Chapter 861: December 20th: Climax Prelude

Author's Preface

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.

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The struggle for the royal authority between the New King Alex and the Former King Torvante evolved into a massive turmoil that engulfed the Einwurf Kingdom, and by extension, almost the entire continent. The flames of war spread across almost the entirety of the continent, and because both sides employed Pioneers as their military forces, the fires of battle continued to blaze without waning, fueled by those who do not die as long as their passion remains.

No, it was more than that. Two terrifying entities suddenly appeared... A red butterfly soaring above the earth like a scorching sun, and a deeply turbid green army that seemed as though the very memories of battle had gained physical form and grudges to continuously resurrect. The mutual slaughter intermingling humans, humans, and non-human threats was a Great War without precedent, even if one were to unravel the history books from before the founding of Einwurf.

However, all things must come to an end, and the Two Kings War that brought this turmoil to the kingdom was also drawing to a close. And whether they understood that, or whether in all things, the moments right before the finale are always the most exciting... I have the conviction that the events of the final day of the war alone are enough for this author to complete an entire history book.

───An excerpt written on page 324 of the war chronicle "Two Kings War," authored by the NPC "Writer Deimos."

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"Now then... it's finally the climax. I wonder if Sunraku-kun will work properly? Oh well, if he doesn't work, then I'll just strip him down until he's completely broke and drag him behind a horse for a hundred laps around Thirdrema."

The woman, who casually muttered about crushing a specific individual's human rights, property, and various other dignities, let her long, dark-blue hair, like the night sky, flutter in the night wind as she gazed far into the distance... at the place where the king of this country rightfully belonged. Her mission was to strike down the false king clinging to the throne and guide the true king who should sit there... at least, that was her righteous justification.

"To be completely honest, I have no business with the 'top' part... As long as the underground is safe, it's no problem for me. I feel bad for Grand Duke-sama and Former King-ojiichan, but when I do things my way, it usually ends up becoming a vacant lot."

The idea of forcing the enemy to bleed and exhaust themselves through periodic offensives... was not a mistaken concept in itself. However, this is a game, and more importantly, it is Shangri-La Frontier. If highly motivated users can be utilized as a pseudo-infinite military force, the woman did not consider the tactic of forcing attrition to be the best.

"After all, it's got to be one strike! Cleanly! If you just chop off the head, the win rate of the process doesn't matter!!"

One-strike decapitation, and blowing away anything in the way with explosives. That was the one single, brilliant answer that the woman seeking victory in this battle... Arthur Pencilgon, arrived at after deep contemplation (roughly fifteen seconds).

...Though, upon formulating that answer in fifteen seconds, Pencilgon had promptly stopped thinking about any alternative solutions.

"The Streamer Frontline is practically half-destroyed! The battle situation among the random players is practically at a stalemate! And so... you guys weren't the ooooonly ones plotting concealment and surprise attacks!"

Whoosh, the wind blew.

It clashed head-on with the night wind, strong enough to push it back... Before the hair that had been flowing behind her could return to the front, Pencilgon turned back toward that wind, spread her arms, and spoke to them.

"Come now! It is the day of the decisive battle, members of the Red Pencil Agency!"

At the end of Pencilgon's gaze, multiple Tactical Mechs equipped with flight units hovered in the air, eagerly awaiting the moment to soar toward the higher sky and their target.

"Even though we're getting a prime piece of real estate in Thirdrema, if there's a prime location even better than Grand Duke-sama's castle, our villa is going to be overshadowed, right!?"

『That's right, that's right!』

『I want to live in the best prime real estate, at least in a game!』

The voices, amplified through the Tactical Mechs, returned shouts of agreement to Pencilgon's words. Unified in units possessing flight capabilities, they were furthermore all similarly armed.

"Then what should we do!? The answer is simple! We'll just till the prime real estate of the guys living in a better spot than us with explosives and violence, turn it into secondary real estate, and then we'll be promoted to the prime spot!"

『『Uwooooooooooo!!』』

It was an outrageous argument, yet there was no one present to deny it. After all, they were the RPA, a group that loved smashing things to pieces even more than stealing them.

"Thanks to information provided, it's confirmed that the Royal Castle's anti-air defenses are full of holes! Please, 'bomb' them to your heart's content, gentlemen!!"

Oh, but, Pencilgon added with a wink.

