Mobuseka Volume 13 Chapter 9

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Chapter 09 "Three Arrows"

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Part 1

Arcadia had defeated Luxion, but it was not unscathed either.

The command center inside Arcadia was shaking violently and alarm bells were ringing throughout the fortress.

Although the magic barrier prevented Luxion's main cannon, it was quite reckless to do so.

As Moritz watched Luxion sink on the monitor in the command center, his tightly clenched hands were shaking.

He gives the order to chase and attack it impatiently.

"Fire the next shot immediately! Be sure to sink it!"

The Luxion had a hole in the hull already, from which an explosion had been triggered.

Watching it sink into the sea didn't reassure Moritz.

That seems to be the same for Arcadia's core.

[I'd like to go after them, but I've used up too much of my stored energy. It's too dangerous to go any further with all the other old human weapons left.]

"Kuh!"

To sink Luxion, Arcadia unleashed its maximum-powered main gun.

There was no mistake in that choice, and in fact, Luxion was defeated.

And yet, Moritz was restless.

"Is it really over this quickly?"

Considering what he had heard from Finn about Leon, it was so unexpected that he felt a bit let down.

Arcadia shakes its single eye to the side.

[You overestimate the weapons of the old humans. It is true that they are powerful enemies, but there is no way that an immigrant ship can defeat me.]

Moritz sat deep in his chair and took a deep breath.

"I see. Now all that's left to do is to invade the kingdom."

If Leon were to fall, morale on the Kingdom side would easily collapse.

With the threat of Luxion gone, there is no one to stand in the way of the Empire.

[I want you to leave the destruction of the people of the kingdom to me. I will find every last one of them.]

For Arcadia, the people of the kingdom are the descendants of the old humans.

It seems truly happy to be able to destroy such people.

Moritz was horrified by the look on its face, but he felt like he had done his part, knowing that the people of the Empire would now be saved.

"——With this, the Empire wins."

There was no way the kingdom's army could stand up to them anymore.

Just when Moritz thinks that the Empire's victory is assured, the magic creatures on Arcadia's side begin to report.

[The previous attack has overloaded the shield.]

[Arcadia main body's shield output decreased]

[The internal system is also overloaded, and it takes time to recover.]

The damage is greater than expected.

Arcadia also seems to have confirmed the status of the main unit after hearing the report, and is bemused when it turns out that those facts are true.

[That level of attack can cause this much of a load, huh?]

It may have been unthinkable before, but it was a hard blow for the just-awakened Arcadia.

Moritz braces himself.

(I guess we can't let our guard down until we've destroyed the Kingdom's army)

The Kingdom's fleet was displayed on a giant monitor.

Since it was too dangerous to let Arcadia fire the main gun now, Moritz decided to let the Empire Army do the job.

"And send out all magic knights that are on standby. If we beat the Kingdom's army in front of us, this nightmarish war will be over."

The General of the Empire nodded in agreement with Moritz's order.

"If they are high-ranking magic knights, the current Kingdom's army will be no match for them."

"——No, leave Finn alone."

The general was puzzled by Moritz's instructions.

"You won't bring out the first rank of magic knights?"

When Moritz looks to Arcadia, it answers instead.

[He is the princess's favorite. There's no point in sending him out on a battlefield if it will displease the princess.]

The people around her had indescribable expressions on their faces at Arcadia's opinion that they would not send out the strongest knight of the empire for the sake of the princess - Her Royal Highness Princess Mirialis.

However, with the outcome already decided, no one spoke up, perhaps because they thought they could win without pushing themselves too hard.

Moritz says in a small voice.

"He can also be used as insurance in case of emergency."

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Part 2

Finn and Brave were in the waiting room for the magic knights inside Arcadia.

All of the magic knights who had been waiting until now have now set out, except for Finn.

Finn sat silently in his chair, arms crossed.

Brave, who was worried about Finn, forced himself to talk to him cheerfully.

