22. The Baroness (2)
Two days inside the goblin cave had felt endlessly long to the other squad members, but to Wayne and Captain Jamie, it was far too short.
Wayne had grown quite accustomed to Karian's second-stage Odd breathing technique, so he kept pushing his limits, gradually increasing his breathing speed to circulate Odd through his body as quickly as possible. Only once that circulation speed crossed a certain threshold could he advance to the third stage—and he resented every moment wasted on meals.
"Squad leader, take a look at this. Ta-da!"
"Huh? Jamie, why is this here?"
Wayne asked in surprise. It was only natural; next to the neatly repaired quadruped Gigant stood an additional 3rd-class Gigant from Dresden Territory.
"We found one of our territory's Gigants here with its limbs torn off. I couldn't just leave it, so I scrounged up similar parts and assembled it as best I could. Besides, we don't have enough Gigants to haul all this loot anyway."
Jamie beamed.
"Whoa! You aren't planning to take all this, are you?"
"Yep!"
Wayne was stunned again. The parts Jamie had set aside formed a five-meter-high mound.
"No way! I said pick only the essentials."
To Wayne's eyes, it all looked like junk. He was keeping a Gigant for himself, so anything not immediately necessary could be left behind.
"This is after staying up all night sorting through it. Everything here's in good enough shape to sell on the used market right away. We have to take it all."
Jamie pleaded earnestly.
"But how do we even transport it?"
"The goblins left plenty of netting. We'll weave it into a big cargo net, load the parts inside, and drag it with the Gigants."
"We're short on Gigant pilots, too."
"Riding a 3rd-class Gigant into combat is tough, but if you infuse it with your Odd, young lord, I can handle hauling cargo. One of the Lorenne squad members can ride my maintenance Gigant."
Wayne had been infusing his Odd into Nancy, Lorenne, and even Captain Jamie whenever he had spare time, helping all three grow their Odd reserves.
Curtis Mueller chimed in. "Squad leader, just give it a shot. We're only a day from Westline Fortress. Worst case, we sell it off at the market there."
"Tch! Fine. Let's at least move it outside the cave."
Wayne couldn't break Jamie's stubbornness. In truth, she had even more unexamined parts she'd wanted a few extra days to dig through, but Wayne had refused, citing a tight schedule.
"Wait— who's piloting this quadruped Gigant?"
Everyone looked at Wayne.
"Me, huh..."
With four legs and a height of eight meters, maneuvering it would demand a massive amount of Odd—and so far, only Wayne could handle that.
Wayne grimaced as he climbed aboard the quadruped Gigant. Before the hatch sealed, he wondered if he'd see another monster illusion. Every time he piloted a new Gigant, visions from the Great Forest appeared. The maintenance Gigant had shown him a gorilla monster; the five-meter one, a scarf lizard. And now...
Hiss! Thud!
'Peeking into a monster's memories is kinda addictive.'
Sure enough, as soon as he settled in, Great Forest illusions overlaid his vision.
'What the— so that's why it has eight limbs!'
From the brief glimpse, Wayne understood the monster whose nervous system powered this Gigant: a giant spider beast, Tarantula! An B-rank colossal monster with insane jumping power and eight legs. In the Great Forest, even two or three 3rd-class Gigants wouldn't stand a chance against it.
Wayne's pupils dilated at the vision.
'If I play this right, I might control all eight limbs!'
To anyone else, it would be a defective pile of scrap. But with Wayne inside, sharing fragments of the spider monster's memories and instincts, the awkwardness faded—he could move all eight limbs. If he mastered it, he could wield four weapons at once, and with four legs for propulsion, its speed would outpace standard Gigants. Wayne couldn't even predict its full potential.
In short, to him, it wasn't trash—it was treasure!
'For now, let's get used to moving like a spider.'
[Westline]
Wayne hadn't expected such a massive, endless wall at the edge of the barren lands. He'd heard of it, but imagined just a long castle or fortress. Yet the Westline wall stretched beyond sight. Atop it loomed countless heavy cannons, mounted on rails for swift repositioning of guns and shells.
They hadn't even reached the Great Forest, but already Wayne sensed the terror it instilled in humanity.
"This is Westline, the final defense line against the Great Forest."
Jamie, seeing it for the first time, was mesmerized by everything.
Curtis, who had served here for two years, explained, "If this falls, the empire's done for—lights out. But that's unlikely. There are major territory fortresses ahead, plus over a hundred outposts."
"A hundred? That many outposts?"
"Of course. Major territories have ten or more each, and even mid-to-small ones have at least one or two. Mercenary bands set up shop for a cut, and non-human races have their own outposts scattered everywhere."
The Great Forest was the empire's most dangerous frontier—but also its most economically vibrant, drawing people and other races seeking fortune.
Wayne's group stacked their massive haul and waited near the Westline Fortress entrance.
"Young lord, you must be exhausted after coming all this way."
Wayne grinned at the approaching man. "Blaster, long time no see."
He was Wayne's guardian knight, Blaster.
"An honor to meet you, Sir Blaster."
"Likewise, Sir Curtis."
"The honor is ours."
Sera and the squad members approached to greet him. The younger ones didn't know him, but Curtis and the veterans respected the mighty knight who had saved their lord—strong even without a Gigant.
"Blaster, what about that favor I asked?"
"I secured experts to dismantle and process monster corpses. Just pay them in gold, and they'll come running."
"And a suitable outpost for us?"
"Haven't found one yet."
The squad members overhearing looked shocked.
"Squad leader! Weren't we heading to Enok Fortress?"
"No! We'd have to hand over seventy percent to the territory."
'Plus, every detail would go straight to Adam.'
Curtis looked baffled. "So... where are we going now?"
