The rolling of a wheel on the rough dirt.

The creaking of the wood from the movement.

The feeling of pain and, to a small extent, agony reverberating and washing over my body.

That is what I initially felt and heard when I woke up from my... sleep...? As I tried to sit up, I felt the pain that was afflicting me amplify greatly, to which I responded by giving up. I was lying on what felt like floorboards that were lazily nailed down, with my head resting on what felt like a heavy sack of flour or something like that.

I was definitely not on the ground either, as I felt the sudden jump or bump moving my body slightly. Which did not bode well for me, since as I mentioned earlier, the pain from... the pain from... wait, where the hell am I? If I remember correctly, I'm... I'm not at home, I'm in another world, Conrad..., Kazen..., wait, the General!

I shot up suddenly from my realization, only to feel the backlash of doing so almost instantaneously. My chest and head, in particular, felt like absolute garbage, almost as if I got hit by a jackhammer or... wait... if I remember correctly, the last thing that happened is that I fought the General. And then... then... I lost, I can recall myself getting pummeled by him before it all went dark.

I can assume that I was knocked out from the blows I was receiving, which would also explain why my body feels way worse than before, but more so my head and chest. My nose surprisingly was in one piece and did not feel broken, looks like my attempts at protecting my head did something.

I guess that makes the second time I have been knocked out, the first time being when I got tackled by a big dude who looked like a D1 American football player when I got possession of the ball in a game. The worst part is that the dude did not get a red and only got a yellow instead by the ref. I still hold a grudge against that referee to this day.

I brought my hands up to inspect them; they were bound by some sort of rusty metal handcuff of sorts, but I was able to pull them apart and break them due to their crude nature. Surprisingly, they also did not feel broken, though they definitely felt heavier and also hurt to move around. Bruises were obviously apparent on my arms in multiple areas, mostly thanks to the sun being especially bright for some reason. I'll consider that lucky, as I doubt I would have anything to help fix a broken limb with.

My legs were feeling especially stiff; I was able to bend them still, but the pain from doing so stiffened them even more. The more I came to my senses, the more I felt pains and aches in parts of my body: my throat, neck, calves, and back. I wanted to lay back down and sleep more, but with what I last remember, I'm not sure it's safe for me to do so.

Checking my menu showed a similar but expected bleak current status. From the looks of it, my health was down to one-fourth. Surprisingly, Nickoli and Conrad seemed to have near-full or full-health bars. Though Faith had even lower HP than I had, and along with that, she had some weird status effect next to her bars.

They definitely were not in the close area as I seemed to be isolated in what seemed to be like a crude cage of sorts. There were metal bars of sorts that seemed worn and heavily used, which was keeping me trapped. While I could probably melt the metal using ignite, considering how I seem to be in a wagon of sorts being escorted by armed guards, probably means if I try anything, I'll be swiftly punished.

I couldn't make out anything in my surroundings that was familiar, other than it being apparent we were in a forested area as part of a larger convoy. I had enough space to probably stand and lay down flat, though the uneven wood that makes up the top and bottom will make it hard to do so. Though I doubt I can file a complaint to get it fixed.

Well, no point trying to rush things, as doing that last time ended uh, pretty badly. First is probably getting something into my body so that I don't starve. One thing I learned is that while you may interpret stomach pains as just a consequence of exercising or playing, I remember Coach saying how that might also be your stomach wanting food.

So, while yes, the pains I could be feeling right now might just be from me being pummeled, it could also be due to my body starving, and I'm not sure if it's even the same day when everything went down. I opened up my inventory to see if I had the foresight to put any food into it, and to my surprise I did.

Some of the Tac fruit from before the wave was still there, though they did seem not as fresh, it was still something. That, alongside one of the water flasks I decided to take for myself, if I remember correctly, the one I stored should be filled with water still. Which I confirmed for myself as I pulled it out from my storage.

As I began to eat, I could immediately notice how whenever chewing and swallowing, my throat was aching pretty badly, so I should definitely avoid talking unless needed. Even through the aching, I continued to finish whatever Tac fruit I had as well as drinking around half of the water in the flask.

I stored what remained after I finished eating and began to search through my help menu; maybe there is a secret way to remedy body pains, who knows? I know I did read through most of the help menu before, but I will admit I skimmed through some parts, which I guess is why I learned I could use Nickoli's and Faith's power-up method.

Speaking of their methods, I should probably check them out, preferably now when I seem to be imprisoned and not mid-battle. I guess the first one would be Skill Rank, which is Faith's. It's pretty self-explanatory; I just need to find the menu for it...

Available Skill Rank Points: 40

Okay, so I have 40 Skill Rank Points. I remember that in order to level up a skill, I need to invest 1 point. I think the max is 10 since I dumped all that I could into Wire Bind. X means 10, so I guess level ten is the maximum level skills can reach. I could potentially max out 4 skills, though I doubt I even have 4 skills.

In the Skill Rank menu, there was a list of all my skills: Crystal Shot, Splitting Shot, Wire Bind X, and Teleport Gun? When did I get that? Oh, I remember. I got it from absorbing sand from the hourglass. Though it is a different color compared to the other skills, so I can assume it's blocked out or something else of that nature. Maybe because it's not unlocked? I can investigate more later.

All of the unlocked skills, besides Wire Bind X, were normal, as they seemed to be a bolder color compared to the other two. I can assume it's probably due to it being maxed out. I guess the only thing I can do now is max out my other two skills, though Crystal Shot seemed to be the only one that seemed to do something, with Splitting Shot seeming rather useless in my opinion.

After I finished investing the points necessary to max them out, I had only 10 Skill Rank Points remaining. With that, all of my skills' names got bolder, confirming that it indicated it was being maxed. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I should probably try to get another form unlocked as I'm trapped here. I changed my weapon form to the Splitter Worm Core Tesla Gun. It had SP up, so that should help me use skills without needing to rest. Though I have not come across that issue yet, it does not hurt to prepare.

The Tesla gun was rather large, as it looked like a big tin can with some rods at the end, which I can assume is what shoots out the Tesla beams, or whatever. I'm not even sure if Tesla guns are an actual thing back on Earth. Though it's not like I can check if they are anyway. I attached it to my back from my side so it wouldn't disrupt me as I work through my menu.

Alright, next would be Modifications, which is one of the methods I had hidden. Well, not hidden, but more of put in-between giant walls of text with no big indicator of it being a method. If I remember correctly, it lets me upgrade aspects, classes, or categories of weapon forms using M-Points.

Looking around for a few moments, I found the Modifications menu. It was rather small compared to the Skill Rank menu. The menu only listed the categories of weapons, from pistols to rifles and shotguns, with the exception of one at the bottom being listed as "Universal." I clicked on Pistols. The Ore Viper Core Revolver was one of my most used weapons, so I decided to check out what Pistol upgrades there were.

[Pistol]

{LV 1} Agility Increase
{LV 1} Weapon Melee Damage Increase
{LV 1} Quickdraw Speed Increase

I see, so agility is pretty self-explanatory. Weapon melee damage is for when I want or need to pistol-whip somebody, and quickdraw speed is for when I need to go from unready to ready to fire. I think upgrading them all a fair bit would be fine. How many M-Points do I have anyways?

Available M-Points: 263,420

Checking the bottom of the menu answered my question. It looks like I still have a ton of M-Points. I should probably check out the other categories before I begin investing points into pistols, as I can probably guess that my revolver will eventually drop off in damage compared to other weapons soon.

[Shotgun]
{LV 1} Pellet Spread Increase
{LV 1} Shell Pellet Amount Increase

{LV 1} Pellet Damage Dispersion Reduction

{LV 1} Pellet Size Increase

So mostly pellet and shell upgrades, to be expected from shotguns I suppose. Though I am curious what Universal means, so I might as well check it out as well.

[Universal]

{LV 30} Damage Increase

{LV 1} Spread Reduction
{LV 30} Fire Rate Increase
{LV 30} Recoil Decrease
{LV 1} Melee Damage Increase

{LV 1} Projectile Size Increase
{LV 1} Bullet Speed Increase

Wait, why are some of them leveled up to level 30 specifically too? Hm… Actually, I think I faintly remember rushing to the menu and upgrading something about fire rate and damage during the wave. I guess I sort of just forgot about it afterward, but at least I have some of these upgraded.

I honestly might just upgrade everything in the universal category, and then any M-Points left over can be used for upgrading my pistol. While, yes, it may have dropoff, I'd rather be prepared for now than later. Especially considering how I'm trapped in a crude cage on a wagon in a convoy heading towards who knows where.

[Universal]

{LV 30} Damage Increase

{LV 30} Spread Reduction
{LV 30} Fire Rate Increase
{LV 30} Recoil Decrease
{LV 30} Melee Damage Increase

{LV 30} Projectile Size Increase
{LV 30} Bullet Speed Increase

Available M-Points: 115,840

Good, I have a sizeable amount of M-Points left, time to upgrade the pistol category with what's left.

[Pistol]

{LV 30} Agility Increase
{LV 30} Weapon Melee Damage Increase
{LV 30} Quickdraw Speed Increase

Available M-Points: 27,292

I'll save up the few points I have left since I doubt it's enough to get anything worthwhile. Actually, I remember it being said I can give monster materials for more M-Points. Let me see where I can do that...

It took me a bit of looking, but I eventually found the deposit option near the bottom of the menu. Clicking it opened up my inventory and asked me to deposit any monster material from there into a small deposit inventory. I dragged all the Ilumi, Konus, and Beetle remains I had an abundant amount into the deposit, and they disappeared almost instantaneously. As this happened, my M-Point increased by around five thousand, so still not enough for anything worthwhile.

Well, I have no idea where we are heading. I can only assume it's probably to bring me to someone, probably the General's superiors. What is the rank above General, anyway? Brigadier General? President? I doubt the latter, as during Earth's age in what looks like the medieval era, there were only monarchies, so it's probably the same here. Who knows, though I might get surprised by a council or parliamentary group like Rome or Greece.

All I can do now is just read through my menu for anything helpful while I get transported. Hopefully, I get fed soon as I'm out of Tac fruit to eat. Though I can guess it's probably going to be some gruel or rotten porridge. Medieval prisoners were not exactly well known to be fed five-star full-course meals.

...

Two days have passed since I woke up from being transported. The journey was rather peaceful for the most part, surprisingly. Mind the rain that decided to prevent me from sleeping one night, but I did clean my blanket with the rain, however, so one win, at least. Other than that, I'm doing rather fine. My captors have been actually properly feeding me, to an extent. Of course, it's not the most optimal, but getting leftovers of what they eat is better than getting some mud soup or something like that.

I wonder why they are doing this. I mean, if I remember correctly, the General seemed especially pissed off whenever he was busy, uh, pummeling me. Maybe this world has something like the Geneva Convention where they have to treat prisoners decently. That would be surprising, but considering how I seem to be left alone to my own devices other than an occasional check-up, it makes it seem like it.

Combing through the help menu carefully and not just skimming and forgetting is actually bringing tons of benefits. Apparently, I can compound elixirs and other sorts of things as long as I know their recipe. Though considering how I lack any health potions, I doubt I can deduce any ingredient needed other than a strong minty flavor. Well, I don't really lack any potions per se, but I can get back on that later.

Some other interesting thing I learned is how level caps exist, but luckily, thanks to my Hero status, I am allowed to bypass it. The normal way requires you to go to a dragon hourglass once you reach level 50, which, after doing a ritual that it labels to do, you can go past it. Another thing I read up on is how I have authority over Nickoli's and Faith's weapons, and I can dismiss them of their duties under certain circumstances. Though there is no need or reason to do so now, even if I dislike a certain someone, as I don't want someone else to grab the weapon now, do I?

Something I have found which has become a great boon for me is drop items. Drop items are just random stuff found from killing monsters that they can just sort of… drop. I needed to find a certain section in my menu to "claim" my items, but I have got a large amount of… stuff. Most of it is random items like ores, skins, even some rocks of sorts, and some potions as well.

Though mixed between, I seemed to have gotten an armor of sorts. I have not pulled it out of my inventory yet, but it seems to be some kind of leather armor of sorts, and its stats don't seem great. While I would wish to wear it, I don't know if these guys will interpret it as me preparing to escape, and try to take it from me.

I also got some swords, a small shield, and some ores of sorts. I have not pulled any out of my inventory as of yet, due to the aforementioned possibility of them just yanking them out of my hands. Plus the fact I can't use swords, since you know, can't use any other weapon than one assigned to me. I might be able to use a shield to block since it's not technically attacking… I'd rather not take my chances getting zapped for now, though.

My health has regenerated near to max basically, of course, my aching is still there but most of it has either subsided or I have gotten used to it. My headache still remains, but it kind of just became part of the usual at this point, that alongside getting two meals a day made of leftovers from what the soldiers eat that are taking me, are my only sense of normalcy in this messed up and hell of a world.

We have stopped by a couple of villages and towns, though I have been covered by a blanket or drape of sorts that hides me from the outside. I guess they don't want them getting any crazy reactions from me having a Hero Weapon. Again I still don't understand why I can't relinquish and go back, but at this point, it looks like I have to deal with these waves until I can see the finish line.

I have been hearing talk, however, among the soldierly, or mercenaries. I'm not even sure what they are, but apparently, we are heading towards the capital of the nation we are in. I am codenamed as highly valuable cargo, which I can assume is why we take little breaks when traveling, almost always moving and only stopping at towns to resupply and eat. I, of course, don't join them, but I have been taking decent care of the crude bowl and eating utensils they left me.

I clean them periodically with a little water. I don't want some otherworld virus, as I was able to refill my flask with rainwater. Hopefully, this world doesn't have the bubonic plague or some other horrible thing like that, but I'm pretty sure my ancestors have gotten immunity to it, so should I then… right? I don't have the Spanish Flu either, but I'm not taking any chances anyway.

Speaking of disease, turns out absorbing rusty nails brings its perks as I was able to unlock two new weapon forms doing so. At this point, I feel like a hobo just scavenging whatever I can for weapon forms, but hey, I at least get a bang for my buck, literally! To an extent, I suppose.

Nail Gun LV 1
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +3 Attack, Skill: Immobilizing Nails
Equip Effect: Nail

[O]

Rust Pistol LV 1
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +3 Defense
Equip Effect: Poison Bullet (Weak)

[O]

More skills, what fun! I only had 10 Skill Rank Points left, which I conveniently had after maxing out Teleport Gun. So I was able to max out Immobilizing Nails as well. I may be out of Skill Rank Points, but I have 5 fully maxed-out skills, which should be really helpful if the opportunity to escape comes.

I can assume Immobilizing Nails probably binds enemies using… nails? Somewhat self-explanatory, not the same story with Teleport Gun. Does it teleport me to a random location? A small distance? Somewhere I have been before? I'd rather not take any risks and use skills until I am out in the open, out of my cage.

Though on the note of getting out, the further we travel, the more developed everything seems to be. We have been using a cobbled road for the past day, which I can assume means we are closing in on the capital of the nation we are in. By how much, who knows? The more time I get to prepare for the worse, the better.

Speaking of getting prepared, I have upgraded some of my weapon forms using the EXP I have gained from the wave, which should hopefully be good in case I have to face the General again.

Ore Viper Core Revolver LV 37
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +7 Attack
Special Equip Effect: Paralyzing Poison Bullet (Weak)

[Armor Piercing Rounds (Weak), Defense Piercing Rounds (Weak)]

Dire Wolf Sub Machine Gun LV 36
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +5 Agility
Special Equip Effect: Night Vision (Weak)

[Paralyzing Poison Bullet (Weak), Rope]

Saber-Tooth Tiger Double Barrel Shotgun LV 37
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: +5 Attack
Special Equip Effect: Hearing Improvement (Small), Sight improvement (Small)

[Paralyzing Poison Bullet (Weak), Armor Piercing Rounds (Weak)]

I'm still not exactly sure how much each level increases the weapon damage and whatnot, but as long as the numbers go up, I could care less. I just need strength and power since time and time again I keep getting caught off guard, and maybe, just maybe with all these power boosts and increases I have gotten recently, I will be able to stand a chance.

My theory was to be tested soon, however, as after a few hours of me playing a football match in my head, I was taken by surprise as someone rattled the cage. I turned to see one of the guards who was walking beside me, staring at me. I have not talked in days, maybe to yawn, but I hardly can call that talking.

"Great, at least we did not come here carrying a dead body," I heard him mumble as he turned to walk away.

"Wait," I called out in a raspy but deep voice.

I could almost feel my vocal cords straining as they had not had to do anything for the past few days.

He turned around at my call and responded promptly, "What do you want?"

"Where… where are we?" I asked him.

"We are closing in on Flusio; we are approaching the gates of the entrance. Usually, it would take a while to go through the line, but since we have high-priority cargo, they should let us through. And if they don't, then we still get in, skipping the line anyway," He shrugged.

"I see…" I coughed.

"Just keep quiet and don't cause a ruckus, Coalnobai already told us not to cover you when you arrive for some reason," He barked, "Same old Coalnobai I suppose, wanting to make a show out of everything."

He then walked away without saying anything else. I guess my window to escape will come soon… hopefully. Though considering how the movement of the convoy slowed down, the front probably reached the gate already, and it was only a matter of time before we entered.

...

Contrary to the belief that the guardsman or soldier had, it did in fact take a while. It was nearing nighttime as the wagon I was in got pulled towards the gate. The fact that the guards' men had was one of panic and near hysteria as they almost instinctively drew their weapons at me. The men guarding me were quick to calm them down in a rather uh, aggressive way.

Either way, I got through the gates, this time, however, part of a smaller convoy as apparently they did not want the whole Cohort traveling through the town. Speaking of the town, it looked very very uh, how do I say it, out of a book. Stone walls, towers, and wooden houses with a mix of stone. Very medieval-esque.

There were surprisingly large amounts of Demi-Beasts this late at night; their eyes showed fear. I was starting to get used to being looked on like a wild animal anyway. I kind of had fun too; if any onlookers got close, I would just flash my weapon, which would make them scurry away… I feel like I become more sadistic by the day… I need help.

I couldn't make out anything notable, mostly due to there being a blackout from the looks of it. The few lights that were on were us walking through the middle of town and small torches by the gate guards checking cargo. Not sure why exactly they are doing it, maybe instead of German air raids they have dragon air raids or something, hell if I know.

We continued through the town, I began to take stock and absorb any more items I had not absorbed into my gem. I doubt I will have the opportunity to do so again. Even doing a final checkup, I could not find any damn lock to try to bust open. Not that I would, but just knowing where it is would give me the chance to escape suddenly if needed.

I could see overhead another gate get passed; guess we are nearing our destination. There was lots of commotion I could hear from a distance away, some armored guards are visibly seen lining the gate as I was able to get a look at them. They were so still I almost confused them as decorations, though they could also be asleep, who knows.

Everything came to a stop as the two guards that were walking alongside me turned towards me and began to grab the cage. I expected them to carry me in the cage, however, I was suddenly surprised as the top opened. Looks like that's why I couldn't find the lock, because it was a top lock, not a side lock.

They were eerily quiet for some reason; usually, they are energetic and rowdy, but I guess considering we are at a capital it would make sense for them to seem more professional. They motioned for me to get out, one held the cage open, while the other had a spear pointed at me. I can assume what they will do if I try to do anything. I switched my weapon to the Ore Viper Core Revolver and attached it to my side.

It took a bit to get up and prepare as my body was still reeling from the effects of multiple fights with no proper diet or rest. At this point, it's just the norm that I feel like absolute garbage while being forced to fight one way or another. I just want to get some proper sleep, not in a cage being transported to a castle hopefully.

As I jumped over the sides, I was surrounded by a few more of the General's men. They grabbed my wrists and then put on a less used and newer binding. It was considerably tougher since I couldn't just rip it apart like I did the rusty old one I initially worked up with. Before I could continue to ponder at my handcuffs, I got slightly pushed forward, guess it's time to move.

I couldn't make out a ton since I was surrounded by all sides by people in suits of armor but I could see we were in a garden of sorts. With the open carriage I was in barely fitting through the gate as I glanced back. I couldn't see much as more soldiers came, donning different armor, and surrounded the men that were already surrounding me.

The cobbled floor I was walking on soon turned into marble, with me entering the grand building, breathtaking could be a word I could use, but it was majestic. With a glamorous interior, large paintings, and grand stairs. I was being led through what felt like a museum brought to life, very polished and nice-looking. Though considering the circumstances, I doubt I will get a chance to look around.

If only the people reflected the same demeanor, as more soldiers, different from the ones under the General, followed behind the ones surrounding me. I could make out what looked like Demi-Beast maids of sorts; some looked a little cute, almost out of an anime. Too bad they were just glaring at me in fear. Through the cracks of the movement between my escort, I could make out the General walking ahead. If I could, I would take the shot… Maybe… Too risky… for now.

I felt like a war criminal, to be honest, on his way to the courtroom to receive his sentence. Sort of like El Chapo got caught if anything, with multiple armed guards surrounding him and taking him away. Too bad the excuse of being forcibly transported here to play Hero doesn't work in this world's court of law.

It also sort of reminds me of whenever I got called up to the Dean's office for having an argument with an enemy player during a football game. It's not my fault I was able to fake him out so easily; I was just defending myself as he got up in my face. Luckily Coach was able to clear it up, and I avoided any type of detention.

As we began to ascend some spiral stairs, I could see the outside through small windows. I couldn't get a good look as I was pretty much being shoved up, but I can't deny the beauty of a medieval-like world… even if it's out to kill me most of the time. I'll be sure to remember to take these stairs if I ever get an opportunity to escape.

As I reached the top, the space expanded to a giant throne room of sorts. With large amounts of guards lining the pillars supporting the structure. Along with that, 3 figures, one next to a vehicle, could be seen kneeling ahead of me in front of the throne.

There goes the chance of a direct democracy of sorts existing in this world. I can take a guess as to who they are. They also were surrounded by soldiers of sorts, though one, in particular, had double, I wonder who that is…

As I got closer, my suspicions were confirmed as I saw Conrad, Nickoli, and a rather beat-up Faith kneeling next to me. Before I could get shoved down to kneel, I just did it preemptively to avoid the damage taken. I doubt they care about police brutality, well guard… soldier brutality? I don't know.

One person I also recognized was the General, still clad in their armor, with his trident, from when we fought. Surprisingly the two holes left by my crystal shot and shotgun were still visible. He walked up and prostrated before getting up and addressing the supposed king probably. I mean he had a bigger chair, so I can assume.

"Your excellency, I first wish to thank you for your presence, in this hour and time, especially now in these trying times," the General kneeled.

