Chapter 841: December 19th: The Length of the Stretched Roots
Author's Preface
It's all Master Duel and Arceus's fault. [*1]
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The Offense-Type Sub-Unit dashed through the city streets of Thirdrema. While lacking wide-area search capabilities and sturdy defense, the Offense-Type Sub-Unit, equipped with remote operation via cameras and a modicum of durability, truly functioned as a drone, becoming the eyes and legs for Mold operating from the Grand Duke's Castle.
(Is he hiding indoors? What about underground...... would a sniper really cut off their line of sight to that extent? But there's a high chance he's using the sewers to move to a different location. I really can't fire the Impact Sonar again right now......... If so.........)
It was then. A single shot of light flew through the sky of Thirdrema. It pierced through one of the Recon-Type Sub-Units that was moving in a circular orbit.
"A sniper!?"
Without paying any attention to the Search Drone that had its core penetrated and exploded, Mold traced the trajectory of the line of fire to pinpoint the sniping location. He couldn't snipe back—the downside of operating the Assault Drones for enemy detection.
"The position is close...... I'll pinpoint the location with the drones!"
Operating two Assault Drones, which could normally be operated with a single hand, using both hands, Mold skillfully maneuvered them according to the Thirdrema city map displayed inside his helmet. He quickly dispatched the Assault Drones to the sniping point to trap the sniper in a pincer maneuver.
There was no figure on the street. Moving Assault Drone A to the sky, Mold hesitated for a few seconds before using the shotgun mounted on Assault Drone B to destroy the door of a civilian house and rush inside.
"Not here......... no, wait!"
Turning the camera sideways, there was a large hole gaping prominently in the wall...... and through the now well-ventilated wall, he saw the figure of a Tactical Mech pointing its muzzle directly at Assault Drone B.
"〜〜〜〜〜〜〜!!"
Reflexively, his arm controlling Assault Drone B stiffened. However, because it wasn't a complete surprise attack and he had anticipated the possibility, Mold forcibly tore his consciousness away from his stiffened left arm and focused it entirely on his right hand.
Light flashed for an instant in the video feed sent from Assault Drone B's camera, and the signal was lost───
But,
"Found you......!!"
Abandoning Assault Drone B and focusing solely on Assault Drone A, Mold had finally caught the enemy sniper completely within his firing range. Even an opponent of this caliber couldn't react to being targeted from the side immediately after firing.
The enemy sniper, positioned in an alley between houses, was bathed entirely in the buckshot fired from Assault Drone A......... but there were no noticeable scratches on his mech.
After all, the shotguns mounted on the Assault Drones were incredibly weak. They couldn't inflict fatal damage unless the target met the highly unusual condition of being half-naked with absolutely zero parameter points allocated to VIT.
『A bluff......? Fine.』
The muzzle was immediately turned toward Assault Drone A......... and the signal was lost along with the video. Mold watched this in silence, but............
"Alright."
His expression had formed into a smile far removed from failure.
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"Did he assume I was unarmored......?"
He had instantly abandoned the targeted drone and launched an attack with the other. Ginger Ale was somewhat shocked that the enemy pulled off an action impossible without excellent, instantaneous judgment and decisive decision-making, but he tilted his head in confusion at the incredibly low power of the shotgun.
"At that level, it wouldn't even count as chip damage against a Tactical Mech. So why did he attack......?"
Most likely, due to game balance, drones fundamentally couldn't be equipped with high-firepower weapons. If that were possible, this game would have turned into drone warfare a long time ago. At that rate, they probably couldn't even finish off a flesh-and-blood player unequipped with a Tactical Mech.
That was exactly why the action of shooting with a shotgun didn't make sense. If Ginger Ale had been the attacker......
"Normally, you'd stick C4 on the drone and charge it in......"
That would be the standard theory. If you're going to sacrifice weight capacity to mount a low-power weapon, it's far more cost-effective to load it with explosives and use it for a suicide bombing. Did he avoid doing that on purpose, or was it carelessness?
"Anyway, that makes three units destroyed. There are three drones left...... I doubt he can perform wide-area detection risk-free and at low cost. If I destroy them, he shouldn't be able to search for me."
Reloading his sniper rifle and holding his breath in yet another civilian house, Ginger Ale looked up at the sky through the window. Having his information completely leaked to the enemy no matter what he did was an extremely unfavorable situation. While staring outside intently, Ginger Ale suddenly noticed something.
"Something's flying......───"
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Arthur Pencilgon and the Streamer Frontline. Despite the difference in whether they operated openly or maneuvered behind the scenes, both were individuals in a commander-like position deciding the movements of the players in this Kingdom Turmoil.
However, there was a clear difference between the two. It wasn't about the number of people, or their policies, or even the malice of their personalities or their goals. Those didn't even need to be compared.
There was only one point to discuss. And that was their standing.
For this Kingdom Turmoil, both the Streamer Frontline and Arthur Pencilgon had been granted positions as leaders of the Pioneers by the supreme commanders, the New King Alex and the Former King Torvante, respectively. That said, both parties were fully aware of the demerits of a player, unlike an NPC, taking overall command in a large-scale event battle. (To begin with, there was no guarantee players would even join the chain of command).
Therefore, the Streamer Frontline, having been given the position of "Commander of the Orthodox Kingdom Pioneer Army," didn't even flaunt it, taking the stance of "reigning but not ruling" and framing their actions strictly as individual player activities......... while Pencilgon, holding the position of "Special Advisor to Thirdrema," handled matters "behind the scenes" leading up to the outbreak of war, not even revealing her existence. Naturally, she wasn't issuing any instructions or giving commands during the Kingdom Turmoil event either.
Both sides discarded their acquired titles and the resulting merits—up to that point, they were the same. But even so, the very meaning of their titles was different. While the Streamer Frontline's title was merely that of a field commander...... Arthur Pencilgon's title of Advisor held influence over the political core of Thirdrema.
What the Special Advisor Pencilgon proposed to the Grand Duke of Thirdrema, and by extension the Former King Torvante, was extremely simple. Namely──────
"Hey, hey, hey......! You're firing missiles at our own headquarters!?"
Authorization for a massive firepower operation within Thirdrema. To put it plainly......... It was nothing less than a guarantee that, if it meant winning, half of Thirdrema reduced to a vacant lot was no concern of theirs.
"Uwooooo!?"
Right after Ginger Ale frantically leapt out of the civilian house he had been hiding in, eight missiles struck the building. The explosion, accompanied by fire and shockwaves, blew away the target along with the adjacent houses. When Ginger Ale, who had barely escaped instant death, looked back, there was a smoldering mountain of rubble with no trace of the civilian house left.
"............Things might have just taken a very bad turn."
The words slipped from Ginger Ale's mouth involuntarily.
His concealment had been perfect; despite that, the missiles had accurately targeted the exact location Ginger Ale was hiding in. In other words, for some reason, his coordinates were completely locked on by the enemy.
"Change of plans......!"
When Ginger Ale looked up, numerous instances of murderous intent were flying straight toward him.
Author's Afterword
To protect this Thirdrema!! (Demolishes civilian houses)
Translator's Notes
- [1]: The games Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel and Pokémon Legends Arceus released around this time. (Jan 2022)
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