bookworm

We had to decide on our plan carefully. And that was exactly the moment when Benimaru would come into play.
“If Testarossa’s negotiations lead to war, our city will be immediately isolated inside the labyrinth,” he told me.
“In that case, we’d better call Ramiris.”
“Indeed. We’ve come this far. The war is about to start. I don’t think she’s going to be bored much longer.”
I feel it’s wrong to think of war as entertainment, but… This is where a monster’s way of thinking differs from a human’s, I suppose.
“So?”
As we planned, our city would be protected by the labyrinth, the world’s best defensive structure. We’d be fighting on our turf, and I’d like to believe that gave us the initiative. The problem was Gobta’s force.
“If you think about it, the two forces are well out of proportion with each other. But at the same time, the enemy is amassed into a gigantic ball, and along those lines, we can think of these tanks as a single monster. If anything, we have the advantage.”
That, and as Benimaru confidently explained, the supply troops who came with the tanks didn’t really even count as hostiles. I wasn’t so sure about that, but his self-assured words were very convincing. I decided to hear him out.
“However, if we deploy our forces too widely, they might fall victim to the tanks’ fire. I made a calculation of their estimated power based on the knowledge you shared with me, Sir Rimuru, and the results convince me that the Green Numbers won’t be able to stand up to it. Thus, for our first sortie against the Empire, I’d like to deploy the Goblin Riders alone.”
Huh? Isn’t that a bit harsh?
“You want to challenge them with only a hundred mounted forces?”
“That’s right. We will begin with that, to see how things go. If the enemy’s tanks are as I predict, we can win if we send the whole army into battle, but if they exceed our expectations, we will have to rethink our strategy at that point. So either way, we have to try to fight them, and when we do, I don’t want to needlessly rack up casualties.”
Benimaru coolly laid it out for me. As he put it, the goblins would be used as a touchstone—and if things really went south, Gobta and his Riders would wind up sacrificial lambs. But Benimaru was unfazed. In fact, he made this cold, calculated decision precisely because it’d be the most efficient thing to do.
“So what’ll happen to them in the worst-case scenario?”
“I’ve told them to use Shadow Motion to retreat as they see fit.”
Aha. And there was another reason why he couldn’t deploy the Green Numbers, huh? Benimaru was making his estimates of the tanks’ performance based on my memory—or my knowledge, I guess. But everything I knew about tanks had come from what I’d seen on TV, essentially, so it was all pretty vague. But I also had a powerful ally in Raphael, so as vague as my knowledge was, I thought I was able to give Benimaru some pretty accurate specs.
In addition to that, we already had visual confirmation of what the Empire’s tanks looked like. We knew the length and caliber of their guns, and we were also aware of the sub-weapons they were equipped with, a bit like machine guns. They manufactured these with otherworlder expertise, I’m sure, so it should be similar in operation. Their power and performance were unknown, but as we figured, if we just paid attention to the stuff we should be wary of, it’d all work out.
Benimaru’s estimations and Raphael’s calculations were within the margin of error to each other. It was safe to say that Benimaru’s plan was the right way. It was certainly better than anything an amateur like me could come up with anyway.
His plan was as follows: First, as soon as the battle begins, the one hundred-strong Goblin Rider cavalry will charge in unison. They’ll take advantage of their high-speed maneuverability, using erratic movements to give the tank guns no chance to aim. In this way, they should be able to avoid direct hits. Given their small size, they’ll be able to nimbly respond to any situation; in fact, if they’re lucky enough, they could use a stick-and-move approach to toy with their foes.
Hearing all that, I was convinced. If you’re scared, Benimaru apparently told Gobta’s team, you lose. Of course, you never knew what would happen on the battlefield. The enemy might try pulling something wild on us, and there was every chance they’d score a lucky hit or two. I know he said that nobody’s gonna die as long as they don’t score a direct hit, but you never know until you pop open the lid. That was why we had to make sure everyone understood to retreat immediately in an emergency.
“But running away, keep in mind, is the last thing any of us want to do. I’d never allow them to sully your prestigious name, Sir Rimuru.”
Now I was more afraid of Benimaru than the Empire.
“Well, don’t make them do anything rash, okay?”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible. In war, if you want to win, it’s the polite thing to give it your all.”
Benimaru briskly smiled at me, no hesitation on his face.
That was cool and all, but I had mixed feelings. I understood his point of view, but he was making it sound inevitable that someone was gonna get whacked out there. I don’t really give a crap about myprestige. Having it helps keep my nation’s name protected and all, but if we got ourselves killed to save our good name, wasn’t that defeating the purpose? Like, I just didn’t wanna see any of my friends hurt, so…
Well, let’s just assume the worst and make sure the Third Corps is on standby, ready to be transported in at any time. If I was fighting this myself, I thought with an uneasy look in my eye, I’d never have to worry about any of this.
Lieutenant General Gaster, Caligulio’s confidant and leader of the Armored Division, was commanding the Magitank Force for this expedition. He was a muscular and fearless man in his midthirties, and right then he was on the rear guard, sitting back in his state-of-the-art command vehicle and enjoying the atmosphere of the battlefield. The forest around him was as unchanged as always, with nothing to block their way.
Gaster, who had grown accustomed to this scenery, began mulling over the fame he would gain from this battle. I’m going to defeat the Armed Nation of Dwargon, an impregnable fortress for over a thousand years—and Gazel himself, the Heroic King. How thrilling can this get?In his mind, he envisioned all the people cheering for him. It’d be the birth of a new champion who would go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. Just dreaming about it made Gaster’s heart soar. The man who defeated Gazel, the Heroic King, would have the epithet hero applied to him for eternity; it’d come in the not-too-distant future, guaranteed to happen. Gaster’s Magitank Force had enough war power to make sure of that.
Two thousand of these magical tanks were now lined up, moving in well-drilled unison. Their formation as they lumbered across the plains at the foot of the mountains was divided into twenty horizontal rows, each with a hundred tanks. It was a magnificent view, and Gaster couldn’t have been happier to see it…but he was already falling into his opponents’ hands. Each of these tanks was around thirty-five feet long by twelve feet wide—and with two thousand of them out at once, they couldn’t just go anywhere. Gaster deployed his troops in the exact location he had surveyed in advance, and that, it turned out, was exactly where Rimuru and his advisers had expected them to be.
Gaster had no idea this was going to happen, but he was an excellent soldier nonetheless. He was a lieutenant general, and as such, his personal combat skills were formidable. As he saw it, he was as good as any knight in the Imperial Guardians. The only reason I haven’t been selected, he reasoned, is because I haven’t had a chance to participate in ranking duels. Being in charge of a division like this is akin to being on military duty all the year through.
That irked him mightily. Of course, a lieutenant general is a high-ranking position; there were only a handful in the Empire, akin in social status to high-ranking nobility. He was well out of reach of the common person, no doubt, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy Gaster. Someday, he would replace Caligulio and become a full-fledged commander himself—and then he’d be a hero.
Gaster was an ambitious man—honor, not money, mattered to him. That was why he volunteered to wage the decisive battle against the Heroic King Gazel instead of conquering the labyrinth. And Gaster had more than enough ability to back up that ambition. He possessed the unique skill Performer, which gave him command over any sort of audio phenomena, allowing him to analyze situations in detail simply by listening to the sound around him. He could also use special sound waves to issue specific commands to people, leading his allies even in the middle of chaotic battle.
It was the greatest power an army officer could desire, but that wasn’t all. Performer could also be used as a vicious attack. Gaster could manipulate sound waves and manipulate them at will, using a sonic cannon to destroy the very cells of his foes. Clearly, Gaster was one of the most powerful people in the Empire.
Pfft! The Guardians might be strong and all, but only if they bear the legendary gear granted to them by the emperor! I deserve those weapons and armor far more than any of them…
If he could only get his hands on that Legend-class gear, he confidently believed, he, too, could join the lofty ranks of the Single Digits.
