Ch.221Episode 11 – All Quiet on the Northern Front

Before the battle began.

Camilla suggested her plan, saying she had a good idea.

‘What’s this good idea?’

‘Have you seen Civil War?’

Her plan was simple.

Immobilize the monster’s movements and bring in all available firepower to bombard it.

‘A monster that big must be very heavy. If its lower body is attacked, it will definitely fall. So why don’t we attack the legs to knock it down, then beat it up?’

‘Easier said than done. Wasn’t Civil War about a person? People have two legs, but that thing is a spider. It has multiple legs—do you really think attacking it will knock it over?’

‘But it’s worth trying, isn’t it?’

‘Yes, well, let’s say it is. So where are you going to get the firepower to blast this monster? We don’t have combat mages here, and the main guns aren’t making a dent.’

‘We do have something.’

Indeed, we did.

‘We have artillery. Artillery.’

The characteristic of artillery is that it’s an indirect fire weapon.

Typically, firearms like rifles and machine guns are classified as direct fire weapons because they hit targets through direct aiming. Therefore, the shooter must be able to visually identify the target, and nothing should obstruct the line of fire.

But artillery is different.

Whether there are mountains or buildings nearby, artillery can project firepower regardless of obstacles. The fact that our military, with most of its territory being mountainous, possesses large-scale artillery firepower proves this.

And the northern part of the Kiyen Empire has many mountain ranges, and the imperial forces operating in the north also possessed tremendous artillery.

‘The spider will be hard to hit with artillery when it’s moving. But if we can just immobilize it, wouldn’t they hit it even with their eyes closed?’

‘And immobilizing it is our job, right?’

‘Yes.’

It was a foolish idea.

The fog is thick, visibility is poor, making it difficult to operate observation teams in this weather. We won’t even have the help of observation teams that would serve as the eyes and ears for the artillery.

In other words, Camilla is suggesting that we crawl into the middle of a bombardment to fight. And not just jumping into artillery fire, but actually guiding firepower right above our heads.

‘That’s a crazy idea. If they aim even slightly wrong, we’ll obviously be turned into mush.’

‘So, do you have any other ideas?’

‘…No.’

‘Then we have to do it.’

I reluctantly accepted Camilla’s proposal.

The units defending the rift calculated the coordinates of the defense line and transmitted them to adjacent units, and the divisions and corps that received the coordinates deployed their guns and poured in all their firepower.

In the end, we did it.

Episode 11 – All Quiet on the Northern Front

The imperial army mobilized all its artillery assets and poured in firepower.

The target was the giant spider at the defense line. Operating artillery without observation assets to guide the fire and conduct Battle Damage Assessment is a difficult decision, but this was an exception.

The imperial army literally scraped together everything they had, down to their souls.

Even before the battle began, all artillery units under the corps and divisions had completed their deployment, and as soon as the order came down, they fired their shells in unison. From mortars to towed artillery, self-propelled guns, and even heavy artillery—every type of gun the imperial army operated was mobilized.

The shells fired like that fell on the defense line.

Watching the dirt and snow spray up in all directions as they exploded, one could easily guess that these were high-explosive shells.

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped from Camilla’s lips.

The bombardment covering one side of the snow-covered mountain surrounding the basin was truly a spectacular sight.

“If we had stayed there, we wouldn’t even have found our bodies.”

“You’re just realizing that now?”

“I didn’t know it would be this intense.”

“That’s something to be proud of.”

I collapsed onto the snow, breathing heavily.

Carrying two people plus a radio, escaping from the trenches had left me with no strength.

The experience of crawling through zigzagging communication trenches dug by the imperial army while shells were falling overhead was not something I could honestly call pleasant.

If this unit hadn’t prepared quickly according to their field manual, I would have been caught in the bombardment without a chance.

“Oh God, I’m dying.”

I took Camilla and Francesca and found shelter. After communicating with the imperial army on the radio I had managed to bring along in the chaos, we crawled across the snow and barely found a position.

“What did they say?”

“They’re throwing everything at it—corps artillery, division artillery, mortars, and even the stray dogs walking by.”

