A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 309: Chapter 245 Ambush_1

Ever since she was a child, Kate developed an unexplained fascination for the stars above.

Whenever she looked up at the starry sky, Kate felt as if a part of her soul yearned to be absorbed into the vast, boundless galaxy. She always had a feeling that her soul was intrinsically connected to that distant space. If possible, she even yearned to travel up there, to personally experience that… connection between her soul and the stars.

Unfortunately, the war dashed the girl’s naïve romantic dreams.

Following the Pendulum War, humanity did not enjoy lasting peace because not long after, the Beast Race emerged from underground, transforming the world into a living hell.

In Kate’s memory, her childhood was subsequently filled with nothing but escape, war, death, and endless conflicts. The once beautiful past has been utterly destroyed. Even the power she once felt could connect her to the stars seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Of course, for Kate, this was nothing to fuss about, as bedtime fairy tales had long since become something of the past. What she was facing now was a completely different life.

“Huuh….”

Kate pulled down a worn-out scarf that was covering her mouth and let out a breath; she tightened her grip on the rifle in her hand and cautiously examined her surroundings. Behind her was a group of wandering refugees who, just a few months ago, were still living in a nearby town. But with the town being discovered by the Beast Race’s scouts, it became increasingly unsafe, forcing the people to move once again…

This was the life of a refugee. For various reasons, they could not enter humanity’s final stronghold on the Jasindu Plateau, a place the Beast Race’s attack could not break through. Hence, they were forced into a nomadic life. Of course, the reasons for this varied among the refugees. Some couldn’t abide by the iron-fisted ruling of the Wei’an Government Alliance that governed Jasindu; some held grudges against the Wei’an Government due to the previous Pendulum War. And some simply lacked the means to enter…

Kate was one of them.

When she was little, her parents were killed by the invading Orcs. Ever since, Kate had been wandering around like a rat, moving from one group of refugees to another. Now — already fourteen years later — the horrors of the Beast race still haunted her nights.

“Hey, Kate.”

Suddenly, a voice startled Kate, causing her to swiftly point her gun in the direction of the sound. She discovered a young man in a helmet standing behind her, grinning at her.

“Oh, it’s you, Camon. Be careful, or I might blow your head off.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to.”

The young man raised his hands in appeasement.

“I just wanted to offer you a drink. Look, I found something good earlier…”

While he spoke, he pulled out a bottle of liquor from his clothes and waved it in front of Kate.

“I don’t have time right now.”

Despite coveting the bottle of liquor, Kate scanned her surroundings as she talked.

“Don’t forget, we are on the move. What if the Beast Race discovers us…”

“Then we die.”

Camon dismissed Kate’s concerns, uncorked the bottle, took a gulp, then wiped his mouth.

“Tell me, Kate, is there really any hope left for humanity? We have no idea how many large armies the Beast Race has left, while we have almost nothing left to give. It’s the same for this tribe. We can’t stay in one place for long, because no matter where we are, we always fear that the ground beneath us might collapse in the night, followed by a horde of Beasts who crawl out and slaughter us… This is the fate of all refugees, isn’t it? The Wei’an Government is useless. What good can we do? Might as well leave this damned world sooner rather than later… At least I can dream peacefully then.”

“… You’re drunk.”

Smelling the stench of alcohol on Camon’s breath, Kate retreated a step. People who had lost hope for the future like Camon were not uncommon among the refugees. They feared an attack by the Beast Race, yet they had no power to resist. Every day for them was filled with dread. Some, unable to endure another day without hope or a future, chose to end their own lives.

And what about herself, Kate pondered.

She felt too busy with everyday tasks to consider such matters, only focusing on her work and immersing herself in it. Whether in battle or otherwise, as long as there was something to do, Kate wouldn’t let herself overthink.

“What’s wrong with drinking, come on, you have a sip too…”

As he spoke, Camon stumbled towards Kate, once again lifting the bottle for a swig. But just then…

“Bang!”

The sound of a gunshot rang out, and Camon’s head was instantly pierced. The bottle of liquor he was holding to his lips shattered, showering him in fragments and liquor. The young man stood there dumbfounded, only to collapse lifelessly onto the ground.

At the same time, Kate heard the familiar, nightmarish roar of beasts.

“An attack, it’s the Beast Race!!”

Kate shouted as she crouched down behind half a broken wall. Several towering Orcs leaped to the ground from the surrounding rubble, brandishing their weapons and attacking the refugee group. The normally slow-moving group of refugees instantly panicked. Many screamed and ran, trying to escape the Beast Race’s onslaught. They all knew that the Beast Race wouldn’t just kill them; they would capture humans to bring underground, turning them into pitiful slaves and experimental subjects.

