The two Russians glanced at each other before gulping, and after a few seconds, slowly began to put their weapons down.
هدير ، عندي سجينين هون. جيب شي لاحجزهم"
(Hadir, I have two prisoners here. Bring something to detain them.)
"UGH, THANK THE GODS!" Otto exhaled, dying over the stress of what was about to happen.
"Thank you, truly." Reinhard sighed as well, bowing his head in gratitude to the soldiers who decided to preserve their lives rather than die in vain.
"Well! At least they're not all stupid!" Felt exclaimed with a smug, "Consider yourselves lucky big bro's the one you had to face!"
"H-hum…Felt-sama, if Subaru-sama wasn't there, maybe they would not have to live this situation at all?" Frederica thought aloud, "Would it not be unfortunate for them then?"
"I mean yes! But no! But you are right, but this is n-" Felt began to confuse even herself, "ugh, you know what I said!"
The rebels then entered the armory and brought the two soldiers away, while Farah walked past them along with Hadir to meet Subaru in the armory.
"Beautiful work CIA! The armory is ours!" Farah exclaimed in joy, "Cousins! Come and resupply, our battle is not over!"
"Farah…" Subaru stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, "they're prisoners. Right?"
Farah looked in Subaru's eyes and then turned her gaze towards both men being detained.
"What you think of right now, they are doing it to us," she said with a disgusted voice over what she remembered, "إنهم ليسوا معلمينا".(They are not our teachers.)
Reassured, Subaru shot a warm smile to the leader of the rebels, who smiled back as well.
"They are not their teachers…Those are wise words." Wilhelm agreed with a proud smile, "in times of war, it is sometimes so easy for one to let itself be drawn by the desire to make the enemy pay for every single thing they have committed."
"To be able to hold such a feeling and stay truthful to your ideals, it truly demands incredible bravery." Crusch smiled in respect to Farah's words.
"The girl is young, but she has strong willpower, I suppose." Beatrice closed her eyes, relaxing now that danger seemed away from her contractor.
"Hearing you say that is more disturbing than I thought…" Felt mused with a stare towards Beatrice.
"Should I remind you of the age difference between you and me, I suppose?!"
"Ah, looks like these guys aren't that stupid in the end, right princess?" Al turned towards Priscilla.
"They certainly took the correct decision in this case. Nevertheless, dead or alive, it is of little importance."
"I'd have fully expected them to fight back, for some reason…" Otto couldn't help but wonder, while Garfiel and Frederica agreed with him.
"They seem to be a prideful army, surrendering sounds unbecoming of them," Frederica followed the merchant's thoughts, "however, i'll remain relieved that they decided to listen to reason rather than pride."
"Yeah, would've been a real shame if they didn't take capn's deal here. Would have died for nothin'." Garfiel nodded his head.
"I didn't know you spoke Russian; this is a very good skill considering who we are fighting!" Hadir laughed in surprise, "you never cease to amaze, CIA."
"Ah, you don't say!" Otto exclaimed, followed by laughter from the entire front row.
"I aim to please," Subaru sighed before looking towards the weapons on the armory racks, "What the…"
"Is there a problem?" Noticing his sudden frown, Farah turned her eyes to the weapons.
"He looks disturbed." Felix grimaced, not liking this one bit.
"He just saw something." Crusch replied, waiting to see what caught Subaru's attention.
"Those are MK17 rifles," Subaru thought out loud as he picked the rifle, "Russian troops should not have these at their disposal…"
"Why not?" Hadir questioned, "Those are just guns. They can just purchase them, right?"
"I mean…That's the principle of weapons…" Anastasia wondered aloud, "if these are 'just guns' then yes, anyone could purchase them, especially an empire."
Otto gulped down as he couldn't stop his ears from listening to the merchant princess, wondering if she had any hands in weapons deals.
And he wasn't the only one, considering that both Crusch and Emilia turned towards her with a skeptical gaze.
"...What?" Anastasia looked back and forth between both candidates.
"You seem to be talking from experience, is all I was thinking." Crusch narrowed her eyes.
"Mhm…Have you ever dealt with weapons, Anastasia-sama?" Emilia questioned as well, with a more worried gaze than the Duchess.
Anastasia took on a more bored look, her feelings mixed between outrage and upsetness.
"Just shut up, and focus on the screen." not willing to go further on the topic, Anastasia was direct in her rebuttal, uncaring of the Duchess' eyes turning red in anger.
"Oh, please do not mind me. I am just makin' sure people are not immune to be reprimanded for their unwelcome words." the merchant queen winked with a haughty smile.
"..." Emilia remained silent, unable to offer counter words or support to the Duchess, who just turned back around.
There was nothing else to say.
"No, these rifles are under FN Herstal, a Belgian company which works under NATO. Russia can't buy any of these," He explained as he turned the rifle around, "here it is, the serial number."
"So there is rules when it comes to weapons, as Julius-san suggested!" Otto realized.
Julius didn't know if he should be satisfied with his deduction being right or not, since it meant that some weapons could truly be far more dangerous than others considering Subaru's reaction on screen.
"Could it be…That they only consider a certain level of power to be under regulations?" He thought aloud, wondering what was the limit put in place in this world when it came to weapons.
"Or, it is all a question of who produces the said weapons." Anastasia narrowed her eyes.
"My lady?" Julius turned to her.
"I am just sayin', that maybe in this world there are places which would have it much better if some people have weapons to fight." She concluded.
