Chapter 28 – Start of the Counterattack
06-28 Start of the Counterattack
Jin surveyed the scene around him.
Immediately after the onset of chaos, Jin’s attack magic was unusable because using [Laser] or [Water Jet] for example would carry a risk of involving the bystanders by accident because of the magics’ high power and penetration.
However, now that the disorder was settling down and only a small handful of people were left standing, as long as he made sure no one was in the line of fire he could use them without hesitation.
“Beana, don’t move away from me.”
“Huh, huh, huh? What are you planning, Jin?”
Jin didn’t have spare time to answer the confused Beana, and shot a [Laser].
He aimed at the golems that were swarming Elsa.
Since he wasn’t confident that the Ring of Protection could defend against a laser beam, instead of the golems between him and the barrier he finished off the golems on the sides.
So that this time too evidence would be left behind, he avoided the parts that contained the Magi Devices. In other words, he focused on destroying the lower halves of their bodies.
“A-, amazing…”
Beana who was next to him was more than surprised, she was astonished. That’s because every time Jin’s bracelet shone, a golem’s lower half evaporated into nothing.
After repeating that several times, finally the golems surrounding Elsa were eradicated.
“Elsa!”
With eyes wet from tears, Elsa had been looking at the golems get defeated. That was due to Jin’s magic.
“Jin, kun…”
She moved with trembling feet, rushing towards Jin,
…And their barriers bumped and bounced off each other.
“Ow.”
Inside the barrier, Elsa fell on her backside. Jin gave an awkward smile,
“Elsa, you have to cancel the barrier, see?”
Jin said and canceled his own barrier for a moment after looking around. Similarly, Elsa canceled her barrier and Jin could help her up. Elsa’s hand that clasped Jin’s was shivering a bit.
Jin wanted to comfort Elsa who was like that, but,
“Sorry. But this place is still crawling with many more golems. If possible, I’ll leave Beana to you.”
“Eh, Jin?”
Jin stroked Elsa’s head just once, then pushed Beana towards Elsa. Elsa caught Beana in her arms. Then,
“Barrier.”
Once more a barrier covered the two.
“I’ll go assist Reinhardt and the others. You two go to that wall. In that case at least you can’t get attacked from behind.”
“…Got it. Be careful.”
She had numerous complaints, but even Elsa understood the current situation. With legs that still shivered a bit, she retreated to the wall along with Beana.
＊ ＊ ＊
Turning back time a bit, in the state guest house. Reiko was house-sitting. She was visible.
“…The fluctuation just now.”
Reiko felt a powerful surge of magic flow over her.
“It’s the same kind of magic that that golem Albus used earlier. The direction… inside the castle, in the direction of the banquet hall?”
Reiko calmly began to walk.
“W-Where are you going?”
The Royal Secret Maid Laila who was left behind asked Reiko, who only gave a brief reply,
“Father… is in danger.”
She muttered and rushed out of the room.
“Hey, wait!”
Laila came rushing after Reiko, but,
“Eep!”
Her breath was taken away when he saw the disastrous scene in the hallway.
The golems with miscellanious duties were running rampant. She then witnessed Reiko destroy them with minor strikes.
“Awawawawa!”
Laila returned to the room in a hurry and locked the door.
“W- what on earth?”
There was no one to answer her.
The other party, Reiko, increased her output even more and sped through the hallway. She went to the usual 20% Jin permitted.
In front of her stood two security golems.
“You’re on the way.”
Reiko swung her fist just once. As a result, the two security golems were blown away, breaking through the guest house’s wall and flying outside, scattered to pieces.
“As I thought, it’s the magic from earlier.”
Reiko muttered while advancing.
The first one was weak, while the second one was strong. Jin didn’t probably feel the second one, but Reiko did. It was near the place where golems were on standby.
That’s to say, all of the golems kept in the reserve, whether they were for war potential or chores, were under the effects.
One word describes the scene Reiko saw after leaving the guest house’s premises: chaos. Everywhere golems and knights or soldiers battled.
