Bermuda [bl]

The corpse, with its entire eye socket collapsed, had its eyeballs crushed and buried in flesh. Below that, discolored teeth embedded in the lower jaw suggested that this had clearly been a "head."

As if it had been struck multiple times with a giant hammer, the knight seemed unable to look at it properly and stepped back three or four paces. Desperately averting his gaze from the car window, he turned to look at the driver wearing the gas mask. As if there had been a reason, the driver, whose eyes met his, slightly twisted his covered lips.

One of the seven on horseback, who seemed to be the leader, sensed the gravity of the situation and jumped off his saddle. The clanking sound of metal colliding was particularly loud. The driver briefly shifted his gaze in that direction.

White fur hung incongruously from the red cape draped over his shoulders. A winged sword protecting the sun rippled on the surface of the carpet that fluttered with his steps.

Above the pattern was engraved the vague number 39, so old one might not even remember it. The driver muttered as if deliberately for them to hear:

"39th... Commander?"

Hugo's eyebrows rose loosely as he heard this directly through the radio. In the Imperial Knights, divided into 49 groups in total, what 39 implied was not clear. If pressed, it might suggest that their main duties were closer to handling miscellaneous tasks rather than major issues.

Just then, the 39th Knight Commander who approached the lead vehicle asked his pale-faced subordinate:

"What's wrong with you? Why is that guy like that?"

"Well, inside there..."

The knight struggled to continue his explanation, seemingly nauseous from the recent sight. The 39th Commander clicked his tongue as if frustrated and brought his face close to the rear window.

"What did you see that both of you..."

But even he couldn't continue for long before he drew in a sharp breath. The commander, frowning deeply, quickly pulled back his neck and turned his head away.

With a face that suggested he had seen something he shouldn't have, he exchanged shocked glances with his subordinate. Meanwhile, the driver calmly reached back to the rear seat, locked it again, and tidied the curtain.

As the window was completely covered, the gruesome corpse returned to the shape of a bundled blanket with a combat uniform draped over it. The person who had been silent beside the driver had created a temporary hallucination using the high temperature inside the car and light reflection.

The effect seemed quite certain, as the two knights outside looked at the two people in the car with distorted expressions.

"You've got strong stomachs."

Eventually, the fluttering red carpet swept the ground as it moved towards the stopped car behind.

In the passenger seat of the rear car, someone was hurriedly picking up a spray can and spraying an unidentified gas inside the vehicle.

"He's coming, hurry."

"My lord, please bear with it for a moment."

An apologetic voice and a colorless gas filled the interior. The terrible smell, like that of a rotting corpse stinging the nose, naturally made one want to retch.

Hugo, furrowing his brow, covered his own respiratory tract with his hand and also briefly covered Leonardo's nose and mouth. Meanwhile, the driver quickly pressed the transmit button, then opened the window to greet the approaching person.

"Thank you for your hard work in this hot weather. Is there a problem?"

Along with the smiling woman, a shocking stench leaked through the window gap. The 39th Commander hesitated on the spot, then waved his hand dismissively with a disgusted expression.

"...No. You may pass."

His gaze turned to the curtain drawn behind the driver, but his face showed he didn't dare to try opening it.

The driver gave him a smiling look with her eyes, bowed slightly, and closed the window again without further comment.

As he turned and quickly moved away, the 39th Commander returned to his pale-faced subordinate and began to scold him. Although it wasn't clearly audible what he was saying, it seemed he was angrily asking why they had stopped an innocent escort vehicle.

The drivers of the two vehicles quietly observed them. Soon after, the knights' commander gestured to his subordinates to open the barricade.

Beep–

–Fortunately, it seems they've been fooled.

Although the front car transmitted first, the three in the rear car kept their mouths shut, thinking it wasn't completely over yet.

Meanwhile, two horses standing behind the obstacles walked clop-clop towards the side of the wide road. As the ropes connecting the saddles and the barricade were pulled taut, the obstacles were cleared, creating enough space for one car to pass through.

At the red carpet's gesture signaling them to pass through, the driver of the front car, who had been surveying the surroundings, slowly started to drive the vehicle. The rear car, also relieved at having passed through naturally, diligently followed close behind the front car.

The 39th Commander, watching the departing escort vehicles, muttered quietly as if afraid it might appear in his dreams:

"What kind of death left a corpse in that state? And that smell... it'll stick to our clothes."

"..."

"You idiot, you shouldn't hassle people transporting casualties too much. That one's already gone bad so it doesn't matter, but if they say we made them miss the golden time or something, it becomes troublesome for us."

"..."

