Ch.134[Episode 134] Administrative Defense

“Good heavens…”

“Master! There’s an explosive behind you!”

“Got it!”

The spider tank was rampaging through the Executive branch lobby.

Sir Dominic’s driving skills couldn’t exactly be called exceptional.

However, the spider tank wasn’t called a tank for nothing—even his somewhat clumsy driving skills were enough to maintain momentum in this situation.

Its crude movements appeared almost mechanically murderous, and the awkwardly moving legs of the spider tank evoked a bizarre terror.

Of course, only among the Mountain Bridge Marsh attackers.

For those defending the lobby, such awkward and crude movements didn’t even register.

They only remembered one fact—that Sir Dominic had come to help.

With Sir Dominic’s appearance, the tide of battle in the Executive branch lobby reversed dramatically.

The Mountain Bridge Marsh attackers, who had been flooding in like water through a broken dam, were quickly dealt with once that hole was plugged, and the defenders were able to recover all the way back to just before the first line of defense.

The exhaust pipes attached to the back of Sir Dominic’s tank spewed enormous amounts of steam.

The ear-piercing screech of steam sounded like the cry of a monster.

“Th-that guy uses a sword and shield! That means he has no ranged attack capabilities! There aren’t even any weapons on that metal spider! Don’t be fooled by his bluff!”

Someone from Mountain Bridge Marsh whose brain was still functioning tried to boost the morale of those around him.

However, that effort was in vain.

An arrow that flew from somewhere struck his shoulder.

In a normal dimension, it wouldn’t have been a particularly dangerous spot, but in Gacharland, where you got hit wasn’t what mattered for damage calculation.

[Critical hit! Additional damage and effects activated.]

The Mountain Bridge Marsh orator who had been passionately speaking collapsed with a thud.

“Huh, what?”

“I thought you said he had no ranged attack! Just a sword and shield!”

Even those who had been regaining their composure fell into panic at the sudden arrow.

Where on earth had this arrow come from?

“It’s just as you said, Master. This counts as a normal attack too, I guess!”

Alice, holding a crossbow atop the spider tank, said to Sir Dominic.

That’s right.

Alice was currently treated as part of Sir Dominic’s equipment, and attacks against Alice were considered attacks against Sir Dominic—this was already a confirmed fact.

Sir Dominic suddenly took it a step further.

Conversely, what would happen if Alice attacked?

The result was a great success.

Alice’s attacks were recognized by the system as additional normal attacks from Sir Dominic.

If Alice put in more effort, she could perform combination techniques with Sir Dominic, or perhaps throw projectiles at enemies by exploiting Sir Dominic’s openings.

Sir Dominic shook his head.

Alice was still learning various things, and she hadn’t had enough training yet to learn about combinations or supporting fire.

For now, she could only use these abilities while riding the spider tank or airship, and only when her safety was relatively secured.

Perhaps if Alice grew more…

“Sir Dominic!”

Before Sir Dominic could delve deeper into his thoughts, Unryu Hime’s warning broke his contemplation.

A kunai flying from behind Sir Dominic pierced through a Mountain Bridge Marsh minion who was falling from the sky with a sword.

The minion died on the spot.

“Focus, Sir Dominic! What are you thinking about?”

Hime shouted as she entered the lobby.

In her left hand, she was gripping Leonardo by the collar—it would be more accurate to say she was dragging him rather than carrying him.

“I’m sorry!”

Sir Dominic bowed his head to Hime, expressing both apology and gratitude.

Then he moved the spider tank again to completely block the entrance and released all the steam that had built up in the engine at once.

Screech! The sound of boiling water.

It was just an ordinary steam release sound, but to the Mountain Bridge Marsh minions who were already frightened by Sir Dominic’s appearance, it sounded like the cry of a monster spider.

“…We need to run.”

One of the minions said.

“…We need to run.”

The minion next to him echoed.

A rapid decline in morale.

In truth, this would have happened even without Sir Dominic’s appearance.

The Mountain Bridge Marsh attackers had simply been continuing their offensive based on their numerical advantage.

Some had even unleashed Mountain Bridge Marsh’s forbidden powers.

The problem was that they believed they would be able to occupy the Executive branch quickly, so they hadn’t been supplied properly due to budget cuts.

The Mountain Bridge Marsh minions had been fighting since morning without eating, dying and reviving repeatedly.

Even if physical fatigue could be relieved through resurrection, mental fatigue would inevitably accumulate to extreme levels.

