Side: Prism - Enaria General, Twin Sword Magic Sword Wielder
Just a little farther, and we would have reached Betan City and begun our assault.
But perhaps we had picked a bad spot to camp, because the ground gave way under the weight of 120,000 soldiers.
"Urgh...! Someone give me a situation report!!"
Even for someone like me, falling from this kind of height would mean certain death if I crashed straight into the ground.
I might have had time to use my magic sword, but this time the ground suddenly collapsed beneath our feet.
I desperately released the power of my wind magic sword to slow my fall, but I still hit the ground hard enough that it was difficult to breathe.
"Where's Aegil...? Aegil, are you alright!?"
Forcing my unsteady body upright, I looked around.
Unfortunately, the horse I was riding did not survive the fall...
Kuh... I managed to slow my descent with the Wind Magic Sword, but Aegil's Magic Sword was lightning...
No way...!
An unpleasant thought crossed my mind.
"I'm perfectly fine. Just completely sticky, though."
Aegil's voice echoes clearly through the cloud of dust.
"Thank goodness. You're not hurt?"
"Yeah. As you can see, there was something like... water? Down below. Most of the other soldiers seem fine too. It looks like there wasn't any water where you landed, Prism. Your horse just had terrible luck."
"...I see."
Wait... could it be that because I used the wind magic sword to blast away the fall site, the water that should've cushioned me vanished? Did my horse die because I did something unnecessary?
Alright, let's stop thinking about that... Right now, I need to assess the army's situation!
"Aegil, do you understand what just happened?"
"Yeah. Looking up there, it doesn't seem like we fell into a giant pit—it looks more like the ground itself caved in. There's no way anyone could've dug a trap capable of collapsing under one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers, so this has to be a natural disaster. Ah well. What rotten luck."
Aegil is chuckling as she speaks, but this is no laughing matter.
"Aegil, this is no laughing matter. We need to reorganize before the Jilva forces in Betan attack us."
"I know, I know. But not right this second. We need to move quickly, sure—but panicking won't help, Prism."
"...You're right... For starters, there's no way our entire force was caught in the collapse. We should cooperate with the units left up on the surface."
Aegil's words helped cool my head a little.
This was certainly a major blunder. But yelling wouldn't help. What I needed to do was understand the situation and reorganize as quickly as possible.
"Exactly. I'm only your deputy, after all. You're the commander—you've got to stay composed. Look, the report we've been waiting for has arrived."
Following her gaze, I saw a messenger running toward us.
"E-Excuse me! Permission to deliver the situation report!"
"I asked for it. Go ahead."
"Yes, ma'am. First... it appears our entire main force was caught in this natural disaster."
"What!?"
"Oh? Even more than I expected."
"The height we fell from was roughly 20 meters. As you can see from here, the top of that wall is where the original ground level was."
As the dust settled, I could finally see the wall the soldier referred to.
Its height stunned me... It was a miracle so many had survived.
"What about casualties? And the supplies?"
"We're still compiling the number of injured, but miraculously, there have been no confirmed deaths. There are many wounded, but only around a hundred, relatively speaking. It's probably thanks to those strange creatures beneath us."
"Strange creatures?"
"What?! What do you mean by strange creatures?!"
Aegil reacted even faster than I did.
She is a researcher at heart, so I can't blame her.
But right now we need a detailed situation report, not information about weird creatures.
"Aegil, let's put the creature talk aside for now. First, the situation. No deaths is fortunate, but the entire main force falling in... Supplies must be scattered everywhere from the fall. We have no choice—gather the siege bridges and ropes from the supplies. We'll contact the rear supply unit. They should have noticed our situation and be heading this way. So let's make contact quickly and get out of here."
"I'm sorry. The supplies are indeed scattered as General Prism said, but those strange creatures have... eaten the ladders and ropes. We barely have any means left to climb that wall."
"Huh?"
"Whoa!? What are those creatures!! So cool!! New discovery!!"
"...Be quiet, Aegil."
"Yeees."
