Episode 407
“Faster! Hurry up!!”
A loud shout echoed loudly throughout the workshop, but the dwarves and human craftsmen who were busy moving to the sound did not react much. Most of them had blank eyes and had already reached their limit.
“Ahh, I’m dying.”
“Why does it feel like we’re at war?”
“Damn. The task is simple, but the assignment is too much.”
Screams came from everywhere, but Hamar did not stop urging. Even though her body, which was once puffy like a ball, had become half as large and her face had become more gaunt, her voice only grew louder.
“If the supply of magazines and Liberatio runs out, we will all die eventually! Especially the dwarves! Even if we die, we will die after completing our quota!”
There was no one who could refute the powerful cry that made one feel alive.
“Workshop leader, please take a break now.”
“What is resting…!”
“Your legs are shaking.”
When Temar raised his hook hand and pointed at his leg, Hamar realized that his leg was shaking and let out a groan.
“If you don’t meet your quota! Don’t eat! Don’t sleep! Because I’m doing the same!”
“Then I can’t work anymore. It’s a vicious cycle.”
I tried to ignore Temar’s voice muttering next to me. I meant to be prepared to that level, but I didn’t really mean to not eat or sleep.
“Did you check the bed cushions in the night shift to make sure the ration was nutritious by putting a lot of meat in it?”
“Yes. I told them to focus all their attention on maintaining the condition of the craftsmen.”
“Yes. I will do the hardening, so you have to work hard to encourage it. You know the stick and the carrot, right?”
“Of course. So, get some rest.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
After tapping Tamer’s shoulder like that, Hamar was about to turn around, but the moment he spotted the dwarf, who was absent-mindedly letting go of his hand as if he was tired, he screamed without realizing it.
“There, Deer! Don’t lose your mind! I’m watching everything!”
“Director, I will crack down on you. Please get some rest.”
“Yes, yes. I understand. Ugh.”
Hamar, who saw Deer moving in surprise at his shout, soon returned to the office with a small sigh and massaging his trembling legs.
I definitely felt like I was pushing myself too hard recently.
‘I need to sleep for a little while.’
dump.
Hamar threw himself into the chair, tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
It was a clear expression of his intention to sleep to relieve his fatigue, but after less than five minutes, he opened his eyes.
“Ugh shit. I can’t sleep.”
Hamar, who was holding his head and spitting out curses, also had a dead complexion like the others.
The reason was clear.
Anxiety.
Even the news of victory in the first match could not completely erase that anxiety.
The best craftsman cannot be stupid. Hamar also knew very well that this victory was temporary and achieved due to asymmetric information.
Even more so, the size of the imperial army, which was approaching the front line again, was even more enormous.
Will McLine, with all the numbers revealed, be able to withstand it?
The anxiety that came from that question was the reason he couldn’t sleep.
Of course, no matter how worst the situation is.
“I can’t give up. Never.”
The decision to gather all the dwarves of the eastern continent and create a city for the dwarves was gradually being accomplished with the help of the royal family. For that purpose, the McLine had to be protected.
And more than anything, the disappointing feeling that something would happen became a lingering feeling, and I kept chasing away sleep.
“Isn’t there a better way? If only there was a way to mass-produce it…”
Hamar’s eyes turned to the repeating crossbow with a ‘red’ magazine placed on the desk.
Bomb palace.
A weapon made and distributed only to a small number during the Grandia Civil War.
And the weapon was eventually abandoned because its production efficiency, such as combat performance compared to unit price and production time, did not match.
The lingering desire for improvement did not go away. Even though it has already been confirmed several times that it is impossible.
‘It’s a weapon that could really end the war if mass production were possible.’
That, like a repeating crossbow, is not a weapon at the level where an ordinary person has the ‘possibility’ of ‘threatening’ or killing a knight.
I couldn’t give up my greed for it because it was a weapon that could surely kill a knight, even an ordinary person, and could instantly overturn the common sense of the battlefield.
But there was no way. Wizards who knew Liberatio’s formula lacked understanding of the structure and equipment of the repeating crossbow, and they themselves lacked understanding of the consumable artifact.
‘If only I had the slightest magical talent or even the spirits of my ancestors.’
That was so disappointing.
“Damn it…”
In the end, Hamar had no choice but to get up again while muttering curses repeatedly. In order to relieve that regret, I felt like I had to experiment at least once, even if it was obvious that it wouldn’t work, in order to be able to fall asleep.
But at that moment.
– Quaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I heard a loud noise that I couldn’t ignore.
“What!? No way!?”
Hamar, startled, soon figured out the source of the explosion and gritted his teeth as he opened the office door.
I knew it.
As soon as I came out, what I saw was a fire that had begun to spread deep inside the chaotic magic workshop.
“Damn it! Warehouse!”
I could see craftsmen rushing around him, moving his short legs vigorously while working.
“Get out of the way! Get out of the way! If you’re going to get close, go and turn off the lights! What about the knights!?”
Hamar continued to shout and advanced to the center of the battle.
‘It wasn’t an accident.’
It was an artificial explosion.
And at this time, the people who would do such a thing were so obvious.
‘Empire.’
These guys are capable of breaking through Taren’s multiple security network, which is more stringent than the royal castle, and setting fire to the warehouse of the workshop located in the deepest part of it.
The ghosts that the devilish master had warned me about came to mind.
And as if to prove that thought, a brown-robed body(?) was seen floating in the air near the warehouse where the fire had started.
A sight of a limp-looking man gradually moving away, as if jumping in the air. It looked as if something transparent had surrounded the person and climbed over the wall.
The bizarre appearance was a sight, but the back of the man’s hanging head was all too familiar.
“Enan!?”
