“Today, I have something to tell you all. It concerns something that could affect the very survival of our nation, so please listen carefully. Now, Lord Lionel, if you please.”
Unlike the usual start of the academy day, the teacher had a serious expression and brought in a young man in knight uniform. To say it concerns the survival of the nation is quite an exaggeration.
“This is Lionel Wells, Senior Knight. Some of you with keen ears may have already heard, but please listen to the end.”
If he didn’t have a cheat sheet in his hand, it would be perfect.
“It has been reported that Black Ant Monsters have been discovered in Mount Faon.”
“!”
“No way!”
“In the north… where!?”
Black Ant Monsters, troublesome Monsters. If the scale is large, they could indeed become a national crisis.
“Listen quietly. Lord Lionel, please continue.”
The teacher urged the students, who had suddenly become noisy, to be quiet. It can’t be helped that the students are shaken by the name of a Monster that appears even in history lessons.
“We have requested the Adventurer’s Guild to pinpoint the exact location, but based on eyewitness accounts, it is close to either Sombres Territory or Ignas Territory. There is a possibility it is within either territory.”
Northern territories. Both are territories that possess vast plains at the foot of the mountain range, and are regions where wheat cultivation is thriving.
“The Black Ant Monsters’ rank is A at the highest, and C at the weakest. Even the C-rank ones are covered in hard carapace all over their bodies, making them like facing a warrior in metal armor. B-rank and A-rank Black Ant Monsters are covered in even harder carapace, and the effectiveness of attack magic is reduced. In terms of danger as a group, they range from A to S rank. They are numerous, after all.”
Indeed. But the troublesome points are not just that.
“There have been eyewitness accounts in each territory, and it has been confirmed that they are not false. Therefore, our Knights Order will also be dispatched for defense and extermination of the Monsters. However, this time we must enter the mountain range, and since the location of the Black Ant Monsters’ nest has not been identified, we must deploy over a wide area.”
Since they still don’t know where they are, the Knights Order probably can’t specify a place to set up formation here. Moreover, investigating the mountain range puts a heavy burden on the Adventurers as well.
“Therefore, the country is gathering forces. To put it bluntly, I am here to ask for participation in the Knights Order.”
The students began to murmur again at Lord Lionel’s words.
“Of course, it is not compulsory! But we want as much fighting power as possible, and if that is not possible, financial support is also acceptable. We are aware that many forces are dormant in your residences.”
He’s probably talking about the Escort Knights and soldiers hired in their own territory or the Royal Capital that are stationed in each residence. Certainly, if they could gather them all, it would be a considerable number.
“We need to grasp the number of people who will be dispatched in order to prepare logistics. We don’t have much time, but we want you to decide by the morning of the day after tomorrow. Detailed notices will be sent to each residence, but if the head of the family or a higher-ranking person is absent, you will have to make the decision after all, so we decided to inform you at the academy first. As children of nobles, as those who protect the country, please think carefully and come to a conclusion.”
With that said, Lord Lionel’s speech ended. Some of the teachers seem to have already been decided to go to the north, and today’s classes will be canceled.
“Cladfield.”
“Young Lady, you mustn’t.”
“Why not! Is it because you’re my escort!?”
“It’s not that, but please refrain from careless remarks. I’ll explain in detail at the mansion.”
“I… mgu!”
“Please be quiet.”
It’s disrespectful, but I hurriedly covered Young Lady’s mouth.
Our Young Lady has a high desire for combat and a sense of justice. So I knew she would say she would go, but if other nobles heard that, she would ‘absolutely’ have to go.
As an escort, it is dangerous to have someone with a high probability of dying go.
“I’m going.”
““““No way.””””
“…I knew I would be opposed. But what kind of Baron House person would I be if I didn’t stand up in a national crisis!”
“Still, you can’t go.”
Perhaps because I forcibly silenced her by covering her mouth, we returned to the mansion without appeasing the Young Lady, who had been sulking the whole time.
It seemed that a notice had already arrived, and Mr. Volks and the others had grasped the situation, so they opposed her together.
“I have honed my swordsmanship and learned magic for times like these!”
“Lady Arianna, I understand your point. But no matter what you say this time, I will not give permission.”
“Do I need your permission!”
I knew it, but the Young Lady wouldn’t back down at all.
But unfortunately, it would be a problem if the Young Lady went out. The damage to the surrounding escorts would be greater than to the Young Lady, though.
