Chapter 802: December 15th: Thus Attack Like Fire, Attack Again Like Fire
Author's Preface
It's been a long while since I utilized the scheduled posting feature...
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"The Grand Duke is dead!!?"
"Don't be stupid, Katzo-kun! Do you really think I'd leave a VIP in such an obviously important facility!?"
"Coming from the person who hung a royal family member from the ceiling, that lacks persuasion!!"
"...What's that about?"
"Don't worry about it right now! More importantly, what's the damage situation!!"
Immediately after the start of the Kingdom Turmoil, the extremely hot beam of light that struck Thirdrema from the peak of the extinct volcano simply plowed straight ahead with absolute brutality... Faster than melting butter, it pierced through the robust magical defense barrier... and pierced straight through the Grand Duke's castle, the very symbol of Thirdrema.
"As you can see, the top part got blown away! That's bad news, Comrade! Not even rubble is falling down, this means...!!"
"It evaporated...!?"
Attacks based on radiant heat, scorching heat, and extreme heat are rare in Shangri-La Frontier, but they do exist. At the very least, it's practically common sense among players who choose the Mage job that if you keep specializing in fire-attribute magic, you will eventually be able to shoot a beam.
And there are indeed monsters that wield fire, and even beams......... but even so, no matter how large the scale or how massive the damage... they could be withstood.
Take the Defense Holder Josette, for example. If she, specializing in magical defense, hardens her defenses seriously, it becomes possible to endure even the breath of the Unique Monster "Siegwurm the Heavenly Sovereign."
But that is only because Siegwurm's attack is an attack that shaves off HP. For instance, against the instant-death attack executed by the True Quiet, no matter how absolute a barrier is deployed, it will invariably result in unquestionable death (though Josette would likely reply that, separate from that, it doesn't mean she lacks countermeasures).
But what if,
"If that is an instant-death attack of that scale...?"
"...It's possible. The opponent is a Raid Monster, basically a boss monster. For a boss balanced around multiplayer, an opening instant-death move isn't that uncommon."
"If that's the case, then it shouldn't be something it can rapid-fire, right? It's probably more like a countdown type where it shows off its power first, and if we don't stop it during the battle, it will trigger again?"
In response to Pencilgon's proposed prediction, Rust and Mold—who possess decent experience in action games, not just Nephilim Hollow—return affirmative opinions.
The tension of this being an interpersonal war has already been blown away, and the players are scrambling over each other to rush toward the Raid Monster that appeared on the peak of the extinct volcano. Pencilgon watches this with a bitter expression, but having already accepted that perfectly controlling players was a pipe dream to begin with, she hastily formulates her next strategy.
"What do we do!? Do we go with the initial plan?!"
"Katzo-kun, what do you think?"
"Hmm... I actually feel like it would be better for me to stay here. It's probably just its non-active state performance with the killing intent cranked way up, so it's likely a light-warrior killer in terms of performance..."
Even in its non-active state, the "Smoldering Great Crimson Wings" is a Raid Monster with some combat reports.
And among them, OiKatzo, who has the most combat experience against the non-active Smoldering Great Crimson Wings, ponders for a moment before raising his previously lowered head, as if reaching some sort of conviction.
"Your conclusion?"
"For now, I'd like to challenge it after all the guys heading there right now finish dying off once. If you give me two days, I can probably conquer it... maybe?"
Completely ignoring the "...maybe?" part and judging that if it's OiKatzo, he can do it, Pencilgon repairs the strategy that had nearly collapsed right at the very beginning, and issues new instructions.
"All right! It seems Katzo-kun is going to solo-subjugate that beam weapon, so we'll proceed according to the plan!"
"I didn't say that, you know???"
"If a Raid Monster was only attacking our side, we'd all be carpet-bombing the management with protest emails, but considering this is the management that pulled off the Dragon Calamity War, they've probably thrown a Raid Monster at the other side too! In that case, the conditions are the same; it's just a matter of who can execute their strategy better!"
"Comrade! Looks like you hit the mark! A green Raid Monster is attacking their side too! They say it's an army-type!"
At the very least, it seems the initial plans going awry apply to the other side as well. While this side is facing a time-delayed, wide-area instant-death firepower, it appears the other side's Raid Monster is a simple numbers-advantage type. Both share the common trait of inflicting massive damage over a wide area, but there are differences.
"Excellent! I wonder if they'll all get completely wiped out by some mistake!"
Shamelessly shouting something people normally think but don't say out loud, Pencilgon issues instructions one after another to her "pawns who will reliably act on orders."
"Unit A, move to the designated positions in Thirdrema as planned! Unit B, charge the enemy's main camp with reconnaissance included! Unit C, rapidly relay the information from Unit D! The password is!!"
"""""Prime real estate in Thirdrema! Looking down on others is the bourgeoisie!!"""""
"Aaaaalright! The era belongs to Capitalism! Everyone, commence operations!"
Watching the RPA members commence their actions with disciplined movements in satisfaction, Pencilgon turns to the members of her own clan... 【Wolfgang】, who are in a sense her "main force".
"Now then, regarding all of you........."
"Uh, I really just don't want to cooperate with you under these circumstances. People will think we're from the same faction..."
"Surprise, surprise, we're in the same faction to the ends of hell. When we get on the execution block, let's use matching guillotines............."
"This is bad, Comrade Pencilgon!"
An RPA member who was supposed to have moved to another location to commence operations came rushing back in a panic.
At the very least, something had happened to cause her to panic. Judging that she is a player assigned to Unit C—which relays information into the game from Unit D, who gathers intel by intercepting the Live Line streams in the real world—Pencilgon indicates for her to state the matter with just a look.
"A group of players led by Payabusa and the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps forcefully broke through the Raid Monster!"
What that indicates, in other words.
"They're coming to launch a blitzkrieg!!"
Author's Afterword
Heroine-chan: (Is Rakuro-kun not coming......... Would it be... okay if I... contacted him in r-real life...?)
Akitsu Akane: (S-such amazing concentration.........)
Rust: (......Can she even see forward with that faceless head equipment?)
・Gaze of Kindling
Just as Pencilgon predicted, it is an instant-death attack. Strictly speaking, it is not merely a light-heat attack; it interferes with and converts the mana particles on the trajectory or line of sight recognized by the Nira-Butterfly's wing-eyes into energy. In other words, the correct explanation is not that it shoots beams from its eyes, but that the mana particles entering its line of sight are directly converted into energy and become beams.
By the way, Humans-kun stores mana particles inside their bodies, doesn't it? (The moment you enter its line of sight, no matter how much you harden your defenses, ultra-high heat mana particles converted into energy from inside your body will overflow and obliterate you).
・Brood Parasitism
A technique that utilizes the ruined remnants of creatures whose bodies were replaced via larva attachment. Fundamentally, players turned into kin of the Green Peacock have their skills and magic reproduced. However, because their individual AI levels are incredibly low, they are incomparably weaker than the original person who was assimilated; to be specific, they have the intelligence of a zombie.
Well, but if a hundred zombies simultaneously hurl fireballs, it's synonymous with a hundred times the firepower, and I never said the main body of the Green Peacock has low intelligence.
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