The King looked rather nervous; he was eyeing… me? No, my weapon. He looked pretty shaken visibly, he was a Demi-Beast surprisingly too and looked like a cat of sorts, which makes me wonder why the General is acting so formal if he hates Demi-Beasts. Either way, this just seems weird, the Queen sitting next to him is more formally dressed; he, on the other hand, seems like he just put on whatever fancy thing he could at the moment.

"You seem rather shaken, I assure you, while we were unsuccessful in applying a control seal on the… special artifact wielders, they are completely restrained," the General reassured the King.

I saw the queen, also a cat-like Demi-Beast, lean over and whisper something in his ears. He perked up a little and stood up, then began speaking.

"Legate Coalnobai-"

"General Coalnobai, Sir Xiloas, please," General Coalnobai interrupted.

There was a brief silence but the King continued, "I thank you as well for bringing these special… artifacts as you said to me. I hope that your travels were not filled with hardships to be here. Now then, would you mind disclosing what you know of these… weapons."

"Currently, firstly unlike the fabled Mythic Weapons, these… artifacts are for some reason attached to their user's person. While we did consider killing them initially, after seeing their capabilities and the potential consequences of doing so, I decided otherwise," Coalnobai explained.

The King silently nodded, still eyeing me and the others.

"Like the Mythic Weapons, there seem to be three, with the one with the… crystal focuser being the leader. However, the design of the weapon he used was rather odd, possibly of a new prototype. Along with that, the use of sacred abilities was possible, as I was the target of multiple myself," Coalnobai said droopily.

Xiloas stood still until his wife slightly nudged him and he spoke up, "Rest assured, I will personally see to you being paid your dues for facing toe to toe and winning against such foes."

"Actually Sir Xiloas, it's rather surprising, but these 3 with the special artifacts seem to be amateurs, almost as if they got thrown into combat against their will. The only one who stood a proper fight was the girl, who was being rather ravenous and needing speed reduction

spells to put down."

I slowly glanced around me to see if I could spot any possible escape routes. The first option was a giant window that was behind the King which peered into the outside. But that would require Faith being cooperative and not wanting to just go crazy and try to kill them. Next would be returning down the stairs but with a number of guards. I don't think I will have enough wire to bind them all, even with an upgraded skill.

Suddenly, however, before I could get a chance to finish formulating my plan, the tankette on Nickoli's side turned into a normal WW1 tank and began to rapidly fire in all directions. As this happened, guards closed in on Nickoli, but Conrad burst out of his bindings and moved to grab Nickoli and get on top of the tank.

Faith also took the opportunity and switched her weapon form to a normal plane, but since it was attached to her back, it looked like a giant kite of sorts. She began to spin, knocking back all the people restraining her.

"Wire Bind X!"

As I yelled out, wires shot out from the ground and pinned down the people who were grabbing onto me. My hands were still bound but I began to run towards Nickoli and Conrad. Conrad had already broken his bindings somehow through brute strength, also releasing Nickoli from his. Faith, unlike me, was still spinning, trying to get as many guards as she could.

Well, she would get more for sure, as the guards that were lining the wall rushed forward. The King and the Queen were long gone, but the General, however, was displeased as I saw him draw his trident, which was attached to his back. With my bindings, I grabbed my pistol and turned it on my bindings. It was an odd grip, but after three shots between the interlocking part, I was set free.

The General lunged forward first at the Tank; however, Nickoli and Conrad had already gotten inside, and I could only hear a loud clunk as he bounced off, mostly intact. He then began to focus, just like when we fought! I aimed my weapon quickly forward and fired twice, and just as he seemed to begin to open his mouth, he was struck and reeled back.

I eventually got next to the Tank and yelled inside, "We need to leave, right now!"

"On it, get Faith, she is our ticket out of here!" Conrad yelled back.

