kscans

Chapter 92 - Researching Countermeasures

Ney didn’t sell the Excalibur Replica to Cecil, but Cecil, who clearly hadn’t given up, started moving along with Ney’s group.

Together, they began to defeat the dragons around the church.

As for Kokuryu’s fighting style, it hadn’t changed from what Hayato knew. Three members, including Ney, fought in close combat as the front line, three in the mid-range attacked with bows, and the rear guard provided support with magic. It wasn’t flashy, but it could be called a solid way of fighting.

"Ney’s group is a bit lacking in firepower-wa ne."

Rosalie, dressed in Gothic Lolita attire, said this from behind Hayato while drinking orange juice. It sounded like she was talking to herself, but since she had come close, she was probably saying it to Hayato.

"I think if you joined that clan, Rosalie-san, they’d be able to put out a lot of firepower."

"As I have said, I serve Lunaria-sama, have I not? Besides, in a Stampede, I cannot fight outside the Demon Country-wa."

(For some reason, I get the feeling she wants to join the clan. It seems like she would if she had a suitable reason. But with the national affiliation restriction in a Stampede, it’s meaningless during this event. No, if it’s a Stampede in the Demon Country, there shouldn’t be a problem.)

"Then, at least help Ney and the others out if a Stampede happens in the Demon Country. Whether you join the clan or not is a separate issue."

"Well, I suppose that much would be fine, but…"

"Rest assured. When that time comes, I will join the Kokuryu clan as the Demon Lord. If I show them how cool Arondight is, Ney is sure to equip the replica."

"Wha, Lunaria-sama, what are you saying! You are the Demon Lord, so please stay put in the Demon Lord’s Castle and act majestically!"

"My goal for this year is to adopt a tyrannical style where I listen to no one."

Feeling a little sorry for Rosalie’s troubles, Hayato returned his gaze to the monitor.

On the screen, the number of dragons had decreased considerably.

Just as he thought that, Ney pointed towards the sky. The monitor’s camera followed her gesture and panned up.

There was a giant ball of fire, and it was falling from the sky. In a manner of speaking, it was like the magic spell Meteor Swarm. It was just one meteor, but it was falling towards the ground.

When it hit the ground, a huge sound echoed, followed by a roar.

It was a Dragon Roar, a dragon’s bellow that was an attack causing a Stun effect that stiffened the body. From Hayato’s assessment, its effective range was the entire Imperial Capital. He deduced that every character in the Imperial Capital was now in a stunned state.

(Equipment that nullifies Stun is necessary. It might not be just one time, and being defenseless should lead to high damage.)

Ash’s mercenary group consisted of thirty members, including Ash and Ren. Hayato intended to prepare rings or bracelets that nullified Stun for all of them. Furthermore, he would also prepare them for Ney’s group and his clan members, so a considerable number would be needed.

Ney’s group, having recovered from the Stun, headed for the vicinity of the Imperial Capital’s central plaza, where the Fire Dragon had fallen.

A fierce battle was unfolding there. Hundreds of characters were attacking the approximately ten-meter-tall dragon all at once.

The dragon’s HP wasn’t decreasing easily. Despite a considerable amount of damage being dealt, the value indicating its remaining HP had barely gone down.

And the frontline classes were having a very tough time. The Fire Dragon periodically used the wind pressure from its wings to create a knockback effect, preventing them from getting close. Furthermore, it spat out a fiery Dragon Breath, attacking a considerable distance. Mid-range and rear-guard players would be caught in it and defeated in an instant if they weren’t watching the attacks carefully.

(Equipment that nullifies knockback is also necessary. I made some for Ney’s group before, so it should be fine for just Ash’s group. And also fire-resistant armor.)

Hayato thought about what would be necessary. There were five Hardline Dragons. Countermeasures would be needed for all of them, but he assumed that some of the attacks would have common elements and carefully observed the battle with the Fire Dragon.

He also asked the members present here to tell him if there was anything they thought would be necessary for countermeasures. He was hoping for countermeasures that he might not have noticed.

As he watched the monitor, Ash and the others appeared. With Ash at the lead, they charged at the Fire Dragon.

Ash’s sword was called the Dragon Eater, and it dealt five times the damage to dragons. It would likely be very effective in this Stampede.

And then there was Ren’s Dragon Curse. Its effective range was rather narrow, but it halved one of a single enemy’s stats. This would also provide a considerable advantage against a boss monster.

(Would it be easier for the mercenaries to fight if they had weapons with a special attack performance against dragons? It probably wouldn’t be five times the damage against dragons, but I should be able to make something with a performance that deals about twice the damage. It’s a random performance, so I’d have to make it many times, though.)

