kscans

Chapter 392 - Battle Against a Production Specialist

"Imperial is engaging Rampage."

"The Eastern Country has encountered the Ten Swords. Let's crush them alongside the Princess."

"The Demon Lord's Army has made contact with the Demonfolk. I suppose we have no choice but to beat them to a pulp."

"Not enough donuts...!"

The separated and isolated members of the former Demon Lord's Army reported their situations to the entire group via group chat. Whether they were trying to lighten the mood or just not thinking, some made unnecessary comments, but everyone was engaged in battle with their respective enemies.

Hayato's group was fighting the former members of the Blackjack clan in a plaza in the northwest of the Demon Capital Zardogia.

There seemed to be a large number of other players in the area, most of them targeting Hayato. If Hayato, the leader of Daedalus, was defeated here, most of his members would likely retreat from the battlefield.

Esha had fired Destroy first to protect Hayato. It was an attack meant to break through the encirclement.

She had managed to defeat some of the players with that attack, but the former members had dodged it.

However, that was within their expectations, and using that opening, Esha took Hayato and entered a nearby shop.

The entire shop seemed to be a wooden restaurant, with numerous tables and chairs lined up, and paper with the menu written on it posted on the walls.

No matter how realistic this virtual reality was, it was not the same as reality. Even if it was made of wood, the shop could not be destroyed except under special conditions. Against attacks from outside the shop, it was a very effective defensive position.

Enemies could enter through the windows and doors, so as long as they guarded those, the inside was safe. Other players who had seen Hayato's group's actions also fled into nearby shops.

After a while, the southern side of the circular plaza became the former Demon Lord's Army's territory, and the northern side became the New Demon Lord's Army's. And so, the battle in the plaza began.

In the midst of this, Ash and Ren came to the shop where Hayato and the others had taken refuge. Hayato, seeing them through the window, immediately invited them in.

"Hayato, are you okay?"

"Thanks to Esha, yes. Weren't you with Veru-san and the others?"

"Dad and the others are outside, taking down enemies. They let us get away so we could protect you, Hayato."

Hayato was grateful and thanked Veru and the others. Esha was undoubtedly strong, but she wasn't particularly skilled in close combat. Moreover, she had used Destroy at the beginning, so she couldn't use it again for a while.

"Esha-san. What kind of fighters are those three? They're from Blackjack, right?"

Ren asked this as she peeked outside through the shop window.

Esha peeked out from the same window alongside Ren and spoke.

"The priest-like one with glasses is Hugo Stanrock. He's an archbishop in the Royal Capital. He excels in recovery magic. If we're going to take someone down, it should be him first."

Hayato remembered that Esha and the others had called him two-faced before. He had an intelligent look to him that suggested he was up to no good, so he certainly looked the part.

"What about the big guy with the axe?"

"That's Balan Aguileo. He's a frontline power type with heavy hits. He's a boisterous, bearded fellow. I hear he's usually a woodcutter deep in the mountains. He used to carry a reluctant Noat around all the time."

Balan, wearing a bear pelt over his head, looked like a woodcutter from ancient times. His chin was covered in a beard, giving him the image of someone living a primitive life.

"Then, what about the... um, the dark, shady-looking person...?"

Unable to find the right words, Ren asked in such a way.

"That would be Sky Ovalnor. Like the master, he's a production specialist, but he's a production specialist who can fight. He's the only merchant in the Demon Country who can handle imports and exports, and he's the last person you want to make an enemy of."

He wore a black coat, a wide-brimmed black hat, and what looked like a well-tailored suit was visible beneath the coat. He had long black hair and an androgynous face, but overall, his black attire made him look shady.

For Hayato, there was something else that he couldn't accept.

"What's a production specialist who can fight?"

"Let me be clear, he's not like you, master, with all your skills focused on production. He has magic skills instead of knowledge-based skills, so please don't get competitive."

"It's not that, but I'm a little curious."

"I think you'll understand if you watch. He's good at combat, but his support is even better. He's someone I'd hate to have as an enemy, almost as much as Noat."

Hayato wondered what kind of person this Sky was to make Esha say that, but for some reason, he was still holding the production hammer carved with a demon.

