Mira ran without rest, without stopping. The sounds of the fight helped hide her as she did, but she still had to pay attention since a dog inside the Law Gat was unusual.
With her senses now severely enhanced, she could smell the gunpowder, the metal, and the unique scent of piss at every corner.
<I don't see animals around... The blackguards must not be toilet fans.>
However, a new scent caught her attention. She came across it many times when she trained with Amber or when she sparred with the Chimaeric Demons. It clearly was human sweat, and it came from a nearby building.
She changed shape once more, turning into a bird. Feathers grew where fur had been. She then flew up to the window from where the scent came, staying close to the building to avoid being
seen.
The room was empty. Chairs were scattered around a table, which suggested recent
occupation. However, she wasn't sure the barrier masters had been there, and even if they had, they must have moved, given the attack.
The problem was that the barrier masters weren't the only ones around. The places were full of humans; it was just that they didn't stay around for long, as focused as they were to reach the walls. This still created a problem.
There were too many scents to follow. Luckily, what Mira needed was to find some scents coming from the building, because only the barrier masters and some important people among the blackguards would stay out of the wall fight. Whoever was in the middle of the city might have been them.<Damn...>
There was no trace of the barrier masters there.
Mira continued her search, alternating between forms. As a dog, she tracked scents and followed the trail leading to buildings.
As a bird, she checked each location her nose pointed her to. Building after building revealed nothing. At least not until that point.
The scents led her deeper into the Law Gate. She approached another structure, this one heavily guarded at ground level.
<Maybe it's this one...> But she had no way to know, unless she went to check herself.
The heavy guard's presence was a good sign, though. While most blackguards were busy defending the walls, only high-value targets would warrant a dedicated security detail in the city center. The barrier masters were crucial to maintaining the Law Gate's defenses.
<If anything needed protection right now, it would be them.>
And unlike regular patrol units that moved around, these guards held fixed positions. They were clearly protecting something, or someone, important inside.
Rising to its upper floors, Mira spotted movement through a window. Inside, six figures in distinctive Blackguards' barrier master uniforms stood unmoving.
They were in a circle with closed eyes. Their expressions were full of intense focus.
<They are likely powering the barrier.>
A grin mentally spread across Mira's face. She was a bird. After all, she didn't have lips. <Bingo...>
She flew to another building and then partially turned into a human. She got hands and arms, and her beak turned into a human mouth.
Everyone seeing it would find whatever that thing was a monstrosity, but Amber, Emily, and especially the Chimaeric Demons, of course, got used to it by now.
She pressed her radio transmitter. "Amber, I found them. Central district, building with the red metal entrance. Tenth floor, eastern side. Six targets, all actively maintaining the barrier." The radio crackled. "Copy that. Hold position and monitor. We're moving to your location."
Mira landed on a nearby ledge. She was in her bird form, which made her hard to spot. From there, she could see the barrier masters.
<Phew...>> She sighed. <I can't wait for all of this to end. I've got enough money to retire and live a lavish lifestyle...>
The radio crackled to life in Amber's ear. "Central district, building with the red metal entrance. Tenth floor, eastern side. Six targets, all actively maintaining the barrier."
Finally, Mira found the targets, and she didn't waste a second before telling the others. As soon as she and Amber were done with their communication, Amber told the news.
"Mira found them," Amber told the Chimaeric Demons. "Central district, building with a red metal entrance. The barrier masters are on the tenth floor, eastern side."
"How many?" one of them asked.
"Six. They're maintaining the barrier right now. This is our chance."
"Understood," another Chimaeric Demon nodded. "We'll follow your lead."
She then signaled to the three accompanying her. They started moving. However, it was important to let Emily know. Amber took her radio.
"Emily, June. Mira found them. What's your position?"
"Already in place," Emily's voice came back. "June is currently making sure I don't get attacked."
"Good. I want you to lead us to the target area. Can you do it?"
"Yes. I've got clear sight lines on the streets in your vicinity. I'm also currently very close to the target's position."
"Good."
Through her scope, Emily saw the streets below. Her position gave her perfect coverage of the routes leading to the barrier masters' location.
The sniper rifle rested against her shoulder.
Through her scope, Emily watched the streets fill with activity. Blackguard units marched in formation toward the walls, their footsteps echoing off buildings. Supply trucks and armored vehicles cut through the crowd, engines humming as they delivered resources to the front. Officers stood at intersections, directing troops and equipment.
Time slowed as Emily activated her power. The world around her moved like thick syrup, giving her many seconds to line up each shot. Albeit talking about second was not exactly the right thing to do.
Amber was currently heading east. Emily saw a patrol of blackguards rounding the corner, moving toward her.
"Time to do some summer cleaning," Emily said to herself with a smirk. "Though I don't think their mothers would approve of my cleaning methods."
She pulled the trigger. She did it when another sound from outside the city came, preventing anyone from hearing the multiple shots she fired at the patrol.
The first blackguard dropped, followed by his companions in rapid succession. To any observer, the entire squad appeared to collapse simultaneously, but in truth, Emily shot
multiple times.
"Threat neutralized," Emily said.
Amber nodded. Emily really was lethal with a sniper rifle. Whenever she had one in her hands, she stopped being the sweet girl everyone knew.
Amber led her group through the streets, moving from cover to cover. They passed the bodies of Emily's victims-clean kills, each one.
"I can't believe our sweet Emily did this," Amber said. "Sometimes I forget she's the same girl who bakes cookies for everyone."
There were no signs of struggle or resistance-each target had been killed with a single
precise headshot before they could react, draw weapons, or trigger their communication
devices to alert others.
They moved the bodies into an alley, hidden by trash cans and tarps. Then the Chimaeric Demons spread out in a protective formation around Amber.
More blackguards appeared in Emily's scope. She slowed down time again. Three more shots, three more bodies. The streets leading to the barrier masters were cleared.
"Four more at your two o'clock," June said through the radio. He circled above as a small bird, spotting incoming patrols.
Emily shifted her aim. Time crawled to a near stop. The four blackguards moved in slow motion; their movements telegraphed like actors in a play. Her bullets found their marks.
Amber's group encountered another cluster of bodies. The fallen blackguards showed no signs of trauma-Emily's shots left a single wound on the targets' heads. However, to the onlookers, they seemed to have stopped living between one second and the next.
Luckily, Emily wasn't so bad as to leave witnesses.
"Two hundred meters to target," one of the Chimaeric Demons said. The red-faced building
was now in front of them. Still distant. However, the place was large enough for anyone
seeing it from
afar.
Amber saw Mira among the flashes, perched on top of a building nearby.
Emily's voice came through the radio again. "Route is clear. I count twelve guards at the
entrance. Want me to handle them?"
"No," Amber said. "Save your energy for now. I'll warp everyone in. With Mira, we are five. We should be able to kill most of them in a matter of minutes after our warp."
That was the idea, at least. The problem with barrier masters was that if Amber gave them enough time, they could create an absolute defense to which they could do nothing. Luckily for them, to make such a barrier wasn't that simple, and it still required some time. Not much, but if Amber and the others played it well, they might prevent them from channeling mana altogether.
But the barrier masters weren't going to be defenseless. Like every other blackguard, they were going to be highly trained and skilled, and they might be even able to make smaller barriers. Not as absolute as those protecting the walls, but still durable. Acting within minutes was imperative if they wanted to accomplish their goal.
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