By Zephyria A man who blocked the lead vehicle of the northern battalion squeezed his hand through the half-open car window. He roughly pushed the car window to fully open it, then bent over and rested his arm on the window frame and said to the driver.
“We received a report that a suspect in a heinous crime that occurred in the Barmot center stole a black military vehicle and fled. We ask for your cooperation with the inspection.”
The man, who notified them in a constant tone as if he were playing a recording, gestured to one of the men next to him to go to the other side without any detailed explanation. Then, another man who went around the front bumper to the passenger seat roughly pushed the half-open car window to the side in the same way.
They were wearing the uniforms of the Imperial royal guard, with gold thread embroidered on ivory-colored fabric. The simplified pattern on the chest was not of a high rank, but the splendid decorations and the heavy epaulettes on the shoulders stood out. The extremely commanding tone and somewhat coercive behavior subtly revealed the arrogance of their power.
The knight who unlocked the vehicle by putting his arm in the passenger seat opened the door wide and said in a lowered voice.
“I’ll check the inside.”
The driver looked around in a flustered manner. His face, looking back at his colleague, was at a loss.
The member in the passenger seat stopped the knight who was sticking his head in and responded firmly, showing an unpleasant expression.
“What are you doing right now? Are you saying we’re riding with that suspect?”
“…There’s a chance that he might have sneaked in, so I mean to check just in case. It’ll only take a moment.”
“No, why would a fleeing suspect sneak into a Council transport battalion? Doesn’t that make no sense logically?”
“……”
“We have a duty to quickly transport emergency casualties to Zodiac. A forced inspection without an official request for cooperation is a clear abuse of power and obstruction of official duties. If a person suspected of being a suspect is found, we will handle it, so please clear the way.”
The member pointed to the six or seven fully armed knights blocking the road with a nod.
They were lined up on either side of the barricade, and unlike the two knights standing close, they were wearing full armor. Moreover, the act of looking down as if watching without getting off the horse was not only against the etiquette of inter-agency cooperation but also gave a subtly oppressive feeling.
When the member pointed out these points and expressed his refusal, the two knights who were looking inside from both sides made eye contact across the vehicle.
They chuckled as if they were troubled. The knight attached to the driver’s side window tapped the vehicle with his palm.
“The suspect is so heinous and smart that he may have deliberately targeted such prejudice. There’s also a saying that the darkest place is under the lamp, isn’t there? We’re sorry to bother you, but this is something we need to handle quickly too. If you cooperate willingly, we can send you off quickly. You should know well….”
“The Council maintains a constant distance between vehicles when moving, so other vehicles cannot enter in the middle. And the last vehicle has a sol―”
Beep―
The knight, who was focusing on the ‘last vehicle,’ glanced at the signal sound. A man’s voice was heard from the public radio.
―Depart.
It was a simple sentence.
However, he could tell from the voice alone that the other person was in a bad mood.
The member in the passenger seat pressed the transmit button as if he were tattling and quickly replied.
“Battalion Commander, we received a request for a surprise inspection. They say a suspect in a heinous crime fled from the slums, and they’re saying we might be hiding him, so they’re suddenly asking for cooperation….”
Click―
Before the member could finish speaking, a door opened in one of the vehicles behind. The member who got out of the passenger seat of the third vehicle from the front went to the back seat of the car and carefully pulled the door handle.
The two knights and members who were engaged in a war of nerves all turned their heads towards that side. Shiny combat boots appeared under the opened door. A pair that had been managed without a speck of dust landed on the ground in order.
Then, a man with dark green hair got up and came out of the vehicle. The Imperial royal guard who were waiting stopped all actions and quietly watched him. Meterion, with a very annoyed face, strode towards the lead vehicle.
His eyes were cold, and his expression was more annoyed than hostile. He stopped in front of the knight attached to the passenger seat.
Then, without saying anything, he stared straight at the knight. The knight looked nervous, but he also did not avoid his gaze.
Meterion, who was facing him, narrowed his brow and sneered.
“Are the Imperial royal guard lacking in manners these days?”
“…Excuse me?”
The adjutant who followed him quickly searched his inner pocket and handed a cigarette to the Battalion Commander. As soon as his superior accepted it, the adjutant immediately lit the lighter and brought the flame close to the end of the cigarette, shielding the flame with his hand.
Meterion, who nodded and lit the end, took a long drag of the smoke and then blew it directly into the knight’s face.