Gaster’s mind was occupied with all these fantasies, but he wasn’t letting his guard down during this op.
Hmm? Something changing in the forest?
The sound around him suddenly stopped. It was the first time he’d ever experienced such a thing.
“Abort camp preparations and take cautionary positions!”
Upon giving the order, Gaster focused more intently, turning his attention to the forest to his left. The atmospheric sounds of birds and animals had disappeared; no insects were chirping at all. There was something tense in the air…that, and the sound of small footsteps, as well as that of leaves rustling closer and closer. It was far-off but moving quickly.
They’re trying to take us by surprise. Not a bad move, but they picked the wrong foe to try it on.
Gaster chuckled to himself. Based on his analysis of the ambient sound, there were approximately a hundred figures approaching. They had intelligence that the demon lord’s forces were gathering near the inn town, so they likely deployed out from there. It was proof positive that Caligulio’s plans were working out well. The demon lord’s inn-town forces had completely missed the main body of the imperial army. And when a seven-hundred-thousand-strong army weighs down upon that demon lord’s throat, oh, the sheer panic they’d all experience! Just imagining the scene made Gaster smirk.
Now they were a bit over six miles away. Before much longer, they’d be in range of their magicannons. Those could fire up to nineteen miles away, at the expense of accuracy dwindling to near nothing; the actual effective range was more like one and a half or two miles. Of course, with the right type of explosive shells, you didn’t need to worry about accuracy.
This enemy force was small—and concentrated in a tiny area. Perhaps they thought they could use the trees as cover, as long as they didn’t go out in the open.
…Well, think again. First, let’s give ’em a salute to liven things up.
Their special ammunition was still in the prototype stage, so they could prepare only two rounds, but the blast radius could extend up to a hundred feet or so. The power of that explosion was currently unmatched by explosive magic, generating tens of thousands of degrees of heat and a concussive shock wave that could deform the terrain itself. It was a one-of-a-kind weapon, one only available on Gaster’s command vehicle, but he had no intention of saving it for a rainy day.
Without hesitation, he loaded it up and pointed the muzzle of his cannon into the forest. Then he barked out orders to his battalion; in the unlikely event that the enemy escaped, he wanted them to be ready to intercept.
“Left flank battalion, turn counterclockwise!”
The soldiers had been setting up tents for their encampment, but given that the Dwarven Kingdom was under twenty miles away, they were in a constant state of tension. As soon as they received the order from Gaster, they began calmly packing up the wagons the tanks were towing. It wasn’t long before everyone was ready for battle.
Without another moment’s hesitation, the left-wing battalion of five hundred tanks floated in the air, orienting itself toward the forest. Gaster and his men were ready—and as if waiting for that moment, a single monster appeared from the depths of the lush forest. It was wolf-shaped, with two horns growing out of its forehead, and its enormity was remarkable—a good sixteen feet long, making it look proportional to one of their tanks.
This has to be the Ranga monster reported by the IIB. They call him the demon lord’s pet or some such nonsense, but supposedly he ranks an A-plus in battle…
That made him a big deal, then.
“Just one? What are they thinking…? Wait.”
Gaster considered what this wolf’s mission was. If he came alone, he’s not here to fight. It’s probably serving as some kind of warning. It figures… You want to protect your position as demon lord, so you can’t take any half measures. Heh-heh-heh… You’ll regret that.As Gaster saw it, his enemy wanted to intimidate him with Ranga’s towering presence, sapping his will to fight.
“It seems this Rimuru is quite a proud demon lord, isn’t he? Trying to protect his lofty reputation by giving up the chance to surprise us?”
He let out a loud, ringing laugh. His officers quickly joined him, melting the anxiety among their soldiers. They were at just the right level of tension.
Ranga was close to them now, his steps relaxed. He was showing no sign of a fight; as Gaster suspected, he was here to negotiate. He finally stopped about thirty feet away, right in front of the lieutenant general and his team. A woman who had been sitting sidesaddle on him gracefully jumped off his back, making hardly a sound as she did. Then without a care in the world, she walked right up to Gaster’s vehicle.
