第１４１４堀：空の町 (Part1)
Chapter 1414: The Sky Town
The Sky Town
Side: Samantha
What lay before us was a scene of utter devastation: the gate had collapsed, and the walls surrounding it had crumbled into ruin.
Judging by the debris, there was no doubt that the ramparts had been constructed of brick or stone.
The fact that a wall standing some five meters high had been reduced to rubble told me everything I needed to know. It was immediately obvious that this was no ordinary raid.
"Unless they used siege weaponry, this wouldn't happen," remarked Jessica.
She served as an adjutant to the Magic Sword User Marly and had experienced countless battlefields. Her assessment that this level of destruction was beyond the capability of conventional infantry was reliable. After all, swords, spears, and bows could never bring down a wall like this.
"Haha, well, I suppose only Magic Sword Users or high-level mages could manage this much destruction. Could you two do it, Kagura? Mikos?" Agil asked, turning to the pair.
"Eh? Me? If it were the me of today, it would be easy, but the me of the past... I don't think it would be impossible, but it would take a significant amount of time. As for Mikos... no way, right?"
"Hey, that’s true, but you don't have to be so blunt about it. Mikos-chan was a scout type, after all."
Indeed, to destroy a wall of this caliber required a considerable amount of magic. It was no simple feat.
"Hmm. Then what about you, Cleena and Samantha?"
As I was pondering this, Stasia-san directed the question toward us.
"Let’s see. Like Kagura, if it were me now, I could blow it away quite easily. However, back in my student days, I believe it would have required a great deal of time."
"...Hmm, agreed. Well, it wouldn't take as long as it does for Samantha, but it would still be quite a struggle to destroy that wall to this extent."
I felt a flash of irritation, but Cleena-san’s words were the truth. Her rank was higher than mine, and frankly, her ability was superior as well.
As I was lost in these thoughts while staring at the collapsed barrier, a voice broke the silence.
"Oh... the town..."
"...Please keep your composure, my Lord."
"..."
The young master of the territory, Enaiu-san, his butler Kian-san, and the Guild Master Koeu-san seemed to be in shock at the carnage before them.
Certainly, if Weed or my own homeland were reduced to this, I would be just as shaken. But this was no time to be paralyzed by shock. The enemy might not know it, but there were survivors. I was just thinking that we needed to move when—
"Now then, it’s fine to be shocked, but~ there might be survivors, and we need to secure a base, so let’s get moving~."
"Ah, w-wait, Priestess Liriche."
As expected of Liriche-sama. She always takes the initiative in times like these. The members of the inspection team, who had been standing there in a daze, began to move as well.
As for us...
"Agil-san, is this alright?"
"Hm? Ah, the advance unit is already handling the equipment logistics, so we’ll just move along with them. We’ll conduct a search, of course. Oh, Kina, Mauve-san, do you have any input?"
"I’m of the same mind. I think it’s too early to split up. We should prioritize a collective survey of the town. Right, Mauve-san?"
"Yeah. I heard rumors that this place has been turned into a dungeon, but it’s not impossible to slip past their detection. Yuki-san used to do it. Besides, there’s no guarantee there won't be another attack from the outside. It’s safer to stay together so we can retreat quickly if needed."
We were discussing how to proceed, keeping in mind that there might be a Dungeon Master on the other side. It was all going according to plan, though.
"Then, let’s follow Priestess Liriche. There are no signs of the enemy for now, but we must not let our guard down."
At Jessica’s command, we nodded and stepped through the ruined gate into the town. This was also to confirm the enemy’s path of advance, but...
"They’ve even targeted the houses behind the ramparts. Did they blow them away all at once with high-power magic, or did they bombard them continuously? What do you think, Shou-dono?"
"I’d say the latter, given the multiple impact points. Just because they breached the wall doesn't mean the town fell immediately."
"True enough. If I were in their shoes and the wall looked like it wouldn't hold, I’d order my troops to hide in the houses and launch surprise attacks. So, the houses were targeted, too."
"Sending troops into a town or castle always results in casualties. If one considers the recovery of supplies and the utilization of the base, this method makes sense. That said, according to the preliminary data, only this corner was destroyed during the Great Outbreak. It seems they prioritized clearing out the enemy while recovering supplies."
"Come to think of it, if that’s the case, could the commander have intentionally gathered them here to lure the enemy in?"
"To avoid further damage or loss of supplies? It’s not impossible, I suppose..."
Menou-san and Shou-san were the ones discussing this. They, too, were people who had led soldiers to protect their countries in battle. They might not have been on the front lines as much as Agil-san, but they had enough experience to discern an enemy’s intent. Their logic was persuasive: the enemy had limited the invasion to a single direction to facilitate their own objective.
Indeed, if there were no escape route, the defenders might fight with the desperation of the doomed, potentially increasing the enemy's casualties. By not sealing off the escape route and simply blowing away the district where they were gathered, they had brought the conflict to a swift end.
...That was a sound tactical decision, though the reason for doing so remained a bit of a mystery.
"Hmm, there are many possibilities, but we won't know for sure until we investigate further. For now, let’s head deeper in. I don't sense any enemy presence, do you?"
"Or should we clear the rubble first?"
As Deryu-san and Ria-san suggested, clearing the buildings that had turned into piles of rubble would be inefficient, so we continued deeper into the town.