52. The Great Forest's Counterattack (2)
Was it unnecessary gossip he'd heard from Count Boltain? Nancy's harsh past somehow stuck in his mind. But after hearing her voice light up just moments ago, Wayne felt a surge of pride swell in his chest.
Wayne gazed steadily at Nancy's Stormtrooper racing ahead at full speed.
'Yeah, no need for needless worry. She's done great so far...'
Wayne decided to simply trust her. The slave girl from her past was nowhere to be seen now. Today, she was the ace of Wayne's squad.
'More importantly, this is weird...'
Wayne eyed the three monster corpses sprawled on the ground. Known to humans as B-grade monsters, Tagus. These beasts, with bodies like lions and heads like pelicans, never traveled together except during their brief mating season. They prized their territory above all else—once grown, they claimed their own domain and never left it.
Yet here they were, outside their territory. And three adults together at that? Unease gnawing at him, Wayne popped open the hatch of his Predator and unleashed his Red Aura toward the Great Forest.
The Red Aura blanketed the surrounding Great Forest in an instant. And there—he could see it: monsters of all sizes slowly migrating out of the forest.
'Farther...!'
Running low on Red Aura, Wayne poured in his regular Odd to boost the output, narrowing the direction to extend the range. His detection now spanned over 10 kilometers. But unlike Red Aura, dumping this much regular Odd wouldn't last long. He had to scan quickly.
That was when he shifted his detection range sideways.
'Huh? That's an A-grade monster, Baru!'
A python-like beast with no equal around here. Yet it had strayed far from its territory—heading away from the Great Forest, no less.
'No! It's being chased by something!'
This was no good. An A-grade monster driven from its own turf meant lower-grade beasts were being pushed out in waves, spilling beyond the forest.
Wayne's face grew grave as he reeled in his Odd.
'What the hell is going on in there?'
He'd have to go in and see for himself. There were monsters he needed to hunt, too.
As Wayne shouldered his massive flanged mace and stared into the Great Forest—
"Three B-grades!"
"Whoa, jackpot! The bonus pay's gonna be sweet."
Soldiers and work Gigants poured out from Patton Outpost, eyes gleaming. To them, fresh kills looked like gold coins. The riskier the hunt, the fatter the payout.
Curtis's squad Gigant approached.
Wayne headed for Patton Outpost with the dwarves.
"Whoa! Yond, that monster was huge! But not pretty at all!"
"Right! First time something that big isn't beautiful!"
The young dwarf trio, fresh into the outpost, critiqued their first monster sighting.
Clank! Hiss!
As Wayne's Predator halted in the center of the training yard, soldiers handling Gigant maintenance and mechanics swarmed it. Wayne dismounted.
"Welcome back, Young Lord Wayne!"
The massive Blaster approached and bowed his head.
"Blaster, long time no see."
"You look well—good to see."
"Brock, come say hi!"
Wayne called over Brock and the dwarves. Brock and Blaster introduced themselves, then it was the young dwarves' turn.
"Whoa! That's not a human arm!"
"Bigger than a dwarf!"
"No, bigger than an orc warrior?"
At two meters tall, rippling with muscle the size of an orc, Blaster left the dwarves gawking like they'd seen a giant.
"But his strength must be weak, right?"
Ajul, confident in his own power, stepped forward.
"I'm Ajul, shaker of trees! Let's arm-wrestle!"
"What?"
Blaster blinked in surprise. These small kids thrusting out hands for arm-wrestling left him at a loss.
Wayne chuckled. "Blaster, show 'em human strength."
"Yes, sir."
With Wayne's go-ahead, Blaster gripped Ajul's hand. Ajul pushed first—but his opponent didn't budge.
"My turn?"
Blaster applied the slightest pressure. Ajul's face flushed red.
"Gah! Valhalla!"
Blaster released, and Ajul shook his hand, grimacing in agony.
"He has a giant's strength!"
"What? That strong?"
Barak asked in shock.
"I swear, even your mother Cecil couldn't beat him!"
"No way! A big, strong human!"
"Ooh! Valhalla!"
As the dwarves fawned over Blaster's power, Wayne surveyed the outpost.
'The north outer wall's collapsed?'
Some massive monster had ripped out an entire section of the barrier. Yet no repairs—what was going on? The soldiers looked utterly exhausted, too.
"Captain Wayne!"
"Hey! Jamie."
A familiar face ran up, brightening Wayne's expression.
"That excavator Gigant you designed? Perfect. Top-notch!"
"Haha! The blueprint you sketched made it easy."
Honestly, Wayne had no drawing talent—just rough doodles—but Jamie grasped the principles and built flawlessly.
