NIKKE, When the Milky Way Blossoms

With Pepper's response, the two began moving north, one after the other, as was their custom.

But soon...

Phoenix then realized that the current situation was several times, even dozens of times, worse than he had imagined.

Boom-! ! !

A huge marble table was hurled from above, crashed into the exterior wall of a building, and then split and fell.

Immediately afterwards, another freezer flew out of sight...

Those were "handmade shells" used by the clamor to try to shoot down the transport plane or to force the snow to take cover.

For the individuals involved, these heavy flying objects, while troublesome, did not put them in a dangerous situation.

But for Phoenix and Pepper, who were planning to advance northward, these shells were not much different from howitzers that randomly fell on the battlefield.

If you're unlucky, you could be crushed to death on the spot.

【etc. 】

Pressing Pepper's shoulder from behind, the man hiding behind the counter waited patiently until the limping escapee in the alley ahead turned the corner before he stood up, bent over, crouched down, and continued forward.

During this time, he couldn't help but complain to himself.

Besti's tactics were too crude. How could he leave any survivors when he had missile containers with automatic target acquisition?

It's obvious that they didn't think carefully about the pre-planned enemy detection route!

Clang!!!

Just as Phoenix was tiptoeing along the wall, a mahogany table unfortunately crashed into the wall diagonally above them.

Luckily, it didn't hit them directly on the head...

The two people who were looking up had just begun to have a lucky thought when the aftermath of the table hitting them immediately made them realize that there is a law in the world called Murphy's Law.

Squeak squeak squeak squeak—

The massive advertising board, twenty or thirty meters long, either had loose screws or was due to some kind of aging, and simply because the wall was vibrating, it slowly tilted over in front of Phoenix and Pepper.

run!

Seeing this, the two retreated without a second thought.

The advertising board, which appeared to collapse very slowly but actually accelerated its collapse as the angle changed, cooperated perfectly, landing precisely the instant they ran out of the area.

The deafening crash immediately filled the entire alley.

In the distance, perhaps sensing the provocation of the billboard, the electromagnetic cannon roared in response.

Boom! ...

"commander!"

Upon hearing Pepper's tense, almost terrified voice, Phoenix, who had just narrowly escaped death, had no idea what was happening when he felt as if he had been hit by a car and was sent flying backward.

"Commander, are you injured?! Please look at me, Commander!"

In his dazed state, Phoenix heard Pepper's shouts and almost thought it was Snow White firing an electromagnetic cannon at him. But then he realized that was not right. If it really was an electromagnetic cannon aimed at him, he wouldn't even have a chance to hear the sound.

"I...it's okay."

The man struggled to sit up, about to ask his field medic what had happened, but his pupils, now back in focus, preemptively spotted Pepper's completely severed left calf.

Looking further to the side, a "cannonball" the size of two pillows lay quietly on the ground, its shattered state explaining its presence there.

—A type of stone object that was hit by an electromagnetic cannon.

"Lie still! Give me the gun and the smoke grenades!"

Phoenix, quickly grasping the situation, staggered to his feet, took the shotgun and smoke grenade from Pepper, gritted his teeth, and turned to rush straight towards the corner ahead.

Pepper can't escape now...

If the lame Leitcher, who only heard the noise, is allowed to return the way he came, Pepper, who has difficulty moving, will surely die.

Therefore, he had to get rid of the lame Leitch before it could turn back.

Just a crippled Lecher.

Nothing to be afraid of.

I've personally killed at least a dozen mechanical spiders, so there's really nothing to be afraid of.

Blood foam rose up from the respiratory tract again due to the excessive exertion.

Phoenix, who was running wildly, stopped his consciousness at the corner and watched as the two-meter-long Leitcher limped toward him...

Getting closer.

But that's not enough; for shotguns, this distance is still beyond the optimal range.

Closer still!

With his mind fixed on the Lecher on the other side of the wall, Phoenix flicked his wrist and tossed the smoke grenade low into the air.

Nothing to be afraid of.

boom!

The moment the smoke grenade left the cover and appeared in front of Lecher, a machine gun bullet instantly blasted him to pieces.

Incredibly hot white smoke, crackling and spreading with intense heat, accompanied by a man holding a gun in his left hand, his eyes bloodshot.

boom!

A gunshot rang out, and Lecher's other foreleg was torn in two by a close-range shotgun blast.

However, it wasn't over yet. Just as he was about to fall, the painless mechanical spider forcibly spun its gun barrel and, in an almost retaliatory manner, fired a machine gun shot into the outside of the man's arm.

boom!

His right arm snapped off and flew backwards into the night sky, leaving a trail of scarlet blood.

Then, Lecher finally collapsed to the ground, his machine gun, unable to fire downwards at a 90-degree angle, could only fire futilely in all directions, unable to harm the human in the slightest.

"spit!"

The pale-faced man spat all the foam from his mouth onto the ground, then slowly turned his head to look at the other side of the T-junction.

Pah pah pah pah——

A series of gunshots rang out, and a flying Lecher, riddled with bullets, plummeted to the ground from a height of over twenty meters, shattering into pieces.

"Yes...I'm sorry."

Christine, who arrived late, stared blankly at the pair of green eyes that still held a fierce look under the moonlight, her eyelashes trembling almost imperceptibly.

"I'm late, Commander."

"It's alright, we arrived earlier than Labi and the others."

The violent aura dissipated with Christine's apology. Someone smiled, and with his consciousness fading, raised his gun and pointed it at the intersection.

"Pepper's left leg is broken, cough... Quickly help her find some cover."

Chapter Nineteen: Wait for Me

Niki's existence is meaningless to Niki.

All the meaning that Niki believes she has is nothing more than the shackles that humans imposed on her when they created her.

Therefore, Niki doesn't need to pursue ideals, nor does she need to ponder meaning. All Niki needs to do is follow the control of the NIMPH nanobots and ensure her meaningless existence while protecting humanity.

Ultimately, they are nothing more than tools that humans use and discard at will.

but……

"why?"

Seeing the commander's severed arm still bleeding profusely, Christine couldn't understand it. Desperate for an answer, she picked up her gun and destroyed the Lecher that was still firing incessantly, then turned to look at the corner of the intersection.

What came into view was Pepper's disheveled appearance, with her lips clenched, eyes red, and limping toward them.

Why risk your life fighting a Lecher?

“Because this Leitcher heard us, but I can’t carry Pepper, so…”

"commander!"

Just as Phoenix arrived at the intersection, trying to explain that he wasn't blindly fighting Leitcher, Pepper finally saw her commander's face... and his missing right arm.

At this moment, the young doctor, who had been having a smooth journey, finally realized just how bloody it was to fight Lecher.

Tears, like a broken pearl necklace, rolled down the girl's dusty cheeks, leaving two clear streaks.

But for some reason, Pepper, who would normally have burst into tears, simply closed her eyes, wiped away the tears that wouldn't stop, and sobbed:

"The bleeding needs to be stopped. Please... please, Commander, cooperate... cooperate with the treatment."

Christine, who had run to Pepper's side to help her up, turned around after hearing this and asked in a somewhat dejected tone: