In the Name of Empress-Chapter 343 - 234: Advance, Alina! (Part 2)

Both sides spread out as much as possible across the plain.

The soldiers in the front row raised their guns, while those in the back anxiously waited.

If the soldiers in the front row fell, they would have to step up.

The soldiers in the first row silently prayed that the bullets wouldn’t hit them.

Most firearms of this era didn’t even have aiming devices, accuracy relied entirely on faith. Before a shootout, soldiers would silently pray, hoping for the protection of the god they believed in.

Soldiers in the second row also prayed, hoping they’d never have to stand on the front line.

The soldiers were praying, but Alina didn’t need to.

She took off her visor and calmly walked to the center of the battlefield.

She stared at Surt.

When her father secretly held power, she had met Surt a few times, but they had no close relations.

Surt was a standard neutral general, loyal to whoever was in power.

To be precise, his loyalty was to the Jin Yuan Republic. It didn’t matter to him whether Carlo or Marco was in charge.

Regardless of who came to power, pure soldiers like him would always be heavily utilized.

Soldiers should not take sides at a time like this; their job is to follow orders.

President Marco had simple criteria for this mission: capturing Alina was excellent, killing her was acceptable, and letting her escape was a zero.

There were always people saying Marco was too extreme, but he never took it personally.

He thoughtfully set up the option of being acceptable between perfect and zero.

He absolutely refused to accept the accusation of extremism, viewing it as blatant slander.

Alina made her move with flair, but Surt had no intention of imitating it.

Traitor Alina was a Transcendent, but he was not.

Although he wasn’t clear on Alina’s current strength, dealing with him would be easy.

The gap between ordinary people and Transcendents was like an entire world. The limit for ordinary people was merely the entry-level for Transcendents.

He didn’t want to casually walk up and talk to Alina.

If Alina disregarded rules and directly attacked, where would he find justice?

"Soldiers, prepare to shoot!"

Faced with Alina’s somewhat arrogant actions, Surt calmly issued the command.

His brain operated at high speed, pondering why Alina was doing this.

First, eliminate the possibility of Alina committing suicide.

He had seen Alina as a little girl, knowing she had always understood when to advance and retreat.

It’s hard for a person’s nature to change; Alina wouldn’t be so reckless.

He also didn’t believe Alina planned to disperse the Ives Port troops alone, turning the tide.

Such powerful Transcendents only included Sofia.

If Sofia personally came, he would be more anxious; but now it’s just Alina.

He had heard about Alina’s combat performance; if she could defeat a squad of soldiers, it was considered extraordinary performance. Trying to change a battle involving tens of thousands alone was sheer madness.

Since it’s not seeking death or breaking the formation alone, then it’s a plot!

Surt’s eyes lit up, he figured it out!

Reloading firearms was slow, at least two minutes were needed for a second volley.

A two-minute window was enough time for the enemy to launch a charge, tearing apart the entire defense line.

So Alina surely intended to use herself as bait to exhaust the first round of volleys, creating a time gap.

In fairness, Surt’s conjecture was logically sound.

Unfortunately, he was dealing with Alina, who didn’t play by the rules.

She wasn’t here to absorb bullets nor did she allow her subordinates to fire, aiming instead at persuasion.

Persuasion wasn’t easy; it was only slightly easier when one’s strength surpassed the other. The ease correlates directly with the gap in strength.

Alina’s army had far less paper combat power compared to the Ives Port defenders, making persuasion a farce, not something Surt considered.

Without much hesitation, he ordered his most trusted personal guards to fire at Alina, instructing others to maintain a ready-to-fire stance, guarding against Alina’s army charging during the reload period.

There were over a hundred personal guards sent to the frontline; even if their aim was poor, it ought to be enough to kill Alina.

Surt breathed a sigh of relief, his tense mood relaxed considerably.

Whatever Alina planned wouldn’t matter anymore.

Because she was as good as dead.

The firearms the personal guards were equipped with were different from those of the cannon fodder; during training, their first-hit rate exceeded 30%.

According to this ratio, at least forty or more bullets should have hit Alina.

Transcendents are also mortal and can die.

Alina would become the first Transcendent in Jin Yuan Kingdom’s history to be shot to pieces on the battlefield.

Such a pretty young girl, and so young, what a pity. Even Mr. Carlo wasn’t a match for President Marco. Could a girl less than twenty years old turn the tables?

As Alina cleared her throat and began to speak, Surt’s patience ran out, issuing the shoot command to the personal guards.

With his command, gunfire responded to Alina’s persuasion speech.

She spoke well, and many soldiers felt President Marco was overly extreme. Quite a few soldiers, looking at Alina, thought of Mr. Carlo.

If Mr. Carlo was still here, how could Jin Yuan Kingdom end up like this?

Marco, such a tyrannical bug, leading the country merely emphasizes how bleak the situation is.

People desperately needed a savior, but it certainly wouldn’t be Alina.

Because she was about to die.

The personal guards raised rifles with simple mechanical aiming devices, all aiming at Alina.

With the general’s orders, gunfire rang out simultaneously.

Only fewer than twenty bullets struck Alina.

This wasn’t because the personal guards were intimidated by Alina’s regal aura, perhaps shooting off-target, but because many soldiers felt Alina was definitely dead, and that one shot wouldn’t make a difference, opting to slightly raise their muzzles.