Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

Chapter 379: Prison Break

TL: Etude

“Ah! It hurts so much!”

“Someone help me!”

Horrific cries echoed as four burly men engulfed in flames shouted loudly, falling to the ground and rolling around in an attempt to extinguish the fire consuming their bodies.

However, their companions hesitated to move closer, unsure if they would also fall victim to the witch’s evil sorcery if they approached rashly.

Three of the men gradually stopped moving due to the agony of the flames, but one rolled away far enough to reach the feet of his companions. They were at a construction site for a new building, and with copious amounts of sand and dirt thrown onto him by his mates, they managed to save his life.

“Evil sorcery! Witches of malevolence!”

Watching his subordinates mercilessly killed in front of him, Vileus was furious.

Yet, his judgment was not clouded by anger. Having trained for many years with the church and frequently dealing with witches, Vileus knew that magic followed the principle of ‘equivalent exchange’. The greater the power and effectiveness of a spell, the higher the cost to the caster. Rare casting materials and lengthy preparation times were prerequisites for powerful magic, often associated with substantial mental exhaustion of the casters themselves.

In the past, the witches of the Horn Bay region lived lives of constant fear under the harsh pursuit of the church, much like a cat-and-mouse relationship. At the slightest noise, the witches would flee, and if they couldn’t escape in time, they would be cornered by the church’s armed forces. Because they were outnumbered, even if they prepared offensive spells, they could not overcome the church’s numerical advantage, and so their meticulously prepared spells were often focused on concealment and evasion.

Because almost no witch had aimed to prepare spells specifically to kill many church members, over time, the church’s armed personnel developed a sense of contempt for witches. So when they received signals of a witch’s presence near the church, they were surprised, but did not make any extensive preparations.

However, it was clear that the witch they were now facing had been plotting for a long time, as she had put it, “Don’t underestimate a well-prepared sorcerer.” The continuous chain of explosions, impenetrable protective spells, flames igniting the enemy instantly—none of these were mere tricks and certainly not something that could be done hastily. She must have secretly set up these spells, undetectable to most, long before on this very street.

Her goal was to strike a vicious blow at the church at some point, to kill its members and completely disgrace it. That moment could be in the future, or perhaps it was right then—as Vileus suspected, the reason she revealed her identity as a witch might have been deliberate. The latter possibility was even more dangerous; it indicated that the witch was fully prepared to launch an attack.

For a long time now, the church had not paid close attention to the area around the cathedral, as it was the church’s stronghold in Fort Ness. It was unlikely that a mouse would dare to encroach on a cat’s domain, and it seemed to everyone that coming here would be tantamount to walking into a trap. It was habitually considered a ‘magic-free zone’, leading to a dangerous oversight. If a witch, determined to fight to the death, decided to cause trouble near the cathedral, a bit of caution and preparation for casting were not difficult. Even though there had been witch hunts, there had never been a witch who had clearly set out to attack the church, so this vulnerability was overlooked.

More infuriating to Vileus than the loss of his troops was the emergence of a witch bold enough to attack the church. This was a dangerous sign that their enemies were no longer content with passive resistance—they were ready to attack. The witch before him would serve as a significant example to her kind; with a first one, there would come a second, a third… until more and more witches join the ranks of those who attack the church proactively.

Vileus was mindful that if witches decided to actively resist the church, they would contact each other instead of fighting alone. They would band together, and they would become more strategic…

“I will not let you go!” The knight threw his spear with vengeance in his heart.

His prolific imagination cemented Vileus’s determination to kill the witch before him. He absolutely could not let her get away. He wanted to make it clear to anyone contemplating following in her footsteps what the cost of provoking the church was.

Because of the witch’s protective spells, Vileus held little hope for the spear he had thrown; it was more an act of vengeance than anything else.

To his surprise, the spear seemed to momentarily falter in front of the witch but continued its flight. However, since he hadn’t aimed particularly well, it merely flew past the witch’s side.

“Her magic is failing! Seize the opportunity and attack now!”

Vileus’s men did not need his reminder to notice the change in the witch.

Those carrying crossbows or slingshots immediately reached for their ranged weapons, preparing to use them as the safest choice without knowing what other tricks the enemy had left—they did not want to end up burned like the first four companions.

With a “whoosh,” the first arrow was flung at the witch. Just then, an immense amount of smoke erupted on the street, thickest around where the witch had been standing. Her figure disappeared in an instant.

The smoke was not just for obscuring vision – many who came into contact with it uncontrollably started to tear up.

“Ahhh!” A scream rose, followed by a figure falling to the ground.

“Boom!” Another explosion occurred, injuring several more.

“All units, attention! Assemble back to back!”

Vileus’s loud command sent orders to his men, not expecting the witch to have this trick up her sleeve.

After several more brethren had fallen, the dense fog began to clear, and the church’s followers could finally see each other – but not the witch they had been pursuing.

Vileus checked on those who had fallen; some had their throats brutally slit while others had terrible wounds that, judging by the discoloration, were likely poisoned.

The number of people injured by the explosions was also significant.

The knight stomped his foot furiously, “Cursed be the timing with our short-handedness!”

Indeed, their manpower was insufficient. The church had received word that there were signs of a large gathering of witches in the villages outside of Fort Ness, so most of their forces had been dispatched, and they had not yet returned. In Fort Ness, only a small squad remained, commanded by Vileus.

“It’s terrible, Lord Vileus! It’s terrible!”

Someone was running toward them frantically, shouting his name.

“What happened?”

The knight asked irritably, it had been a rotten and humiliating day already. After a headcount, he realized that over a dozen church members had been subdued, and they hadn’t even touched the enemy.

The messenger finally came to a halt before him, gasping for air, evidently having exhausted his strength.

“The cells… The cells…”

“What about the cells!”

Hearing the word ‘cells’, Vileus’s heart clenched, and he grabbed the messenger’s clothing and lifted him, demanding an explanation.

“The prisoners in the cells… they’ve been taken!”

The messenger managed to piece together his report.

“Ah!”

Vileus let out a thunderous howl! They had been deceived; while the Fort Ness Church was short on personnel, their last armed squad was lured out… it was likely that even the news of the witches’ assembly they had received was part of this scheme. After they had set out, the cathedral was left with only a few guards, and then the prison break occurred.

And in the prison of the church, locked away, were witches bound to be put to the stake.

“Chase! Everyone chase the ones who broke the jail!”

Vileus could no longer be concerned with the witch they had just faced; if the detained witches were to escape, he would lose all face in the church and have no choice but to commit ritual suicide out of shame.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, everyone chased after Vileus in a panic, and in a matter of moments, the church personnel on the block had all run off.

Hidden in a messy and dark alleyway, a woman’s figure gradually emerged. If one looked closely, her cloak was like a chameleon, blending in with the surrounding colors to make it difficult to spot, though it could still be noticed with careful attention.

“Hope those adventurers can keep their promise. Please, members of the Lichman Adventure Team.”

After muttering this to herself, her consciousness began to blur.

Struggling to keep her eyes open, she looked longingly at the now deserted yet sunny street.

“Heh, the next time I open my eyes, I’ll probably be in the dark dungeons…”

After a bitter smile, she could no longer hold on and collapsed onto the ground.

Hi guys! This will be the last chapter for a while, please go to the next chapter for more details.