"No way to climb, huh... Is there really no ladder or rope left? Surely not all of them were..."
"It appears they were all destroyed... The creatures seem to have attached themselves to the supplies and preferentially consumed the ladders and ropes..."
W-What a disaster...
"Naturally, we tried to stop them, but... they're like, water-like beings..."
The soldier pointed toward a faintly visible yellowish translucent blob wriggling in the distance.
"Whoa!? They really are strange creatures!!"
Aegil immediately tried to approach them, so I hurriedly stopped her.
"Stop! We don't know how dangerous they might be. They could be monsters!"
As I restrained her, Aegil suddenly froze.
Good, she finally understands.
"Ah, I see! They're Slimes!! Ancient magical monsters! Just like the books described—they have bodies made entirely of liquid! Incredible, they're real! Though the books said Slimes prey on living things... I get it! They've spent so long underground that they've adapted to eating dirt and stone instead! That's why they aren't attacking us—they don't recognize us as food! Hmm... but that's strange. Slimes are supposed to exist only within ruins and dungeons. Ah... could there be a dungeon around this area?"
...This research-obsessed idiot.
Still, what Aegil knew might prove invaluable.
If we questioned her further, perhaps we'd find a way out.
"Oh, right, Prism. If the ropes and ladders were dissolved, our food supplies could be in danger too. We'd better gather everything and defend it."
"You should've said that first!! Gather every remaining supply immediately and move them away from the Slimes!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
I hurriedly issued the orders.
We couldn't allow this situation to deteriorate any further.
"Aegil. Tell me everything you know that might help us escape. This 'dungeon'... that's what people now call ruins, right?"
"Yeah. Those Slimes are proof enough. According to ancient records, what people nowadays call underground ruins are properly known as dungeons."
"And what exactly is a dungeon?"
"Hmm... They're places filled with incredible treasures. They're meant to stir the spirit of adventure. And according to the records, monsters spawn there endlessly. So honestly, trying to eliminate all these Slimes would just be a waste of effort. Dungeons are apparently built to lure adventurers in, and as I said, they contain treasures, and there are also safe zones where monsters don't approach."
"...Wait. You're saying trying to secure this area by defeating the Slimes would only waste our stamina?"
"Exactly. They probably don't replenish instantly, but we're basically stranded in enemy territory. Rather than exhausting ourselves fighting here, I'd recommend searching for one of the dungeon's safe zones—areas where monsters don't approach—or at least narrow passages where we can limit how many enemies reach us at once."
"...You're right. If the enemy finds us and starts shooting arrows from above, we'd be slaughtered one-sidedly."
"Exactly. Going into an unknown dungeon is worrying, but getting picked off by the enemy without a way to fight back is much worse. If they drop oil and light it on fire, it's all over."
She's right... Our current situation was dangerously close to hopeless.
Even though we knew little about dungeons, strategically speaking, using one might be our only chance. No... If we didn't retreat into the dungeon, we might all be wiped out.
"Fine... Relay this to the entire army! Half the force will search immediately for the dungeon entrance! Once it's found, begin exploring. If it's viable, the entire army will relocate into the dungeon! The remaining units will gather supplies. Stop fighting the Slimes and conserve your strength!"
"""Yes, ma'am!!"""
* * *
It didn't take long before the dungeon entrance was discovered.
Conveniently enough, beyond it lay a vast monster-free chamber large enough to accommodate all 120,000 soldiers.
Without hesitation, I ordered the entire army to move into the dungeon and secure the area.
"Well, that's a bit of good luck amidst all this bad, huh. The Slimes didn't come inside the dungeon."
"That's true... But we can't stay like this forever. It seems the supply unit behind us was ambushed and pushed down too. Half managed to escape, but reinforcements from the capital..."
"The second wave of 100,000 isn't scheduled to arrive for another half a month. Even if they hurry, it will take one to two weeks."
"The supplies we saved aren't that abundant. Feeding 120,000 soldiers will last us at most..."
"From what I heard, about a week at best. Hoping our allies will arrive in a week is too optimistic."