“I have combat experience with Black Ant Monsters. That’s why I’m telling you, Young Lady. If you care about the country, you must not go to the front lines.”
Those guys are really troublesome.
“What do you mean?”
“You’d be a hindrance.”
“What did you say!?”
“If Young Lady’s weapons were hammers or maces, I wouldn’t say it so harshly. But this time, the compatibility is too bad. Rapiers, or rather, thrusting weapons, cannot inflict effective attacks on those guys.”
“It’ll be deflected by the carapace, right? I can aim for the joints!”
“I know, but even if you stab the joints, they won’t stop. Rather, stabbing the weapon creates an opening. They have four arms, after all.”
“Ugh…”
Black Ant Monsters are ant Monsters that walk on two legs, about 1.5 to 2 meters tall.
Their main attack methods are claws and fangs, and they don’t use magic, but some individuals spit Formic Acid.
“If you fight with a rapier or sword, you must be prepared to counterattack unless you cut off their head in one blow. Moreover, even if you cut off their head, they will move for a while. They will randomly swing their arms and attack those around them, so you must cut them from behind.”
“Ugh…”
They are called people, but they are not humanoid Monsters, but insect-type Monsters. And since they are Monsters, their vitality is naturally high, so the time they can move after being beheaded is longer than that of insects.
“In a one-on-one fight, even a B-rank warrior-class could defeat them. But this time, there are many of them, and it’s likely to become a melee. Young Lady’s skills are not high enough to reliably take the opponent’s life in such a situation.”
“If it’s one-on-one, can even I do it?”
“You probably can’t handle the A-rank Royal Guard-class, but you can handle the ones below that. Young Lady, you’ve improved quite a bit recently.”
The A-rank Royal Guards hardly ever come out of the nest, though.
“Then, can’t I be a fighting force too!”
“The opponents are the type of Monsters that naturally swarm, right? How are you going to make it a one-on-one fight? Also, Young Lady doesn’t have enough stamina to fight continuously in the first place.”
“Gunu…”
Young Lady is well-trained, but she doesn’t have enough stamina to keep fighting Monsters continuously.
I had pointed this out before, so my words brought back a bitter expression.
“And, the troublesome points about those guys aren’t just their numbers, vitality, and carapace.”
This is a hardship that only those who have actually fought them know.
“Is that so? They don’t use weapons or anything, right?”
“They’re just bugs, after all.”
Their hands are claws, so they can’t hold small objects. They can carry large objects if they hug them.
“The troublesome thing about those guys is that you can’t tell them apart.”
“Can’t tell them apart?”
“The most common soldier-class is C-rank, the next strongest warrior-class is B-rank, the Royal Guard-class is A-rank, and the Queen Ant… the materials and Magic Stone are A-rank, but the strength is B-rank. Honestly, you can’t tell them apart except for the Queen Ant, who looks completely different.”
There are other Black Ant Monsters in the nest with different roles, but they are excluded because they look and are as strong as the soldier-class.
The Queen Ant is especially large and has a distinctive abdomen, so you can definitely tell. But other than that, there isn’t that much of a difference.
“If you attack thinking it’s a soldier-class, it turns out to be a Royal Guard-class, and the attack doesn’t work at all. So you have to attack thinking they’re all Royal Guard-class. That’s why you always have to attack strongly, which is tiring. In the first place, even the C-rank soldier-class has a fairly hard carapace, and there are many of them, so you end up fighting continuously, and your weapon doesn’t last.”
As I mentioned earlier, the Royal Guard-class are mostly in the back of the nest, so you don’t have to be too careful about them outside. But it’s not like they’re completely absent, so I decided to say it this way on purpose.
“So there’s also the problem of weapons.”
Especially rapiers are thrusting weapons. Young Lady’s has a blade so she can also slash, but it’s thin and unreliable compared to a normal Sword.
Of course, she has a better one than the average, but it’s still weaker compared to a specialized weapon.
“Hammers or maces would be best to crush them,” I said.
“These are human-sized Monsters, you know? You can’t just crush them easily,” Mr. Volks retorted.
“Oh? Ah, right.”
I spoke, but Mr. Volks quickly corrected me; I was thinking based on the village’s standards.