"Huh? Isn't that Count Boltain's Predator?"
"Yep."
"How'd you end up piloting it, young lord?"
"He gifted it to me."
"A gift?"
"Long story—I'll fill you in later."
Jamie looked like a kid eyeing treasure.
"So I get to maintain it from now on?"
"Has to be you. You're the head mechanic for Wayne's squad."
"Whoa! Maintaining a 2nd-class Gigant...!"
"But what happened to the outpost wall? No repairs?"
"Don't ask. Monsters swarm day and night—no time for Gigant maintenance, let alone walls. It's been four days."
No time even for outpost repairs? Things were dire.
"How've you held out? I said fall back if it got risky."
"Like you saw earlier. Without Grint Outpost's backup, we'd have retreated to the rear fortress or Westline Wall ages ago."
Wayne glanced east at the hill. There went one 2nd-class Gigant and five 3rd-class ones heading to their outpost.
'Not bad people. Gotta thank 'em later.'
Wayne moved to head into the command office. But then—
"Wait, where's my Artemis?"
"Ah! She's out hunting monsters at Lorenne Outpost right now."
"What? Someone's piloting Artemis?"
Artemis was a freakish Gigant with four legs and four arms. A failed design—no other pilot could move and fight at once.
"Not like you, shifting while attacking, but she hunts in her own unique style. She'll swing by soon—watch for yourself."
"Got it."
Wayne tilted his head curiously. Just then, Curtis returned.
"Captain, head inside. Mountains of reports."
Wayne got a full briefing from Curtis on outpost operations.
"600,000 gold right now?"
"Yes, sir! That's just cashed-in. Warehouse is stacked with unsold monster byproducts, too. Plus three B-grades today."
Profits exceeded expectations. Enough to forget gold worries for a while.
"Good thing you came. Nancy, Loren, and us—we've been holding this place, barely shitting bricks to stay alive. Whew!"
Curtis shuddered, revealing the ordeal.
"You did great. But what now? I gotta head to Dresden Territory soon."
"Pardon? Oh! Leaving the dwarves and Steel Golems in our place, right? Yeah, four golems extra—we could hold another two, three months."
"Nah, they're coming with me."
"What?"
Curtis blinked in shock. Wayne planned to hit Dresden Territory, raid the Lava Cave, activate the Valhalla Gate with the dwarves first, lead them all out, mine Stormtroopers and Martias, then shift his territory.
And hand Stormtroopers to Sera, Glen, and Mark, who'd trained hard on Odd Holes for the past month.
"Taking you too."
"Me? Then what about Patton Outpost?"
"Heard rumors from Westline Fortress on the way. Monster numbers spiking outside the Great Forest, grades climbing too. Seeing this place confirms it."
"You mean we retreat?"
"Yeah. Big wave's coming soon, my guess."
"Big wave?!"
Curtis paled. He knew it well—the monster tide from ten years ago. Waves crashing like oceans. It took half the Barantia Empire's Gigants, including rare imperial and grand territory forces, to barely hold.
"That's bad! Most empire Gigants are on the Estel front now!"
"Exactly—could get ugly. We retreat, prep hard."
"Ah! Still sucks, though."
Curtis grimaced bitterly. After fighting tooth and nail to hold it, abandoning the outpost stung. But Wayne wouldn't risk valuable men to the looming threat.
Back in Dresden, he'd recruit Curtis's old comrades and Sailon Occupation Zone's wounded pilots to his barren territory. Time to build an army for his new land.
"And you switch to a 3rd-class Gigant. I'll expand your Odd Hole en route."
"For real?!"
"Yeah. Sera, Glen, Mark are ready for 3rd-class already."
"Already?!"
"Glen can fight three hours straight."
"Glen?!"
Curtis looked stunned.
"No special talent, meh Odd sense—but five years grinding breaths despite knowing it was futile. Grew twice as fast as you guys."
"Ah!"
Curtis nodded. "Yeah, that's Glen. Stubborn diligence incarnate."
"Your turn to catch up. Double the effort?"
"Damn right. Won't lose to Glen."
Fire lit in Curtis's eyes. Stuck on squad Gigants while others advanced—he'd grind harder.
"Me and the dwarves hit the Great Forest tomorrow. You and Jamie prep withdrawal."
"In this mess?!"
"Yeah. Might not get another shot. Gotta hunt a specific one."
Curtis didn't get it, but Wayne always had reasons. He nodded.
"Captain! Lady Alicia and Sir Bowga are here."
Lorenne Outpost's fight wrapped; word of Wayne spread everyone swarming in.