Perhaps other players noticed this as well. Thinking they could win against a production specialist, they rushed at Sky.

His attack was just about to land. Everyone thought so, but just before it hit, a wooden dresser appeared in front of Sky.

"Huh?"

Hayato was so surprised he spoke out loud, but the player had the same reaction. His attack hit the dresser that had suddenly appeared, only reducing the dresser's HP.

Then Sky took out several bottles filled with some kind of liquid from inside his coat, or rather, from his item bag, and threw them over the dresser towards his opponent.

The players, still in shock from the sudden appearance of the dresser, just stared blankly. The bottles hit the ground and soaked the area where the players were standing.

Sky swung the hammer in his hand, and the dresser was instantly destroyed. This wasn't an attack, but the recycling function that returned a produced item to its materials.

Even more surprised by the sudden disappearance of the dresser, the players remained frozen. At that moment, Sky smashed a lantern he had somehow acquired onto the ground where the players were.

A lantern was originally a source of fire used for exploring dark dungeons or camping. It was destroyed, and the fire came into contact with the wet ground. Immediately, a pillar of fire erupted in that spot, and the players took damage.

"No, no, no."

Hayato understood the situation, but he still denied it.

"There's no way that's possible, right?"

"What is?"

"How can he create a dresser in an instant? I can make one too, but there's an effect when you create a production item, right? It takes about five seconds, so there's no way you can use a dresser to block an attack."

It wasn't that Hayato, with his long gaming experience, hadn't thought of it. But it was meaningless unless you could create it in an instant. There was an effect where light overflowed when an item was produced, so it wasn't practical.

"That's what that hammer does."

"The hammer? The one with the demon-like design?"

"Yes. It can only create items up to three stars, but it's a hammer that can create items in an instant. I've also heard that it can be used for both blacksmithing and woodworking with just that one tool."

"I want that."

There were quite a few items that had uses specifically because they were not of high quality, or because their quality was low. If he could mass-produce them, they would be very useful.

Hayato also had several items that affected production results, like the Crystal Dragon Pendant, but if there was an item that could create things in an instant, of course he would want it. He stared at the hammer Sky was holding.

Putting that aside, Hayato had mixed feelings about whether such a fighting style was acceptable. It wasn't that he had a problem with the fighting style, but he had had something similar done to him before.

It was when the airship came crashing down in the Ruined City Clear. That was also an instance of a production item being used in a way other than its intended purpose. The scale was different, but what Sky was doing was the same.

This might be just his opinion as someone who also cared about furniture, but even if it was convenient for combat, he didn't want it to be used like that. That was his pride as a self-proclaimed craftsman.

"This is bad. He's planning to build an impenetrable barricade there. My Beelzebub's attacks will be blocked."

After repelling the enemy, Sky created an iron wall nearby. When building a base, wood and stone were often used, but iron bases could also be built. He began to create that wall near the center of the plaza.

Esha was attacking from the window, but her attack range was limited to a fan shape from the window. If she leaned out the window, her possible attack range would increase, but she would become a target, so it was dangerous.

Sky was trying to reduce Esha's attack range by building an iron wall that divided the plaza into north and south halves. Currently, the left half from Esha's point of view was blocked by the wall, and enemies were poking their upper bodies over the wall to launch long-range attacks.

Furthermore, they seemed to be adding to the wall, and they were being pushed back by the attacks from there. The former Demon Lord's Army had retreated to the vicinity of the shops on the south side, but the New Demon Lord's Army had essentially taken control of the north side of the plaza.

(He's skillfully using the system where base walls can't be destroyed. Is he some kind of combat engineer?)

Simply put, a combat engineer is a soldier who supports combat through civil engineering and construction. What Sky was doing was probably different from the real thing, but there was no doubt he was supporting combat with production skills.

Hayato was also creating juices to restore Esha's MP, but in terms of contribution, Sky had the upper hand. But, as a fellow production specialist, Hayato couldn't lose. He thought about what he should do.

And then, he had an idea.

"Ash, can you transform into a dragon on the other side of that wall?"

"The other side of that wall? The plaza is pretty wide, so I think it's possible, but getting over that wall in the first place will be tough."

