Read Novel Full Chapter 411 – Pile of Rubble
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Chapter 411 – Pile of Rubble
“Drop!
With that command came a clang! A few moments later, a roar followed. It was an explosion that seemed to echo deep into the pit of my stomach. It could be described as a shock wave.
“The effect’s confirmed; it exploded spectacularly. Isla, this is Kosuke. We’re going to start indiscriminate carpet bombing. Proceed at a slow pace.”
“Hmm, Roger that. Slight advance.”
Almost at the same time as Isla’s voice over the magic transmission tube, the magic airship began to move forward at a slight pace. And when I looked at Ted, he nodded and gave the order.
“Begin carpet bombing.”
“Aye, aye, sir!”
Under Ted’s command, eight riflemen began loading the bombs for the magic airships.
Now, carpet bombing does not mean a spectacular bombardment that would drop dozens or hundreds of bombs. The eight loaders just drop bombs without a break, so it is probably less powerful than a real carpet bombing, where large numbers of bombs are dropped endlessly. In this world, however, it is a nightmarish experience to be unilaterally bombed from the sky with rock-breaking force.
“It would be presumptuous to call it a man-made dragon, but it is a threat close to that, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. There is no way to counter it with our existing forces.”
The dragon is not only feared for its physical toughness, strength, and the power of its dragon breath. They are feared for their ability to strike unilaterally from the sky.
Furthermore, projectile weapons are not well developed in this world. At best, they are crude bows, stone throwers, and spear throwers, and until I created them, crossbows and similar weapons had not been developed. Finally, there is magic. Also, the mages prevented the development of projectile weapons.
What I am trying to say is that there is a lack of means to attack enemies at high altitudes in this world. Speaking of threats from the sky, there are various monsters, such as dragons being at the top of the list, but it seems that there are few monsters that attack from the sky at a distance. Therefore, it seems that the means to attack from the air have not been developed very much. If they attack at close range, even warriors fighting with swords and spears can defeat them.
Huh? Can dragons also fight in close combat? It’s usually difficult to fight a dragon, whether in melee or ranged combat. It’s just that Melty is an anomaly who can do it with a clenched fist.
The bombing continued for a while, and eventually, the full load of bombs ran out. Eight men with fifteen bombs each.
A total of 120 bombs were scattered on the ground.
“It’s a nicely cleared area or rather a pile of rubble.”
“That’s right.”
Ted and I looked down at the ground, or rather the nest of flying biters, through a small window to check the effects. The rugged rocky terrain had been cruelly shattered by the rain of large magic airship bombs and turned into a pile of rubble. Compared to before the bombing, the ground seemed to have subsided somewhat. Was there a cavity under the rocky ground? Perhaps this underground cavity was the main part of the flying biters’ nest.
“If we can destroy it so completely, we can assume that we have achieved our tactical objective. I’ll have the dragon riders check it out. Until then, keep an eye on the ground, just in case.”
“Roger that.”
When Ted nodded, I nodded back, and after contacting Isla through the magic transmission tube and requesting the dragon riders’ assistance in checking out the area, we began resupplying the air bombs.
“But one hundred and twenty bombs is quite a lot, isn’t it? Ohh, the material has run out again… I’ll have to replenish them next time.”
“I see you have your problems as well.”
“Of course I do. It may look like I’m pumping bombs out of empty space, but I’m just pulling out something I’ve prepared beforehand. It’s just like a waterfowl that seems to swim gracefully above the water. Under the water, where you can’t see it, it’s flapping its legs.”
As I said this, I calculated in my mind the materials needed for 120 large air bombs for the magic airship and sighed inwardly. The main material for the outer shell is iron, and the rest is gunpowder, mechanical parts, and some magic stones for the fuse. The iron is surprisingly the biggest problem in this list… The materials for gunpowder can usually be obtained in town, and we don’t required a large amount of magic stones, so the ones we get from the corpses of the monsters we kill can be enough to cover the cost. However, if I want to get iron in large quantities, the most efficient way is to mine it myself. Besides, iron is expensive to buy in large quantities in the city, and if I force myself to buy as much as I need, there will be a shortage of iron, which will have too great an impact on the market.
“I need to mine again somewhere… and since there’s nothing but rocky mountains around here, can’t I mine for a day while I’m here?”
We used a lot of materials to build this magic airship―especially mithril, silver, and copper―so my inventory is running low. These materials can also be obtained by digging up rocks, so I would really like to replenish my supply of these materials. If I ask Grande to take me to the top of a suitable rocky mountain, I should be able to clear at least one of the mountains by digging from the top to the bottom. I also have a mithril pickaxe now. I’ll talk to Driada when I get back. We have a day to spare, so it’s no problem if I use it like this for a day or two. Ah, but I want to get home quickly and see the children’s faces… That’s really disturbing.
While I was thinking about this, I received a call from Isla when I finished refilling the bombs.
“Confirmation complete. The flying biters’ nest has been completely destroyed.”
“Roger that. Then, let’s return to the base. Tell the dragon riders to lead the way.”
“Hmm, got it. Are you coming back?”
“I’m on my way.”
“Roger that.”
After the call through the magic transmission tube, I went up to the upper deck with Ted and the others. Will there be anyone left to monitor the ground, or rather the lower deck? There’s a passive magical radar, so we haven’t deployed any personnel. Basically, there are no creatures that can reach the altitude at which the magic airship navigates without using magic power. But perhaps we should send personnel in the future. If that’s the case, it might be better to build a suitable place for ground surveillance somewhere. This bomb room is small, and we can only look down almost directly. Well, that would require a drastic redesign of the hull… If you think about it, there is no need to be particular about the shape of the ship, and it might be a good idea to modify the hull as much as its strength allows.
In any case, this prototype magic airship was built in a hurry, so there are a lot of rough edges… We have a lot of other projects in the works, so we can’t just sit on this one, but it’s a big project in its own right, so we can’t just drop it halfway through… Good grief, I’m in trouble.
“It’s probably hard work for the soldiers in the field, but it’s also pretty hard work for the developers…”
“Please take care of yourself. If you fall, the country will be toppled.”
“I think so, but I’m pretty overworked… Is it a problem of being too easy to use? Well, I have no complaints.”
I’m glad they can rely on me. I’m going to have more children in the future, and I need to show them what a reliable father looks like. Well, even if I do my best, I don’t want to avoid the tragedy of having to go on so many business trips that they don’t even remember my face. After this business trip, I would like to take it easy for a while.