Episode 237. The Machine of the Silver Wall
After sending Kundalit into the grassland, Rubin continued to explore and gather intelligence, going back and forth between Kalanta Camp and Hiklion.
Before they knew it, the Kalanta military camp had entered the final stage of operational deployment. The orcs scattered throughout the valley gathered in their respective units at the upper level of the valley.
According to the information we have, boarding of the Grandbird will take place there.
All of the facilities and equipment that the Imperial Army had provided that were not being used in the war were moved to the deep area. The entrance to the deep area was closed off with only guards stationed there.
‘I’ll be here.’
Rubin continued to wander through the closed area. What he was looking for was a machine that could mass-produce immune drugs.
The calculation was that the Orcs had moved the unnecessary machinery to the depths long ago, as their immunity had been formed.
“… … .”
Although it was a closed area with no orcs wandering around, Rubin did not let his guard down and spread his dark smoke. He also did not forget to keep a low profile as he moved.
There are no orcs detected in the dark. However, various beasts, including field mice and bats, are moving around busily. Some of them may be connected to Nerheim.
Purrrrr.
A swarm of bats is flying in.
Rubin quickly infiltrated the wall with his ‘shadow curtain’. The bats that had been hanging on the ceiling for a moment fluttered away again in response to Rubin’s aggressive shadow.
‘Found it.’
The deepest part of the closed area.
We found the machine buried in the darkness. The machine and the equipment for mass production of drugs were all there.
But it wasn’t without its problems.
‘As expected, they left out a key component.’
The key component that runs the machine is missing. It was made by processing mana stones, and it was necessary to have it to mass-produce the drug. Judging from the missing part, it seems that it was sent down to the depths with the part removed from the beginning.
-Rubin.
At that moment, Haneke’s voice rings out from inside Rubin. Haneke, who had just returned to his inner world, saw an unfamiliar landscape appearing in Rubin’s field of vision.
‘This is the deep end. I just found a machine that was mass producing immune drugs.’
Rubin glanced around the machine so Haneke could examine it.
‘We put the immune drug into this machine and mass-produced it. We continued to administer it to the orcs in the barracks.’
-But it seems like it’s not working now.
‘Yes, I can’t get it running right now even if I wanted to. I think I’m missing a key component.’
Haneke realized why Rubin had found this machine: if the General had brought the immune-nulling drug, he could get it and mass-produce it.
-Is there any chance that the plan will go awry?
That wasn’t it. Rubin had already confirmed that there was an identical machine at the Legion Headquarters. The moving parts inside the machine were intact, so there would be no problem in bringing it.
-That’s good then.
Anyway, Haneke was also formulating a strategy by assuming various situations. Among these situations was the case where Rubin was unable to create the ‘immuno-nullifying drug’ or was unable to mass-produce it.
-The fighting spirit of the Tuhun people is amazing. They are prepared to die. Oh, that’s right. Kundalit joined about an hour ago.
‘We met sooner than I expected. You must have been running all night, even though you must be feeling unwell.’
-When I went to the territory of the Fang Tribe, I happened to find myself in their procession. Now, Kundalit will lead the warriors of the Collarbone Tribe.
After confirming the location of the machine, Rubin emerged from the depths and headed to the upper level of the barracks.
As long as there was a first-class magic stone inside Kalanta’s body, Rubin could continue to track his location. It seemed that he was currently at the command center of the barracks.
“… … .”
Rubin hides in the wall of the command center through the ‘shadow curtain’.
Inside, Kalanta and Nerheim were having a conflicting conversation. It was a brief observation, but Rubin could tell that the two were not very close.
“Nerheim. Has the departure date not been decided yet?”
“The General will arrive tomorrow. He has the authority to open the polar barrier.”
“Do you know how many years they’ve been keeping our species here? If we don’t kill something, they’ll start killing each other.”
“I know that won’t happen as long as General Kalanta is still alive.”
Kalanta got up from her seat, grumbling softly.
Kalanta was frustrated. Everything was ready, but the order to sortie had not yet been given.
The vast plains seemed to be calling for a new owner. He just wanted to quickly create a new home for the orcs there.
“The General may come here. I hope you know and prepare for it.”
“Preparation?”
“Well, there’s no need to even prepare. The Orc legion’s strength is certain. General Kalanta just needs to show restraint as a commander who goes out to battle.”
Kalanta stood in front of Nerheim, her footsteps ringing loudly. Then she chuckled.
“Are you telling me to bow down before the General right now?”
“I heard from General Dump. He said that the first person to discover General Kalanta was the General.”
Kalanta’s large hand cupped Nerheim’s face. Even if he was a great blood donor, he was just a weak human being without someone around him to rule over.
If she had just applied force to her hand, she could have blown that face apart, but Calanta did not lose her senses and just let out a ragged gasp.
“It’s as if you want me to think of the General as my father, Adjutant.”
“… I am simply advising you to follow the military etiquette as you receive assistance from the Imperial Army.”
“As you said, when I was born, your generals stood before me. Humans compare us to potatoes. They say we are like being pulled out of a tuber in the ground.”
“… … .”
“There was one of my lineage who was to become the king of the orcs. He was an orc who was chosen to be king, just as I was chosen to be a commander.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“If I am rare in your eyes, there is something ten times rarer than me: the King of the Orcs.”