Exactly. We cannot afford to sit around waiting on wishful thinking.
If so, instead of just waiting here...
"...Then I think we should begin conquering the dungeon. I'd like to divide the army between those maintaining this position and an exploration force. What do you think?"
"That's our only option. Make sure the primary directive for the exploration team is to secure food and clean water above all else."
"Agreed. If we're lucky, we might even find an exit leading back to the surface."
"Let's hope so. So, what do we do?"
"We observe for a bit. If the soldiers hit a wall they can't break through, we step in."
"Haaah, I knew it would turn out like that. And here I wanted to quietly study the dungeon by myself."
"Save that for when we make it back alive. Right now, we are entirely relying on your knowledge, Aegil."
Hearing me say that, Aegil smiles happily and grips the hilt of his Magic Sword.
"I know, I know!! Alright, let's go conquer this dungeon!!"
"Didn't I just say we are staying back to observe for a while?"
"Aw, come on, please?"
"No!"
...I truly hope we can make it outside safely.
* * *
Side: Steve
"The enemy's finally making their move, Captain."
"...Yeah, I heard. But we won't have a turn for a while-ssu. Britt, you should take a nap too. You were called in on emergency notice too, right?"
When I asked, Britt nodded.
"That's right. But when they gathered all the monster officers together, I thought it was something really serious. Well..."
"Well, for the Boss, this is the most important event of his life-ssu."
"Yeah, that's true. But still..."
"I get what you want to say, but expecting the Boss to act like an ideal commander is a lost cause-ssu. You've known him just as long as I have, Britt."
"I know, but seeing the enemy like this... it's kind of pitiful."
Britt looks at the screen with a complicated expression, watching the magic sword wielders desperately analyze their situation and take action.
"...They're doing exactly what the Boss predicted. We intentionally let the supplies get eaten so they'd have no choice but to explore the dungeon. But honestly, when your own child's about to be born, couldn't you take it a little easier? Besides, when he leaves everything to us, we're the ones who get busy managing it."
"So that's your real complaint, huh. But even Boss doesn’t have much leeway this time. Look."
I switched the monitor to Weed.
『Serariaaaa!! I'm on my way!!』
『Ah, Yuki-san! You can just use the ring's effect to warp straight to the hospital wing... wait!』
『He can't hear you anymore... Still, seeing Yuki panic to this extent is quite a rare sight.』
『It's proof of how deeply he cares for us. Come along, let's use our rings to head over.』
『Okay~』
I can't help but pity Ria-neesan and Jessica-neesan as they chase after him in a rush.
"—Well, the Boss is going through his most important moment. We have plenty of hands over here anyway, so let's just munch on some cucumbers and get through this job."
"—That's right. The Boss should take it easy more often, y'know."
John the Orc and Mino the Blood Minotaur rumble, crunching loudly on raw cucumbers.
"Look, I agree with letting the Boss take it easy, but lay off the cucumbers already. I want some meat-ssu." I complain.
"Don't be stupid, Steve. Eating nothing but meat will make you sick. Eat cucumbers, cucumbers. They're good for your health."
"Eating only cucumbers is way worse for your body! Seriously, John, your race is turning into Kappas at this point! You're going to grow a plate on your head soon!"
"Hmm? Unfortunately, I haven't turned into a Kappa, but my status screen says my race evolved into a Vegetarian Orc."
"WHAT!? Our monster races can actually change because of our diet!? That's way too ridiculous!"
While I am screaming my head off, Britt and Mino are just casually munching on their cucumbers right next to me.
How can you guys stay so completely calm!?
"By the way, Mino. How are things on your end? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the demi-human village?"
"Nothing unusual over there, y'know. Mobu-san and his team are holding down the fort. What about you, Britt? You're escorting that Magic Sword wielder, right...?"
"Ah, but that person's actually fairly capable. So there aren't many problems on our side either."
Ah, geez! This is supposed to be an emergency.
So why is everything so unbelievably laid-back!?
