Goblin Slayer (2)
“This is... what is it?”
Meyril’s eyes widened at the iron shell Berneval had prepared.
What in the world is this thing supposed to do?
At first glance it looked like an ordinary tub, but the more closely one examined it, the stranger its shape became. That was true even of the outside, where several layers of beaten metal had been riveted into place. A cylindrical body with one open end, two long iron rods attached beneath it like legs. A small groove had been carved into the bottom of the barrel.
“This? It’s a mortar.”
“A mor... tar? What’s that?”
“Something stronger and better than a magic staff.”
Ho-yeong grinned and detached the gemstone from his brooch.
“Th-that’s an Ancient Mana Stone?! How did Lord Ho-yeong get hold of something this precious...?”
As a mage, Meyril knew exactly how valuable an Ancient Mana Stone was, and she looked genuinely startled.
“Right. I got it along with my medal at the promotion ceremony.”
He said it as casually as if he’d gotten yogurt as a freebie with a carton of milk.
How on earth is he planning to use a mana stone? But he must have a plan. If it’s Lord Ho-yeong, he surely does.
Meyril couldn’t begin to guess, but the confidence in Ho-yeong’s expression made her decide not to ask further.
“Ancient Mana Stone, activate!”
Unlike ordinary mana stones, an Ancient Mana Stone could have its elemental property assigned by its owner. The game had faithfully reflected that setting: equip it to a fire mage, and it would greatly amplify fire attributes; equip it to an ice mage, and it would greatly strengthen ice attributes.
“Status window. Set it up the way I told you last time.”
Assigning the Ancient Mana Stone you possess the property ‘explosive propulsion.’
The gemstone, which looked like a transparent drop of water, took on a red-gold sheen.
“Oh. So it really works.”
Ho-yeong inserted the mana stone into the groove carved into the bottom of the cylinder.
“There. Fits perfectly. Nice work, Berneval.”
The mana stone slotted in as neatly as a plug.
“As if that were the only thing that fits proper.”
Berneval Luntin set down his chisel and hammer, then rolled one of the huge stones stacked behind him forward.
“Whoa. That’s basically a bowling ball.”
The stone was about the size of a cart wheel. Its surface had been so carefully carved that it rolled smoothly across the ground.
“Heave-ho.”
When the heavy stone shell was loaded into the improvised mortar, it settled in with a precise fit.
“Mmm. What d’you think?”
“It’s brilliant.”
“Right? Took some work, carving it round like you said.”
Ho-yeong clicked his tongue in admiration.
When stones were used as shells, any unevenness in shape reduced accuracy and stability. He had guessed that much, which was why he had asked for them to be shaped into spheres if possible.
He really made them into balls.
This dwarf could have made a name for himself even as a stone mason.
“Good. Let’s get this show on the road.”
The passive skill [People of the Cannon Lv.1] has activated. When operating cannon-type weapons, fire control and aiming become easier.
Thanks to the trait he had unlocked earlier, a HUD spread before Ho-yeong’s eyes.
Would you like to name this prototype weapon?
“Hm? Uh... let’s call it the Bakgyeokpo for now.”
Ho-yeong set the Bakgyeokpo’s legs firmly in place, adjusted the barrel to a forty-five-degree angle, and stepped back.
The mana stone has been charged. You may use the mana stone whenever you wish. The keyword designated by the user is ‘Fire.’
“Status window. Let me choose the mana stone’s power level from 1 to 100. That way I won’t waste firepower. Show it on the screen I’m looking at too.”
Adjusting the mana stone’s usage settings and HUD display in accordance with the user’s request.
Four separate lines appeared on the HUD, showing the shell’s trajectory and point of impact.
Each line is a simulation value corresponding to mana stone power settings of 25, 50, 75, and 100. As the trait level rises, you will be able to aim more precisely.
“Good. This time I’ll go with power 15. Fire!”
Ho-yeong aimed at the Goblin Command Squad leader and shouted the activation keyword with force.
The mana stone vibrated with a buzzing whine, then burst into a reddish glow.
- KWAANG!
“W-what was that sound?!”
- Gop-gop?!
Even the spearmen and goblins who had been absorbed in the battle flinched at the thunderous blast.
And then the shell soared gracefully across the sky.
- Gooooop!
The boulder came down hard on the clustered goblins, crushing them flat.
- Gop?!
Only the Goblin Command Squad leader narrowly escaped a direct hit by leaping aside in time.
“Tch. He dodged.”
Rather than celebrating the shot’s success, Ho-yeong sounded disappointed at missing his target.
In contrast, Berneval Luntin was trembling with excitement.
“J-Jorey. This thing’s the real deal! It’s exactly like ye said! It fires a great big stone like it were a pebble. Even if an ogre came at us, could ye toss one that easy?”
“Berneval. Are you saying you didn’t believe me?”
“Don’t get smart with me, now. What d’you take dwarves for? A dwarf believes once, he believes to the end. Still, I didn’t expect it to work this well.”
