/
Chapter 338 – Diversion. No Matter What Anyone Says, it’s a Diversion
“We’re in position.”
“Copy that. We’re going to make a spectacular show of it. They may run, or they may come at you, but get ready to charge.”
“Yes, sir. Don’t get hurt.”
“I’m fine.”
I’m currently equipped with tanned wyvern leather and mithril armor attached to it. Even an iron arrow fired from an ordinary bow would not pass through it at all. Or rather, even the steel arrows of a goatsfoot crossbow will not pass through it. When I tried it, even a 7.92mm bullet from a bolt-action rifle would be stopped if it was a single shot. It was broken by the sweep of a light machine gun, though. Well, even if it didn’t break, it would still take damage from the tremendous impact.
“So, how do we attack?”
“Let’s approach them head-on. Put on this hood. Oh, and Grande doesn’t have to wear the hood.”
“Hmm?”
I give Grande a plain robe and ask her to wear it. I put it on, too. Grande doesn’t have a hood on her head, so her shiny blonde hair really stands out. Conversely, I can hide my glittering mithril armor by wearing a robe.
As we approached, Grande muttered.
I”t seems they have found us. There’s a guard making noise at the gate.”
“Well, we didn’t hide when we approached. That’s to be expected.”
“So what are we going to do? Are we going in?”
“Let’s pretend to run away.”
“We’re going to run?”
“Just a pretense. A pretense.”
As the two of us ran away, taking a look at the bandits’ camp, the gate opened immediately, and five cavalrymen came out. They were light cavalrymen with curved swords in their hands. They were apparently ready to attack us. The distance from the gate is less than
 200m. Well, that’s about right.”
“Are they coming?”
“If so, I’ll deal with them.”
I took out an assault rifle from my inventory and readied it. Cavalrymen charging straight at you are a good target. If I use a bolt-action rifle, they may approach me before I can kill them all, but I have an assault rifle with 30 rounds and a rate of fire of 600 per minute. Well, I shoot with a semi-auto.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The cavalrymen are blown backward from their horses with a spray of blood at about the same time. The horses are startled by the sudden roar, standing on their feet and stopping. Once the line of fire was secured, more and more shots were fired. The five cavalrymen fell without any way to defend themselves.
“You’re extremely strong in the open. Perhaps you don’t need my help, do you?”
“I wonder.”
After the cavalry’s departure, the gates to the encampment remained closed. The watchmen are also stunned, not knowing what is going on? Well, I’m not going to take it easy on them. After reloading my assault rifle, I pull out my bolt-action rifle. It is a sniper rifle with a 4x scope. I immediately get up on my knees and aim at the gatekeeper stationed at the top of the gate.
“――!”
A boom! A louder shot rings out, and the shoulder of the gatekeeper on the roof is blown off. The gatekeeper, whose shoulder had been shot, falls down from the top of the gate. As I watched, I raised the bolt, pulled it, and ejected the shell. The bolt is returned, the next round is loaded, and the bolt is lowered.
“One more.”
Another shot. The other gatekeeper was hit in the lower neck and sternum area and, like the first, was blown into the encampment.
“Nice work. What’s our next move?”
“This one.”
“Oh, that
”
Grande looked displeased. What I took out was an anti-tank grenade launcher. It is the thing that soldiers shout out the name of the shooter when they find him.* Grande was beaten up by Melty when they first met, and it’s the one that I pointed at her. It must have left a bad memory for her. [T/n: I couldn’t understand this one.]
Well, now is not the time to worry about that. With my right hand on the front grip where the trigger is attached, I carry it on my shoulder, and with my left hand on the back―exactly in the middle of the grenade launcher―I hold the grip and aim at the wooden gate with the standard iron sights.
“I’ll shoot it. Don’t stand right behind me.”
“Okay.”
I make sure Grande has moved to my left and then fire it. With a loud bang! The anti-tank grenade was fired, accelerated to near subsonic speed by the combustion of solid rocket fuel, and landed right in the middle of the wooden gate without missing its target.
The anti-tank grenade that landed on the wooden gate showed its full power and made a huge hole in the gate. If a thermobaric warhead that destroys the target with explosive pressure had been developed, the wooden gate would have been blown cleanly away, but it has not yet been developed. Anti-tank grenades have penetrating power, but they do not have the destructive power to blow up a gate cleanly.
“It’s got a hole in it.”
“I’ll shoot at it until I can destroy it.”
I load the next round and fire. Reload and fire. Reload the next round and fire. In no time at all, the wooden gate was being torn apart.
“I think I’ll stop now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Let them think we are out of ammunition or magic. They don’t want this place to be broken, so I think they’ll try to hit us.”
If this place is broken, it won’t be long before the leader or Merinard’s army―in this case, Ms. Zamir’s army―will be sent in. If that happens, they’ll have no choice but to withdraw from this stronghold and flee, so if there are only two witnesses, they’ll want to get rid of them, even if it’s a bit overwhelming.
If I, a mage, were to run out of magic, the only other person left would be Grande, who was about the size of a child. If they attacked with their numbers, they would think that it would not be difficult to control the situation.
“Look, they’re coming out.”
“Oh, oh, they come out from everywhere!”
Those who could ride were on horseback, and those who could not, were on foot. As Grande said, people with swords, shields, and spears in their hands came out in droves. There must have been about 30 people in total.
“What’s next?”
“I think it’s time to get Golem-kun to work for us.”
“Is that so? You’re not going to catch them?”
“I don’t care. The one who comes at me will be killed for the crime of turning their blade against the prince consort. It’s that simple.”
“That’s easy to understand.”
While Grande nodded in satisfaction for some reason, I took the Golem Warrior―a golem armed with a golem-sized steel weapon―out of my inventory and set it up.
“The target, the ones coming toward me. Overrun them.”
“Zing!”
Golem Warrior-kun gives a short reply (?) He then heads toward the group of bandits, making footsteps with a pounding sound. He looks slow, but his stride is different. It’s actually faster than a horse.
“It’s one-sided, isn’t it? Oh, there’s one coming this way while avoiding the golem.”
“I guess so.”
But I already have my assault rifle in my hand again. A few cavalrymen were trying to get through, but I shot them at random. If they are alive after the battle is over
 well, I might let them live if I feel like it. I’ll probably kill them.
“They’re scattered and running.”
“You take the one on the right. I’ll take the left side.”
As I said that, I switched from an assault rifle to a bolt-action rifle.
You’re asking me if I’m against shooting someone in the back? Nope. A bandit is a bandit, no matter how self-righteous I may later be called. There is nothing good about letting them live. If you are going to do something, do it thoroughly.