Wayne turned back to Blaster. "Nowhere suitable at all?"
"Quite the opposite. There are too many options."
"What?"
Wayne didn't catch on immediately. Blaster elaborated.
"A few days ago, major territories pulled forces from the Great Forest to the Estel Kingdom front. They can't strip garrison fortresses, so they abandoned a few forward outposts and redeployed those troops. With major outposts vanishing from the front, smaller territories are panicking—pulling back to major fortresses or consolidating their own outposts."
"Pulling troops from the Great Forest? Is that even safe?"
"Beats me."
Picking the wrong outpost could leave them exposed like a nail waiting to be hammered—or isolated and surrounded. Wayne unrolled maps with the squad but hesitated to decide. He knew the Great Forest depths better than anyone, but here, human territories and non-human races tangled in complex politics—caution was key.
Then one outpost caught his eye.
'This could kill two birds with one stone.'
[Lorenne Outpost]
"Hurry! We don't know when the monsters will swarm again!"
Soldiers hammered stakes and erected palisades nonstop around the outpost. A prior major battle had collapsed the front barrier, surrounded by bug monster corpses.
"Lady Alicia, we can't hold much longer."
"What are you saying?"
"Patton Outpost to the south withdrew yesterday. No nearby outposts left—monsters are funneling straight here. So..."
"So retreat? Abandon the soldiers who entered the Great Forest?"
"No, they're already..."
Mech pilot Nevil trailed off.
"No. They're alive. If we retreat, they lose their way back."
"But we have no Gigants..."
"Monsters! Incoming!"
Nevil fell silent as a comms soldier rushed in shouting.
"Lady Alicia! Ferox herd approaching from the front!"
Nevil paled. "Ugh! A Ferox herd—the worst."
Ferox: monstrous boars three meters long, two tons heavy, with brutal three-horned foreheads for charging and razor fangs for devouring anything. D-rank beasts. Normally a boon for their tough horns and hides—but with the outpost's main force hunting in the Great Forest, the remaining troops couldn't handle them.
"Sir Nevil, pull soldiers inside and assemble every mobile Gigant."
Alicia issued calm orders without panic. She was the outpost's hope; if she broke, it was over.
Alicia's four-meter priest Gigant and six three-meter work Gigants, armed with swords and axes, stood before the ruined barrier. Nevil's 3rd-class Gigant had lost both legs in the last fight, so he commanded riflemen from atop the wall.
Rumble! Thud-thud-thud!
"They're coming!"
"Monsters incoming!"
A ferocious quake heralded twelve Ferox bursting into view. Wall-top musketeers blanched at the count.
"Gasp! So many!"
"Can we stop them?"
"Fuck, if not, we're all dead."
They awaited Alicia's signal. Over 1,300 territory soldiers garrisoned here—a rout meant slaughter.
"Kwaaagh!"
"Kueeeek!"
Boom-boom-boom!
The boar horrors charged the outpost, smashing stakes and palisades. Meant to slow, not stop—the slight delay was success enough.
[Everyone, hold!]
Ferox closed in, but Alicia withheld fire. One cleared obstacles and breached the barrier.
[Now! Fire!]
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang-bang!
Muskets roared in unison.
"Kuek!"
Dozens of bullets peppered it, but barely pierced thick hide. One hit the eye socket, jerking its head.
Alicia seized the moment.
Whirr! Thud! Thud! Slash!
Her sword plunged into the boar monster's nape.
"Kueeeek!"
It thrashed dying. As Alicia yanked her blade free and shouted,
[Attack it!]
three-meter Gigants rushed in, stabbing and hacking the fallen beast.
Then a massive boar charged Alicia from behind.
Her Gigant reversed grip on the sword hilt, slamming it into the beast's forehead.
Boom!
The blade embedded; it collapsed. Its horns were 1.5 meters, her Gigant's sword three.
Stuck retrieving it,
[Axe!]
Soldiers dashed up with a massive axe. Meantime, small Gigants finished the downed one and advanced.
Boom!
"Kraaak!"
A three-meter Gigant took a horn to the gut, belly torn open. These weren't hunting machines—work Gigants for processing dead monsters, outmatched by D-rank foes.
"Kueee!"
The Ferox shook its head, flinging the Gigant. Alicia's closed in, axe cleaving its neck mercilessly.
[Keep firing!]
Wall gunners peppered charging boars—not to kill, but to slow.
Boom!
A raging boar slammed the barrier.
"Argh!"
Two riflemen tumbled down. It gored and trampled them. Naked humans were fragile.
But.
"Block them!"
"Waaah! Charge!"
Fourteen men hefted an eight-meter sharpened log. One wouldn't faze it, but over ten? The Ferox hesitated. Another ten logs advanced from the flank; two more paused.
Enough for Alicia.
[Raaah!]
Crack!
Axe bit a thigh; it fell. Small Gigants swarmed with axes and blades.
[Everyone, push!]
Alicia fought at the fore.
Boom!
"Argh!"
"Kraaak!"
Log-bearers screamed—a boar had sideswiped them. As Alicia's Gigant turned,
"Kwaaak!"
Thud-thud-thud!
A meter-larger, bulkier alpha boar charged her.
Her Gigant spun, swinging the axe.
Boom! Thoom!
It tumbled three rolls. The impact dazed Alicia. The alpha had hung back, now lunging.
"Kueeeek!"
Its roar rallied the herd; seven more breached. Despair loomed.
As the alpha pawed for a charge,
Boom!
The outpost's rear gate shattered.
"What?"
"Another monster?"
Soldiers wailed in despair.
"G-Gigant!"
A Gigant emerged from behind.
[Talk about perfect timing!]
The five-meter Gigant roared forward.
Whoosh! Shing!
A razor blade magically ejected from one wrist.