Chapter 826: December 17th: Blazing Beat Up Part 9
Tactical Mech Sphere Ball-Men, Unit Name "Tiger on the Folding Screen".
Inheriting the concept of the Non-Standard Tactical Mech-Tiger 【Byakko】, the "Tiger on the Folding Screen" could be called a downgraded version that exclusively targeted magical energy, unlike Byakko, which did not discriminate regarding the matter it inhaled and exhausted. But that was the only difference. The inhalation, compression, and exhaust made possible by Byakko... Not only did it repurpose these for attacks and mobility, but precisely because it exclusively interfered with magical energy, its technical movements were in no way inferior to the original 【Byakko】.
It was exactly like a folding screen depicting an exquisitely painted, lifelike tiger. The true-to-life perfection gave an impression that was practically equal to the real thing.
"Magical Energy Compression!"
『Understood』
An inorganic reply was returned to OiKatzo from the mechanical tiger through the Enhanced Armor.
Unlike Byakko, which inhaled external matter, it inhaled energy from the Reactor Charger mounted on its main body—a unit originally intended to extend operating time by supplying energy to the power source—and began compressing it in its arms.
"I'm gonna go take a trip to its back real quick; Pepper, watch out for the face lasers and aim for the face from below!"
"On it!"
While continuing the magical energy compression process, OiKatzo dashed forward, his various drive systems roaring, leaping over the players swarming the limbs of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings to dig his "Claws" into the giant infant's arm.
"If it's an external attachment, it's safe, safe......... there we go."
It was not the tiger's "Claw".
It was an external "Claw" adorning the tiger's hand.
To imitate Byakko, the main body of the Tactical Mech Sphere "Tiger on the Folding Screen" was not equipped with any armaments whatsoever; therefore, in order to fight using anything other than that mechanism, armaments independent of the Tactical Mech were required.
The "Climbing Claws" he was currently using were not meant for slashing, but possessed the function of biting into a target to prevent separation. In other words, they were weapons meant for clinging onto, scaling, and ultimately overcoming difficulties far more massive than oneself
OiKatzo was vigorously aiming upward, digging his claws into the soft yet dense epidermis of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings—dense enough that they bit in but did not pierce through—when he suddenly noticed something.
───His left leg felt strangely heavy.
A player combined with a Tactical Mech exhibited superhuman physical strength thanks to the Enhanced Armor's assist. Taking that into account, the unnatural sensation of heaviness he felt on his left side wasn't some trivial problem like mud getting stuck or a leg cramp......... it meant nothing other than something heavy had been added to his left leg.
Wondering if perhaps some trash mob had spawned from the surface of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings, he prepared to attack even in the middle of a charge if necessary, supporting his own weight with one arm while pointing the other hand toward his left leg.
"Mind if I hitch a ride?"
"Whoa, you scared me!?"
Clinging to his left leg like a Konaki-Jiji was an adult man with the appearance of a five-year-old child, sporting an incredibly bright smile......... The fact that OiKatzo managed to hold back from instinctively shaking him off was practically a miracle. [*1]
"Wait, you're scaring me!?"
"My bad. Just looked faster than climbing up under my own power."
Slipping smoothly from the left leg of OiKatzo, who had involuntarily stopped moving, up to his back, Eternal Zero clung to him piggyback style and stared straight up...... at the back of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings, which was currently crawling on all fours.
"Bashing the limbs might be effective for breaking its resistance, but they're just extremities in the end. If we're aiming to take it down fundamentally, we've gotta go for the torso."
"Well, yeah. I don't know if we should be applying the common sense of a baby...... or rather, a human, to this, but aiming for the heart or head seems like it'd be more effective than the arms."
Shangri-La Frontier was no longer a world of just swords and magic. Even if running out of HP meant scattering their wealth all over the place, there were those who would bring out their absolute all, as if saying, 'That's exactly why I do it.'
"The Tactical Mech pilots are swarming in like this is the moment."
"It's great that they even made it to this moment. At the very least, there's no Last Attack reward in Raid battles, so the more people we get—a hundred, two hundred—the better......!"
