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Bermuda Chapter 227
🕑 Added 2024-08-03 02:05:57 +0000 UTCChapter 227
'BREAK'
The letters etched on the transparent membrane, blooming like snowflakes, looked as if a sharp metal object had scratched a wall. The sharp handwriting and somewhat rough-feeling word immediately made those who saw it aware of the urgent situation inside.
Because of this, Bruno, who had no time to think at length, immediately leaped from his spot and flew into the air. Then, crossing over the members' heads along the barrier line, he shouted at the top of his lungs to those in confusion:
"Attention! Within the next 3 minutes, re-check the position, fixation strength, and operational status of the barrier stones, secure a safe distance, and take defensive positions. Immediately report any non-operational equipment with light balls, and report the situation to the controller when all preparations are complete in each area!"
"Yes, understood!"
The operational area they had taken position in was about 200 meters in a straight line. Therefore, it was impossible for Bruno's voice to reach all members at once.
However, these were people who had heard the code of conduct for survivor rescue until their ears wore out throughout their journey from the northern barrier line to here. They immediately moved in an orderly manner, visually inspecting the positions of the barrier stones, then tightening the chains to ensure they wouldn't fall even in strong winds and water pressure, completing all preparations.
Nero raised his eyebrows with a fresh expression at the sight of the members moving so efficiently as if they had suddenly coordinated. Their movements had become incomparably faster than before. It seemed that when it came down to it, these guys could do it, as their momentum had changed in just a moment.
'They should have done this from the start.'
Nero, who had been standing blankly in front of the barrier watching this, suddenly realized this was no time to be doing so and quickly jumped in among the members. Then he placed his feet right at the base of the barrier stones, aligning even the finest lines, and diligently lent a hand.
At one point, remembering the iron chains he had left half-tied, he turned his head to look around, but the chains he had laid out had already been neatly arranged by someone.
"A-8, preparations complete!"
"A-9, preparations complete!"
After about two minutes had passed, the voices of controllers stationed in each section began to ring out one by one.
Their voices shouting preparation completion eventually reached the farthest point of the operational area. As the last controller reported completion and standby status, Bruno, who had received the signal from the blinking light balls in the distance, nodded briefly.
He quickly flew to the middle point of the operational area, then descended behind the armed members who were already on standby. After firmly planting both feet on the ground, he watched beyond the barrier where the water currents were violently undulating and shouted loudly:
"Everyone, prepare to fire!"
The armed members standing in a single horizontal line simultaneously raised the firearms placed at their feet. After wrapping the connected straps around their waists and completing shoulder mounting, the remaining personnel stepped back a few paces according to instructions.
What the members held in their hands were not ordinary rifles. With elongated magazines, they looked closer to machine guns, but they were meant to create small scratches rather than destroy the barrier.
The muzzle ends were narrow like needles, and the shape of the bullets was also like thin thorns. It was a weapon devised by Bruno to minimize the risk of barrier collapse while minimizing impact, yet create holes for entry and exit.
Piiiiii-
Just then, two blue birds of prey, from who knows where, fluttered about inside the barrier. They kept scratching the surface of the barrier with their claws, then self-destructed in mid-air, leaving behind an eardrum-piercing death cry.
Those urgent wing flaps instantly turned into small water droplets and scattered in all directions. At the same time, as chilling mana leaked out beyond the barrier, Bruno instinctively felt that the Commander was urging them to hurry.
"Liner."
Bruno shifted his anxious gaze and called out to Liner, who was in one corner. Liner, who had been engraving a magic circle on the barrier surface with a dagger, turned around at his voice. He had just finished drawing the last stroke and was about to put a period by stabbing the ground with the knife tip.
Receiving his superior's signal through eye contact, Liner turned back to the front and placed his palm against the barrier. At that moment, the nearby transparent membrane suddenly glowed bright yellow, and its surface rippled, causing subtle vibrations.
As if about to mix with the rough waters behind, the barrier trembled more and more finely. Then at some point, it hardened like a wall, and even the water droplets that had been violently splashing beyond it momentarily stopped upon touching the membrane.
This proved that Liner's hardening ability was not only still intact but also affecting the entire barrier.
