Log Horizon Vol 4 Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Expeditionary Force
Part 1
Raynesia couldnt move until she got down from the griffon. A dance partner would put a hand around her
waist, but she had not been carried around casually like luggage since she was a baby.
She didnt think it would be so embarra.s.sing to be treated this way by a man. Raynesia struggled to loosen
up her tense face and smile, but she knew her face was cramping up.
It didnt feel like reality when she made the decision during the meeting, it felt like she only acted on the
spur of the moment.
Raynesia had spent too much time with Krusty this past week. Compared to facing this young man who
was like a monster who could read her mind, saying arrogant things in front of the n.o.bles was nothing...
that was how she mustered her courage.
But she was unable to do anything about Krusty.
Raynesia knew Krusty was concerned about her and protected her from being blown off the griffon or
feeling too cold. But the more concerned he was, the more embarra.s.sed she felt, and she thought he could
see right through her as well.
She appeared elegant on the surface but was actually lazy and hated interacting with people, only thinking
about rolling around in her room, a useless and incurable person. But Raynesia didnt mind Krusty
knowing all this right now.
But there was one thing if possible... No, one thing she must hide from him. That was her feeling of
embarra.s.sment when she was with Krusty.
"Please."
She took Krustys hand for a moment and stood on the ground once more.
This was Akiba.
It was now late at night, but the lights in the streets were still burning bright, the light which looked like a
bonfire from the sky was actually a variety of light sources. The seven bonfires in the city square were
orange, the streetlights were yellow, the magic lights were phosph.o.r.escent white.
"That... Thank you very much."
Raynesia thanked him with her gaze down, but Krusty was already focusing elsewhere. A group
approached them hastily, they had a brand on their clothes similar to that on Krustys cape.
Krusty greeted the group and turned towards the young mage who was carrying the black-haired girl
down.
"Shiroe-kun, can you help her with her dressing and schedule?"
"Of course, but is it okay with you?"
"I have no choice, lets steel ourselves."
After talking to the young man called Shiroe, Krusty left with the group that had similar brands as him and
the griffon took off at the same time.
Raynesia felt lost as the young man Shiroe spoke to her.
"Princess Raynesia, this is the first time greeting you. I am Shiroe from Log Horizon, this lady is
Akatsuki."
After Shiroe finished the introductions, the pet.i.te girl named Akatsuki nodded to acknowledge, seemed
like she kept to herself.
"Please follow me."
Shiroe turned and started walking, the streets were filled with Adventurers and they seemed to be rushing
about for some reason.
Raynesia declared that she wanted to come to Akiba to convince the Adventurers, but she had no concrete
idea how to do that. The Round Table Council should be something like the n.o.bles meeting, from her
vague impression, she should first seek permission from them before meeting the Adventurers one by one.
Akiba was totally different from Maihama.
Unlike the beautiful and gorgeous Maihama with fruit trees and crystals by the streets, this town seemed to
utilize the ruins of the centuries past. She would be lost if she lost sight of the young man leading the way,
so Raynesia focused on staying alert.
A female pedestrian lugging a big bag with her gave way to Shiroe and spoke a few words with him
before nodding and going off. Raynesia thought that since Shiroe was chosen as a lieutenant of the
amba.s.sador party, he should be quite high-ranking in the Round Table Council.
(But he is walking so fast...)
The young girl Akatsuki was following effortlessly behind. Raynesia heard before that the Adventurers
were very strong physically, but she never expected to experience this much difference.
The young man named Shiroe covered his ear with one hand and talked to the air as he walked, probably
communicating through magic.
They reached a gigantic black building shortly after.
"Shiroe-dono!"
"Charasin-san, sorry for making you come so far."
There seemed to be 3 men waiting in the lobby behind the door, one of them was dressed like a merchant.
"This is Princess Raynesia."
"Hi! I heard about you, the daughter of clan Corwen. I am a merchant Charasin, leader of the 8th District
Shopping Center."
The man named Charasin was indeed a merchant as he greeted Raynesia with a business smile. But to
Raynesia who came from n.o.bility, his greeting was both simple and practical.
(This Adventurer seems very straightforward and dislikes hypocritical courtesies.)
Raynesia responded with a graceful smile... for her standards, this was a simple greeting. 8th District
Shopping Center was a unique name, but from the way he introduced himself, it was probably a
prestigious family name in Akiba.
"I am Raynesia from clan Corwen, please take care of me."
The merchant called Charasin blushed and averted his eyes, Raynesia was used to such a reaction.
"And so, Charasin-san."
"Here."
"... Eh, how should we do this, which one should we choose. I was thinking something flashy and grabs
your eyes, we need to move everyone with the first impression... Do you have the full set of Valkyrie
Mail?"
"Hmmm? Ah, ah ah, of course... but the legs for that set... Will it be okay?"
But this sense of ease did not last too long. The youth Shiroe and Charasin started to discuss something,
Raynesia didnt understand the content, but she could not pretend not to hear anything.
"Yeah, no problem. From the overall viewpoint, it will be good if we push it to this level. Please prepare
a set, I have the cape so you dont need to prepare that. Can you choose a suitable weapon? A 1-handed
sword with a beautiful design, any equipment below level 4 will do... Akatsuki, can you rent a room for
an hour, it will be fine even if it is small... No, the attack power doesnt matter, it just needs to look
good."
Following that were scenes of shame and confusion.
Raynesia was brought to a simple room. Stripped and adorned with battle equipment with the help of the
young girl Akatsuki.
Most n.o.bles changed their clothes with the help of their maids and Raynesia was the same, she didnt
resist being naked in front of others.
The source of her shame and confusion was due to her first time wearing battle armor.
