Chapter 202: The End of the Mock Battle, and the Hill State Governor
「No way! What‘s going on!?」(Bowman)
Bowman screams while spilling cold sweat. Right in front of his eyes, Chevalier is lightly moving around, evading attacks of the armed golem and slas.h.i.+ng it from the right elbow downwards.
He cut off the left elbow downwards this time with speed faster than golem could start regenerating its right elbow.
The golem is not even an opponent by any means. Its movements are too slow and it also seems to have less power than I’ve thought it would. I feel that the strength of the original wood golem has been lost due to it being tampered with in different ways.
The armed golem’ throat glows red and regeneration rate of both arms increases. Soon after, the arms restore back to their initial states. It was impossible to regenerate as far as the armored planks that had been equipped on its arms though. I see. It has likely mustered its magic power to regenerate its arms.
The regenerated arms begin to strike again, but they never hit the heavy knight.
「Kuu, if only its attack hit……!」(Bowman)
「I wonder about that. I think that it’s probably useless…… Ah, here it comes」(Touya)
「Whaaa……!?」(Bowman)
Just as I’ve replied to Bowman’s mutter, the heavy knight receives the fist of the attacking golem. See that?
The heavy knight, at the same time, powerfully thrusts the spear it’s holding in its other hand and pierces the throat of the golem that’s leaning over. Gaspar has learned the position of the core due to the way how the golem regenerated before after all. The spear can penetrate it if it’s with the power of the heavy knight.
The golem that has its core crushed slowly tilts and collapses on the ground with a magnificent tremor. In a blink of an eye, the golem crumbles in pieces like a dead tree and ends up scattering its debris all around.
Professor Bowman collapses on his knees while watching what happened with eyes that don’t seem to believe what it’s happening.
「Impossible…… My greatest masterpiece……」(Bowman)
When you’ve said “my greatest masterpiece”, did you mean that thing? I’m really glad that they’ve confirmed it in advance. A golem-like that will utterly be annihilated in no time if an intermediate cla.s.s Fraze appears. More than that, it will look more dangerous if it gets attacked by a group of lower type Frazes.
「By the way, Governor, an intermediate cla.s.s Fraze has enough strength to be able to beat several units of those Chevaliers. In addition to that, several thousands of those will be accompanying the advanced cla.s.ses whose strength in an entirely different league. Are you aware that those things will appear here in Rodomea? I think it’s better to evacuate the residents after all」(The Emperor)
「A-ah. I will discuss it with the other state governors. ……We will contact you when we’ve reached a decision」(Volk)
「We will entrust the matter to you」(The Emperor)
We, having left the statewide governor with a stiff face and the kneeling Bowman who’s not moving, head towards Gaspar who got off the heavy knight.
「May I perhaps have overdone it a little?」(Gaspar)
「No, the lives of people are at stake here even if they’re from another country. I believe doing this with half-measures is not good. I hope they consider evacuating with this though」(The Emperor)
Well, I know it’s not easy to do even though it’s called an evacuation. The first thing to consider is if they’re able to believe the news or not. Second is that they will have to leave the towns and villages they’ve lived up until now even if they decide to evacuate.
We will try to reduce the damage as much as possible, but it’s doubtful that the houses and so forth will remain intact if they become a battlefield. There’s a high possibility for those buildings to be blown off by a laser from an intermediate or advanced cla.s.s.
I don’t think Frazes will attack towns that are deserted, but I also don’t think that they will be avoiding those towns either if ever those are on their way. They will probably trample the stores and houses while marching.
It is not just the houses where people live in. The citizens will also lose shops, fields and other things that have become the foundation of their livelihood. It probably won’t be easy to be able to explain to them that they should be glad that their lives were saved.
I transfer the frame gear to [Hangar]. Two women then appeared in front of us just when I thought that we should also leave.
One of them is a silver-haired lady about 40 years of age wearing a shawl on top of a white coat with a calm atmosphere around her. The one standing behind her is a tall female knight about 20 years old with a semi-long brown hair.
「I am pleased to meet you for the first time, your Majesty the Sovereign King of Brunhild. I am Audrey Reliban, the Hill-State Governor of the Rodomea Federation. This person is the commander of Hill-State Knight Order, Limitt Remtex」(Audrey)
「……Haa, h.e.l.lo……」(Touya)
It was so sudden that I ended up making a terrible reply. Did she just say “Hill-State”? Isn’t that one of the seven states of Rodomea? Saying that she is the governor there, isn’t she then the second most influential person in this country after the statewide governor from a while ago?
「I have come to inquire something from you on this occasion. May I have a little of your time?」(Audrey)
「Haaa, I don’t mind. But what exactly do you want to know?」(Touya)
「I would like you to tell me exactly where the Frazes will appear and your predictions of their movements after that」(Audrey)
I then project a map in the air in accordance to what governor Audrey has asked. The state governor and her female knight-attendant got surprised, but I didn’t mind it, operated the map, and pointed to the exact location End had shown me.
「Here. The location may s.h.i.+ft a little, but the Frazes will appear here seven to ten days later from now」(Touya)
「This…as I’ve thought…」(Audrey)
「Governor……!」(Limitt)
Umm? The two are looking at the map as if they are pondering on something. What’s wrong?
