031 A Certain Scientific Railgun

With a swift swing of his blade, Andy felled several more beasts, his body swaying before he resolutely steadied himself once more. His body was already marked by numerous wounds, waves of pain continually jolting his nerves. Yet, the ability to feel pain was, in a way, a blessing—it meant he was still alive. But while he lived, many others had lost their lives because of him.

Strictly speaking, this sudden battle was of his own making, and Andy was keenly aware of it. Had he not naively trusted the words of that mysterious stranger, had he not let the intoxication of power cloud his judgment, Acacia would never have suffered so grievously. At this thought, Andy lifted his gaze to the woman ahead, who was still tirelessly swinging her sword.

Her composure and prowess exceeded his wildest expectations. In that moment, Andy understood why the king had sent Huanluo to Acacia—calm, young, determined, both strong and adaptable. After several baptisms of war, she was surely a formidable commander.

Noticing the faint trace of worry on Huanluo's face, Andy could not help but speak. "Don't worry. Reinforcements will arrive soon."

"Reinforcements?" Huanluo echoed, puzzled by the word. "Where would reinforcements come from?"

"I apologize for rejecting you when you first arrived, but now, let me formally introduce you to Acacia's most crucial border defense—universal conscription." Andy swept his hand toward the rear, where the troops were holding the line.

Waves upon waves of people surged toward the battlefield—vendors, butchers, alluring innkeepers—yet now, they all shared a single identity: warriors. Clad in matching armor, wielding the weapons they knew best, they rushed heroically to plug Acacia’s greatest breach.

The previously dominant beast horde was suddenly overwhelmed by this unstoppable tide of determined townsfolk, forcing the monsters into retreat. For once, Huanluo looked on in rare astonishment at the swelling ranks of the militia, her ancient sword pausing in mid-swing for a moment or two.

"With me!" Andy raised his massive blade, rallying the throng as they charged toward the beasts.

Huanluo, briefly dazed, felt blood loss from a wound torn open by sharp claws on her back. She thrust her sword into the earth for support, fighting against the dizziness as she tried to stay conscious—just as the sun was slipping below the horizon.

"No! Andy, pull back!" She snapped to attention, shouting, "These beasts go into a frenzy after dusk—fall back!"

"What?" Amid the bloodlust and tumult of battle, Andy could not make out her words.

"Retreat!" Huanluo bellowed, signaling with her hand.

Although he didn't know why she was urging a retreat, Andy chose to trust her. "Everyone fall back! Defend!" From his vantage at the front, Andy’s command managed to halt many from pressing forward. He was about to report back to Huanluo when suddenly, night seemed to fall in an instant.

The dazzling sunlight was veiled in a shroud of darkness, and the entire battlefield was bathed in the glow of sunset. Dusk had arrived.

A resounding howl erupted from the beasts, who had just moments ago been scattered. They stopped in their tracks, howling toward the sun. One cry followed another, echoing from the battlefield into the distance and back again. Then, the monsters' bodies began to swell grotesquely, as if they were enduring tremendous pain, jaws clenched tight. Their expressions twisted into ferocity, their eyes shifting from panic to savage bloodlust, now glaring at the humans who had driven them back mere moments before as if they were nothing but ants.

With a roar that split the heavens, one beast—no one could tell which—launched itself at the humans, and the entire crazed horde followed suit. Swords and blades seemed powerless; the beasts, wild-eyed and bristling with wounds, attacked relentlessly as if they would never fall.

"Go for the head!" Huanluo surged to the front, stabbing through a berserk, silver-helmed bear just as it lunged at a young militia fighter. Witnessing her clean, decisive swordplay, those around her found their fighting spirit reignited, gripping their weapons and charging anew.

Yet not everyone possessed Huanluo’s ferocity or the keen edge of her ancient sword. The militia, after all, were mostly individually trained, their coordination a tangled mess. Watching the number of comrades dwindle with each passing moment, Huanluo clenched her brow, but there was nothing she could do.

If only there were some large-scale destructive attack—anything to suppress the frenzied beasts. If things continued like this, even if Acacia survived, it would be nothing but an empty city!

"Friends to the south! Clear the area! We have a legendary weapon of mass destruction here—wouldn't want to harm our own by mistake!!" A voice rang out, lively with excitement. Instinctively, Huanluo glanced back.

Floating in midair behind the lines was a trio—two young men and a woman, strikingly handsome and beautiful. At the center stood Liangyin, utterly transformed from the frail, sickly girl Huanluo remembered from that unremarkable forest. Now, she gripped a deep blue wooden staff, its tip set with a white gemstone that seemed almost sentient, swirling white mist around the three of them. Her flowing pink hair danced in the wind, lending her a gentle but vibrant air. Her blue eyes were lowered in concentration, lips chanting an incantation in an unfamiliar tongue, as she stood upon a deep blue magic circle that drew mana ceaselessly from her, glowing with a steady light.

To Liangyin’s left stood a silver-haired man Huanluo had never seen before. He conjured electricity with his bare hands, standing as nonchalantly on his own magic circle as if strolling a garden, in stark contrast to Liangyin’s solemnity.

On Liangyin’s right, a red-haired boy seemed almost a bystander, holding an unremarkable wooden staff and mimicking a stance of power, though the faint energy he wielded was all but invisible amid the brilliance of his companions. Unbothered, he seemed perfectly content, enjoying the spectacle from the sky as though he were a tourist.

In another moment, Liangyin’s downcast eyes snapped open. A surge of powerful water magic burst forth from the direction of the Eternal Staff, rushing through the corridor left clear by the crowd. The rush drenched those near the stream, but since no one was hurt, they consoled themselves with the thought that it was merely an unexpected bath. Just as they were processing this, the crackle of electricity filled the air.

What now? As if seeing death itself, the drenched and stunned onlookers stiffened and looked up. The silver-haired youth in the sky flashed them a bright smile, but the current in his hand showed no sign of abating. With a casual lift of his hand, the electricity followed the torrent of water like a Roman road, surging forward in a brilliant arc.

Stardust Chronicles 031_031: The Unscientific Railgun—update complete!