kscans

Chapter 380 - Tactics and the Last One

Two of Hayato's group's base buildings were rendered unusable right at the start of the battle.

They weren't destroyed. their structures remained. However, the golems that had been attacking the fallen airships had now occupied the rooftops. Many clan leaders had evacuated from the rooftops, but several were still defeated and forced to retreat from the battlefield.

The number of golems in this area was large. They would attack even on a building's rooftop, but it was easier to deal with them there than on the ground. But now, two of those locations had been crushed, and they were running around on the ground. They were trying to shake off the pursuing golems and escape into another building to set up a defense.

The leaders of the major clans were taking the initiative to give orders, so things would likely calm down with time.

That was fine, but there was another problem.

How many airships did the enemy have?

If they did that again, they wouldn't be able to protect the Area Stone. Esha's Destroy required a thirty-minute cool down time, and if another airship fell before then, there would be no way to stop it.

As a measure, Ash and the others could transform into dragons and use Dragon Breath, but that would involve everyone in the vicinity, friend or foe. Using Dragon Breath here would cause too much damage, so Ash and his group decided to give up defending the Area Stone and move to another building.

Mikan could summon a giant octopus, or Adrian and his group could summon a Duke-class Demon, which might work, but it was only a possibility, not a certainty.

For that reason, they decided to save their high-firepower attacks.

Building an airship requires a considerable amount of lumber, so it's not possible to make many. That should have been the case, but the enemy had used them without any hesitation. Randa said there was a high probability they had more.

The reason they weren't using them while Esha's cool down was active was likely because they were watching to see how their side would react. Not just Ash's group's Dragon Breath, but they were probably suspecting that their side had other countermeasures as well.

There was also the possibility that they would make them think there were no more, then use one at a crucial moment. In any case, there was no doubt they were on the back foot, Randa said, looking dejected.

"They got us. Even if the enemy doesn't have any more airships, we still need a countermeasure for them."

It could be said that Esha's Destroy was sealed, and the same went for Ash's group's Dragon Breath. They had no choice but to save their big moves, considering the possibility of more airships, which limited their firepower. It was better to assume their defense against the golems had also been reduced.

"If they had more airships, wouldn't they just drop them one after another without a second thought? Esha's Destroy is apparently famous, so they probably know she can't shoot for another thirty minutes. The fact that they aren't doing it means they don't have any more, right?"

"I wonder. You can make an airship as long as you have a lot of lumber. Considering the number of enemy clans, I don't think they'd only have three. But even if they did, they couldn't use them wastefully. It's probably hard to get a lot of lumber in one day. They should want to use them on future battlefields too, so even if they have more, I think they'd only use one or two at most."

The reason Hayato was able to build a large number of airships on the first day of the counterattack was because Ney and the others had gathered lumber while he was being held hostage. Not only did they procure it locally, but they also bought it up from auctions and shops, and there were rumors that a large amount of lumber had disappeared from the market.

With the Woodworking Skill being unpopular, there were few people with the Logging Skill, and the number circulating on the market was also small. They would have to use the lumber they had stockpiled until now, but it was hard to judge how much that was.

In the end, they decided they had no choice but to act as if the enemy had more.

Based on that thinking, Randa was giving instructions on what to do.

For now, the plan was the same as the initial one, to protect the Area Stone without defeating the golems, but she told them to deal with the situation calmly, and they seemed to have regained some composure.

After finishing his talk with Randa, Hayato waited near the Area Stone.

Ivan came over.

"They really did a number on us, huh? Does this mean the other side is willing to do whatever it takes to win?"

"As a production player, I don't approve of how they're used, but it was effective. Thankfully, we decided not to do the same, so personally, I'm glad."

Some players had suggested retaliating with Hayato's airship, but that was rejected.

Randa had said, prefacing it with, "I might be overthinking this," that, "There's a possibility they're trying to reduce our number of airships."

The one-sided battle at Deep Impact had been only a few days ago. There was a possibility they were deliberately showing them this to get them to destroy their own airships. Another reason they might not be dropping them in succession was because they intended to use them to counter if their side tried the same tactic.

As she had prefaced, everyone thought she was overthinking it, but they couldn't completely deny it either, and it was settled that they would try to win without using the airship.

For Hayato, this was a welcome result. Even if the airship was just data, being used in such a way was not a good feeling for someone who called himself a craftsman. It was like having coffee you carefully brewed treated like boiling water to drive people away.

However, this was also a battle they couldn't afford to lose.

"Should we also aim to win by any means necessary…?"

"Hey, hey, what are you talking about? We've got me and Lunaria, right? I'm the Hero of this world, and we've got a Demon Lord who's stronger than me. This is just a handicap, a handicap."

"That's reassuring. Then, could you show me that it's true?"

"Sure, I'll show you the strength of a Hero. Well, I'm off for a bit."

Ivan said this, then suddenly started running and jumped off the building.

"Wai—"

Falling from a high place causes fall damage. That wasn't something that was nullified just because you were a Hero. Besides, this virtual reality was realistic. To be honest, it was bad for the heart.

