Chapter 423: Task Force Outsider

Author's Preface
I can't hide my agitation born from the joy of the shocking fact that Moni-moni is around thirty, so here's an update. [*1]
Since I grabbed a Sunstone, I only have 5 points left now, which is actually kind of making me laugh (Smile of Emptiness).

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"Right now, I am... yes, the strongessst...!!"

"Hey, hey! You're paying too much attention to the afterimages!"

"Deficiency in dynamic visual acuity confirmed. The end of the training period will be postponed."

"Wai—Scary, scary, scary!!"

Considering she folded in five seconds after meeting, this girl's potential (not her combat power) truly shouldn't be underestimated...
With me wreathed in black lightning and Saina firing her thrusters doing a double-layered orbital lap around Wimp, lightly bringing her to tears, I give a nod to Sammy-chan-san and bluntly state our policy.

"We're hunting the spider and the centipede."

"Well then, I'm gonna go to sleep, so do your besssst..."

"Unfortunately for you, your leveling will continue concurrently. Let's not settle for an odd number like 87 and aim for the milestone of 90, yeah?"

"Nuuoooo!!!"

"However, Master, considering the ecology of the Fortress Gargantula, the training method utilizing the Armilet Gargantulas has a high probability of breaking down."

"What, it's just an extracurricular lesson."

Judging from the flavor text, the Fortress Spider uses pheromones or something to control the child spiders. There was a similar guy in the deep sea, but that's irrelevant right now.
In other words, if the Fortress Gargantula gets serious, the Armilet Gargantulas will all turn into death-squads... or rather, consumables, and launch suicide attacks at its enemies.

"Listen up. Basically, it's impossible to fight just the spider or just the centipede. If one wakes up, the other activates too. But conversely, the ones who draw the most aggro from them are also themselves."

The absolute basics of MvM (Monster vs. Monster) are inducing mutual destruction and interfering from the sidelines. Unless the player's own stats are monstrously high, establishing an MvMvP situation is impossible; there's no way a player has the means to compete against a railway gun and a fortress.

"Listen, the Armilets that fall under the Fortress Gargantula's control become sluggish to attacks from anything other than the target the main body is focusing on. Which means it's an all-you-can-beat buffet."

"I-I see? H-Hmph! Seems pretty simple!"

I instruct Saina, who is staring at Wimp—who had predictably started acting all high and mighty—with eyes full of pity, to keep her mouth shut with a "Shh."

"...Acknowledged:"

Wimp hasn't realized yet that the battlefield she's heading into is one where, even if she doesn't get counterattacked, stray bullets from AoE attacks will be flying everywhere...

"Sammy-chan-san, if push comes to shove, please grab that thing in your mouth and evacuate."

And just like that, my affection rating for Sammy-chan-san continues to soar...

"Ah, your deployment is confirmed too."

"Desu waaa!?"

With all that said and done, it's briefing time.

"Alright, here are the various things I had made using the Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystals just in case."

Even though I paired her up with Imron without her permission, Bilac, fired up by the competition in performance, smacked me and yelled, "Don't increase my workload, ya bastard!" but honestly, I told her the materials were what mattered and the performance was whatever.

Emul and I, who have NPC designations, get accessories. Saina, who is an NPC but doesn't have accessory slots, gets a "Dual-Drive Booster Extension" attached to her existing expansion module unit.
And as for Wimp, who I'm not entirely sure whether she counts as an NPC or a Monster Mob, and Sammy-chan-san, who is just a regular Enemy Mob, it couldn't be helped, so...

"What's this?"

"Raw, unrefined Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystal."

"The discrimination!!"

After some testing, it turns out this suspected Unique Monster is treated as an NPC by the system since she can join the party.
In that case, I handed her the accessory I had made just in case. The Tsar-Beryl... or rather, minerals related to the Crystal Scorpion lineage share the property of accumulating magic power.
That being said, as expected of the Crystal Emperor, the items made using the Tsar-Beryl Emperor Treasure Crystal all have a quirk or two in their performance. But the outer shell is what's important, and their peaky nature probably won't come into play this time.

"As for the operation details, this time we're going with the strategy of obstructing the Fortress Gargantula and letting the Trainol Centipede win. I'll board that thing directly; Emul, you ride on Saina and provide support; Saina, same for you; Wimp, you destroy as many Armilets as possible."

And Sammy-chan-san is our rearguard for emergencies. I'll have her hide using her stealth capabilities, and if things go south, she'll retrieve Wimp and retreat back here.

"Then, Operation Start!!"

In ShanFro, the weather changes with the passage of time almost exactly aligned with Japanese Standard Time. Obviously, it's not the exact same weather, but the fact that they even simulate rain is a testament to the monstrous realism of the game.
The current time in the real world is 6:30 PM. The Sigmonia Frontline Valley is dyed in the vermilion of twilight, and into this quiet place, we will now cast a spark.

"Saina!!"

"Acknowledged: Initiating demonstrative maneuvers."

Even with the boosters, without the Tactical Mech Beasts, it seems her limit is leaping high into the air. Still, Saina bounded about ten meters high, aimed the dual handguns equipped in both hands at the ground... and fired.

"Wimp! Don't try to force a kill, just steadily farm your score!!"

