Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: How to Destroy the Fortress (2)
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Is it because I suddenly barged into the battle?
The white soldier, who had been on the verge of destruction by the black soldier, looked up at me in bewilderment.
Of course, even though it looked human, being a golem by nature, there was no change in its expression.
The fact that it didn't get up right away and just stared up at me blankly could only mean it was flustered.
I reached out a hand to the soldier... but then thought better of it, considering the golem's weight, and pulled it back.
Instead, I bellowed at it.
"Get up, soldier! How long are you going to sit there cowering!"
- ...! Sorry! I'll get up!
Startled by my shout, the soldier sprang to its feet.
But perhaps it moved too hastily.
Thud.
Its arm, already covered in cracks and on the verge of breaking, fell to the ground with a thud.
Still, since its other arm was intact, I picked up the spear lying on the ground... no, why is this so damn heavy!
Anyway, I barely managed to lift it and handed it to the soldier.
"Don't give up, soldier! Now that I'm here, victory is ours."
- ...Can we really win? Even when we're this cornered?
"Of course. So go fight. Fight even if you shatter gloriously! All of this is for the White Queen."
- ......
Hearing my firm declaration, the soldier trembled.
And soon, it raised its spear high and shouted.
- For our queen!!
Then it charged into the battlefield.
I nodded as I watched it go.
"One down, secured."
This medieval theme has one hidden element.
It's turning the white faction's soldiers into my subordinates.
The method is exactly like what I just did—showing charisma.
Of course, to use this hidden element, you first have to join the battlefield.
Save a soldier, and that soldier's morale has to be broken.
When these three conditions are met, showing charisma transfers command of that soldier to you.
In other words, it recognizes you as its commander.
However... as the soldier said, the current battlefield has the white faction overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
But that disadvantage is actually good for me.
Being cornered means their momentum is broken.
If I turn that around, if I overwhelm the enemies in reverse.
All the soldiers here will become my subordinates.
And then, saving people will become much easier.
So... shall I start the rescue operation in earnest?
I raised my rifle and looked around.
Fierce battles were raging everywhere.
And whenever I spotted a soldier in peril.
Bang, bang!
I fired single shots, one by one, blowing away the enemies.
Then I approached the soldier, urged it to get up and fight, and made it my subordinate.
- What the hell are you!
- How dare an outsider defy the Black Queen!
- Pay for siding with the whites with your death!
Whenever black soldiers or knights lunged at me for ruining their chance to finish off a soldier.
Boom, kaboom! Boom!
I used Transfer to shove explosives into their bodies.
For those whose cores weren't destroyed and survived, I poured bullets into them.
Like that, two, three, four... my subordinates kept growing in number.
By the time the shadow of defeat over the white faction had somewhat lifted thanks to me.
A white knight approached me.
- Outsider, thank you for your help.
The knight thumped its chest with its right hand and bowed its head.
But perhaps because its damage was too severe.
Thud.
The hand that had thumped its chest fell to the ground.
And then cracks spread from its chest, and chunks came crumbling down.
- ......
"......"
The knight, suddenly exposing its innards, seemed embarrassed and couldn't continue speaking.
I was the same.
It was hollow inside since it was a golem, but seeing its chest cavity so suddenly left me speechless.
But that only lasted a moment.
The knight spoke in a solemn voice.
- Outsider, I appreciate your help, but I ask that you leave this battlefield.
It urged me to withdraw from the field.
In response, I asked the knight in a serious tone.
"Why?"
- Thanks to you, we haven't lost yet, but we will inevitably fall.
The knight said that and pointed to its own wrecked body and the soldiers strewn about nearby.
- This is our state right now.
This time, it pointed to the enemies.
They had many fallen too, but since they were on the defensive, plenty of intact enemies were still visible.
- That's their state.
So, the knight added, drawing the sword it had planted in the ground.
- Leave this place. And if you find our fortress, tell them this: We shattered gloriously for the White Queen.
Soldiers gathered around the knight as it spoke.
All of them were in wretched states, shattered here and there.
And from the solemn atmosphere, I could tell they all shared the knight's thoughts.
But... sorry about that.
