𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗𝟖: 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭, 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
Over several days, an army has marched from the capital to take down the false hero.
Within it are a number of my pawns, including the Automata, immortal zombies, hot-blooded zombies, ken zombies, maki zombies, and a battalion of true equipment user zombies that served as guards for the politicians.
By the way, the remaining zombies are on house-sitting duty.
The grandpa zombie probably isn’t suitable for a melee because of its endurance, and I can’t use the goblin zombie and dragon zombie in front of the Demon Lord’s army.
The zombie-sensei and the stealth zombies are also ruled out as they seem likely to be damaged by stray bullets in a melee.
There’s no need to mention the non-combat zombies.
ㅤ
However, the main force this time is not the zombies, but the army to subdue the false hero.
But there is a problem here.
That is, this large army is not entirely under my control.
Those in this army who are under my influence are the commanders I control through training, and the Old Dog Chairman.
A few other soldiers were trained in the days leading up to their departure.
That’s about it.
The rest, I’m just indirectly controlling through those commanders and the Old Dog Chairman.
ㅤ
After this, they will have to fight not only the hero’s party, but also their own country’s soldiers who will probably try to protect them.
In other words, they will be killing each other.
It’s doubtful whether they will kill their comrades solely for the purpose of subduing the false hero.
In the worst case, there’s even a possibility they could sober up and side with the enemy.
So, when the border fortress came into view, I decided to use a little trick.
ㅤ
There was someone with an interesting ability among the true equipment user zombie army I got this time, so I decided to use it.
By the way, here’s the ability.
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🔸🔸🔸
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[𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫]
ㅤ
𝐈𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
ㅤ
🔸🔸🔸
🔹𝘼w𝙚𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.𝙘𝙤𝙢 ― 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙣o𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 “𝙙𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨” 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨🔹
ㅤ
This is an amazing ability.
Because it almost unquestionably puts the opponent in a state of abnormal status.
The downside is that it doesn’t work if the opponent’s magic resistance status is high.
Also, because it spreads the fragrance over a wide area, it attacks both allies and enemies indiscriminately.
So, if you try to poison the enemy, you will inevitably poison your allies as well.
Normally, this would be very difficult to handle.
But since we only have inanimate monsters that are immune to status abnormalities, we can use it freely.
The only ones in danger are probably my main body and Leif.
…I should make a gas mask.
ㅤ
So, this time, I had that ability applied to all the members of the False Hero Subjugation Army.
The chosen status abnormalities are [Excitement] and [Madness].
The combination of Excitement, which boosts status on top of excitement, and Madness, which blows reason away.
If they’re in this state, they should be able to kill their comrades without thinking too deeply, just going with the momentum.
Well, rafflesia zombie’s stats aren’t that high.
The effects will be weak, and it’s not like their sanity will completely fly away, which is a concern.
But then again, that means there’s a little room left for them to listen to orders, so there’s not too much to worry about.
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And so, the False Hero Subjugation Army, now a horde of berserkers, arrived at the border fortress.
“Begin the battle!”
“Unleash the magic!”
ㅤ
And so, the battle began without a word.
At the command of the Old Dog Chairman and the commanders, a rain of magic attacks was poured onto the fortress.
Perhaps they were shaken by the attack from their allies, but the fortress side couldn’t respond in time and many of the spells hit the fortress.
However, the attack on the areas where there were many soldiers failed.
A super powerful wind magic blew away the attack magic aimed at that area.
ㅤ
And the person thought to have done it landed before the fake Hero Subjugation Army from the sky.
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“…That equipment, it seems like the official army of the Republic of Awaldia , but what exactly is this imitation?
In addition to attacking allies, if this is vandalism knowing that the hero is staying here, it will not be forgiven.”
ㅤ
The one speaking is a girl with angel-like wings.
She was a woman named Emma, a member of the hero’s party.
Her lines might be perfectly reasonable, but at this point, they aren’t a Berserker legion that will stop at that.
ㅤ
“Silence! There is nothing to say to the Demon Lord’s minion! Gentlemen! That is the comrade of the fake hero! Destroy it!”
[OOOOOOOOO!]
ㅤ
Due to the declaration of the old dog chairman who seemed unwilling to listen, our attack resumed.
As soon as we fired magic, the close combat unit led by the commander began to charge.
the Automata, too, followed the commander with a horde of zombies.
The position is, of course, where we can make a meat wall out of the commanders.
ㅤ
“What is going on…!”
ㅤ
Despite her confusion, the woman named Emma, along with the guys in the fort, directed magic at us and interfered with our route.
But the power seems weak somehow.
It feels like magic to prevent us from getting close, not to kill.
With the power of the true equipment user, we can forcibly break through this.
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“…Is there no choice?”
