The hierarchical boss of the forty-two levels, we call him Soldier Commander, but he doesn't look humanoid.
And although we call its cronies tanks, they are not the same as the turreted, shell-launching weapons that exist today.
It's a soldier commander, but at first glance it looks like a monolith.
Yeah, it's like an iron plate with its surface polished to perfection.
It's located floating at the far end of the space, which is about the same or slightly wider than Tokyo Dome, and emits mysterious luminescent signals from time to time.
In actual combat, it's not much of a fighter, but the trouble with this thing is that it commands its cronies as if they were its own body, grasping the whole picture by looking down on the space from the air.
And its cronies, the tanks, are ......
"They're coming from the left side, drifting in two bodies!
"Kitamiya! Freeze the ground and fly it straight out of the field, that is!
"Don't be absurd! I'm using too much magic in this one, and it's not going to last!
"Then, Kaido-senpai! GO, that is!
"You're going to end up getting run over!
Kaido, Minami, and Kitamiya are busy dealing with a golem with a wheelbarrow-like lower body.
Its mobility is unparalleled in large, well-defined spaces.
It is equipped with the ability to run around in all directions, with accelerated attacks and more than a certain amount of weight for a golem.
Because it moves on wheels, even a simple assault that cannot move as finely as a bipedal walker would be fatal if it were to hit you due to its over five meters in height and weight.
In addition to this, they are also in numbers, and they take turns assaulting you with a shield in one hand and an assault spear in the other, as if you were being held up by a chainsaw blade.
''d*mn, it's always hard to suffer through the improvements I've made, but this is so depressing!
That's just the way it was designed to be.
"Ugh, the attack didn't hit me.
"In Amy's case, she doesn't have enough offensive power, either.
I've always strangled myself in doing this job, but I seem to have created some rather troublesome monsters.
You can hear the sound of tires on the track, swearing and moving your body to intercept the golems.
Originally, the bosses at this level were guarded by a soldier commander and an ordinary night golem.
But that makes it easy to capture them.
In fact, we were able to capture them easily and comfortably.
So, as an improvement, I proposed a high-mobility golem with a wheelbarrow underneath so that we could use the large space effectively.
The ready-made golem was implemented with a performance that exceeded our expectations.
Thanks to this, we're suffering now.
I'm going to complain, but it's honestly hard not to be able to bring it to a shootout.
Moving around at over 100 kilometers per hour all the time, you'll be out of the safe zone by the time you launch your attack.
This is what I suggested, but when you experience this, you realize that you are not fast enough as a vanguard.
"Tut, I missed my cut.
"But you still can cut it, can't you?
It can temporarily catch up to you when you step in, but it cannot catch up to you.
Only Amelia is the only one with equal speed, but she has difficulty sustaining it, and her attack power is low.
If you let one of them get ahead of you, you'll be an easy target.
So if you can't catch up with her, she'll basically take a wait-and-see stance, aiming for a counter.
This would naturally lock you in a fixed position and make you less likely to chase your opponent.
The enemy will be able to maneuver freely, allowing the Soldier Commander to position his allies more conveniently and at a gradual disadvantage.
To prevent this from happening, Kitamiya's long-range attack is effective regardless of his speed, but his attacks have a limit of magical power and cannot be unleashed indefinitely, so he cannot rely on it alone.
In addition, if the damage ratio is tilted to the rear guard, the vanguard's firepower will be reduced.
The shortcomings of this party, in which the vanguard is the main player, are nowhere to be found.
This is another area that needs improvement.
"What did you say, senior?
"Speak for yourself! Don't hold back, Kaido!
I stifled a tongue lashing and cut off the arm of the approaching golem as it passed me, and the arm that was holding the shield rolled to the ground, but as for me, I was willing to cut off the torso.
One thing after another, improvements emerge one after another.
Although it is true that the party can still be strong mentally and physically, including me, I feel more disappointed to be exposed to this situation now.
It's difficult to duck and attack while ducking spears that are approaching at high speed.