The Orc King is not as powerful as Kalanta. He does not possess the realm of nothingness, but he has the power to unite all the Orc clans. It is a power that is purer than the absolute power that Kalanta currently holds in this camp.
“When I was born, the king was already dead. Your generals had already made all the calculations. They needed an orc general, but they didn’t need an orc king.”
Kalanta’s eyes blazed, as if she was on the verge of madness, and Nerheim held his breath.
“… … .”
But Kalanta did not lose her sense of reason, and swallowed her anger firmly. Then she waved her hand and sent Nerheim away.
It doesn’t matter if the General stops by here. Seeing that damn face again will only make me want to succeed in this operation.
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‘Hmm, I guess so.’
Meanwhile, for Rubin, who had been watching all of this, it was an unexpected discovery. Kalanta’s rebellion and hatred toward the Empire. Perhaps there was a time when he could use that during the war.
Then suddenly.
The thought of him as the current great general of the empire spread.
‘Haneke, did you know Lemonlie?’
Lemon Lib Kite.
Before his return, he was the one who inherited the title of General after Haneke’s death. According to information recently obtained by Rubin, he was promoted to General after serving as Commander of the Western Corps and Commander of the Imperial Defense Corps.
-I know. If we’re comrades, we’re comrades. If we’re rivals, we’re rivals. Lemonlive must be really old now.
He was an old man who was only two years older than Haneke. He was now in his eighties and approaching his nineties, so there was talk about the next general in the palace and the Grand General’s Office.
– Still, Lemonlive’s weaponry probably hasn’t rusted that much. Come to think of it, didn’t you say Lemonlive wasn’t there during the Assassination Sword Suppression War?
‘Yes, the general at that time was another person. Lemonreeve may have died or retired.’
-I guess so.
In Haneke’s mind, Lemonlie’s image was drawn. As expected, the first thing that came to mind before the face was Lemonlie’s symbolic right arm.
Lemonlive, who lost his arm while fighting a monster, obtained a mechanical beast similar to a golem with the help of magic engineering.
Because of his ironworker’s arms that glowed silver and blue depending on the angle at which he was viewed, he was nicknamed the ‘Silver Machine Gun’ within the Imperial Army.
In many ways, he was a soldier the emperor would like. He was the one who knew exactly what the emperor wanted and moved ahead.
This meticulously prepared pioneering plan probably also originated in his head.
-Even if Lemonlive doesn’t fully participate in this operation, he will be affected if it fails.
Haneke smiled bitterly. It was only then that he remembered that he had ended up taking off his comrade’s uniform.
* * *
Wheeeeee.
The wind blowing from above was strong. The medals on the uniform fluttered every time the wind blew.
“Phew… … .”
General Lemonlive exhaled as he walked over Grandbird. His red cloak, tailored to his size, fluttered.
“It’s really vast.”
Under the rising sun, the green land spread out in full view. The northern grasslands were clearly a land of opportunity. It was no wonder that the emperor was greedy.
“Are you awake, General?”
As I walked up to the cockpit of the Grandbird, the pilot greeted me politely. The primary control of the Grandbird was in the control room, and only those who had been granted piloting authority from that were allowed to sit in the cockpit, and this was him.
“How long does it take to get to Hiklion?”
“There are now 30 minutes left. The current commander, Commander Dump, has been notified.”
“It’s just right.”
Lemonlie turned around. There stood his staff and other attendants lined up.
“staff.”
“Give your order, General.”
“Call a mechanic.”
“Are you looking to get your arm fixed?”
As Lemonlie nodded, the staff hurriedly gave instructions to the soldiers to set up chairs and tables.
The general sat down on the chair with his red cloak fluttering, and placed his right arm on the table. Soon, the mechanic, who had shaken off his early morning sleep and rushed out, stood in front of the table with a tense expression.
“Gentlemen. It’s been a while since I serviced my arm. Let’s check to see if there’s any rust.”
The mechanic swallowed hard and laid out his equipment. The mechanic was from the Capotini School of Magic, famous for making golems. As a wizard, he had been repairing golems for a long time, and had been assigned as a mechanic to the general several years ago.
“Since I became a general, I haven’t had a day to use the machine. I just need to make sure it’s functioning properly ‘in every way’.”
“In every way…you mean?”
As far as the mechanic knew, there was no way the general would be able to shake off his power in this operation. No, the rank of general was not something that could be easily moved even in a war of much larger scale.
“I shouldn’t have to exert myself. But this is a long-planned operation. I have to be prepared for any situation.”
“Okay, then I’ll take a look.”
The mechanic nodded again and placed a hand on Lemonlive’s shoulder. He could feel the coldness unique to mechanics.
Phew.
Light spread from his shoulder, and black lines began to be drawn over Lemonlive’s machine. The machine split apart along the lines, and soon the inside of his arm was completely revealed.
The result of complex and delicate engineering that connects the human body and machines.
‘When the General received the machine beast transplant, he was said to be a 6-star. If he hadn’t reached that level, it would have been impossible.’
While examining the machine, the mechanic thought to himself, not everyone can have arms like this.
Even if it was a machine made from American Mana, there were only a handful of people on the continent who could transplant it.
“Everything is fine. Everything is fine.”
“General, we have arrived over Hiklion.”
Just then the pilot announced his arrival. Lemonlieb got up from his chair, raised his head, turned his neck from side to side, and gave an order.
“Get down.”
