I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 314

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Chapter 314 – Gravestone in the Plain

After leaving the fort, there was a long stretch of straight road with no ups and downs. The wind carried the powdery snow, and the distant outlines were blurred. The snow that had piled up on the road was flat, and there were no footprints. At least, to my eyes, it didn’t feel like anyone was waiting for us. Of course, that wasn’t the case.

“Myrill, if there was an ambush in this kind of terrain, where would it be?”

“I don’t know, but there’s no need to worry. If there is an ambush, it will be based on information about the troops that were destroyed. Unless they’re complete idiots, they’ll put up some kind of barrier, like a horse fence. You can tell just by looking.”

“Maybe they’ll just storm in separately on the Emperor’s orders.”

I said half-jokingly, and Myrill shook her head with a bored expression.

“That’s the problem with the Imperial Army. There’s nothing more unpredictable than a stupid, suicidal soldier.”

I thought this was the usual pattern, with trouble suddenly breaking out at just the right moment, but nothing was attacking us in this situation where we could see all the way to the horizon. According to Myrill, there seemed to be no sign of enemies hiding in the woods on either side. I stepped on the gas and drove Casspir towards the Imperial Capital.

The straight road is over twenty meters wide, and the forests on both sides have been left in a straight line, so it’s clear that the flat land is the result of artificial deforestation. If it’s the same Imperial Road standard I saw when I went from Casemaian to the Imperial Capital, the road itself is about seven or eight meters wide in the middle, and the flat land on either side is a hardened shoulder to ensure visibility.

Even though they have gone to such lengths to ensure visibility, it will only be effective for the side with the ability to attack from a distance. With the current Empire, where both their artillery and their golems are at rock bottom, it’s like a meaningless flower path for the Demon King. There are no spectators or actors.

“This level of road maintenance is only for when you’re ready to receive an attack. Now it’s completely backfiring, isn’t it? I can see that the Empire’s calculations were off, but I wonder if they didn’t at least think about contingency plans.”

“That’s impossible in a country based on nobility. If you prepare for the possibility of defeat, you’ll be seen as weak. The Beastmen also have this tendency. They have this stupid idea that the brave and fearless are worthy of respect.”

Are they muscle heads? I don’t feel that way about people who are just natural, but in a class-based society, do you have to act like a muscle-head? I couldn’t do that.

“In the first place, the Empire, known for its invincible golems and elite magician troops, might not have thought they would lose.”

“Well, that’s true.”

If the Imperial Army had been in perfect condition, they would have been able to overrun the Kingdom and the Republic. The reason why the Emperor didn’t is unknown, but it’s probably because the cost wasn’t worth it, or they lacked the ability to continue the war, or they didn’t want to be in a two-front war, or something like that.

“Up until the first battle with the mounted Golem troops, I thought it could be a great country…but it fell so quickly.”

“It’s a country almost entirely controlled by the Emperor. As you predicted, it’s more fragile than a kingdom when it starts to decline.”

Can you really call it a great achievement of that Emperor? We continue to ride along the well-maintained road without any problems. In fact, just looking at the road, I can’t help but think that it would have been better if he had conquered the entire continent at once.

I don’t know how many kilometers of simple paved roads there are, but I can’t imagine that the infrastructure (and the budget, and especially the motivation) exists in this world to do that much civil engineering, so I wonder if it was accomplished by earth magic or something.

“Yoshua, the road turns. Just a little to the right.”

I made a slight course correction. Right now, it just looks like there is a slight dip in the snow, but there should be a ditch about a meter wide and deep on either side of the road. I think it’s there to restrict the passage of horse-drawn carriages, but I don’t know the truth. The width of the wagon’s tires won’t get stuck, and if it does, we can get out right away.

Even though they’ve got explosives, I wonder if the Empire has thought of any countermeasures. Maybe it’s because it’s not a technology they developed themselves, so they can’t use it. I can’t say anything about other people, either.

“You look like you’re thinking about something pointless. Your eyebrows are all knitted together.”

Leave me alone. What’s with the knitted eyebrows?

“I think it’s a waste to build a road like this. In my former world, I would have buried land mines on both sides, but I guess they just compacted the ground and didn’t do anything.”

“Isn’t a ‘lando mine’ a trap that blows up men and horses?”

“That’s right. If you bury them, you can restrict the route of movement, and even if you bury just a few of them in the road, you can reduce the speed of advance to less than half.”

“As I thought, the purpose of the ‘lando main’ is not to kill the enemy, but to spread the fear that ‘if you advance, you will die.'”

Myrill shakes her head in despair.

“The war in the other world you talk about is just some kind of game between devils. It seems like a bad joke to me.”

Well, I agree.

The rear compartment was quiet, with no shaking and a straight, flat line all the way. The passengers were asleep.

There was no sign of any forces waiting for us, so Myrril sat in the passenger seat and began disassembling, cleaning, and reloading the used firearms. She did it quickly, one at a time, so as not to be unarmed.

As you’d expect from Dwarves, their aptitude for machinery is far greater than that of other races. They adapt to new machines very quickly, and their work speed and skill improve tremendously as they become accustomed to a machine. Everything happens so fast that I can’t keep up.

“When we get some free time, can you let me modify it?”

As they began to work with the firearms, the dwarves, including Myrril, came up with a number of plans to improve their performance. Until now, they had refrained from modifying the firearms, saying that it was too early to do so since it involved the mainstay of defense, but now they felt confident that they could start working on it both intellectually and technically.

“Heh…”

“I also have a few things I want to try. Mostly I want to test barrel extensions and cooling.”

“That’s fine. We have 70 PPSh-41s and most of them are useless.”

They’re all different in quality and condition, so it might be a good idea to have all the dwarves work together to do some maintenance. We could also have them make some machine guns for defense… but then I start imagining the PPSh machine guns I’ve seen in a picture on the Internet before, and I realize I’m a weak military otaku.

“Is there anyone who wants to do a major modification?”

“There was a proposal from old man Caretta to modify the engine, but that was practically a rebuild. The problem with dwarves is that they tend to overdo things. Even if the performance is improved, it’s pointless if only dwarves can handle it.”

They have seen and handled a full range of firearms, from anti-tank rifles to bolt-action rifles, from heavy machine guns to light machine guns, from assault rifles to submachine guns. When you combine that brain, sense, and technical ability (and the clumsy saint as a consulting mad engineer), I’m sure something amazing will be created.

I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also a little scared.

“It seems that even after we came to the Republic, there were tons of prototype designs, so I think we should start working on it in the spring.”

“That’s great. If the prototype proves to be effective, you should also try to modify your favorite weapon, Myrril.”

As Myrril put the disassembled and cleaned PPSh back together, she stopped.

“That’s the problem. There are some ideas for modifications, but I want to leave them as they are.”

There are people who think that cars, motorcycles, and other industrial products are the best as they are. It’s a matter of taste. I’m not really into customizing, but I can understand why people want to modify their guns and why they don’t.

“It’s a little different.”

Myrril mumbles unusually.

“If I change something, it feels like it’s not the gun Yoshua gave me, and I don’t like that.”

“Gofuhh!”

Oh no, that hit a little close to home.

Ah, yes. That’s it, like the ship of Theseus. Where is one’s identity as a spiritual icon? What the hell was she talking about? My head was spinning with confusion.

On the one hand, I was happy, but on the other hand, I felt embarrassed, so I started to pat Myrril’s head.

“Thank you. I’m really glad to hear that, but the barrel and other major parts have a limited lifespan, so don’t hesitate to make adjustments if necessary.”

“…Ah. I understand.”

It was almost noon when we suddenly came upon a small village that looked like an old post town. It was tucked away in the woods, so we couldn’t see it from the main road until we were almost there. I felt a strange uneasiness, so I turned the wheel of the car and stopped just before the village. The wooden fence at the entrance was open, but there were no people in the dozen or so buildings that lined the street or in the open storefronts. At the end of the path, I could see a building that looked like a church, with a white flag fluttering from the bell tower.

“Myrril, isn’t this town strange?”

“Well, it’s not strange, but it looks abandoned.”

“It’s too new to be a ruin, and there’s no sign of looting or attack.”

Did only the humans disappear? Was it because there was a report that the Demon King’s army was attacking the Imperial Capital? But I think if people are moving around in a hurry, whether it’s for emergency evacuation or to take shelter indoors, there will be a certain amount of destruction. I don’t know if there is a scorched earth strategy, but instead of leaving supplies to the enemy, they would hide them, take them away, or burn them.

I have a bad feeling about this, but my intuition tells me that whatever it is, we shouldn’t get involved.

“…It looks like we should stay away from it.”

I completely agree. However, as we started to back up to get back on the main road, I had a feeling that it was already too late. In the forest behind the village, I saw something moving.

“Back up, Yoshua! Back up full speed!”

I put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas. A huge shadow landed silently in front of the car, which slid backward. If we had reacted a little later, it would have been on top of the car.

“…..!”

We gasp as we see the huge beast through the windshield. It’s almost as big as Casspir. Its eyes glow with rage and murderous intent. Its mouth is stained red, and it has fangs like a greatsword.

Myrill muttered in a confused voice.

“….S-Snow White Wolf…?”

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