[The higher-ups were fools not to send out my buddy. If my buddy went out to battle, the war would be over in no time.]

"Right."

Finn just replies with no feeling.

Brave continues.

[W-Well, I'm glad you didn't have to go out. We wouldn't have had to fight with Leon and the others.]

Finn smiled wryly at Brave, who comforted him clumsily.

"Sorry to trouble you, Kurosuke."

[We're partners, so don't worry about it! More importantly, you keep calling me "Kurosuke". My partner is stubborn.]

Finn smiled, and Brave laughed too.

Mia, accompanied by her attendants, visits the waiting room.

Mia was heavily guarded, with magic creatures accompanying her around.

When Mia appeared in the waiting room and found Finn, her face went from worried to a quick smile.

"Knight-sama!"

"Your Highness Princess Miliaris? Why are you in a place like this?"

Seeing Finn saluting, Mia rolled her eyes and was surprised.

She immediately looked down sadly, and Finn guessed what Mia was expecting.

Finn asks the maids and magic creatures, who are also Mia's guards, to give them some time off.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to talk to Her Imperial Highness."

When told, the attendants looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"We can't do that. We have strict orders not to leave Her Imperial Highness' side. Moreover, to be alone with a man."

The attendants would be held responsible for any disreputable acts done to Her Highness.

They don't like that and seem to refuse to do so.

Unlike the maids, the magic creatures are not held responsible, but they simply refuse.

[Unacceptable]

[Unforgivable]

[There's no reason why we shouldn't be here.]

This group was more troublesome, as they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to protect Mia.

When Finn is in trouble, Brave raises his voice.

[Shut up! Get the hell out of here quickly, or I'll get violent!]

Both the attendants and the magic creatures reluctantly left the room, as the Brave, the core of a perfect magic equipment, would cause too much damage if it were to go out of control.

So it came down to three people left in the waiting room, Finn and Mia Brave.

Finn sat Mia down on the couch and sat down next to her.

"What brings you to this place?"

Mia's expression visibly brightened at his usual speech and behavior, not at his attitude toward Her Imperial Highness.

However, Mia's expression quickly becomes clouded.

"Knight-sama. Mia does not want you to fight. This war is wrong. It's not right that it doesn't end until one side is destroyed."

Finn gave a wry smile at Mia's childish reasoning.

I've explained it many times before, haven't I? It can't be helped. Those words were about to come out of his mouth, but he swallowed them.

Because he saw Mia, a kind girl, as overlapping with his little sister in a previous life.

"You don't have to worry about it. Besides, all the sins will be borne by me and His Majesty."

"Knight-sama?"

Mia must have felt uneasy with Finn, who was willing to take on all the sins.

Worried that he might go away somewhere, Mia was clutching Finn's clothes because of her loneliness.

"Why you say that? You said you would always protect Mia. Besides, there is no reason for Knight-sama to force yourself to fight."

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Finn smiled gently, undid Mia's hand that had grabbed his clothes and held it with both of his hands.

"I can't be the only one running away in this situation. It's my job to protect you. To protect the world so that you can run around out there in good health —— that's my job, too."

(I will at least protect this girl. I am no longer the weak person I was back then.)

The regret of having to watch his little sister die in a previous life was what drove Finn to do what he does now.

"Knight-sama, Mia——Mia——"

Finn forcefully cuts Mia off from what she's saying.

He was afraid that if he talked any longer, his resolve would waver.

"You are not to blame. I and His Majesty will end it all."

"But"

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

Mia squeezes Finn's hand tightly, and when she looks up, she looks up at him with moist eyes.

"Then make sure you come back to Mia. That's a promise."

Finn nods and tries to reply.

"Aa, I pro——"

Before making the promise, Brave sensed something and looked up at the ceiling.

Then, in a panic, he shouted at the two of them.

[Buddy, above!!]

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Part 3

There was also a commotion in the command center.

Moritz was on the edge of his seat at the news that something was coming in from far above Arcadia —— out of the atmosphere.

"From outside the atmosphere!?"

Arcadia, too, had a look on its face that said, "I've been played".

[So you came.]

A monitor in the command center showed an unidentified object entering from outside the atmosphere.

What was shown there was the Partner, as confirmed in the documents.

"Is it ship of the Grand Duke Bartfalt!"

In the face of the rapidly approaching Partner, Moritz couldn't hide his impatience.

The same goes for the generals and staff officers around him.

Surely they hadn't expected an attack from so high up in the sky.

The magic creature at Arcadia's side informs them nonchalantly.

[Course confirmed. Course is direct to the main body of Arcadia.]

Hearing it, Arcadia narrowed its eyes abhorrently.

[The machines are good at suicide attacks. They're still as inept as ever.]

Partner was an airship over 700 meters long.

If that amount of mass were to be collided from outside the atmosphere, it would create an incredible amount of destructive force.

There is no guarantee that even Arcadia will be unharmed.

[Re-entering the atmosphere after breaking through it —— but we've seen similar attacks many times before.]

Arcadia was smiling, its narrowed eyes arched.

Moritz, drenched in a cold sweat, gave instructions to Arcadia.

"Move the main unit immediately!"

[It's no use. If we move, they will only change their trajectory. If they come at us, we just need to put up a thicker barrier.]

Arcadia's magic barriers were deployed in multiple layers around the point where they were expected to hit.

This means that other defenses will be weaker, but that can't be helped.

With that in mind, Arcadia decided to use its main guns to shoot down Partner.

"——Well, it would be best to shoot them down before that happens."

Using the stored energy, a reddish-black sphere appears above the main body of Arcadia.

When the gun is ready to fire, Arcadia announces.

[Fire]

Arcadia's main gun was fired at Partner.

The main gun was fired directly at the Partner that was coming in a straight line.

Partner tried to avoid the hit from the main gun, but they couldn't avoid it and it hit the side of their body and got cut.

Arcadia had predicted that Partner was carrying a large amount of explosives.

This is because it would cause more damage when it hit the main body of Arcadia.

However, the Partner, cut and damaged by a shot from the main gun, did not cause a huge explosion.

Still, with most of its parts cut off and momentum lost, it no longer looked like it would be able to achieve its objective.

[Oya? I thought they were loading explosives, but I guess not. They didn't have time to prepare the explosives, huh?]

As Moritz was relieved to see Partner, but his eyebrows furrowed.

"So the Kingdom's army and the space battleships in front of us were all decoys. The Grand Duke Bartfalt did a good job."

As the Partner closes in, spewing fire, the main body of Arcadia slowly begins to move.

This was to avoid a direct hit, but the AIs ​​installed in Partner changed direction to ram into Arcadia.

[How pitiful. Even if you succeed in ramming like that, you still won't be able to take me down.]

Arcadia smiled, showing its white teeth.

It must be happy to have defeated the operations of the artificial intelligences.

[No matter how hard you struggle, our victory will remain unshakable.]

When the Partner charged at the magic barrier that Arcadia had deployed, an explosion occurred.

The hull of the Partner is crushed, explodes, and then slowly sinks.

The inside of the fortress of Arcadia also shook slightly, but that was all.

In the command center, where sighs of relief spilled out everywhere, Moritz raised his voice to get them to regain their composure.

"Where's the status report?!"

Then, in a panic, his subordinates begin to move.

"Y-Yes! There is no damage to Arcadia."

"The magic barrier held out."

"B-But, the magical barrier has been removed due to the impact just now."

Arcadia was laughing with its mouth wide open.

[Hyahahaha! Have you grown rusty over the years, artificial intelligences? If you really wanted to sink me, you all would have had to crash from outside the atmosphere. Well, I guess you couldn't do that, so you decided to make this kind of plan out of sheer frustration.]

It laughed, making fun of the artificial intelligences's futile struggles.

But even if Facto and the others had actually adopted the strategy described by Arcadia, the probability of success would have been low.