Firstly, it was as light as feathers.
Breastplate and a shirt made from thin shiny silver chains.
Gauntlets made of metal and leggings with vines carved elegantly on it as if they were the works of elves.
But the problem was... the chain armor around her waist.
The armor only covered the tops of her thighs and you could see her legs down to her knees. Showing
your arms was a common design for dresses, but clothes that showed off your thighs seemed so vulgar,
Raynesia (probably) never wore something like this before.
Akatsuki said simply: "The skirt... I will help you wear." But instead of a skirt, it looked more like a belt
with a scarf sized cloth.
(My... my thighs are showing... And the breastplates shape is so real, how should I put this, it seems a bit
inflated...)
As Raynesia was stunned by this, Akatsuki hung a sword on her waist and tightened all the straps all over
her body. All armors were skintight after tightening so you would not feel its weight.
From the weight and comfort, this should be a famous magical armor, Raynesia was impressed... But the
curves of her body were also showing and she could not bear to watch.
Raynesia thought her figure was not bad, but this set of armor... left nothing to the imagination. Raynesia
moaned.
"Ermm... Akatsuki-san? If I wear it like this, the curves of my body are a bit..."
"You are tall enough, so bear with it."
Raynesia was too intimidated by Akatsukis glare to say anything.
Akatsuki took out a comb and straightened Raynesias hair beautifully. Her actions were more smooth and
delicate than any maids, but Raynesia was only getting more and more tense.
It might be due to her silent nature, but the young girl had been strangely agitated from just now.
Akatsuki grabbed the procrastinating Raynesia and dragged her outside where Shiroe and Charasin were
waiting. The 2 of them seemed to have been standing outside and discussing all this time. Raynesia
attempted to hide behind the short Akatsuki, Charasin smiled widely upon seeing her.
This expression of lauding from the heart was similar to the knights and bureaucrats. But Shiroe seemed
to just have the expression of someone judging and gauging. Raynesia entered Shiroes name into her
mental note of someone to look out for.
"Charasin-san, it is pretty good right?"
"Yes, I think she is beautiful."
"... Thank... Thank you for your compliment."
Raynesia almost pulled up her skirt to do a curtsy but she restrained herself. The cloth she was wearing
(she didnt want to recognize this as a skirt) was too short to pull.
"Now, lets proceed to the main event. It will be fine, please relax, I have high hopes for the princess."
Shiroes words and smile sent a chill down her spine for some unknown reason, but she could only nod
now.
Part 2
And so...
"Thank you everyone for gathering here so early in the morning, I am Shiroe from Log Horizon. The time
is now dawn, the war is coming upon us, let me explain our situation."
It was dawn.
The city square was full of Adventurers, the numbers were uncertain, but from the crowds jam-packed in
the city square, there should be more than a thousand.
Akiba central city square.
The debris in the city square had been cleared in the past few months, it was now 20% more s.p.a.cious
than before the Catastrophe. When Elder Tales was still a game, the debris was just part of the
immovable background, but now they could be moved or destroyed.
There were still shops open at this unearthly hour, the stores had been refurbished and looked very clean,
making Akiba look more vibrant and lively.
Raynesia did not know these details, she only felt this was a city full of life. The sun had just started
rising in the east and yet there were so many people already gathered here. For Raynesia who had not
been through any battles, this was an unusual sight.
And those gathered here were not just human knights.
There were elves, dwarves, even carpenters and merchants. Unlike military processions and meetings of
n.o.bles, the stalls peddled their food and drinks to the crowds, which seemed to be the norm in this city.
Raynesia did not know the Round Table Council members who had been standing by on shift had made all
the preparations after Shiroe contacted them. Gathering the veteran Adventurers, setting up the stage, and
parking the secret weapon beside Akibas riverbank had all been done.
Raynesia who was staying inside the tent next to the stage could only see the Lumiere called by the
Summoner illuminating the podium.
They were using the valuable mage, the highly respected Summoner, as a stagehand. This went against the
common sense of Raynesia, but the contents of the speech made her even more lost.
"... Because of these reasons, centered around Sand Leaf peninsula, in the northern hills and forests of the
Kanto region, there is an army of about 20,000 goblins. This force is attacking the surrounding areas.
There are several Adventurers in Sand Leaf reporting about this attack. The governing organization in
Kanto, the League of Freedom Towns Eastal is exposed to this threat. According to the a.n.a.lysis of the
Round Table Council, this threat is just a threat, the League of Freedom Towns Eastal will not be wiped
out if we leave them alone, but will exhaust at least 30% of their total fighting force... this number is
equivalent to the destruction of their military, but it is not to the extent of wiping out all the People of the
Land."
The report Shiroe was reading out was more detailed than that of the n.o.bles and he was merciless in his
speech. If Raynesia was not wrong, his words had hidden poisonous barbs.
But the scene that amazed Raynesia the most was not Shiroes att.i.tude, but the comprehension in the eyes
of all the Adventurers listening.
From what she could observe from the tent, not one person looked bored or confused. Some of them even
opened up pieces of paper, probably maps, and were noting down the important points in the speech.
This was a scene that made Raynesia, one of the People of the Land, amazed. Werent the people gathered
here equivalent to peasants? Why did they have so much comprehension skills?
Raynesia thought that the Adventurers gathered here were just common soldiers, but their comprehension
level surpa.s.sed that of officers, and was on par with the bureaucrats of the courts. There were so many
people with military and geographical knowledge, and they seemed to know the political situation of the
League of Freedom Towns Eastal, this almost made Raynesia fall down in shock.
What were n.o.bles? What were peasants? What were farmers?
The worldview in Raynesias heart had been shattered.
