第１９５０堀：本当の新大陸の状況 (Part2)
"That’s not something to say with a smile. Besides, Glass is an Adventurer Guild, not a town, you know? Sisua and Sona are working their fingers to the bone over there. So, what’s the rest of the report?"
"Right. Well, there’s been talk that monster attacks have been intensifying lately. I arrived and conducted observations, and we’re seeing two hundred to four hundred a day."
"Huh!? Wait, hold on. A day? Not once every thirty days?"
Kina’s eyes were wide, her face a mask of pure shock.
I get it. I feel exactly the same way.
"Yeah, it’s genuinely every single day. And for what it’s worth, based on the observations and intelligence we’ve gathered, the trend is steadily increasing. Apparently, this has been going on for five or six years now."
"Five or six years!? How are they keeping their supplies up? What about the people? What’s happening to the soldiers?"
Kina’s questions were perfectly reasonable.
In the life of an adventurer, you might run into sporadic skirmishes if you step into the forest, but having a horde like that attack every single day is a completely different beast.
The consumption of supplies would be astronomical, and the human cost—the soldiers—is an even harder resource to replenish.
If they’ve been fighting that long, attrition is an absolute certainty.
Kina understood that as well as I did.
"There is a system in place to support it, but the recent offensives have been so fierce that they can’t keep up anymore. Here, take a look at the data."
After the brief explanation, I sent the gathered intelligence over to Kina. She opened the file and scanned it immediately.
"No way... I’d heard whispers of this, but isn't this just horrific? How are the people in the North still alive? It’s like the structure of the nation and its neighbors is perfectly calibrated, or maybe it’s just a miracle..."
"As for the structure of the surrounding nations, that just happened naturally because the enemy’s offensive was so strong. It’s optimization, not a miracle."
"Even so. It assumes the nation won't collapse. It’s like walking a tightrope."
"I agree with that sentiment, but the offensive has only reached this level of intensity in the last three or four months. Originally, it was ten a day, with maybe a month here or there where they’d see a hundred."
"That was, well, barely within the acceptable margin, right? But four hundred a day? That’s impossible."
"That’s exactly why I’m in such a hurry. I don’t know how much longer this state of affairs can hold. If the North collapses, the Central region is next, isn't it?"
"Ugh... I thought things were pretty dire when I started the mobilization, but this is seriously bad."
"And if you add in the suspicious activity we’re currently investigating in the Central region, what happens if they move at the same time?"
"It’s game over."
Yeah. Game over.
Well, it’s not like everyone will just drop dead instantly, but if the Northern nations fall, the current movement patterns suggest people will retreat from the North.
They’ll retreat—or rather, push into—the Central region.
If they could just quietly accept the refugees, that would be one thing, but there’s no way they’d accept that many people so easily.
We’re talking about nearly ten nations' worth of people, not just one.
The keystone of the North, the Kingdom of Fiana in the center, is practically a great power in its own right.
And that’s facing annihilation.
"The North collapses, the Central region crumbles, and the chaos spills into the South. Literally, the end of the New Continent. I don’t know what their goal is, or who is behind this, but if this is all part of a plan, I’d like to think the damage is still limited..."
"You can’t afford to be optimistic about that. Ugh, this is so bad. Is that why you’re rushing?"
"Well, it’s just a matter of sooner or later, so there’s no doubt we’ll be involved regardless. Or rather, since we’re already involved, I just want to speed up the resolution. As a delaying tactic, the land battleship is almost finished."
"Oh? Is that thing actually usable?"
"The test runs were fine, but you can’t defeat an enemy when you don’t even know where they are. At best, it’ll just scatter the swarms. Besides, I thought I could buy us plenty of time with that, but..."
"Considering the sheer volume of monsters, there’s no end to it, is there? And, don’t you think a Dungeon Master is involved?"
"It’s highly likely. If the enemy has a Dungeon Master—one capable of spawning four hundred a day, while still holding enough DP to not be bothered by other nations—then a full-scale assault is going to be a massive pain. If this is being done systematically, then with the numbers increasing now..."
"Thinking logically, we’re in the final phase of their operation, aren't we? We can see the limit. Yeah, this is seriously bad. I’ll do my best."
"Right. I’m counting on you."
That’s right. The current situation in the New Continent is hanging by a thread.
To the point where it wouldn’t be strange if we fell off the cliff at any moment.
Who the hell is it!? Who planted this super-bomb, and what do they want!?
Is it one of those moronic theorists who thinks everything will be fine if everyone just dies!?
If the North falls and the Central region is ravaged, the South will collapse in a combo.
Congratulations, a full combo!
Not that there’s anything to be happy about.