Chapter 338: Peru's Moving Castle
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 338: Peru's Moving Castle
As morning dawned, the full horror of the previous day’s battle was laid bare. The vast plains were littered with the scars of combat: bloodstains, piles of ash, and gruesome, gouged-out pits. The land, etched with countless wounds, was not just hideous but pitiful to behold.
Amidst it all, however, the Dholes were merrily looting the corpses.
Not just the vehicles, but every weapon and tool on the bodies was a valuable asset. Dholes who had fled the battle now swarmed back to claim the inheritance left behind by the Winged Assault Squad and their fallen comrades.
In this festival of the dead, the Dholes filled their bellies. The only reason new corpses weren't piling up was thanks to the camp chief, who was strictly maintaining order.
“You there! Make sure you properly bury the corpse you stripped!”
A Dhole who had been about to take the gear and leave the body clicked his tongue.
“Tch, so picky. He’s dead anyway.”
“I won’t ask you to respect the dead. But at least show some respect to your benefactor!”
“Alright, alright. I guess a benefactor is worth digging a hole for.”
While the Dhole grumbled and began to bury the body, the chief let out a deep sigh and approached us.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I wanted to deal with the bodies before Peru-nim left. If we leave them here, the Winged Assault Squad might come back to retrieve them.”
It wasn’t out of camaraderie, of course. The bodies of the Winged Assault Squad were laden with resources the squad needed. He must have feared that the highly mobile unit could stage a raid, grab only the wings and propulsion units, and flee.
However… I glanced at Hilde. She noticed my gaze and gave a broad, easy smile.
“Hehe. What is it, Father?”
“It’s nothing.”
Is it really, though? I thought. That woman killed most of the Winged Assault Squad, didn’t she? And she did it by stealing a comrade’s face, taking to the skies, and assassinating them one by one in mid-air. The Winged Assault Squad scattered and fled not because they were a disorganized rabble, but because they couldn’t tell friend from foe.
What a terrifying ability. It gives me the creeps.
The Regressor asked the camp chief.
“Where is the Witherarch?”
“She is in the camp, unsealing the Juggernaut.”
“Still?”
“She should be finishing up. Follow me.”
The chief left his subordinates to handle the cleanup and headed toward the camp.
With most of the Dholes outside enjoying their windfall, the camp was pleasantly quiet. It was so full of life that it was hard to believe hundreds of people had just died on the land nearby.
It wasn't so strange, really. The Fallen Dominion was a land of wanderers. It was extremely rare for Dholes who parted ways to ever meet again. To them, death was just another form of parting.
As we walked past those gathering their spoils, the chief spoke.
“Since it’s out in the open now, I’ll tell you. Peru-nim is the Witherarch. However, she doesn’t command any particular faction and travels alone.”
“You mean she’s a loner. She did seem a bit like that.”
“…That’s not wrong. There are… certain difficulties in amassing wealth with her abilities.”
Having uttered the uncomfortable truth, the chief added, as if making an excuse.
“But, on the other hand, it’s hard to find a safer Primarch. Look at Fireblastarch Rocket. He and his men go around blowing up money left and right. No matter how much they spend, it’s never enough, so they’re always hunting others. Compared to him, Peru-nim has little interest in money.”
“Because she knows it’ll all disappear one day due to her power?”
“…I haven’t been inside Peru-nim’s mind, so I wouldn’t know about that. In any case, she is a gentle person who dislikes fighting.”
The chief shot me a subtle glare before turning his head to look ahead.
“You may not receive a warm welcome, but there will be no reason for hostility. I hope you get along.”
“Yes, Father. Don’t you worry. We’ll take good care of her.”
“…Excuse me, is this person always this loud?” the chief asked the Regressor, his patience wearing thin.
The Regressor, in turn, asked me.
“What’s your problem?”
“He’s beating around the bush. I was just trying to provoke him into saying what he really thinks instead of acting all proper.”
“That’s what he says.”
“…Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
The chief shook his head and started walking again. We followed him deeper into the camp.
“We’re here. Over there.”
Peru was standing in front of a furnace from which thick white smoke was rising. There was something lonely about the way she tossed broken pieces of metal into it. The chief called out to her.
“Peru-nim. They have arrived.”
Peru turned her head at the sound of his voice. After confirming it was us, she turned back to the furnace and said.
“…A moment. There’s still some left.”
“Understood. I have other duties, so I will take my leave. Be well.”
“…Thank you.”
The chief gave a deep bow and departed. Silence fell. As Peru continued to toss metal into the furnace without a word, the Regressor asked, seemingly frustrated.
“What’s left that you keep throwing things in?”
“…The Wyvern.”
“Wyvern? The animal?”
“…No. Rocket’s weapon.”
Rocket only had one weapon like that. His Juggernaut, the Wyvern. As soon as I realized, the Regressor asked in shock.
“The Juggernaut? You’re saying the Juggernaut is in that furnace?”
“…Yes.”
“I heard only the Golden Lord could work with alchemic steel on that level. What are you?”
“…It’s not alchemy. I can only deconstruct.”
