Chapter 3: The Titan of Shakeout (UNEDITED)
At the boundary between the barren land and the Western Nations is a long structure called the Long Wall.
It is said that the small states within this wall were built by the work of the god Luminas to protect their civilizations from the hot sand, also known as the Deadly Desert.
This long wall is considered sacred because it is protected by a special 'Barrier'.
It is the 'Anti-Monster Intrusion Barrier'.
As the name suggests, its purpose is to prevent the invasion of monsters.
It is common knowledge to those living in the frontier that the human sphere of existence is protected by this 'Barrier'. The 'Barrier' is activated to protect the long wall, blocking the invasion of monsters from the Deadly Desert.
The principle was simple: it was intended to block the accumulation of magicules and to prevent the formation of huge monsters. At the same time, it had the property of repelling magicules, so that more powerful monsters would not be attracted to it.
Naturally, it is not a universal phenomenon, and monsters sometimes invade through the frayed edges of the wards. However, since there are desert people who hunt them for a living, this has not been a major problem.
This long wall is considered to be the front line of the battle against monsters, and is included in the patrol route by the Holy Knight Order.
Through these regular patrols, the breakdown of the wards has been found and repaired. The work also included defeating invading monsters, thus protecting the lives of the people on the frontier.
These facts have been accumulated, and the belief in the god Luminas has been enhanced.
At the same time, the myth of the safety of the long wall was also unshakable.
However, today.
Today, after 2,000 years, the longwall is revealed in its true form.
On the top of the long wall, there is a skeleton wearing sacred vestments.
It is Adalmann.
A few moments ago, a distortion of space was detected. Immediately afterward, a massive shift revealed an army of giants.
"Oh, my God, the enemy has shifted as predicted!"
Adalmann was not panicked, but rather, he was happy to hear this.
He is more excited than threatened by the fact that Rimuru's prediction has come true.
However, he does not forget his main point in his excitement. After the 'Telepathy Net' to the home country, they have just switched their attention to the battle in earnest.
On the other hand, the Titans who had moved to the new location were convinced that their surprise attack had succeeded. They believed that the enemy must be in a panic since they had all traveled several days by Mai's authority.
Dagruel's group had deliberately made their march look like a march to catch Luminas off guard. They expected that the enemy would see this and take countermeasures, and that they would not be fully prepared to intercept the Luminas.
But in fact, they are not.
It was not something to be panicked about as of yesterday or today, but a defensive posture had been constructed to be able to respond to the situation without sleep or rest.
The majesty of the "Binding Chain Giant Gods" is clear even though they are still at a distance.
More than their numbers, their quality is overwhelming.
Each of them was huge, a mass of muscles.
Giant ogres, single-eyed giants (cyclops). Hecatoncheires (multi-armed giants), and many other types of giants were closing in on us in packs.
Adalmann laughed at the sight of Dagruel's army as it appeared.
"Well, this is a spectacular sight. I'm afraid my little skeletons may be a little too much for you.
"A little, huh?
Adalmann was answered by a beautiful purple-haired woman standing next to him. She was Shion, looking good in a suit.
"To tell you the truth, it will be a little... a little tough, but we'll make it.
Adalmann is surprisingly competitive and does not whine before the battle. He is even more so because his army is immortal and can easily rise again.
"Well...do you have a plan?"
Shion asked the reason for Adalmann's confident attitude.
"Well, it's not much of a plan, but Albert's command is quite good. Besides, look closely! Look at the line of our army!"
Adalmann said, pointing to the orderly line of his men, the Immortal Legion.
"What do you think? Even the skeleton soldiers are well equipped by our God!"
Shion realizes that this guy (Adalmann) wanted to brag about it.
...
...
...
Adalmann is led by immortal monsters summoned by Adalmann himself.
It was a spectacular sight to see such immortal monsters lined up in perfect order inside the long wall.
The main force was led by two thousand death knights.
The death knights led by the death lord are an immortal order of knights who ride death horses.
The death knights are equipped with full-body magic mail armor that shines dully. Needless to say, it was the best quality armor with the Tempest mark, made in the dwarf factory.
Although not produced by Garm himself, it is a high-class product made by his disciples, who lavishly used high purity magic steel. Its performance is well known, and it blended well with the mana of the death knights.
And that's not all.
In addition to the mainstay, there is a hidden gem.
Deployed on the long wall are lower-ranking monstars that lack direct offensive power.
The total number of them is 50,000.
Zombie soldiers, 10,000.
Bone Soldiers, 20,000.
Bone Archers, 10,000.
Bone knights, 10,000.
The number of skeleton knights was overwhelming.
Of course, they are weak individuals with an average strength of about D rank, so they would be of little use to us even if they are used as they are.
However, what is noteworthy here is the equipment of the monsters.
The latest weapons, which were manufactured at full capacity by the factories in the country of the monsters, were used in the game, as Adalmann boasted.