"I was going to do that even if you didn't tell meeeee!!"

Glad to hear it. Now then... Unfortunately, I don't have a conch shell on me, so you'll just have to forgive me for using gunshots as the signal to commence battle.

Meki-meki, fissures run across the ground. Looking around, I can see Armilet Gargantulas popping their heads out of the earth one after another, but no matter how many pebbles move, they couldn't possibly cause vibrations like this... tremors that feel like they're shattering the bottom of the earth.

The fissures running across the ground reach a critical point, shattering the earth as an ultra-heavy, massive carapace reveals itself from below, shaking off the dirt.
I see, that appearance is truly fitting of the name Gustav (Railway Gun). Speaking of railway-scale giants, it reminds me of the Arctus Regalecus (Giga-Ryugu Oarfish), but unlike that one, which was vertically thin, this one has quite the impressive width as well.

Grit-grit, rubbing its carapaces together, I look up at the Trainol Centipede Gustav raising its head from the depths of the earth, while simultaneously searching for another location shaking the ground.

"Aaaah!! Yaaah!! They're swarminggg!!"

Mute your mouth, you wimp... Over there!!

"Operation commence! Saina, Emul! Make absolutely sure you don't get caught up in it!!"

"Yes sir!"

"Acknowledged."

If the dragon appears, the tiger will also rise. Confirming the massive spider similarly splitting the ground to appear, I dash toward the giant fortress, blending in with the Armilets that had likely been placed under the Fortress's control via pheromones.

"P-Please don't look this way? F-Fufufu... This is already my exclusive showca—pyaaaah!?"

I get the feeling Wimp was blown away by the aftermath of the centipede's movement, but since Sammy-chan-san hasn't mobilized, she's probably safe.
I kick off the Armilets crawling up the Fortress's pillar-like hind legs, using them as stepping stones to scramble higher and higher. I could use Bradyon, but that's better suited for disengaging and surprise attacks.
The human-sized Armilet Gargantulas possess a corresponding amount of physical strength. At the very least, they aren't so fragile that they'll peel off just by being kicked by a single human.

Before I knew it, I had reached the summit. Arriving at the very top of the Fortress Gargantula's abdomen, I gripped the Areadbhair Rebuild and, for starters, slashed and kicked away an Armilet trying to crawl into a nearby "turret."
The child spider, sliced open by a flash of flames, tumbled down, catching the ones behind it and crashing spectacularly.

"A cannon without ammo is just a decoration, ain't it!?"

We can leave the firepower contributions to Gustav-kun. We are, so to speak, the sabotage unit; we'll slip behind the scenes and whittle away its ammunition stockpile.

"Warning: Expansion confirmed in the muscle fibers of Trainol Centipede Gustav. It is coming."

"Copy that!!"

Gou, shattering the twilight air, the massive centipede wraps around the spider. Their thick carapaces screech and groan in a contest of hardness. As if to counter the constricting centipede, the spider braces its legs, and child spiders are fired one after another from the "turrets" out of my attack range.

"【Magic Edge】!!"

"Initiating firing sequence. I will shoot them down."

However, attacks unleashed from atop its own abdomen shoot down a percentage of the Armilet projectiles, and the thinned-out, hole-riddled barrage strikes Gustav, scattering shockwaves as they detonate.
It's a bit much to use myself as a comparison, but it's a suicide attack capable of blowing away a Level 100+ player in a single hit. I doubt one or two would be an effective strike, but if there are dozens of them, it can at least induce a flinch.

As Gustav rears back, its constriction loosens. Not missing that instant, the Fortress Gargantula's pillar-like... or rather, peg-shaped legs when viewed as a whole, stomp down on Gustav's body, crushing and piercing its carapace with immense mass.

"Everyone, disengage!!"

"Doll person! Doll person!"

"I inform the native organism, Designation: Emul, that the designation 'Saina' is appropriate for this unit. Evasive maneuvers."

"Hobyaaaaaa...!!"

Watching Emul suffer a terrible fate because Saina disengaged with a mid-air somersault, I also pour strength into my legs to disengage.

"Hey Gustav-kun, if you're gonna aim, I recommend right here!"

Probably just my imagination, but I fluttered the Areadbhair at the massive centipede that I made eye contact with to draw its attention.
A "Main Cannon," large enough to make the Fortress's "turrets" growing from its back look tiny, is thrust at the spider. Immediately after I disengage straight up using Bradyon, a massive venom artillery shell fired from Gustav's "Main Cannon" scores a clean hit on the Fortress Spider's flank.

"Nice shot!!!"

Alright, let's secure the checkmate one move at a time. It's time to bring down the fortress!

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Author's Afterword
Conquista Dolls and Human Dragoras have separate equipment slots instead of accessory slots.
In the case of Conquista Dolls, it's additional parts. This is quite important because it affects not only their base state but also when they are equipped with Enhanced Armor. Naturally, creating these new parts involves the Ancient Craftsman... well, it's not like there aren't other methods.
In the case of Human Dragoras, they can equip nutrients, which grant them a separate buff at arbitrary or random times. These are items that can be created by the highest-tier jobs in the "Farmer" lineage, or the hidden "Pharmacist" job lineage.

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Translator's Note

• [1] Author is talking about Monika from Granblue Fantasy.