"So these people…Would make their weapons easily accessible…" Julius followed her thoughts, "I see. Your insight is greater than ever, my lady."
"Or, it's just business, ya know?" Ricardo whispered.
"What will this do?" Farah asked.
"Determine how they got their hands on this," Subaru replied as he turned on his radio," Watcher, you copy?"
"Affirmative…What is going on?"
The scene switched to Laswell who seemed a bit surprised by Subaru's sudden call, and immediately took a serious expression when she heard his tone of voice.
"That's a lot of lights, and screens…" Emilia thought with a worried expression, "are these…Maps?"
"It seems like it…" Crusch replied, trying to figure out what the woman on screen was up to.
"So wait, where is this lady?" Mimi pointed with her finger, "we didn't see her around big boss bro at all!"
"She is somewhere else, but we can still see her thanks to the power of the screen," Tivey explained, "just like during the last viewing where we saw the mean wolf person and big boss bro at two different places."
Mimi twitched her ears in excitement as she heard her brother's explanation, "this screen is so powerful! That's amazing!"
"I think we had already figured out," Reinhard scoffed as he heard her cooing in excitement, remembering how he himself couldn't do anything against the power of this room.
"We got a situation here. I just found FN SCAR rifles in one of the armories of the airbase, about to transmit the serial number now."
"Rog', just a second," Laswell replied as she began to type on her keyboard, "go ahead."
"L006697"
"…I got it."
Several images started to pop up on Laswell's multiple screens showcasing weapons, crates, a ship, and issued orders, making her stare at them in confusion.
"She just typed in these numbers and got ALL of that to appear?!" Frederica exclaimed with wide eyes.
"This' the power of their 'technology', so it doesn't really surprise me no more." Garfiel crossed his arms, "still amazon' though."
"I just wonder…What does this all mean?" Rem grunted as she didn't like being clueless of what was happening on screen.
"It will be explained soon, sister." Ram reassured her, as she was confused as well.
"What's the situation?" Subaru asked her as he kept checking the weapons.
"This is coming straight up from the Belgian military. It was part of a shipment destined to the SOCOM, but from the intel I have it was considered lost in the sea…"
"Lost?" Ricardo frowned.
"Yeah, not so lost. Not at all!" Al voiced his resent over whoever's incompetence lead to weapons being in the wrong hands.
"Lost uh…" He replied as he loaded the SCAR with a 7x62 magazine and checked the aim.
"I will make a call so troops can retrieve them, can't leave those in the open," Laswell said as she brought a computer keyboard closer to her, "good work Subaru."
"Yeah…" He hesitantly replied as he attached the rifle to his carrier strap, "all good."
"…You just took one for yourself didn't you?"
"Nah." Subaru scoffed as he tapped his rifle.
"Pft." Petra had to hold off her laughter, while both Garfiel and Otto didn't mind voicing it out.
"I hope this one doesn't…Uh…'j-jam' on him." Emilia said in worry.
"He seems to be rather satisfied with this weapon, I believe he is confident in how to use it." Crusch nodded her head with a smile towards the half-elf, "I am sure things will go well with it."
"Yeah, he really seems to like it. Maybe it's more his style?" Ricardo put a hand under his chin, "Everyone is more confident with a weapon that speaks to him."
"I wonder what's big bro's favorite weapon?" Felt thought after hearing the dogman.
"I wonder how dangerous he would be with it…" Otto followed up with an uneasy expression.
"OI, I WANNA SEE NOW!"
Farah and Hadir watched the scene with grins, not knowing if it was serious or comical, but judging on Subaru's expression, they decided to laugh it out.
Subaru picked up other SCAR magazines and stuffed them inside of his plate carrier, as Farah rallied her men to the entrance point.
"Everyone! To the gates! The tarmac is through this passage, they will not escape us!"
"Alright, they are resuming their assault." Wilhelm pointed out.
"I have a feeling we are not prepared for what is to come…" Crusch felt a weight on her stomach, having been accustomed too much to the saying of 'rest before the storm'.
"Mhm, I just hope Subaru does not do anything stupid…" Emilia mused while looking at her knight in the front row.
Farah then tried to open the gates with the help of some of her men, but quickly realized she was unable to push further.
"It won't open…" She cursed through her teeth, trying to look for an issue.
"They must have locked it, these cowards!" A rebel grunted.
"Should we blow it up? They must have C4's in the armory…" Another replied.
"I got a better idea!" Hadir exclaimed as he rushed towards a truck, "I'm going to ram it! Stand aside!"
"He is going to…W-wait! With that thing?!" Emilia exclaimed, looking around and noticing the surprise of most people as well.
"It's like a big car!" Garfiel roared, excited to see what would happen.
"Oh boy…" Ricardo whistled.
"Ahahahah, and why not? That's smart." Al laughed.
As he was turning the engine on, Subaru received a call from Laswell.
"ETA in about 20 minutes Subaru, any news about these S-400?"
"Nothing in this area Kate, I gather these have to be on the tarmac," Subaru sighed as he looked up towards the airbase, "we're about to head there."
"I can't stress this enough, Subaru. Take them down, or you'll have nothing. We can't risk a lead towards us falling on Russia's hands," She reminded him with a dead serious tone, "if this can't be done you'll be on your own."
"I got this. 3-1 out."
"The fact that they would prioritize the secrecy of their involvement rather than coming to the rescue of their soldiers is…Concerning." Reinhard winced as he feared for Subaru to be fighting a battle too tough for him.
"Yeah, that's kinda cowardly if you ask me, but big bro seems to be fine with it." Felt said in a serious tone, crossing her arms, "they gotta have their own reasons."
"Politics, and the importance of the mission." Wilhelm narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Old Wil?" Felix turned to him, curious about his words.
"Subaru-dono was certainly given the duty to act for the sake of the politics he is fighting under. They have more importance towards their goal than the lives of their soldiers." The old man explained, with a glint of bitterness under his tongue.
He knew war only too well, after all. It was what he built his life around.
Hadir rammed through the gate using the truck, destroying the metal doors with a loud rumble.
"تعالوا على أبناء العم!" (Come on cousins!) A rebel shouted while making a sign for his group to follow, نحن نسير على هذا النحو!""(we're going this way!)
Subaru followed with hasty steps, "don't rush! This is their last line of defense, we must advance cautiously!"
"Wait…!" Julius shouted.
"What are they doing?!" Rem followed, seeing how Subaru was running behind them to stop them.
"Hey, don't be stupid!" Otto punched his armchair.
"Oh-oh…" Al murmured in frustration, "that doesn't sound good."
"..." Priscilla watched with attention, not saying a word as she hid her face behind her fan.
But as he tried to warn them, a voice rang through Farah's radio from the snipers covering them.
"كريم! مروحية أخرى قادمة إلى موقعك! " (Karim! Another helicopter is coming to your position!)
"Fools." The crimson princess closed her fan shut, snorting in disappointment.
"لا! ارمن! انزل عن الطريق! "(No! ARMEN! GET OFF THE ROAD!) Farah yelled at the top of her lungs, as the Russian helicopter flew right in front of Armen's group, making a strafing run on the road and turning them to pieces with its machine guns.
"يا الله!" (Oh God!)
"ARMEN!"
"اللعنة عليكم أيها الروس!" (Curse you Russians!)
The theater was filled with sudden gasps of disgust and fear once again, no one being able to get used to the brutality of this world's warfare.
"Fuckin' hell!" Garfiel had his breath cut short witnessing the brutality of the scene.
"Not again!" Otto cursed with a hand on his ear, "damn it!"
"ugh…" Ricardo clicked his tongue in disgust.
"That was dumb…" Mimi sighed, before receiving a slap from her brother.
"Show some respect!"
"They're dead! Get to cover!" Subaru yelled, grabbing one of the rebels by his plate carrier to pull him back as Russians troops took defensive positions ahead of the road and began to shoot towards them.
"He saved this one's life," Anastasia exhaled in pity, "a second more and…"
"He would have joined his comrades in death." Julius grimaced, "but is it for the best…? He will now live knowing that he should have been killed…"
"The hell are you talking about?" Ricardo frowned in confusion, "of course it's for the best if the guy's alive!"
"...You are right," the knight sighed, "apologies, I was…Lost in my thoughts."
"Get yourself together." Ricardo grunted.
The dogman mostly disliked the effect of such speech could have on the twins. He perfectly understood what Julius was referring to, but it was not the mindset he wished for Mimi or Tivey to have.
They were now standing at the other end of a short road a few meters away from the tarmac, where several barracks stood at each side of the passage, while enemy troops fired from their positions up ahead.
"That's our only way…" Farah whispered in frustration, seeing how impossible it was to reach the other end at first glance.
"There's too many of them!" Hadir grunted, "Looks like their reinforcements came, after all!"
"We need the drones!" Farah replied while trying to shoot from her cover, "This is our only way to get out of here!"
"The helicopter is coming back!" One of the rebels yelled as he struggled to run back to cover.
"We're pinned! We can't get him!" Another one yelled with heavy breathing, "He'll tear us apart!"
"They are getting overwhelmed!" the Duchess gritted her teeth, "this is bad…"
"The one who loses his mind in the middle of the battle has already lost," Wilhelm grunted as well, "they need to collect their thoughts and remember why they are fighting here."
"It's easier said than done, they are attacked from all sides!" Felt replied to the old man, "but yeah, they gotta move, now!"
"I sure hope they could hear ya, but I got the feeling they don't," Anastasia winced while showing resent for Felt's annoying voice, "so be a bit more quiet, alright?"
"Oh fuck off!" Felt made a quite rude movement with her hand towards the merchant princess.
"Felt-sama!" Reinhard shouted in distress.
"Yeah yeah, etiquette and all that," the little blonde scoffed while turning back to the screen, "keep that for the real world."
"I would please ask you to show some respect towards my lady, Felt-sam-"
"No. Fuck you too." Felt cut him, without turning around and leaving everyone around astounded by Felt's interactions.
Aside from Priscilla, who couldn't help but laugh her heart out to these people jumping at each other's throats for everything and anything.
"CIA, tell me you have a plan for this helicopter!" Hadir yelled with a glint of fear in his voice.
"And of course, it's left for him to save them out of this!" Rem snapped.
"They have no other choice, Rem." Ram replied, albeit being as upset as her sister.
These people's incompetence shouldn't but Subaru in danger. This much was something Ram couldn't stand and kept being silent about.
Subaru looked over their cover for a second to observe what kind of scenery they had to deal with and managed to come up with a plan.
"I do! But I'll need one of your molotovs, I used mine!" Subaru grunted as Hadir immediately handed him a bottle without thinking twice.
"Thanks!" Subaru then jumped out of cover and ran towards the stairs of the nearest barracks, while the helicopter prepared to make another passage and gun down the road.
"HEY!"
"WAIT WAIT WAIT!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"STEP BACK, I SUPPOSE!"
"You stupid…!" Emilia's words were cut short as fear rose in her heart, her body crippled in place.
"ماذا يفعل؟! سوف يطلقون النار عليه! "(What is he doing?! They're going to shoot him!) One of the rebels yelled as he saw Subaru sprinting up.
When he reached the top, Subaru and the pilot were somewhat at the same level, glancing at each other in the motion of one second, in which Subaru threw the Molotov right to the cockpit before jumping inside of the barracks, a bunch of bullets nearly grazing him.
Everyone in the theater felt their mouths fall down at what they had just seen, struggling to let out a single sound, taking a moment to process what they had just seen.
At this point they were used to their friend being a daredevil, but the bold solutions he would fearlessly accomplish were still impressive enough to never cease to amaze.
"Would you stop putting my heart in such a difficult state…" Emilia held a hand to her chest, trying to calm her breath.
"Tck." Ram squeezed the boy's shoulder, as if to punish him for what she had just seen.
The pilot yelled as the fire spread inside of his vehicle and lost control of it, before it crashed on the side of the barracks, the blades breaking against the ground and sent flying everywhere.
"AH! Capn' really didn't miss it!" Garfiel smirked.
"Everything is so chaotic, I really wonder how they can keep fighting under so much pressure…" Frederica added up in worry.
"That was brutal…" Otto trembled, "I really feel bad for this man…"
"Don't expect a kind death when you deal with such destructive weapons," Ricardo commented, "being in such a powerful weapon means you die in a powerful way if ever you get beaten."
"Well…The heli is taken care of…" Subaru said through the radio as he grunted and held his head, standing up with difficulty while trying to catch his breath.
He turned around to see the bullet shots on the stairs he just escaped from, "how did I not get shot from this one?"
"Subaru….!" Emilia felt like she wanted to grab him and reprimand him for his actions.
"Perhaps it would be best to not do what you would consider yourself dangerous, then…" Crusch growled, trying to keep her hands to herself.
"Stupid Subaru-kun." Rem pouted, squeezing his arm.
"I see. I will have to hammer some reason into you, it seems." Ram narrowed her eyes.
"Because you were expecting to get injured?!" Beatrice yelled in outrage, "You stupid contractor!"
In her anger, she hit the sleeping boy's belly with her elbow, even though she knew it would be useless.
"Beatrice-sama, I believe our Subaru is not really responsible for the actions of the one on screen…" Crusch smiled, knowing she couldn't even hurt him if she tried.
"Let Betty do what relieves her, in fact! Betty has the right to hit Subaru if she wishes so!" Beatrice waved her hand.
Quickly, the camera changed to show Hadir and Farah looking at the crashed helicopter in disbelief after hearing that Subaru was alright.
"بدأت أعتقد أن هذا الرجل استبدل ذكائه بالجرأة." (I'm starting to believe this man traded his intelligence for boldness.) Hadir whistled while laughing.
"لا تفكر حتى في اتباع مثل هذا المثال!" (Do not even think about following such an example!) His sister reprimanded.
"Even them?! That says a lot!" Felix sighed, "Subaru-kyun really needs to be more considerate about himself!"
"Why can't you be like this?" Ram reprimanded Subaru, slapping him on the head.
"Nee-sama?!" Rem yelped as she felt shocked-just as the entire front row- to see her sister slap Subaru.
"Would you kindly get your hands away from Subaru, Ram-sama?" Petra stared at her superior with threatening eyes.
"It is alright, Rem. He does not feel anything anyways." She replied, not looking towards Petra at all.
"Ram?!" Emilia seemed afraid by such an answer, looking at Ram in alarm as if she was about to use Subaru as a punching bag in the next viewing session.
"I very much believe it would be wiser to not go to such length even if he is asleep, Ram-dono." Crusch sternly replied, still feeling a bit nervous about the hit Subaru had just taken for nothing.
"Indeed, should you touch my contractor again, Betty will not hesitate to use force to put you back in your place, in fact!" Beatrice was the most angered out of all.
It was already quite infuriating that some of the women in this room dared to break her contractor's hands, now some wanted to hit him to vent some frustration?
This was nothing short of unacceptable for Beatrice.
The camera came back to Subaru, went to the window of the barracks and began to shoot the enemies trying to advance towards the rebels.
"Hadir! The planes!" Subaru reminded him through his radio, while taking out several Russian soldiers going out of cover.
"Yasin!" Hadir called through the radio.
"فهمت الملازم! إرسال موجة أخرى!"(Understood Lieutenant! Sending another wave!)
The scene changed to show the Russians taking their defense.
«Не подпускайте их ближе!» (Don't let them any closer!) A soldier yelled to his men.
«К нам на помощь идут танки!» (We got some tanks coming to help!)
"АХ! ЭТИ КОРИЧНЕВЫЕ СУКИ КОНЕЦ!" (AH! THESE BROWN BITCHES ARE DONE FOR!)
"Brown? They're using their skin color as a form of insult?" Felt raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. Not uncommon." Al scoffed, "you'll get used to it."
"That's low and stupid, but I wouldn't expect anything less from these guys." The little princess shrugged, having already acknowledged her hate towards the enemies of Subaru.
"Race as one of the means to hate one another, how original." Priscilla clicked her tongue.
"You seem kinda upset, princess."
"Of course, when I see such animals not even deserving to be walking the earth, how could I not feel angered?" She began to fan herself.
"...You are this much against racism, princess?" Al seemed surprised.
"When it comes to judging a man, many factors come into question, Al. Competence, skills, behavior, knowledge, ambition," the crimson princess explained, while keeping a rather disgusting glare at the screen, "someone's origin is not one of them."
"But-"
"Look at these supposed 'brown' people they deem inferior. Yet, they are pushing, fighting, and while they are outnumbered and under-equipped in this world of advanced warfare, they are still on the winning side. Does that not say a lot about superiority?" She pointed out.
"Alright, but-"
"Pride over yourself is important, but underestimating others based on something so trivial will only lead to ruin. Such is the way of the losers." She spat out, leaning back on her seat while opening her fan again.
"Okay Princess I get everything you just said, but you are still the first one who openly bashes the silver-haired girl at the election over her appearance."
"Because she is the exception." She replied without a doubt.
"So there are exceptions now uh…" Al replied, deadpanned.
"Yes, there is. Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror, for example? Why do you think I keep you around mine camp, if you are not an exception?"
"...Right, I went too far didn't I? My bad." He apologized while turning back to the screen, feeling like going any further would be fatal for him.
«Нам также нужно уничтожить их аванпост вон там!» (We also need to take out their outpost over there!)
One of them said as he pointed out to the top of the hill, "вот где они сбрасывают свои дроны!"(this is where they're throwing their drones off!)
"Oh shoot!" Tivey yelped, "they figured that out!"
"It was only a question of time," Julius replied, "it seems like the situation is becoming more and more complicated from now on, this adds up to the list."
"I want to think this is nothing Natsuki-kun cannot handle, but…" Anastasia sighed, feeling the stress rise even for her.
«Понятно! Командование, у нас есть повстанцы, запускающие дроны из здания к юго-западу от базы! Нам нужно уничтожить их!» (Got it! Command we have some insurgents launching drones from a building south west of the base! We need to clear them out!)
"Понял, солдат, сейчас посылаю отряд!" (Understood soldier, sending a detachment now!)
The scene came back to Subaru as he tried to see for an opening from the backdoor of the barrack he was in, when a soldier opened the door.
Emilia gasped in fear as soon as she saw the soldier much like everyone in the front row.
Subaru ran and rammed against the soldier by his waist, pinning him against the guardrail of the stairs outside and punching him in the face as he grabbed his legs and flipped him over.
"Ahahahahahah!" Ricardo couldn't stop laughing, "let's go little boss!"
Crusch held a hand to her heart, exhaling in relief.
"Natsuki-san!" Otto watched in horror, "since when are you so violent?!"
Garfiel couldn't even hear him, as he was too busy jumping in place at the sight of his role model taking down every enemy he met in such a cool way.
"Is it even worth it to be scared anymore?" Petra chuckled, "it seems like every time a situation like that happens, Subaru overcomes it."
"That is not new." Frederica smiled while patting the head of her little maid, still calming down her heart at the scene she had witnessed.
But right as he looked on the side, he saw another soldier aiming at him, but was shot through the throat before he could pull the trigger.
"Oof!"
"Wow…"
"What the…"
The sudden fear everyone felt at the sight of the soldier was immediately wiped away as they saw him die just as quickly.
Subaru looked at the direction where the shot came from, and made a small salute with his hand on his forehead in thanks.
"You're welcome cutie." Asma murmured to herself as she ejected the bullet from the chamber of her KAR98 and loaded another.
"I shall allow you to call Betty's Subaru like that just this once, since you looked over him at Betty's place, I suppose." Beatrice nodded her head, appreciating how Asma protected her contractor.
"How strange…Even though I should feel thankful, I still feel resentful." Crusch smiled with narrowed, dangerous eyes.
"Cutie, uh…" Ram whispered as she looked down at Subaru's face, "it doesn't really fit you Barusu, not with these eyes."
"..." Rem silently watched the screen, closing her eyes and pouting as she had to feel thankful towards this woman.
As Subaru came down the stairs, the wave of drones flew over his head, crashing down the enemy positions and creating an opening for the rebels to advance.
Subaru quickly ran around towards them as they pushed forward, forcing the defense troops to fall back after issuing great damage from the RC planes.
"This was a good hit, took 'em down a notch." Felt smirked.
"He reunited with them, and they seem to have reversed the situation…Right?" Felix was looking for anyone else to confirm his thoughts, wanting to be optimistic on this matter.
"I wouldn't say they have reversed the situation yet, Felix-dono," Wilhelm crossed his arms, watching with attention, "but they have at least managed to keep a tight stance on their attack."
"At least he's not alone, there's less chances of him doing anything rash…" Emilia tried to reassure herself as much as she could.
"I doubt that, but whatever makes you feel less worried, Emilia-sama." Otto uttered, smiled uneasily at the head of his camp.
"The hangar! It's right there sister!" Hadir yelled out.
"I see it! Get us more planes in the air Hadir!" She replied, a hint of eagerness perceived in her voice.
"Yasin!"
"Commander, we're attacked!" Yasin yelled through the radio, "we can't do anything for now…I'm sorry!"
"They're getting to the safehouse!" Hadir realized, "Sister…"
"Uh oh…" Al leaned forward, "this doesn't look good."
"They have no air support now….Oh no." Rem widened her eyes in fear.
"Things are going to get incredibly more difficult by now, these little flying birds are what pulled them out of trouble!" Mimi held her ears in anxiety.
"They gotta have a back up plan! Ain't no way they just thought it would be that easy!" Ricardo raised a hand towards the screen in protest.
"...I really hope so." Julius spoke in a rather neutral voice, observing attentively.
Farah cursed under her breath, looking at Subaru joining them, she widened her eyes.
"CIA! Tell me your air support is close!" She said in a voice hinting her fear.
"It's here in a few minutes, I just need to take out these!" Subaru pointed out to the S-400 missile systems, "or we're on our own."
"The fear is rising in their hearts, however it seems like Subaru-dono is keeping himself calm." Wilhelm seemed surprised, "hm…"
"Wilhelm-dono?" seeing the old man lost in his thoughts, Crusch called for him to lay out his mind.
"It seems like Subaru-dono has learned to not fall into panic, Crusch-sama. I was simply observing how amazing it was, for such a young age."
"He is 25 years old…Were you not the same at his age?" Crusch questioned.
"No. I was still making rash, and rather stupid decisions. It was way easier for me to give up on my rational thoughts in battle than you think, Crusch-sama," He explained, remembering how reckless he was during the demi-human war, "Subaru-dono has already reached enough experience to not give up on his instincts even when the situation is as chaotic as that."
"Hm…" Crusch nodded her head, acknowledging the sword demon's words, "I suppose it is another one of his marks as an experienced soldier."
"Inexperience rarely goes into account, Crusch-sama. It is a question of survival, most of the time," Wilhelm turned towards her, but avoided her eyes, "it is…Impossible to blame a man who would take a rash decision when hell is a few steps behind him."
"So, you would say it is natural?"
"I would." Wilhelm concluded, as both him and Crusch turned back at the screen.
"The last of their forces are regrouped here…It's all or nothing!"
Farah breathed out aloud, as Hadir looked at her worriedly.
"Hey hey!" Subaru snapped her out of her thoughts, "لا يمكنك الاستسلام الآن كريم ، ليس قريبًا جدًا من النصر! إذا تعثرت الآن ، فإن كل أورزيكستان ستعاني!"
(You can't give up now Karim, not so close to victory! If you falter now, the whole of Urzikstan will suffer!)
"There is something about hearing him talk in that language that is…So strange and yet…" Reinhard watched in wonder, unable to find the words he wished to speak.
"Yeah no, I get what you mean," Felt smiled at her knight.
"He always had the right words at the right time doesn't he…" Emilia smiled fondly for a moment.
"Hm…" Crusch smiled as well.
"Looks like lil' boss knows what to say to get the warriors out," Ricardo praised proudly, "that's good!"
"It is even more impressive that he is doing it in her own language, I guess…" Al wondered, himself amazed by Subaru speaking such flawless arabic.
"Speaking in her mother tongue will make her understand." Priscilla replied, smiling behind her fan, "she knows these words are directed to her and only her."
"I guess you're saying it hits closer to home this way?" Al chuckled while agreeing with Priscilla, "Yeah, you're probably right about that.
Hadir looked at Subaru with determination, acknowledging his every word. As Subaru tapped his shoulder.
Farah calmed down her breath while staring in his eyes, grimacing in distaste of ever fathoming the thought of despair.
"لديك طريقة مع الكلمات ، وأنا أعطيك ذلك." (You have a way with words, I give you that.)
She smiled at him, preparing her rifle again, "انطلقوا يا أبناء عمومتنا! انطلقوا! تذكروا لماذا نقاتل من أجله! تذكروا من نحميهم بقوتنا وأيدينا وقلوبنا!" (Come on cousins! Push through! Remember why we are fighting for! Remember who we are protecting with our might, our hands and our hearts!)
The rebels answered to the war cry of their commander with shouts of their own, a new fire raging in their eyes for the sake of this battle.
"A good leader always knows how to fire up her troops." Anastasia commented in admiration of Farah.
"She got what it takes! That's for sure!" Felt clenched her fist in excitement, "Come on guys! Take this win!"
"Capn' got her!" Garfiel howled, "right in the heart!"
"What?" Rem turned towards Garfiel.
"Can you repeat that, Garfiel-sama?" Petra inquired of the tiger boy.
"What do you mean, shield of the sanctuary?" Crusch narrowed her eyes towards him.
"That she's fired up! Look at her, she's right boutta' kick their arse now!" Garfiel pointed at the screen.
"Oh." Rem turned back at the screen.
"It makes sense." Petra turned back at the screen.
"Good." Crusch turned back at the screen.
Garfiel watched them in great confusion, while Otto stood behind with horrified eyes, happy for Garfiel to have appeased the storm brewing from these girls.
He perceived an aura only a keen eye could perceive.
"There we go," Wilhelm smiled, "now the battle starts again."
"How are you going to turn this around…?" Crusch thought aloud with eyes full of expectations.
"There is nothing a brave heart cannot do, Crusch-sama. If it is a battle of wits, the heart which fights for the better cause will always win." Wilhelm told in a wise voice.
"I need help to take out the coms building and these fucking trucks. You're with me?" Subaru asked Hadir while looking in his eyes, to which Hadir grunted and nodded his head.
"Let's do it, brother!" He answered, "For Urzikstan!"
Subaru threw another smoke grenade forward, covering the approach of the rebels while he got out of cover.
Few soldiers focused on him and Hadir, but their constant firing pushed them to remain in cover.
As Hadir hid behind a jeep, Subaru dived forward to put himself into a prone position, having a window to his enemies as he began shooting towards them.
"There are so many different techniques to use these weapons, but Subaru seems to be the only one who knows them…" Crusch commented as she saw him being the only taking different kinds of position to fire, "I suppose he is more effectively trained than any of these people.
"The elite of the elite, Crusch-sama." Felix repeated while twitching his ears, "Subaru-kyun is no mere man at this point."
"I agree that he seems far more trained and fit for this fight than any of these people, rebels or russians." Julius continued as he wondered the same as the Duchess.
Farah's rebels managed to get the edge of the compound, forcing the troops to fall back in the hangar, while Subaru reached the communication device.
It was a medium sized metallic device about the size of a truck, filled with glowing buttons, cables, and a satellite parabola on top.
"That's the first step…" Subaru thought while reaching the computer of the satellite.
"Do you know how to turn it off?" Hadir questioned, taking cover behind it while shooting the enemies retreating.
"Uh…Yeah?" he said with an unsure voice, glancing at the top of it.
He then pulled out his pistol and shot the antenna, breaking it as it fell down and looking down to the computer showing a "disconnected" warning message.
"Here, all good." Subaru sighed, turning to Hadir who chuckled with a shake of his head.
"He didn't know how to use it?" Felt asked with a deadpan expression.
"He didn't know how to use it." Reinhard replied cheerfully, "but he still managed to accomplish his objective, I suppose."
"So long as it works." Felt nodded her head.
"So long as it works…" Hadir laughed at how ridiculously effective was Subaru's solution.
"Pft," Felt laughed loudly, "I like this guy."
The scene changed to the last Russians on the compound.
«НАМ НУЖНО БОЛЬШЕ ПОДДЕРЖКИ! » (WE NEED MORE REINFORCMENTS! THEY'RE FUCKING US UP!) One of the Russian soldiers shouted as he ran back to cover.
«Тяжелая пехота идет к вам, они будут здесь примерно через минуту! Держитесь!» (Heavy infantry coming your way, they'll be here in about a minute! Hang on!)
«КОМАНДУЙТЕ, ЧТО ИХ СЛИШКОМ МНОГО, МЫ…» (COMMAND THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM, WE'LL-) The soldier couldn't continue his plea as a bullet pierced his head.
On the ground near the lifeless body of the Russian soldier, the radio could be seen turning on as a voice shouted at the other end of the line,
«Солдат?! Солдат! Солдат, докладывай!» (Soldier?! Soldier! Soldier, report!)
"They did it…? They…" Emilia wanted to speak, but the sight of such death and blood made her reluctant to.
"This is war." Ricardo grunted.
"Never expect to receive kisses n' hugs when you have robbed someone of what they hold dear." Felt shook her head at the sight of the dead soldier.
"They got what they deserved! I ain't crying for no one!" Garfiel clicked his tongue.
"It's still ugly. I agree with you, but…" Otto was at loss for words, and decided to not continue.
The camera went back to Subaru as he and Hadir cautiously made their way forward to the base, shooting any leftover enemies they could see. Soon, the tarmac was cleared, the last remaining soldiers being either inside of the hangar or running away.
Subaru quickly went to check the S-400 battery missile, and made sure the rear was down and deactivated.
"Watcher, 3-1 here. We're good, the coms are out and the S-400 is out of service."
"So you pulled it off, that's good news…You'll be needing this one," Laswell exhaled in worry, "several heavy infantry coming towards you. Tanks, and troops. Lots of troops."
"Oh…" Otto gulped as he heard the news.
"Maybe they're not out of the woods just yet then…" Emilia held both her hands over her chest.
"They're certainly not." Anastasia affirmed, having a feeling that things were far from done.
"…Right, thanks for the heads up, we'll hurry here," Subaru coughed out a bit, "3-1 out."
"What is it, CIA?" Noticing his unease, Farah asked him.
"We'll be under some heat soon, Farah. We need to get inside that hangar and take defensive positions. Now."
"…I see," Farah turned around, looking at her troops, "Cousins! We need to take this hangar now! There might be more enemies coming!"
Subaru slowly took the lead and lifted left hand and turned into a fist up, telling everyone to stop.
"...What are they doing…?" Petra instinctively began to whisper as the atmosphere began to quiet down.
The only thing which was heard on screen, was the cracking noises of the fire left behind by the explosions around the compound, as Subaru and the rebels slowly advanced towards the hangar.
"They seem to be very cautious…So cautious they do not utter even a sound," Crusch observed, lowering her voice as well, "it seems like they do not wish to rush anything."
"This is somewhat stressful…" Rem commented as well, keeping a tight grip on Subaru's left arm.
He looked around an instant and faced the rebels.
"فرح ، أنت ومجموعتك تأخذون القنابل اليدوية لهذه الجثث وتلقي بكل شيء بداخلها. هدير أنت والآخرون تتخذون مواقع هنا. أي شيء ينفد من هذه الحظيرة ، فأنتم حرين بالإطلاق." (Farah, you and your group take the grenades of these dead bodies and throw everything inside. Hadir, you and the others take positions here. Anything that runs out of this hangar, you're weapons free.)
The fact that he talked in Arabic made everyone widen their eyes, realizing that he knew where the enemies were hiding. But before executing themselves, the rebels turned to Farah, who smiled wide at Subaru.
"اذهبوا يا أبناء العم! افعلوا كما يقول!" (Go cousins! Do as he says!) She ordered them.
"Grenades? He wants to…!" Otto quickly figured out.
"That is dangerously smart." Wilhelm admitted, stroking his beard in thought.
"I still don't get it?" Mimi looked at her brother seeking answers, "what's the deal?"
