Black Death Ice Forest (10)

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35-Type Dragon-Form Magitech Reinforced Armor; Quality: Inferior; Rarity: T (Treasure-class)

A manned magitech weapon manufactured by an ancient civilization for fighting dragons.

No Skill is required to pilot it, and anyone can operate it with a little training.

It is versatile enough for combat on land, at sea, or in the air, and comes equipped with abundant weaponry.

It has suffered extensive damage in fierce battles and could break at any moment.

However, this is probably the only one still operational in the modern era.

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This was what I got from using 【Appraisal】 on MacFarlane again. Apparently, that mechanical dragon was called the '35-Type Dragon-Form Magitech Reinforced Armor.' If it was an ancient weapon, then was it from the same era as Number Eighteen? If humans had operated weapons like this, they must have reached the height of prosperity back then.

That said, I could not afford to let my guard down simply because it looked ready to fall apart. Its sheer mass was a threat in itself. Besides, according to the 【Appraisal】 description, it was equipped with abundant weaponry. It was safe to assume that some undamaged weapons were hidden somewhere.

Moreover, judging from the words 'for fighting dragons,' it seemed to be a weapon manufactured to battle dragons. Knowing full well how strong Cal was, I could easily imagine how difficult it would be to fight one of his kind. Then...

'Hahahahaha! That's right! I should have used it without holding back from the very beginning! Now, die!'

"Tch!"

MacFarlane let out a booming laugh and slammed his left arm down at Jigoro, who had been fighting closest to him. It was an attack made on the assumption that it would catch the Imitation Bone Dragon in its path as well. Jigoro, who had not let his guard down even in the midst of battle, successfully avoided it by leaping to the side.

"Gyaaaaaah!?"

The Imitation Bone Dragon, however, could not get out of the way in time because of its huge, sluggish body. Metal claws severed its bones, and its spine was crushed to pieces. The Imitation Bone Dragon still seemed to have some Health left, but it was already in critical condition. Oh, its head just got stomped flat. I suppose that means it is dead now. Attacking an enemy while taking out one's own minion too... That's just like me.

Even so, the weight behind that blow was extraordinary. It was only to be expected from a weapon meant to contend with adult dragons. It was as if the reinforced armor's sheer menace had been made plainly visible to me. As a demonstration, it was a tremendous success.

"Hey!? You bastard! You did that!? I'll smash you to pieces!"

Jigoro was the one who flew into a rage at this. Apparently, he felt that his prey had been stolen from him. Since they were attacking each other, I thought I ought to be grateful instead. But Jigoro was not the sort to see things that way.

He punched the other Imitation Bone Dragon and staggered it, then charged toward MacFarlane. He was running at a speed that would make even a track athlete pale, but I had grown accustomed to such sights thanks to our Stats.

'Ahahahaha! You fool! I'll crush you underfoot just like that!'

In response to Jigoro's arrowlike charge, MacFarlane raised his right leg with a mocking laugh. He intended to crush him by relying on his massive body and the tremendous strength to match it. But wasn't he underestimating Jigoro a little too much?

"You're too slow, you cosplaying bastard!"

'What!? You annoying little pest!'

Jigoro kept running without flinching as the foot rushed toward him, then dodged just before it came down. Not only that, he slammed a kick carrying all his momentum into the left leg opposite the one that had stomped down.

"It's hard!?"

'Hmph! This reinforced armor is the strongest weapon born from the wisdom of us humans! Attacks from puny monsters like you couldn't leave so much as a scratch!'

"...You sure talk big, brother!"

"I know. Intermediate Soul Heal."

Ah, Jigoro was being stubborn, no question about it. Now that things had come to this, he would probably keep fighting until he made MacFarlane eat his words. In that case, all I could do was restore his Health and raise his chances of winning as much as possible.

'What are you two muttering about!? Hurry up and die!'

Having failed to stomp him, MacFarlane gave chase without hiding his irritation at missing the kill. He raised his left arm, apparently intending to slam it down just as he had when he crushed the Imitation Bone Dragon's spine.

"Hmph!"

'I-I don't believe it!?'

"Hmm, what tremendous strength. My hand's a little numb."

But Genjuro leaped between them and would not allow it. He swung three swords at once and knocked the left arm aside. Deflecting the power of reinforced armor with weapons that thin was, as always, a superhuman feat of skill.

"Jigoro, it is not admirable to monopolize such a formidable foe."

"I ain't trying to hog him. What we're doing from here ain't a brawl anyway. Ain't that right?"

"Indeed. What is about to begin is..."

Genjuro had not intervened to support Jigoro. Apparently, he wanted to fight as well. Jigoro's aggressive insistence on having his way made it easy to forget, but Genjuro was quite the Battle Junkie himself. It might have been only natural for him to want to fight after seeing such a seemingly powerful weapon appear.

Genjuro turned toward MacFarlane alongside Jigoro, who was cracking his knuckles. Their fighting spirit blazing, the two of them leaped forward at the same time.

"Let's take it apart!"

"Let us dismantle it!"

'Woooooah!?'

In order to dismantle the ancient weapon, Jigoro's fists and Genjuro's slashes rained down. Both of them had the skill to target weak points such as the joints, yet they deliberately attacked the hard armor instead. They were probably angry at being told that their attacks were feeble. Hmm... In a different way from me, the two of them could be rather childish.

"This is the last one!"

"Y-you've finally made it this far...!"