The only thing that had kept their spirits up until now was the hope that they could break through the Executive branch lobby, but even that hope had been completely crushed when they were stopped at the second line of defense.

Even without Sir Dominic, complaints would certainly have erupted from various places.

In such a situation, Sir Dominic’s timely appearance turned all their efforts to nothing, causing the Mountain Bridge Marsh minions to completely lose their minds.

“We need to run!”

“Frustration builds a man! We will rise again from this setback!”

The chain reaction of morale decline that started this way soon spread throughout the entire Mountain Bridge Marsh army.

The Mountain Bridge Marsh forces were scattering like sand.

…

“What a rabble.”

Someone frowned from a vantage point overlooking the Executive branch.

The strangely beautiful man who had been wearing a bathrobe until just moments ago was now dressed in royal attire.

“Nothing’s working. Why? Was I short on money? Do I need to spend more? Or was I just unlucky?”

The man started to get angry little by little, until he could no longer contain his rage and threw a bottle of alcohol.

The bottle flew in a straight line, hit the wall with a crash, and exploded.

“Money? I poured in a record amount! Spending? I selected only the best and even succeeded in cloning them! Luck? Who could be luckier than me!”

The man hissed as he caught his breath.

All he wanted was to obtain Sir Dominic.

Why was the world interfering with him so much?

A very arrogant thought.

But for a man who had always gotten everything he wanted until now, it was a natural thought.

“No, no.”

The man’s expression changed.

The corners of his mouth curled up as his anger suddenly dissipated.

“This is all General Joseph’s fault. If she had done well, there wouldn’t have been any problems. After her defeat, everything snowballed.”

An astonishing level of self-justification.

The man in royal attire smiled brightly as if he had never been angry.

“If I had taken action directly, things wouldn’t have gotten this complicated. Hmm. Yes. I suppose I’m a little at fault too.”

“From now on, I’ll have to move according to my plan… Release it.”

Behind the man in royal attire, someone dressed in black had appeared at some point.

The man gave orders to the person in black and then took out a new bottle of alcohol and gulped it down.

Thinking that this time would be different.

…

“Good heavens.”

Senator Muscleman, who had just finished recovering, witnessed an incredible scene as soon as he left the recovery room.

The enemy offensive receding like the tide with Sir Dominic’s appearance.

And the minions scattering like sand in a disorganized state.

Sir Dominic had merely arrived at the right time, but Senator Muscleman felt that his thoughts about Sir Dominic were correct as he looked at him.

Sir Dominic is the hope of tanks—that thought.

That’s when it happened.

With a slicing sound, the heads of several fleeing minions fell off.

Had a Mountain Bridge Marsh executive executed them as an example to prevent retreat?

No, the Mountain Bridge Marsh executives were the first to flee, and their heads had fallen off as well.

For a moment, silence descended upon the battlefield.

Sir Dominic looked around, questioning the unnaturally quiet battlefield.

“That person is…!”

And finally, Sir Dominic was able to find the one who had silenced the battlefield.

“…How is he here…?”

Sir Dominic muttered in disbelief.

It was someone he knew.

Surely that person should have been trapped forever as a raid boss.

Sir Dominic looked with an incredulous expression at the one who had invaded the battlefield.

“Have you been waiting for me?”

Magnificent armor.

Large wings.

A great sword that anyone could see was powerful.

But completely at odds with all of that—a double-folded chin and an enormous belly.

It was Trom, former close-combat dealer union member, current raid boss.

[The attacking side has determined there is no more hope and has played their hidden card!]

[The attacking side is deploying mass-produced secret weapon, codename Trom, as a boss!]

[If the boss is defeated, the attacking side has promised to acknowledge defeat and provide compensation.]

The system confirmed it just in case anyone thought it might be fake.

That person was indeed Trom.

“How…”

Sir Dominic muttered.

Trom’s appearance was that unexpected and shocking.

“Of course it is a deal, my lord.”

Trom was still intoxicated with power, using Mountain Bridge Marsh grammar.

“I became boss but to Mountain Bridge Marsh, have rights. So I help.”

The grammar was a mess, but what Trom wanted to say was simple.

Although he had become someone who wasn’t even treated as human due to the central system’s sanctions, the debt that Mountain Bridge Marsh already held remained the same, so he had appeared to repay that debt.

Having finished what he wanted to say, Trom pointed the tip of his greatsword at Sir Dominic.

“You! Because of you my life is broken. Take responsibility!”

With a flap, Trom’s enormous wings spread, and his body soared.

His gaze fixed on Sir Dominic as if he would fly at him at any moment.