第１０２９堀：ダンジョンの新たな側面、いや通常の意味合い (Part2)
The difficult problem remains that the monster army must pass through the local area without issue.
Which means...
"…Hmm. In that case."
"…The hostile Dungeon Master in question must be located somewhere..."
As expected of Emperor Yupia and Great Emperor Show. They arrived at the answer in an instant.
"A dungeon whose existence is known to no one."
Exactly.
Any dungeon known to the Adventurer Guild will inevitably attract those who refuse to stay put, no matter how much the higher-ups try to stop them, especially if a massive horde of monsters appears—even if it's for the sake of the battle against Zrable.
Telling adventurers to ignore a catastrophe is an idiotic notion.
The day such an order is issued is the day I start marching straight toward becoming some sort of corpse researcher.
"Well, it’s one thing to have the answer, but a dungeon that isn't known to anyone wouldn't even appear in reports, would it?"
"Yes. The dungeons we have investigated are primarily based on information from the Adventurer Guild, so there is, of course, monitoring for culling, and there are adventurers who go there to earn a living."
"That is certainly true, but if that is the case, it should take a considerable amount of time for the enemy to move. They wouldn't be able to sneak around near the towns, after all."
If that’s the case, the areas we must inevitably be vigilant about are those far from human habitation.
And since those places are naturally quite distant, a surprise attack would be unlikely to succeed unless they were extremely lucky.
After all, these are monsters.
Sneaking around is a feat impossible for them unless they have undergone rigorous training like the folks in Weed.
In other words...
"I see. The army's movements are basically restricted to where there are roads. We just need to be vigilant about positions where they could attack our marching route, then?"
"Yes. And even if we are marched upon or attacked from the rear, the towns will handle it on their own. After all, it is a disaster."
It is a disaster, after all. They will fight desperately and hold the line on their own.
Once that happens, the information will inevitably reach the Zrable army.
In the meantime, we can prepare ourselves.
"Well, it would be a different story if they sent a massive army, but the larger the army gets..."
"In any case, their movements will become sluggish. It is only natural to deploy scouts to the surroundings when moving an army. Furthermore, we have radios. I don't think they could catch us off guard even with that."
"The only problem is having our retreat cut off in a remote location. I cannot imagine our army falling behind to a mere horde of monsters, but even so, if our rear is blocked, there is a possibility that the soldiers will be shaken."
"Hmm. In that case, we should just inform Vol and the others of that concern in advance. They aren't so foolish that they couldn't immediately turn around and respond."
"That is true. General Vol would certainly be able to handle it."
I share that opinion.
That general would handle it without a hitch.
It might sound cynical coming from me, the one who caused his army to collapse, but precisely because he failed once, he is the type of person who will handle things properly.
"If that is the case, the only thing left to worry about is a pincer attack..."
"Even if the main force from Forma comes from the front, there would be at most 10,000 of them. Well, there is a possibility that the Hein Empire is sending reinforcements, though."
"If that is the case, then so be it. We shall clash with the Hein Empire and crush the monsters in the rear as well. It is a good chance to show the world which side has the righteous cause. As for those who blocked the rear, we can just crush them with Mirabel’s 3rd Army. And above all else..."
Emperor Yupia cut his sentence short and stared at me.
"Yuki-dono and the others will move at that time, won't you? It would be troublesome if we were crushed."
"Yes. We will certainly help when the time comes."
That was the plan from the start.
That said, this conversation gave me a good idea of where we should investigate.
First, the deserted dungeons in the small nation of Forma.
And the dungeons along the border in regions where General Mirabel’s reach does not extend.
In other words, if we set up a surveillance net for the dungeons in the south, we can respond without falling too far behind.
"Then Zrable cannot win. First, have them search for the unconfirmed dungeons in the small nation of Forma. Tell them there will be a reward for those who find one before the 2nd Army finishes organizing."
"Understood. I will make the arrangements. If we take the small nation of Forma, victory is right before our eyes."
"Indeed. I look forward to seeing how the Hein Empire moves."
Indeed. I, too, look forward to seeing how the Hein Empire moves.
Actually, I wonder what General Wave is doing.
Still no word from him.
Well, I don't expect him to be able to report back immediately just because he returned to the Imperial Capital, but I would think there would be some sort of progress report.
Well, as for me, I’ll have Steve move to conquer the dungeons that no one has been approaching.
Man, if I told him it was actually the other way around, Steve would probably panic.
That the deserted dungeons are the ones that are actually "hits."
As for Kirika, she will continue to cooperate with Zrable’s scouting party to explore the dungeons around Forma.
It might be good to expand the dungeon network over a wider area.
Yes, normal dungeons are not places that serve as trade hubs or defensive strongholds.
They are just like mines that produce resources.
We must not forget that.
Man, we’ve treated Weed as a base for so long that I almost forgot.