"And what if the real target came this way while we were stopping them... Hey, are you listening to me?"

"Ah, yes. I'm listening."

The Knight Commander, while glaring at his subordinate who seemed to be only half-listening, also signaled with his eyes for his men at the barricade to step aside. He seemed to truly believe they had unluckily stopped an escort vehicle unrelated to their purpose. However, the silent knight's gaze quietly observed the lower part of the passing escort vehicles.

While the front bumper was clean as if new, the sides and rear were splattered with mud and covered in scrape marks at the bottom of the vehicle body. It was a bit incongruous, but as it wasn't reason enough to restrict passage, the knight kept his mouth shut. The vehicles were now smoothly passing through the barricade and crossing between the six knights.

The knight following them with his eyes suddenly asked his superior:

"But did you say... smell?"

"...Huh?"

"Just now when you spoke, you mentioned a smell."

"What, the corpse smell?"

At that moment, the knight's eyes rolled. He didn't remember smelling any corpse odor when he looked inside the vehicle.

"Whew..."

At the same time, all three in the rear car let out sighs of relief. As the front car that had passed through first began to speed up again, the driver of the rear car deliberately opened the window wide and treated the lined-up knights to an intense stench.

The person in the passenger seat, worried that their lord might be uncomfortable, quickly opened the front window to circulate the air. Looking at the foolish fellows playing soldier in the side mirror, he lowered the gas mask he had been wearing partly to cover his face.

"It might actually be fortunate that we passed through the checkpoint. Now that we have the pretext of transporting a corpse, there seems to be no reason to avoid them anymore. If we keep going like this and reach another territory-"

Beep–

–Static, click, screech!

At that moment, a sudden loud noise was heard from the public radio. Unlike ordinary radios, this one was of superior quality, so it was rare to hear such interference.

The sharp noise that continued after the connection sound suggested that the sound was actually occurring on the other side of the radio rather than there being a connection problem. The noise was so loud and piercing that it irritated the ears, causing all the knights outside the wide-open car windows to stare at the escort vehicles.

As the attention from the checkpoint they had just escaped focused on them again, the two people in the front seats, flustered, hurriedly closed the car windows.

The driver, alternately looking at the left side and the windshield, urgently flashed the double lights and shouted:

"Go fast!"

While doing so, she accelerated instantly to drive alongside the front car, exchanged glances, and then took the lead. The knights, sensing something strange, stopped their actions and exchanged silent signals with their eyes.

Because of this, the barricade hadn't been completely closed yet when suddenly, a strange roaring sound that caught their attention was heard from somewhere in the distance.

Screech–

The friction of tires strongly announced its presence throughout the forest. It was an ominous sound, as if the muffled sound waves from the radio earlier had burst into reality.

It was even more stimulating, and so vivid it felt like it might tear their ears. Following that, gunshots like thunder repeatedly shook the air.

Small saplings snapped with a crunch, and mountain birds took flight in panic. The snorting and neighing of horses grew closer along with the sound of fierce hooves.

The knights looked not at the escort vehicles that had just passed, but at the sloping curve from where they had come. Hugo also quickly pulled back the curtain and half-opened the window to check the situation behind them.

"Stop right there─!"

Soon after, one escort vehicle and four armed knights appeared from beyond the curve. The escort vehicle, covered in hazy dust and in tatters, suggested that the recent struggle had been quite intense.

"Oh no..."

Hugo gritted his teeth. The situation was very bad.

As he examined the magnified image of the following vehicle with water forming in front of his retina, one of the wheels running at full speed appeared flat as if it had a puncture.

Beep–

–Alpha 1, failed to shake off target. Maintaining distance, awaiting instructions!

Meanwhile, this time a proper voice was heard from the radio. The sound quality became clearer as the distance shortened.

The two lead vehicles stepped on their accelerator pedals with all their might. As the roaring engine noise intensified both front and back, the knights hurriedly mounted their horses and gripped the reins tightly.

"My lord!"

The subordinate in the passenger seat pressed the transmit button, asking for instructions, and looked back at the rear seat. Hugo, while rapidly turning his brain, couldn't make a hasty judgment in the escalating situation.

But if they continued like this, the rear car might be caught. Even if they took a different route, those pursuers seemed determined to chase them to the end.

Hugo, who had been touching his lips, lifted Leonardo, whom he had laid down. He supported his head, letting it rest against his shoulder and chest. He wrapped his arms around Leonardo's back and waist, pressing their upper bodies together as if they were one, and while staring ahead, gave firm instructions to everyone:

"Break through as is, it's a speed battle from now on. We'll have to go rougher than planned."