kscans

Chapter 105 - 7. The Most Primitive Form of Organization

We went straight from Bertold to the knight order’s garrison. The garrison was on high alert. Knights and members of the supply corps were constantly moving in and out.

The building that had been under construction was now complete, serving as the new headquarters. We were led to the innermost room, a space that appeared to serve as a command center.

Inside, a map was spread across a wide table. Five spots were marked in a line from north to south.

"The clearing of Spot 1 is complete. Our forces have now begun clearing Spot 2. Additionally, the reconnaissance team has confirmed the presence of Mucus at the other three spots."

A female knight, a sub-commander, was in the middle of a report. It seemed the slime-like creatures were indeed appearing in massive numbers at the other locations as well.

"So far, no monsters other than Mucus have been confirmed. However, their numbers are enormous, and our progress is slowed by the fact that they are only active at night. The knights from the former Second Knight Order also mentioned that while these creatures are called Mucus, their color and movements are subtly different from the ones they know."

A species not native to the kingdom. That makes it all the more likely they were deliberately seeded.

"You’re back, Ricardo. Things are proceeding smoothly here, but weren’t you supposed to return a little later?"

Prince Craig grinned and beckoned me over. Even though the word ‘trouble’ was practically written on my face, he remained as reassuring as ever. The female sub-commander signaled a knight standing by the door. The knight stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind him.

This was a conversation that couldn’t be overheard. After all, our enemy was not some mindless monster.

"...and that’s why there’s a high probability the eggs were intentionally seeded," I concluded.

On our way back from Bertold, we had predicted the Imperial carriage’s route and gathered information from the villages nearby. There had been sightings of an unusual carriage around and between the designated spots.

"I see. That would explain why the spots are arranged in such a neat line. It seems the race was merely a secondary objective for the Empire."

It now made sense why they would risk leaking military secrets about their carriage just to participate.

The prince’s words made the tension in the room instantly ratchet up. To deploy biological weapons in a nation with which you have trade relations is a clear act of hostility, tantamount to a declaration of war.

Did they think they wouldn't get caught? No, any competent strategist would plan for that contingency. I know I would.

This meant we had to assume they were fully prepared to cross that line.

"Sage-dono, is there any possibility that more powerful monsters have been released?"

"The Mucus consumed magic underground to grow and multiply, which resulted in spots where the mana veins have weakened. Releasing powerful monsters would be impossible."

That was one of the few pieces of reassuring news. But that made their objective even more puzzling. Why go to the trouble of using such weak monsters?

The monster materials used in their carriage and now these eggs. The Empire clearly possessed highly advanced knowledge and technology related to monsters. We, on the other hand, had only grasped fragments of their true power.

Furthermore, that carriage had effectively been sent to the race by the Second Prince’s faction.

We were facing threats from both within and without, working in concert. Normally, we should be more wary of the Empire than the Mucus. But there was a reason we couldn’t afford to do that.

"The connection between the monsters seeded by the Empire and the prophecy is the real problem," Craig said. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Alfina and Claudia entered.

◇◇

"You obtained information from the Imperial Princess about the monster in the prophecy?"

Craig’s face turned skeptical at Alfina’s words. I was surprised as well.

"Princess Alfina, we have just determined that the Empire is the one who planted these monsters..." Adele began.

"We can’t possibly trust anything an Imperial Princess says," Hyde added, his voice sharp. I felt the same way. But information was still information. And...

"Ricardo, you saw through the Empire’s plot. What is your judgment?"

"There are three possibilities. Of course, the most likely is that the princess is lying. The next possibility is that she is telling only half the truth. The least likely is that she is telling the complete truth. The key point is that they don’t know we’ve uncovered their scheme. So, in the first case, we can invert her words to get closer to the truth. In the second, the information is useful as long as we know it’s incomplete. And in the third, we can simply use it as is."

"I see. There’s no point in discussing it until we hear what she had to say."

In response to her brother-in-law’s words, Alfina began to explain what Princess Lisabet had told her about the monster.

According to the princess, the monster was shaped like a worm and was slightly larger than one of the bullet trains from my old world. It would apparently slam into castle walls with a rotating head to destroy them.

"Like a living battering ram. Sage-dono, what are your thoughts?"

"At the very least, no such creature exists in the kingdom’s records."

"It sounds like a diversion, as expected. It bears no resemblance to the Mucus. The problem is the possibility that this swarm of Mucus is also a diversion," Hyde said. A vast number of weak monsters spread across a wide area. Their purpose could be to draw the Knight Order’s forces, and while we are occupied, the true disaster strikes Bertold. It was an all too plausible scenario.

"But I don’t think Princess Lisabet was lying..." Alfina insisted. Her story matched the image from the prophecy, the primary source of information. Besides, Alfina was a far better judge of character than I was.

A monster that rotates like a drill to destroy castle walls. It sounds just like a monster from another world. But as far as I know, the monsters in this world originated from Earth. Could a creature that evolved from something on Earth really turn into that?

...No, wait. If it’s simply a creature that moves by rotating, then there is one possibility.

"Princess Alfina, I’d like to ask two things. First, regarding the marks on the ground before the wall in the crystal’s image. You said they looked like drag marks, but were they straight?"

