Ambush

This era seemed not to have developed automobiles yet.

Although some people had tried to use steam engines to make vehicles that could travel on roads, they had been abandoned because they were slow, overly bulky, and made a loud rumbling noise when starting.

Therefore, horse-drawn carriages remained the primary means of transportation within cities.

Or rickshaws.

Li Qi was sitting in a horse-drawn carriage at that very moment.

It was a small convertible carriage, driven by the Corporal responsible for receiving him.

Naturally, someone had been assigned to take responsibility for Li Qi after he arrived in the Royal Capital.

And the person currently responsible for Li Qi was the head of the Intelligence Department he was about to transfer into.

His name was Bolent Olidovich.

He held the rank of Captain Bolent, was the overall head of the Intelligence Department, and was also the one who had advocated transferring Li Qi to work in the rear.

For that reason, Li Qi was very grateful to him.

After all, compared to working at the front, handling intelligence in the rear was much safer.

However, speaking of the Intelligence Department reminded Li Qi of Wood's final warning to him.

If possible, try to transfer to another department...

Li Qi had kept those words in mind. Although he did not know exactly what was going on, he was also considering how to transfer from the Intelligence Department to another department.

Li Qi kept Captain Bolent's kindness in his heart, but that did not mean he had to join the Intelligence Department.

He could repay Bolent's kindness just as well by going to another department.

In fact, going to another department might broaden Captain Bolent's network of connections. Of course, Li Qi knew that Bolent definitely did not need such a small network from him right now.

He was only a lowly Warrant Officer, while Bolent would soon be promoted to Field Officer. Bolent certainly would not have any use for Li Qi for the time being.

But whether Bolent could use it or not was unimportant.

What mattered was whether Li Qi did it.

In the future, if Li Qi stayed in the rear, he definitely would not be able to rise through the ranks and receive better pay merely by killing a few enemies on the battlefield as he had before.

In the rear, what mattered was still personal connections.

If he wanted to live comfortably in the rear, Li Qi had to pay more attention to those things.

As for returning to the front, Li Qi had never considered it.

Although there seemed to be a ceasefire now, judging from the knowledge Li Qi had learned, there would definitely be other wars in this world in the future.

After all, the resources of this world were distributed unevenly to begin with.

In the past, with beings such as mages and knights, countries with large numbers of mages could suppress smaller nations, barely keeping wars within a certain range.

But now...

Firearms had already appeared, and cannons had long since been deployed on the battlefield. Given this development, weapons such as tanks and aircraft—"high-tech" weapons—would definitely appear next.

The number of mages could no longer determine the situation on the battlefield.

Numbers, tactics, and weapons reserves were what determined victory and defeat.

The small countries that had once been looked down upon might be able to rise up, while the great powers once regarded as lofty might be dragged down and陷入战争的泥潭.

Li Qi had not studied much history in his past life, but he had still learned a little about the history of war. He could roughly make out the future course of this world.

Therefore, he was certain that the front was absolutely the most dangerous place in the future.

If possible, he would rather die than go back.

"...I hope I won't end up like that little girl who couldn't get to the rear no matter how hard she tried... Hmm, that shouldn't happen. After all, this world doesn't have Being X."

For some reason, Li Qi thought of an anime he had watched before reincarnating.

It was called Saga of Tanya the Evil.

The protagonist in it also had a desire to live a peaceful life in the rear like Li Qi, yet she was always fighting on the front lines.

The difference was that the protagonist could not go to the rear because the god of that world was interfering.

There was no god in Li Qi's world.

And he was already in the rear.

So there should not be any problems.

Li Qi was thinking this, but for some reason, his temples kept throbbing. He had an inexplicable sense that something was wrong.

With that thought, he looked up and discovered that the carriage had already entered some unknown alley.

"...Is this the road to the academy?"

Li Qi finally understood where his bad feeling had come from.

He frowned and questioned the person driving the carriage, his right hand already resting on the Military Blade at his waist.

After entering the Royal Capital, only Field Officers and those of higher rank were permitted to carry firearms.

Therefore, Li Qi had only one Military Blade on him.

