When we went past the enemy barricade, we arrived at a corridor that
was dyed crimson.
"Ugh… This is…"
"They were cut by an extremely sharp weapon."
There were several human remains that were cut up to horrifying
degrees scattered all throughout the white corridor that was now dyed
red with blood. I almost ended up hurling in disgust, but the power
armor's anti-nausea function prevented that from happening. Even so, I
still felt sick to my stomach.
I went through the corridor while making sure not to step on the
remains and raced on.
"So that's the result of being cut up by a noble's sword huh... That's
something I'd like to avoid at all costs."
"Please do not worry, Master. As long as I am present, nothing of the
sort will happen to you."
May declared in a reliable tone. But I also don't want to see May end up
being cut to pieces like that... I'll try my best and finish that bastard
off as fast as I can.
"By the way Master, there were traces of laser shots hitting several
spots on the walls of the corridor we just passed earlier at strange
trajectories. It is highly likely that our enemy did indeed undergo
cybernetic enhancements and implants to increase reaction speed."
"How troublesome... Well, I doubt he'll be able to deflect all twentyfour laser shots from the splitter guns though."
If it was just single shots from a laser rifle, then it would be for the guy
to anticipate the trajectory by watching the gun barrel's movements
and such, but I bet he won't be able to deal with simultaneous splitter
laser gunshots which scattered the beam via a polarization lens. Even if
he was dual wielding, he won't be able to block all the shots from two
splitter laser guns firing at the same time. And since the shots would
cover a wide area, completely avoiding them was out of the question as
well.
Yeah, we're good. I'm gonna show that sword-wielding Neanderthal the
power of scientific civilization. Muahahaha.
"Sounds of fighting are echoing up ahead, Master."
"Alright, I'm gonna… No, it's better for you to take point, May. You can
run way faster than me, right?"
"That's... Understood."
May nodded and rushed through the corridor at an astonishing speed
incomparable to before. Is it just me, or is the floor actually getting
dented from her steps? Just how fast can she run? I did make May's
specs top-of-the-line, but seeing her in action like this is something else,
man. And she's also installed with comprehensive combat programs on
top of her crazy specs. Isn't she way more powerful than me even with
my power armor on?
I ran after her as fast as I could, and before long, my power armor's
audio sensors picked up laser launcher firing sounds. It looks like May
has already engaged the enemy.
I then saw a burnt trail that was most likely caused by laser launcher
fire coming out of the open doors just ahead of me. Judging from the
earlier sounds, she must have fired several shots already, but she still
hasn't managed to finish him off?
I refrained from charging inside directly and opted to confirm the
situation inside the room first. I saw Earl Daleinwald, who had his
sword raised at the ready, surrounded by his subordinates. Chris was
also with them. Earl Daleinwald's body was riddled with many seriouslooking cuts. He was in a terrible state. But fortunately, there doesn't
seem to be anyone inside the room who has been cut down and killed
yet.
A little further from the earl and his retinue, May was in a fierce battle
with someone.
"You damned sex doll!"
"That statement is technically correct. However, I would still
recommend you retract it due to it having discriminatory connotations
and is unbecoming of someone of your station."
May faced a furious-looking guy sporting two swords with calm
composure as she repeatedly fired her laser launcher. She fired highpowered laser shots in diffusion mode at the man. They should have
already pierced straight through him… but they didn't. Instead, the man
used his swords to deflect the shots heading for his vitals and dodged
the rest. Eh…?
The man fighting May sported a long sword on his right hand and a
short sword on his left. He used them with uncanny precision in order
to weather through May's laser launcher fire. Oh c'mon! Is he really a
Je*i knight or something? Seriously?
[May, give him another barrage. We'll get him with a crossfire!]
[Acknowledged.]
After hearing May's reply, I jumped to a suitable spot inside the hall
and– What the–!?
"Nuooo!?"
"Kuh!"
For some reason, the man seemed to have predicted my move and
instantly closed the distance to the spot I jumped toward. I instinctively
tried to smash him with the laser gun held on the power armor's left
hand, but the damn guy deflected the blow with his sword and used the
momentum to take some distance. And to add insult to injury, he even
cut the laser gun on the power armor's right hand clean in two in the
middle of jumping away.