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The moment I thought that, the woman named Emma entered a posture to unleash a big move in the air.
There is a storm swirling around her.
Apparently, she intends to attack with intent to kill.
I thought she would hesitate a little more.
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“《Tornado Blast》!”
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And then, a great wind magic is unleashed.
Its power is far above that of the grandpa zombie or maki zombie.
But, considering that it’s being boosted by over 20,000 status and true equipment, it still feels weak.
I think the meat wall is doing its job.
I don’t know if she’s considering the possibility of being manipulated, doesn’t want to wastefully reduce the human side’s combat power, or simply hates killing people.
Well, anything is fine.
What’s important is that we can fully defend against such a half-hearted attack with our current strength.
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“《Tidal Wave》!”
“《Chaos Impact》.”
“《Sky Slash》.”
“《Hot-Blooded Spirit Cannon》.”
ㅤ
＋Other things.
A combined interception move by the commander and the true equipment user zombies collided with the great wind magic, completely cancelling it out.
…Or rather, it just cancelled it out.
We’re combining the power of over 20 people who are true equipment users (including those who are not good at long-range attacks), so I thought we could push back and blow it away like the dragon in the royal capital.
The Twelve Apostles are indeed dangerous.
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“Guh…! Is this no good either. Then…!”
ㅤ
The woman named Emma, who had her great magic defended against, started preparing to cast a magic spell with even more power.
This is not good.
If it has any more power than this, there is no guarantee that we can surely defend against it.
I may not want to use it, but it might be better to use the trump card for long-range.
ㅤ
But my worry was unnecessary.
ㅤ
Because a huge wolf flew in from the opposite side of the fort and raised its claws towards the woman named Ema.
ㅤ
“What?!”
“《Wolf Slash》!”
ㅤ
Caught completely off guard, a woman named Emma was able to mount only the most minimal defense. She was struck full-on by the fenrir’s attack and slammed to the ground.
Then, the fenrir quickly transformed into a humanoid form and landed nearby.
…I’m sure I told them not to come this way because it would cause trouble.
ㅤ
“A monster has appeared!”
“Is it infighting?!”
“It doesn’t matter! Kill it!”
ㅤ
As expected, the Berserker army began to charge towards the fenrir.
Sure enough, about half of them, led by their commander, started invading the fortress while shouting, “The false hero must go first!”. However, it split our meat wall into two here.
It’s a headache.
ㅤ
“Come at me, humans! I’ll slaughter you all!”
ㅤ
Then, the massacre by the fenrir began.
It’s a headache.
I’m sure I communicated the plan…
Was it too difficult for these muscle-brained types?!
ㅤ
“…!”
ㅤ
In that moment, the woman named Emma jumped up.
I think she intended to temporarily retreat to the fortress.
As if I’d let that happen!
ㅤ
“Let’s play――[Marionette]!”
“Eh?!”
ㅤ
Just as I was about to order the zombie horde to pursue, a familiar voice reached my ears.
As if in response to that voice, the movements of the woman named Emma stopped unnaturally.
Upon close inspection, it appeared as though thin threads were wrapped around her body.
ㅤ
“Come this way!”
“!”
ㅤ
The body of the woman named Emma descended rapidly, as if being pulled by the threads.
Looking at the landing point, as expected, there was a familiar monster.
ㅤ
“A new doll! She looks really strong!”
ㅤ
The arachne, you too…
The executives are all ignoring my instructions and acting on their own.
I wonder if this is a backlash from keeping them waiting for so many days.
It’s amazing that the Demon Lord can lead such a bunch.
I respect her for just this moment.
ㅤ
Anyway.
Since the arachne appeared near the Automata, I should call out to her.
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“Nico-san.”
“Oh, it’s big sis! Hi!”
“It’s not ‘hi’. I’m sure I told you not to come this way, didn’t I?”
“Did you?”
ㅤ
This one…!
Well, it can’t be helped.
This much is within tolerance.
I never expected to be able to control these guys perfectly.
ㅤ
“For now, please kill that one quickly.”
“No!”
“…Just to confirm, why?”
“It’s not fun if the dolls aren’t lively!”
ㅤ
I don’t understand.
Sadism…no, let’s not think too deeply.
It just gives me a headache.
Well, she’s just one of the replaceable twelve apostles.
If she doesn’t want to kill, that’s fine too.
ㅤ
“Then, please take your doll and attack the fortress quickly.”
“Okay!”
ㅤ
So, the arachne took the struggling woman named Emma and headed towards the fortress.
Maybe I was able to correct the course after all.
Next, I need to reach out to the fenrir.
The commander seems to have already invaded the interior of the fortress, so I need to hurry.
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Will this really be okay…?
ㅤ
In my heart, I was gripped by intense anxiety.
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Translator’s Blog
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