novelraw Chapter 158: It’s all about collecting flags
Chapter 158: It’s all about collecting flags
Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.“Shoot more arrows! Javelin too! Hurry!”
“Wooooh!”
“Hit it!”
“Good, grab that rope! Tie it to the tree over there!”
Soldiers are busily moving about, firing their bows at the black snake, throwing javelins, or throwing ropes with hooks.
Jan loudly shouted his commands, and at times, he was busy stabbing and slashing with a long spear. Two days have passed since we departed, and we are now in the middle of the hunt for the Black Viper.
After departing from the Magistrate’s residence, we camped for a night along the way. The next day, we made our way to the area where sightings of the beast had been reported, and found the Black Viper coiled up and asleep in a slightly open area. We were then quick to deploy and went straight into battle.
For the first two hours of the battle, the Black Viper was raging and thrashing about, but over time, as javelins and hooked ropes were thrown and fastened to trees, they had gradually restricted its movements.No, really, it was really rampaging in the beginning and soldiers kept getting blown away by its tail, it was quite a challenge. If things had continued like that, the damage would have been greater than expected, so some changes were made to the original plan.
Arisa and a few soldiers would retrieve anybody seriously injured, while Kuro, Lily, and I treated them, and as soon as we were done, they would immediately return to the fight. It ended up being a very hard battle.
Our role went like this, if the injury was minor, Kuro or I would wash the wound, apply medicine, then bandage it. For those with more serious injuries, Lily would use healing magic, and for those with severe injuries, they would use potions from the supplies that they brought.
Fortunately, if I should call it that, no one was so seriously injured that their lives were at risk, and by the looks of it, the subjugation was going to be a success. I got a bit worried when I first saw a bunch of soldiers being sent flying through the air, I started to think, ‘wouldn’t it be better to bring out the magic armor?’
“Good! Knights, approach with your polearms, and finish it off!”
While I was thinking about such things, it sounded like the Black Viper had become tightly restrained. Several heavily armored knights, including Jan, approached with long spears, poleaxes, halberds, and other such weapons in hand. Without our involvement, the operation to exterminate the Black Viper seemed to be reaching its final stage.
“Somehow, it seems like it’s going to end without any incident.”
“Ren, if you say something like that, it’ll just cause trouble.”
“That’s right~, it’s called a flag~.”
A ‘Flag’… Could it really have been someone reincarnated from the past who left behind those words?
“Well, if that happens, Lily can use her magic…”
“No, isn’t that something Ren will have to take care of? …Actually, on second thought, not Ren. If you were to release your magic armor, it’ll likely cause a lot of problems, and the damage would be quite severe. There’s also my ring that strengthens the effects of magic, if I use that, maybe I could manage it… somehow? …maybe…? Yeah…”
What I’m being told feels kinda rude.
But yes, the magic armor does stand out, so if such a situation did occur, maybe I’ll use the improved, but power reduced, Burst Dagger?
When I first used them against the Frost Giant, the explosion range was much larger than I expected, but since then, I’ve made several new varieties with suppressed explosive power. Of course, the original explosive power can still be used in an emergency.
Still I did hold back when I made that… or at least I thought I did. Considering the explosive power from the earliest type of Burst Dagger, I wonder how much damage it would cause if it were an All Attribute Magic Sword that would explode.
Well, that’s how it is, with the new model prioritizing ease of use and reduced destructive power, it would possibly take down an enemy by blowing off just the head, I think.
While I was talking with Lily and them, the Knights managed to cut off the Black Viper’s head. Fast, huh? … Arisa, who was watching the fight while chatting with us, said they were swinging their weapons down without any restraint, hitting the ground with loud BANG! BANG! sounds. Eh, scary…
Anyways, without collecting any flags, the Black Viper subjugation operation ended successfully, but we’ve still got some clean up to do after the battle.
Even though the fighting was over, soldiers were busy running around, collecting weapons that had been knocked away, or clearing ropes that had been tied here and there.
Some of the faster runners ran ahead to report to the Lord. Also, they usually would need to bring more manpower to help collect the Black Viper’s body, which would have been a lot of work, but since I have a large capacity magic bag (which is actually me using Storage), the efforts in collecting and transporting it had been greatly reduced.
When I listened to the talks of their operation, it all seemed rather difficult, so after checking with Lily, I decided to help with the retrieval.
By the way, when Jan heard about the magic bag, he started looking very covetous. Well, no one asked me to give it to them though. If it’s a large capacity magic bag, the selling price would be astronomical…
I mean, it is a useful item, so I can understand why people look at me like that… Apparently, it’s a lot of work to transport the collected taxes. Hmm, soldiers and high-ranking officials alike have it tough.
Well, we’re still busy treating the injured, so it’s pretty hard work…
After cleaning up to some extent, we set up our tents and camped here for the night. No surprise, after such a big catch, nobody has the strength left to travel long distances.
