Dynamic Vision
Dynamic Vision
Staggering, Piel climbed onto the palanquin with Hildea's support and immediately fell asleep.
The soldiers quickly unfolded the canopy to shield Piel's face from the sunlight.
"Move without the slightest tremor. As comfortable and cozy as taking a nap in your wife's arms, understood?"
At Dvil's admonition, the palanquin soldiers nodded with resolute expressions.
"Understood!"
The vibration absorption provided by the mana muscle suspension on all four sides.
The palanquin glided forward, light and smooth as if buoyed by the wind.
The expedition force's marching speed was also slowly matching pace with the palanquin.
"Piel doesn't do mana training, so he's very weak to alcohol. So we must let him rest as deeply as possible."
"Move carefully. Everyone, no making noise."
Commanders like Vice-commander Basel pressed the soldiers with a menacing air.
The soldiers, too, felt Piel's presence every day through the corn soup they ate, so they continued marching quietly without complaint.
A march of hardship where even idle chatter to shake off tension and boredom was forbidden.
This silence continued until Piel awoke.
***
"Ugh...."
As soon as I grabbed my aching head and sat up, arms shot out from both sides simultaneously.
One was healthy coffee-colored skin.
The other was pale, soft skin so translucent you could almost see the veins beneath.
Rebecca was holding out honey water, and Hildea was holding out a cup of cold water toward me.
"Here, here, Piel. Honey water is the best for hangovers. You drank some earlier, but drink more."
"Major Piel, pure water is simply the best for hangovers. You must not misunderstand that this countess is grudging the honey water due to the territory's poor finances, for that is absolutely not the case."
"I would never misunderstand."
I was absently thinking about which to drink first when I felt the burning gazes of both commanders.
'If it were up to me, I'd drink the honey water first and then rinse my mouth with the cold water.'
I drank the cold water given by Hildea, who had one more star, first, and then drank the honey water.
Hildea's expression brightened, and Rebecca glanced away with a slightly disappointed look.
"If you drink water first and then honey water, it's less effective."
"I feel like my insides have been completely cleansed."
Lord Deville urgently spurred his horse toward us.
"Major Piel, how is your head? Not dizzy?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
"Then it would be alright to increase the marching speed, wouldn't it?"
"Pardon? Of course. I'm in the comfortable position of riding in the palanquin, so it's not difficult for me at all."
"Understood. Commander-in-Chief, then I will increase the speed."
"Do so, Sir Basel."
The marching speed quickened.
A pace as if we had suddenly switched from riding a tricycle to an internal combustion engine vehicle.
"Piel, look at this. Even though the soldiers are freely using their mana muscles for the march, they're not hungry at all."
"It's thanks to Piel feeding them heartily day and night. Our 4th Army kids have also stopped being feeble lately, and their training volume has increased more than threefold compared to before."
"Major Piel, do you intend to deal with the Ancient Tree monsters the same way as last time?"
"Yes. However, I plan to use firepower a bit more efficiently. We wasted too many shells last time."
That was all because the knights went berserk and lost their minds.
This time, I should have the soldiers hand out one round each so they don't fire recklessly.
Rebecca suddenly raised a conspiracy theory.
"Isn't it suspicious that they scraped up every last Extinguishing Soul Torch they could get, yet couldn't inflict proper damage and just chased them off to the east?"
"Carlton Marquis, are you suggesting the southern subjugation force deliberately did that to push them onto our northeastern region?"
"Those pigs from the south are more than capable of that."
"Hmm...."
Even Hildea couldn't bring herself to refute it and just groaned.
I thought about it too.
'Anyway, they had to secure grapes from the Oltain vineyard region, so they just drove the Ancient Tree Legion across the Baltics River first? And after that, it's none of their business?'
Based on my experience of observing, hearing, and deducing things on the front lines so far....
'That's plausible! They're exactly the kind of bastards who would do that.'
Should I take this positively, thinking that those guys won't get to witness a mortar attack now?
***
As we passed through Rebecca's territory, which was overwhelmingly larger than Hildea's small and charming territory, a thought occurred to me.
"Commander Rebecca, I saw on the way here that your fields are incredibly vast. It seems like the yield would be tremendous."
"Hehe, our Carlton Marquis territory is fertile land that boasts a yield among the top five in the kingdom, after all."
"Then why did you argue with Commander Hildea over a few cows in the past?"
"...Ever since the Ainshuvan Front was established, our food self-sufficiency rate has been in the negative."
"Ah...."
"Without a steady supply purchased by begging and pleading from outside, there would definitely be deaths from starvation among the territory's residents. On top of that, I have to secure rations to maintain the 4th Army's combat power."
Listening to the details, Rebecca's family had been wealthy for generations, more than I expected.
They had abundant iron ore and even large gold and silver mines.
'So that's why she so readily showered me with gold coins.'
"For us, food—just that one thing—was what we sorely lacked. But now Piel is here, right? Since the military supply volume has decreased, the burden on the territory's residents has also greatly lessened, and everyone's faces have brightened. I'm always truly grateful."
"Not at all."
