Chapter 596: Exactly Whose Fault Is It?
Author's Preface
My writing is flowing well, but it's largely because my real life has gotten a lot easier lately.
Now is not the time to be making jokes.
Looking at the point of impact while recovering my posture from my evasive maneuver, the wall hasn't been completely penetrated, but it's been gouged out in a way that I certainly couldn't call "fine."
"...This place is a lost cause."
"eh...? w-what do you mean by that?"
"Whether we fight or run, it's only a matter of time before that thing destroys this place. Pack up the furniture while we move; get your stuff ready to go, you shut-in...!!"
"n-no way... my warm, cozy bed..."
Stop making complaints that subtly hint at a heavy past! If I get 【Library】 to cooperate fully, we'll figure something out!!
"Wimp! Start moving the rocks blocking the exit bit by bit! Just don't open it all the way yet, or the absolute worst-case scenario will happen and the spiders will avalanche in here!!"
"fuguuu... uuu, fine!!"
Now then, sorry to keep you waiting, Cyborg Beetle.
"Saina! Emul! Shoot it down with firepower! If it thrashes around any more than this, the Scorpions might fall from above!!"
"Acknowledged: Deploying 'Vanity Box'."
"Yes sir! Entering incantation desu wa!!"
"Alright you shitty beetle, I'll play along too. Let's do some sumo wrestling like true rhinoceros beetles!!"
I change my headgear to the nostalgic battle-horn helmet 【Quad-Shell】. I don't care if you're an unprecedented discovery; this horn right here clashed against an unparalleled Divine Age katana... In fact, let me say this to you.
"You are a worthy opponent!!"
That being said, I obviously can't clash with it head-on. In that case, I just have to change my tactics... There are no weight classes in sumo wrestling. Therefore, I will sink that massive body using the combat style of a smaller wrestler!!
Reacting to the charge aimed explicitly at me, I activate a multitude of linked skills to accelerate my body. My target isn't its horn... but rather, using its horn as a foothold, the wings located further back.
No matter how unstable a posture is, if you can endure it for even a single second, it becomes an invaluable motion in the midst of momentary offense and defense. This acrobatic feat—which could essentially be called a one-point handstand using the single horn of the 【Quad-Shell】—is only possible thanks to the Quantum Gaze. A feat that would normally be considered exceptional if you could hold it for a second becomes viable within the split-second intersection against a roaringly fast, charging cyborg beetle. I then utilize the blowback, now brought under my control, to launch into a spin and slash at its hind wings.
But the feedback is poor. This isn't a deflection caused by hardness... Micro-vibrations? Ultra-vibrations? This shitty beetle... its swing amplitude is terrifyingly tiny, which is blatantly absurd for something supporting such a massive body. It's moving that gigantic frame with microscopic wing flaps on a level that could outright be called vibration. Why is it floating? Why can it fly? It must be the power of magic.
"Even an intersecting slash combining the speed of both of us only does this much? It makes me want to cry..."
Landing, I store a nearby candlestick into Inventoria while formulating my next plan. Emul is casting, and Saina... is she planning to sync with Emul? That's a nice call; it'd be a problem if she carelessly attacked and diverted its aggro.
Now what to do... The hardness of its outer shell goes without saying. Attacking its wings while it's flying is useless too. Aim for the belly? Looks like the belly is made of the same material as the outer shell, dammit. Here comes the next attack. I need to think while moving.
"Oops, need a foothold."
"my chaaaiir!!"
Since I didn't have enough distance to evade with a jump, I reflexively pulled a chair from Inventoria to use as a stepping stone. Naturally, the chair left behind is completely pulverized by the cyborg beetle. Guh, why you bastard, I'll never forgive you...!
"Desk Shield! Closet Guard!"
"nooooooo! stoppppppp itttttt!!"
Ignored.
"Emul! Saina!"
"Preparation Complete: Commencing simultaneous bombardment."
"Cluster Magi-Storm!!"
Ah, idiot. Emul, if you use an AoE attack in such a cramped space...
"Everyone, escape outsideeeee!!!"
"Hohe?"
"hae?"
"Estimation: The collapse of this location."
Guh, even I feel a sense of regret for the furniture!!
Slamming the Levin Trigger: Hazard against my left chest, I dash through the safehouse in a single burst with legs enhanced by a refreshed skill. I randomly gather up the furniture that's still usable, grab Wimp—who had promptly darted toward the exit—and the confused Emul by the scruffs of their necks, and sprint straight for the exit in one go.
Sorry landlord, the floor might give way.
"Saina! What's the situation outside!!"
"As you can see, war has already broken out."
Whew! It's a picture of hell both inside and out!
Pissed off at the noise shaking their homes, they rose up only to bump right into their sworn enemies—yeah, of course it'd turn into a war. I'm not sure how I feel about getting used to this sight, but it seems Fortress Gargantula and Trainol Centipede have enthusiastically started their daily hardcore deathmatch once again today.