The soldiers were too exhausted to cook their own meals, but since we weren’t too tired, we decided to cook for everyone. Rather… It was Kuro who first made the suggestion. ‘We still have energy left, so let’s make some food for everyone!’ she said.
Eeeh, seriously?
No, we’ll have to make a lot because of how many people are here, isn’t this going to be a lot of work?
Well, what’s been decided can’t be helped. The soldiers brought with them plenty of supplies… So we decided to make a large amount of stew.
… After the meal was over, even Kuro, who first suggested it, was slumped over, exhausted, and looking as if she wished she’d never suggested such a thing.
Then at night, everyone slept in their own tents.
I also restrained myself and used a homemade tent. Carriage? As expected, I didn’t use it in order to match the marching speed. First off, the Black Viper’s habitat was predicted to be in the mountains. In addition, we were in charge of cooking, therefore we didn’t have to take part in the night watch. Thank you.
So I’m lounging around inside my tent, thinking about various things. I’m using a camping mattress that I had made so that my body doesn’t get cold. I made it well enough so that it had excellent insulation. Incidentally, I also lent the same thing to Lily, Arisa, and Kuro.
So, I’m thinking about some ideas for improving weapons.
It occurred to me while watching the Black Viper subjugation. Today, I was considering using a Burst Dagger if necessary. Actually, I had created it as a last resort.
Originally, I was training my blacksmithing with the goal of making projectile weapons for my [Sword Control Magic], and this is the resulting projectile sword, or at least the blade part. But due to the various powerful enchantments attached to it, it can no longer be so easily thrown away. After firing them out in great numbers, if someone were to pick one up… Thinking about that, I can only imagine all sorts of terrifying things.
You would think it would be fine if I just didn’t attach any effects, but that’s still not the case, as the quality of the swords used as materials are all of the highest grade, ‘Supreme Sword’. This is also something that I can’t just throw away.
Its penetration power is guaranteed. However, they’re supposed to be disposable bullet replacements, and if they’re scattered around carelessly, future repercussions are guaranteed to be quite frightening.
So my idea was reversed, and the Burst Dagger was created, making it disposable rather than retrievable. By releasing the magic that is attached to it, the dagger would explode and shatter into pieces, preventing someone from picking it up and reusing it later.
Even though I had lowered the effects of the initial Burst Dagger, there was still a problem in its explosive power being higher than expected, and I ended up improving it by reducing its explosive power in order to make it easier to use. But the improved version hasn’t been used in combat, so I don’t know what the results will be.
By the way, the visual collection range of [Storage] is approximately 50 meters, though if it’s something that I own, I can store it at a distance of up to 200 meters, if I try hard, but I have to be able to see it with my eyes, and for some reason, it makes me feel strangely tired.
Incidentally, seriously firing a sword using [Sword Control Magic], even using the shortest estimate, it would still fly a distance far beyond 200 meters, so at maximum range, it would be impossible to retrieve. The actual range has been proven to some extent when I was using the Burst Daggers against the Frost Giant.
I’ve talked about a lot of things, but the problem was that it was difficult to retrieve any sword bullets after firing them, so if I could just find a way to recover them, it would actually be usable in combat.
Then, I came up with the idea, ‘Why not just connect them with string?’
Well, you see, during today’s subjugation, the soldiers were swinging around javelins and hooks with rope attached, if they missed or didn’t catch, they’d pull the rope to retrieve it and throw it again. So in the same way, I’d use rope or string… Or maybe chains would do, so why not make something like that and connect them together? That’s what I thought.
The swords I prepared as ammunition for [Sword Control Magic] were still unfinished blades, so I thought it might be a good idea to attach a strong chain made of magic steel to the eyelet holes in the stalk.
I feel that for a dagger-sized blade for everyday use, steel thread might be sufficient. If I make the chains and steel wire themselves very rigid, they’ll be less likely to get cut by the enemy’s weapon after being dodged, and if they don’t miss, I can just reel them back in right away.
Also, it might be a good idea to make various tips without being limited to just a sword shape. For example, a weight? With that, you could trap your opponent and then use lightning magic to send out an electric shock. You can send out an electric shock when using a dagger though. Either way, it would increase the number of cards I could bring to battle.
Well, I won’t know until I actually try it. Still, there are a few issues… but I guess I’ll just have to make it and see how it goes. Now I just have to secure the time and place to make it… I’d like to sit down somewhere and make it calmly, but I could also just make it while travelling in the carriage. I might not be able to relax if Lily gets involved, but in that case, I can just throw her into the driver’s seat.
Mhm, the ideas have come together rather nicely. Good, good.
So is this the next thing I’ll make? I’ve got a few other ideas in mind to create, but I don’t have the materials for that yet, so I’ll deal with it later.
Also, I think I’ll try making something I had in mind for Mina, or rather, Anna? I’ll have to be up early in the morning to travel again, maybe I can make it tomorrow while we’re camping. Considering the materials being used, this one should be easy to make. I think it’ll be fine.
Now that that’s decided, it’s time to go to bed. Good Night~.
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