"If you settle down with me, I can repay this debt in a truly spectacular way. For a lifetime."
Rebecca subtly licked her lips.
Hildea cut in with a sharp voice.
"4th Army Commander!"
Being addressed like that meant she was really serious.
"We are about to enter the battlefield. Maintain your tension."
"Tch, fine. Piel, but I've been so curious about that magical device for a while now. Can you show it to me once?"
Rebecca showed interest in my M4A1 assault rifle.
Stock basic weapon. Effective range of 500 to 600 meters.
"It launches projectiles with magical propulsion, right? I heard these things are incredibly expensive and terribly inefficient."
Even in this medieval land, there are magical devices similar to guns.
Their power is worse than a musket, but the price is outrageously expensive. They also fire not with gunpowder but with wind-attribute magic.
So they're only used as toys for great nobles and are never adopted as military weapons.
Not for hunting, but used solely as toys for hitting targets at social gatherings.
'What would happen if a Bow Master fired an assault rifle?'
I can't resist this.
I briefly explained to Rebecca how to handle the firearm.
Now wasn't the time to teach her disassembly and reassembly.
"It's simpler than I thought? The concept that the gas pushing the projectile out returns to automatically load the next projectile is truly amazing."
"Then shall we try zeroing it in?"
"It's fine. I'll just fire a few times and get a feel for it with my eyes."
Rebecca didn't even put her eye to the sight.
With the gun tucked at her side, she fired a few rounds roughly toward the ground.
Tang! Tang! Tang!
"Aha, so that's how it flies. Got it."
"Commander Rebecca? What do you mean, you got it?"
"I've grasped the projectile trajectory, so now I can hit things. Let's see. Shall I try hitting that bird?"
Just then, a large bird flying about 200 meters ahead came into view.
Once again, without putting her eye to the sight, Rebecca pulled the trigger with the gun still tucked at her side.
Tang! Pudeudeuk!
Seeing the bird's head precisely explode through my binoculars, I couldn't close my mouth.
'This is... a Bow Master?'
"Commander Rebecca, can you actually see the bullet's trajectory?"
"Yeah. It's a bit fast, but not so fast that I'd miss it."
To think there's a person right before my eyes who can track a small bullet flying at 880m/s with her naked eyes.
After the knights who could manually operate a 60mm mortar without a fire control system and hit targets, I thought nothing would surprise me anymore....
"I'll entrust the operation of that magical device to Commander Rebecca for the time being."
"Really? You're really giving this to me?"
"I'm not giving it to you, I'm entrusting its operation. Since it needs maintenance, use it daily and return it. I'll give you something much better later."
"Something much better? What is it? What is it? My heart's already thumping and fluttering with anticipation."
"I'll tell you when the item arrives. I need to talk to my maternal family as well."
What would happen if you gave a Bow Master a .50 caliber anti-materiel sniper rifle?
My heart is swelling with grandeur.
Just then, Hildea subtly pulled my wrist from beside me.
Our eyes met, and her expression looked somewhat sulky.
'Oh dear, now that I think about it, I've only given my direct superior one machete.'
A ceremonial saber?
It would look cool, but in actual combat, the machete would be overwhelmingly superior.
"Discovered! The Ancient Tree Legion is heading north, going up the river!"
At that moment, a returning scout urgently shouted.
Hildea and Rebecca's expressions changed, and the chattering knights and soldiers also took on the look of soldiers.
"Heading north? Without crossing the river?"
"Yes! It appears that instead of attempting a river crossing, they are just coming straight up the river!"
Before long, I finally saw the Ancient Tree Legion coming up the Baltics River.
The sight of nearly 2,800 individuals, their branches and roots entangled together, floating on the water as a single mass like a giant island was truly menacing and grotesque....
Wait, it looks far fewer than 2,800.
【Identifying target count....】
The Tactical FDA began analyzing the count based on the night vision goggles' observation data.
【Estimated target count: 500~750】
"Commander Hildea-nim, those things are estimated to be at least 500 to 750."
"Only that many? I thought it seemed too few for 2,800."
"Where did the rest go?"
"Isn't it possible the subjugation force properly repelled the Ancient Tree Legion, and the remaining individuals crossed the Baltics River?"
"Aren't they just all distorted from mistakenly using the Extinguishing Soul Torch in the wrong way?"
"The report could have been wrong. No matter how inexperienced, unskilled, and cowardly the southern army is, it's absurd to think they did absolutely no damage while scraping together Extinguishing Soul Torches."
"I think the southern pigs are capable of performing any kind of miracle, though."
Hope-version Hildea, cynicism-version Rebecca.
Before taking anyone's side, for now....
"Let's deal with those things first. Prepare the guns, starting from the ready gunners!"
"Prepare the guns!"
The 80 knights took their positions simultaneously, mortars at the ready.
The preparations to fire were complete in less than 3 seconds.
It's incredibly fast when you use Mana Muscle knights as gunners.
"We need to conserve the magical device mortar shells, so fire 1 round each!"
"Fire 1 round each!"
"Starting from the ready gunners, 1 round, fire!"
