Summoning Our Country - NHS Kai

Chapter 16: Donnerschlag Part 3

Note: This is rose. And thus, the curtain closes on Gra Valkas's introduction. Next chapter, expect a return to our Asian protagonist to the east. Also, I will take this time to announce that as the incoming arc develops, we will be rewriting the first 8 chapters (up to Chapter 4.5) to iron them out. We want to remove the "Pilot" tag from our first chapter and revise everything to keep them in line with the story that has developed thus far. Nevertheless, enjoy this closing act for now. Have a rose ✿

Discord: https://discord.gg/p7NJppEjza

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April 19, 2022 NOTE: This is to serve as a notice that this chapter is due for minor revisions. Any information mentioned here will soon be obsolete and I highly encourage rereading this chapter again in the future once the rewrite has been released.

Cent. Calendar 09/06/1639, Somewhere underneath Leiforia, 13:00

"Through here!"

After the creaking and clanking of an old, rusted gate being unlocked came the sound of it being pushed open as imperial guards flooded in to secure the path ahead for the imperial family and their servants. Walking on one of the solid, damp walkways flanking a shallow waterway, the imperial guards had their rifles at the ready while some held up lanterns that put out a warm orange light. While the occasional ray of light leaking from gaps in the ceiling above them provided some help in illuminating the pathway, the lanterns held by the guards did most of the work. Accompanying the light from above was an orchestra of sounds which, despite being a complete trainwreck of a soundtrack, painted a coherent picture: Leiforia was under attack. Each explosion, distant and close, shook the ground while the screams of people, wailing of sirens, and the occasional popping of gunfire played out in the foreground.

While it was initially unnerving, their hours-long trek across the underground system sprawling underneath the metropolis had made them accustomed to the sounds. Both the imperial family and their entourage are now exhausted, but they making good progress on their exodus out of the city was a sign that things were going well for them. Even if the enemy manages to take Leiforia, the survival of the imperial family and the Emperor would be a rallying point for the people to unite and push the invaders back out to the sea.

As the group pressed on with some of the imperial guardsmen at the vanguard, the dire situation above seemed to continue on endlessly. Similarly, the path that they now traveled through seemed to go on forever, with there not being any twists or turns for the past ten minutes. With darkness slightly unveiled by the glow of their lanterns awaiting them, the imperial guards continued.

Then, a clink. And then another. Each clink got weaker, but it also seemed to get closer.

Perturbed by this clearly distinct sound, one that clearly played in the foreground above the clatter of explosions above them, the lead guard raised his left, non-dominant hand up and back towards the rest of the group.

"Wait!"

With the auditory and visual cues handed to them by their vanguard, the other guards behind him promptly stopped and raised their rifles in the general direction of the sound. Those accompanying the imperial family and the Emperor similarly stopped as they extended their entire body to try to cover for them.

"Give me light!"

The lead guard said out loud with urgency rippling through his voice.

One of the guards carrying a lantern stepped forth and held it further in an attempt to illuminate the path ahead. Just as the cloak of pitch-black was pushed back by the somber warmth of the lantern's light, the clinking then changed to a long sound of something light yet materially hard rolling on the floor. There, right in front of them, an object suddenly came rolling from the veil of darkness and into the light towards their feet.