Warrior
The best time for them to strike was when the crowd was gathered. Most of the guards would be gathered around Miss Vera during that time, while others would be dressed in casual clothing and hiding in the crowd. Once that period passed, nobody would defend the buildings outside of the imperial palace. The marksman on the palace walls had his gun aimed at the crowd within the walls as he believed his only chance of being able to land their shot on Miss Vera was at close range. He believed firing from a long distance would only result in an inaccurate shot. In saying that, what if the gun was special?
Though Troy’s navy was very strict, that couldn’t completely prevent people from selling their guns and ammunition then reporting their equipment as missing. After all, the place was far from where Troy could directly impose his rule. In other words, there was a degree of autonomous rights there.
Troy’s hunters possessed rifles that could fire from long distances with precision. When that was combined with the flames emitted from the bullets, the bullets were virtually undetectable with one’s eyes during the day. Further, no smoke was emitted when firing. Though they were some distance away from the balcony, where Miss Vera gave her speech, they could still land a fatal shot from there.
It took a lot of effort to sneak the gun in. The gun was jammed into the horse’s body, which was then sent in as a sick horse. Nobody wanted to approach a dead horse that had flies swarming it. He was able to sneak the weapon and bullets in as a result. He didn’t manage to bring much in, but one shot was enough to kill.
The guards down below never expected there to be someone who could shoot from that distance, nor did anyone pay attention to the location the sharpshooter was at. Theoretically, he’d easily be able to kill Vera from that distance. He also already prepared an escape route to flee. He planned to leave the gun at the scene, framing Troy as the one who sent him.
“Perfect. It’s perfect if everything goes according to plan,” thought the sharpshooter.
Suddenly, a hand encroached upon him from behind and snapped his neck. The young man in white wrestled the corpse aside. He saw the reflection from the gun. The marksman had taken precaution measures, but what the young man in white was searching for was traces of the gun. The guards of Galaluocia were uninformed of the firing distance the gun offered. The young man in white, on the other hand, was educated. He never expected the marksman would use the accurate rifle his own nation produced, nonetheless.
“I will need to report this,” thought the young man in white. The young man in white hid the corpse as a measure to prevent instigating panic. Next, he looked toward the high spot next to his current location. His analysis went as so: “Some places aren’t so easy to spot. Regardless, I need to go and make sure it’s safe. There’s definitely not just one assassin.”
Suddenly, an explosion went off in the crowd. The crowd immediately cried out one after another. White smoke suddenly whisked through the crowd. The terrified crowd screamed and fled for their lives. Unfortunately, practically everyone was gathered on the lawn below the balcony. Additionally, the smokescreen was dense, thereby robbing them of their sense of direction. Subsequently, they didn’t know where to flee to. The crowd pushed up together, and some even tried to rush into the imperial palace.
“Miss Vera! Please immediately leave!”
It was within their predictions, but it happened far too suddenly; hence, everybody was in a state of panic, especially the four sisters.
Liu Yue pushed the window behind her open and ran back in. The further away from the window she was, the safer she felt. She curled up on the ground and trembled. Nona looked to Vera, who was next to her, with a startled look. Nona was on the brink of crying. She grabbed Vera’s sleeve and wailed as she shouted, “What do we do? What do we do, Sister?! What do we do?!”
“Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Go inside first. Let’s go inside first. Daisy, sheath your sword for now. Don’t accidentally hurt our allies.”
Miss Vera, who was mentally prepared, was the first one to recollect herself. She pulled the four sisters behind her, and then pushed them into the building. Then, she turned around and returned to the balcony. She shouted down to the people below, “Everyone, do not panic! Do not panic! It’s okay. It’s okay! Don’t trip! Please stay calm!! The exits are on the left and right! The exits are on the left and right! Don’t panic! Don’t panic!! If you can’t leave via the left or right, enter the palace! Enter the palace! Make sure to watch your feet!”
Miss Vera didn’t return to the building. She told the four sisters not to poke their heads out. The youngster rushed over. He pulled Miss Vera behind him and then bent over. Gunshots were suddenly fired from downstairs. The bullets shattered the glass behind them and hit the marble rails. The four sisters hiding among the shattered glass wailed. It was absolute chaos outside. The barrage of bullets and ricocheting bullets was nothing short of a rainfall of bullets.
Liu Yue covered her ears as trembled on the ground. Daisy grabbed her sword handle with her shaky hand but never drew it. The long sword was meaningless to her. She couldn’t attack with a sword in the field of smoke, and she most certainly couldn’t deflect bullets with it. Vera pulled over a table and flipped it over, tipping everything over. Vera shouted for her sisters to take cover behind the table.
The gunshots didn’t stop. Going by that fact, it was safe to assume the shooters didn’t flee after one shot. To the contrary, they fired then moved positions and then continued firing. The youngster covered Miss Vera the entire time. He yelled, “Miss Vera, it’s too dangerous here! You’re out in the open here! You should hurry back! Hurry back inside the building!!”
“I can’t leave my people behind. Don’t let the military in yet; else, countless people could end up stomped to death. I’m not afraid of them. I’m not afraid of these bullets. If God truly exists, they wouldn’t let their follower, who’s been working so hard for the people, die an unjust death!!”
Miss Vera didn’t cower. Her lips were pale, but she shouted down below. She directed the crowd to crouch down and to run off to the sides to escape from the two exits. Bullets continued to hit the marble rails. The youngster tightly clung to Miss Vera to protect her. He positioned his body in front of her to protect her.
Vera didn’t tell the guards to charge into the field of smoke for everybody’s sake. She didn’t want the gun warfare to result in genocide. The youngster watched the bullets below zoom through the air. He gritted his teeth so tightly he could crush his own teeth. He knew staying there was pointless. The best way to protect Miss Vera was to jump down and murder everybody, but he couldn’t do that. He had to stay by her side to guard her. If he went down there, Miss Vera would be highly susceptible to getting hit.
Suddenly, the young man in the white robe came over from a side of the balcony. He ran and jumped down into the open space. No human would ever dare to jump from that height. More tragic cries and screams accompanied his heavy landing. The field of smoke was unable to obstruct his vision. Wherever he went, grunts and thuds followed. The sound of gunshots gradually ceased, not because the shooters had run out of ammunition but solely because they were dead.
Miss Vera raised her head subtly. All that was left down below was groans, whimpers and cries. The young man in white picked up the device that was used to emit the smoke and put it in his shirt. He bolted to a pond and dumped it in there. The field of smoke gradually dissipated. Down below were the people who were trampled on as well as everybody who was quivering in fear by the corners of the walls. Of course, corpses were featured in the scene.
“Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared, everyone. There’s no need to be afraid. I’m right beside you. I’ll always be here. I haven’t backed down. Why are you afraid? Countless people want to kill me just as countless people want to destroy our imperial palace. However, we are fearless! This smoke cannot obstruct our vision!! Everyone, don’t be afraid!! Stand up, everyone! Let me finish my speech. Please, understand that, as long as I am here, I will never back down!!”
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