"...Now that you mention it, they didn’t seem vertical, but horizontal... no, more like diagonal." Alfina closed her eyes in thought for a moment, then her expression brightened with realization. I see. It was the trail left by a rotating object.

"One more thing. The castle wall wasn’t destroyed in just one location, was it?"

"That’s right. I was able to expand the image in the crystal a little more since then. I can’t tell the location, but I believe there were at least two, no, three or more places where the wall had collapsed inward."

"...I understand."

Was she pushing herself again? Now that I looked closer, her complexion seemed a bit pale.

"I’m fine. The vision began much later this time, so I used the crystal for a considerably shorter period than before," Alfina said with a smile, having noticed my gaze. That might be true, but I wished she wouldn’t overdo it, especially when the Grand Duchess wasn't here.

"Master, you mentioned a monster called the ‘red carpet,’ didn’t you?"

"Come to think of it, I did tell you that story."

The red carpet that crept into the knights’ tent at night. That had to be a slime mold. Countless amoeba-like individuals merging into a single entity to move. The fusion and transformation of single-celled organisms. It was famous as the most primitive form of organization.

Its shape was completely different from the monster Lisabet described. But the characteristic of an elongated creature moving by rotating, and...

I pictured the scene from that night in the center of the spot. The swarm of giant amoebas, the slimes we had seen, were emitting a red light in what seemed like perfect synchronization.

"Which one is it?" Craig asked.

"Unfortunately, it’s the third possibility."

My words sent a ripple of unease through the command center. It was the outcome even I had considered the least likely. Eyes demanding an explanation bored into me.

"First, let’s return to the basics. Based on the nature of the prophecies so far, it’s highly likely the disaster is related to fluctuations in the mana veins. In other words, we can assume that an immense source of magical power exists behind the disaster, causing it to occur."

"That is true. However, there is no such thing this time."

"Oh, but there is. Or rather, there was," I said, pointing to the now-fading region of mana veins between Bertold and the Royal Capital.

"They are using the power of the slimes... the Mucus... to gather a wide, thin mana vein into a single point. This is the magical fluctuation that is causing the disaster."

The slimes consume magic and multiply. The resulting starvation triggers them to emit signals. At first, the signals are random, but eventually they synchronize, and a center begins to self-organize.

Multiple centers merge, and the surrounding slimes gather toward them in a swirling vortex. The result is the birth of a giant monster. In other words, the monster of the prophecy is the mobile form of a giant slime mold, the ‘slug’.

Since it self-organizes a center and aggregates via signal relays, at least five mobile forms, five ‘slugs’, will emerge from the five spots. This aligns with the scenario of multiple monsters attacking Bertold.

Most importantly, the ‘slug’ also moves by rotating. A self-organizing spiral signal organizes the mere collection of individual cells into a single mobile entity. This signal persists within the giant mobile form, serving as the command that propels it forward. As a result, the cells on the surface of the body are in constant rotational motion.

My old mentor once showed me a simulation video of this process as a prime example of primitive organization.

And if this mobile form heads west toward the Red Forest, where Bertold is located, in search of magic, then everything connects.

"The Mucus gather together to become a living battering ram? That’s an incredible story."

"I agree with Hyde. But I know Ricardo wouldn’t say something without basis."

"I have my reasoning, but if my hypothesis is correct, then we have no time to verify it."

Given the time limit indicated by the prophecy, and if the red blinking of the Mucus was indeed a starvation signal, it was possible they had already begun to aggregate.

"Assuming your hypothesis is correct, how do we deal with it?"

"There are five spots. We’ve already dealt with one, so that leaves four. The crucial factor is the number of Mucus at a single spot that will become a constituent of the battering ram. We should prioritize reducing their numbers below a certain threshold, rather than aiming for complete extermination."

The key was to reduce the population at each spot. From what had been described, the threat of the living battering ram was its rotating mass itself.

"We will proceed under the assumption that the Mucus swarm is the monster of the prophecy. Divide the knight order’s forces into two. They will simultaneously attack spots two and three, and once those are clear, spots four and five."

Craig made his decision. With time running short, his decisiveness was a blessing, but the pressure was enough to make my stomach ache.

"What about the Empire?" Adele asked.

"I’ll leave their movements in the capital to the Chancellor. The Empire’s primary objective is likely the destruction of Bertold. Preventing that is our highest priority."

If Bertold were to fall, the pro-Empire Second Prince’s faction could regain its power. If the Empire was considering an invasion of the kingdom, inflicting damage on Bertold, a key rear defense base, held immense strategic value.

"Understood." "Yes, sir."

Adele and Hyde, seemingly convinced by their commander’s words, hastily rose from their seats. Alfina approached me.

"Ricardo-kun..."

Her white fingers clutched the hem of my clothes. She really did look a little pale. I was tempted to say, Of course I’m staying, I’m a civilian.

"I’m sorry, Princess Alfina, but there is one thing I must confirm."

There was still one unresolved issue. The multiple holes in the castle wall, one of the key pieces of evidence. My current hypothesis alone couldn’t explain that.

"There is also the matter of the Grand Duchess, and the craftsmen at the workshop," I said.

I knew it was a low blow, but I said it anyway.

I’ll take care of this disaster as quickly as possible, and then I’m going to analyze that crystal with everything I’ve got.