When he laid eyes upon her, this woman with beauty beyond what any human could possibly achieve, Gaster felt a chill run down his spine, like a dagger of ice had stabbed him.
…What? The sounds this woman makes… It’s so strange.
There was the sound of a heartbeat, but it was playing an eerie melody. He could hear her blood flow as well, but it was both faster and quieter than that of a human being. Too fast, even. If someone’s blood flowed that fast, it’d be far too much for the body to bear. Now Ranga didn’t even register to Gaster. His eyes were squarely upon the woman.
Her long pure-white hair flowed beautifully, accentuating her beauty, but her body was clothed in a stern military uniform that poorly matched her looks. The bottom of it resembled a pair of riding pants, with the thighs loosely bulging out. There was someone else riding on Ranga’s back, but he didn’t even register to Gaster—that’s how much the eerie presence of the woman had taken over his consciousness.
Who is she…? The IIB said nothing about her. Ranga’s considered a high-ranking official of the demon lord’s, and this woman’s far more dangerous than him!
Gaster felt justified in criticizing the Imperial Information Bureau. But there was no one here to complain to. More important right then was the fact that someone intimately close with the demon lord was here with him. So he spoke in a dignified voice to hide his overwhelming anxiety.
“You’re an emissary from the demon lord Rimuru, aren’t you? You contacted me quicker than anticipated, but I’m glad his officers are such thoughtful, talented people. So what is your business?”
The woman smiled sweetly at Gaster’s question. “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Testarossa, and I serve the great demon lord Rimuru, ruler of these lands. As for why I’ve come here today…”
After saying that much, the woman’s smile widened. It was a smile of pure, unadulterated evil.
“I convey to you the words of my master: Leave here at once, and we will overlook this violation of our borders. But if you invade any farther, you will be shown no mercy.”
Testarossa’s bloodred eyes glowed as she made her statement. Gaster nervously gasped. He tried to say “Surely you’re joking” or the like, but before he could, Testarossa moved—just a light wave of the hand, but at that moment, a wall of flames appeared just a couple feet in front of the tank battalion’s first row. It was gone in an instant, but on the ground, the molten remains of the fire had formed a fine line of glass in the soil.
“Do I make myself clear? Cross this line, and your lives will be extinguished. If you are not prepared for that, stay where you are. Now, good day to you.”
Testarossa gave the lieutenant general a graceful bow, then turned on her heels and walked away, as if she had lost interest in the conversation. It was her way of stating that the time for negotiating was over. Ranga, of course, was wagging his tail at her. Only the small figure swinging around on his back still took notice of Gaster, but Gaster himself no longer cared.
H-how dare you make fun of me! Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?! And attempting such an obvious bluff in front of all this firepower!
He was furious, as if everything he ever believed in had been shattered, and it instantly cost him his composure. She had said what she wanted to say, and she hadn’t given Gaster’s side even a moment of her time—the kind of approach the Empire typically used on their foes. But receiving it back in kind had ignited Gaster’s anger, and any fear he felt before had disappeared.
So he made the wrong decision. He was around fifteen feet away from Testarossa, who was now exactly halfway between him and Ranga.
Think I’ll let you get away with this?
Gaster made up his mind. Courtesy to emissaries was not a concern for the Empire. If they surrender, fine. If not, prepare to be overrun with all our might. That was the Empire’s motto, and since Testarossa just insulted the Empire with her attitude, that was more than enough reason to begin hostilities.
“Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, sir!”
“Shoot that cocky bastard’s head off. After that, have the twenty tanks in front fire a simultaneous volley. Let’s show the demons lurking in the forest the majesty of our empire!”
Secretly, Gaster used his Performer skill to lay down his orders. The first to react was the sniper attached to his command vehicle. Quickly, he lifted up his rifle and took aim at Testarossa—and then the long-range spellgun fired off a silent shot. This was an enhanced version of the standard magic-powered spellgun, its range extended to over a mile; at only a couple dozen feet away, she was as good as dead. The bullet inside was infused with the elemental magic Fireball—and what would happen if a bullet filled with that ripped into your body? Well before the target could think about it, they’d explode into flames, burning from the inside out. Even if a monster was naturally resistant to magic, that resistance often didn’t extend to its internals.
There was no way to escape from a bullet traveling faster than the speed of sound, and Gaster was thus assured of Testarossa’s impending death. But the moment the bullet was released and over the threshold, Testarossa turned around—her face so evil, and so beautiful.
Gaster’s eyes widened in astonishment. The bullet that was supposed to pierce Testarossa’s body was stopped by a single, delicate index finger. This was a bullet fired at three times the speed of sound, packed to the gills with magic force—but that magic never released itself. Instead, it was helplessly plucked out of the air and discarded, like she was playing with some cheap toy.
“So that’s your answer? Well, lovely! A very fine one, too. Let’s make it a fair fight, then.”
With that, Testarossa joined Ranga, never looking back—and then they walked away, as if nothing had happened. Gaster almost fell into a panic, but he overcame it by sheer force of will. Fear and humiliation competed against each other in his mind, and humiliation won out. The rank-and-file soldiers had no idea what just happened; only he and the sniper accurately understood.
If that was how it was, time to continue as planned—and mow them down with the tank guns, their most powerful weapons. That was the best means he had to protect his pride as an imperial soldier.
“Lieutenant General, what should we do?”
“Don’t fall back! Don’t let her tricks and illusions deceive you! We are the glorious imperial army, and we will bring victory to His Majesty the Emperor! Begin the bombardment as planned…now!!”
Responding to Gaster’s shouted command, the tanks deployed on the left flank went on the move. The warning had been abjectly ignored. The first row trundled forward in order to build space between themselves—and with that, the glass boundary line was broken.
The war was on, and it came a lot more easily than expected. The imperial troops didn’t hesitate to step over the final warning line Testarossa had burned into the ground, and with that, we were at war with the Eastern Empire.
“It’s on, isn’t it?”
“Yes. And this is just the beginning!”
Ramiris and Veldora were talking to each other, acting all haughty and laid-back in their rather lofty chairs. I let out a sigh. This wasn’t a game; it was real war. I wished they’d brace themselves and treat this a little more seriously.
“Yeah, great, uh, can you get the town evacuated now, please?”
“Right on! Just leave it to good ol’ Ramiris!”
Ramiris cheerfully answered my request—and the next moment, without a sound, our capital city of Rimuru was quarantined in the Dungeon. I had delayed this quarantine until the very last minute so we could keep pretending to be oblivious to the enemy. But now the game was over. As soon as they ignored Testarossa’s advice, there was no need to hold back.
“Oh, I had a message from Treyni,” Ramiris said after effortlessly wrapping that up, as if she’d just remembered it.
“Mmm?”
“Like, she detected some fishy-looking character or something, so she’s gonna go greet them.”
“Huh? What’s that mean?”
“Well, I’m not sure I really know, either, y’know?”
A dumb question on my part. It was useless to ask Ramiris for anything in the way of details. She didn’t even work for me anyway, so I had no right to complain. Besides, we kind of got her wrapped up in this war, so I was grateful she was cooperating with us at all. And speaking of Treyni…she can be pretty damn lax about things, too, come to think of it.
“Soei, do we need to do anything about our intruders yet?”
I was a little worried, so I checked with Soei.
“They will not be a problem for now, sir. All we have to do is keep an eye on the gate placed on the surface, as planned.”
Well, I was glad I wasn’t overthinking it, then. It sounded like a few spies had made their way in, but Soei and his Team Kurayami were making quick work of them, so I guessed there wasn’t much to worry about.
Now, let’s take a quick look at the labyrinth’s structure. Floors 91 to 95 were now where Floors 96 through 100 used to be. The town of Rimuru on the surface had been transported lock, stock, and barrel to the lowest level, the temporary Floor 101. You had to defeat Veldora to reach this level, and common sense dictated that if things came to that, we’d be screwed anyway.