His reaction was, in a sense, only natural. Up to now, the only way Berneval had used his custom explosive stones was by throwing them.
“All right, the Bakgyeokpo test is done, so let’s get serious. Berneval, hand over the bombs.”
“Ye mean the explosive stones? Aye, here, take ’em. You really do pick up Gallia dialect fast. Where’d ye learn it? Ah, from me, of course.”
Even as he rambled, Berneval carefully laid wooden sticks in a lattice pattern inside the barrel.
This kept the explosive stones from bunching together or rolling about at random, while also stabilizing their trajectory.
“Load it up!”
“Leave it to me.”
“Wait. Why are you pulling out the hammer? Stop! If you detonate it early, we’re done for!”
Ho-yeong nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Berneval lift the hammer.
“Ah, right. Don’t need that anymore, do I? It’s just become habit, is all.”
To detonate the explosive stones Berneval had designed, one had to hammer their undersides hard. It had functioned as a kind of safety device, since they would not explode without the force of Berneval’s hammer, but it was also a cumbersome and time-consuming process, because every shot required a full blow.
“Exactly. You don’t have to hit them one by one anymore.”
The mana stone’s explosion would serve as the firing mechanism instead.
Berneval and Ho-yeong loaded the explosive stones into the lattice and stepped back.
“This time, fire with power 20!”
The four explosive stones were launched in different directions.
- KWAGAGAGANG!
The stones falling over the goblins’ heads triggered a chain explosion, turning the goblins, including the Goblin Command Squad leader, into bloody fragments.
The remaining goblins were badly wounded as well, and completely incapable of fighting.
“Good heavens... with power like that. What sort of magic is the Lord using?”
Sicoop, the company’s only mage soldier, groaned under his breath. The other soldiers were just as shocked.
“…Are you serious?”
Berneval’s narrow eyes flew open so wide they might have been the largest they had ever been in his two hundred and thirty years of life.
So Jorey... the brat was right after all.
He remembered the discussion they had while traveling to the territory.
“What if we make the explosive stones a bit smaller and fire them with a crossbow or a bow? The range would increase a lot.”
“What d’you just say? A boooow? Get lost. Do I look like some elf brat to you?”
“Or what about throwing them with a sling, like the halflings do?”
“Enough. Tell Baunal to spin around and do that nonsense if he wants. Why would I leave my own arm sitting idle and do something stupid like that?”
Berneval had rejected Ho-yeong’s suggestions for one simple, stubborn, deeply subjective reason: it didn’t look cool.
“Of course everyone knows your arm strength is tremendous, Berneval.”
That was true enough. With dwarf strength added to the equation, he could throw much farther than most humans.
“But before you throw the explosive stones, you have to hammer each one individually, and you can only throw two at a time.”
“...And this cannon thing of yours does it differently?”
“Yes. It uses an explosion to launch the explosive stones much farther, higher, and in greater numbers.”
The idea of using an explosion to produce a bigger explosion had tempted him, but until he saw it with his own eyes, he remained half skeptical.
“Berneval. What’re you standing there for? Come on, we’ve got to go deal with the other side!”
“Eh? Ah, right. Let’s go then.”
Berneval and Ho-yeong rode the Mandragorani over the hill.
At the front, the allied forces were fiercely holding the line under Lilian’s command.
- Gop!
“Hah!”
Lilian faced the Goblin Command Squad leader as he approached the barricade.
She blocked the downward swing of its glaive by bracing the spear shaft crosswise, and in the opening that created, the spearmen struck and brought it down.
“Nice. They fight well.”
“Did I not say so? We are more than sufficient.”
“Fair enough. But there’s no need to face a swarm like that head-on. Like you just showed, if you need to, you should use dogpiling or whatever else works and make it ugly!”
“…It is strange that you would reduce the cooperative tactics I and the soldiers just used to ‘dogpiling.’ And the one who taught us that was you, Lord.”
“Ah, anyway! Everyone listen up. Take cover!”
The goblin horde was pressing in hard. It looked as though they would reach the defensive line any moment now.
“When they get close, we’ll fire the new weapon. Fragments will fly everywhere, so brace yourselves.”
“New weapon? You mean the explosion on the left flank just now?”
The soldiers murmured among themselves.
“What are you all whispering about? Take cover!”
“Yes, sir!”
Lilian snapped their discipline tight.
It’s strange that someone who always fought at the front would suddenly take up weapon development... but I trust Lord Ho-yeong.
When the goblins first came charging in, everyone had been skeptical, and yet the Lord’s words had proved true, hadn’t they?
“Jorey, it’s ready.”
By then, Berneval had carved another stone from the hillside into a sphere.
“Will this do?”
“Perfect.”
“But why’d ye drill a hole in it?”
It was almost identical to the stone shell he had fired earlier, except for one thing: a hole about the size of a troll’s fist had been bored through it.
Ho-yeong answered with a smile far more sinister than any he had worn before.
“Why, don’t dwarf cooks have something like that? Stuff a piglet into a boar’s belly and roast it whole.”