Camilla’s gaze turned toward the defense line where the artillery fire was pouring down.

Amid the large and small bombardments, one explosion that was on a different scale erupted with a BOOM!

“What’s that?”

“Heavy artillery.”

In a place without an air force to provide air strikes or nuclear bombs to erase cities from maps, artillery is the best firepower a regular army can employ.

Of course, there are things like missiles and rockets, but since the aviation-related technology needed to develop such things hasn’t advanced much, most missiles and rockets remain at a primitive stage.

If they had such technology, they would have retired the battleships piled up in the ports and built aircraft carriers instead.

In this part of the world, even flying a hot air balloon would bring the Inquisition running to cause trouble, so there’s no helping it.

So the imperial army has brought in the best firepower they can mobilize.

All to kill just that one spider.

Looking at the massive explosions sweeping across the area, I turned my gaze to Francesca.

“Can you recover the golems?”

“Hmm… I’m afraid that would be difficult. I didn’t realize bombs were such merciless things.”

Francesca had deployed golems to catch the spider. While it’s clear that everyone worked together, if Francesca’s golems hadn’t held the spider in place, it wouldn’t have been hit by the bombardment.

The golems held the spider to block its movement until just before the artillery fire fell, and were caught in the bombardment along with the spider. With the imperial corps and division artillery in motion, recovering the golems intact was clearly impossible.

However, Francesca didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, three golems to kill one monster is a bargain. To catch a spider that destroyed tanks, this much is needed for the cost-benefit to make sense, right? Fortunately, I kept one in reserve.”

Francesca stroked the arm of a golem.

A golem that wasn’t used to hold the spider was standing guard beside her. It was her last remaining golem, the one she had kept until the end.

“But I’ll have to claim compensation. Those are still private property.”

“…Didn’t you just say the cost-benefit made sense?”

“It makes sense because I’ll get compensation. You might get a few guns replaced by the country if you lose them, but the Magic Tower doesn’t work that way.”

Francesca’s gaze turned toward a specific point—the center of the bombardment.

“It would be nice to salvage something from that spider’s corpse… but unfortunately, that won’t be possible…”

“…”

“So I’ll have to file a claim with the Empire’s Ministry of Defense or Magic Department. The Empire has been swimming in money through generations of emperors—surely they can afford to compensate for three golems.”

“Think whatever you want…”

I looked away from Francesca, who was already thinking about collecting spoils. Even the devout followers of the Church or enlightened Buddhas would turn away if they saw her.

We silently watched the pouring bombardment.

Even as our conversation continued, the imperial army’s bombardment persisted.

They were firing as if they wouldn’t stop until they ran out of stockpiled shells or until the gun barrels overheated to the point of breaking. This shows just how incredibly important the rift is.

We watched in silence for a long time as artillery fire covered the snow-capped mountain.

Hoping that the monster had died in that merciless bombardment.

Honestly, I don’t even believe in God, but at this moment, I prayed fervently. Please, if you have any conscience, take that bastard to hell.

As if answering my prayer, the imperial army poured in their bombardment even more intensely.

How much time had passed?

As the fierce bombardment gradually subsided, suddenly, Lyudmila Superior’s voice came through the radio.

-‘Officer? We’ve received word from the corps. They’re stopping the bombardment now.’

“Stopping?”

-‘Yes. The gun barrels are overheated, and continuing to fire would be unreasonable. If they keep firing like this, the guns will be completely ruined and unusable.’

The imperial army decided to cease fire. It wasn’t particularly surprising. Rather, it was amazing they had continued the bombardment this long.

I reported that none of our party had been caught in the bombardment and said we would check for damage before pulling out. Lyudmila Superior replied that she would send a guide to escort us to the second defense line.

When the sound from the radio stopped.

Silence fell.

“…”

“…”

“…”

We stared intently at the snow-covered mountain where the bombardment had ceased.

The imperial army’s artillery fire that had shaken the basin had stopped, and the dust and snow spray that had risen were gradually settling. The fog was also clearing a bit, so we could see much farther than before.

After a few minutes had passed.

The devastated defense line appeared before us.

Completely collapsed positions and shattered concrete fragments.

