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Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes
Outcome of the Chaos
The giant fireballs raining down from the skies reduced the monsters in the area to ashes, but they were not enough to kill the ones charging in swarms.
Fortunately with the allied army now inside the city walls, the human side were able to work together.
『There’s a collapsed spot on the north wall! Give me a hand!』
『We don’t have enough sediment!』
「Where should my unit go?!」
「So this is the city of Dream Maker…」
There was chaos inside the walls.
「The Templar Knights will hold this section!」
Two hundred Templar Knights fortified the western gate where the monsters rushed in after the allied army entered. Despite the gate crumbling, it was still solidly built. Two hundred men would be able to defend it.
「We’ll buy time. You handle the rest!」
「Sir Minister, Vice Commander, over here.」
Grucel arrived and discussed matters with Forestia’s Army Minister and Quinbland’s Vice Commander. They immediately decided to divide their men and deploy them to the northern side of the city.
「Who were those people on top of the walls?」the Army Minister asked.
「They’re the saviors of Dream Maker.」
Gin, who had succeeded in bringing the army into the city despite being captured, puffed his chest out with pride.
Humans were much more formidable from atop the walls. Although different from what they were used to, the soldiers quickly adapted, and stopped the monsters’ invasion.
『Yamamaneki!』
『Blast cannons at the ready!』
The Yamamaneki, which had been the biggest threat last time, turned out to be a great target for Dream Maker’s new and improved blast cannon. No matter how heavy the weapon was, its mobility allowed it to deal with the Yamamaneki’s movements.
With a deafening boom, a cannonball zipped through the air, rupturing the Yamamaneki’s core. Reflection allow humans to grow, Hikaru thought as he watched the monster topple over.
「Hikaru.」
「Oh, hey there, Lavia, Paula.」
Hikaru landed inside the city walls, on Sage Zahadu’s farm, where he regrouped with the girls. There were no longer any animals grazing on it, and the grass was overgrown.
「Where are your bodyguards?」Hikaru asked Paula.
「They were eager about defending Dream Maker.」
「With those cloaks on?」
「Yes… With the cloaks on…」
The men made matching cloaks for this expedition, to mark them as members of the Flower-Masked Goddess’s Bodyguards.
The cloaks were embroidered with a huge flower to match the flower pattern on Paula’s silver mask. A fictional flower, it didn’t have any special meaning, though it looked flashy. What’s more, it was muscular men wearing the cloaks.
「I gotta say. That was some amazing archery.」Hikaru changed the subject.
It was the bodyguards’ leader, Galixon, who shot the arrow that hit the giant bird Koukimaru was on.
「Apparently he used to shoot birds for food. He said he wouldn’t miss a target that big.」
「Still it was so far away.」
The effective range for hunting is about 50 meters for a shotgun slug and about 100 meters for a pre-charged air rifle. If you hit your target, you’re lucky. A rifle, which has a range of several hundred meters, would be able to hit a bird that big.
「So he’s as good as a rifle… And he did it standing too.」
Power difference aside, the effective range was too long. Hikaru felt a little terrified.
「So the enemy won’t make another move?」Lavia asked.
「For now, at least.」Hikaru replied.「If we make it through today, there won’t be any movement for a while. I guess it’s just a question of how much we can unify the guys.」
「Unify?」
「Yup. We’ll have to unite them.」
Hikaru let out a sigh. He needed to put on an act.
Once the threat was gone, the allied army and Dream Maker made peace. Most of it could be attributed to Grucel’s realization that the dragon stones affected the people’s minds. If he hadn’t, a lingering grudge would’ve remained in the men’s hearts, and it would have been impossible to bring the army into Dream Maker in the first place. Then each and everyone of them would’ve been crushed by the monsters.
「Now that you mention it, I did feel very impatient. I sincerely apologize for doubting your desire to reclaim your homeland.」The Minister of War bowed, and so did Quinbland’s Vice Commander and the battalion commander of the Temple Knights of Bios.
Grucel gave a strained laugh.「It’s fine. It’s clear from the soldiers’ behavior that there is no need for an apology.」
It was already dark outside. The monster attacks became sporadic and eventually ceased. Soldiers placed their arms around each other’s shoulders, hugging each other and cheering, regardless of affiliation.
「Let’s figure out what to do from now on. I think Lands Harvest should be abandoned. We station few soldiers on a ship for lookout. The rest should move here to Dream Maker.」
「Is that really okay? We haven’t heard King Doriachi’s opinion on this.」
「It’s no problem. He gave me full authority.」
Forestia’s minister was dazzled by Grucel’s confidence when it came to his own country. In Forestia it was difficult to let your opinion be heard among the jumbled mess of ideas and motives from all the nations.
With no one objecting, it was decided that they would send a messenger the next day to abandon Lands Harvest. They would monitor the place on sea, and all of their equipment, including the magic items for the barrier, would be moved to Dream Maker.
The Adventurers Guild, which had taken the trouble of setting up a base of operations, complained, but they changed their attitude when Grucel offered them a government office facing the main street. They gladly moved to Dream Maker and launched the Adventurers Guild Dream Maker branch.
Many buildings still had owners, but there were a lot of others owned by the city. Even after lending out many of these, soldiers still flooded the streets.
It wasn’t surprising, as the population of Dream Maker was only around ten thousand. In contrast, the current batch of the expedition force numbered seventeen thousand. Minus the ones assigned to be on the lookout at sea and those who perished, there were still around fifteen thousand housed in Dream Maker. Some people set up shop. Brothels for prostitutes were even built. Dream Maker recorded an unprecedented population density.
The next day, a meeting was held between the heads of each country’s army and the representative of the Adventurers Guild.
「Aaahh! I can’t stand just sitting around and doing nothing! Let’s go out there and fight!」It was Gerhardt who spoke first. He seemed annoyed.
「But there aren’t many Roots in the vicinity. You may go on a campaign if you wish, but considering the possibility of a large-scale monster attack, it’s not a good idea to move.」
Grucel’s firm objection was met with agreement.
All dragon stones were gathered in one place—on an unmanned ship. With two ships supporting it from both sides, there was little fear of it being swept away, or the stones affecting the people’s minds. Thanks to this, the people’s mental state gradually returned to normal.
「What? So we’re just gonna confine ourselves here until the next batch arrives? I didn’t come all the way here for this shit! Perhaps you’d like to help me kill time.」
Grucel kept a calm face under the Beastman King’s glare, but he was certain that there was no way to stop this man.
「I don’t mind fighting you instead, Master Swordsman. Quit dodging our fight already.」
Lawrence, his eyes closed and arms crossed, slowly opened his eyes.「You need someone who knows more about thrills than I do.」
「Huh? What do you mean—」
「I know you’re there, Silver Face.」
「Oh, you noticed?」came a whisper.「How’d you know?」
Silver Face appeared.