The armor was standardized, and the uniforms of the monster nation (Tempest) were identical in performance, although the colors differed according to the ranks. The uniforms have a reasonable level of protection, and even have fire-resistance, cold-resistance, and so on.
The most notable feature of this uniform is a portable recoilless missile launcher carried by a skeleton archer. The missile projectile, which is launched at five times the speed of sound, contains not only explosives but also compressed mana.
They were carried by skeleton soldiers, who were trained to be assisted by two skeleton archers for every one skeleton archer.
Thus, as many as 10,000 mobile batteries were born.
However, the number of bullets is not that large. The total number of rounds was 50,000, including one round loaded from the beginning and two rounds carried by each soldier.
Next, the zombie soldier was carrying an automatic rifle (assault rifle).
Although it is a gunpowder weapon with no mana, its destructive power is not to be underestimated. Although it would not be effective against enemies with physical resistance, it was expected to be effective against lower-ranked Titans.
These firearms had been banned by Rimuru's decision, although the manufacturing method had been researched and established. However, only this time, the experimental operation was permitted under the condition that the serial number and the tracking magic were stamped on them.
The truth is that Ciel is the only one who is aware of this, though he was busy with his work when the document came around and he stamped his seal without checking it carefully. Rimuru himself was unaware of such a situation, but it was probably lucky that Adalmann did not know about it.
And this is not the only secret weapon.
Last but not least is the equipment of the Bone Knight.
Surprisingly, they are all equipped with "Imperial magic saber". They even had a "spell gun" hanging from their waist.
Armed with armaments salvaged from the imperial soldiers, the sabers had greatly increased their offensive power while ignoring their defensive power.
Although it was a mess, Adalmann decided that if suicide attack tactics were incorporated into the immortal soldiers who did not fear death, their strength would be irrelevant.
This was the whole idea of the Immortal Legion.
An army of immortals who did not need to eat or sleep had been assigned as the first line of defense.
Trouble was, these immortals had all their abilities increased under Adalmann's control. In addition, the 'Holy-Demonic Reversal', the power of the Ultimate Gift 'Necronomicon', had changed their attributes, so that the 'Anti-Demonic Intrusion Barrier' that the long wall had put up was not a barrier against demons. The 'Anti-Demonic Reversal', the power of the Ultimate Gift 'Necronomicon', changes its properties, so it is unaffected by the 'Anti-Demonic Barrier' that the longwalls put up, and can work without any problem even during the daytime.
Unlike in the labyrinth, they cannot be resurrected once they are destroyed...but since holy magic does not work, it is an advantage that they are not purified by turn undead.
Only those who have fought against them can understand how evil the undead are now that they have become holy beings. Since they cannot be killed by conventional attacks, the only way to stop them is to destroy them.
Such an army of immortals (Immortal Legion) was deployed to intercept the enemy by making good use of the long wall.
The longwall is more than five meters high and is arranged in such a way that it is easy for snipers to get a clear view of the area below.
In fact, the original function of the longwall was precisely to serve as a defensive facility that Luminas had built to thwart Dagruel's territorial ambitions. The appearance of these weapons was unforeseen, and the vampires were supposed to intercept them with their magic, but the details are unimportant, since they have secured their advantage.
...
...
...
Shion's eyes narrowed at the sight of Adalmann's men.
Shion's honest impression was that it would be meaningless to have so many skeletons.
However, he changed his mind when he saw the equipment.
No, what bothered me more was...
"Hey, Adalmann... let me ask you, how did you get all that equipment?"
The equipment for the men is provided by their superiors. That was the common understanding among the corps commanders and the top brass.
Of course, if they applied for and received permission, they were given equipment. However, it was a waiting list, and even the top brass were not allowed to skip out of the process.
In the workshop of the monster country (Tempest), the Second Corps led by Geld was given priority. Since this is directly related to the national defense, no one has complained about it.
Although all the members have been equipped recently, it is difficult to maintain them because there are so many of them. Since they are made of magical steel, most of them can heal themselves, but it is still true that most of the reservations are filled by the Second Corps.
The next is for commercial use for adventurers.
Since the purpose of this business is to earn foreign currency as part of the national policy, Shion could not interfere in the business.
Therefore, waiting for free equipment takes too much time.
In such a situation, there are many roughnecks in "Yomigaeri" and they spend every day in training.
This in itself is commendable, but it is not productive.
Some people may think that it is not a problem because they are professional soldiers, but they often break their equipment or tear their uniforms, so they use the repair workshop with a certain frequency.
Naturally, for free.
Therefore, Shion received many complaints.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible to apply for new equipment, and the official equipment of "Yomigaeri" was still in its initial state.
Even then, they were given only to the executives and early members, and not to the newcomers who had recently joined the group.