「……Excuse me. This place is located in the central state, but next to it is our Hill-State. If the Frazes appear there, how will His Majesty the Sovereign King a.s.sess their movement?」(Audrey)
「Let me see. The Frazes act with the goal of slaughtering humans and demi-humans alike. If they appear here, they will immediately head towards the nearby villages or towns. From there…probably those places?」(Touya)
I zoom the map out to view the entirety of Rodomea. The place where the Frazes will appear is the central state, but the nearest town from there will be in the neighboring hill-state. In other words, the location is close to the boundary between states.
「Ahh…… Then will it be this “Limeroad” town? I a.s.sume they will go straight there」(Touya)
「It is as I’ve thought after all」(Audrey)
Governor Audrey sighs deeply. Of course, she will be like that. They’re coming to attack the territory she controls after all.
「If we evacuate all the inhabitants from the Limeroad town, will that change their route?」(Audrey)
「In that case, umm…… The next target will be this nearby Eminas village in the Hill-state or the Recept town in the Central-state located at the same distance. As I’ve said earlier, I can’t be sure where they will head next because that location may be in some way off-the-mark」(Touya)
「I see……. Then, you’ve said that the East-West Alliance will fight the Frazes that will appear. What then you are looking for in return?」(Audrey)
「Nothing in particular. This talk is not at that level anymore. If nothing is done, the collapse of the ancient civilization will be repeated in other countries as well. We didn’t make it in time for Yuuron, but their appearance this time has been predicted. I’d like to minimize the damage in any way」(Touya)
I zealously stare at Governor Audrey’s eyes directly and firmly speak. We don’t have any intention of invading their territory. They have no choice but to believe that, but I’d like them to understand that Rodomea doesn’t have many options left.
This country will perish after the Frazes rampage for some time. I would’ve left them alone from the start if I didn’t care about it. This matter concerns another country after all. However, the people who live here also have the right to choose.
If Rodomea doesn’t move at all, I will spread the information of the Fraze’s invasion to the citizens of Rodomea this time. Let’s them decide for themselves whether they will escape or stay. Although panic may occur, my resolution is stronger than that.
If you destroy the chance of others to live due to your excessive selfishness, they will die even if they don’t want to.
「……I understand. Our hill-state will conduct an independent evacuation. Also, I will allow full access to the east-west alliance. I don’t have the statewide governor’s permission yet, but this is the decision of the hill-state even if he opposes it. There won’t be any complaints」(Audrey)
「Governor…… Is that alright? In that case, you may end up disobeying statewide governor depending on his decision…」(Limitt)
Limitt-san is anxiously talking to governor Audrey from behind. Audrey-san acts without hearing the decision of the statewide Governor who is their representative and allows other countries to trespa.s.s by herself. It won’t be strange even if she’s judged as a rebel.
「There is no time to evacuate the residents of the towns and villages in one stroke. We must act immediately. I can’t wait for the decision of the statewide governor. I will take responsibility for all of this」(Audrey)
「Ah, no. I think an evacuation will somehow be possible only if you give your permission. With my transfer magic, I can…」(Touya)
I suddenly came up with something from the talk so far. First, [Gate] will be opened and then, the villagers and townspeople will be allowed to spend a day or two in a safe place, it was an idea to an extent. However…
「Wait… Maybe I can transfer each town…」(Touya)
「「「Ha!?」」」
The leaders from both Belfast and Regulus and the hill-state Governor of Rodomea each raise queer voices.
I’ve never tried a wide range transfer thus far. The biggest one I’ve transferred was the castle that originally housed Ripple during the time we’re building the castle of Brunhild, I think?
Rather than transferring the town, I will be moving the terrain with its highs and lows as it is. It will be bad unless I leave the ground of the destination for the transfer to be perfectly flat.
Somehow… It’s similar to having no problems if a bowl full of miso soup on a big tray is being placed on top of tatami mats, but the tray will flip if it’s placed in an area like a staircase… Probably something like that？
As expected, it will be bad if I transfer everything including the people in it and then something bad happens. Let’s have them evacuate for the time being. I will transfer the town after that if possible, but I don’t want them to expect too much.
Of course. The marching route of the Fraze will also change if all of the inhabitants evacuate, so the possibility the town will stay intact is high.
In any case, it’s important to make the area an uninhabited zone. If even one stubborn person remains in town, that person won’t just endanger his life, but will also have the town receive some damage. I would like them to explain this to the town folks.
「In some cases, a compulsory movement can’t be helped. How big is the scale of the battle going to be?」(Audrey)
「Smaller than that of Yuuron… Only that. Well, I couldn’t secure the cooperation of the side of Yuuron at all aside from me not knowing about their appearance there in the first place. I can, therefore, say that it has become a disaster to that extent」(Touya)
It’s no use making an excuse though. This time, there is time to prepare for a fight in advance. I have to do what I can do.
We’ve decided to have Governor Audrey prepare the town folks to be evacuated for now. Even though I can transfer them just before the battle, I guess this way would be better in case something goes wrong. The final step will be me checking with magic if there are any people left.
All that’s left is the production of the new models, but the absolute most we can achieve is building Elsie’s new frame and repairing End’s dragon knight.
If a flying Frazes like the Manta-type also appear this time, is there no other choice but for me to drop it? Huh? Then that means I won’t be able to fight in a frame gear this time as well, right?
Kuu. It might not be good unless I think about a flying type frame gear.
Maybe, a frame that can fly with additional equipment…. The one that can deal with every situation… A type that exchange parts, perhaps?
(TL: like strike or V gundam)
(ED: GAT105 Strike! h.e.l.l yeah!)
That unit won’t be produced in time, but shall I consult with Rosetta about it?