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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Werner Grimm’s basic strategy was this.
To kill the maximum number of enemies with minimal disturbance.
He was already in a situation where he could prevent the upcoming terror attack at the banquet hall, but that could come with unexpected risks.
It hadn’t been fully revealed how many more people were left and who the advance team infiltrating the banquet hall was.
In the midst of that, spreading the news about the terror attack?
If the terrorists judged that things had gone wrong and suddenly attempted a suicide bombing, even Werner wouldn’t find it easy to stop them.
Therefore, Werner decided to use a strategy of defeating the enemy separately.
There were two things that could be inferred from the conversation between Dane and his group.
That the Eastern Army Commander Rendal would be assassinated by direct sniping rather than vaguely killed with a bomb or something.
And that there was a separate demolition team that would detonate pre-installed bombs for a quick escape after the assassination.
The demolition team was the ones that needed to be eliminated first.
Perhaps the demolition team would be in the employee lounge the guys mentioned.
If not? Just like with Dane, he would leave behind the one who looked the weakest and kill the rest.
Thinking that way, he felt relieved.
He didn’t enjoy slaughter, even in words.
At one point, he even felt nauseous just at the sight of blood.
Because Werner was indifferent to his own death but more sensitive than anyone else to the deaths of others.
However, when the enemy threatens his loved ones, his hesitation disappears.
He had soaked them all.
The former commander of the Graveyard Fortress, the inspector who came down from the Supreme Command, the regimental commander of the neighboring unit who went wild without knowing his place, the classmate from the military academy who plotted against him out of jealousy even during the war.
He had no guilt to spare for the terrorists he didn’t even know.
For Werner, he had literally shown mercy to Dane.
Creak.
As he opened the door to the employee lounge like that, he saw the staff tied up in the corner and the terrorists occupying the entire room.
“Ah, shit, you startled me. I almost shot, Daphrin. Come in with less presence.”
It was the terrorist who had received weapons from the armory a little while ago.
From the looks of it, he had come to the lounge as a soldier, threatened the staff, and tied them up.
It seemed that he had taken their clothes and distributed them to his colleagues.
Although they were all wearing neat waiter and waitress uniforms, the rough atmosphere exuding from them was unmanageable.
Just when they thought someone had finally come to rescue them, the tied-up staff showed desperate expressions at the fact that they were from the same group.
Some waitresses even shed tears.
However, Werner calmly took in the number and location of the hostages and any peculiarities with his eyes.
In this situation, the safety of the hostages was naturally a factor to consider.
“Is the demolition team ready?”
Werner opened his mouth.
“It’s all set, we’ve installed them on the 2nd and 3rd floors too. Just press this button right before we escape and boom!”
The guy laughed while waving the detonator in his hand.
Assault rifles and other heavy weapons have considerable volume and weight.
Perhaps the only weapons the ones planted in the banquet hall currently had were pistols at best.
The strategy was for the ones waiting here in advance to go out and cause a commotion, while other comrades disguised as staff in the banquet hall would shoot the target in the head at close range.
It was a deception that could be done because the opponent was human.
As if such a bluff would work on the Titans.
“Were you the entire demolition team?”
“Of course. Why would we all die by blowing up the entire building?”
“Then that’s enough.”
“What’s enough?”
The terrorist’s question soon became his last words.
He stabbed his throat with a knife he drew in an instant.
Blood dripped, and Werner retrieved the detonator that had been grasped in that hand and put it in his pocket.
“What, what the!?!”
The ones who were startled by the sight of their comrade being slaughtered in an instant jumped up from their seats.
Creak.
The door to the employee lounge closed with a creepy sound.
Thump thump, argh, snap.
After a few screams, only heavy silence lingered in the employee lounge.
There were no gunshots.
===
Since it was the command building, basic living facilities were prepared.
Werner washed his body covered in the smell of blood and put on the banquet attire he had brought in advance.
The problematic employee lounge had all the corpses stuffed into the warehouse, and a sign was put up saying it was being cleaned to temporarily block access by others as well.
Of course, he didn’t rescue the hostages.
Werner’s goal was to kill the terrorists, not to rescue the hostages.
He had roughly thrown them a dagger and left, so they would be able to escape on their own within a few hours.
It was unfortunate for the hostages, but there was no choice.
It was ridiculous to explain the situation one by one in the midst of time that was being fought for every minute and second.
After changing clothes like that and finally putting on the mask, no one could recognize him as the man who had just engaged in a slaughter.
Of course, as soon as he entered the ballroom, Werner was soon surrounded by numerous crowds.
Basically, he had the physique.
Even though people from all over the country had gathered, the main axis of the banquet was the officers of the Eastern Military District.
And the officer corps of the Eastern Military District was known for having more oldies than other military districts.
In the first place, there were only two frontline fortresses in contact with the front lines against the Titans, and there was only one division or regiment each that supported those fortresses.
It was a significantly small number compared to the average of six to eight frontline fortresses in other military districts.
As a result, most of the units in the Eastern Military District were bound to stay in rear support units.
Naturally, the average skill level of the officers was bound to be lower than other military districts as well.
Including the innate physique.
“…Oh, do you have a partner by any chance?”
“Looking at your mask, you’re a captain, how about after the ball tonight?”
“Oh my gosh… where did that lieutenant colonel go?! Excuse me, do you have a partner? You look pretty good too, but the man I had a date with stood me up….”
Naturally, the women’s gazes were bound to be focused on Werner.
Because even though he was wearing a mask, the aura exuding from him couldn’t be hidden.
Rather, wearing a mask made him look even more attractive.