Haya_to hurriedly looked down from where Ivan had jumped.

Ivan, who had jumped headfirst like a swimmer diving, used a wind-attribute spell just before hitting the ground.

Before Ivan hit the ground, he decelerated as if pulled by a rubber band, and in that time, he righted himself and landed on the ground with both feet.

As Hayato remembered hearing that such a thing was possible, Ivan looked up, grinned, gave a cheeky salute, and started running. The golems also started running in pursuit.

(If some random person did that it would be annoying, but with Ivan, it's just barely acceptable, maybe…? And is he planning to lead the golems over to their side with that?)

If someone without skill did it, it would be laughable, but Ivan was strong. Being strong didn't mean you could get away with anything, but at least it looked cool.

And Ivan had something that made you have expectations. In a fantasy world, he might really be a hero, Hayato thought.

"Hayato-kun."

"Eh? Ah, Deite-chan."

Haya_to, who had been watching Ivan from the top of the building, was called from behind. He knew from the voice, but when he turned around, Deite was there.

Haya_to found it strange seeing Deite.

Deite was fighting Hypnos on the battlefield. Since they were both unstoppable against players, they were checking each other as a deterrent. Yesterday, Hypnos had retreated from the battlefield with Amanda, so Deite had been unstoppable.

So he thought she would be fighting normally today, but for some reason, Deite was here.

"Weren't you fighting Hypnos?"

"That's the strange thing. I haven't been invited to fight today. He seems to be on the battlefield, but he's ignoring me. And what's more—"

"What's more?"

"It would be understandable if he were defeating our players, but for some reason, he's started defeating golems. I don't know what he's up to."

"Golems?"

That was the opposite of their strategy. It could be said to be the complete opposite of their plan to not defeat the weak golems in order to prevent rare monsters from appearing.

"Maybe he's aiming for a drop item from a rare monster?"

Rare monsters drop very powerful items due to their spawn rate and strength. That is usually the goal of players who hunt rare monsters. Few players would spend time fighting a tough enemy that drops nothing.

However, Hypnos was an AI. Hayato had said it as a joke, but Deite's eyes widened, and then she clutched her head.

"Deite-chan?"

"Darn it. I should have thought of that first…!"

"What do you mean?"

"Hypnos intends to make the rare monster-class NPC ‘Last One’ appear."

Last One. She was a woman in a heavy-duty wheelchair, but from what he had heard from Jolth of Bandit, it wasn't even known if she was a monster. They hadn't defeated her, in fact, they hadn't even fought her, so it was more like "there was something that might be a monster."

However, Deite's words revealed that she was a monster. Rosalie and the others of the Ten Black Rose Saints were also treated like monsters that appeared in the Demon Lord's Castle, so Hayato thought it was something similar to that.

"What does that mean?"

What Deite explained to Hayato was as follows.

Last One was apparently set as the last survivor of this Ruined City Clear, and she had command authority over all the golems. If you defeated her, you could temporarily take on the position of being able to command the golems here.

That period was one day. In other words, you would gain command of all golems for the duration of this battle.

"Deite-chan…"

"Don't look at me like that. I was so focused on my fight with Hypnos that I forgot."

"You're an AI, but you're quite forgetful, Deite-chan…"

"I won't deny that. I have a mechanism that allows me to forget just like humans, though it's just a matter of having a dual memory area. Anyway, let's consult with Randa-kun. If Last One appears—"

While Deite was talking, a loud `woooooon` sound echoed across the battlefield.

It was an unfamiliar sound to the players on this battlefield, but Hayato, who often watched old movies, recognized it.

(Is that an engine sound? I think cars and motorcycles made a sound like that.)

Cars and motorcycles existed in this era, but they weren't powered by engines. Their power source was electricity, and they didn't have tires, only a hover system. You didn't hear an engine sound like the one just now, they were quiet, but for some reason, that sound was heard on this battlefield.

And Deite clutched her head again.

"Too soon! Hayato-kun, please consult with Randa-kun about what to do! I'm going to interfere so Hypnos doesn't defeat Last One!"

"Eh? Wai—"

"Last One's real name is Lee Sladra. For more details, ask Relic-kun or Sonia-kun!"

Deite said only that and jumped off the building, just like Ivan.

(I wish they'd stop doing that, it's bad for my heart… But why Relic-san and Sonia-san? Are they in the same line of work or something?)

Relic and Sonia were skilled hackers in the real world. They had deliberately gotten caught to help a certain woman, and after that, they were chosen as members of the Another Frontier Project and boarded the spaceship Aphrodite.

If he was told to ask them for information, there was a high possibility she was a skilled hacker as well.

Haya_to first relayed the information from Deite to Randa.

Leaving Randa, who was clutching her head and muttering to herself, he decided to contact Relic next.

This time as well, Relic and Sonia were not on the battlefield but were gathering materials. He sent a voice chat that opened a line to both of them.

"Relic-san, Sonia-san."

