187 - The Monster Army
To check on Damian and the others' progress, I headed to the mansion's warehouse, where Old Man Latata's grandson had arrived.
He was carrying in wooden crates, bringing a change of clothes and other necessities for Old Man Latata, who was working on-site.
What Old Man Latata took out of a wooden crate appeared to be a weapon called a katana.
"It's finally finished!"
Monica looked delighted, but the old man's grandson had a worn-out expression.
"Telling me to make weapons exactly as instructed at a time like this... Listen, I wasn't told there were so many steps for a single one! What the hell is 'polishing' anyway!"
The exhausted look on his face suggested that the craftsmen were also being pushed to prepare for the imminent appearance of the monster army.
Despite that, he had been ordered to make new weapons, and it seemed the young dwarf grandson had struggled to complete them. ...By himself.
Feeling apologetic, I looked into the wooden crate and saw five swords, each with a slightly different shape. Old Man Latata was checking one of them.
"May I see?"
"Go ahead. It's your weapon. It'll probably need some adjustments, so use my grandson."
The young man's shoulders slumped.
"How am I supposed to adjust a weapon I don't even know..."
Old Man Latata returned the sword to its scabbard and put it back in the crate. He reached for another and began checking the katanas one by one.
"Using a saber hilt was a good idea, but... isn't this wrong?"
As the old man tilted his head in confusion, Monica, who was looking at the katana with delight, turned only her face toward us.
"This is how they are."
"No, no matter how you look at it..."
Since Old Man Latata was perplexed, I picked one up and drew it from the scabbard. It had a curve, and the blade featured a beautiful hamon pattern.
Just looking at it felt as if I were being drawn in, but it used a saber hilt meant for one hand, and I felt it was awkward to handle when I held it.
After trying to slash, thrust, and take various stances, I—returned to the warehouse and slammed my fist onto the top of Monica's head. Monica's blonde twin-tails swayed.
"The way you use it is completely different! What do you mean 'similar'?! It's totally different! And besides, this is definitely meant for two hands!"
Monica held her head with both hands.
"It's fine. Because it looks cool."
I grabbed her twin-tails and pulled them in the opposite direction.
"Wait! My precious twin-tails are going to be ripped off! My precious hair! Stop it! But, if you want it that badly, they'll grow back quickly, so I could give them to that chicken coward..."
I couldn't tell if she was disgusted or pleased.
I handed the katana back to the young man.
"What should we do? Should I make it a bit shorter?"
"No, leave it as it is. Anyway, I intend to give you a different request, so could you prioritize that?"
"...Eh? I haven't heard anything about a request."
The young man looked at Old Man Latata, but the old man had just finished checking the last katana.
"I'm busy, so you take the request. Besides, you can grow by working. My son-in-law is probably busy too, so you do your best."
The young man's shoulders slumped once again.
On Old Man Latata's workbench, several mechanical arms for women, from the upper arm down, were placed. The leg parts from the thigh down were leaning against the warehouse wall.
They were crafted with feminine lines and were made quite professionally.
"Is this side progressing well too?"
As I checked while looking at the desk, Old Man Latata nodded.
"Once young Damian finishes the main body, all that's left is to assemble them. I've also made the armor, but I'm torn between whether the wings should be realistic bird wings or mechanical wings."
I felt like he didn't need to be so particular about that, but he seemed to be seriously conflicted.
"I don't mind if you agonize over it, as long as it's ready in two weeks."
At that, Old Man Latata looked at me.
"What? Are the monsters coming in two weeks? Is it okay for you to be here, big brother?"
I scratched my head.
According to Launo-san's information, monsters were already emerging from the labyrinth one after another. Because it had become dangerously deep, it was predicted that the numbers would inevitably reach several hundred thousand.
The adventurers of Beim had also gone out for reconnaissance and predicted that the majority of the monsters would head for Beim rather than the neighboring country.
"Transport is also underway. Work on that end is progressing smoothly. As for manpower... I've borrowed as much as I could from Zain and Rolfis, rather than Beim."
This time, Clara contributed significantly to the transport and the expansion of the fortress.
Based on her knowledge, she proposed the optimal fortress. Using that as a basis, I provided the funds and gathered the necessary tools and materials.
Now, all that was left was to leave it to the craftsmen.
