第１３５９堀：戦いの前の準備 (Part1)
Chapter 1359: Preparations Before the Battle
Side: Jessica
We are currently within the territory of the Saurus Principality.
While we are in the process of rapidly establishing a fortress and deploying our forces, we are strictly here as a decorative reinforcement. We have nothing specific to do, so we are waiting in the underground command center rather than the fortress’s main command post, receiving a status report from General Steve and his team.
“...And so, we’ve finished the fourth phase and are currently executing the fifth phase of deployment. There haven’t been any delays to speak of.”
“Where is the enemy army right now?”
“They’re currently about 15 kilometers out, aiming for this fortress. Their speed is a bit slower than I anticipated, sitting at about 3 kilometers per hour.”
“That’s surprisingly slow.”
“It’s because the roads aren’t secured. Oh, by the way, to avoid suspicion, we’re creating additional paths leading from the northern town to the western town. We’ve managed to control the terrain using DP, after all.”
I see. So, things are proceeding according to plan, then.
As expected of General Steve.
He may be lazy in his day-to-day life, but he certainly gets the job done when it counts.
“Ah, now that you mention it, I recall receiving such a report. Does this mean we can assume there are no Dungeon Masters or their proxies among the enemy ranks?”
“As far as we can tell, yes. Though, there’s always the possibility they’re holding them in reserve.”
I have no idea why they would hold them back, but it’s true that we can’t say with absolute certainty that they aren’t there.
Still, as Deryu suggested, it feels more accurate to assume they aren’t present.
“And what about the status of the terrain control to investigate the enemy’s composition in detail?”
“I’m currently using a different core to handle the terrain control, but considering the possibility of enemy Dungeon Masters or proxies, I’m not controlling the enemy’s advance route directly. Instead, I’m moving to surround them. So, we don’t have the full details on their composition yet. We only have data from aerial surveillance.”
As Surakichi-san says this, he displays a map, showing how they are controlling the land to encircle the enemy army.
“Ah, I see. If they notice, they might try to run.”
“Exactly. In this situation, even if the enemy realizes what’s happening, we can build moats to prevent their escape.”
I see, I see.
So they are also taking measures to ensure the enemy cannot flee.
“Then, General Steve. Can we confirm that the current situation, including the enemy’s movements, is proceeding exactly as planned?”
“Yes. That’s correct. Though, I’ll keep saying it—the battlefield changes in an instant, so we must not let our guard down.”
Given that he answered without hesitation, there truly must be no issues, but “not letting one’s guard down” is the only correct answer.
There is always the risk of a situation spiraling out of control, requiring an immediate response.
Seeing that mindset, Shou nods in agreement.
The most important trait for a general in times like these is the ability to adapt when the unexpected occurs.
Of course, thorough preparation to ensure the plan proceeds as intended is also essential.
“True. It would be ridiculous to lose because we were careless. I’d like to get a grasp of our current strength, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure thing.”
Menou seems to share the same opinion, and as she requests a breakdown of our forces, numbers appear on the map.
“The numbers displayed—the sword icons at the top represent personnel currently in combat readiness: 82. The ‘Z’ marks are those resting: 43. Well, reinforcements are still arriving one after another, so that’s changing, but the total number of personnel scheduled for this deployment, including you ladies, is 524.”
“Five hundred and some odd people against an army of ten thousand, even with a fortress... under normal circumstances, those numbers would be desperate. But we have weapons like tanks. Can you provide information on those?”
“No problem. In fact, the footage of this battle is being recorded and sent to the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance.”
As Steve says this, he glances to the side.
There, goblins and slimes wearing armbands identifying them as the camera crew are standing by.
Ah, that’s right—they did mention that.
There had been discussions about whether it was wise to reveal Weed’s military strength, even if only to the great powers, but the consensus was that it was indispensable for buying peace of mind within the alliance.
Well, there is also the calculation that, given the current situation, no one would dare try to tear Weed’s forces apart from all sides.
If we had no backing, there would surely be nations trying to steal our powerful weapons by any means necessary.
Above all, this time, only representatives of the great powers are involved; we cannot go around bragging that Weed pushed them back as the main force.
It will remain a matter internal to each great power.
Small nations won’t think they can replicate Weed’s strength from this.
They will simply accept that the great powers handled it.
While I was thinking about this, Steve continued his explanation of the fortress’s deployed armaments.
“Now, regarding the weapons installed in the fortress: we’ve positioned tanks at various points to act as artillery, allowing them to fire from cover. There are 10 of those. We have 10 more that can sortie outside, and 5 in reserve. There are 20 mortars on the ramparts and 50 auto-turrets. Some of the auto-turrets are installed behind windows. Oh, and considering potential aerial attacks, we have 5 missile vehicles equipped with surface-to-air missiles and 10 anti-aircraft guns.”
As he says this, the placement of the weapons appears on the map.
It’s an incredible fortress.
It is truly worthy of being called a hedgehog.
“As for operational status, the tanks and auto-turrets are already positioned. We’re currently switching them over to wired connections. The other weapons are being installed now. Since we have reinforcements, we expect to be finished within an hour.”
“Considering the enemy’s speed of advance, that means we’ll make it in time for the interception. What’s the attack line?”
“If we get shot at unilaterally and they scatter, it’ll be a hassle, so we’ll draw them in until they’re within visual combat range. We plan to open fire simultaneously once they’re between 3 and 2 kilometers out. At that point, we also plan to turn the ground beneath the enemy into a dungeon to collect data. Oh, and of course, we’ll have archers standing by to make the enemy let their guard down.”
Steve says this and takes a bow out of his item box to show us, but...
“Hmm?”
Ria tilts her head as she looks at the bow.
I wondered if something was wrong, so I took a closer look at the bow myself, and indeed, I could feel a strange magical aura coming from it.
“General Steve. This bow—has it been enchanted?”
“Ah, yeah, it has. We wanted to keep the number of archers deployed to a minimum, so we boosted the performance of the bows and arrows. Narjia-san did it.”
“““...”””
At those words, the members of Weed are left speechless.
It looks like an ordinary bow.
Or rather, a simple short bow.
This must be what they call camouflage.
I can only assume the contents and performance are on a monstrous level.
And I’m certain it’s rigged with a self-destruct mechanism, too.