"Make sure to only turn the main target into a vacant lot, okay? The ones living in the prime real estate of Thirdrema are 'heroes' who risked their lives to dedicate victory to the Former King and Grand Duke-sama... 'kay?"

In response to Pencilgon's declaration that everything they were about to do was strictly for the sake of "loyalty" and "justice," some members of the RPA Mechanized Bomber Assault Unit smiled wryly, while others burst into laughter.

『Comrade! Based on what you were saying earlier, this might end up being a pretty easy game, but we should still assume this is a decisive battle, right!』

"Hmm, I wonder. I've got preparations set up to the point where I feel a bit sorry for the opponent... and honestly, the place that gets the most attention today probably won't be 'here'."

Despite this being a surprise attack operation on the headquarters on the final day of the Kingdom Turmoil event, the members of the RPA had question marks float over their heads at Pencilgon's somewhat loaded denial to the question of "Is this the decisive battle?" Though among them, there were those who smiled wryly because they knew the reason.

"Because the true objective doesn't necessarily stand out the most, you know. A supporting character standing out more than the protagonist isn't all that rare, you know."

『What exactly does that.........』

'It's simple,' Pencilgon answered while holding down her hair fluttering in the wind. On her face was... as if to conceal her true identity... a mask.

"Because I used the guy who stands out the most in this game as a decoy so that he stands out the most."

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One matching a thousand, rider and horse as one, brushing aside with a single touch of the armor's sleeve.

There are countless words to describe the sight of an unparalleled armored warrior straddling a giant steed just as exceptional, swinging a massive weapon, charging and rampaging about.

That being said, it would be quite rare to witness a scene that fits all of those descriptions while living in this modern society.

"Let's do our best, Scarlet-Deerhair Tatenashi."

"Vorururururuaah!!"

A giant steed with an outer shell like tempered steel—the armored horse Arma-Alogo Hetairon, unknown to anyone on this Old Continent—opened its fang-baring mouth and let out a neigh resembling a roar. Straddling it was a bizarrely armored warrior. Because the armor covering the massive frame, which presumably belonged to a male avatar, was made of an unknown, smooth material like a faceless ghost that lacked even the necessary gaps for vision or breathing, not a few people mistook its appearance for an inorganic mannequin.

But when the roar of Arma-Alogo Hetairon echoed, it was the signal for devastation. Starting from Thirdrema, crossing the Iron Ruins, and setting up camp at the Great River of the Soaring Wind Tower Junction lying between the suppressed Sixenveldt and the Royal Capital Nineshill—this was the strongest lone warrior boasted by the Former King Faction.

For the players of the New King Faction, who had continued to suffer defeats and were now backed into a corner at Nineshill, it was truly a giant shadow of despair.

"No, seriously, what are we supposed to do about that!?"

"Even the heavily armored Tactical Mechs got sent flying... There's no way a human can stop that."

"Isn't there anyone who can oppose that guy!?"

"Someone go call the 【Maximum Defense】..."

"Why would she come back from the New Continent when Saint-chan is there!?"

Even among the New King Faction players — who had sortied from Nineshill — at the sight of that figure standing head and shoulders above the Former King Faction players lined up across the Great River, they murmured about what to do.

Perhaps, if it were merely a player inside that bizarre armor who was (still) fundamentally human, the New King Faction might have had some means of opposition.

However, the tactic adopted by the Former King Faction was exceedingly simple.

"Alright, a full set of enhancement buffs successfully applied~, okay, please handle the buff extension."

"Roger, roger... O Splendor, never be exhausted. O Glory, never be clouded.. Your brilliance shall not fade, you who bear the light of adoration and envy, I pray your radiance never extinguishes. 【O Law, Shine BoundlesslyLimited Extension】."

Concentrating every single enhancement support buffs onto a single person, one who matches a thousand, and furthermore extending their duration. Even if it was a thousand versus a thousand, if nine hundred and ninety-nine soldiers coordinated with one soldier who could match a thousand, that force would be equivalent to two thousand... no, an army that surpassed even that.

"Um... thank you for doing this so many times."

"Oh, don't worry about it, 【Maximum FirepowerAttack Holder】! For a buffer, creating the strongest attacker is basically a hobby and a job. The 【Black Sword】... Ah, it's 【Wolfgang】 now, right? We're not as hardcore as you guys, so we won't join your clan, but we're having quite a lot of fun being able to buff the player with the highest firepower!"

