novelraw Chapter 123 : Gunshots
Chapter 123 : Gunshots
Chapter 123: Gunshots
The night was deep and heavy.
Levi leaned silently against his seat, feeling the vibration of the engine behind him as he rested with his eyes closed. In reality, the Puppet Bird he controlled was circling above the convoy. Under 【Soul Sight】, everything in the surroundings was clearly visible.
If anyone were observing or lying in ambush nearby, Levi would detect it immediately.
Thus, time passed bit by bit.
Then, Levi opened his eyes.
At that very moment, the convoy came to a halt.
“What’s going on?”
Lieutenant Colonel Smith frowned and asked. Soon, a soldier approached.
“Report, there are militia ahead!”
“Militia?”
Hearing this, Smith’s expression darkened. It was deep into the night—normally, people here should already be asleep. That was precisely why Governor Geller had chosen nighttime for the operation. Yet these people were blocking the road instead of sleeping?
“…………………”
Smith and Levi exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
The information had been leaked!
But the problem was—what now?
Smith hesitated. Governor Geller’s secret order had instructed him to maintain discipline and avoid conflict with locals. But the current situation…
“Lieutenant Colonel Smith.”
At that moment, Levi spoke.
“If you don’t mind, let me handle this.”
“Mr. Levi?”
Smith was momentarily stunned. Although he felt uneasy, considering that the Governor had authorized Levi to act as an advisor—and as a soldier, his own options were limited—he thought for a moment and nodded.
“I’ll leave it to you, Mr. Levi.”
“Alright.”
Levi adjusted his Top Hat and stepped out of the command vehicle. Walking past the soldiers, he headed forward. He could feel the tense atmosphere among them—dozens of fully armed militia stood ahead, and the consequences were obvious.
A battle could erupt at any moment.
Levi, leaning on his cane, walked like a gentleman past the troops and arrived before the leading Hound-class mech, looking ahead.
At the village entrance not far away, more than twenty militia stood in formation, holding rifles and firearms, their faces tense as they stared at him.
At the front stood an elderly man with graying hair and beard, also holding a rifle, shouting loudly.
“Hold your ground! Don’t fire first! But if they want a war, then let it start here!”
“Oh my……………”
Levi narrowed his eyes and let out a soft snort before stepping forward with a smile.
Perhaps because Levi wasn’t in military uniform and appeared harmless, the militia did not open fire. They simply gripped their weapons and watched him.
Until Levi walked right up to them.
“Good evening, gentlemen.”
Levi gave a slight bow, greeting them, then looked up at the night sky.
“The weather is quite nice tonight.”
“…………………”
“It’s so late—why aren’t you all at home sleeping? What are you doing here?”
Levi asked with a smile.
His question rendered them speechless.
At this point, both sides knew exactly what the other intended. It was an unspoken understanding.
But Levi deliberately pretended ignorance.
“Leave this place! This is our home!”
A militiaman shouted.
“But this is imperial territory.”
Levi remained indifferent.
“We are carrying out a mission. According to imperial law, imperial troops have priority passage while executing duties on imperial land. I advise you to step aside immediately.”
“We will never move!”
Despite their fear of the steel mechs, the militia shouted back.
“That’s right! We won’t move!”
“If you’ve got the guts, then shoot!”
“Don’t think we don’t know what you’re trying to do!”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this, Levi turned to the last speaker.
“What do you mean? You know what we’re doing?”
“Of course!”
The young militiaman answered boldly.
“We all know—you’re going to Concord to destroy the armory—”
“Shut up!”
The old leader’s face changed drastically, but it was too late.
“In that case, please come with us.”
“…Huh?”
The militia froze.
“We are carrying out a secret mission, yet the information has been leaked. That is a clear violation of the law. Therefore, please put down your weapons, surrender, and cooperate with our investigation.”
“…Hahahahaha!”
The militia burst into laughter.
“Did you hear this idiot?”
“Surrender? What a joke!”
“Where did this rich brat come from—”
But Levi didn’t bother listening further.
“Bang bang bang bang bang———!”
Gunshots rang out.
No one knew what happened. In the next instant, accompanied by cries of pain, the weapons in the hands of over twenty militia were shot away, clattering onto the ground.
Only then did Levi lower the smoking Persuader and gesture behind him.
“Go. Arrest them!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers, already dissatisfied with the rebels, rushed forward eagerly. The militia, now disarmed, had no chance against trained troops and Hound-class mechs. They could only raise their hands and surrender.
“It can be done like this?”
Smith was stunned.
He had expected conflict to be inevitable. If the militia refused to disperse, suppression would follow.
But Levi had found another angle—law.
Military intelligence leakage.
Instead of debating right or wrong, Levi simply asked—did you break the law?
And since they had, arresting them was justified.
Even if everyone understood the truth, as long as it wasn’t explicitly stated, Levi could play ignorant.
Just like the current situation—both sides opposed each other, but no formal declaration of war existed.
Once that line was crossed… everything would change.
Looking at Levi, Smith couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“As expected of you, Mr. Levi. I didn’t think of solving it this way.”
“You’re soldiers. I’m a detective. We see things differently.”
Levi chuckled.
“I simply chose a method that avoids unnecessary conflict.”
“…By the way, how did you do that just now?”
Smith still couldn’t understand.
“Oh, nothing special.”
Levi smiled.
“My shooting is decent. To prevent them from panicking, I shot the guns out of their hands. The rest got scared and dropped theirs.”
“…Your marksmanship is incredible.”
Even Smith was impressed. In such darkness, disarming multiple targets so precisely was extraordinary.
“Alright, let’s move on.”
Levi leaned back and closed his eyes again.
“But if my guess is correct… the Concord armory should already be empty.”
And indeed, when they arrived, the armory was completely empty.
After confirming this, Smith ordered a retreat.
Meanwhile, in the forest near Concord, hundreds of militia lay in ambush.
“Reinforcements are here. Captain Pike, we’re ready!”
A militia leader whispered.
Captain Pike, cigarette clenched between his teeth, stared silently at the retreating imperial forces.
The militia had gathered to ambush them after the armory attack.
But everything had gone wrong.
The militia at Lexington hadn’t been killed—they had been arrested.
Now, attacking would mean rescuing prisoners, giving the Empire justification for a crackdown.
But letting them go was also dangerous—the prisoners might reveal everything.
After a long silence, Pike asked:
“How many do we have?”
“Four thousand. Fully armed.”
“…Good.”
Four thousand versus seven hundred.
Advantage—ours.
As long as they wiped them out completely, there would be no evidence.
Pike made his decision.
“Prepare to attack. We must annihilate them!”
At that same moment, Levi opened his eyes.
“Lieutenant Colonel Smith.”
“Yes, Mr. Levi?”
“Order everyone to halt and stay alert.”
Levi’s gaze sharpened.
“We’re about to be attacked.”