"It's fine, I'll destroy just a part of that wall. Go through there and transform into a dragon on the other side."

"I think they'll be surprised if the wall suddenly breaks. I think I can get through in that time, but can you even destroy it? It's an indestructible wall, isn't it?"

The wall hadn't been destroyed even when hit by Esha's Beelzebub. Even Destroy probably couldn't break it. It was a wall with no HP set, just like a base or a house.

But Hayato shook his head.

"If it's a production item, it's fine. If a clan base was built there, it would be impossible, but it's still just a wall. In that case, even I can return it to its materials."

If that place became a clan's base, ownership rights would be established, and even Hayato couldn't destroy it, but for now, it was just a wall. And if it was just placed on the ground, it was the same as a discarded item. In that case, even Hayato could return it to its materials.

"I see. Alright, Esha, Ren, can I get some cover?"

"It's dangerous for the master, but that's our only option. Let's use that wall for our defense instead."

"L, leave it to me. I'll curse them good."

"Alright, Hayato, don't leave my side."

"Roger."

"As soon as I destroy one wall, I'm going to the other side. I'll transform into a dragon there and spray Dragon Breath all around, so don't get caught in it, Hayato."

"It's fine. The wall probably can't be destroyed by Dragon Breath either, so this side is safe."

Ash nodded and put his hand on the doorknob. He looked at Hayato, then nodded once more and opened the door, breaking into a run.

Hayato followed him.

Surprised by the two who had suddenly burst out, the players who had been scouting from the other side of the wall stopped their attacks.

When Esha and Ren attacked them, they hastily ducked their heads.

(Hurry, hurry... I can run normally now. I could probably run in the real world too... oops, focus on this for now.)

Ash ran towards the wall, using the physical immunity granted by the set bonus of his equipped Death Dragon series.

Hayato ran behind him, using his back as cover. The old Hayato would have been unable to run due to mental reasons, but now he could run without any problems.

Not knowing what the two were planning, the enemy began to attack to stop them.

Hayato relayed the plan to the former Demon Lord's Army via group chat, and everyone moved to support Hayato and the others. The players who had been hiding in other shops provided cover fire for the enemies attacking from over the wall, trying to keep them from interfering with Hayato's group.

Once they safely reached the wall, Hayato turned his back to the iron wall and took out a blacksmithing hammer from his item bag.

He immediately selected the option to return the wall to its materials from the blacksmithing menu.

A part of the wall disappeared in an instant. The iron that had been returned to its material form fell to the ground, and a space large enough for one person to pass through was created in the wall.

Ash broke through to the other side and immediately transformed into a dragon.

A roar so loud it made you want to cover your ears. Cries of surprise and screams from the other side of the wall.

Ash's dragon transformation had the ability to deal damage to the surrounding area upon transformation. That's why it was difficult to use where there were allies, but this time, the wall acted as a defense, so Hayato was not caught in it.

Realizing the plan had succeeded, the allied players burst out of the shops, seeing their chance.

Hayato immediately began to create an iron platform to use as a foothold with his blacksmithing hammer.

The wall was about three meters high. Despite this, the enemy had been poking their heads over the wall to launch long-range attacks. Predicting that there must be some kind of foothold on the other side, Hayato created a foothold on the allied side.

He couldn't create it in an instant like Sky. There was an effect, so it took five seconds, but Hayato created the footholds with a precision that could be called exactly five seconds.

His allies immediately understood and thanked Hayato as they climbed onto the footholds. And, as if in return, they began to launch long-range attacks into the enemy camp from over the wall.

"The tables have turned, haven't they?"

Esha and Ren approached Hayato.

"We managed thanks to your support. But it's dangerous for Ash to be alone."

"Cecil, Orland, and some of our allied players have crossed the wall to the other side, so I think they'll be alright. The problem is..."

"Problem?"

"Hugo has a troublesome resurrection spell. No matter how many times we defeat the enemy, if he can revive them, this will be a long battle."

According to Esha, Hugo had a wide-area spell called Complete Resurrection that not only revived a fallen opponent but also put them in a state of massive buffs.

If you defeat a clan leader, you can drive them off the battlefield, but players who aren't leaders can remain on the battlefield even after being defeated, so they can just wait for that resurrection spell.