“Well, for these reasons, Young Lady, you must not go. You lack the stamina for continuous battles and can’t wield weapons effectively. You’re not strong enough to fight Royal Guard-class A-rank Monsters. And while we, your guards, are here to protect you, only Mr. Volks and I can fight adequately. The other members will be injured or killed and gradually drop out. And if there’s a noble lady like you, everyone around will feel compelled to protect you, whether they want to or not. That’s what I meant by saying I’d be a burden.”
“…I see, so it’s no good after all,” Lady Arianna said, sounding a bit disheartened, perhaps convinced by my persuasion.
“The words of an experienced person carry weight. If Lady Arianna were to go and cause trouble for the country, it would reflect poorly on Cybarossa House. Please refrain from going,” Mr. Volks added, bowing deeply. Bringing up the family name here is a bit underhanded.
“Understood. I’ll give up this time.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Volks replied.
When it comes to training, practice, and battles, she keeps her word. Lady Martha, who was also present, and I were relieved to hear her say that directly.
“If I can’t go, then either we lend out other forces or provide financial support. As for funds…” Lady Arianna said, glancing at Lady Martha. Well, there’s no way the Young Lady would be in charge of that.
“I have sufficient funds for maintaining the mansion and for emergencies, but I’m not entrusted with amounts needed for a national crisis,” Lady Martha replied, shaking her head. I don’t know how much money is needed, but it seems it’s beyond the amount Lady Martha can handle.
“Then lending out forces is the only option.”
“In that case, the only ones we can send from our side are Claffy, who has experience, and me, in terms of skill. I’d like to get Master’s permission, but there’s no time,” Mr. Volks said.
“What about you, Mr. Volks?” Lady Arianna asked.
“I know. I don’t want to deal with A-rank opponents either. Even B-rank continuous battles are a pain. Well, I’ll just have to play it smart, right? Sending anyone else would just be sending them to their deaths, wouldn’t it?”
Mr. Volks can’t handle Royal Guard-class opponents either. I was about to say that, but it seems he knows it himself.
“Even for Volks, it’s tough?” Lady Arianna asked.
“He has more stamina than Lady Arianna, though,” Lady Martha added.
“Then at least let’s go look at weapons. I’ve met a good craftsman since coming to the Royal Capital, so I’ll introduce you,” Lady Arianna offered.
Mr. Volks’s weapon isn’t bad, but this time we need something with excellent durability. I’d like to prepare one if possible.
“Ah, that would be helpful,” Mr. Volks said.
“I see. Can we afford it from our budget?” Lady Arianna asked.
“I don’t know the market price for weapons, but I think it should be fine as long as we don’t choose anything too expensive,” Lady Martha replied.
“The dagger I bought the other day was 150,000. A sword would be… maybe five times that much at most?” I asked.
“That much should be no problem,” Lady Martha said.
“I want to use it regularly, so I’ll pay for it myself. But I don’t have enough money on hand, so please lend it to me,” Mr. Volks requested.
“Understood. Then should I send a letter to Father? It would take two weeks to reach the territory. I suppose it will have to be post-approval for Father,” Lady Arianna said.
The transport of letters is handled by the shared Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild. They must be extremely busy right now.
“Even hiring a griffon rider would take five days round trip. There’s no way to contact Father,” Lady Arianna said, looking anxious.
“If I may say so, it’s fortunate that our house is a rural Baron House. If we were of a higher rank, they wouldn’t be satisfied with just two soldiers, and the payment would be tens of millions,” Mr. Volks said.
“Mr. Volks?” Lady Martha asked.
“Oops, my apologies,” Mr. Volks replied.
The exchange between Mr. Volks and Lady Martha lightened the mood a little.
This is my second time dealing with Black Ant. When they appeared near the village, the entire village had to deal with them, and it took a lot of time.
And although the name is different, that kind of Monster outbreak also happened during my time in the Unified Space Force. It was a relatively common mission.
Depending on the location and situation, if the enemy doesn’t have air power, we use air strikes. If they do have air power, we eliminate them first and then use air strikes.
After clearing the area around the Nest with air strikes, magic missile units and sniper units take out any remaining enemies on the ground and those emerging from the Nest.
Once the number of additional enemies from the Nest decreases, assault units enter to investigate and annihilate the inside of the Nest.
After the inside is completely cleared, we conduct an internal investigation to recover anything that could be used as resources. Underground resources were always useful, so if their production volume was high, the Nest would be transformed into a mining base.
If it’s not turned into a base and the resources have been recovered, then comes the final touch. To prevent it from becoming another Monster Nest or turning into a Dungeon, it’s detonated from the inside.