For those newcomers, apprentice craftsmen had been given the equipment they had made for practice, and they had been making their own equipment... but the appearance of the equipment was not consistent, and they had to use bandanas and armbands to emphasize the purple color, somehow keeping up appearances.
Shion, who had no choice but to ask Rimuru for new equipment, was filled with a sense of wonder as to why Adalmann, a newcomer to the group, was getting new equipment.
To this question, Adalmann answered with a smile.
"Well, it's a simple story. We took cheap equipment worn by adventurers and smashed it, or directly purchased iron ore with the money we got, and so on. I also have contacts with merchants, so I made use of them as well.
No! Wait! I don't think challengers will come to the level you're guarding.
Shion is right to wonder.
Adalmann's guardianship is between sixty-one and seventy levels, so it should be designated on the reverse side.
As for that, I have sent my men on a mission. It's good for training, so we can kill two birds with one stone.
Adalmann had sent his monsters to the upper floors to make a killing. In the spirit of "it's all right as long as we don't get caught", they were doing quite reckless things.
"Yes, I'm glad to see that many of the Imperial soldiers have good equipment. But the most delicious thing is to defeat the iron golem.
Hearing Adalmann's cheerful voice, Shion understood.
He was not only playing with adventurers in the labyrinth, but was also diligently collecting materials.
The terrain of the 51st to 60th levels is rocky and sometimes golem monsters appear. Among them, iron golems are rich in high-quality iron. If such monsters were defeated and stored in the labyrinth, high-quality magical steel would be produced before long.
Defeating iron golems was not only a good way to train for combat, but also to collect materials. It kills two birds with one stone, and Shion can't help but groan when he catches a glimpse of Adalmann's abundant financial resources.
Or rather...
（What's that? (Is he making more money than I am, by any chance ? )
), Shion suddenly realized.
On the contrary, there was a possibility that the other guardians of the hierarchy were also doing some kind of financial scheming.
As for Shion himself, let's look back.
Shion was not originally attached to Yi Mai Chi money. In the village of ogre to which Shion belonged, the blood and knowledge of otherworlder were inherited. Therefore, he knew the economic concept itself.
Shion did not care about money in the first place. It is only recently that I started to pay attention to such things.
Shion himself did not even have a wallet, as if he thought that Adalmann was making more money than me.
Recently, the number of Shion's subordinates had been increasing, and he was beginning to realize that this situation was not good for him.
There is a limit to the deception. The executives of "Yomigaeri" seemed to be having a harder time than Shion was, and Shion could not be indifferent to the money-raising.
Incidentally, Benimaru and Souei are making a surprisingly large amount of money, and they have been updating all of their equipment with their abundant funds. The benefits for the members are also generous, making it a popular place to work.
Surprisingly, Gabil is also reasonably wealthy.
He and Vesta jointly registered patents on their research discoveries, and he earned a regular income. Gabil's subordinates were also paid, so none of them had to worry about the cost of equipment.
So it was Shion who had the least money.
Ultima, who had come to support Shion at Rimuru's request, approached him in shock.
"Oh, come on, Shion-san, you don't have to think about how to get money, you can just steal it from the enemy!
He made a very absurd and devilish proposal.
This was a very problematic statement from the Prosecutor General of the Public Prosecutor's Office, which is in charge of investigating the great evil in the country.
Shion, however, felt as if his eyes were opened when he heard this.
"Well, you have a point!
I see. I'm so smart!
Adalmann, who was listening at the side, was very excited.
Adalmann, who was listening to them, thought.
It is not right to talk about it on the battlefield, he thought.
It is true that Adalmann himself has robbed adventurers of their equipment in the labyrinth. But he did so only after ensuring their safety.
And...
Adalmann has some common sense left over from his former human life.
When he was preparing the equipment, he gave various kinds of allowances to the craftsmen to get them to give him preferential treatment. Like Shion, they would never say, "Do it for free! like Shion did.
That's why they were able to prepare something reasonable and promptly...
(This is not good. (It would be better to keep quiet to Shion-dono.)
Adalmann is very wise to think like that.
A mouth is a curse. Gadra (Master), Adalmann's good friend who came to his rescue, nodded his head in agreement.
No, it is true that even Adalmann feels that there are some problems with the fact that his newcomers are better equipped than the old guard of Shion.
Common sense tells us that we should favor the strong over the small fry.
I don't want to be criticized for this, so I shouldn't draw Shion's attention any further.
So Adalmann decided to quickly digress.
"Well then, Shion-dono, let us take the lead first as planned," he said.
Shion-dono then turned the point to the enemy.
Shion nodded his head.
Shion nodded his head. I give you permission to go ahead and do whatever you want!
Adalmann was relieved to hear that the permission was granted.
And then the battle begins.
Dagruel's army, which was supposed to reap all the benefits of the war and head for the holy city at breakneck speed, was suddenly blocked in its march.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login