I have no intention of just watching you all get destroyed.
"Can't do that."
- ...What did you say?
"I said can't do that."
You all have a lot of work to do.
You have to find people in my place and bring them here.
So don't go getting destroyed on your own. Stay put.
I'll handle everything.
But the knight, unwilling to listen, finally issued a charge order to the soldiers.
"All units, halt."
The soldiers' command rights had long since transferred to my authority.
- ......
Seeing the soldiers obey my order instead of his, the knight stared at me fixedly.
Then, soon after, the knight asked me.
- ...You're just one person, aren't you? How can you defeat all those enemies?
In a voice full of disbelief, I didn't answer with words.
Instead, I reloaded my rifle's magazine with a click.
Then, chambering a round with a clack, I walked toward the fortress where the enemies were.
Watch closely, white knight.
Watch how I sweep them away.
I muttered that to myself as I closed the distance with the black forces.
But the closer I got, the weirder it felt.
Though they were golems, their appearances were human-like, and they only wielded swords and spears.
This felt just like... time-leaping to the medieval era with a gun.
- You bastard! What makes you charge alone with such confidence!
- You're begging to die!
- If you want death that badly, I'll grant it personally!
Maybe because I stepped forward alone.
The black soldiers aimed their spears at me and charged.
Did these guys not learn anything?
They saw with their own eyes how many of their forces were destroyed by my gun and bombs.
And yet they come closing the distance themselves?
'Thank you very much.'
The moment they entered Transfer's range, I laid mines in front of them one by one.
Boom, kaboom! Boom!
The bodies of those who stepped on the mines exploded mercilessly.
For the occasional ones whose cores survived, I pulled the trigger and destroyed them.
- You think I'll fall with these fools!
A black knight zigzagged toward me.
With shockwaves constantly erupting from the ground, it seemed to be dodging the mines...
"Don't like mines? Then have this instead."
I shoved a grenade into the one avoiding mines via Transfer.
Kabooooom!
The black knight shattered into pieces.
Unlike soldiers who sometimes survived mines, the knight's core was completely obliterated along with it.
How far did I walk, how many did I destroy?
- ...A calamity.
- A walking calamity!
- Everyone, retreat!
Before I knew it, the enemies were calling me a calamity.
Well, from their perspective, soldiers and knights were exploding left and right just from me walking.
No wonder I looked like a calamity.
But... retreating all because of me alone? That's a bit much, isn't it?
I let out a smirk at the sight of all the black forces fleeing into the fortress.
But I wanted to tell them.
That was the wrong choice.
"Do you think I can't do anything once you're inside the fortress?"
I chuckled and turned back.
Then I shouted to the knight and soldiers staring at me in stunned rigidity.
"All units—! Assemble—!"
As if they'd been waiting for my signal, the knight and soldiers, frozen like statues, came rushing over.
- Outsider... no, hero! Truly... truly amazing!
What? Did I just level up from outsider to hero?
A snicker escaped me at the upgraded title.
Despite my reaction, the knight—if it were human, its eyes would be sparkling—gazed at me, spouting admiration nonstop.
But now wasn't the time for that, so I raised a hand to silence the knight.
"Save the admiration for later. Take these and set them in front of the gate."
With that, I pulled ten boxes of grenades and mines from my inventory and set them on the ground.
Soldiers with relatively intact arms picked up the boxes and ran to the gate.
What were the guys inside the fortress doing, though?
They were just watching us from the walls, not making a move.
'Idiots. If I were them, I'd at least hurl some spears.'
The ten boxes of explosives the soldiers were placing at the gate.
That amount was more than enough to blow the gate to smithereens.
And even if it didn't break, my inventory still held an uncountable supply of munitions.
So no need to panic if it held.
Just bring more.
- What is that?
The knight asked curiously about the bomb boxes the soldiers had placed.
To the knight, I pulled a grenade launcher from my inventory and said.
"Gate key."
- Gate key? That thing?
The knight's voice was full of confusion.
But I didn't answer.
I just showed it with actions.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ KABOOOOOOOOOM──!!
Rumble rumble rumble......!
"See? Gate key."
- ......
The knight was speechless at my words.