Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Swamp Trap
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The Fabirang Union had to match its pace to the ground forces—even with spiral wings that ignored terrain and flew freely—specifically, the buzzsaw tanks weaving crooked paths through the jungle, dodging trees.
Thus, expedition leader Basen Rak Orzan had plenty of time to scout and evaluate potential battle sites.
Basen wasn't considering just hills.
Given the Fabirang Union's line of advance, he had identified more than five viable hills for combat.
Even so, the risk he deemed dangerous wasn't the spiral wings, against which they'd already claimed one victory, but the buzzsaw tanks.
Basen was searching for a swamp.
Jungle terrain was generally humid, dotted with short streams and ponds. Among them were swamps where aquatic plants layered thick and wet earth sank deep.
No need for the storybook swamps that swallow a man up to his head. Ankle-deep is plenty.
Of course, according to the Pangolians, there were swamps of unfathomable depth that even Rakshasa couldn't escape once trapped. But Basen's strategy had no use for such extremes.
The mud could be firm enough that humans wouldn't sink.
Better yet, the bottom needed to be solid enough to masquerade as ordinary brush or bare earth.
Basen had even ordered his adventurers to camouflage the swampy areas, making them resemble normal fields.
Let the buzzsaw tanks handle the sinking.
Dozens of paces ahead, the buzzsaw tanks were plunging into the quagmire.
Their wheels spun uselessly, flinging mud backward onto the Fabirang Union's Oguri troops as the vicious rotations slowed, until one by one, they ground to a halt.
Perfect.
On a grand scale, the Fabirang Union's strategy wasn't bad.
Send spiral wings first to scout or harass the enemy, then follow with the main ground force to strike.
But overconfident in their technology and tactics, the Fabirang Union lacked flexibility. They responded mechanically.
The Oguri infantry panicked, shoving desperately to free the buzzsaw tanks.
But the tanks, firmly mired, wouldn't budge.
Now their feet are stuck in the swamp, and they're covered in muck to boot.
Basen drew his sword.
"Fire!"
At his command, the gunners' muzzles erupted in unison.
A few shots sparked off the front of the buzzsaw tanks, but just as many Oguri clustered beside them crumpled in heaps.
Basen judged shooting to suppress them fully as inefficient.
"Charge!"
His order echoed in affirmations.
"Charge, sir!"
"Charge!"
While the Oguri flailed in confusion, unable to loose their javelins or arrows properly, the distance closed in moments.
The infantry, spearheaded by Pangolians, thrust their short spears at the Oguri.
As the tide turned, the Oguri turned tail and fled in an instant.
Basen shouted.
"We must recover the spiral wings from the jungle! If we let them retrieve them and ambush us in the process, it'll be trouble—don't let them escape!"
Pantheon, Conference Room 1.
Krampus spoke up.
"Nebula, got a whisper?"
"From who?"
"That guy we're dealing with now. Aldi."
"Let's connect."
Player 'RD' was the nickname visible on the player list after contacting the Fabirang Union.
Krampus pushed the video chat window forward for all to see.
Runda said.
"How about the cafeteria instead of here?"
Krampus turned to her.
"Move spots? Why?"
"Wouldn't it look more serious? Sitting here in the conference room like this, we just look like college kids listening to a Halloween lecture."
The video chat connected.
Seong-un spoke upon seeing the silhouette on screen.
"Doesn't seem necessary."
The other side, RD, said.
"Who's the boss here?"
Runda burst out laughing, Krampus bowed his head, and Jangwan sat calmly, though his shoulders shook.
Runda muttered mid-laugh.
"Wings-folded yellow bird... Heh. Too, too cute..."
Seong-un's lips curved under his mask too, but Wisdom seemed utterly unamused.
Thus, only Wisdom spoke without a hint of laughter.
"Shouldn't the one initiating introduce himself first? Aldi."
RD struck a grave expression.
But it was impossible.
RD's player avatar was a rubber duck toy.
The kind designed to float on bathwater for kids who hate baths—a yellow duckling rubber toy perfect for a bathtub corner.
"I'm player Aldi, leading the Fabirang Union."
Seong-un thought.
Duck-Oguri, rubberpunk, and now a rubber duck toy. Deep into the concept.
"...Isn't that rude to a stranger?"
"Oh, slipped out. Sorry. Meant to just think it."
"Looks like teasing from every angle, buddy."
The rubber duck's beak twitched.