As we finished, the cannons on the tank roared as they fired in more rapid succession. I was careful not to get in their way. Faith seemed to have gotten dizzy as the speed of spinning around with a giant plane on her back slowed down. I shot a few of the guards attempting to close the gap and grabbed her by her wrists.

She immediately came to me as I did so and tried to berate me. I only pointed at the window, and almost instantly she forgot what she was saying and only grinned.

"Get ready, we need to leave, right now!" I yelled as I ran back to where Conrad and Nickoli were.

As I was doing so, I could see more guards pouring in from entrances to the throne room. It was only a matter of time before we would be overwhelmed. Even now Nickoli was struggling to shoot the soldiers trying to stab him through small holes in his tank. Some even used magic, which, from the looks of it, had little effect on him, luckily.

I took out a few of the nearby soldiers attacking Nickoli and Conrad by switching to my tesla gun that did chain damage, then yelled into the opening, "Follow me!"

I began to run to where Faith was, or where I thought she was, at least. The roaring of her plane engine is not hard to hide, which is apparent to both me and the General, as I saw him begin to run toward the sound of it revving as well.

"Crystal Shot X!"

My voice was still rather raspy from lack of speaking, but in the heat of the moment, I couldn't care less for short-term pains. Surprisingly, when I shot a burst of five large crystals, they were sent toward him, which he was only able to dodge 2 as the rest hit the General. From the looks of it, I did more than surface damage to his armor for once.

He again retreated once more behind a group of soldiers; hopefully, he gave up. As I came closer, I saw that Faith had a new larger plane. Broader and larger wings and a better center thing… part.., cockpit! With multiple seats as well! There was only 1 extra seat with a machine gun attached! And this time, I was adamant about sitting in it, unlike last time…

As I hopped inside, I grabbed the machine gun, though I quickly retracted my hands as I remembered my rules against using other weapons. Conrad and Nickoli pulled up, the spells and attacks being hurled at them being ineffective, and they just rolled up. Conrad quickly hopped out and attached what looked like to be a hook of sorts on the back of Faith's plane from Nickoli's Tank.

Faith's plane in return began to move. Conrad was running up after attaching the hook. Actually now thinking about it, it would be way better if Conrad got in the back, so then he could use the machine gun!

"Hey, Conrad-"

"No time! Go Faith!" He interrupted as he lay in the middle part between the top and bottom wing.

Faith did begin to go as the engine roared louder, and doing so increased the speed of said plane. This is some Mission Impossible movie-type shit, to be honest, straight out of a movie. Nickoli's tank was surprisingly not slowing us down as we sped up. Faith shot her forward machine gun forward and shot the glass, before ramming it and almost immediately nosediving off the bat.

I grabbed on extra tight to my seat; Conrad looked like he was grabbing on for dear life. Nickoli's Tank began to swing wildly under us, gravity not applying to us, I suppose. Faith was able to haphazardly level us out, but right as I was about to congratulate her on doing so, at the edge of my vision, I saw a light below us.

I turned down to see it get brighter, but it was not a projectile; it was a person, and they were flying somehow. I turned back to Faith and yelled,

"We have incoming!"

End of Chapter 20

[Other World Index]
[Immobilizing Nails]
Imbolizing Nails is a skill unlocked by absorbing nails and unlocking the Nail gun weapon form. The skill shoots multiple nails, in which the more that hit their target, the slower it makes them move. The more nails that hit the longer the skill lasts and the stronger the effect, up until complete immobilization for a period of time.

Authors Notes:
Hello everyone! I again wish to apologize for uploading late, I was spending time with friends and family, especially in this holiday season approaching. That and also some of the specifications of the M-Point system needing to be fixed to make sense, which took a bit. I hopefully will have the chapter out in its proper time. Be sure to come back next time to see Alex's and Co's grand escape from the capital! Be sure to have a great Halloween as well!

On a completely random note would you guys like to see some omakes? Maybe to pull away from the constant "war is hell." what do you all want? Be sure to leave a review with what you think!