"On the other hand, we feel that defending Akiba from this army is something simple... apart from food,
this city is very self-sufficient and even more so in terms of technical knowledge. We have enough
defense capabilities, it is not necessary for us to aid the League of Freedom Towns Eastal. In terms of
gain and losses, we do not need to help them, let me repeat, we absolutely do not need to send aid... I
hope everyone will listen to the words from this person while keeping this in mind."
It was as though everyone present gulped.
When many people gather together, they would create a certain warmth. In the heat of the silence, Shiroe
looked to the tent and pointed to this person.
"Ah?"
Someone grabbed Raynesias hand while she was stunned.
She turned around and saw Krusty in a sky-blue armor, she was not sure if it was for ceremonial or
practical use. Krusty had his usual gentle expression and smiled as he said: "Lets go on stage."
"Eh? Eh?"
"Come."
Krusty dragged her out of the tent and a sudden bright white light shone onto the city square.
It was the light of dawn, the first ray of sunlight in the morning illuminating the whole square from the
east.
In the cool morning breeze of the summer, Raynesia was suddenly pushed forward.
This was the center of the stage, the forefront where there was no escape.
Raynesia felt hot as she came on stage and did not know what to say or do. In front of her were several
thousand Adventurers, a being that was different from the People of the Land. Even if they had the same
form and language, they were fundamentally different creatures.
She could feel this from her short contact with them.
Her lips were trembling, her knees were losing strength.
A sharp sound came from her right.
She turned and saw Krusty with his calm appearance like a heroic guardian angel. He stuck his twohanded
axe into the floor and placed both his hands onto its handle. The sound just now was the axe
hitting the floor.
This was followed immediately by a dull thud from the left. Shiroe who moved here was holding a
ceremonial pewter staff that was taller than him vertically like a spear. Shiroe didnt have the staff a
moment ago.
With Krusty and Shiroe on either side of her, Raynesia took a step forward on the stage. Her temperature
was rising gradually, the scenery in her eyes was changing its shape, but her thoughts were unexpectedly
clear. Her breathing was so loud that it irritated her, and she could strangely hear the conversation of the
Adventurers chatting softly in a corner clearly.
"... Everyone, this is my first time meeting all of you, I am one of the People of the Land. I am a resident of
the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, the daughter of the Corwen clan governing Maihama. My name is
Raynesia Elart Corwen, I came here bearing a request for everyone."
Her voice was so clear she surprised herself.
Raynesias words reached every corner of the city square in the morning air.
"Just as Shiroe-sama described, Yamato is facing a great crisis. I announce without any reservation that
the guardians of Yamato, the Knights of Izumo are missing right now. The League of Freedom Town
Eastal will need to handle this crisis themselves. The goblin invasion force is the biggest ever in history,
and they are advancing fast. They are already within the sphere of influence of the League of Freedom
Towns Eastal. The People of the Land have city walls, magic barriers, and soldiers, but how effective our
defenses will be is still an unknown. Even at this moment in time, my fellow People of the Land are
polishing their blades and fortifying the walls in preparation for war. But even with all these efforts, we
cannot avoid making major sacrifices to protect our homelands."
Raynesia threw her gaze far away.
What she saw was not the crowd before her, but the scene a few hours ago.
"It might sound shameful, but the League of Freedom Towns Eastal has not come to a consensus even at
this critical stage. Before I arrived here, they were still arguing selfishly for the safety of their own
territories and were reluctant to send aid to each other. Not only that."
Raynesia hesitated at this point.
But she was unable to stop.
"Not only that, we are wishfully thinking about pushing the holy task of defending our homeland to the
Round Table Councils amba.s.sadors. We were scheming to rely on the immortal Adventurers, rely on
everyone here for help, hoping to use everyones battle power to protect our lives and territories. I am not
worthy of apologizing on their behalf... But I am deeply sorry, and I also feel remorse over one more
thing. The thing is, I am here today to raise the same willful request."
Raynesia did not notice the bright purple cape and Valkyrie Mail that Shiroe chose complemented
Raynesias feminine features to the limit. Raynesia under the dawn light was the image of a valkyrie that
everyone respected and adored.
Raynesia did not realize this.
When she made her plea to the Adventurers, Shiroe turned his head slightly and gave Krusty a look.
Krusty gave a bitter smile and an expression of resistance.
"Both the League of Freedom Towns Eastal and I do not have much to offer in terms of rewards...
Everyone is living in such a prosperous city, I do not know what to prepare to give as thanks, and I dont
want to use worldly items to exchange for everybodys freedom. But as a daughter of the Corwen family, I
love Maihama deeply and have the obligation to protect my nation... thats why... I have come here before
everyone today."
Deluding themselves with wishful thinking and only thinking of protecting their own interests was indeed
shameful.
Raynesia fell to her knees naturally and gave a deep bow.
If the Adventurers present were knights or bureaucrats, or in other words n.o.bles, she wouldnt lower her
head this way. In the culture of n.o.bility, a lady was treated as a valuable item, a n.o.ble lady of high status
was their top protection priority.
But she learned one thing after knowing Krusty, the Adventurers were not the same.
With her t.i.tle, she would also be respected as a n.o.ble in Akiba. But she would not have a group of people
attending to her needs which was the norm in n.o.bility culture, she would at most receive the respect of
the people on the street.
This was a heterogeneous city.
She would not receive the princess-level of attention she was so used to in this city. But she would also
not be discriminated at all like a lady in a n.o.bles social circle.
The woman in the social circle of n.o.bles did not have rights.
She was treated kindly, would receive all sorts of gifts, and be given numerous compliments and hollow
words of admiration.