The title of 【Maximum Firepower】 possesses, perhaps, an even greater power... it may attract negative emotions, but it is not merely that. In fact, the number of players participating in this tactic—which originated from the words of the buffer right in front of her: "If we make the 【Maximum Firepower】 even more overpowered and just have them charge in, we'll basically win, right?"—had increased as they marched forward accumulating victories, and now both horse and rider were clad in a tremendous aura of enhancement magic, including Arma-Alogo Hetairon.

Those modifiers were buffing a player who already possessed top-tier stats to begin with to an extent that could only be called excessive, and everyone had come to understand from the battles thus far that a mere charge would blow away crowds of people like dust.

"Psyger-0-san!"

And, this group... initially the "Defense Army" tasked with defending Thirdrema, but now rebranded as the "Invasion Army" stretching its reach all the way to the Royal Capital... had one more figurehead. Or rather, a player whose "quality" of fame and popularity could potentially surpass even the 【Maximum Firepower】.

"Akitsu Akane-san."

"I've brought a message from Pencilgon-san! She says, 'Beat them to a pulp!'"

"I-Is that so........."

"I'll be switching to assist as well!"

"P-Please take care of me."

【Maximum Firepower】…… Seeing the young girl showing a more aggressive stance toward PvP than Psyger-0 had expected, Psyger-0 felt slightly bewildered but once again looked forward.

The Great River of the Soaring Wind Tower Junction was, in a word, an area with footholds set up like stepping stones, or one crossed by fording the river directly. A normal person would be unable to even brace themselves against the roaring, massive volume of the water current and would be swept away. Furthermore, according to investigations by volunteers, the depth at the center of the Great River was "easily looks like it's over 10 meters"... In other words, swimming across it was not realistic.

Therefore, the basic strategy was to cross using the stepping stone-like footholds, but.........

"Akitsu Akane-san... Please be careful when crossing the footholds."

"Why is that?"

"I suspect... they might have set up things like landmine-type magic."

"I see! Understood!!"

Now that Psyger-0 and her forces had switched to the offensive, the New King Faction was the one laying out defensive measures. While also remaining vigilant against the possibility of mines planted underwater, Psyger-0 thought about how they should conquer this battle.

In the past, her older sister would have presented such a plan, but her current bossleader seemed to only indicate the broad direction while taking a hands-off approach to specific situations, or rather, she often just casually delegated it with a "Well, just go with the flow."

Although she understood it couldn't be helped since the person in question was currently missing and hardly participating in the Kingdom Turmoil event, and furthermore she knew she didn't need to force a meet-up now since they had promised to play together on the 24th, even so, it would have been best if they could do the Kingdom Turmoil event together, and it wasn't like she wanted to march forward as a military general............

".................."

Because she had various things on her mind, Psyger-0 was silently lost in thought, next to whom Akitsu Akane had been checking the condition of her "black weapon," but suddenly remembering a "message," she conveyed it to Psyger-0.

"Ah, that's right! There was one more message from Pencilgon-san?"

"Eh?"

"She said they managed to get in touch, so Sunraku-san will also be joining the Kingdom Turmoil!"

"!!!......Um, where is he......"

"If I recall correctly......... Ah, that's it! She said he's at the Canyon of Ancient Souls!"

'I see,' Psyger-0 nodded lightly. Or rather, that's how it appeared to anyone looking at Psyger-0 purely visually.

"......I will settle this with a frontal breakthrough."

Perhaps this was the goal of the one who instructed Akitsu Akane to convey that information to Psyger-0, knowing full well it could cause her to abandon the front lines.

Precisely because she knew her best friend's younger sister possessed an average sense of responsibility, she knew exactly what would happen if she provided her with magic words designed to ignite that sense of responsibility.

"I apologize, but urgent business has come up. Once we conquer this place......... I will be, briefly, stepping away."

"O-Oh......"

The player who had been applying enhancement buffs to Psyger-0 would later recount:

───I bet Lu Bu felt exactly like that.

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Author's Afterword

・Nineshill

The Royal Capital. In the current Kingdom Turmoil, the New King Alex, the figurehead of the New King Faction, is located in Thirthed, so it is not the main camp that needs to be defended with the highest priority......... but, surprisingly, there are quite a lot of players in both factions who mistakenly believe, "It's the Royal Capital, so it must be an important stronghold."

Or perhaps, the players aren't the only ones becoming restless over the fact that the Royal Capital is being attacked?