Battle cries, clashing blades, screams before men fell...
Ten seconds, twenty meters, half a minute passed, and still no one had broken out this way.
Rosinante grew increasingly anxious. He took a deep breath and was about to step inside to investigate when hurried footsteps suddenly came from around the stairwell.
"There's an exit this way too! Follow me!"
"Hurry! Faster!"
The next instant, five or six Marines fled around the corner in a panic.
All of them were bloodstained to some degree and looked thoroughly battered. Their expressions darkened when they saw Rosinante guarding the doorway.
"Damn it, someone's blocking this exit too..."
The Marine commander leading them gritted his teeth and made a snap decision, his eyes fierce. "Our pursuers will be here any second. We can't retreat! Everyone, charge together! Kill him and force our way out!"
"Yes, Commander!"
The Marines all drew their swords. They were about to surround him when, to their astonishment, Rosinante took two steps to the right, clearing the doorway.
Huh?
The Marines froze, exchanged glances, then looked at Rosinante with suspicion.
"Don't stare at me. What are you waiting for?"
Rosinante sighed. As a precaution, he first activated his Soundproof Domain, then pointed toward a secluded alley to the northeast. "I checked earlier. There's a sewer entrance over there. Get moving."
"What is this supposed to be?"
The commander refused to take him at his word. Clutching his sword tightly, he said coldly, "Aren't you an officer of the Donquixote Family? Why would you be kind enough to help us escape?"
"I am a Donquixote by birth, but I'm also a man of Marine Headquarters..."
Rosinante lit a cigarette and said with a stony expression:
"My rank is three grades above yours, too, so stop wasting words. Consider it an order.