Certain that all preparations were complete, Bruno raised his right arm without hesitation. His resolute gesture and clear voice rang out sharply among the members.
"Fire!"
Small thorns were simultaneously fired from dozens of muzzles aimed at the barrier. Bullets too thin to be identified with the naked eye pierced the transparent membrane, creating successive scratches.
At the same time, members waiting with heavy tools forcefully struck down on the upper parts of the pre-installed barrier stones. The whitish light rising from the barrier stones instantly flickered out, and cracks began to form on the barrier surface at a terrifying speed. However, thanks to Liner's efforts, it only rattled precariously without completely breaking.
"Second wave, prepare!"
At the Deputy Commander's continuous instructions, another group of armed members formed a double horizontal line. As regular footsteps stopped behind them, those aiming their muzzles at the barrier ceased fire and quickly stepped aside.
On the barrier surface they had swept across, a thick semicircular crack was drawn. The second wave personnel, wearing thick gloves on both hands, stretched their arms towards this clear guideline. Most of them were those who primarily handled wind attributes, and among them was the 8th Platoon Leader from the 1st Battalion.
Following Bruno's hand signals, the 8th Platoon Leader, who had concentrated mana in his hands, had a face full of fatigue, but his eyes were as clear as could be. With the sole thought of saving his direct superior and Leonardo Blaine, he shook off his fatigue while compressing transparent air in his crouched hands.
"Fire!"
As the Deputy Commander's order fell once again, his finely honed magic was swiftly fired forward. The attacks of about a dozen others, including him, flew simultaneously and collided with the barrier.
At that moment, with a loud boom that jolted one's senses, the lower part of the barrier exploded violently.
Kwaaang-!
The precariously shaking transparent membrane shattered instantly as if struck by a tool. Along with this, the black volcanic ash that had filled the inside mixed with the swirling water and gushed out through the single exit.
"Everyone, spread your barriers and maintain formation-!"
The force was so great that even Bruno, who had been shouting to maintain formation, staggered and was almost swept away. The bomb-like water stream that burst out in an instant tore up the ground, turning the area into chaos. Because of this, not only the barrier stones but also the members taking defensive positions staggered from the shaking ground and powerful water pressure.
Fortunately, thanks to being tightly woven with chains, the barrier stones didn't fall over, but the amount of water pouring out was enormous enough to submerge all those holding on once. Moreover, the water temperature was so cold that it felt as if nerves were being paralyzed in an instant, but the problem was that the two people they had been looking for were nowhere to be seen in the overflowing water.
"Uwaah!"
"Grab the person next to you and hold on as much as possible! If you fall, you'll be swept away!"
The shrill voices of the members didn't cease in the chaotic scene of the flood. Meanwhile, Nero broke away from the ranks and flew into the air. He searched for Leonardo with his nerves on edge in the pitch-black smoke screen where nothing could be seen a foot ahead.
'Where is the Captain?'
Just then, Meterion, who had leaped into the air to avoid the pouring water, manipulated the dust to clear away the thick volcanic ash. And at that moment, the armed members who had finished preparing to enter the interior, tightly grasping each other's hands, all looked up with pale faces.
"What is that?"
In their view was a huge tsunami approaching, large enough to cover the entire barrier. It was of such an overwhelming height that one might momentarily confuse whether this was a lake or the sea, as if seen in the middle of the vast ocean.
Liner, who had also escaped into the air with the support of his subordinate, blankly watched the approaching waves with his palm against the barrier. He instinctively sensed that if this collided with the precarious barrier, something would happen that even his ability couldn't stop.
Perhaps because of this, his head naturally dropped. Looking at the members below, he shouted with all his might.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Kwaaang-!
In the blink of an eye, the tsunami swallowed Liner's voice and completely shattered the barrier. The fragments of the barrier, broken like glass, mixed with the vast amount of water and poured down like a waterfall.
The pressure was beyond imagination, turning the already soft ground into a wasteland, and along with it, the resisting members were buried in soggy mud, entangled in iron chains.
In the midst of this chaotic pandemonium, two figures appeared, swept by the waves.
Washed ashore with their entire bodies soaked, they were tightly embracing each other.
Comments
Jesse Gibson
The boos are saved
