Chapter 326
<– Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter –>
Chapter 326: Defense
Let’s get the current situation sorted and come up with a realistic solution.
『How to hold back the human invasion which seems to have no end in sight?』
――No!
There is an end ―― a goal in sight. We only have to last until the invasion teams annihilate the Demon Kings in Itoigawa City. Once that happens, a pseudo-peace will be enforced, ejecting all foreign elements from the territory of the aster empire and allowing us to intercept the approaching enemies by bringing the invasion teams back.
In other words, the period of time we need to hold out is finite.
Hence, the question is how long that period of time lasts?
If I have all invasion teams focus on one enemy…no, let’s not go there. The other enemy might start getting in our way once their hands are freed-up. In that case, only the Chloe unit, which has the lowest combat power, could handle the other enemy… No, if we decrease the invasion vectors, the enemy will be able to focus its defenses in one place. In such a case, Chloe’s unit alone would be insufficient to punch through, wouldn’t it?
Then, how about Rina’s unit? Her forces are suitable since they are the most balance when it comes to offensive and defensive capabilities. If I go with this, the units of Takaharu, Hibiki, Kotetsu, and Chloe would be in charge of eliminating the Demon King with 25 sectors that have 19 floors each.
The period of time needed to annihilate the Demon King…would be roughly around 30 days? In short, holding out with the defenses for 30 days would be the victory condition.
At present, the sector that has been penetrated the deepest would be the 308th sector. There the humans have reached the eighth floor of 32 floors in total. Given that they have reached eight floors in five days, the human invasion speed can be simply calculated as 1.5 floors per day.
Accordingly, 30 days would be….yeah, that won’t work.
What if I were to adjust the defense battle formations and give up on earning experience for my subordinates to nurture stronger units?
“Yataro! We’re going to switch to genuine defense from now on!”
“Huh? What do you mean by genuine defense?”
“We will give up on nurturing the subordinates. I don’t care, even if the number of disposable subordinates increases! We will hold out for 30 days!”
“Hmm, 30 days, huh?”
“If we last for 30 days…for roughly 30 days, our invasion teams will come back. We have to stick it out until then!”
“Shion…you’re choosing the path of not returning the invasion teams now?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“…Got it. If you as my lord says so, I will obey as your subordinate.”
“Tell me anything you need…be it subordinates or weapons.”
“――! Rando――”
“After we’re done and have recovered our losses.”
“Ho ho, the carrot being hung in front of me is somewhat far away, but…I guess I’ll do my best.”
Yataro touched the beard on his chin while laughing cheerfully.
“Let me tell you something, Yataro.”
“What is it?”
“If the enemy reaches the 25th floor…I’ll use my BP for the defense.”
“You’re going to use your cherished BP on this?”
“And, if the enemy breaks through to the 30th floor…I will call back all invasion teams.”
“In short, you’re saying I’ll have lost, if I allow the enemy to reach the 30th floor.”
“It’s not like we’ll die, but…to put it in layman’s terms, it’ll be game over.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. By the way, are you going to dispatch those guys?”
Yataro’s eyes took on a sharp glint.
“Those guys…you mean Kotetsu’s pupils?”
“Yeah.”
“This time around――I’ll have them remain on standby.”
“Until the end?”
“If we were talking about the last line of defense for Aster’s Empire, it’d be a different matter, but…this time it’d come with too many disadvantages to use them――humans for our defense.”
“Because it’d remind the invading humans of the Sadist King, eh?”
“It’s impossible for us to shoulder all of humanity’s hatred.”
“I enjoyed my days as Demon King together with Kaede, but I like my current lifestyle in Aster even more.”
“That’s great to hear,” I curtly answered Yataro who sounded more like he was having a monologue.
“Therefore I’ll struggle to the bitter end if it’s for the sake of protecting Aster.”
“Well, we won’t immediately perish, even if we lose.”
“――!? We’re in such danger…? Maybe I’ll have to go out on the battlefield in person as well then.”
“Anyway, I guess we’ve got to pool all our efforts into this.”
“Yeah.”
I sat down on the chair in the center of the control room and started to direct our defenses.
◆
Ten days since the beginning of the Chaos Festival ―― and five days since we’ve entered a serious defense mode.
We succeeded in limiting the invasions to the tenth floor across all sectors. Now that we stopped using the invasions as a source for nurturing our subordinates, the defense efforts went a lot smoother than anticipated. The worries from five days ago might have been needless anxiety.
I participated in the defense efforts together with Team J for three hours per day. This also counted as a way for me to earn some experience.
◆
Fifteen days since the beginning of the Chaos Festival ―― and ten days since we’ve entered a serious defense mode.
The 309th sector has been invaded down to the 19th floor while the 302nd sector has had 17 floors invaded. The remaining sectors have been held back at the 15th floor or higher, but…we’re in a tough situation.
◆
Sixteen days since the beginning of the Chaos Festival ―― and eleven days since we’ve entered a serious defense mode.
We threw huge numbers of subordinates into the 309th sector, where the defenses were centered around Team J, and the 302nd sector where Izayoi, Tsukuyomi and I took command. Even though we managed to push back the invaders to the 17th floor on the 309th sector and the 15th floor on the 302nd sector, the other sectors suffered a breakthrough.
The situation was clearly deteriorating.
◆
Twenty days since the beginning of the Chaos Festival ―― and fifteen days since we’ve entered a serious defense mode.
The humans invading the 307th sector reached the 21st floor. All other sectors are being invaded on the 18th floor or below.
Will I be able to push back the invasions, even if I raise my Body to A? That’s bound to fail, isn’t it?
I was driven by anxiety with the first limit having been breached.
◆
21 days since the beginning of the Chaos Festival ―― and sixteen days since we’ve entered a serious defense mode.
〜♪
The sound of an incoming mail reached my ears.
Who is this?
If it’s Blue…I’m going to impose a heavy penalty on him together with his boss, Rina, afterwards.
Even as I felt irritated, I opened the mail on my smartphone.
――――?
『Sender: Laplace3298＠free.com』
Laplace3298＠free.com？
Who’s that?
<– Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter –>
Translation Notes: