37. Final Winning Number
“Isabel, Purify! Gracie! I will protect Isabel, you protect Maya!”
“Yes!”
“Keugh…! I get it!”
The hero slashed the wax figure that was rushing towards Isabel, and glared at the purple-haired girl who still maintained a relaxed attitude.
Puppet Argyle. A mysterious corps commander who uses unknown abilities.
I never dreamed it would be such a tough battle.
I shouldn’t have fought so recklessly, I should have gathered information more calmly. If Austin had been there, he would have done that.
“…f*ck…!”
This time, take a look at the wax dolls rushing at you from both sides! I tore it in two, and soon after, a brilliant light began to emanate from Isabel.
Isabelle’s light of purification enveloped the warrior’s body, and soon after, the wax that had been secretly adhering to her body fell off.
“Thank you! Purify Gracie too!”
“Hero! Be careful!”
– Kagagak!!!
The hero, who managed to block the sword attack of the orc doll rushing towards the hero, grabbed the holy sword tightly and applied all his might in a horizontal slash.
“aaa!!!”
– Kwakwagwawang!
The sight of the wax dolls tightly surrounding them being swept away by the hero’s sword strike was truly spectacular.
But Argyle didn’t change her expression, just busy scribbling with a wax pen.
“…30 Lizardman dolls. Attack the warrior party.”
At the same time as Argyle’s beeswax pen finished, countless Lizardman wax figures popped out of the darkness.
Adrien is shooting his bow nonstop and quickly knocking them down, but his arrows aren’t infinite.
Before Maya runs out of mana, she will have to find a way to break the situation.
“Ha ha… Ha ha…! Argyle…!!!”
Exhaling a heavy breath, the hero busily rolled his eyes to seek a breakthrough that would reverse the current situation.
They are wax. They may have been monsters before they were alive, but now they are nothing more than dolls made of wax.
Beeswax. Liquid oil. Raw material for candles.
“Maya!!! Wipe it away with fire magic!!!”
The hero took off the lump of wax that was trying to climb up his leg again, and raised the odds.
* * *
“Okay! Let me explain one last time!”
I pointed to the crane drawn on the map and explained the operation to the party.
“According to Mogdan, there are piles of fire stones packed in wooden boxes all over the mine. Because the flame stone explodes only when it responds to magical power, it didn’t explode even though this sh*t broke out now. We kill the queen with this firestone.”
“Hey, Austin. The queens of rock locusts I know of are larger than normal individuals, but not so extreme. What happened to that queen?”
Luna asked me with a questioning expression, but unfortunately I don’t know. As far as I know, I’ve never seen or heard of a queen as gigantic as that one.
“I’m not sure about that, Luna. Somewhere a gloomy wizard experimented with magic and made that damn plate.”
“Perhaps there is someone else behind this incident. Such a gigantic object is certainly abnormal.”
“Let’s think about that after this issue is resolved. We have to put out the fire first.”
“Ummm…”
I touched her chin and looked at the troubled Luna for a while, then lowered my gaze to the map.
“You need mana stones to operate the crane. Fortunately, Mogdan knows the location of the magic stone, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Following my explanation, Luna and this time Robin opened her mouth.
“Senior. If you insert mana stones into a crane made of Bellion steel that already has good magical power… Wouldn’t it be a little dangerous? It won’t explode as soon as you load the firestone…?”
Before I could answer Robin’s question, Mogdan answered instead.
“Just don’t give it too strong a shock. In the first place, that crane is also used to move fire stones, so it has a shock reduction enchantment on it.”
At Mog Dan’s explanation, Robin nodded her head in agreement.
“Continuing the explanation… While Mogdan and I are operating the crane, everyone except Princess Alexis will gather as many flame stones as possible and load them onto the crane. It’ll be a big deal if it falls while turning the crane, so don’t fill it to overflowing.”
I took a moment to catch my breath, looked around the party to make sure they were listening to my explanation, and then continued.
“Of course, that queen is no fool either. It’s not going to sit on its hands while we’re tinkering with it. And… Princess Alexis. Now, it’s the princess’s turn to step out.”
“…Uh… Huh? Me…?”
“Princess Alexis is the only one in our party who uses a shield, so I think Princess Alexis will be able to hold on the best for a role that draws his attention. The Marquis of Bordain is also providing some garrison troops, so it won’t be too difficult.”
I don’t know the exact reason… First of all, he couldn’t move, so I was able to safely entrust this role to Princess Alexis.
Princess Alex Six must have understood my words as well, so she thought for a while and then slowly nodded her head.
“Okay. To sum it up… Me and Mogdan move the crane, and while Princess Alexis draws his attention, the rest of the crew scoop up the firestone with a shovel and load it onto the crane, and Luna and Robin scatter mana to prepare the firestone. Do. And… bang.”
I raised my thumb, making a neck slit gesture.
“That big queen is doomed. There’s probably nothing to worry about in terms of her destructive power. The only thing she should worry about is that when she collides the firestone with the queen, the firestone misfires… Well, in that case I just shoot the firestone with the crossbow. Does everyone agree to this plan?”
Everyone in the group who listened to me nodded with a stern look on their faces, and I also drew my crossbow and sword with a serious expression on my face.
“First of all, let’s break through the small pikes on the way to the mine. Robin, don’t freeze again.”
“Ah… No! Seniors, be careful!”
“Yes, yes… You have to be careful.”
I passed between Royman and Luna and looked at the dusty mine in the distance.
“…Be careful.”
* * *
“Wow! You really are a big dog!!!”
The queen staring right in front of her nose boasted a truly overwhelming size.
The body surrounded by solid rocks was like an impregnable fortress that did not allow any attacks, and the three pairs of heavy and long legs stirred up a thick layer of dust whenever they moved, shaking the heavens and earth.
Thanks to that, we had to be very careful not to fall while running towards the crane.
“Whoa… Whoa…! From now on, move to each location! Spread out!!!”
With my shout, the queen’s head jerked and her gaze turned to us.
That bastard… Is looking at me…!
“Princess Alexis!!!”
“I know!!!”
Princess Alexis rushed forward and rammed into the queen’s leg with her shield raised.
– Kung!!!
“Shoot!!!”
At the same time, the garrison hiding on the other side of the mine opened fire in unison.
I saw fiery arrows falling like shooting stars through the night sky, striking the queen’s carapace, several of which pierced her queen’s carapace.
[ Keee!!! ]
The queen’s cries of pain echoed out, and soon after, a few rock locusts broke out from the wriggling ground.
I didn’t stop running, I raised my shortsword and stabbed the rock grasshoppers in the eyes and ran towards the crane with Mogdan.
“Search! You bastards!!!”
[ Kiiik…! ]
“Oh… Austin! It’s here too!”
“Sir! Get down!!!”
“Ughhhhh!!!”
Utilizing the crossbow actively, I rolled my eyes in front of the crane that arrived at the end of the twists and turns, and I saw Royman and Robin frantically picking up fire stones.
Where is Luna? Obviously Luna…
Ah. Luna was covering the two of them as they picked up the firestone.
The Queen has been dealing with Princess Alexis and her garrison without paying attention to this side, and the rock locusts have also been drawn to that side.
Seeing each of them faithfully fulfilling their roles, I let out a sigh of relief and started climbing the crane with Mogdan.
“Mogdan! Did you bring the mana stone?!”
“Of course! It was hidden at the entrance of the mine so that no one could take it, but I’m glad I knew the location!”
We hurriedly climbed up the crane, inserted mana stones into the holes, and checked whether the crane worked well.
Anyway, I don’t know how to operate a crane, so Mogdan, the only one who knows how to operate it, sits on a chair and starts pulling things.
With him, a push-crane that starts bobbing with a leaking sound of steam.
– Squeeze Geek!
“…Hey, Mogdan. Is this okay? The sound is a bit unsettling, isn’t it?”
“I feel like my strength has gone down a bit lately, but it’s not to the point where I can’t use it! I told you to oil it… Turn it off…!!!”
It made a somewhat uneasy sound, but it seems to be moving normally.
After confirming the operation of the crane, I came down and saw Princess Alexis avoiding the Queen’s paws.
– BANG!!!
– Quaang!!!
[ Kiyi Ik!!! ]
“Kyaah … !!! Austin! Is it still far?!”
“Please give me a little more time!!! Almost done!!!”
After letting Mogdan stay on the crane, I slipped down and joined Royman and Robin in harvesting the firestone.
As I struggled to load the fire stones onto the large cart attached to the hook of the crane, the cart was filled with fire stones before I knew it.
“Ouch…! Done!!! Princess! Slow down now!!!”
After confirming that Princess Alexis, who was frantically rolling around, fell into the outskirts of the mine, Luna and Robin came running and started scattering mana over the flame stones.
As she applied it carefully so that the mana that weakly spurted out from her hand permeated every nook and cranny, thousands of flame stones began to hum and emit a scarlet light.
“Enough…”
That moment.
Did you feel the wave of magic?
The Queen’s head swung around, and her compound eyes began to twinkle at us.
Unlike a moment ago, when I met the queen’s eyes, which for some reason began to glow purple, goose bumps ran through her body.
This feeling… I’ve experienced it before.
“Austin!!!”
I came to my senses at Luna’s hand tapping on my shoulder, and quickly climbed onto the crane and approached Mogdan.
“Mogdan! Since everything is loaded, now drive in the flame stones!!!”
“That… That…!”
“What?!”
“Oh… Here it comes!!!”
At Mogdan’s scream, I turned around to the queen, and before I knew it, the queen’s front legs were rushing towards us.
The moment I closed my eyes tightly without realizing it.
“…Ah.”
Suddenly, my whole body was enveloped in a feeling of floating, and I noticed that my slowly opened vision was moving away from the crane’s cockpit.
The queen’s attack hasn’t even reached me yet, why?
“aaa!!!!!”
Mogdan, who pushed me away and was still sitting in the cockpit pulling the lever with all his might, comes into view.
Why are you still there, bastard?
“Papa… Come out soon…”
Before I could finish my words, a cart full of firestones, attached to a crane that made a heavy sound, swung like a mace.
At the same time, the queen’s foreleg struck the crane’s cockpit.
– Kwaaang!!!
[ Kieh!!!]
With the explosion of the flame stone, half of the crane was torn off.
“Mogdan!!!!!!”
With Mogdan, who was unable to escape.