#420. That’s it.
* * *
Ishim (Иши́м).
A small town with a population of less than 20,000, about 2,000 km from Moscow.
Because it was so small, the city was of no significance to either the Russians or the Commonwealth forces.
Anyway, because it was predicted that it would be occupied, Ainsha withdrew troops and materials from here, and the federal army was also included in the course, so it only occupied this place.
After that, the federal forces left with minimal forces.
As in the dozen or so cities they have occupied so far.
A situation you are already used to.
A place with nothing special.
So even at the beginning of the occupation, Ishim was peaceful, and the citizens there treated the Federation forces favorably.
but this moment.
Ishim was in confusion.
Tadadadang!
“Me and you rebels! Come out right now!”
After gunshots rang through the air.
A faint shout is heard from beyond the iron gate.
Citizens hiding in public air defense shelters trembled and prayed earnestly for this hellish night to end as soon as possible.
‘Why did this happen…’
The beginning of the problem was trivial.
Troops stationed in Ishim were cut off from supply due to a twist in the administration of Moscow.
Thanks to that, the company commander, who was short of food to eat right away, asked the leader of the revolutionary army in Ishim for requisition.
but was rejected
It was the result of adding antipathy to the coercive federal army’s methods to the practical reason that their supplies were also lacking due to forced collection.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army who asked for money if he needed materials.
A company commander who urges people to devote themselves to the Union.
The two running parallel lines continued until late at night, and the shouting and cursing grew louder and louder.
And…
Taang! Tadadang!
with gunshots.
The predestined catastrophe has arrived.
I don’t know which of the two drew the gun first.
The only thing that is clear is that the two of them were already dead, each holding their own gun, when they ran to it.
What started after that was chaos.
The Revolutionary Army, who was resentful of the arrogant Federal Army, and the Federal Army, who were dissatisfied with the uncooperative citizens.
Even after the captain died, they lost control and their hostility to each other exploded, and they collided as they were.
The result was a crushing defeat of the Revolutionary Army.
From military equipment to company-level numbers.
The Federal Army, superior in every way, annihilated the Revolutionary Army in an instant.
The runaway of the federal forces did not stop there.
Believing that all of this was a conspiracy plotted by the residents of Ishim, who were instigated by the Russian army, they began looting and sweeping the entire city.
Fortunately, some of the surviving revolutionary soldiers activated the evacuation alarm and evacuated most of the citizens to shelters.
The unfortunate thing was that many citizens were still shivering in hiding in their homes.
“Kyaaak! Please save me!”
“If you don’t want to die, come out quietly, reactionaries!”
Federal troops roaming the city plundered citizens into the square as they found them.
There are already hundreds of people gathered like that.
Citizens could not help but tremble in fear as they saw the federal troops, who had already been covered in blood from the fight with the revolutionary army and pointed their guns at them.
However, the federal forces were also trembling.
I’m just moving impulsively with PTSD from the excitement and confusion of my first murder.
Will this be okay?
Will there be any punishment?
I was anxious in my heart.
But that’s why they put more effort into arresting more citizens.
It was because they didn’t know how to prove they were right, other than passing the blame for this situation on to the citizens of Ishim.
Even to convince yourself, not others.
He is only wearing military uniform.
It was a cataclysm that happened because people who were no different from civilians with guns lost their commanders.
“Look at this. Are you a revolutionary soldier? Try to dry it somehow!”
“My brothers are all killed by them, so what can I do to stop them!”
“But you can’t just leave it like this!”
“Just wait! I requested help through the communicator, so someone will come and save me soon!”
Those who escaped to the air-raid shelters were also nervous.
Will the savior come before it’s too late?
No, because I couldn’t believe that the revolutionary government would send a relief army before that.
regardless of perpetrators and victims.
Everyone in Ishim sank into anxiety.
-Only one person.
Except for the gray-haired man who watched the chaos of the city with cold golden eyes.
“…”
Limon watched.
The corpse of the abandoned revolutionary army.
Federal troops plundering.
A family brought to the plaza.
Citizens who are anxious in the air-raid shelter.
He heard and felt all the commotion through the sword master’s super senses, but he only had one hand on his waist.
without taking a step.
From the time he heard the rescue call and came to this city beyond the space until now, he has been watching it.
until a cheerful voice was heard.
“Huh, it’s a pretty fun atmosphere.”
Limon wasn’t surprised by the words he heard behind his back, where no one had been there before.
I just asked quietly.
“What is going on here?”
“What happened? As a revolutionary who received a request for salvation, he ran hard from Moscow.”
Maybe it’s because they literally ‘run’ 2,000 kilometers.
From the white nape of her neck with disheveled hair clinging to it, to the slightly exposed skin through the disheveled collar.
A white-haired girl whose whole body was wet with sweat.
Catherine put her hands in her pockets.
Then he took out a small piece of chocolate, swallowed it, and tilted his head slightly.
“Brother, why are you just watching? If I had to stop it, I could have stopped it earlier.”
For a moment, I glanced in the opposite direction.
Yekathrice lowered her gaze.