She just needed to frown slightly and the young knights would present her with the most valuable
medicine. But they were seeing her as an individual to adore.
They were just after her as a n.o.blewoman, a prize in the diplomatic battles among the n.o.bles, thats why
she was treated with care.
A n.o.blewoman was treated like a gem in the n.o.bles social circle, she was a n.o.blewoman who came
with a guarantee of high pedigree, she was just a top-cla.s.s trophy.
Raynesia who spent her days brooding in her room was more aware of this than anyone else, and she
understood that she was powerless to deny this fact.
"I am cowardly and lazy, an ignorant vase... but... I want to go to the battlefield, so, if you are able to, if it
is fine with you, will you be willing to go with me? Are you willing to help me based on your kindness
and freedom? I wish to do all I can to protect the Freedom of the Adventures..."
(Even if I say that... Even if I want to protect their freedom...)
She was a member of the Corwen family, but she did not have such authority because she was born a girl.
She could plea with her father or grandfather to buy clothes or jewelry for her, she could grant
testimonials to one or two Adventurers and she could hold dinner parties.
But she had no further political powers.
Raynesia also thought she was giving an empty promise.
But instead of saying it was a lie, it was more like her aspiration.
Krusty was the first one to acknowledge she had the freedom to take to the battlefield, Adventurers
probably had never doubted the freedom of doing this. Raynesia wanted to protect their freedom. For
Raynesia who never had such freedom all these years, this was the first time she had such an aspiration in
her heart.
"I sincerely ask everyone to help me."
As she finished her speech in a whimper, there was a loud wave of iron clashing. In the middle of the city
square, a group of people in blue with a coat of arms on their cloaks clashed their weapons and shields
and stomped their feet.
A company of knights in black armor unsheathed their swords and swore to take to the battlefield; on the
open balcony of a ruin a band of elves with bows on their backs sounded their war horns; dwarves
holding axes howled mightily in the crowd.
Werecats, wolf fangs, foxtails, and other minorities did not seem to be discriminated in this city.
(Ah...)
Krusty walked to Raynesias side while she was stunned, Shiroe was at her other side the next second.
"And so, this city... We will be sending out our first expedition army, the condition for enlisting is level
40 and above. This is a quest given by the Round Table Council, there is only one reward, the grat.i.tude
and respect of this People of the Land onstage. Comrades who are willing to take up the quest please ride
for Maihama! Considering the crisis of this situation, we will also be sending a blitz force against the
enemy. The formation of parties will be done while on the move, I hope everyone will cooperate. I am
Krusty and I will be the commander-in-chief for this expedition army."
"The role of tactician will be taken by me, Shiroe. Within 15 minutes from now I will be contacting the
blitz group through telepathy. The members who receive the message please head downstream of Akiba to
Akiba River and the experimental dock. Ocypete will be waiting for you there... For the members who
do not receive the message in 15 minutes, you belong to the main expedition force, please head to the
registration counter situated at the citys east gate to collect your quest forms. You can proceed as
instructed after being registered on the friend list of the registration staff. There will be instructions for
the formation of parties while you make your way there, the preparation time is 15 minutes, please give
me your utmost support."
"Ah, ah..."
An army of a thousand soldiers howled in front of the speechless Raynesia.
"Why are you acting so lost and panicky?"
"How... How can you say that, as a gentleman... As a gentleman..."
Raynesias voice was trembling as she couldnt find the words to say.
The city square was full of the noises of armor clinking and people talking, the words that shouldnt be
heard remained a secret... Except for Krusty.
Krusty extended his hand gracefully like a n.o.ble. He and Raynesia were full of suspicion, overexertion,
and mutual understanding as their eyes met. But to the bystander, they were the perfect couple smiling
beautifully at each other.
Anyway, the expedition plan had been set.
The enemy were the goblins that were moving towards the ruined capital Eastal from Sand Leaf
peninsula, numbering over 10,000. And so, Akiba formed an expedition army for the first time, heading
straight for Sand Leaf peninsula.
Part 3
Minoris group headed towards Choushi in the morning.
They were exhausted both physically and mentally, but their expressions were still spirited.
Although it was only one night, the tense hours in the darkness sapped the energy of the 5 people in
Minoris group. The consecutive battles from Ragranda forest until now had made them gain several
levels.
After going through multiple fights, their teamwork gradually became more polished. They could
sometimes understand what their comrades were thinking even without saying anything.
The 5 in Minoris group were more relaxed walking on the farm trail than staying in the forest, but they
did not let down their guard, watching each others back and blind spots as they surveyed the
surroundings, but they maintained a peaceful atmosphere as they advanced.
(I am still scared when I face battles, but...)
Minori might be scared, but she was no longer fearful.
Real fear was the feeling of dread flowing in your veins, making you over-cautious and let go of your life,
this feeling was almost the same as giving up.
In this world without death, giving up was equivalent to death. But inversely speaking, you would still
stand a chance as long as you didnt give up, even if it was shameful, even if you were shivering, there
would be a chance for things to get better if you stood up and fought.
It was a bit late to call this morning.
It should be close to afternoon.
"h.e.l.lo...! h.e.l.lo...!"
As confirmed by telepathy earlier, Naotsugus group was resting in an empty s.p.a.ce behind the trees.
In this alternate world, dirty equipped items will become clean automatically when they were repaired.
All sorts of items had a set durability, its wear and tear was insignificant when you used it normally.
Since it was insignificant, the visual cleanliness would correspond directly... This was the logic behind
the equipment becoming clean when it was repaired.
But since there was a set durability value, if you used the equipment roughly, the value would drop.