Then, Damian, wearing a white coat, emerged from a partitioned area within the warehouse. Beside him was Automaton Maid Unit One, who for some reason looked happy.
"Oh? You're back again?"
"I have business here."
Damian took off his glasses and wiped the lenses.
"Things are going well on this end. I think the activation will happen at the fortress, but I wonder if it'll make it just in time?"
"It'll actually work, right?"
Automaton.
Unlike Monica and the others, Damian had said these were even more primitive. However, they were automatons specialized for combat.
Old Man Latata spoke up.
"It'll move, but the problem is we don't know how much performance it has. Something like a Golem depends on the person operating it. Even if you say it moves on its own, how much performance can it actually put out?"
Damian put his glasses back on.
"I'll make sure this one is ready, so don't worry. Testing performance in actual combat is something to aspire to! So, why did you come back this time?"
I let out a sigh.
"...To pick up the gun-related gear. I need to get the ammunition and such from Vera."
Vera had also said she would go to Redant Fortress, but Fidel-san naturally wouldn't allow that.
From the Trace Family's perspective, they couldn't lend out a precious crew member, so the gun-related training had to be taught over there.
I wanted to prepare as many bows and crossbows as possible, but since they were being scraped together in Beim as well, they were in a state where they couldn't be bought even with money.
"I heard you provoked young Fidel quite a bit? Are you fearless? That boy is a merchant of Beim. If he felt like it, he could send people suited for rough work."
Old Man Latata looked worried, but I shrugged.
"I'm provoking him right on the edge, so it's fine. Besides, he's not the type of person to launch an attack at a time like this."
When he found out I was going to the fortress, he was quite happy at first. Thanks to getting him to promise support, several merchant houses also provided support since the Trace Family was doing so.
I picked up one of the katanas placed on the desk.
"...I'll borrow just one."
Old Man Latata laughed.
"That one's yours anyway."
Monica was resetting her twin-tails, and when I took the katana and hung it at my waist, she raised both hands in excitement.
"Chicken coward, you look cool!"
I got annoyed and pinched her cheek.
Riding Mei in her kirin form, I looked down at the ground from the sky.
The cave where the labyrinth had been had its entrance widened, and monsters were emerging from it in succession. An endless stream of monsters, and the nearby village had already been burned down.
Since I was looking down from afar, I couldn't tell for sure, but it wasn't the monsters who had done it.
It felt as if it had been purged by human hands.
Shannon, tied to my body with a rope, was clinging to my back. She was shaking violently, and since we were at a high altitude, she was wearing a jacket.
"Are you cold?"
When I asked, Shannon spoke toward me.
"I'm scared! Why are you okay in such a high place! Don't forget that I can see through your eyes right now because of our link!"
With tears in her eyes, Shannon was sharing the visual information I was receiving.
The reason I brought her along was that I needed Shannon's eyes for reconnaissance. With my skill—the Fifth Head's Dimension—the ground on the three-dimensional map was stained red with information obtained by the Sixth Generation's Search.
The numbers were too many to count, but no matter how I looked at it, it wasn't on the scale of tens of thousands. Monsters on the scale of several hundred thousand were emerging from the labyrinth and increasing in number.
Mei was excited and looked as if she might charge at any moment.
"...There are no allies around here, but I've called them, so they'll gather after a while. But is it okay to just leave this as it is?"
Below us, monsters were crowding together. Their eerie voices reached the sky, and I could confirm the presence of Griffons.
It wasn't just Orcs and Ogres. I could also see Land Dragons.
They hadn't noticed us yet, but there were many monsters flying in the sky.
The scariest thing about a labyrinth going berserk is that the monster army does not retreat. The majority of them invade human metropolises, destroy them completely, and then scatter to the surroundings.
If it's a labyrinth that no one enters, the scale remains small even if it goes berserk. However, a labyrinth that humans interfere with and cause to go berserk creates an army on the scale of several hundred thousand.
And monsters of that scale trample toward the great cities without stopping.
"A nightmare. ...Mei."
As I gripped the Orb in my left hand, it became a silver bow. When I moved my body, Shannon hugged my back even tighter.
From high in the sky, I drew the bow and a light arrow was created. As each one formed a clear arrow shape from an ambiguous form, I used a skill.
"Select—"
With the Second Generation's skill, I aimed at the monsters below.