And the sword at his waist.
To be precise, he saw Limon’s hand on the handle and clapped his hands.
“Aha, you’re going to watch it on purpose, and at the moment of crisis, say ‘Tada’ and show up to save it.”
“…”
“As expected, my brother knows something. Well, if a hero appears easily at any time, there is no sense of urgency, right? It needs some directing.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Ahaha, don’t be so mad at the joke. I know why my brother can’t come forward.”
Hearing Limon’s callous words, Catherine giggled.
And he said it meaningfully.
“In short, isn’t this also a thing within your brother’s line?”
“…”
“Anyway, it’s cool. A man is running to a cliff and he just watches because he hasn’t fallen yet.”
“There is no guarantee that there will always be a cliff at the end.”
“Oh yeah. You can suddenly spread your wings and fly away. Or drown and become a fish.”
It sounds like you heard a funny joke.
After laughing out loud.
Yekathrice walked lightly.
So, he pressed his face, which smelled of faint sweat, close to Limon and curled his eyes.
“Here, brother. Do you sincerely believe that? Will they stop running wild on their own and the revolutionary government will punish them properly?”
Limon did not answer.
I just stayed silent.
Realizing something with just that, Catherine nodded in interest.
“Huh… that’s it.”
“…What is that?”
“No, I thought oppa would be really hard too.”
Are you kidding me?
Are you admiring it?
A girl who smiles with an unknown face and speaks cheerfully.
“Isn’t it interesting that you have the power to crush a country with just one swing of your sword, but that’s why you can’t recklessly pull out your sword?”
On the subject of beating the Liberation Brigade.
Just because the regime protects them, they don’t even deal with it and just hand over the list to themselves.
Just because the opponent is a regular soldier, it’s time to giggle at Limon, who just watches and doesn’t pull out his sword.
Yekathrice turned around.
“okay. Then my brother just watches.”
“…what are you going to do?”
“What?”
On the way to the plaza lightly as if taking a walk.
Yekathrice said playfully, turning her head slightly and looking back at Limon.
“Isn’t that what a good younger brother is who helps your older brother when he is in trouble?”
* * *
“All stop.”
“who are you!”
“hi? My name is Elshar. As you can see, I came from the party.”
“You all came out of the party?”
The soldiers of the Commonwealth Army were taken aback when they saw the sudden appearance of Yekathrice.
I couldn’t believe that the girl who appeared in the middle of the night like this was a party member.
But it was hard to dismiss those words as lies.
her uniform and insignia.
A party membership card spread out in one hand.
Above all, his calm attitude alone in this rugged place.
Because this girl was proving that she wasn’t just an ordinary country girl.
“What you are doing now is a war crime in violation of military law? So stop right now and surrender.”
“That war crime! We stuck with the dictator forever, and it was only while subduing these reactionaries that we killed our company commander!”
“Evidence?”
“what?”
“Is there any evidence that you are a reactionary molecule?”
“If you look for it from now on…!”
“You mean you were looting and threatening citizens without evidence after all?”
That’s what you call a violation of the military law.
Seeing Catherine speak with a mischievous smile, the soldiers hardened their faces.
It was because they vaguely knew that what they were doing would not be tolerated by the revolutionary government.
That’s why I cut off all contact with the government and tried to secure ‘evidence’ first.
However, since people had already come out of the party, there were only two options left for them.
Either surrender and go through a military tribunal…
“I can’t surrender just yet.”
“Are you going to defy the party’s orders?”
“It’s not that I’m refusing an order. I mean, just wait until they find the evidence.”
“That’s the investigator’s job.”
“I cannot leave it to others. We will prove our innocence to ourselves!”
“Huh huh?”
that he was not wrong.
Eyes burning with justice and conviction.
That’s why, while hiding a more terrifying madness.
Looking at the soldier shouting resolutely, Yekathrice tilted her head slightly.
“What if I won’t accept it?”
clap.
“You will have to accept it.”
Seeing the soldiers pointing their guns at her, Yekathrice smiled.
As if I knew that.
So it seems to be more enjoyable.
Beautiful like a snowy mountain.
A sadistic smile like that of a rabbit who saw the turtle running away.
“I’m glad I was honestly worried.”
“…!”
“―What if you surrender meekly?”
The soldiers widened their eyes.
The moment you want to take a step forward.
It was because the girl who had been surrounded until just a moment ago suddenly appeared right in front of a soldier.
The moment the soldier, surprised by the unexpected situation, reflexively pulled the trigger.
Taang! Tadadadang!
“Aaaagh!”
A scream echoes through the air.
The night sky was stained with blood.
Just like that, a girl wielded a dagger as if dancing among the bullets.
The soldiers who a while ago had terrorized the city with guns and violence are now running away in fear and despair.
As citizens tremble in fear cheer in hope and low spirits of revenge.
The white-haired man who had been silently watching the scene raised his head.
And it just glows quietly.
He muttered quietly as he looked up at the moon that illuminated the blood-stained city without any interference or hindrance.
“It’s going to be a long night.”