"Fire!"
Pong. Pong. Pong. Pong. Pong. Pong.
Kwagwagwang! Kwareureung! Kuuung!
The 80 mortar shells refreshingly fell onto the heads of the things floating on the water.
The ones caught in the explosions writhed in pain, yet intertwined themselves even more tightly.
The soldiers witnessing the volley fire for the first time were trembling, their faces pale as sheets.
As expected, a satisfying reaction.
I observed Rebecca's face.
She was also watching the Ancient Tree Legion, which was desperately trying to regroup, with a slightly flushed and excited expression as if quite surprised.
"Astonishing. To be so accurate at this distance, and with such destructive power.... This is something combat mages can't do at all."
Hildea, sticking close to my side, shrugged her shoulders.
"This is the Marshall family's mightiest anti-Ancient Tree Legion magical device weapon."
"...."
I'm sorry, Hildea.
The 60mm mortar has been loved by the US military for ages because of its cost-effectiveness, but at the same time, it's also the most fragile weapon....
"Major Piel! It seems the creatures sustained heavy damage from that attack and are in confusion, so what about charging right now?"
"It's dangerous because they're on the river. Let's pour on a few more rounds of fire before closing in."
"No, didn't you say one shell is worth 250kg of flour? Is there really a need to spread that much flour into the empty air just for our safety?"
"We conserve and save supplies. And it is soldiers' lives that are the most precious resource. They don't even compare to flour."
"...."
"...."
"Now, I will conduct one more volley. Everyone, to your positions."
"To your positions!"
I had the soldiers distribute one more shell to each gun.
Rebecca, standing next to me, watched intently before asking.
"Piel. Wouldn't the damage be greater if you made those shells explode above the enemy's heads?"
"Oh, that's a very good question."
To think of the damage spread concept of an airburst.
Indeed, a Bow Master.
"This has a kill radius of 10 to 15 meters. If we could make it detonate 10 meters above their heads, the damage would be much greater."
"And we could save shells too."
"Yes, but the proximity fuze that makes that possible... anyway, there's a type with that function, but it's rather expensive. It's more effective to just keep firing these basic explosive shells."
Rebecca held up her rifle to me.
"Couldn't I just use this magical device to precisely hit and detonate it at a designated altitude?"
"That might... be possible. You could hit it. Yes."
Shooting a falling mortar shell with a carbine rifle to hit it?
A Bow Master who can even see flying bullets might just be capable of it.
"It still won't detonate. The mortar shell magical device is extremely stable. It won't explode even if you throw it into a fire."
"Really?"
"Yes, it only detonates when the fuze on the shell nose receives a direct frontal impact. Even if Rebecca-nim perfectly hits the fuze, it won't explode. Because you've hit it from the side, not the front."
An airburst. The idea was truly good.
So, feeling good about it, I explained to Rebecca why it wouldn't work.
"May I give it a try?"
"Of course. I'd love to see the art of precisely hitting a cannon shell myself."
Rebecca took up a firing stance.
I pointed at the Ancient Tree Legion, hundreds of meters away and squirming as they moved towards us, and shouted.
"Volley fire, 1 round each!"
***
From 80 mortars, the fin-tailed magical device shells vigorously soared up.
The trajectory of the shells was clearly visible to Rebecca's eyes.
Where they would fly and where they would fall was accurately drawn in her mind.
For she was a Bow Master who had reached the pinnacle of the bow.
The moment the shells' parabolic arc began to curve downward, Rebecca prepared to fire.
She did not tense up.
With a light heart, as usual, she read the air of the battlefield.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
The trigger was pulled at rapid speed, pouring out bullets in succession.
A total of 10 bullets, sent off with single-round fire.
The parabolic arcs drawn by the 10 copper bullets were precisely rushing towards the parabolic arcs of the targeted mortar shells.
At last, the very first of the flying metal bullets struck the side of a shell's body, emitting a white glow.
In the moment of impact, the kinetic energy of the bullet and the sharply compressed physical penetration power of the Aura were converted into tremendous frictional heat energy.
That force was transformed into high-temperature plasma, igniting the explosive charge inside the mortar shell.
Originally a charge so stable that it burns away without exploding when thrown into fire.
However, the ultra-high-temperature plasma forged from the kinetic energy of the rapidly spinning and bursting Aura and bullet awakened all the destructive power held within the explosive charge, acting in place of the fuze.
Kwagwagwagwang!
Ten airbursts blossomed into brilliant flame storms above the heads of the Ancient Tree Monster Legion.
***
Rebecca, still holding her gun, turns to look at me with a bright smile.
"How's that, Piel? It worked."
"Uh, how did you do that...?"
"If you hit anything hard enough, it's bound to explode. I wrapped the bullet in Aura and guided all the force to burst at the moment of collision."
She broke the stability of the explosive and induced a detonation reaction, substituting the fuze with an Aura bullet?
Okay, I understood that. I accept it.
But how can she fire 10 consecutive shots and hit all of them precisely?
'Does a Bow Master have laser sights mounted on their eyes or something?'