It was unclear how much information they were sharing, but it wouldn't be surprising if that information had spread throughout the enemy forces.

"It seems the time has come to prove which is superior, holy power or the power of curses...!"

Ren, who had been listening, said this with a slightly sharp expression on her face.

"Do you have a plan?"

"We just have to stop him from using magic, right? That spell probably consumes a lot of MP, doesn't it?"

Esha nodded in response to Ren's question.

"That's right. He said it would drain his MP, so I think it consumes almost all of it, like Destroy."

"Then it's fine. I'll show them the power of curses. Hayato-san, could you make a foothold for me too? A little on the high side, please."

Ren said this and snorted, "Hmph, hmph."

Hayato did as he was told and made a foothold. It was a little high, more than two meters tall.

With Esha's help, Ren climbed onto the foothold and, crouching down, peeked over the wall to check the other side.

"Where is Hugo-san?"

Esha stood on a normal foothold next to Ren and checked the other side from over the wall in the same way. After looking around for a while, she shook her head.

"He might be in a safe shop right now. He probably plans to come out right before he uses it. The enemy players are staying down even in places close to the shops on their side and aren't being revived. There's no doubt they're waiting for Hugo's complete resurrection, not a normal one."

Though it was dangerous, Hayato also stood on a foothold and looked over the wall to the other side.

He could confirm the situation Esha described. A fierce battle was raging on, but this time, their side was pushing forward. However, the other side was repeatedly making reckless charges.

(They're probably aiming for the massive buff effect from the resurrection. I hear it's far more effective than just casting a normal enhancement spell... it'll be a pain if he uses it.)

As he was thinking this, Hugo and about three angels with white wings on their backs came out of a shop in front of him. The angels seemed to be protecting Hugo.

"Angel Guardians. What a pain."

Esha grumbled.

Angel Guardians was a defensive spell that could be used by raising the Holy Magic and Summoning Magic skills. It couldn't be used for offense at all, but the magical wall created by the three angels was quite strong.

Hugo, protected by the angels, began to cast the complete resurrection spell.

"Ren-sama, you can do it, right?"

"They'd better be prepared to receive the curse of someone who has loved and cared for cursed dolls every single day and raised their Curse Magic skill to 200. Uhihihihi...!"

It had been a while since he had seen Ren's wicked face. She thrust both her open hands towards Hugo from over the wall.

"Dragon Curse Kai."

The Dragon Curse was a skill exclusive to Ren. It could lower one of the stats of the closest enemy, but when her Curse Magic skill reached 200, it evolved even further.

It gained the ability to halve all of the designated opponent's stats as long as her MP lasted.

However, this was simply the spell "Curse of Ancient Gods," learned at Curse Magic skill 200, being renamed "Dragon Curse Kai."

Its effect was to lower all stats. It had the ability to halve not only STR and DEX, but also max HP and MP. With this spell, all magic that required a large amount of MP could be sealed.

It was unknown what the AI thought of the spell not activating, but Hugo showed no signs of hesitation and tried to cast the spell again.

"Esha-san. Get him while you can. He shouldn't be able to use the resurrection spell for a while."

"As expected, Ren-sama. Master, please mass-produce juice."

"Leave it to me."

Esha placed her Beelzebub on the wall and looked through the scope.

"Critical Shot."

Beelzebub roared, firing magical bullets at the angels again and again.

Esha immediately drank a melon juice and attacked the angels again.

After several attacks, one of the angels in front of Hugo shattered like glass and disappeared.

Esha fired her Beelzebub repeatedly at Hugo through the opening she had created.

When the fifth shot hit, Hugo fell to his knees and then collapsed face down. Hugo disappeared, and at the same time, the two remaining angels also disappeared.

Seeing this, Esha and Ren high-fived and then started drinking the melon juice Hayato had mass-produced.

Seeing Hugo defeated, the allied players let out a joyous battle cry.

"Alright. If Hugo's gone, we can go all out."

At the same time as the battle cry, Cecil's cheerful voice came from the group chat.

Hayato turned his eyes to where Cecil was.

There, Cecil and Orland were facing off against Balan, who was holding an axe.