Armor and weapons would gradually wear out after long periods of battling, so there was a need to send
it to the blacksmith for repair periodically.
The 4 in front of Minori were all veteran level 90 Adventurers, they were several times more powerful
than Minori. They took advantage of their might to charge into the center of the pillaging goblin group to
disrupt them and conduct guerrilla warfare.
The formation centered around 2 Swashbucklers must have had battles much fiercer than Minoris group.
"Doing okay? Hi Tohya, did you protect everyone?"
"Teacher Naotsugu, I did!"
Tohya gave a standard bow while Naotsugu rubbed his head.
Serara pounced at Nyanta.
Minori gave a simple report to Shouryuu and Rezarick of their encounters last night, the two of them gave
a sigh of relief and helped to check their equipment and wounds. Shouryuu aside, Rezarick was a Cleric
of a major battle guild and Minori thought he would fault them for acting so willfully. The care and
concern of these two made Minoris heart feel sweetness and remorse.
They were not hurt, but they were running low on supplies.
Minori was afraid they might run out in the midst of battle.
The goblin pillagers attacks diminished like the receding tide as the sun rose from the east. They should
understand their own characteristics, numbers, and the effect of night raids.
Minoris group retreated to the area near the town as the enemy forces backed off.
"Lets stop resting and return to town, I can only relax after seeing it myself."
The Cleric Rezarick from Black Sword Knights said with a serious expression. Everyone nodded in
respond and headed for Choushi.
The b.l.o.o.d.y night was just over, but the summer morning sky was as blue as ever.
The strong sea breeze unique to Sand Leaf hit their faces, blowing through the farm from the coastline.
The scene in the distance and the field in front was dazzling under the bright sunlight. The shadows of
beaches and the beach trees fell on the farm trails, making a beautiful picture of contrast.
After walking a distance, they started to see the corpses of goblins. There were groups here and there,
seemed like the adventurers battled the goblins last night.
"Seems like she has made arrangements here, as expected of the big-breasted Neechan."
Naotsugu said happily in a soft voice.
He was right, Minori did not think they could protect Choushi with their guerrilla attacks alone. Minoris
companions as well as Nyanta, Naotsugu, and others formed guerrilla parties last night and battled the
goblins on that hill. Using the element of surprise and the advantage of night vision, they did what they
could to reduce the number of goblin parties, a brutal guerrilla tactic.
By reducing the number of goblin parties, the pace which the goblins would attack Choushi would slow
down, and it would be a manageable pace... This was the strategy Minori came up with.
Minori did not know the professional term, but the goblins were using saturation attacks, using their
overwhelming numbers to break the defenders formation and tactics.
For instance, if it were 1-on-1 or party-against-party, even if they had the slight advantage in number, the
Adventurers would be able to prevail with their superior battle power.
To counter this, the goblins sent out many small parties, so many that the Adventurers could not handle all
of them. The Adventurers would of course fend off many of them, but there would be gaps because of the
disparity in numbers, and the goblins just needed to concentrate their forces on the gaps to break through.
If they went through the gap, they would be able to savor the fruit that was Choushi, they could also
commit arson and cause confusion, disrupting the Adventurers dominance, making them choose between
returning to town to fight off the raiders or to continue fighting the goblins in front of them.
They could then pick off the confused Adventurers one by one, this was the traditional tactic the goblin
tribes had always used.
But Minoris party took the initiative to strike the goblins first at a place far from the town.
The proposer of the tactic, Minori, had a very simple thought.
Goblins did not have a base they needed to protect, Minori had one. And Choushi did not have city walls
and was easily infiltrated, this was a weakness that would put them at a disadvantage.
... Since that was the case, we should also fight in a place where we wouldnt need to worry about our
weakness.
This was a simple and naive conclusion, they would need the capability and courage to do this but
Minoris group was insistent on executing this tactic.
The goblin forces were diminished by Minoris tactics, but they still proceeded on the night raid as
planned, and Choushi was indeed attacked last night.
But their plan was just to reduce the goblins numbers. A large number of goblins had to stay alert from
ambush or to take another route, taking longer than planned to reach their target. This caused the goblin
army to attack the town while their forces were not all in place.
The feature of a saturation attack was to focus all their forces at one point, forcing the defenders into a
situation where they were unable to respond effectively. The goblins who missed the chance to gather and
muster their forces still proceeded to attack Choushi under the orders of their leader. But their tactic
evolved into each unit attacking separately by their time of arrival, making them the perfect prey for the
Adventurers.
If it was this type of unorganized attack, even the relatively weak and outnumbered Adventurers would be
able to handle them.
Maryele who was convinced by Naotsugu in turn persuaded the members of the training camp to defend
Choushi, and was welcoming the dawn victoriously.
"Welcome back...!"
"Woah woah, Welcome back...!"
"Are you tired?"
Adventurers that were familiar with Serara and Shouryuu greet them as the group entered Choushi. The 2
of them were responsible for taking care of the beginners in Crescent Moon Alliance and knew a lot of
people. Nyanta, Naotsugu, and Rezarick also exchanged information with the other veteran adventurers.
The road that had been compacted tightly over the years of treading showed no signs of being ravaged.
The goblins failed to invade the town.
"Hey, we made it!"
Hearing the proud announcement of her brother, Minori looked up and saw Tohya grinning widely like a
kid in the sun.
Minori felt warmth in her heart looking at his smile.
Her brother maintained his bright and cheery mood through the night and Minori also smiled naturally,
happy that she protected Rundelhous. Tohya extended his fist and Minori b.u.mped it with hers.
"Minori...! The People of the Land are letting us rest at their hotel! We are taking turns to rest! We cant
let down our guard yet!"