They quickly picked up all the grenades they could from the bodies of dead Russians, while Hadir and his men mounted their weapons over obstacles, either crouched or prone, taking aim towards the hangar.
Subaru joined Hadir, and then ordered everyone to throw their grenades.
A rain of little green explosives fell inside the hangar, which in a few seconds alerted the troops hiding inside, who ran out of cover out of fear.
"ГРАНАТЫ! БЕГИМ!" (GRENADES! RUN!)
"БЛЯДЬ!" (FUCK!)
"НЕ ОСТАВАЙТЕСЬ ЗДЕСЬ!"(DON'T STAY HERE!)
And just as planned, Hadir, Subaru and his group fired upon the soldiers who showed themselves, all the while the floor trembled with the number of grenades thrown.
"THAT IS WHAT WAS GOING ON!" Mimi yelled in surprise.
"They were preparing to ambush them," Julius mused, "but in such a limited area, they were at the mercy of such a tactic…"
"It was rather unexpected, can't really blame them," Ricardo hesitated, "with such a crushing advance, they certainly thought they'd be more and more confident."
"I'm pretty sure they would have been, if it wasn't for Subaru briefly taking command." Crusch testified without a hint of doubt in her voice.
"I agree, these rebels don't look like the smartest out there when it comes to warfare." Felix nodded along with his Duchess.
"That's…Yeah, I mean that's what rebels are. They're just civilians who took up arms to defend themselves, I don't know what you expected." Al joked from above.
"Well, being a civilian does not exclude foolishness, don't ya think?" Felix replied, while Al only waved his hand up.
It was not to agree with him, but rather to say that he didn't wish to continue further discussion with this irritating catboy.
"Wise decision, Al." Priscilla praised while glancing towards her jester.
"Thanks. Really not in a mood to deal with that guy right now."
"Is there ever one?" She sarcastically replied, making Al chuckle under his helmet.
It was quite unfortunate that no one but Roswaal could see them right now, to witness one of the few moments ever when Priscilla Barielle and Aldebaran would actually bond in some other way than punches and threats.
"حسنًا ، تحرك ولكن ابق على أهبة الاستعداد. لا نعرف أبدًا ما إذا كان أحد لا يزال هنا"(Alright, get moving but stay on guard. We never know if anyone's still here.) Subaru got up, leading the troops while on guard.
Soon enough he stepped inside of the hangar, tapping Hadir's shoulder to take a side while he'd take another, and found nothing but dead bodies.
"They seem to be having that teamwork going on," Felt grinned, "Good! Big bro needs trustable people like that with him."
"I do agree that Hadir has gained quite a rapid synergy with Subaru." Reinhard smiled as well, agreeing with his lady.
"Yeah, too fast." Garfiel spat out.
"Yep." Otto didn't seem happy either.
"Everyone inside the hangar, come on!" Farah ordered her troops.
"Seems like the place is ours," Subaru breathed out, as all the rebels entered the hangar.
"There! The last armory!" Hadir pointed out the red building.
As the three of them approached it, they overheard the voices inside.
"Ah, there we go again…" Otto grunted while leaning on his chair, "do you think he'll try to spare them again?"
"Knowing capn'? Definitely." Garfiel answered without a doubt.
"I would like to believe he would as well." Frederica hopefully spoke.
"I think it's rather obvious, but you're free to be dumb." Petra nonchalantly replied.
"Yeah, I thought so to-HEY!"
«Черт! Они здесь! И они отключили связь!» (Shit! They're here! And they cut the coms!)
«Возьми пистолет, запри дверь! Подкрепление идет!» (Get a gun, lock the door! The reinforcements are coming!)
«Мы могли бы просто сдаться…» (We could just surrender…)
"You could." Reinhard spoke as if the Russian could hear him.
"That would be the most sensible choice, I suppose." Beatrice spoke out.
«Ты хочешь оказаться на видео на YouTube с отрезанной головой?! К черту это!»
(You want to end up on a youtube video with your head being cut off?! Fuck that!)
"There's still some dog bastards inside," Hadir spat out.
"I hear them, CIA get to the door, we'll cover you." Farah replied.
Subaru went forward and tried to kick the door open, yet it wouldn't.
"Shit." He cursed as he shook off his leg.
"Ouch, I don't think that feels any good." Tivey warned in a sad voice for Subaru.
"Черт! Они здесь!" (Shit! They're here!)
"Do you still want to try and make them surrender, CIA?" Farah questioned him.
"We don't have time for new prisoners!" Hadir intervened, "CIA, let's dispose of them!"
"Hadir is letting his feelings take over." Frederica shook her head.
"His hatred towards his enemies leaves no other choice for him." Wilhelm grieved in a grave voice.
"Considering the situations, I would understand why prisoners would be too inconvenient too." Crusch mused to Wihelm, trying to justify Hadir's behavior by something more than sheer hatred.
"They are putting the weight of the choice on Subaru…" Emilia lamented.
"He dealt with it before, so they expect him to do it again." Anastasia pursed her lips, thinking out loud.
Subaru looked back and forth between Farah and Hadir, and soon heard a call from the radio.
"كريم! هذه أسماء! القوات الروسية على باب القاعدة! لقد أحضروا جيشًا حقيقيًا! " (Karim! This is Asma! Russian troops are at the door of the base! They brought a real army!)
"They really don't have time nyow!" Felix grunted.
"Yep! dices are thrown." Ricardo smirked.
"What will you do, Subaru-kun?" Rem spoke in a hushed tone.
"For fuck's sake." Subaru grunted as he punched the door of the armory.