The real final defense we deployed would be on Floor 95. Floors 91 through 94 were now the Dragon Rooms, and if you got past them, you’d find yourself in the vast chamber where Veldora awaited. Behind that chamber was the Control Center we were sitting in now; if Veldora was defeated, we could buy some time in there, put the town back on the surface, and let the residents flee under Geld’s protection. It was, frankly, a desperation move, so I very much preferred if our floor bosses did their best for us instead.
Either way, we could at least be assured that the labyrinth was as defended as best as it possibly could be. Really, even if your typical army tried to break through Floor 95, it’d be impossible for them.
This being wartime, all usual Dungeon services were naturally suspended until further notice. We weren’t gonna sell any more Resurrection Bracelets, of course, and the inns and bathrooms were shut down, too. Any would-be visitors would need to bring all their own food and necessities. We even planned to cut off access to the water sources every five floors, which was bound to make things a lot harder. If you really wanted to “beat” the Dungeon, it’d take you days—months, even.
In a battlefield like this, bigger wasn’t necessarily better—in fact, having too big a force could really drag you down. Based on the intel Gadora and others gave me, nearly all imperial soldiers had undergone body augmentation, allowing them to go without food or drink for a week… But even so, I couldn’t imagine them having an easy time in the labyrinth. We ran simulations with several knight corps from the Western Nations, but the chances of successfully conquering this place were slim to none. Even if the Empire’s army was that much better than them all, it wasn’t gonna be a walk in the park for them.
So maybe I was worrying too much. Still, we better not let our guard down. The enemy might try to sneak their way through unnoticed, and we’d have to adjust our tactics based on what they tried. But either way, our preparations were now complete. We’d already informed our neighbor nations of the Empire’s movements, and I was sure they were all praying for our victory. If worse came to worst, the Western Deployment was on standby, and for everything else, they’d have to take action as the situation demanded.
Now it was time to return my attention to the battlefield.
Testarossa, regrouped with Gobta, was riding away on Ranga. The Empire’s tanks were behind them, giving chase, and judging by how their gun turrets were moving, they seemed ready to fire posthaste.
“Are they all right?”
“If they’re hit, probably not, but that’s unlikely to happen.”
Benimaru seemed intrepid as always. Wasting no time, he used his unique skill Born Leader to send orders to the First and Third Corps. The Tempest forces all began moving at once.
The Green Numbers now carefully advanced toward the enemy’s rear, entering the forest and using the vegetation as a shield as they made every effort to avoid enemy detection. If they could win the fight, they’d charge; if not, they’d retreat—but until they were sure either way, they didn’t intend to make any bold moves.
Gabil’s Team Hiryu, a hundred-strong corps of flying raiders, joined three hundred Wyvern Riders picked from the Blue Numbers in the skies. Their plan was to try attacking the slow, rumbling tanks from the air, which I thought was a good idea, but the enemy had airpower of its own. Once that stuff reached the battle site, that was when the real war would begin.
Finally, Gobta’s force was currently the closest one to the enemy. As long as we didn’t know what those tank guns could do, staying within range of them would be a death wish. They were still a healthy distance away from the advancing tanks, but as long as we didn’t know exactly what their range was, we needed to stay on guard.
That, and while I didn’t think the Empire was aware of the Goblin Riders yet, it looked like those tanks were ready to shoot. Maybe they had some kinda new weapon, one not even Gadora was aware of?
Report. Based on the tank guns’ orientation and angle, they are taking accurate aim. It is believed they have a sound grasp of the Goblin Riders lurking in the trees.
Huh? Uh, that’s bad, isn’t it?!
“Benimaru, I think the enemy has some means to locate the goblins!”
“Understood. I took that possibility into consideration, so Gobta’s force is the sole group comprising the advance team.”
I was the only one panicking; Benimaru was relaxed as ever. Apparently this was all part of the script, so I decided to trust Benimaru and watch how things went.