His second disciple, who was in charge of the formulation and production of Liberatio on behalf of Clayton, who had left for the battlefield.
The moment he confirmed it, a scream-like yell came out of Hamar’s mouth.
“Stop it! All knights, chase the wizard who is moving away! He is the ghost of the empire!”
At that shout, the eyes of the knights who had gathered in the warehouse turned to Enan, who was disappearing.
Hamar, who confirmed this, got on the pony that was always kept nearby and started running like crazy.
‘If Enan is kidnapped by the Empire… if he spills anything about Liberatio, it’s absolutely not allowed!’
The fear of horses that developed during the gold mine development in McLane territory did not even come to mind. Right now, I was just happy that ponies had been purchased for the dwarves to move around smoothly.
‘I know the way to the workshop best!’
It is natural since he was personally responsible for the design and construction.
And fortunately, while rushing out, I took the bomb bow with me. This weapon would be able to demonstrate the power of more than a few knights.
‘If they catch my eye, they aren’t the type of monsters that attacked their owners. you can do it. Yes you can. No, you have to.’
Hamar quickly drove the pony, guessing the direction in which Enan’s body was moving.
At that time, a similar sound of horses’ hooves was heard right next to me.
“Let’s go together, workshop leader!”
Even though I was unconscious, I heard a voice clearly and turned around to see Temar with black under eyes, riding his pony with another explosive bow attached to his hooked right hand.
“you…!?”
“After working together for a long time, I guess we think alike. We need to block the retreat, right!?”
“Don’t overdo it! The knights will be chasing you!”
“Yes! Yes! The workshop leader too!”
Doo doo doo.
‘This guy…’
For some reason, the normally obnoxious guy felt a little more reassured. Of course, that couldn’t help the feeling of urgency.
“Hey!”
Hee hee hee!
The sound of clattering hooves felt particularly slow.
But fortunately, it appears that their efforts were not in vain. The moment I took the shortcut inside Taren Castle, where identical buildings were deliberately built, I was able to catch up with the transparent kidnapper heading towards the western wall.
“Stand up!”
Such a stupid bastard.
I wanted to hit Tamer in the back of the head as he was yelling for no reason, but now was not the time.
Hamar thought that the space below Enan where people could be was the back of Tamer’s head, and struck the bomb blast.
Pabababak.
“Commander! What about Enan!?”
Temar, who had made a threat in his own way with the intention of saving his allies, was frightened and screamed.
Kwakwakwak!
Of course, all that came back was the yelling that followed the binge drinking.
“Just shoot! You idiot!”
It means that even if Enan dies, hold on to him regardless.
In some ways, it was a very cold-hearted decision, but the moment he saw Enan(?) coming out of the heat wave, Temar had no choice but to grit his teeth and fire the bomb bow.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!
Hamar and Temar’s total 20-shot bomb bow quickly expired.
The good news was that the black masked figure carrying Enan was clearly visible, as if there had been no damage at all.
In addition, the masked person visibly stumbles.
In the meantime, it was surprising that Enan, who was slung over his shoulder, was not hurt at all. Even if only half of the rumors were true, it would have been impossible for Hamar or Temar to stop him.
‘You probably didn’t know about the bomb palace.’
Perhaps his defeat was due to his initial attempt to hit the bomb bow fired by Hamar instead of avoiding it.
Hamar shouted at the knights who had already begun to appear behind him.
“He’s hurt! Grab him!”
Soon, the knights who came close surrounded the ghost and began to attack him in waves.
“Catch him!”
“Kill!”
And in that situation, Hamar saw an absurd sight. The sight of the masked man blocking even stray attacks that hit Enan’s unconscious body.
‘They say it’s a murder doll that only follows the emperor’s orders.’
Once again, I had no choice but to hold my tongue at the rumors about ghosts that were spreading around the world.
And there was no way the knights would not notice what Hamar saw.
From then on, the knights no longer had to worry about the hostages and began to attack with all their might, and in the end, the masked man’s final struggle lasted less than five minutes.
* * * News of Taren’s attack quickly reached Logan in Kyle.
“…Okay, that’s a good thing. Huh, you did a great job.”
At the truly heart-wrenching news, Logan couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief and praise Hamar.
[However, I hear that sporadic raids are continuing on supply units heading to the front lines. Doesn’t something like that happen in the castle on the front lines?]
“…There’s no way it wouldn’t happen.”
Logan smiled bitterly.
Ordinary soldiers or knights cannot completely prevent ghost attacks. Every night, a small number of ghosts came and went, getting on McLane’s nerves. Above all, although it was a small amount, Liberatio’s extortion was also unavoidable.
But that level was already expected.
[It seems inevitable that Liberatio’s sample will be passed over to the Empire, Master.]
“That’s inevitable. And even if that happens, didn’t you guarantee that the formula won’t be revealed?”
[Of course, but the amount is quite large… No, I guess not. Clayton, that guy’s analysis is probably correct.]
That’s right.
Even assuming the worst case scenario, if the wizard who knew the formula could not be kidnapped, at least Liberatio would not be on the Empire’s side in this war.
That was enough.
The moment I tried to calm my shocked mind.
Hamar added an eerie sound.
[But something like a body enhancement artifact emerged from the ghost’s corpse. I think he probably kept it to counter the weakening magic circle…]
“Huh?”
[There’s no way a weakening magic circle would work on these guys, right? It doesn’t even have a sentence. That makes it even more uncomfortable.]
In an instant, a chill ran down my spine, and the anxiety that had barely been suppressed rose again.
And Hamar said something that further heightened the anxiety.
[I think we’ve caught all of the people hiding in Taren, but there may be some that we haven’t. But if this happens a few times, won’t the Empire eventually find out what the target of the weakening magic circle is?]