Orland blocked Balan's axe with his shield, and Cecil attacked in the opening, carrying on the battle. They hadn't been fighting seriously because they were worried about Hugo's resurrection. But that worry was gone now.

"Finish him in one blow, you hear?"

To Orland's words, Cecil replied, "Who do you think you're talking to?" as she happily used her Weapon Skills.

When you change equipment, the Weapon Skill is canceled. But Cecil could maintain her Weapon Skills by equipping multiple weapons. After raising her attack power with a one-handed sword and a katana, she held a greatsword similar to the one Ash used with both hands.

Then she ran towards Balan, who was keeping his distance.

Seeing this, Orland unleashed the Weapon Skill "Shield Bash," which slammed his shield into the opponent. Balan took the hit and was momentarily stunned. After that, Orland immediately left the area.

"Get blown away, you fool."

Cecil attacked Balan with a running start. She swung her sword sideways with a movement like a full swing of a baseball bat.

It wasn't an attack that would cause knockback, but perhaps it was an effect due to the combination of the running start and her attack power, because even though Balan blocked the attack with his axe, he was sent flying higher than the nearby houses. When he hit the ground, he also took fall damage, and he was defeated in an overkill state.

Cecil was overjoyed, while Orland looked tired. Hayato thought they must be a good team.

"I'm going to settle the score from back then, so be prepared."

This time, Noat's voice came from the group chat.

When Hayato looked for Noat from over the wall, she seemed to be facing off against Sky.

"Do Noat-san and Sky-san have some kind of history?"

"Sky is a production specialist, just like the master."

Esha's answer wasn't really an answer. So Hayato asked further.

"Um, I know that, but what about it?"

"He's not the type to make whatever you ask for, like you, master."

"...Did he not make donuts or something?"

"He refused to make me a Chocolate Parfait once, so I hold quite a grudge."

Hayato was relieved that he had made things as requested, but he also thought she shouldn't hold a grudge over something like that.

Hayato watched Noat and the others' fight, wondering who he should root for.

Sky, who used his production skills in an unorthodox way, was unfazed by Noat's attacks. Noat was using magic like poison and curses, but Sky immediately created items to nullify them.

Among those production items, the most troublesome was the iron wall. Without a production specialist like Hayato, it was difficult to remove that wall, and Noat's attacks were blocked by it.

Hayato felt something was off.

"Is Noat-san the type to make such a straightforward attack?"

He hadn't seen Noat fight that much, but he had the impression that she had a more tricky fighting style. And yet, Noat was repeatedly using magical attacks against Sky.

Perhaps thinking the same thing, Esha was also watching Noat and the others, but she nodded and said, "So that's it."

"Did you figure it out? Is she so consumed by her grudge over donuts that she's lost her head?"

"No, that's not it. Noat is fighting with calculation. If it were the real her, she wouldn't make a mistake like that, but the AI might not notice."

Wondering what she meant, Hayato watched Noat.

After a while, he understood the situation.

Sky was blocking Noat's magical attacks with an iron wall, but Noat was intentionally letting him do so.

Watching from a distance, Hayato could see it clearly. Noat was keeping Sky fixed in the same position, attacking him in a way that circled around him without getting too close or too far.

Perhaps not questioning it, Sky blocked Noat's attacks with an iron wall. This was equivalent to gradually surrounding himself with a wall.

And then came the end.

The AI Sky, without realizing it until the very end, had trapped himself with an iron wall.

"Grinee-chan, you take it from here. There's no roof, so shoot your arrows in from above."

"I'll do it, but don't make it sound so easy."

Grinee, who had been launching long-range attacks by leaning over the wall just like Hayato and the others, let out a slightly exasperated voice as she nocked an arrow. She aimed it almost straight up and then released it.

The arrow drew a high arc and fell into the walled-off area where Sky was, as if sucked in. And it did so again and again.

After about thirty arrows had fallen into the walled-off area, Noat, who had been pressing her ear to the wall, moved away.

"Okay, he's down. I think he understands my grudge over the donuts now."

Noat said this with a cheerful smile.

Hayato thought that since it was an AI, it probably didn't understand, but he vowed in his heart to make donuts and chocolate parfaits as requested from now on.