Fallen soldiers and broken golems lay on top of one another, the royal palace’s courtyard was like a battlefield. It was obvious that the human side’s situation was dire, but Reiko’s first priority was Jin’s safety.
Although, the attacking golems were so numerous that it was impossible to disregard them. So inevitably Reiko had to destroy many of the golems there.
“I- I’m saved…”
“W-, what is that girl?”
“A golem…No, an Automata?”
Perhaps Reiko seemed like a lifesaver to the wounded soldiers.
Security golems, knight golems, chore golems. Golem upon golem had risen in revolt against humans.
While slaughtering a large amount of golems like them, Reiko continued on.
“?”
In the middle of it all, Reiko noticed an out-of-place white bird-type golem mixed in with the others, but as Reiko’s current priority was rushing to where Jin was, she didn’t take a detailed look.
Finally Reiko finished crossing the courtyard, and she arrived at the gate to the heart of the royal castle, the inner palace. However, that area was closed off by a massive iron gate.
As an experiment Reiko tried pushing it, but whether because it was barred on the inside or not it didn’t budge. Therefore Reiko quickly took alternative measures.
Namely, destruction.
Boom, and the iron gate bent with a remarkably loud noise.
“Surprisingly durable, aren’t you.”
The gap she created was about 30 centimeters wide. To withstand Reiko’s blow at 20% power like that, the door’s sturdiness was apparent.
It was expected, as the door was ten centimeters thick. However, this was enough to let Reiko pass.
Through the gate’s gap, there was more chaos.
In the plaza at the front of the inner palace, Imperial Guard knights and magi knights were assaulting the golems. The Imperial Guard knights used their excellent sword skills, and the magi knights used fire-system magic to aim at the golems’ weak points.
The typical golem in this castle used bronze as a material. The melting point of bronze with five percent tin in it was around 1050 degrees Celsius. When mixed with lead or such, it was lower.
The golems made of impure materials deformed when bathed in fire magic, and became unable to move.
Having said that, spells like Fireball or Fire Bullet were no good, at least Flame Ball was needed to have an effect.
In addition, the number of magi knights who could cast Flame Ball was small.
In the middle of such chaos, Reiko advanced towards the hall while repelling the hindrances.
Fortunately, here the golems had already fought for a while with the knights, so golems that attacked Reiko were scarce. Due to that, Reiko was able to move faster than before.
Furthermore, no one who was fighting there had any leeway to notice the small girl running towards the royal palace at a staggering pace.
Inside the royal castle, more chaos reigned. Golems lunged at Reiko wielding swords, fists, even mops, brooms, and other household implements.
“Truly annoying.”
Even though they couldn’t wound her, they could be a very irritatingly hinder movement. So, Reiko found a broken household golem lying nearby, grabbed its foot and brandished it as a weapon.
The sight of 33-kilogram Reiko (3 kilograms heavier than before) wielding an over 100-kilogram bronze golem was surreal, but the results were extraordinary.
Although inside the five meters wide and three meters tall hall the golem Reiko waved around scraped the walls and splinters and pieces of it scattered, the approaching golems were knocked down.
“Just weight in itself can also be a weapon…”
Reiko didn’t stop walking while she thought such things. Beyond the open doors she could see what was surely Jin’s magic’s, [Laser]’s, light annihilating golems.
“Father! I’ll be there soon!”
Reiko increased her speed even further.
＊ ＊ ＊
Reinhardt and Schwarz Ritter, and the groups of Imperial Guard Knights had somehow managed to gather the survivors into one place.
Elsa and Beana had also met up with them, and were giving first-aid treatment to with healing magic to those who were the most seriously injured.
“There’s a lot of them!”
Schwarz Ritter defended against the attacking waves of Golems with the Imperial Guard knights’ backing.
“Schwarz Ritter! Behind you!”
Schwarz Ritter sent a security golem flying to help out a woman it was attacking.
“T-thank you…”
It was Celuroa Kingdom’s special envoy Dominique. She seemed to be okay.
