Chapter 432: Dragons, O Dragons! Part Nine
The schedule is irregular, so it can't really be helped, but I'm sorry. It's pretty pathetic that I can't even keep up one update a day.
Skull Azuchi.
Its primary materials were the bones of monsters hunted in the great forest and similar resources.
Naturally, things like its support pillars were made of wood, but it was still true that vastly more resource points had gone into it than if it had been built from stone and timber alone.
And its true value lay in the area-wide effects that the "Castle Lord" could invoke through objects placed by a "Feng Shui Master."
???: "Whoa, direct hit... Huh? I'm alive?"
Deuredhowl: "What!?"
???: "Only the players around here have buff effects... Emilia-san!!"
???: "Explain!"
???: "It's Skull Azuchi's buff! While we're fighting Deuredhowl, our fire resistance goes up!!"
At those words, Psyger-100 furrowed her brow slightly.
(A buff strong enough that even a midweight attacker won't die instantly? That's bad...)
People did not simply follow other people's emotions. That was not a matter of ego or arrogance; empathy and sympathy were themselves emotions felt within one's own heart.
And when it came to influencing people to act, the more immediate and tangible the effect, the better. Between the smooth talking and clever maneuvering of a former PK and a buff from Skull Azuchi, there was little question which one would move people more effectively.
Psyger-100: "This is our chance! We wear Deuredhowl down here!!"
Even as she rallied the people around her and issued orders, Psyger-100 forced her anxiety about the moment that was coming down into the depths of her heart.
There is a saying about "Wu and Yue in the same boat."
Another saying goes, "Too many boatmen, and the boat climbs a mountain."
Was Psyger-0 now on a boat where enemy armies happened to share passage, or on one that had become hopelessly lost about where it was going...?
She ran on with a sigh.
???: "Dragon That Gnaws at the World! O our forefather! Behold our valiant struggle!!"
???: "Rugadododo Ru Dodododo... You are as energetic as ever."
???: "Ha-ha! If we are to advance in a battle line such as this, how could I not be exhilarated!!"
???: "O little insect-folk! Does your heart dance as well!"
???: "There is certainly a cultural divide with little folk who carry no weapons, but a warrior ought to be able to laugh in the face of a battlefield!!"
???: "...Hey, Fistfighting Rooster Desperado. Should we be getting this worked up too?"
Desperado: "Why humor people like that? There is no need to waste your strength for nothing."
???: "Hmph, you there in armor. We really should quicken our pace a little. Yes, indeed—there is no need to spare a thought for slowpokes and bookworms!!"
???: "How barbaric. Asking beasts that can do nothing but brandish claw and fang for intelligence was a mistake after all..."
???: "Pioneers, you needn't concern yourselves with fools who can only swing their claws, or idiots who mistake intelligence for strength. Instead, you should cultivate good relations with us—"
Annoying.
That was honestly the only word Psyger-0 could find for the deafening racket around her.
How had things ended up like this?
Because the Bugmen accompanying them could not use the Teleport Gate, they had indeed set out to reach the frontline base on foot. But after one meeting and merger after another, the procession had somehow turned into a showcase of different races.
Giants, led by a giant woman who somehow gave off the same kind of energy as Psyger-0's older sister.
Birdians, whom she had nearly mistaken for Sunraku at first glance.
Beastfolk, whom she had briefly mistaken for Sunraku after he had acquired another new mask.
And with the Bugmen added on top of that, why was she the one walking at the head of this enormous crowd that could only be called a multiracial alliance...?
The more she thought about it, the deeper she felt herself sinking into a bog of thought. Sighing again, Psyger-0 and Imron continued through the forest.
Psyger-0: "Hm."
Imron: "Whoa!"
The instant they took a step—without crossing any visible line or boundary—an oppressive weight settled over Psyger-0 and Imron's bodies, as though heavy stones had suddenly been piled on top of them.
Psyger-0: "B.I.G.2... No doubt about it. We've entered Siegwurm's ability range."