Quite clearly, even the refugees didn’t wish to face such a fate.

“Parararara!!!”

Kate crouched behind her shield; her weapon raised and fired into the horizon trying to stop the Beast Race from attacking. Several other Guards had also caught up and were working with Kate to hold back the Beast Race. Either way, with the appearance of these beasts, the reward for this mission would be rich for Kate and the other Guards – if they could survive.

That is, if they could make it back alive.

“Quick, quick, quick! Get them out of here!!”

As Kate bellowed, her fingers squeezed the trigger as she aimed at the Beast Race. Her weapon rapidly emptied its ammunition, although its effect was minimal against the tough bodies of the beasts. A few bullets would not take them down. Not to mention, the weapons in the refugees’ hands were not advanced military-grade, just obsolete light rifles from the Pendulum War. These weapons could easily take out a human, but they were no more effective than water guns when used against the hardy Beast Race.

Kate saw with her own eyes a bullet from her rifle hit an Orc soldier in the head, a blossom of blood bursting out. It would have been a fatal shot for a human. However, the Orc only paused and continued to charge towards them. It took half a cartridge of bullets before Kate was able to take down the beast.

Please let this be a patrol party…

Once again, Kate hid behind her shield as she hurriedly loaded another cartridge, silently praying. However, howls rang out from all directions, extinguishing Kate’s hope.

“Damn it! It’s the Beast Race’s army!”

“We must retreat!!”

At this moment, the Guards began retreating swiftly. It was obvious that the refugees assigned to them were dead. They had walked right into the Beast Race’s trap, and it was pointless to worry about them now. When Kate turned around, she saw a bunch of Orcs rushing towards the refugees and knocking down the screaming fugitives.

“Move! Move fast!!”

A reward was no longer on their minds; their greatest prize would be getting out of here alive. The other Guards began to disperse, and Kate hesitated. She looked at the refugees under attack and then at the retreating Guards. She was lost for words.

“Hey, Kate, if you don’t leave now, it will be too late!”

Seeing Kate still standing there, one of the Guards shouted out loud. The noise made the Beast Race look their way, and a bullet passed straight through the Guard’s head. On the refugee’s side, the ones who couldn’t escape had all been knocked down and captured by the Beast Race.

“Mama…! Mama…!!”

A child was crying while searching for his mother, but the next moment, he was knocked down by a member of the Beast Race.

Seeing this, Kate made a decision.

She flipped her body over the barrier using her slender and small body to squeeze through the cracks, then she arrived at an abandoned post not far away. A Beast Race’s firepower turret was mounted there. One of the beasts was operating the turret, firing shells while laughing at the refugees.

“Hey!”

Kate jumped out from behind the Beast Race, reached out and tapped his shoulder. She then plunged a knife into the beast’s neck and kicked the body off. Next, Kate took control of the turret and aimed it at the Beast Race troops.

“You bastards! Die!!!”

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!”

Along with Kate’s roar, the turret let loose an endless stream of bullets. This time, however, the target was not the refugees, but the Beast Race. The beasts quickly realized something was wrong – they turned around and started shooting furiously at the turret. However, Kate stood her ground behind her turret, continuing to squeeze the trigger and firing a rain of bullets.

But before Kate could kill more of the beasts, a fierce shock hit her from the back, knocking her down. Looking up in complete shock, she saw a large beast glaring at her threateningly, lifting its foot to step on her head. Almost instinctively, she twisted her body and evaded the fatal blow. She then summoned all her strength to spring up, jumped onto the beast’s back and stuffed a grenade from her pocket into the beast’s waist. She then forcefully leapt backward.

“Boom!!!”

The grenade exploded instantly, splitting the beast’s body in half. The explosion blew Kate away, and she crashed hard onto the ground.

“Ack!!”

She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Lying on the ground, she had no strength left to continue fighting. She could see the Beast Race closing in on her from all sides.

Perhaps this was how she would die.

With that in mind, Kate looked up at the sky.

The starry sky was as beautiful as ever, but…were there more twinkling stars than before?

Wait, what’s that?

Soon, Kate realized that something seemed off. The brilliant stars in the sky seemed to grow brighter, and closer too….

Could it be that the stars were falling from the sky?

With that thought crossing her mind, Kate couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.

However, soon after, she saw the radiant lights…falling from the sky, hitting hard into the midst of the Beast Race.