Chapter 839: December 19th: Just Eight Attackers, Just Two Defenders
Author's Preface
I recommend stepping away from the Ancient Battlefield for a moment to read this. Ideally, I'd like you to reread it about three thousand times during the main match—especially the members of the opposing crew Katarina is facing.
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───The enemy was two people.
───Minus the sniper firing from the Grand Duke's Castle, just one person.
───Fighting while switching between multiple Tactical Mechs.
───Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, this person is insanely strong.
───The barrel is twisting around all weird and...... Gwaaah!?
Amidst the sounds of gunfire and cannon blasts, that was the entirety of the information Honey Toast barely managed to convey.
"Ahhh, I see........."
Admittedly, Apple Pie had been thinking that it would be a total victory if they could strike a sparsely defended Thirdrema, but the enemy had pulled an eccentric move that far exceeded his expectations. He certainly didn't think there would be only two people defending Thirdrema.
Strictly speaking, a defensive line had been set up "outside" Thirdrema, but even so, having only two people for internal defense was far too few. Or perhaps there were wild, unaffiliated players around if they looked for them...... but it was highly likely that the coordinator of the Former King Faction had directly appointed these two.
However, he could no longer say they were "underestimating" them.
Fig and Honey Toast had already been shot down — and neither of them are beginners.p>
The enemy was two people, and above all...... terrifyingly strong.
<<What do we do, Apple Pie?>>
"If we turn tail and run now, we'll be mocked for generations to come. Besides, we've got the strongest 1v1 fighter on our side too...... Eclair!"
<<Eclair here〜. For now, I'm rushing to where Honey-T died. Also, did they die on some other battlefield or something〜? I killed a few players who looked like they just respawned. Yep, 9 kills〜.>>
'Alright', a grin spread across Apple Pie's face. The GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps is a streamer group geared toward casual gamers, not seriously aiming for a path in professional gaming. However, that doesn't mean they think there is an insurmountable gap between themselves and professional FPS gamers.
"Ginger Ale, can I leave the enemy sniper to you?"
<<............I wouldn't exactly call myself a purebred sniper main, but I'll give it a shot.>>
"Alright! Change of plans!! Everyone except Ginger Ale, group up with Eclair!!"
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"......Hmm, they're being overly cautious of snipers now."
Mold searched for the members of the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps whose figures had vanished, but it seemed they were also on high alert for sniping; neither shadow nor shape was reflected in the scope of the sniper rifle equipped by the 【Safe Zone】.
"Should I fire off another wide-area sonar? No, considering the remaining energy, it's too soon........."
Even the 【Safe Zone】 was a Tactical Mech; it couldn't continue operating endlessly. Although he had brought a spare Aether Reactor just in case, that didn't equal unlimited power. Furthermore, enemy detection covering the entirety of Thirdrema consumed a particularly large amount of energy; the price for gaining such a massive advantage was by no means cheap.
(When I first ran the sonar, the eight I caught were scattered across roughly three-quarters of Thirdrema. They probably avoided spreading out across the entire area to make grouping up easier in an emergency... I think. And with Rust currently running rampant on the ground, honestly, I can't imagine Rust losing while using a robot, and they should be on maximum alert against her too.)
At the very least, given the many similarities between Nephilim Hollow's Armored Mechs and Shangri-La Frontier's Tactical Mechs, Rust could fight on equal footing even if it was an eight-on-one...... For Mold, that was practically a certainty.
That said, in Shangri-La Frontier, Tactical Mechs did not exhibit superiority in every aspect. After all, the highest honors of maximum speed, maximum firepower, and maximum defense belonged not to machines, but to flesh-and-blood humans.
Therefore, it would be premature to assume the players of the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps were launching their assault relying solely on the strength of their Tactical Mechs.
(......No, even knowing the risk of me getting shot down, I should run one more search here.)
Rust was the primary force; his role was rear support and covering the areas Rust couldn't reach. Just as Mold was about to execute a second city-wide search......
"!!?"
With his shoulder armor, he blocked a beam of light that had appeared at the edge of his vision, closed in on him in less than a second.
"A sniper!?"
A strike that completely caught him off guard. The only reason he managed to catch a hit on his shoulder that would have struck his temple had he not noticed it, was because it was not live ammunition, but a sniper shot made of magical light. Hurriedly taking cover to escape the line of fire, Mold checked his damage status.
(I'm fine. It's impact-diffusing armor built on the premise of getting hit to some extent, so there are no problems with movement. But.........)
That possibility existed. No, Mold had factored it into his calculations as something that naturally existed. If the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps was accustomed to FPS games...... games about shooting guns at each other, he knew it was obvious that there would be someone among them who excelled at sniping.
(Probably...... or rather, definitely a better sniper than me......)
Sniping is something that feels unreasonable. But a truly strong sniper doesn't even let you feel the unreasonableness... doesn't even let you sense their presence and your brain is shot through before you can even process the thought. That is what a truly strong sniper is.
And that strike just now...... Mold hadn't perceived it at all. The light was fired from a location where he thought no one could possibly be.
(......But. This isn't just a gunfight.)
If this were a sniper duel in flesh and blood, Mold would have no chance of winning. But this was a duel between Tactical Mechs. If the enemy was accustomed to gunfights, he was a player accustomed to battles between robots.
"Alright......... Defense-Type Sub-Unit, Offense-Type Sub-Unit, deploy!!"
The knees of the four legs bloomed like flowers...... No, the drones attached to the knees deployed and took flight. Controlled by Mold, or acting autonomously, they took off from the Grand Duke's Castle in Thirdrema.
"Now then. Psyger-0-san's older sister could manually operate five of them, right......... I wonder if I can imitate that?"
While staying vigilant of his surroundings, Mold activated the wide-area sonar once more. It was to grasp the enemy's positions...... and simultaneously, as the final assist he could provide right now for Rust, who he would soon be unable to properly support.
"Let's do this, 【Safe Zone】!"
Safety is something you have to win with your own strength.
Author's Afterword
・Drones
They have an autopilot mode and a manual operation mode. In short, it's that thing the Sword Saint uses. If anything, this one came first chronologically speaking.
The main difference is that, naturally, skill modifiers don't apply to them, but their range is incredibly wide (however, the armaments they can carry are pitiful, so frankly, unless you're a Sunraku-class player in your flesh-and-blood body, they won't deal massive damage).
On a different note, Volume 7 of the Shangri-La Frontier manga releases on January 17th!
The cover features the tragic Cup Noodle Monster. It's not that she lacks life skills; it's just that her stat points for meals only go as high as Cup Noodles. It feels like she put a few points into Faith just to use "Tears of Denial." [*1]
Also, apparently, ShanFro is going to hijack various things in Shibuya starting on the 17th... While trying to 100% complete my life trophies as Katarina, I never thought the day would come when I'd unlock the trophy "The text I wrote becomes 30 meters long." I wonder what the global unlock rate for this one is?
With all that going on, starting off 2022 at full throttle and accelerating even further, please continue to support Shangri-La Frontier.
Translator's Notes
- [1] : Dark Souls 3 reference.
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