“Come, there’s relative safety here.”
Reinhardt explained and again dispatched Schwarz Ritter.
The Imperial Guard knight teams then battled with all their strength and rescued two more wounded people. And then one more.
“Elsa-sama, please heal them!”
“Got it.”
She replied, but when she looked at the wounded person her face became stiff. Because it was Earl Guarana.
His face was swollen, and his nose broken. His right arm and left leg were twisted into a strange shape. To make matters worse, blood poured out of his mouth as if his ribs had been broken, he was on the verge of death from his wounds.
“[Schmerzmittel], [Heal].”
Elsa used healing magic to give him emergency first aid.
During that,
“Hey! That’s His Majesty and… His Highness!”
One of the Imperial Guard knights in a group saw the King and the Prince far away.
The two were protected by a makeshift wall of unmoving golems and a bronze-colored golem maid.
＊ ＊ ＊
Even though it could be called a wall, there was no way it could defend them completely.
By now, Lotte had rendered dozens of golems powerless.
Her arms were covered in scratches and some of her fingers were torn off. There was no trace of the maid outfit she had worn, and her beautiful was also dented and chipped here and there, and each time she moved her joints made creaking noises.
“Lotte, are you okay?”
Prince Ernest asked worriedly.
“Yes, Your Highness. I can still go on.”
While saying so, Lotte took on an attacking knight golem’s sword with her arm to, defend the Prince.
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But it had a high price, as finally her right arm broke off from the elbow down.
“Aah! Lotte!”
But Lotte said calmly,
“Do not worry. I do not feel pain. This degree of…Your Highness, watch out!”
“Agh!”
Another security golem came to attack.
“I won’t let you!”
Lotte intercepted it. However, since her right arm was unusable, she couldn’t defend against the security golem’s left fist and took it to the chest.
Lotte’s chest caved in a great deal, but without minding it she slipped her usable left arm past the opponent’s extended right arm, and grabbed the golem’s head.
Immediately afterwards in a single move she applied force with her left arm, and sent the opponent flying while it spun like a spinning top.
“Y…You’re amazing, Lotte”
The Prince uttered words of admiration.
“Yes, that’s because Father made me this way.”
“The one who made you, you mean…”
The King who was listening tried to say something, but,
“Watch out!”
This time a sword brushed against the King. It was a knight golem. The opponent was a rather heavy load on Lotte’s shoulders as she had lost an arm. Even so, Lotte didn’t draw back a step, and challenged the golem face-on to protect the King and the Prince.
Lotte’s advantages were speed and flexibility. Facing the knight golem directly was a bit harsh. However, if it was necessary Lotte would do it, that’s how she was, with her motherly nature from Malloum and movements from Rianna as basis.
The knight golem swung its sword downward from overhead. Lotte caught it with her useless right arm. Because of the impact the remaining part separated from her shoulder. But it was enough to slow down the knight’s slash.
With her remaining left hand she gripped the sword, and twisted it using the principle of leverage. The dumbfounded knight golem’s right hand was cut off by the wrist, and just like that Lotte was left with the sword in hand.
Lotte didn’t have the time to change her grip, so while holding it by the blade she struck a blow at the knight golem’s neck.
The sword bit about halfway in, and the knight golem’s movements became slow. Lotte then finally had the time to adjust her grip, and with the sword in hand drove in another blow.
This time the knight golem’s head was cut off, but the opponent didn’t stop yet. Lotte then thrust her sword down hole on the neck.
With the destruction of the Magi Device inside the golem’s body, this time for sure the knight golem was stopped.
“Lotte! Are you alright?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
However, the fight just now tore off three of the fingers in Lotte’s left hand, and she was no longer able to hold the sword and it fell. Seeing that they were sure she was nearing her limits.
At that moment, Lotte felt a wave of Magic Energy.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness, there is no longer need to fear.”
“W-why?”
“What for?”
Facing the troubled-looking King and Prince, Lotte smiled with a face full of wounds,
“Because Elder Sister has arrived.”