"We should be grateful for their hospitality that we can at least wash our faces Miss Minori, Tohya."
Isuzu and Rundelhous shouted from across the street. The twins walked towards them, their footsteps
springy under the summer sky.
Part 4
The prototype steam-powered transport ship Ocypete.
The ship was made originally by putting a steam engine on a big paddle wheel ship to experiment with the
possibility of transporting large amounts of goods, so the cargo s.p.a.ce on the Ocypete was very abundant.
Compared to the paddle wheel ship in the old world, the steam engine here was more elaborate in design.
There was no need to store fuel as it was powered by salamanders conjured by summoners, a unique
feature of this ship.
A paddle steamer was a steam-powered ship with giant wheels akin to watermills on either side of the
ship. The steam engine turned the two wheels which in turn paddled the water and moved the ship
forward.
A propeller ship was better than a paddle steamer in terms of performance, being more efficient in
converting heat to moving energy.
But taking into consideration the difficulty of making parts and installation, they concluded that they were
better off making a paddle steamer at this phase and had been working on it since.
Paddle steamers lost to propellers in terms of efficiency, but they could operate in shallow waters,
suitable for river operation.
Prototype steam engines on small boats had been completed just a week after the formation of the Round
Table Council and they completed the prototype Ocypete paddle steamer in another two months.
The Ocypete was ferrying about 130 Adventurers. It may be noisy with people, but the ship was big
enough so it wasnt overcrowded.
Raynesia stood alone on the deck near the ship bow. She had traveled by ship before, but this ship moved
differently from a sailboat. The way it cut through the waves was strange to her but it was very fast.
The Adventurers around her were resting in their preferred positions, or moving around to make
preparations. Their outfits varied, but about half of them wore cloaks with the same coat of arms as
Krusty, so they should be from the same clan.
Raynesia was feeling blue.
She was not seasick. She was familiar with ships of all sizes as a granddaughter of Maihamas governor.
She was gloomy and feeling remorse over her reckless behavior.
(I said something like that again...)
She found it troublesome and was shy and lazy by nature, so why was she putting on such an act at this
critical juncture? It might be the effect of her education to be a perfect lady, but she was troubled about
this no matter the reason.
(It has been crazy since last night, a woman barging into the n.o.bles meeting and causing a commotion,
shaming grandfather and all the n.o.bles, conflicting the mind-reading monster... and running away
together... and was held by him on the back of the griffon...)
Raynesia couldnt help twisting her body as she recalled the warmth inside Krustys arms.
(Thats not what I meant... And I came to Akiba and was forced to wear such shameful clothes. I am still
wearing them now... And I gave that speech...)
She held her head with her hands.
She couldnt believe herself.
But from her view, she insisted on obeying the proper etiquette.
She was one of the People of the Land, different from Adventurers... She heard about this from her
grandfather and others, understood this premise, but she really felt the true meaning behind it when she
was at that scene.
Raynesia had never seen any group with so many knights with the intelligence of bureaucrats.
She knew people like this were called heroes.
There were Ancients in this world who were both skillful in swordsmanship and possessed the magical
powers of a sage, so there were no problems if there were other talents in this world. She could not find
suitable words to express it, but the strange thing was such talented people suddenly numbered in the
thousands, and this strange group were the Adventurers.
The n.o.bles congregation believed that if they played their cards right and lured them with n.o.bility t.i.tles
and rewards, they would be able to negotiate with the Adventurers. She thought that they misunderstood
the nature of the Adventurers, they possessed such intellect and wealth, how could they negotiate with
their offers of status and reward?
The n.o.bles were wrong.
The irritating but comfortable interaction with Krusty and experiencing that speech made Raynesia
understand this clearly.
Jewelry and invitations to dance parties would not motivate Raynesia to act, she just wanted to wear her
cotton pajamas and lazily eat and sleep all day. It was the same for the different life-form known as
Adventurers. Gems, golds, t.i.tles, and territory could not be used as rewards. If that was the case, the only
way was to plead with them for aid.
(Because I am a girl, I have no education regarding politics... So it cant be helped right?)
Even if it was a small thing, keeping and following through a promise would earn their trust.
If the Adventurers faced dangers, she had to bear the same risk.
This was the way Raynesia came up with to acc.u.mulate trust.
(But even so...)
(Saying something like I want to go to the battlefield was too heavy a promise, have I gone mad? Or is it
because of this set of mysterious... clothes that bare my thighs so much?)
She wanted to squat down, but her long years of education made her think that she had to stand gracefully
with her back straightened in the public with so many pairs of eyes around. This instinct was deeply
rooted in her body, not allowing her to relax.
After that young man Shiroe with the evil smile instigated her, she had became like this. This vicious
method almost made her cry.
"That is the struggling look of someone regretting blurting out that speech in the spur of the moment but is
unable to take it back."
"Eh!"
Raynesia jumped as if she was electrocuted as Krusty came out of nowhere and said these words that
blocked out the sound of the wind.
"Fu fu fu, there is no such thing Krusty-sama."
"Your face is cramping up."
With her follow-up lines sealed, Raynesia could only look out to the ocean with her depressed
expression.
"Seems like you are losing patience."
"... Wooo, anyway, you are correct... But dont misunderstand alright? I am not regretting this, I have to
come personally to plea for help since I am asking them to risk their lives and accompany them to the
battlefield. No, I dont think my life is worthy enough to request the aid of 10 Adventurers, that is, about
this, this..."
"Thats alright, it is enough..."
"Ah?"
At that short moment, Raynesia felt something different in Krustys expression as he said these words. But
the announcement by the ship crew that they had arrived pulled her back to reality from this feeling.
... So fast.