But one Military Blade was already enough.

As long as he was not ambushed with firearms, Li Qi could at least guarantee his own safety.

The Corporal beside him on the carriage did not speak.

Li Qi narrowed his eyes slightly. His hand tightened around the hilt, and his voice grew sterner.

"Corporal! Answer my question!"

"..."

The Corporal still did not speak, but he did make a move.

He stopped the carriage he had been driving.

"?"

The carriage stopped in the middle of the alley, with a considerable distance to both exits.

Li Qi's heart sank. He instantly activated his superpower and looked toward the Corporal.

His heartbeat was racing, the temperature of his legs was rising, and the magic power inside his body was circulating rapidly.

Are they about to attack me?

Li Qi was guessing when the Corporal said:

"S-sorry, sir!! I... I was only following orders!"

After saying that, the Corporal quickly jumped down from the carriage, rolled on the ground, and sprang back to his feet.

Then...

He took off running, fleeing toward the outside at a speed that made it look as if he were running for his life. Li Qi was left completely stunned.

He ran?

Wasn't he going to attack me?

No!

Li Qi had thought the Corporal was going to attack him. After seeing the man run away, he was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting.

The person who was truly going to attack him was not the Corporal who had brought him here.

It was the others lying in ambush here!

Li Qi activated his magic power and expanded the range of his superpower.

Sure enough, behind the Garbage Heap around him, behind the broken walls, and within the shadows, he detected several figures outlined in red.

After the Corporal ran away, some emerged from their hiding places while others jumped down from above. In just a few seconds, they had surrounded Li Qi.

This was an ambush.

An ambush targeting Li Qi!

Something like this can happen even in the Royal Capital? Is security in the Royal Capital really this poor now? And I don't think I've offended anyone. Why are so many people surrounding me?

Various guesses surfaced in Li Qi's mind.

But his hands did not slow down.

After realizing he was surrounded, Li Qi did not choose to get off the carriage. Instead, he tore the copper button from his uniform pocket, bent his finger, and flicked it at the horse's rump.

"Neighhhhh—!!"

The pain in its rump made the horse let out a shrill cry.

It raised its front hooves high, then dragged the carriage behind it—with Li Qi aboard—and charged madly toward the mouth of the alley!

The surrounding people did not dare compete with the rampaging horse's strength and hurriedly made way.

However, just as the carriage was about to leave the alley, several gunshots suddenly rang out from above.

Bang bang bang bang!

Four shots in succession. Three bullets pierced the ropes harnessing the carriage to the horse, separating the carriage from the animal.

The remaining bullet.

It flew straight toward Li Qi, who was sitting inside the carriage!

When he heard the gunshots—or even earlier, when he sensed someone above aiming a gun at him—Li Qi had already prepared his defenses.

Two layers of Magic Shield protected his body.

The technique of Magic Entanglement wrapped around his vital points.

Immediately afterward, Li Qi grabbed his Military Blade and leaped off the carriage.

The carriage, separated from the horse, continued rushing forward under its momentum. It eventually lost its balance, crashed into the alley wall, and overturned.

The luggage inside spilled all over the ground.

But Li Qi had already landed on the ground before that happened. At the same time, he threw the scabbard, using it as a hidden weapon and sending it toward the attacker above who had fired the shot!

Bang!

A gunshot shattered the flying scabbard to pieces.

Afterward, the armed attacker who had ambushed him from above also jumped down, landing at Li Qi's side and blocking the exit of the alley.

There were people in front of him and behind him. Surrounded on both sides, Li Qi had nowhere to escape!

"...Seven."

Tightening his grip on the Military Blade, Li Qi counted the number of enemies, his heart sinking slightly.

There were seven people who had ambushed him.

Among these seven, there were four first-level magic users, two second-level magic users, and one third-level magic user.

Two of the seven even carried firearms.

One Bolt-Action Rifle.

One revolver.

The person who had precisely shot through the carriage's harness was the one using the revolver.

That person was not only the sole third-level magic user among them, but also a sharpshooter.

This was troublesome.

Please, everyone, give this a favorite. Please!

o(╥﹏╥)o