When making weapons and armor, the higher the quality, the more likely it is to have a special performance, a skill. But it’s not something you can add intentionally. It’s completely random. That’s why you have to try many times to make weapons and armor with the performance you want.

Just as he thought that he would need a large amount of materials, a voice came from the monitor.

"Ah, it’s Ash! Hand over the Dragon Eater!"

Cecil, who had been moving with Ney’s group, headed towards Ash and suddenly demanded his weapon.

Ash’s face clearly twisted in annoyance.

"Sorry, but that can wait. First, we need to repel that dragon."

"Alright! Then leave it to me!"

Cecil sheathed the swords in both hands into the scabbards at her waist and drew her katana. She held it with both hands and took a stance.

Then she used the katana’s weapon skill, "Sazanka," which would double the damage of her next attack.

But Cecil did nothing, sheathing the katana and this time taking the two-handed sword from her back and taking a stance.

Hayato tilted his head at this action.

"What is she doing?"

"That’s a fighting style that only Cecil can do. Basically, damage-increasing weapon skills are nullified if you remove the equipment and return it to your item bag, but in Cecil’s case, she isn’t removing the equipment. She’s just switching it."

"She isn’t removing the equipment…? Could it be that she can use damage-increasing weapon skills with another weapon?"

"That is correct. If I could do that, the damage of my Destroy would increase, and I could one-shot anyone."

Hayato looked at the monitor with a stunned expression as Cecil used the two-handed sword’s weapon skill "Hard Hit." This was also a damage-increasing skill that doubled the damage of the next attack and also caused a knockback effect.

Furthermore, Cecil switched to the other two-handed sword on her back.

That sword was the magic sword Sunset. Like Excalibur and Arondight, it was a sword that could use a unique weapon skill.

Cecil used that sword’s weapon skill, "Twilight." It was an attack that would quadruple the damage of the next attack.

Hayato became a little worried upon hearing this from Esha.

"Um, that’s an impossible stacking of damage increases. Is the stacking additive? Or multiplicative?"

"Cecil says it’s multiplicative."

"So it’s 2 times 2 times 4? Then the next attack will have 16 times the damage. I think the other players will be angry, you know?"

If she was doing something that other players couldn’t, it was clearly a matter that players would complain about.

Esha’s Beelzebub, a magic gun, and Destroy were the same, but the circumstances were different from the Clan War.

During the Clan War, only the opponents would know. So if it wasn’t featured in a video, there would be few opportunities for other players to find out. But this time, all the players present would see it.

Esha answered in a small voice so that no one else could hear.

"It seems she’s been doing that in the Imperial Capital’s Stampedes until now, but it feels like it’s being tolerated because she’s an NPC. And it seems that people think it’s an early implementation. That’s what Diite said."

"So people think everyone will be able to do it with an update in the future. Can they, actually?"

"Well, I don’t know about that. Please ask Diite about it later. It seems Cecil is about to attack."

Hayato returned his gaze to the monitor.

"Get blown away, yaaa!"

With that cry, Cecil swung her sword and attacked the Fire Dragon. It was more like she was striking it from the side than cutting it.

When the attack hit, the Fire Dragon’s HP was greatly reduced, and the dragon’s huge body was sent flying a considerable distance.

It crashed violently into a building near the Imperial Capital’s central plaza, but since it didn’t seem to be a facility, it wasn’t a target for destruction.

At the same time, cheers erupted from the players.

The Fire Dragon’s HP was down to about a third. The players all started attacking at once.

"You again! Then, it’s about time I got serious!"

The Fire Dragon said something like that.

Immediately after, the Fire Dragon was enveloped in flames. Its physical body disappeared, and its body became fire itself. Then it began to deal continuous damage to the surrounding characters.

Hayato judged that it was dealing damage to the surrounding characters with high heat.

(So when it gets serious, it deals continuous damage. I mean, will physical attacks even work on the dragon in that state?)

The Fire Dragon had lost its body and become a dragon-shaped flame itself. As far as Hayato could see, it didn’t seem like physical attacks would work.

Hayato’s guess was correct, as some of the players gave up the fight and ran away. The remaining characters were only those who could use magic or attribute attacks.

With only magic and attribute attacks, they couldn’t deal much damage, and time ran out. Although it was a failed defense, not all the facilities were destroyed, so the fragment of the artifact was not stolen.

Also, even if the defense failed, players still received contribution points, so they weren’t particularly pessimistic and dispersed, casually saying things like "Good work."

(So when the dragon changes its form, Ash and the others can’t be very effective. The only one who can deal damage is Ren-chan with her curse magic. We need a countermeasure for that.)

Hayato was thinking about such things while watching the monitor.