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Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

With how narrow the streets within the citadel were, Crim decided that it would be too cumbersome to act as a large group, so she decided to split up the army to search around in smaller groups.

But they made sure to always stay within sight of at least two other guilds. They had to be sure that someone could come to their aid if they took a wrong turn or were ambushed.

Crim explained that to everyone as clearly as she could, and then they dispersed.

And then…a few hours of searching within the citadel passed.

◇◇◇

“Still… I can’t help but hate these streets.” Crim’s group was further ahead from everyone, and she constantly grumbled to herself.

There were a multitude of ambush choke points on every turn. Also, what at first had appeared like a singular path forward turned out to actually be three different ways, and it would not be surprising if zombies followed them from behind too.

That meant everyone had to be really careful, and progress had slowed down to a crawl.

…Thinking about it, Crim realized that using such tactics to split up invaders and make them wander aimlessly was something common in Japan’s warring periods, and places like Himeji Castle were built in similar ways.

But this was the first time she was on the invading side, and she finally understood how annoying going through such a place could be.

Or at least it would be…if they had no assistance navigating through it.

“There’s an incline around the corner to the left, creating an ambush point with a high ground advantage, watch out.”
“Got it…!”

As soon as Alberich informed them about that, Crim turned and ran straight at the stone wall next to her. Then she began running vertically up the wall, gaining enough momentum to launch herself high up into the air…and surely enough, she was able to see a group of skeleton warriors and spellcasters above the incline, waiting in ambush.

She landed behind those skeletons, forming a scythe in her hand and began mowing down the skeletons that began chanting.

As the warrior skeletons turned around in distress at the unexpected attack… Hinagiku came running along the outer wall, flanking the skeletons, as well as Kasumi who kicked off the wall and did a flip, landing on the opposite side of Hinagiku.

Most of Lua Cheia’s frontline wore really light armor, which allowed them to take such shortcuts to reach the enemy. What usually was considered a weakness had been turned into an unstoppable spear that pierced through the citadel’s shield as they moved forward.

But then…

“…Crim, above you!”

Just when Crim went a bit further to an open space uphill, Frey suddenly shouted at her. A bad feeling surged through her, and she instinctively swung her claws.

She felt wood shatter in her hands.

Only then did she turn to see what it was, and found a massive arrow, far too large to have been fired by a single person.

More of those arrows were raining down from above, so Crim quickly retreated, pressing herself against the nearby wall for cover. Her friends and the other guilds following behind did the same.

Peeking around the corner to scout the area, she spotted a turret with reinforced walls and a single, narrow entrance.

An army would get stuck trying to pass through that door, and luckily, Lua Cheia did not have many members, making it possible to break through…but getting there meant going uncovered for nearly a kilometer.

The turret contained stacked crossbows, allowing them to shoot rapidly one after another with little pause.

The position and range advantage of the turret meant that if Lua Cheia tried to move forward without a plan, their bodies would be riddled with holes before they got there.

“…I knew this would happen eventually, I just didn’t think it’d be this soon.”
“What should we do, Crim? Do you want me to go in front?”
“Nay, Freya. Not even thine armor would withstand arrows of such size…”

Considering the size of the arrow Crim had seen, it was a fair assumption that they also packed a lot of power. If anything, Crim wanted Freya to focus on healing if anyone took a wrong step.

“Should we just return fire then?”

Frey made a dangerous proposition that was worth considering, but…

“Hmm… We’ll have to resort to that if we don’t find any other way around. But that turret would offer the perfect sniping position if we could capture it, wouldn’t it?”
“Umm…yes…I think it would.”

She would be quite far from the target, but Crim believed Lycoris had the skill to shoot through the bretèches—those small openings in the walls used to drop rocks or other projectiles on passing enemies. When Crim turned around, she saw Lycoris clutching her beloved rifle tightly, giving a firm and confident nod.

It was also reasonable to expect things would only get more difficult moving forward, so having a turret providing additional support would be helpful.

…And so they decided to preserve their firepower and focus on securing the area instead.

“Alberich, wouldst thou happen to know of another way around this place?”
“Let me think…”

While Alberich had vanished a while back, Crim assumed he was still nearby, and when she spoke to him, he became visible again.

“I think I know of a way for around ten people to sneak all the way next to the turret.”
“Lead the way, then. Usually we’d be going head first no matter what, but in this situation…”
“Actually, I’d advise against that. Your group has stood out a lot on the way here, so they would suspect something if you suddenly vanished.”
“…Fair enough. Then we’ll have to stay here as a diversion, and a different assault team will go…”

Crim began to ponder about that when…

“Demon Lord, please send us. We can do it.”

The first one to volunteer was…the one following right behind Lua Cheia. Elmir, the leader of the guild Silver Wings. He had removed his plate armor, replacing it with a black leather suit that was better at sneaking.

“I wouldn’t have the conscience to accept a territory like this if I didn’t put in some work to conquer it, don’t you think so?”

He grinned as he said that, which put a smile on Crim too.

“…Alright, choose who shall go at thy discretion… And Setsuna, thou shalt accompany them as well. There is no harm in having more scouts than needful.”
“Okay! I’ll go with them, Master!”

Crim was a bit taken aback by how energetic Setsuna seemed about it… But then she saw that Elmir had already picked who would go with him from his guild, so she nodded at him.

“Well then… good luck. We’ll meet again at the turret.”
“Yes, Demon Lord. You can count on it.”

They bumped fists…and Crim’s group focused on being a diversion to attract the enemy’s attention, while the other group went with Alberich in the opposite direction.

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