It didn't matter who landed the final hit, as long as they defeated it. This game was actually quite generous in that regard...... OiKatzo muttered in his heart as he carried Eternal Zero on his back, clinging to the swaying arm of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings and aiming upward. In the sky above, Tactical Mech pilots who had arrived late...... or had finally decided to use what they had been saving—specifically, Enhanced Armors equipped with flight capabilities—were attacking the back or the back of the head of the crawling Smoldering Great Crimson Wings.
Glancing sideways, he saw long-range bombardment-type lasers mixing with magic and striking the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings......... For OiKatzo, the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings taking on this form was completely beyond his wildest expectations, but conversely, it was exactly because it had reached this massive scale that the players' desire to participate had been stimulated.
"Alright, alright, alright......! We can do this, we can do this......!"
"Saying stuff like that sounds like a flag."
"The only flags in games are event flags!"
"No…………"
The "Tiger on the Folding Screen" head parts were layered over the helmet of his Enhanced Armor. Even with visual assist, OiKatzo, who was currently charging upward at full speed, wasn't paying any attention to Eternal Zero's expression. Therefore, he didn't ask...... why Eternal Zero wore an expression of half-convinced skepticism. If he had asked, Eternal Zero likely would have answered like this:
"Can the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings even run out of stamina in the first place?"
The scientist who was once hailed as a "genius" during the Divine Age attempted to win the struggle for survival not through mass production, but by concentrating the essence of technology into a single point. Why was that?......... Because the monsters learn, and they adapt.
This world......... no, this era was an age of thin ice supported by a single man. Beneath the ice...... the very laws of the previous era were dead. And now, the monsters rampaging upon the thin ice were entities that had crawled out from that very monster. And this was not the first time.
"Daaaaaaaaa.........Vuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm............!"
To state the conclusion first: the entity known as the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings is almost completely immortal and unaging.
Its overly simple cognitive abilities do not deteriorate, and its inexhaustible power does not perish. To begin with, a battle between those with flesh and those with power is nothing more than a war of attrition over resources. If that is the case, it is absolutely impossible for the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings to be defeated.
Victory is a word that points to the best possible outcome. And "outcome" does not care about the materials used to achieve it. Whether it is bloodless, involves the loss of ninety percent of your allies, or results in the collapse of the world. If the outcome is disadvantageous to the one who achieved it, it is a defeat; if it is advantageous, it is a victory.
Shangri-La Frontier places the utmost importance on backgrounds. The very incarnation of this is the Unique Monsters, whereas Raid Monsters are content aimed at achieving victory through a relatively simple test of strength.
However, that does not mean you can just attack thoughtlessly. It does not mean you can win just by bashing them.
Just like when the Wandering Great Azure Plague that attacked Thirdrema exposed its true form, and what was thought to be an ability to grow infinitely stronger was revealed to actually be the ability to "launch a counterattack exactly one rank higher than the attack received."
Just like how the true identity of the Devouring Great Crimson Clad was a mimicking swarm, and what was truly important was not defeating the mimicked individual, but chipping away at the aggregate total.
The Humanity had to find it. The best outcome, the victory condition for this battle.
Author's Afterword
Q. You can't defeat an enemy mob whose HP absolutely never runs out, right?
A. Please think carefully about what "Pseudo-Human Form" actually implies; a perfect reproduction does not equal absolute perfection.
The third form of the Wandering Great Azure Plague, in addition to the second form's offensive disease attacks and the first form's max-HP-reducing disease barrier, it also manifested a counter ability scaled to the attack target's level. However, because it was heavily specialized against high-level opponents, if you just lowered your level, it would only fire back weak, pathetic counters.
Because it was overly specialized in killing the strong under the philosophy that "those capable of harming me are the strong," a swarm of the weak was actually the Wandering Great Azure Plague's natural enemy.
That's why I had it assault Thirdrema as a beginner-oriented Raid Monster.........
Translator's Notes
- [1] Konaki-Jiji: A yokai from Shikoku/Tokushima legend: appears as an abandoned baby, then grows progressively heavier the longer it is held, eventually crushing its carrier.
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