Having jumped out right onto the front lines, we carefully maintained our distance to avoid being noticed by the Armilet Gargantulas—who currently hadn't turned their aggro toward us—when...
The next instant, the cyborg beetle smashed through the entrance to the collapsed and buried safehouse and vaulted into the battlefield!!
Fundamentally, this Sigmonia Frontline Valley is the territory of spiders, centipedes, and scorpions. The sudden appearance of a new face combining heavy armor, high mobility, and high firepower right in the middle of it caused the spiders and centipedes to momentarily halt their movements.
It was as if they had encountered not outsiders like us, but rather a resident who had perhaps lived here longer than they had... However, the cyborg beetle—the source of the noise—apparently found everything in its sight extremely displeasing. It hovered in place, as if observing its surroundings, for a mere three seconds. In that time, the bastard calculated a conclusion of "Massacre," shifted into combat mode, and executed a reckless charge straight at the Fortress Gargantula!!
"Whoa, Mother Nature sure is crazy..."
"L-Let's run away desu wa... There's absolutely nothing we can do anymore desu wa..."
You say that, Emul, but gamers are a breed that simply cannot give up on rare encounters that easily.
Should I say that even the cyborg beetle couldn't penetrate the Fortress Spider's armor? Or should I say the cyborg beetle, having delivered a blow heavy enough to easily knock back and shake even the Fortress Spider, is something to be feared? Either way, with that single strike just now, it seems it's been clearly recognized as an enemy by both the spider and the centipede.
The two super-massive bodies begin to move, remaining cautious of their sworn enemy while also bringing the new threat—the cyborg beetle—into their field of vision. The Trainol Centipede makes the first move. Crawling along the walls of the mortar-shaped circular valley at high speeds, it circles around behind the Fortress, instantly coiling itself up and constricting it. Then, using the cannons on its back, it opens fire on the cyborg beetle.
In response, the cyborg beetle chooses to charge straight ahead, treating evasion as a cowardly tactic! Is it out of its mind? No, the battlefield is a place where the sober ones die first! It plunges right in, piercing straight through the barrage of poison cannons!!
But that poison is an extreme neurotoxin designed specifically for the Fortress. If a cyborg beetle, which is far too small compared to the centipedes and spiders, were to take a direct hit... No, wait!
It tightened its entire body armor to seal the gaps in its joints, preventing the poison from entering its body...!?
What a bastard, it knows exactly how to counter tactics on this battlefield...! Even though it can temporarily only move via inertia, the benefit of having complete immunity to the poison is massive. And then, re-deploying its wings, the cyborg beetle's tackle scores a direct hit squarely on the Trainol's face!!
"i-it's the end of the century..."
I agree.
The tackle was so magnificent I almost reflexively took a screenshot, sending the massive body of that Trainol flying as if it had taken a vicious uppercut. Well, structurally speaking, the part that was sent flying was only about one-fifth of its total length, starting from the head, but that's still more than enough of an opening for the fortress to act.
"Ooh, a full burst? That's rare."
It's the Fortress Gargantula's ultimate attack, firing off a massive barrage in all directions by consuming large numbers of child spiders. It's a move primarily used when constricted by the Trainol, but normally, the centipede's constriction is so tight that the bombardment can't even be fired. Thus, it's a rare animation that you can only see if the constriction loosens for some reason.
Having taken a massive barrage of impacts from the inside, the Trainol Centipede decides it can't handle any more and releases its bind, creating distance. The cyborg beetle had been dodging the incoming child-spider shells without much trouble, but the Trainol—having not forgotten the grudge from earlier—swatted it down to the ground with its tail.
"Alright, this is our chance! I'm gonna go deal the finishing blow!!"
"You're planning to snatch the kill from the side desu wa!?"
What's wrong with playing the hyena? Achieving maximum results with minimal damage is a magnificent tactic born from nature itself, isn't it? Kukuku, even if it chips away at my Vorpal Soul a little, I'll take the massive advantage of killing an Exordinary...
"Question: If that monster is defeated in the middle of this chaotic melee, wouldn't its materials be lost?"
...............
"Let's do this, you bastards! Bring it on, Mother Nature!!"
It seems they were seriously pissed off about having their floorboards recklessly trashed. Now, I plunge my single body into a hellish battlefield, where even a rain of lasers from above has been added to the mix───!!
Ah, let me set up a quick-save tent. I have a feeling I'm going to die about four times.
Author's Afterword
Scorpion: Shake the floor and I'll kill you.
Centipede: The noise is loud because of you. Die, Spider.
Spider: The noise is loud because of you. Die, Centipede.
Beetle: It's been so damn loud while I was sleeping, I'm going to kill you all.
Human: Can I have your drops?
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