Suddenly!
About ten paces ahead, a blurry black shadow emerged without warning from the swirling snow mist! From its outline, it seemed to be a hunched human figure looking around!
Roderick's heart leaped into his throat! Almost instinctively, he raised his Flintlock Rifle, aiming the muzzle at the shadow, his forefinger settling on the icy trigger. But at the very instant before he pulled it, he forcibly stopped himself!
What if they were allies? Other scout companies could be in this direction too! In a blizzard, getting separated and running into each other was entirely possible!
During that lightning-fast moment of hesitation, the dark figure opposite him seemed to spot him as well. Its movements visibly stiffened, clearly caught in the same extreme shock and uncertainty.
In the blizzard, with visibility of less than ten meters, the two sides faced each other through the drifting snow. They froze for perhaps one or two seconds before more dark figures appeared behind the first.
"Pule!" Roderick shouted the password with all his strength.
But the response he received was an array of weapons abruptly raised among those shadows, their cold gleam reflecting in the snowy light.
"Fire!" Roderick reacted with unbelievable speed. The instant those weapons rose, he had already rasped out the order! At the same time, he fiercely squeezed the trigger he had long prepared!
Bang!
His shot was like a starting pistol! The Musketeers behind him, their nerves stretched taut, instinctively pulled their triggers toward the shifting mass of figures the moment they heard the order!
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!
A volley of gunfire burst through the howling blizzard like exploding beans, jarringly abrupt and piercing! Muzzle flashes flickered as white smoke rapidly spread among the snowflakes, only to be swept away by the gale.
"Ah—!"
"Urgh—!"
Miserable