"Anyway... the reason I'm reaching out like this is..."
"Reason?"
"For a conditional surrender."
Seong-un replied.
"Not all that surprising. But conditional?"
"First... can you rein in the guys laughing behind you?"
Before Seong-un could respond, Runda, Krampus, and Jangwan shot up and exited. Runda's laughter echoed, clutching her stomach, until she left the room.
Wisdom pointed at RD's face.
"Smart strategy. Making others laugh with your looks. If this weren't a group short on laughs usually, we'd have let it slide."
"What's that one saying?"
"Never mind. Skip it. ...Any other conditions?"
RD said.
"Stop attacking."
"Wasn't it surrender?"
"Means no more attacks from us. If you come at us again, we'll give you a thrashing."
Seong-un said.
"Haven't you shown all your cards? What's with the confidence?"
"You've shown yours. Don't you get it? My glorious rubber technology civilization? My civ has rarer value and more progress than any other."
Seong-un thought.
Bluff? Or real?
Either seemed plausible.
The sloppiness RD and the Fabirang Union displayed was enough to underestimate them.
But maintaining a force in the New World and enslaving native Rakshasa meant they were decently off.
Above all, they hadn't gone all out.
They hadn't revealed divine power.
Of course, a god of any real scale had no need to burn faith resources on a skirmish of three thousand.
...Same for us. Doesn't matter either way?
Truthfully, it wasn't important to Seong-un.
At least for now, there was no reason to attack RD.
We've recovered all the spiral wings we need. Strip their mobility, and conquering the fourth continent won't be hard.
A massive foe like a dragon remained, but the rewards trailing it made the risk worthwhile.
Thus, Seong-un would have taken steps to halt escalation if needed. If RD truly trusted this talk and held his troops, it was all upside for Seong-un.
Seong-un glanced at Wisdom, who showed no objections.
Seong-un said.
"Fine. As you say."
"Obviously. Trespass my turf, and you're done for. Got it?"
Seong-un minimized the video chat without replying.
Thinking it closed, RD muttered.
"Phew, survived."
"..."
"Huh, what? Still on?"
Seong-un closed the video chat.
Seong-un and Wisdom exchanged a brief look.
Seong-un considered mocking RD but decided to discuss operational plans instead.
Wisdom seemed to agree.
A few days later, not far south of Siol.
The plan to cripple mobility was straightforward.
Using some sixty spiral wings to cross the skies and land inside Mobility's walls.
These sixty—or seventy, including small-bodied races like Pangolians—had the special mission of halting Mobility.
Interrogations of captured nearby Rakshasa tribes revealed a separate "control room" inside Mobility for steering it, staffed by high-ranking Rakshasa chosen by the Great Ashurada.
Seize that room, stop Mobility, then assist the main force's boarding from here on. That was the goal.
Then Basen would lead the boarded main force, slay the Great Ashurada, and fully seize Mobility as the final objective.
The Rakshasa inside Mobility lived in luxury, partying daily—so ordinary noise blended in, and the Great Ashurada rarely emerged from his chambers for minor disturbances.
Basen, making final unit checks, spotted a familiar figure aboard one spiral wing.
"Mazdari?"
Garuda mage Mazdari replied.
"Plan looked shaky somewhere. Felt good to tag along, so I swapped with another squad member. Tweaked it a bit too."
Basen said worriedly.
"But the weight..."
Mazdari shook his head.
"You don't know, Lizardman. Our kind originally flew the skies. Lighter than we look."
Basen recalled the ancient Garuda legend of flying on back wings.
"Then no issue. Keep up."
At the order, rubber engines were mounted to each spiral wing.
Basen released the friction rubber from his cockpit; the elastic uncoiled slowly at first, then the central blades whirred furiously.
The spiral wing lifted into the air.
Practiced dozens of times, but still doesn't feel natural.
Every flight filled Basen with a strange thrill.
Because we weren't meant to fly? Or because our kind once did long ago?
Basen's musings didn't last.
Dozens of man-made vehicles underfoot was a rare sight.
Utterly different from aiming rifles from afar against enemies.
Feels like we've become a flock of birds.
Basen figured it matched a real flock's sensation.
He glanced toward Mazdari.
Too distant to see clearly, but Basen suspected reasons beyond mere help.
Cursed by an old god, forbidden to fly again? But curses mean nothing now.
At dusk, the spiral wings took to the skies.
The sneak attack on Mobility began.