Because humans originally have a strong tendency to rely on visual information.
However, Werner completely blocked the approach of such women.
There was only one person he was looking at.
Lea Gilliard, who was surrounded by the opposite sex just like himself.
The red cat mask and the red dress that matched so well with it.
It was the outfit she had worn at the last disbandment ceremony as well.
And… it was also the dress she had worn at her engagement ceremony with Luthers.
He knew how much Lea cherished that dress.
Lea had worn that dress whenever she felt bad or good.
It wasn’t difficult to infer that she would have worn that dress on a day like today.
“Excuse me… by any chance…”
“I’m sorry. I have a partner I’ve made an appointment with today.”
Werner closed his mouth bitterly and turned away the female soldiers who were showing signs of liking him.
That’s when it happened.
Lea Gilliard approached him.
“…!”
Werner’s body stiffened.
The scent of perfume wafted strongly from Lea.
It was the very perfume she had sprayed on the last day at the Graveyard.
Just smelling the scent made him feel dizzy.
“Excuse me….”
Werner and Lea’s eyes met.
The amber eyes beyond the mask sparkled as if being sucked in.
He stared at Lea as if possessed, then hurriedly turned his head and disappeared.
He heard her calling out from behind, but the more he did, the more he had to get away.
Because he felt like he might unconsciously hug her without realizing it.
The frequency of dreaming about them had significantly decreased after leaving the Graveyard, but his heart had also weakened that much.
At this distance where he could almost grasp her, he might not have been able to control his own desires.
Werner quickly distanced himself and settled in a corner of the banquet hall.
He moistened his parched throat with wine he received from a passing waiter.
Then, the ones who had been sticking to him no longer approached Werner.
The number of female soldiers rejected in front of his eyes filled all ten fingers.
What woman would have the courage to challenge a man who seemed bothered by it all and was sipping wine in the corner?
Werner thought it was rather fortunate.
Checking the clock, there were only 10 minutes left until the time of the uprising they had mentioned.
It was also convenient to check the surroundings since it was a corner.
And finally, a single gunshot shook the banquet hall that had been at ease.
Bang!!
A waiter transporting a cart pulled out a pistol hidden inside and fired into the air.
“Get down if you don’t want to die!!”
A brief moment of silence.
While the attendees were trying to grasp the situation in the instantly changed atmosphere, another terrorist blocked the entrance and raised his gun.
“I said get down!!”
“Ahhhh!!”
“It’s a gun, a gun!! Get down!!”
At the point when the second gunshot was heard, it became clear that it wasn’t some special event.
Screams, shouts, crying.
The banquet hall turned into chaos in an instant.
People ducked down in unison and crawled under tables and chairs.
Who on earth would bring personal weapons to a banquet hall?
Even the heroes of reversal who had led the war against the Titans to victory were helpless in front of a gun barrel.
“We are the Revolutionary Front!! We have come to settle the sins of you Imperial faction!”
“The Revolutionary Front? How are you bastards still…!!”
At the sound of Heinrich’s voice recalling them, the waiter’s gun pointed in that direction.
“There you were, Rendal!!”
Bang!!
A single gunshot.
But it wasn’t from the terrorist.
Just before the guy could pull the trigger, Werner moved.
The .38 caliber revolver he had stored inside his jacket.
Soon, the two standing terrorists fell at the same time.
The gap between the first and second bullets was only 0.8 seconds.
The overlapping gunshots sounded like a single shot, precise and rapid.
People couldn’t even think of screaming.
Because everything unfolding before their eyes was a scene they would only see in movies.
In the midst of that, Werner’s gaze quickly scanned the banquet hall.
Among the suspicious individuals he had seen while drinking wine, he picked out those who showed unnatural movements.
“You, bastard!!”
One of them, who had been hiding under a table with other waiters, spat out a curse and jumped out.
Of course, he had already been spotted by Werner first.
Bang!
Another one fell to the floor with a thud.
Three bullets left.
Two terrorists remaining in the banquet hall.
Originally, the rest of the forces waiting in the employee lounge should have rushed in upon hearing the gunshots.
They would have taken off the masks of the personnel, identified the targets including Heinrich Rendal, and executed them mercilessly.
But the employee lounge had already been neatly cleaned up by Werner.
When their comrades didn’t join them even after the continuous gunshots, the terrorists finally began to struggle.
“Hee, hick!!”
“You, who the fuck are you! Who are you to know us all!!”
The bartender who had been making cocktails in the corner stood up, pulling the person hiding next to him, and pointed his gun.
From waiters to security guards to bartenders, there was no place in the banquet hall that the Revolutionary Front’s hand hadn’t reached.
“Please spare me!”
“You heard? If you don’t want to kill innocent people-.”
Bang!
The bullet fired before the threat was even finished penetrated the bartender’s skull.
Now there was only one left.
The moment Werner was examining the waiters scattered around.
A woman in a black dress suddenly stood up and turned her gun towards him.
It was a compact revolver the size of a woman’s palm.
‘She was hiding it inside her dress?’
It was a misjudgment to assume that she wouldn’t be able to hide a weapon because it was an exposed outfit.
Did she hide it in her chest or inner thighs?
In this situation, he was about to give up one arm and return fire.
“No!”
A familiar.
A desperate cry he had heard somewhere before, and Werner’s body tilted.
Followed by a gunshot.
Lea in a red dress fell on top of Werner, and red blood gushed out before his eyes.
Time seemed to stop, passing slowly.
Amber eyes.
Werner blankly watched the light fade from those eyes.
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oh dear
My man is gonna have war(regression) flashbacks