Chapter 843: December 19th: Seamless Heavenly Mech
Author's Preface
It's true that a lot of things happened, but generally speaking, it's all that guy called Elden Ring's fault. [*1]
<<Rust, I'm sorry───>>
"......Understood."
Two explosive sounds. One bloomed a large flower of fire in midair, and the other collapsed a section of the Grand Duke's Castle in Thirdrema.
And from the words of Mold, who had been in charge of rear support at the Grand Duke's Castle, Rust grasped the general situation.
Mold had been shot down in a manner close to mutual destruction with the enemy sniper. That meant she could no longer expect rear support from the 【Safe Zone】.
However, considering he took on the role of a sniper—which wasn't his primary profession—and managed to trade blows with the enemy sniper, it could be said it was a fairly decent battle result.
"......That aside, I still need to make Mold practice sniping more."
The muttered words didn't reach Mold. Setting aside whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, Rust returned her consciousness to the battlefield she was currently in.
Gagon! The transformation completed, and Rust, now a mechanical swordswoman encased in blue, streamlined armor...... an armor that was overall sharp yet retained a sense of roundness, readied her greatsword.
"......Batsuzan Gaisei."
<<How many transformation patterns do you have......!>>
<<Scatter, scatter! Don't shoot until you're at least 5 meters away!>>
That response wasn't wrong. The physical strength, speed, and range of a Tactical Mech were different from those of a flesh-and-blood Pioneer. In other words, in exchange for not being able to use skills or magic, the player enlarges their own body...... The expansion of an individual's existence, that was the raison d'être of the Tactical Mechs.
Therefore, distancing themselves from Rust to utilize the advantage of firearms...... was not a mistake whatsoever. If there was a single mistake...... it was their visual estimation.
"......Too bad, 5 meters is my range."
<<She's fas───>>
<<"Scapegoat"!!>>
BOOM, the blue swordswoman fired her boosters and closed in on the command tower...... Apple Pie. Just as the greatsword of the Tactical Mech RS:Ο "Batsuzan Gaisei"—designed under the concept that if it enters within a 5-meter radius, or rather, if it manages to enter, it will absolutely secure the kill—was about to split Apple Pie down the middle, a Tactical Mech dove in with incredibly rough movements, kicking Apple Pie away while sacrificing itself.
"......!"
Rust recognized that Tactical Mech with a non-functioning left arm. She was sure it was the one she had let escape once before. This time, for sure......... It was then that her thoughts finally caught up with the understanding of the shouted phrase.
(Scapegoat? That wasn't a dying cry......... It was a code, a signal, a sacrificial pawn!)
The surrounding Tactical Mechs simultaneously aimed their muzzles at Rust. They fired without hesitation, showing not a shred of consideration for their comrade who was about to be slashed apart right there.
"......!"
I see how it is, Rust thought as she flipped her body while using a knee strike to push back the one-armed mech that had lunged at her without fearing its own death. Focused fire aimed at both ally and enemy alike. The "Batsuzan Gaisei" armor was conceptually designed to deflect attacks with its streamlined form, but a storm of bullets coming from all directions was naturally beyond its capacity.
In that case, she would do something reckless until the situation was within her capacity.
She simply accelerated straight ahead at full power. Accepting the storm of bullets that tracked even that speed as a necessary expense, she aimed for one of the people forming the encirclement.
"......Against a beatdown, all I have to do is pierce a hole through it!"
<<Whoa!?>>
While sparks and smoke rose from her damaged body, Rust slipped through the encirclement by slicing open the flank of the person equipped with a submachine gun, and immediately summoned her next Tactical Mech from the Inventoria.
<<Damn it! Next is red!?>>
<<Just how many does she have!? Or rather, can one person even carry that much!?>>
<<Did Choco die!?>>
<<I'm alive, but I took massive damage and can't move! Feel free to abandon me!!>>
Under normal circumstances, high-speed deployment and transformation of Tactical Mechs from the Inventoria—like what Rust was doing right now—was actually impossible. However, that was only true fundamentally.
There was an accessory called the 【Deployment Optimization Terminal】. It reduced the time required for "Key"-type accessories to deploy objects from their storage space......... and Rust was equipped with three of them.
While equipped with a Tactical Mech, a player cannot use magic or skills they have learned themselves. Furthermore, they are required to equip a powered suit specifically meant for Tactical Mechs, and actively-triggered accessories cannot activate their effects.
However, only accessories that continuously exert a passive effect can be utilized even while equipped with a Tactical Mech. In other words, it wasn't that Rust's performance was unusually high; rather, the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps' performance was just low in comparison.
"......Garyou Housuu."
As if showing off to someone, gorgeous crimson and gold "Wings" unfolded, and Rust's body fluttered high into the sky.
