The blown-up earth and rock fragments, and the broken trees.
A Mountain Boar with a gigantic body was approaching Lalan, the First Settlement.
“At that speed… it will reach us in less than 30 minutes.”
“W-We don’t have the power to stop that giant! Evacuate immediately—!”
It wasn’t clear whether the Mountain Boar was heading straight for them, but it probably wasn’t more than 10km away.
The camera position of the Multi-legged Tank climbing the rocky mountain was about 15m above the ground.
The visible range from that height was approximately 18km. Even taking into account the obscured view due to the trees, the fact that the camera was capturing it meant it was definitely within that range.
“Evacuating is difficult… Detecting a moving object ahead. Size, over 10m, under 20m. Probably a Hidden Player.”
Battles with Shadow Players were still ongoing around the village.
Abandoning the village’s defenses and retreating would expose them directly to that threat.
And, as if to add insult to injury, a Hidden Player was approaching.
“What…! Damn, did I make the wrong decision…!”
“It’s impossible to predict this situation with just the prior information. There’s no point in regretting it.”
For a while, the Hidden Players wouldn’t come here.
That was the assumption under which they chose to hunt Shadow Players, but they should have abandoned the village and evacuated before the Hidden Player arrived.
But, could anyone have predicted with limited information that a Mountain Boar would appear from behind, and the Hidden Player, driven by it, would approach?
＜Cosmos＞ calmly judged that it was impossible.
“At worst, we could hold off the Hidden Player while you escape, but…”
“We can’t do that… If we’re safe and something happens to you, we won’t be able to show our faces in the daytime. In the worst case, the defense force will take the rear guard…!”
Well, if they had pride as the defense force, that’s how it would be.
Dissector=Cosmos nodded at the words of the defense officer and returned her gaze to the monitoring screen.
“I appreciate the sentiment. But first, we need to eliminate the threat in front of us. If we can somehow deal with the Hidden Player, there might be a chance to retreat.”
“…That’s right. If we can somehow hold it down and concentrate the attack with those who can use Pierce attribute, we might not be able to defeat it, but we might be able to scare it.”
However, they couldn’t ignore the Shadow Players that were still attacking.
Of the three Multi-legged Tanks, two were assigned to the Hidden Player, and the remaining one and the Communicator Doll were to hold off the Shadow Players.
Also, among the hunters who used bows, about five could imbue their arrows with the Pierce attribute.
Although it wasn’t that powerful, it was said to have much higher penetration performance compared to normal arrows.
The aim was to pierce or weaken the Hidden Player’s Magic Barrier with this Pierce attribute attack.
And the remaining hunters were to continue repelling the Shadow Players.
“There isn’t much time. We’ll hold out to the end, but I want you to be prepared for the worst.”
“…Ah, I understand! Messenger, tell the front lines! And, I’ll personally command those with Pierce, someone guide me!”
The defense officer gave those instructions and rushed out of the command post.
Dissector flipped down the head-mounted display that had been pushed up on her forehead with a click.
She herself was going to participate in the interception battle with an anti-materiel rifle.
In the end, Dissector=Cosmos’s assumed worst-case scenario and the Lalan defense officer’s assumed worst-case scenario remained misaligned, and each took their posts.
The defense officer held a tragic resolve.
＜Cosmos＞ began transmitting environmental data for support artillery fire to the Strategic AI ＜Elemulus＞ installed in the Gigantia.
In case they couldn’t hold it back with the current forces, they would carry out a cross-border attack with ultra-long-range artillery fire.
◇◇◇◇
Two Multi-legged Tanks (Hoppers) lined up behind the wall.
To intercept the Hidden Player that was steadily approaching.
The Multi-legged Tank positioned on the rocky mountain in the rear was securing the field of vision.
Hidden Players, due to their insect characteristics, do not emit heat with their camouflage patterns and move silently, making them very difficult to spot.
Since they normally don’t move at all, it’s understandable that they can’t be found.
However, they were currently moving at a considerable speed due to the pressure from behind.
No, for them, it might be a full-speed escape.
Although it was difficult to see, the performance of the information processing device installed in the Multi-legged Tank could easily capture its outline.
The moving Hidden Player was completely within the surveillance range.
After a while, the Hidden Player peeked its head out from the top of the wall.
Its appearance was a mantis in every way. However, its size was extraordinary. It was more than 100 times larger than a normal mantis.
The Multi-legged Tank raised its club in its hand as a threat.
The long striking weapon, ＜Smasher＞, which was prepared for the Multi-legged Tank’s physical attacks, was 3m long.
The Hidden Player recognized this as an attack action, or so it seemed, as it climbed over the wall and approached the Multi-legged Tank.
The Multi-legged Tank swung down the raised club (Smasher) at the monster approaching carelessly.
At the starting point of the movement, the club was grabbed by one of the scythes (・) that extended in an instant.
The mantis’s scythes are not for cutting. The protrusions on the inside of the curve are for fixing prey so that it cannot escape.
The moment the club was grabbed, the other Multi-legged Tank reacted.
Aiming the Railgun on the upper turret, it fired.
The Cannon Shell that flew out at 5,000 m/s hit the Hidden Player directly.
Light scattered.
The Magic Barrier deployed on the surface of the Hidden Player’s body completely blocked the Cannon Shell.
The metal warhead, colliding with an indestructible obstacle, converted its kinetic energy into heat, scattering into fragments while glowing white.
The Hidden Player staggered from the impact of the Cannon Shell.
But, conversely, that was all.
The Hidden Player diffused the kinetic energy of the Cannon Shell through the joints of its entire body, and turned its inorganic head towards the Multi-legged Tank that had attacked it.
As expected, Magic Barriers and physical Cannon Shells were very incompatible.
The pressure generated was only for a brief moment when the Cannon Shell made contact, and it was not suitable for barrier攻略, which required continuous impact pressure.
It would be good to continuously hit multiple Cannon Shells in succession, but currently, they did not have the necessary forces.
But, there were local residents here who used magic.
“Release!”
Under the command, the hunters with Pierce fired their magic.
With a whoosh, arrows wrapped in Magical Power cut through the air.
Sensing something, the Hidden Player tried to move its body.
But, here, the Multi-legged Tank, which had stopped moving by grabbing the club (Smasher), applied pressure.
The high-performance motor embedded in the legs roared.
It looked smaller than the Hidden Player, but it was still a lump of metal. The total weight far exceeded the slender monster it faced.
As a result of being prevented from avoiding or repelling by the power of the Multi-legged Tank, the Hidden Player received five arrows undefended in its abdomen.
The arrows with the Pierce attribute emitted light as if to pierce the Magic Barrier upon contact.
However, as they said it wasn’t very strong, they lost their power without piercing through.
Even so, the arrows had firmly fulfilled their role.
The main Cannon Shell, fired again without a gap, pierced the Magic Barrier and hit directly.
However, the threat of monsters was not just the Magic Barrier.
In the first place, the strength of their body tissue was also extraordinary.
The Cannon Shell, hammered into the joints of the abdomen and chest, could not penetrate its carapace.
Even so, the impact of the Cannon Shell hitting directly was firmly transmitted.
The Hidden Player, which defended against the Cannon Shell while leaving a wound on its body surface, flinched at the fact that it had been wounded in the first place.
With its left scythe (・) still grabbing the club, it leaned its body back with a jerk.
Compared to the Multi-legged Tank, it looked far more delicate, but the physical strength it displayed exceeded expectations.
The Multi-legged Tank was dragged, scraping along the ground.