Even if it were crossing the gulf, they were able to ferry more than a 100 knights to their destination in the
afternoon, that was way too fast. It had only been about 15 minutes since they traveled by sea.
The familiar Cinderella Castle of Maihama was before her eyes.
The paddle steamer seemed to be docking at the pier.
The Maihama citizens working at the dock were in a state of panic, probably startled by the gigantic black
ship. This could not be avoided as the citizens did not receive any news in advance.
This was normal.
This was the society of the People of the Land Raynesia had always known about.
An army where everyone had a personal long range communication device, was literate, and able to
understand the content and objectives of battles, that was weird. If the people working at the docks were
Adventurers, they would be able to understand the reason, purpose, and follow-up plan of this ship.
Just like that time when Raynesia landed in Akiba on the griffon, the preparations would have been made.
But the Maihama Raynesia resided in was not like Akiba. As the sole People of the Land on this ship,
Raynesia felt the obligation to calm her people.
Krusty guided her to the bow of the ship to wave to the people. The Raynesia right now was nothing like
the princess who was lazy and disliked the crowds.
Part 5
Meanwhile, a tactical headquarters supervised by Shiroe was commanding the expedition main force.
The strategy that Shiroe and Krusty were adopting was not steady advancement, but speedy and
imperfect. No one could predict the future movement of the goblin army in the center of the archipelago,
but if they ran out of food on the hills, they would obviously raid one of the towns. They were currently
unable to ascertain the goblin armys main target, so Akiba did not have the initiative.
The choice of where to fight lay in the hands of the enemy which was a disadvantage.
Speed was the most important thing to gain the upper hand in this situation.
Fortunately, the zone between Maihama and Akiba was relatively flat in this alternate world. The only
problem was where to cross the river as they traveled southeast from Akiba.
Predicting that the route was relatively safe, Shiroe decided not to muster the troops and move out
together, opting to let Adventurers who were ready to party up and move out immediately.
The tactical headquarters was a communication network formed by Shiroe, Charasin and 10+ others.
They were sorting the Adventurers who enlisted by their guilds and also registering independent
Adventurers to the network as well.
The headquarters used this network to receive reports and disseminate information speedily. The network
didnt take long to set up. After confirming the interest of a guild to take part in the operation, they would
request for a representative of the guild to set up a communication network, and the headquarters staff and
the representative would add each other to their friend lists.
The blitz group that already left, the main expedition force, and the reserve supply company had their own
communication networks.
This expedition army possessed perfect communication that had never been seen before, the current
problem that Shiroes headquarters was facing was how to party up this strange expedition force.
(We need to come up with a name list by levels... This step is hard to make while they are on the move, so
we should set a rough destination for them to gather.)
The first destination was around Matsudo in the old world, situated north of Maihama, the start of the hilly
region... a place between Akiba and Maihama. According to Shiroes knowledge of Elder Tales, there
were many abandoned buildings there, a terrain not suitable for battles.
But they had no choice if there were no suitable zones to choose from.
From reports received through telepathy, Ocypete had docked in Maihama and the blitz group was
moving to the abandoned port of Narashino under the guide of a few People of the Land.
The blitz group under Krustys command had 96 people.
A party was made up of 6 Adventurers, a Full Raid consisted of 24 people, a Legion Raid was formed
by 4 Full Raids, this 96-people group was the biggest fighting unit in Elder Tales.
Krusty may look like a gentleman wearing gla.s.ses, but he was actually the leader of the biggest battle
guild in Akiba and j.a.pan, a charismatic raid commander.
He fully understood the tactical importance of speed in this war and would continue to press on without
rest after reaching Narashino.
Shiroe took a map from his pack while riding his horse.
The abandoned port of Narashino was about 25km away in a straight line from the central forest where
the goblin main force was. For a normal knight in this world, they would need to take 3 days to reach
there. But with Krustys speed, they should be able to engage them tomorrow morning.
The main expedition force was going by horse instead of sea, so their formation was pulled very long
which could not be helped.
(The low-level personnel should make camp about 5km north of Maihama...)
a.n.a.lyzing the surrounding terrain of Maihama, remembering the characteristics of the zone, and choosing
suitable grounds, this camp would be centered around the low-level Adventurers. They would need to
organize themselves in a defensive formation and maintain border security, and would also be a resupply
point so it needed to be big enough.
Midoraunto Equestrian Garden.
His finger stopped at this place marked with a a small green oval. If Shiroe recalled correctly, this was an
equestrian garden that looked like a big sports arena. There was much wildlife in the surroundings, but
there were no heinous monsters, an ideal location.
"Communication team! Please help me to relay, the first destination of the army moving north will be
Midoraunto Equestrian garden! The secondary company will go along the coastline. When the advance
party arrives, they are to post sentries, set up camp and clear away the debris!"
All kind of possibilities flashed through Shiroes mind.
He looked highly focused, giving off a cold atmosphere like gla.s.s as he adjusted his gla.s.ses.
(The battle this time trends toward lightning-fast engagement, there is no need to be too concerned with
the supply line... The number over here is...)
The expeditions main force that Shiroe was commanding was about 1200, about 10 percent of all
Adventurers in Akiba. If you took away the production players, the partic.i.p.ation percentage of fighting
Adventurers would be about 20%.
Including Shiroe, no one here had any experience fighting in a large-scale war with more than 1000
people. But Raynesias speech had definitely set the spirits of many Adventurers ablaze, much more then
Raynesia imagined. The party that just overtook Shiroe had high morale and fighting spirits in their eyes.
The duty of Shiroe was to keep morale up, avoid all kinds of obstacles and guide them to victory in battle.
