When the heroes finally arrived at the enemy trenches with the help of Akashi and Yuna, Alterra had already single-handedly taken out about sixty percent of the enemy forces stationed there. The remaining soldiers were either severely wounded or had lost the will to fight, trembling in fear, so there weren’t many left who could actually fight.
That small group of people couldn’t stand against the heroes who came rushing in like a flood. Although a few of the heroes were critically injured by bullets during the resistance, they managed to subdue or kill all the enemies without taking significant losses.
As for the regular soldiers… well, I don’t know. It’s uncertain whether they’re really necessary. When I asked the leader of the heroes if they were needed to wear down the enemy, he said they were essential, but to me, it sounded like they were just human shields or bullet absorbers.
It seems there isn’t much difference in reality. The soldiers carried large shields everywhere.
I thought wooden shields would be useless against bullets that can pierce steel armor, but I didn’t voice my thoughts aloud. Without magic power, steel armor might be the only way to protect oneself, but how can one fight against bullets and mines that easily penetrate even steel?
I asked if they hadn’t considered using catapults, but they said blue beams coming from beyond the horizon destroyed them every time, leaving me speechless.
So, did they keep advancing while sacrificing people until Alterra arrived? When I subtly asked if there was any backlash against treating soldiers as expendable, the response was surprisingly proud.
Hearing that made me stop thinking. This is a world where the goddess truly exists, and apparently, the afterlife is real too. Perhaps there’s no need to fear death then.
Or maybe it’s because they’re sincere believers in the goddess religion. As someone from another world, I clearly couldn’t fully grasp this.
“…We’re done here, Myungho. As you said, we disarmed those who didn’t resist and gathered them in one place, but is it really okay to let them live?”
Suddenly, her eyes began glowing intensely as if she was about to explode. Yuna, with an oddly serious tone despite making what seemed like a flippant comment, asked if it wouldn’t be better to kill them all.
“We might be able to get some information from them, whether through writing or other methods. Besides, they have no will to fight anymore…”
“That’s rich coming from you, Myungho, considering how enthusiastically you were swinging your sword.”
“…That’s because they kept resisting even when they were in such a state. That’s different. This is separate from that.”
The reason I cut down the resisting soldiers was to accumulate souls in my sword. First of all, since the goddess herself regards this sword as sacred, I judged that using it in front of people wouldn’t cause major problems. Fortunately, that turned out to be true.
When I unleashed purple sword energy, though people looked at it with fear and awe, no one complained. That’s enough for now. There’s no need to say outright that I’m a Dark Magician if they aren’t attacking.
Turning souls into mana and infusing it into my body also worked somehow. Since I’m not directly using magic but rather the tool is doing it, it should be fine.
Still, getting shot would kill me just the same, so I couldn’t go wild like Alterra, but I was satisfied having accumulated enough souls.
Separately from that, I picked up a still-functional gun and slung it over my shoulder. Even if it’s not for the upcoming attack on Landekrihen, it might come in handy outside. Guns are always right. Most problems can be solved with a gun. Humans were originally meant to fight from a distance anyway.
Altera is strangely strong. Of course, considering she’s part dragon, it’s almost disrespectful to compare. Just as I thought about her, she appeared from the opposite side, dragging a black mass while heavily armed.
As soon as she saw me, her helmet split open, quickly decomposing into pieces that merged with her breastplate. Her silvery hair flowing gracefully and her radiant face became visible.
“I told you to bring someone important, right? Here. That guy was shouting loudly from the back. Usually, loud voices and stiff necks mean high-ranking individuals, right?”
Altera brought me a soldier who looked like a high-ranking officer. His arms and legs were limp, and it was obvious why he had fainted. After handing him over, Alterra continued to stare at me as if waiting for something.
Her expression seemed expectant. What is she waiting for? After some quick thinking, I decided to take a guess.
“…Good job, Alterra. You’re the best.”
Her tail wagged happily, making it hard to resist. No matter how I think about it, she’s not a dog, but seeing her wag her tail and look at me with hopeful eyes, how could I think otherwise?
Sure enough, she tried to hug me but suddenly remembered the chunks of flesh and blood stuck to her armor and quickly stepped back, vibrating her armor to shake them off.
Seeing the blood and meat fall off due to the vibration, I thought it was quite impressive.
Nowadays, nothing surprises or angers me. She’s a dragon, after all. She can do anything. If someone explained the structure and principles to her or handed her a blueprint, I bet she could even build an electrical circuit.
While watching her casually clean herself off without a care, she soon finished and confidently hugged me again.
The heavy impact made me sneeze slightly, but Alterra seemed completely unaware.
“Of course. Who else but me? Your lover and the woman personally chosen by the goddess. Now, give me more praise and adoration. Quickly. Or else…”
Altera, nestled in my arms, glanced up at me somewhat teasingly as she half-joked about threatening me.
Judging by her still-wagging tail, it seemed like she was just messing with me. Giving her appropriate compliments like “I love you” and “good job,” she appeared satisfied and stepped back.
Lately, she seems to have become a bit more proactive. Is it just my imagination?
After leaving the cleanup to her, I decided to focus on my own tasks. Let’s see what kind of information this person can provide.
—
“…Sorry, Alterra. Despite all the trouble I caused, I got nothing useful…”
While twisting his body to relieve the soreness from being pummeled like a waterfall, Myungho concluded his lengthy interrogation and returned to me.
All he managed to learn was that ahead lay weapons and strategies designed solely to counter me, and that members of the Demon Tribe would soon appear on the battlefield. Nothing specific had been relayed to their frontline.
“It’s fine. No matter what comes, we’ll just smash it and break through. We still have time today… and physical stamina. How about we check out the anti-Altera weaponry before we leave?”
Honestly, I feel I could handle cannons somehow. Speaking in an exaggerated tone while stretching his shoulders, Myungho smiled, but cautiously suggested we should still be careful.
If they had launched a laser cannon at us, I would’ve seriously considered his advice, but with machine guns and mines being all they had, I wasn’t overly worried.
At most, they might have cannons or tanks. That’s why I grinned while tapping my armor.
“Don’t worry. Nothing can penetrate this. It feels stronger and better than the scales that emerged during my rampage. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner.”
Even though I’m not the type to enjoy getting stronger, this armor made me smile. When I learned how to manipulate iron, I didn’t think much of it.
“Really? If you’re that confident… trying it won’t hurt. This time, regular soldiers won’t be able to help. There’s too much cleanup work. At best, it’ll be just the heroes and our party.”
That’s enough. If I push myself a little more, it’ll be sufficient to deal with whatever comes our way. Deciding to go all out tomorrow as if preparing for a day of rest, I wiped the blood off my greatsword and rested it on my shoulder.
Thanks to the goddess’s power, it seems my metal manipulation doesn’t affect this. On the bright side, it’s become incredibly sturdy, though it can’t be broken. It’s become similar to Myungho’s brush…
I’m not sure if it’s good or bad. Seeing how it easily cuts through humans and iron, it must be good. Saying he’d round up the heroes, Myungho left.
Before he went, noticing the cartridges sticking out of his coat pocket, I slipped a bit of mana into the bullet casings and tucked them back into his pocket.
“…Thank you. Wait just a moment!”
Guns. They might not be bad. I can shoot armor shards like bullets, so I don’t need them, but they’ll be a big help for Myungho.
“Are you really going again…?”
After a short wait, a leader-like figure approached me with a hesitant expression.
“Of course. I still have plenty of energy. These guys aren’t on a level where they can defeat me. So, I’m going. Is there a problem?”
“No, no problems…”
Then that’s settled. I’ll go first and check what’s there. Tell everyone to stay here and wait. Remind Yuna and Akashi to stay alert, just in case, and I dashed off toward where the enemy waited.
Through the visor of my helmet, I could see a trench of questionable size. It was shallow enough that I might be able to leap over it at full speed. Surely, they didn’t prepare this to fight me?
How amusing.
Apparently, they also realized bullets are meaningless against me. They were openly measuring the river width in front of them, and nothing happened.
Well, I’m grateful. Bullets can’t wound me, but they can cause some pain, albeit not severe.
This far… I can jump it. Just as I was confident, someone peeked over the enemy trenches.
Breathing apparatus, a pair of horns, and a shiny bald head. Wait, I’ve seen this somewhere before.
But the moment I saw him, my vision swayed, and my body crashed to the ground.