You'll have to do this in the manner of a counter, an advanced boxing technique.
It's not easy to counterattack while in a state of mind where there is a risk that you might become a skewer if you make a mistake.
Unconsciously, your thoughts will be on the defensive.
At both the timing of the attack and the timing of the drop of the weapon, the unconscious mind of defense intervened and shifted the position of the attack.
Consciously, it will take some time to get used to eliminating them.
Now, although I'm struggling like this, I can still afford to have a conversation.
It's a stalemate, so to speak.
But...
What? Who is that? Who said we should make something like that?
There is also poverty.
Finally, Minami, who has reached the end of his patience, steps on the ground and points to an arm extending from the ceiling.
The arm you pointed at didn't exist until just now, but it appeared when the golem I cut off the arm passed right underneath you.
Sliding the ceiling plate, the golem is being repaired dexterously with and without the golem's parts by sliding multiple arms out of the gap.
In the past, I've seen a video of an F1 car changing a tire in less than three seconds, and this arm repairs the golem as fast or faster than that.
I thought they would eventually have a healer, but I didn't know they'd be throwing it into the tiers I'd attacked.
It's not quite the same color as a healer.
Well, it's more of a repair than a recovery,
"They're going to come back unscathed, it's not going to make much difference.
The enemy moves fast and is difficult to catch.
Furthermore, if you do not defeat them with a single attack, they will be repaired.
The environment is ready for a deliberate war of attrition.
"Now, have your chief of staff, Minami, come up with any ideas?
We can't stay in that arena forever.
Ask the south who is in charge of the solution.
In my mind, I don't feel that I'm inferior to my opponent in terms of ability, so I think I can win if I link up with Koki and steadily push him with force.
But I want to avoid that if possible.
This is a pinch, but it's also an opportunity.
I would rather have more cards in my hand when I can, than rely on any one method.
If there is a way, I would choose it.
We must take them in turn, that we must.
While still subjected to the attack with the sound of tires scraping the ground, each of us listens to South's measures while dealing with them.
What Minami presented was the royal method.
We have to do something with the arm first, that we have to do. As long as it's there, the opponent will recover and our attacks will be meaningless, that it is.
"I'll let Kitamiya freeze the whole ceiling, that I will.
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about. How much area do you think there is? You don't have enough magic.
Even if you narrow down the area to only the ceiling, it's quite large, and if you were to freeze that whole area, it would be a heavy burden for the current Kitamiya.
You can't do that," Kitamiya said honestly, nodding his head in understanding that Minami understands.
I'll take care of the space, that I will. Kitamiya will concentrate on freezing it, that I will.
If you say there's a way to do it, crushing the opponent's logistical support is a given.
However, its arm is always hidden behind the ceiling, so its attack cannot reach you.
So, I don't think Minami's idea of blocking it rather than defeating it is not a bad one.
...... that's just about manageable. But what about the enemies on the ground? Even if we freeze the ceiling and seal the repair arm, over time they'll get through, you'll be able to repair them and we'll lose our rear firepower.
"Freezing the ceiling and slowing down the ground at the same time, that it freezes the ceiling, that it does, thank goodness there are only unicycle-type golems.
"The odds are against you, aren't they?
"I'll leave it to you, that I will.
...... Okay, so we have to defeat the slow-moving wheeled golem. We have to take down the slow-moving wheeled golem, and then finally take down the stripped-down Soldier Commander, right?
And there is no time to spare for conversation.
If no alternatives come up, then each of you will start your own movement on the south's plan.
That's right. After we stop moving due to magic, that I and Kitamiya will not be able to move, that I will.
"Oh, Kaido, Katsura. You guys take the escort. Amelia will be my backup. Can we go?
"Whoosh!
I understand.
"OK!
"You can go with that, South.
That would be the best, wouldn't it? It's just a matter of time, that it's a matter of time.
If you take a defensive formation surrounding Kitamiya and south, they will sense the atmosphere we are trying to create and will naturally attack more actively.
You're smiling at your opponent, who is attacking so many times that it feels like an all-out attack.