There were two thousand tanks in total. Five hundred of them had turned around, on patrol for the goblins, and the twenty tanks in the front row were about to fire their main guns. The one big notable difference between these tanks and the ones on Earth was that these had shorter barrels, maybe? They had been traversing the foothills of the mountain range, but they still had some thick vegetation to get through. Those short barrels probably made turning easy…or I suppose they were knocking down trees with brute force, too.
Still, ease of turning makes dense formations a lot easier to organize. All of them could turn quickly without worrying about bashing gun barrels against each other. I wasn’t sure they were long enough to provide a lot of accuracy and range, but that wasn’t for us to worry about. The fact that these tanks were in actual operation probably indicated that any problems along those lines were already worked out.
And what about Gobta’s team? Well, Gobta was already back with his troops. He looked pretty pale, but I doubted it was because he was scared of the tank squad. Perhaps he realized the truth about Testarossa, and it dawned on him how much danger he was actually in. Testarossa, meanwhile, was sitting on Ranga’s back, legs to one side as she gracefully ruffled his fur. When the negotiations were over, she apparently assumed her job was done. She did deserve a lot of credit for getting back safely like this. She could afford to knock off for a little while…but I didn’t think now was the right time for it.
As I was thinking about this, the tank guns finally opened fire. Twenty-one shells flew on in. It was hard to make out through the Argos system, but one shot fired from the command vehicle looked different from the others. What was that…?
“Gobta, In-Shadow right now!”
“All riders, In-Shadow!!”
Benimaru left my question in the dust as he gave the order. Gobta quickly responded. Without a moment’s pause, the Goblin Riders used Shadow Motion to disappear from the scene. Immediately afterward, a rain of shells pelted the area, a storm of twenty-one lethal blasts. It was a terrifying hellscape to imagine.
Understood. The caliber of the tank guns is 120 millimeters, so the mass of the shells is estimated to be approximately forty-six pounds. Based on the distance to the point of impact and the time of arrival, the velocity was found to be slightly under six times the speed of sound. The kinetic energy of each shell is proportional to its mass multiplied by the speed of flight squared. From these conditions, the muzzle energy and penetrative capacity can be calculated. The velocity drop is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional load, the air resistance is taken into account by simulating the surrounding environment, and these figures are multiplied by the magic power factor inside the shell—
Um, I hate to interrupt you while you’re having such a ball describing all this stuff to me, but…like, I don’t even know what a stick of dynamite can do, really, so if you could maybe give it to me in beginner terms…
…Acknowledged. In specific terms, a direct hit would shatter even the great gate of the Dwarven Kingdom. Not even an A-ranked dragon could withstand it. Anyone within fifteen feet of impact would be severely damaged by concussive force, and survival for anyone ranked C or below would be out of the question.
Right, thank you. Could’ve started with that, you know… Wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! That’s, like, real bad, isn’t it? That, plus there was that mystery shell mixed in with them. I began wondering if Gobta was really all right…but my fears were unfounded.
As soon as one shell landed, the ground exploded. Then it happened again, twenty times in a row, defacing the terrain. As soon as the last shot hit the target, the space the Goblin Riders were in burst into flames, a blast of wind and a localized thunderstorm ripping the land apart. All this carnage extended across at least a couple hundred feet, demonstrating the tremendous power of the blast.
That must’ve been the effect of the mystery shell. It was like a nuclear bombardment. How the heck did they develop this? Of course, I could only marvel at it because I knew Gobta’s gang was safe. Thanks to their instant response to Benimaru’s command, they had all Shadow Motion-ed out of there.
“Glad you’re okay.”
“I wouldn’t call myself okay, sir! The shock wave made it through to shadow space, too.”
“Anybody hurt?”
“No, we’re good on that. No casualties, thanks to Benimaru.”
Gobta replied in his usual cheery voice. I could hear him griping about how much it hurt or something, but—ah, I’m sure he’s okay. I’m not sure if Testarossa is capable of Shadow Motion, but she seems to be fine, so no need to worry about her.
For now, the big question is: What’s our next move?