Imron: "Um, everyone! The battlefield is just a little farther ahead...!!"
She felt like a bus-tour guide.
One could simply chalk it up to the progression of a Bonus Unique Scenario, but people of completely different races and affiliations were all heading toward the frontline base for the same purpose.
Even Psyger-0, who did not possess anything close to Pencilgon's breadth of vision, understood that this was not something she could simply ignore.
The other NPCs apparently felt the effect of the gravity field too. Each reacted in their own way, but all of them readied their weapons, cracked their knuckles, and raised their fighting spirit as if declaring that they would be the ones to slay the dragon.
Psyger-0: "...Somehow, I'm really tired."
Imron: "It's a rare experience, isn't it? Better to think of it as getting something out of it... I mean, right."
Psyger-0: "You're not even managing to hide it anymore, Imron-san."
Imron: "Once I get a little friendly with someone, the roleplay starts slipping really easily..."
Talking like that, the two players plunged into the battlefield alongside the many races around them.
Giants — fifty-eight members of the Odinu Clan.
Bugmen — fifteen in total, including two members of Bugs Pride.
Birdians — twenty members of the Fistwing Delinquents.
Beastfolk — twenty each from the Lionheart Band, the Foxfire Society, and the Bountiful Elephant Army, for a total of sixty.
The force advancing together was now large enough to deserve the word Legion.
???: "...It's hard to show myself."
One additional member: a single Vorpal Bunny clinging to Psyger-0's back.
Accordingly, their first contact was with the players fighting Bryleinyego, whose battle had begun at the point closest to the forest.
???: "Damn it... We don't have enough people!"
???: "Everyone else shifted over to wearing down Deuredhowl!"
???: "We can't keep the lesser dragons contained!"
???: "The battle isn't ending, so we can't level up!?"
Unlike Deuredhowl and Blockentreed, each of which was a threat as a single individual, fighting Bryleinyego required simple numbers—manpower.
Support from Skull Azuchi, Black Blade entering the fight, and several other factors had shifted the players' balance of strength. Bryleinyego's lesser dragons were now trying to break through the players' encirclement.
???: "No way! Healers alone can't hold the line!!"
???: "Somebody send us attackers! The tanks are going to get mobbed!!"
Cries rose from every part of the battle line. With their total numbers reduced, the places where another player had previously stepped in whenever someone went down were beginning to warp out of shape.
But just as one section of the line was about to collapse, reinforcements appeared.
Bryleinyego: "Come, my children! Trample these foolish maggots beneath your feet and seize this land!!"
???: "No. The only place fit for you is a pool of your own blood!!"
The wind blew.
Two gusts tore through like blades capable of cutting down anything in their path, sending every lesser dragon they passed flying before those creatures could offer any resistance.
???: "Huh, what... Whoa, huge!"
???: "Wait, there's a ton of them coming!"
???: "Children... no, perspective! A little girl is adult-sized!"
???: "Wouldn't that just make her an adult woman?"
???: "Uh, fetish...?"
One massive figure after another emerged from the part of the forest that had escaped incineration. Every one of them carried a weapon that had clearly seen long use, and they thundered forward after the twin-sword-wielding giant woman at their head, shaking the ground as they ran.
Bryleinyego: "You... You lot are!!"
???: "Bryleinyego! Do not think you can escape us! It is we Giants who will take your head! We of the Odinu Clan, heirs to the wills of the heroes Odinu and Dul Dauna! Know me as Fione of the Peerless Twin Blades Mora-Beagalltach!!"
Not Dul Dauna of the Blazing Spearblade Areadbhair, one of the heroes whose name resounded among the Giants and who appeared in The Tale of the Traveling Rabbit.
It was Odinu of the Peerless Twin Blades Mora-Beagalltach, the great hero who had cut open the White Dragon's land and made it a land of the Giants. The two blades he had once wielded were now leveled at Bryleinyego by his descendant, Fione.
And as if answering the great hero's twin blades, countless enormous weapons rose into the night sky.