Tanks and armored vehicles damaged beyond recognition.

Ancient trees twisted and uprooted despite being infused with the rift’s magical power.

Large and small craters, several times taller than a person, formed in the flat ground.

Swarms of zombie spiders that had been caught in the bombardment while crossing the fallen fire barrier.

And,

“Ah…”

The giant spider, still alive and breathing despite taking that bombardment.

-Grrrrrrrrrr….

“We’re fucked.”

There really is no God.

*

Silence descended on the defense line.

“It’s alive…?”

Francesca’s voice broke the silence.

The Magic Tower’s alchemist looked at the spider with a very bewildered expression.

The giant spider was still alive and breathing. Though parts of its carapace had fallen off, its flesh was melting from chemicals and grotesquely distorted chunks were dropping, and one of its legs had been completely severed, the spider was still alive.

“What in the…”

“…This is insane.”

This isn’t normal.

No matter how sturdy and gigantic a monster is, the fact that it cannot withstand artillery firepower has been proven in numerous extermination operations.

The countries of the Moritani continent have their borders breached by monsters not only because their armies are weak, but also because they cannot concentrate firepower on monsters advancing across vast plains.

On the other hand, Abas, Fatalia, and the Kiyen Empire are different stories.

The uninhabited areas where monsters mainly inhabit usually have mountain ranges or rivers, and thanks to the terrain, while border guards hold off monsters coming from uninhabited areas, the regular army directly deals with monsters in the rear areas. This means that both the Abas and Kiyen armies are experienced in dealing with monsters.

That spider withstood the firepower of the Kiyen Empire’s army, which had conquered even the notorious northern snow mountains, and specifically the imperial artillery that had achieved the most military accomplishments in the north. Though wounded, it was still alive and breathing.

Seeing common sense die before my very eyes, a feeling of despair washed over me. I have no idea where such a thing came from.

“Could it be a demon…?”

Francesca, who had finally come to her senses, spoke up with a visibly tense expression.

“If it were a demon, it wouldn’t be playing with monsters… Even if they mobilized monsters, they would surely have attacked while revealing themselves directly…”

“How would you know that?”

“Lord Evangelos told me. There are more Magic Tower mages who survive demon attacks than you might think.”

Francesca dismissed my speculation. That’s not a monster controlled by demons, she said.

Then what on earth is that spider?

Questions filled my mind, but I couldn’t get answers. Before I could ask, the spider moved first.

Rising from the massive crater created by the shells, the spider stood up on its gaunt legs. After escaping the crater and surveying its surroundings, it strode toward the defense line and picked something up.

It was a dead zombie spider.

-Crunch!

An eerie sound echoed across the quiet snow mountain. The giant spider that had escaped from the crater and reached the defense line lifted the corpse of a dead zombie spider with its front legs and stuffed it into its mouth.

The bizarre sight of a spider devouring another spider unfolded before our eyes. It was an incomprehensible scene, and I didn’t want to understand it.

The creature dragged its massive body around the defense line, devouring the scattered corpses—humans and zombie spiders alike. Whether it was fallen trees, collapsed trenches, or shattered vehicles, if anything got in its way, it smashed through and continued forward, greedily consuming corpses. Like a beggar who had seen food after starving for ten days.

It could no longer even be called a spider. Monster. It was literally a monster.

We weren’t the only ones terrified by the ferocious presence of such a creature.

The swarm of zombie spiders that had been slowly approaching the defense line after the bombardment stopped suddenly halted. The zombie spiders, frozen like frightened sheep watching the creature tear apart and devour the corpses of their kind, stood still, letting out mournful cries.

-KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

The hideous monster’s howl shook the snow mountain.

The wounded beast, which had been devouring the flesh of zombie spiders and humans, raised its head and howled. The swarm of zombie spiders, crushed by its presence, trembled while pressed flat against the ground.

And then an astonishing scene unfolded before our eyes.

The swarm of zombie spiders began to approach the defense line again.

As if that howl had been an order, the zombie spiders that had been cowering and trembling began crawling up again.

Seeing this sight, I muttered in a weak voice:

“A monster that gives orders…”

This kid’s got general material.

