Chapter 16: A Grand Escape in the Sunlight
Shiltina closely followed behind Rast as he exited through the side door.
The side door of the main residence was connected to a modest stable.
The fierce battle from the early hours and the current chaos outside had not affected the horses inside—
The horses were still leisurely chewing on their fodder within the stable.
“You’re trying to gather all the Iron Cross infectees in Deep Blue Port together, and then destroy them all at once?” Shiltina asked.
Rast nodded. “That’s right. Even though the Evil God can descend through Iron Crosses tainted by Its aura as mediums, there’s still a threshold in terms of quantity.”
“A few scattered Iron Crosses alone can’t bear the mighty force of Descent.”
Rast came to a halt in front of the tallest horse.
It had a mane of blazing red.
“So, if we manage to annihilate the majority of Iron Crosses in this city, we can sabotage the prerequisites for the Descent.”
It was clearly a wild steed.
The moment Rast reached out to touch it, it raised its forelegs.
But Rast seemed to have anticipated its movement—
He dodged sideways and mounted in one fluid motion.
The red horse bucked violently in rage,
Yet Rast remained completely steady in the saddle, unmoving like a mountain.
Shiltina looked at Rast, who was handling the wild horse with such ease.
“To wipe out all the Iron Crosses in the city? How exactly do you plan to do that?”
“I should have told you before—Deep Blue Port has military functions, which is why a Royal Navy unit is permanently stationed here.”
Rast gently stroked the maroon fur.
This defiant steed visibly calmed within a few breaths.
“That cargo ship that crashed into the pier earlier was actually a military transport disguised as a merchant vessel, loaded with over four thousand tons of gunpowder, shells, and nitroglycerin.”
“Right now, those volatile materials have spilled across the port due to the shipwreck, mixed together with the original munitions warehouses and steam boiler plants of Deep Blue Port.”
“As long as we plant bombs at the right spots and detonate them in the right sequence, the chain explosion of thousands of tons of explosives and steam boilers will be enough to annihilate all life within the port district.”
“The explosion’s center only covers the port district? What about the Iron Crosses in other districts?” Shiltina asked.
During the earlier clash, she had already come to understand the near-terrifying vitality of the Iron Crosses—
Even with their hearts blown out, they wouldn’t die immediately.
If they were only caught in the shockwaves of the explosion, it likely wouldn’t be enough to kill those grotesque abominations.
“That’s our next task—taunt them, lure them, gather every Iron Cross in the city into the port district, manually set timed explosives, and blast them sky-high.”
Rast gripped the reins in one hand, and with the other, he took out the lead box that sealed the Evil God’s taint.
He opened the box, revealing the bound humanoid metal sculpture within.
With a slight nudge of his right foot, the crimson horse seemed to understand his intent and walked out of the paddock—
Coming to Shiltina’s side, in front of the stable’s main doors.
“The Evil God sculpture does attract the Iron Crosses to a certain degree, but not enough to make them give up the living prey in front of them. So we need to spice things up.”
“Can I borrow your sword?”
Shiltina glanced at Rast and tossed over the flashing Morning Star.
Rast had already rolled up his sleeve.
At the same time he forcefully pushed open the stable doors, he used the slender silver sword’s blade to slice open a vein.
Blood burst into the wind and splattered onto the black iron sculpture of the bound humanoid.
Zzzzz—
The fresh blood sizzled and rose in smoke.
Faint crimson runes surfaced on the sculpture’s surface.
Almost simultaneously—
All the noise and mad laughter outside the doors fell dead silent,
So silent that even a pin drop could be heard.
In that deathly stillness—
The Iron Crosses ignored the prey they had been chasing or ravaging and turned their bodies.
They stared toward the front gate of the manor—
Or more accurately, toward Rast who sat atop the red horse.
The horse beneath Rast stepped forward slowly, walking out of the manor.
The Iron Crosses turned their heads in unison.
Just like sunflowers following the sun,
Except the sunflower faces were fragmented, pale human visages,
Mouths twisted in grotesque grins,
With blood-red flames burning in their pupils.
“Rast, they seem to think you look delicious…”
Surrounded by countless eyes that had lost all humanity—
Filled only with savagery and hunger—
Even someone as experienced as Shiltina couldn’t help but feel a chill creep up her spine.
The sensation brought her back to her childhood, when she had gotten lost in the wilderness at night.
She had seen a sea of green, glowing wolf eyes in the dark.
If the adults hadn’t come in time to drive the wolves off,
Shiltina might have already ended up in their bellies.
“Yeah, the Iron Crosses seem to regard my blood as a delicacy, though I don’t know exactly why. From my attempts, no other human blood had the same effect.”
Rast bit through a bandage and tightly wrapped his bleeding wrist.
“But now’s not the time to get into that—get on.”
“What?”
“Get on the horse—before they go completely berserk from the stimulus.”
Rast held the reins with one hand and extended the other toward Shiltina.
“I know you can run faster than even the finest racehorse, but to lure all the Iron Crosses across the five districts of Deep Blue Port, conserving our stamina is essential.”
Shiltina grabbed Rast’s hand.
His hand wasn’t particularly strong, but the joints were well-defined.
With his help, she leapt lightly and landed on the horse’s back behind Rast.
“To those Iron Cross infectees, we now look no different from criminals parading around with five-star bounties on our heads…”
“So that lightsaber move of yours, the ‘Night Blade,’ needs to stay active the whole way. Don’t hold back…”
“Any corner of this city could fire bullets at us at any moment.
In my previous loops, more than half my deaths occurred at this stage.”
“Hold on tight.”
After saying that—
And feeling her grip tighten on his shoulder—
Rast spurred the horse with a strong kick.
The crimson horse let out a high-pitched whinny.
It was clear Rast hadn’t chosen it by accident—
Even now, under the dreadful gaze of countless Iron Crosses, it showed no fear.
It reared and leapt over the low fence, galloping full-speed toward the far end of the street,
Charging straight into the noonday sun.
Behind them, the Iron Crosses, as if waking from a dream,
Trampled over each other in frenzied pursuit—
Like a black tidal wave chasing the light at sunset.