The knight frowned and hurriedly turned his head. Meterion asked him as he took a step back.
“Who do you think you’re looking at straight in the face?”
^
Drooping branches lashed fiercely against the car window. The vehicle shook violently due to the uneven terrain.
Occasionally, when the steering wheel was turned sharply, the wheels lifted slightly as if they were about to tip over. The two transport vehicles, which had been traversing the rough forest path relying on a single fog light, realized that they could no longer hear the sounds of the pursuers only after moving southeast for about 10 minutes.
Squeak―
The driver who stepped on the brakes stuck her head out of the car window and looked around. In the quiet and eerie fog, the sounds of animals crying were occasionally heard. She leaned back against the seat and took off her glasses, then took a deep breath.
“Hoo….”
Her navy blue combat uniform was soaked with sweat and very damp. Her hair, which had been fixed in a bun, had already fallen out long ago. Wiping the sweat that had formed on the bridge of her nose with her sleeve, the driver parked the vehicle as if hiding it behind a large tree.
“It seems like there’s a foreign object caught in the wheel, so I’ll do some maintenance for a moment. 30 seconds will be enough.”
Hugo, who was watching the movement of the dense water droplets, nodded without answering while staring at the rearview mirror. Then, the two people in the front seat got out of the car at the same time, and Hugo looked at Leonardo’s face, whom he was hugging.
The medicine prepared by the medical officer was quite effective, as he was quietly drooping in his arms. When he handed over the medicine, he felt guilty for not telling him in advance about the sleep-inducing ingredients, but looking at the current situation, he thought it was a good thing he put him to sleep.
‘The distance has widened to some extent, and if we get out to the south and completely shake them off….’
Hugo was constantly revising his plan in his head, and inadvertently pressed his lips to Leonardo’s forehead. After carefully smoothing over the hair he had messed up with his hands, he carefully supported his neck and head and laid him down on his lap again.
Just then, the driver who shook the spray sprayed something on the front glass and car windows. Then, the glass, which had turned a dark color like her glasses, blocked the light and gaze coming in from the outside.
After removing the foreign object from the wheel and replacing the front bumper, the two people boarded the vehicle again.
“I changed the exterior a bit and changed the license plate just in case. The car behind us will follow the markings we left, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Hugo, who nodded at the driver’s words, replied.
“If you go straight for more than 2km in the 1 o’clock direction, there is a place where the density of moisture decreases. I heard there is a wide forest path, so let’s go that way. Seeing them rushing at us so openly, it would be better to go to a place without obstacles and shake them off with the speed difference.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The driver, who firmly closed the car door, opened the car window and signaled to her colleague to take the lead. This was because there had to be a lead vehicle to act as a shield in order to escape the pursuer’s sight in the event of an emergency like before.
The communication with those who volunteered to be the decoy just a few minutes ago was cut off because the distance had widened. They were excellent people, so they would be able to get through it even if a crisis struck, but Hugo was worried about their whereabouts, which could not be detected in the fog.
However, they needed to escape the firing range as quickly as possible so that the others could shake off the pursuit and catch up. Therefore, the path to the southeast had to be clear. Thanks to the reorganization, the two escort vehicles, now stable, diligently sped through the dark forest path.
After about 2 kilometers of straight driving, a road wide enough for three vehicles to run side by side appeared.
Sparse clumps of grass were flattened, indicating that support troops had indeed passed through. The red soil was exposed, and the wheel tracks of wagons and escort vehicles followed the path.
Here, even if pursuers followed the wheel tracks, they wouldn’t be able to accurately deduce the direction of escape. The lead vehicle carved a small, recognizable mark on a tree for their comrades following behind.
Afterward, they checked the front, confirmed that no one was there, signaled to the rear, and began to accelerate.
The driver of Hugo’s vehicle also gradually increased speed, following the lead car. As the road widened, the distance to the undergrowth increased.
Water droplets floating in the air evaporated in the strong sunlight, slowly clearing the view. Two vehicles cruised smoothly, maintaining speed as they rounded a curve.
At that moment,
Screech, screech—
“……”
The wheels of the lead car stopped abruptly, as if they had been buried in the dirt. The following car, which had deliberately increased the distance between them, also braked in time.
The lead car remained motionless and silent, but everyone knew what was happening without needing to be told.
“My lord…”
In the distance, a makeshift checkpoint came into view. Nine armed knights were waiting for them.