It was a sign of respect toward the Golden Dragon King, and a challenge directed at the Crimson Suzaku which couldn't be used so easily. Just how close could a generalized unit, stripped of its uniqueness, approach those special entities? Wrapped in the Tactical Mech RS:Δ "Garyou Housuu," which was thoroughly designed to find that answer, Rust looked down at the Mercenary Corps below and deployed her armaments.
"......Commencing bombardment."
An utterly merciless bombardment rained down on the city, and on the four members of the Mercenary Corps. Rust still retained enough rationality to think, "I should try not to cause damage to the city if possible," but that was strictly a matter of "if possible." It wasn't the same as Mold, who was willing to cause damage if necessary. Simply because she was getting hyped up, Rust unleashed a bombardment with enough momentum to reduce a 20-meter radius entirely to scorched earth.
(......If this wipes them out, then that's that. What's it gonna be?)
It was then.
<<Arriving on scene~uu!>>
"......!!?"
A drawn-out, anticlimactic voice. And then...... a shot from a sniper rifle perfectly pierced through Rust's momentum.
It accurately destroyed the base of the Garyou Housuu's wing. Having lost one half of the boosters required to stay airborne, Rust's body lost its balance and plummeted toward the ground.
However, for Rust, who had once stood at the apex of Nephilim Hollow with just one crimson wing, controlling a mech with unbalanced boosters was by no means an impossible task. Deftly controlling the remaining right-wing booster, Rust made an emergency landing—spinning in an unstable but forcefully maintained posture through acceleration, much like a bamboo copter retaining its rotation as it falls to the ground. She immediately slammed a smoke missile at her feet, generating a smokescreen while thinking and acting simultaneously.
(I was shot; a sniper? No, Mold took out the sniper in a mutual kill......... Wait, it's not like snipers are the only ones who can use sniper rifles. My kill score is 2, Mold's is 1. There are four people here......... There was one more.)
While deploying RS:◇ "Gyokuseki Konkou"—which she had used a few times but still had minimal damage—Rust recalled the final member of the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps she hadn't seen until now.
"A"pple Pie, "B"utterscotch, "C"hocolate, "D"onut, "F"ig, "G"inger Ale, "H"oney Toast. The missing phonetic code was "E". And according to the prior research she had done, the one in charge of "E" in the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps was───
<<Heeh~, I knew there was some crazy monster here from the radio chatter, but~............ You look pretty strong, don'tcha~?>>
The man who went by "Echo" in his streamer activities, and bore the name "E"clair in this game.
The strongest player of the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps, despite wearing mechanical armor, tossed aside his sniper rifle with movements of surprising, casual familiarity, and accurately aimed at Rust through the smoke, readying dual handguns.
<<Wanna do a 1v1~?>>
"......Bring it."
Author's Afterword
・RS:Ο "Batsuzan Gaisei"
A slashing-specialized model designed for anti-personnel to anti-Tactical Mech combat. Based on the design philosophy of deflecting enemy attacks rather than catching them by structuring the entire body with streamlined armor, it is specialized to perform at its best within a 5-meter range. Its armaments consist of a single greatsword and twin swords hidden in the arms.
・RS:Δ "Garyou Housuu"
A Solid-Men with a flashy naming sense that ignores the RS convention of including a color in the name. Specialized for flight capabilities, it is the ruler of the skies (according to Rust) capable not only of aerial combat but also air-to-ground bombardment and long-distance sniping while hovering. While aiming to reproduce the non-standard Tactical Mech "Suzaku" of the "Hou" (Phoenix) in its name, it also incorporates a tribute to the Unique Monster "Siegwurm the Heavenly Sovereign" as indicated by the "Ryou" (Dragon) in its name. If you were to force a color categorization on it, it could be called a Tactical Mech holding the meanings of "Red" and "Gold."
・Electric Shock Confectionery No. 3 @ GGMC
A Ball-Men Tactical Mech designed by Eclair. Despite having a design resembling a Western cowboy, it employs thick armor, giving it the impression of a chubby cowboy.
Significant modifications have been made to the operating efficiency of its boosters, resulting in a propulsion force that is thick and short. Furthermore, a certain gimmick is built into both its hands, making it a dedicated Tactical Mech specialized for Eclair's piloting style, with no intention of letting the listeners watching the stream imitate it.
Translator's Notes
- [1]: Again, jokingly blaming Elden Ring for delaying his writing schedule.
- [2]: Author changed the kanji of the Rust Series mech again, this time it's Gyokuseki Konkou (玉堰紺攻->玉石紺攻) and Garyou Housuu (牙龍鳳枢->雅龍鳳枢). So it's probably not an IME typo the last time.
- [3] Title: A play on the established idiom 天衣無縫 (てんいむほう) — "a heavenly garment with no seams," meaning flawless / natural perfection — by substituting 衣 (garment) with 機 (mechanism/mech). Kept literal because she's swapping the mechs seamlessly.
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Chai tea type shit
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