"You!? How dare you cut up my precious splitter guns, you bastard!"
"Nuooooh!?"
I threw the remains of the severed laser gun at him and aimed the
remaining one, as well as the shoulder-equipped fixed laser turrets on
the RIKISHI MK. III at the dual-wielding bastard. I immediately
unleashed a barrage.
"Youuuu! How dare you aim such barbaric weaponry at someone of
noble standing such as myself!"
"Like I care, dammit! Die! I'll burn you to a crisp!"
If I shoot scatter shots from too long a distance, the accuracy and
effectiveness will be decreased, so I mostly kept to medium range as I
pelted the guy with merciless laser fire. Tsk. This bastard actually had a
portable energy shield emitter on him, huh? He managed to block my
laser barrage in the end.
Doesn't matter. Even if he has an energy shield, it would eventually go
down from the concentrated fire. If one shot doesn't do it, then I'll hit
him with two, three, four, ten, twenty… as many laser shots as I have to.
"What the heck are you gawking about for, you fools!? Fire your
weapons as well!"
The maids and butler were shaken from their shocked stupor by Earl
Daleinwald's shout and started firing their laser rifles and guns as well.
May switched her laser launcher to convergence mode and started
hammering the dual-wielding bastard's shield with shots as well. Just
one well-placed shot should be able to saturate that bastard's shield.
That's good. Give it to em!
"Damn it to hell!"
The dual-wielding bastard suddenly set off an explosion. No, it's a
smokescreen huh? The guy's form vanished within the white smoke as
it quickly dispersed all around the hall. I see. In addition to blocking our
vision, the smoke also serves to dampen our laser shots. That's a nice
move, son.
But it's useless.
"Soooi!"
"Guwaaaaah!?"
I threw the remaining splitter gun at the dual-wielding bastard, who
was in the middle of sprinting toward Earl Daleinwald, and got a direct
hit.
Sure, anti-laser weapon smokescreens are quite effective at their role in
normal cases, but they are next to useless when facing someone
equipped with a power armor. That's because power armors sport
several other high-precision sensors apart from optical ones, such as
infrared and the like. A smokescreen of this degree poses no trouble at
all.
I deployed my energy shield and rapidly closed the distance with the
dual-wielding bastard.
"You son of–!"
The guy noticed my approach and tried to cut me down with his
swords, but they were blocked by the power armor's energy shield.
Those swords may have impressive cutting power, but they can't
penetrate an energy-based shield, just as I expected.
Without the tremendous heat produced by laser shots or the powerful
kinetic impacts produced by explosions or high-caliber ballistic shotcannon rounds, there's no breaking through a military-grade energy
shield.
So even with those exceedingly sharp swords and his cybernetic
implants providing a boost in speed and power, there's no chance in
hell he'd be able to cut through my energy shield. Uh, but there was still
a chance he actually could. Fortunately, my hunch proved true. Phew.
Energy shield tech was originally meant to block space debris, so I was
pretty confident.
"Goshaaaaaaa!?"
I placed the full weight of my power armor on a full-body tackle and
blew the enemy away as if he was hit by a speeding truck. The right
hand of the dual-wielding bastard bent in an awkward direction, and
the long sword it held was flicked away.
"May, secure him!"
"Yes."
The laser launcher-wielding May rushed in like a gale and smashed the
dual-wielding bastard to the floor. She then crushed his legs with
merciless efficiency.
Those are the most painful sounding cracks I've heard to date. Someone
in the room wolf-whistled in astonishment. I couldn't place who it was
though. Still though, ouch.
The smoke gradually cleared, and I finally got a clear view of the dualwielding bastard, who now sprawled pathetically on the floor as the
laser launcher-toting May gallantly stepped on his back. Hey, Earl
Daienwald. Wouldn't it be better if you replaced the maid and butlersans under your employ with a high-spec combat maidroid like May?
Well, maybe there's a reason why he didn't employ maidroids in the
first place. Not my problem anyway.
"So, is it okay for me to kill this guy now?"
I asked Earl Daleinwald, who was looking in my direction, with a stern
expression on my face. This guy was most likely Balthazar anyway.
C'mon, man. Give me the green light already.