There were some who say that you could learn from your failures. But Shiroe thought they would not learn
anything if they failed in this expedition.
The confidence and glory of Adventurers, the weight behind their words in this world, living in this
world, and their acceptance of the governance in Akiba. All these elements demanded that Shiroe
obtained victory.
There was no room for failure.
And the fact was 1200 people were enough to gain victory. Using Soujirous words, each of them just
needed to defeat 10 goblins.
Shiroe was responsible for dealing with any unexpected hinges, guiding the 1200 Adventurers to the
front-line and pointing where they should expend their fighting spirit.
(It is 10km to Midoraunto Equestrian Garden... we can reach it in the afternoon without rushing, we
should make camp here. I should detail half of them to border security and do a wide area search for signs
of the goblins. I will then lead the other half to follow Krusty-sans example and attack the goblin main
force. Another way is to leave the defense of the city to the People of the Land and bring the whole army
uphill...)
... Shiroe simulated all the possibilities in his mind as he spurred his horse on.
Part 6
Krusty was advancing faster than the upper limit of Shiroes predictions.
After meeting and looking through the Adventurers on board, he had already organized everyone into
groups.
Organizing sounded easy, but was hard to do.
For instance, all spells would naturally have ranges. Healing magic had the range of 20m on average
while the largest range for the support songs of Bards was also 20m.
Only allies within range would receive buff support and healing. A group of people who could battle
within this range was the concept of a 6-man party in this world.
Inversely speaking, the unit party was based on cooperating within this 20m range as its main principle.
If that was the case, all parties would need at least 1 tank and 1 healer.
A Full Raid formed by 4 parties also needed to arrange themselves by this principle to maintain balance.
It was the same for a Legion Raid formed by 16 parties. If there were 24 healers, they should not band
them into 4 parties of 6 healers.
On the other hand, this didnt mean that all parties should be composed with the same well-balanced team.
As they may run into different situations, they would need to add variety to the parties to handle them.
For example, if all parties only had 1 healer, the tank may not be able to withstand attacks from powerful
monsters. It would be best for parties battling such powerful monsters to have 2 healers, or even 3 to be
safe.
From another angle, if there were no parties with more damage dealers, there would be no units to take
out the enemies like a sharp blade during critical moments, and the fight would become a battle of
attrition.
If all the parties were composed similarly, they would lack the ability to adapt.
If the party did not have excellent teamwork, they would not be able to perform to their full potential.
Taking into account that members of the same guild worked better together, it would be better to put them
in the same or neighboring party. The famous veteran Adventurers would be able to work elegantly no
matter which party you slotted them in, making them useful wild cards.
Apart from the cla.s.s and abilities of each Adventurer, they also needed to consider their experience and
their suitability for command.
Even in the most basic 6-man party, the key to teamwork in battle was to communicate with each other,
this was common knowledge to the veterans.
For a 24-man Full Raid group, the complexity and confusion would increase as well, so who would do
what? Should they focus on healing or attacking? Where should they position themselves? They needed to
make judgements like this during battles, so each party needed to elect a leader to execute the plan of the
Full Raid captain.
For a Legion Raid battle, the Full Raid captain would need to take orders from the Legion Raid
commander, you needed a high level of concentration and experience to maintain this chain of command in
the heat of the battle.
When Elder Tales was just a game, there were very few quests that required a Legion Raid to
accomplish, as it was difficult to gather almost a hundred veteran players within the given time-frame.
The teamwork training for the 96 players would be too hard to imagine.
The obstacle for challenging Legion Raid quests was too high for regular players, since most players
could not do the quest, the company would not focus on developing them.
The Legion Raid quests were too difficult, only suitable for the few high-level veteran players to
challenge, so those who completed them would obtain extreme wealth and fame, but the challengers were
very few.
D.D.D was a guild that had been challenging this type of high-level content since the time when Elder
Tales was a game. Guild Master Krusty of D.D.D was one of the group of less than 20 players on the
j.a.panese server who had actual Full Raid command experience.
He used this experience expertly to organize the time with a surprising speed. The personnel arrangement
looked random at a glance, but it made perfect sense if you studied it.
Krustys group that disembarked from Ocypete had been split into the 96-person blitz group and the 12-
man Raynesia protection and surveillance group. Krusty learned the main points of the terrain in the
surrounding area from the People of the Land, added the details to his military map and marched the group
off without hesitation.
The Full Raid groups had been a.s.signed a number from 1 to 4. They reached Sand Leaf peninsula in the
evening, their goal was 24km west of Kasumiura.
The blitz group from Akiba advanced on horseback to conserve their strength, the parties taking turns to
lead the group. They moved like the wind through the deteriorating roads of past centuries.
Like a flash of black lightning piercing through Sand Leaf.
Onward! Onward!
Krustys blitz group was speeding ahead like an arrow, going straight to the heart of the enemy forces.
Name:
Soujirou
Level: 90
Race: Human
Cla.s.s:
Samurai
HP: 13624
MP: 6807
Equipment
Divine Sword - Kogarasumaru
A powerful Phantasmal-cla.s.s Samurai
weapon. Very difficult to acquire. Not only is
it very powerful, it is an AI type item that can
summon the personification of the sword
which acts as support during battle.
Dragonfly Beads of Ten-thousand Natural
Calamities
An amulet that acts as a talisman against evil
and changes color. Reward from the quest
"Questions and Answers Night". Provides high
resistance to movement inhibition attacks
against those below level 80.
Warrior Armor of the New Emperor
Samurai-exclusive armor worn by heroes in
ancient times. Phantasmal-cla.s.s armor with
very high physical defense, along with various
status bonuses. Its special ability is to absorb
curses.