I wanted to crush the troublesome monsters first. What needed to be crushed wasn't the Land Dragons. It was the Griffons.
And the monsters that flew in the sky.
Monsters that looked like mere dots from this distance. I aimed for the flying ones among them and released the light arrow.
Furthermore, I kicked Mei's belly to move her while drawing the bow.
Five light arrows were released, hitting the Griffons flying in the sky. Immediately after, the monsters' movements became active, and the monsters on the ground also soared into the sky.
One hundred, two hundred, five hundred—.
The flying monsters increased one after another, moving around and discovering us. Being pursued, we began to move as if escaping.
I released arrows and took down about five more monsters, and Griffons and Hippogriffs fell to the ground.
Shannon screamed as she looked at the monsters.
"What are you doing?! They're chasing us!"
Was it still not enough for Mei?
"You should have blown them away more flashily."
While releasing light arrows at the pursuing monsters, I shot them down one by one. The monsters couldn't keep up with the speed at which Mei raced through the sky.
However, there was one—.
"Whoa, a troublesome one appeared."
I looked back to confirm the monster that Mei called troublesome.
A bird-like monster with a black body and a long yellow beak was rapidly approaching us.
On its spread wings, there were red patterns that looked like eyes. As I looked at those eyes that seemed to draw me in, Shannon pinched my cheek.
"What the!"
As I held my cheek, Shannon released her right hand.
Shannon looked at me with teary eyes.
"It's because you were about to be drawn in!"
I didn't understand the expression 'drawn in,' but Mei explained it to me.
"That's the kind of monster it is. I forgot what humans call it, but if you're not careful, it'll make you unable to move."
Then, the Third Head gave me advice.
'It's a monster I don't know. Is it rare? Well, regardless of that... Lariel, my skill's only merit isn't just interfering with the opponent.'
Since the Third Head said so, I remembered and used the skill—Mind.
Mind causes mental interference, but it can also prevent this kind of mental attack.
Steadying my breathing, I drew the bow with all my might and released an arrow toward the monster that was rapidly closing the distance.
The opponent dove sharply to avoid it, but the light arrow pursued it without slowing down.
"Fast."
"That's why it's troublesome. Even for kirins, the small ones get eaten."
As Mei said that, I released another arrow. The monster, trying to avoid the pursuing arrow in the air, evaded the light arrow high in the sky.
The light arrow vanished without hitting.
"It dodged it completely before it hit? This thing really is troublesome."
I released a third and fourth arrow, and the monster flew frantically to escape the multiple arrows in the sky. Then, having shaken them off, it lunged toward us.
It had a larger body than Mei, and its talons looked very sharp. I felt a certain toxicity in the black claws with purple tips.
"That's a strong poison, so be careful. For humans, just touching the liquid would be fatal."
Hearing Mei's advice, Shannon clung to me and screamed.
"Why did you bring me along!"
I thought I'd have her work hard at least for the reconnaissance, but Shannon started crying and became useless.
I heard Mireia-san's sigh, and my spine chilled slightly.
'Honestly. How can someone with the power of those eyes be this useless... She's cute, but she needs to be trained a bit—no, a lot.'
Hearing that, the Fifth Head muttered.
'I think Shannon is better off as she is.'
That's what they said.
(You guys, worry about me more!)
Feeling irritated, I took a deep breath and drew the bow. Steadying my breathing, I glared at the monster while riding on the back of the accelerating Mei.
"...Up-Down."
When I used the Fourth Generation's skill, Mei's speed increased even further. In contrast, the monster's movements suddenly became sluggish.
However, it tried to shake off the interference from the skill.
"This thing is strong."
Thinking that an incredible monster existed, I released a light arrow infused with magic power.
As the monster tried to evade immediately, the arrow exploded mid-air and split into dozens of arrows that pursued the monster.
Surrounded and left with no escape, dozens of arrows pierced the monster and exploded in the air.
The monster, blown to pieces, fell to the ground.
Wiping away sweat, I searched for the presence of any other monsters of the same type. There seemed to be none, but I thought a very unpleasant monster had appeared.
Then, I looked at Shannon clinging to my back. The link had been cut midway, so I looked to see what happened...
"This idiot fainted while still gripping my clothes."
Looking at Shannon with her eyes rolled back, I let out a sigh.