected with his chin.
As he bobbled backwards, I locked my arms around his neck from behind and choked him unconscious.
The room connecting to the entryway was very small, and only one man was there.
He was probably the man guarding the door.
Beyond the room, I saw another doorway.
Werner: “What’s inside?”
Corally: “......a room as big as the Tavern. There’s 10 people.”
As I whispered, Corally whispered back with an answer.
Werner: “Just one room?”
Corally: “........yeah.”
The architecture was very simple.
Then again, this is an underground facility they built right underneath the feet of the Royal Capital.
Even with the help of the Galatea Empire, it would have been very difficult to construct something more complex or larger.
Attempting that would have alerted the people above them with shakings and noises.
Werner: “We will take them out immediately and swiftly.”
Corally: “......okay.” Werner: “The plan is simple. I will do all of the work.”
Corally: “....is that okay?” Werner: “Yes. If it gets out of hand, then help me. And if you do, try not to kill them.”
Corally: “..............okay.” “Try” not to kill them, meaning if things get complicated, it is okay to do so.
Corally seemed to understand my meaning.
I approached the doorway.
And I activated the Barrier Generator and encased the area with the doorway.
Now, they shouldn’t be able to escape.
If they try something extreme and self-destruct, this should contain the damage and keep the citizens safe.
With that, I throw the door open.
Inside, I immediately saw the 10 men just as Corally had said.
“WHAー?!”
Seeing me, one of the men nearby looked alarmed and shocked at my sudden appearance.
We successfully caught them off guard.
Werner: “All the better!”
With my left hand, I slugged the nearest man across the face as my right hand prepared to fire {Magic Arrows}.
A total of 9 {Magic Arrows} appeared.
As the arrows settled in front of me for a split second, they flew forward with snaking, unpredictable paths.
“UGH?!” “AGH!!” “OOF!!”
The arrow struck 3 directly.
They struck the lungs and stomach, and a hole about two fingers wide open up.
It is enough to put them out of the fight.
The other six dodged and put up barriers to block the arrows promptly.
Werner: “They’re no amateurs then.” The nearest man who got punched in the face had flown across to the wall.
The bones on his face had collapsed, and he laid on the ground unconscious.
He will definitely not be getting up during this fight either.
Now, there were 6 remaining enemies.
The others quickly prepared for a counter attack.
I need to be most aware of anyone trying to self-destruct.
We are inside the enemy base.
And the enemy is the Galatea Empire’s Intelligence Services.
Or possibly members of the Knights of Lumen with deep ties with the Galatea Empire’s Intelligence Services.
Intelligence Services like these especially hate having information taken from them.
I would not doubt that if needed, they would unhesitatingly blow everything up including themselves to erase all evidence.
The Knights of Lumen are the elite division of the Church of Divine Light.
As expected from any religious group, there would be fanatics who would easily throw their lives away for a cause.
“AAAHHHHH!!!”
“DIE!!!”
And four of the men began throwing Spells furiously towards me.
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A Non-Combat Magecraft Artifact Researcher ー actually was an extraordinary S-Rank Mage～ Though he worked overtime without compensation and contributed greatly, he was labeled as incompetent and was fired
Written by: Ezo Gingitsune
https://twitter.com/ezogingitune
Illustrations by Tomozero
Translated by: ChonkyTL
Japanese Title:
非戦闘職の魔道具研究員、実は規格外のSランク魔導師～勤務時間外に無給で成果を上げてきたのに無能と言われて首になりました
作者: えぞぎんぎつね
イラスト: トモゼロ
Original Source Link:
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6749gs/74/
Book 2