Peru shook her head and tossed the last remaining piece into the furnace. Having swallowed its fill, the furnace shuddered as if it were about to explode.
“…Fireblastarch was going to self-destruct with the Juggernaut. If he had, a precious Juggernaut would have been lost. So I stopped him. I had no intention of saving you.”
“Hmph. You think a little explosion like that would kill me?”
“…That’s not important.”
Shaking her head, Peru turned a lever on the furnace. The lid slanted shut, and through the gap, we could hear a sound like a rough ship’s horn. Between the blasts, Peru’s low voice drifted out.
“…When war breaks out, when the wreckage piles up, the Fallen Dominion grows richer. But many will die. The Dholes, and the soldiers of the Military State.”
“Hmm? I don’t know about that~. I don’t think the Military State is likely to lose to the Fallen Dominion~.”
“…That’s not important either.”
It seemed neither the Regressor nor Hilde understood what Peru was saying.
Their values were so different that they were talking past each other. The Regressor and Hilde were discussing the outcome of the battle, but Peru didn’t care about that. To her, an alchemist, the question of ‘which side’ was irrelevant.
“What’s important to you isn’t victory or defeat, but the total sum of value, right? You’re averse to the losses that would be incurred from any battle or war, aren’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“The mindset of an alchemist. Though I admit, having the value of an entire nation on one side of the scales is a bit unexpected.”
“…They’re not my scales. They belong to the Golden Lord.”
Finally, Peru unleashed her Unique Magic. I flinched, ready to pull back, but thankfully, her power didn’t reach me this time. Her ability to disintegrate matter was focused solely inside the furnace.
Combined with Peru’s power, the furnace began to heat up in the truest sense.
Most furnaces run on mana. Before the advent of alchemy, people used massive fires to melt metal, but that method became obsolete with the development of alchemy and white magic. Now, metal was transmuted with mana itself, or if that was difficult, processed using magically generated flames.
But this Juggernaut, bestowed by the Golden Lord, used Peru’s Unique Magic to heat its furnace. Unique Magic was the act of imposing one’s own rules upon the world. Being unique, it was often incompatible with everything else… but the Golden Lord’s Juggernaut was an Arcane that surpassed even Unique Magic.
Power and heat were extracted from the steel as it was disintegrated by her magic. That energy was then trapped within the Golden Lord’s metal, becoming ever more condensed. Once it passed a certain threshold, it flowed through a complex mechanical system to every part of the Juggernaut.
And then, with a lurch, the furnace began to move.
A stern burst through a mound of dirt. A massive caterpillar track climbed against the cascading earth and sand. Swimming through the sea of soil, the hidden Juggernaut revealed itself.
The furnace was merely one part of this machine. Including the portion buried in the earth, it was several times larger. The Juggernaut, with its streamlined tracks, looked like a colossal ship that used a furnace as its foghorn.
The Juggernaut settled heavily onto the ground. A fence that had the misfortune of being in its path was crushed with a splintering crack, but no one had the mind to care. Before a vehicle whose wheels alone were over three meters tall, a mere fence was less than a pebble in its path.
“…So, I hope you won’t fight.”
Peru walked up onto it. At the top of the boarding stairs, she turned back to look at us.
“…Get on. I’ll guide you.”
There was no reason to refuse. We nodded and silently boarded the Juggernaut.
In the middle of it all, Hilde asked as if she’d just remembered.
“Wait a minute. What about our Cataphract?”
“This one looks way better. Let’s just leave it, shall we?”
“What are you talking about! The Military State’s Cataphract is the most technologically advanced and superior all-terrain vehicle! It’s more economical, quieter, and universally operable by common soldiers than this needlessly large Juggernaut. It’s the very essence of the Military State’s technological prowess!”
“Sorry, Hilde. But once you’ve ridden a Juggernaut… a paltry vehicle like that just won’t cut it anymore.”
“This is why I can’t stand you men! You think bigger and grander is always best! You can’t just abandon your loyal old wife!”
“Before the Cataphract, there was the Azzy Sled. Technically, that was our first ride.”
“Woof! Never again! It’s too hard!”
Azzy shook her head, looking utterly fed up. I suspected she meant it was hard to ensure my safety while I was dangling behind her, rather than the pulling itself being difficult. It looked like riding the Azzy Sled would be tough from now on.
Just then, Peru, who had been listening to our conversation, pointed to the deck and said.
“…Bring it. There’s room to load it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that offer! It’s like you’re bragging that your Juggernaut is so amazing it has more than enough room for my Cataphract!”
“I’m sure it was a pure-hearted offer until you said that yourself, Hilde.”
“That’s why I hate it even more! You might as well just brag about it!”
Why was she being so difficult? Did she hate being compared to the Fallen Dominion? Sigh. It was clear she loved the Military State more than anyone.
Oh, wait.
“Hold on, Hilde. More importantly, where did we park the Cataphract?”
“Well, outside the fence, of course… huh.”
Hilde’s gaze drifted downward. Below the crushed fence, something looked familiar. As did the tragically broken and mangled pieces of familiar machinery that had been sent flying.
That’s one loss for the Military State.