*

We retreated to the defense line prepared by the imperial army. It was the second defense line established after the first one collapsed, gathering the troops scattered throughout the basin.

“We’ve arrived!”

“Get down!”

“Thanks for the ride!”

Camilla and I jumped down and landed on the ground. What had carried us from the first defense line to the second was none other than Francesca’s golem.

Though we expressed our thanks, Francesca paid no attention and slid down the golem’s arm as if it were a slide. It was behavior that would have been scolded as undignified by the elders of the venerable Ranieri family, but that wasn’t important now.

It was a matter of survival.

“Lyudmila! Superior Lyudmila!”

“I’m here!”

“Hey! Guide us quickly! We need to get to the command post right away!”

I stopped Lyudmila Superior as she was passing by and headed for the command and control room.

There, we informed the unit of everything we had witnessed at the defense line. The giant monster that had withstood the bombardment, the swarm of zombie spiders crossing the defense line, and everything we suspected might be the creature’s weaknesses.

Given the time we had bought, the imperial army must have made some preparations. So now the priority was to join forces with the imperial army to kill the monster. We didn’t know how to kill something that could withstand artillery fire, but since we had confirmed that fire was effective, we could catch it if we threw in combat mages.

But life is full of unexpected turns.

Today, I once again realized the shitty principle of all things.

“There are no mages?”

“That’s right.”

“Why not?!”

Clearly, when the outpost encountered the zombie spiders, the unit defending the rift requested support.

Though troops couldn’t come due to weather and terrain, they could receive artillery support, and combat mages were also dispatched from nearby divisions. That happened at least an hour ago. Maybe two or three hours.

Yet the combat mages still haven’t arrived.

The reason is unknown.

The unit commander doesn’t know, and even the division that sent the mages doesn’t know. They tried to contact them by radio, but couldn’t reach them.

This is maddening.

“Doesn’t the unit have any mages?”

“We do have some, though not many. I’ll assign them to you right away.”

The unit commander provided mages who had been reinforcing the defense line as an urgent measure.

They were elemental school mages, but none of them knew how to fight—they had been breaking rocks while digging positions. We decided to take them along as an emergency measure.

The problem arose elsewhere.

“They say we can’t get artillery support.”

The imperial artillery had expended all their firepower trying to kill the giant spider. They had fired until their ammunition depots were empty.

Of course, ammunition could be resupplied, but the gun barrels were the issue.

“Due to overheated barrels, artillery fire is impossible right now. We have to wait at least until the barrels cool down.”

“How long will that take?”

“How would I know? I’m not an artilleryman.”

Anyway, we can’t receive external support right now. We have to catch that thing with what we have here.

When I told them we had to kill the giant spider with our own strength, dark clouds gathered on Camilla and Francesca’s faces. However, instead of complaining, the two checked their physical condition and weapons in preparation for battle.

I loaded ammunition borrowed from the unit into magazines and stuffed them into my chest rig. Though these were items stripped from dead imperial soldiers, no one reproached me for wearing them.

“Shit… It would be embarrassing to actually die like this…”

Just as I was nervously gathering ammunition and muttering to myself.

Someone suddenly appeared and addressed me.

“Who’s dying?”

“Obviously me, who else would… WAAAH!”

I jumped in surprise. The ammunition and magazines I was holding scattered across the floor.

Seemingly unapologetic at my reaction, the man just laughed heartily.

“Haha! What a timid man with a chicken’s heart. In my view, you need to grow a bit more to fill the role of an officer!”

“…”

I stared blankly at him as he laughed, shaking his beard.

“Why are you here…?”

The man in armor that emitted a subtle glow stroked his chin beard and smiled.

“I received a request for support from a lady and came looking. I heard that monsters suddenly appeared at the rift, so I personally led my knights to come and crack their skulls!”

“…”

“But the mountain path was treacherous, so it took some time to climb. Didn’t see any monsters. Well, at least I got to meet the mages.”

The captain of the Church’s St. Andrea Knights Order, Ferretti.

Having arrived at the rift leading his holy knights, he revealed his snow-white teeth and said:

“So, where is the monster?”