You focus on handling and not getting attacked rather than defeating them.
In the background, Minami and Kitamiya are working on their magic and preparing for the great magic.
"Now it's time to go, that it is, Yura!
Please, Snow!
We call up spirits in support of each other, and smoothly the preparations for magic are in place.
And as the preparations progress, there are golems that try desperately to interfere with our preparations, but...
There's no way they can get through.
If you can beat them, we'll take them down, even if the priority is to deal with the enemy.
If you can get close enough, it's easier for us.
Crowding further restricts their linear movements, making it easier to cut them down with a single blow.
With a sideways glance at the torso and lower body crying out and disappearing into the magic, you also focus on covering the party, but...
Katsu, Kaido, and Amelia also stand around to close the gap that I can protect, making it easier to move.
"We're ready, that we are!
"Oh, I don't know what's going on here!
It's not even a few minutes in time, so what is the magic that can be activated in such a small amount of time.
If you glimpse for a moment to check behind you, you'll see two figures holding up their wands towards the ceiling.
"Kitamiya, we have a time difference, that we do!
I know!
From the tip of the wand a spell was unleashed.
Deep Cloud! & weather operations (weather control)!
"Absolute zero ice crystals (absolute ice crystals)!
Dense clouds created in a closed space as a result of the south casting a spell on the ceiling.
Dense clouds, such as those found in cumulonimbus clouds, that seem to block even light.
The clouds quickly spread across the ceiling and quickly covered the brick ceiling.
And a slight sensation of increased moisture in the air communicated to me through my skin.
Towards such a sky, a pale crystal slowly climbed.
The magic that poured all of Kitamiya's remaining magic power contained considerable magical power, and it slowly disappeared into the clouds.
Be bursting!
There was a light bang and a delayed thump as something froze all around.
"Ha ha ha, success, that is.
"Huh? Huh? I put all my magic into this blow. You can't even do elementary magic anymore.
And then the south began to slowly let large snowflakes fall from the unfolding clouds.
The cracking sound was from the freezing of the highly dense magical cloud that covered the ceiling, which fixed the movement of the slide part.
Then, in the aftermath of the cold air, lowered the temperature of the cloud that did not freeze, and speaking of this large snowflake that was born.
Next time, we'll get winter tires, that we will.
Oozing on the ground and gradually increasing its thickness, worsening the ground situation.
The unbalanced shape of the single-wheeled golem slipped and fell, generating enough snow to make it impossible to run.
The combined magic of Kitamiya, which created the cold air, and the south, which prepared the freezing substance, raged at the speeding golem, which was running around.
Let's go!
"OK!
We're not going to miss it.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, created by two people leaning on their wands, consuming their magic to support their bodies, me and Amelia run to meet their efforts.
You have a chance to help your friend, who is close by, cut down the golem that tried to get up with the mineral tree, one after another, and Amelia takes aim at the part of the golem that I can't get to in time, the part that tried to move, to keep it from moving.
The repairing hand, which is a reliable source of help, is unable to come down because it froze the ceiling, and the golems, who weren't expecting a snowy road, fall down and get stuck, one after the other.
You should take it a little slower! General!
As the Soldier Commander tried to break away from the scene, he decided that he wasn't going to be able to just run in time, so he put his hand on the left half of the nearby golem's wreckage and threw it with all his might at the Soldier Commander, which was supposed to orbit past the Soldier Commander's side.
Then the chunk was supposed to trajectory past the Soldier Commander's side, giving him a sense of relief that he hadn't hit the being's thoughts slightly.
I blindfolded it, not knowing that I was there.
I hide behind the golem's huge body, jump, and finally use the golem in the air as a foothold to pounce on it.
And then with a yell, I swing down without the slightest resistance.
A single sword cracks across its smooth surface.
It crumbled.
"...... your work is done.
When I saw that, I saw that no one had moved.
I told the party members that the battle was over.
And then I let my mind drift a little to what came next.
Word of the Day
There was such a thing as three arrows, but imagine something that comes from working together.