While Jigoro and Genjuro played with MacFarlane, we finally managed to exterminate the remaining undead horde. The monsters were far too strong to call fodder, and defeating them all had been exhausting, but we still could not let our guard down. Three Imitation Bone Dragons remained as the final trial.

"There are three Imitation Bone Dragons left. Good, let's leave one to Cal. Kanna and Raga, can I leave one to you?"

"Of course."

"Maybe our experience fighting Dread Beasts will come in handy."

"Thanks. Don't force yourselves to bring it down. Buy time until everyone else, myself included, defeats the last one!"

The strategy was simple. We would leave one to Cal, who seemed capable of winning one-on-one, and one to Kanna and Raga, who were at their best when allowed to fight freely together. Everyone else would gang up on the last one. The best way to defeat a strong enemy was to overwhelm it with numbers and bring it down all at once. Ideally, we would defeat ours as quickly as possible and go help whoever was having the most trouble.

"Understood! Face this way!"

"Gah? Grrrrraaaaaah!!!"

Eiji was the first to make a move. He used a Martial Skill to taunt the Imitation Bone Dragon that had been attacking Cal from behind. The Imitation Bone Dragon turned toward him and charged toward him with an enraged roar. Good, just as planned!

"Then we'll take that one. It'd be all right if we defeated it, right?"

"That's supposed to be a losing flag, you know... Well, whatever. Thunder Arrow."

"Grrr? Gwaaaaargh!!!"

After confirming that one was coming this way, Kanna and Raga ran toward the one Jigoro had left alone. That one seemed unsure what to do because its previous opponent, Jigoro, was concentrating on MacFarlane. As they approached, Raga cast a spell and dealt it damage, causing it to turn its attention toward the two of them. Apparently, it had changed targets. Hang in there!

"Guaaah! It's heavy! But it's weaker than that giant scorpion!"

Eiji braced himself and caught the Imitation Bone Dragon's claws. It seemed he had to use all his strength to hold them back, but apparently they did not measure up to the Thornshell Scorpion High Lord's tail. He was not blown away and somehow managed to stand his ground.

"A larger body makes the joints easier to target."

"Even we can't cut as accurately as Grandpa, but we can aim at them this way!"

With Eiji holding the Imitation Bone Dragon still, Ruby and the others hacked it to pieces. Targeting the joints of a Spartoi and cutting them was difficult, but the Imitation Bone Dragon's huge body made it easy. It was an unexpected weakness born from its massive size.

"Hey, hey, over here! Catch up, slowpoke!"

"Gyaaaaoooon!!!"

Sei and his familiars ran around the Imitation Bone Dragon's feet, striking it with a club and casting spells. The Imitation Bone Dragon could not land a hit on its nimble targets and roared in frustration. The other frontliners used that opening to attack, steadily piling on more damage.

Eiji was also taunting it along with his attacks, so the Imitation Bone Dragon's attacks either cut through empty air or were caught by Eiji. It occasionally used area-of-effect Martial Skills, but the damage was not significant. They were only light wounds, mild enough for our healing to keep up.

"Hmm, this is a troublesome opponent for me. Its weak points aren't easy to identify."

"Isn't it obviously the head? You aimed for the head when we fought the Spartoi, didn't you?"

"That's because everything besides the head is hard to target. Even if I aim for the torso, an arrow doesn't do much damage if it slips between the bones."

"Oh, I see. Then why not use light-element arrows? Weak points shouldn't matter with those, right?"

"I don't have many of those left... I used them up pretty freely whenever the frontliners were in danger."

"You lot, stop with the pointless chatter and focus on attacking! Astral Magic Circle, Holy Ray! Go, you crows!"

"Baa, baa. Astral Magic Circle, Wind Blade~"

The rear guard continued to focus on long-range attacks as usual. Shio fired arrows while muttering, and Shiitake threw bottles filled with mysterious liquids and the like. Nanako attacked with 【Holy Magic】, while using light-element crow monsters summoned through 【Summoning】 to confuse the enemy and send them on suicide runs. Wool strengthened our allies with her singing voice and used attack magic in between.

"Toji-san, I'm throwing a potion! Use it! Shishu, I'm throwing a Stone Pillar talisman! Use it as a foothold!"

"Thanks."

"That helped! Thanks!"

"I'm coming too!"

Iris took command and provided support in my place. She usually holed up in her workshop and could not exactly be called highly combat-capable. Yet, unexpectedly, she was good at directing the front line. Since my hands were full, I had ended up leaving everything to her.

"Healing is finished. Set the traps... Good. Next, refresh the buffs."

As for me, I was supporting all four battles taking place around us. Leaving aside Jigoro and Genjuro, who would get angry if I meddled unnecessarily, I could not let the healing from 【Enchantment Magic】 and 【Soul Arts】 lapse for Cal and Kanna's group, who were being forced to fight at a disadvantage.

I could provide covering fire with 【Floating Skull】, but I could not spare mana for such negligible damage. Why? Because the battle had dragged on and my mana was running on fumes! I occasionally used 【Staff】 Martial Skills to replenish it, but that was barely making a difference.

"Gyaaaaaah!?"

"Cal!?"

In the midst of that desperate battle, I heard Cal scream. I hurriedly turned to look and saw blood flowing from one of Cal's four eyes! Apparently, the enemy's claws had gouged it.

Damn! It seemed we had pushed Cal too hard. We players were exhausted too. We had to win as soon as possible!