"Hayato-sama, what is it?"

He still felt uncomfortable with the -sama suffix, but he decided to think of it as role-playing and explained the situation.

He could feel their surprise through the voice chat after they heard the story.

"Lee Sladra. That's a nostalgic name."

"Are they in the same line of work or something?"

"No, no, she is not a hacker. However, she is a fellow criminal. I believe you were in a cell in the same sector in Prison, were you not, Sonia?"

"I hardly ever talked to her. But Lee was famous among the criminals."

"She's a criminal?"

"Yes. To put it simply, that girl is an illegal transporter."

"A transporter…?"

"A long time ago, there was an organization called the ‘Runners’ that crossed the surface by car or motorcycle to retrieve resources on the surface or transport goods between domes. They were government-sanctioned transporters. Lee was an illegal transporter who would even go into dangerous zones. I think she led a team called the ‘Scavenger.’"

"Dangerous zones, like contaminated areas?"

"That's right. At the time, many of the resources in the contaminated areas were usable if you just decontaminated them. Also, it's faster to go through a dangerous zone when you need to transport something in a hurry, so Lee took on requests in exchange for high pay. But…"

Sonia's tone of voice dropped.

"To make a long story short, during a certain job, Scavenger was wiped out, leaving only Lee. And Lee was also caught and imprisoned in Prison. I didn't know she had come here, though."

"So that's what happened… Um, if she's a transporter, does that mean she's good at driving motorcycles and cars?"

"All vehicles in general, actually. She could even pilot a spaceship. And she's strong. Strong enough to break through the dangerous zones of that time. That said, she used a pulse-type gun, so in this world, it should be fine… Come to think of it, that Esha girl had a gun, didn't she."

"Please don't jinx it."

"Oops, my bad. Oh, right, Lee cherished her team. She said she had to send everyone's belongings to the other side someday. Well, she said it sadly, saying that was if she ever got out of here."

He wanted to ask about weaknesses, not a story like that, but he couldn't very well point that out and listened to Sonia's story.

He couldn't get any more particularly useful information after that, but Relic and Sonia had entered the event just like yesterday, so if one of their members was defeated, they would come to the battlefield in their place.

After his conversation with Relic and Sonia's group, he approached Randa.

Their conversation had taken some time, but he thought it was enough time to formulate a strategy.

When he told her the information from Relic's group, Randa also seemed to know Lee, and said, "Ah."

"So what's the plan?"

"We have no choice but to defeat her. I'd love to leave her alone, but if she's defeated by the other side, we should assume we'll lose here."

"Right. So, what are we going to do specifically?"

"I had someone scout a bit, and it seems she's riding a two-wheeled motorcycle-like golem and racing around this city. She's apparently attacking any player she sees, regardless of which side they're on."

"That's extremely troublesome."

"And she's apparently using a shotgun-like magic gun for close-range area attacks. Also, the motorcycle might have attack skills. There are attacks called Wheelie, Jackknife, and Axel Turn, and both friend and foe are taking heavy damage."

Hayato's knowledge was that a wheelie was lifting the front wheel into the air, a jackknife was the opposite, lifting the rear wheel during braking, and an axel turn was leaning the bike and rotating around the supporting pivot foot.

It was unclear why those would be attacks, but he imagined that the acrobatic movements would become attacks.

"The biggest problem is that she can't be caught and escapes immediately. Apparently, the enemy players cornered her, but she ran up the wall of a building and jumped over it. And then she disappeared while firing her shotgun."

"Is this a movie!?"

In movies and such, there are often scenes where they race up walls at high speed to dodge obstacles, but that's CG. Even with a stunt, they use ropes. It's not something you can actually do.

There was the reason that it was virtual reality, but it also made him want to ask if such a thing was possible when the laws of physics were close to reality.

"But, a motorcycle? The story I heard from Jolth was that she was in a wheelchair—"

"Ah, please wait a moment."

Randa seemed to have received a voice chat, and she nodded while pressing her left middle and index fingers to her ear.

When the call ended, Randa sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"The biggest problem has changed."

"Eh?"

"Apparently, the motorcycle transformed into a four-wheeled car."

"What?"

"After that, gun-like things popped out of the car's roof and doors and are shooting fire and lightning magic. And from the driver's seat, she herself is using a shotgun—"

"Ah, um. Can we defeat it?"

"With Esha-san's Destroy or Ash's Dragon Breath, it should be manageable, but…"

"Don't tell me they dropped the airship with this in mind?"

Currently, Esha, Ash, and other high-firepower attacks are sealed. If they use their firepower on Last One, there's a high probability they won't be able to stop an airship attack next time.

Randa had a complicated expression that was neither affirmation nor denial, and her glasses were still askew.

"Am I overthinking this?"

"I'd like to think you're overthinking it, but it's a fact that they've sealed our movements. For now, let's solve the problems one by one."

"You're right. The situation is bad, but we have members who could be called cheats, so we can definitely win."

Randa said this, then gathered people and began a strategy meeting.