To begin with, this war was a disadvantageous one for the Kingdom.

[You never had a chance to win from the start.]

Moritz wiped the sweat from his brow as he gazed upon the triumphant Arcadia.

(The current attack made me impatient. But now we have sunk two of Grand Duke Bartfalt's flying battleships. Hmm? No, wait. Where's the other one?)

The Luxion, which was owned by Leon, sank into the sea, and the Partner exploded and sank, unable to pierce Arcadia's magic barriers.

Now that the main body of Luxion is gone, Arcadia has no enemies.

However, there was one flying battleship that still had not appeared on the battlefield.

Moritz hastily gave orders to those around him.

"Find Einhorn!"

After Luxion and Partner, there is only one ship left, Einhorn.

Arcadia's eyes widened and it looked back at the rear of the Empire's army.

Its voice was upset.

[An object approaching at this speed!?]

The object approaching from behind at an incredible speed is —— Einhorn.

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Part 4

In the cockpit of the Arroganz, I was suffering from violent shaking and pressure.

My body sank into the seat and I felt as if I was being held down.

But what bothers me more than this pain is.

"I'd like to avoid a foolish development that ends in failure after going all this way."

Einhorn, equipped with boosters, departed first and made a large detour to reach the battlefield in order to attack the Empire's army at rear.

The boosters were ignited to charge into Arcadia at once from the rear.

From that point on, all along, I have been tormented by the pressure caused by the acceleration.

Luxion keeps me company with his lighthearted banter.

[Please be patient. This is still reducing the pressure caused by acceleration.]

"This is what I get after reducing the pressure?"

While I was struggling to make my voice clear, Luxion was talking without any trouble.

It is natural because he is a machine, but I still felt annoyed.

[The information from Creare and Facto has been sorted out. There is no decent interception function left of Arcadia now.]

For this occasion, we exhausted Arcadia.

For this reason, I also used and discarded Partner.

"It was worth sacrificing Partner."

I endured the pain and tried to smile, Luxion nodded.

[Yes. Partner has completed his final task. Master, it is almost time. Now it is our turn to fulfill our role.]

"Please deliver the flight safely. I ask that you do so with as little shaking as possible."

When I give a reckless order, Luxion lightly brushes it off.

[Let's do the best.]

I bite down on the mouthpiece-like thing I had prepared.

This is to avoid biting your tongue.

[Thirty seconds until impact]

As Luxion started counting, I felt a different shaking in Einhorn than before, as if it was being attacked from the outside.

"Ten seconds——until impact. ——Five, four, three."

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Part 5

The command center of Arcadia.

Monsters and artillery fire were directed at Einhorn to intercept.

They used the monsters as shields to slow Einhorn down.

They tried to shoot down Einhorn with artillery fire.

[That kind of ship!]

But Einhorn's speed didn't slow down.

Even when they bombarded it, it kept pushing forward, and the monsters they deployed were blown away in an instant.

Seeing Arcadia's impatient expression, Moritz furrowed his eyebrows.

Then, looking at Einhorn on the monitor, he muttered.

"A three-stage plan, huh?"

First the main body of the Luxion attacked, then the Partner, and it seemed Einhorn was the core of it.

Einhorn charges toward Arcadia with a single horn worthy of its name.

Facing the attacking monsters, Einhorn ejected the container.

From it, hundreds of missiles are launched, blasting away at the surrounding monsters.

It does not stop even under fire from Arcadia or from the flying battleships of the Empire.

On the other hand, allies are being shot down one after another by attacks from Einhorn.

"So we can't stop it?"

As Moritz folded his arms and waited, his subordinate shouted.

"They're going to hit!"

Shortly thereafter, Arcadia was hit by the greatest tremor it has ever experienced.

Arcadia's big eyes were bloodshot.

[Those damn oily machineees!]

It was confident of victory, but an unexpected attack made the outcome of the war uncertain.

But Moritz accepted it wholeheartedly.

(That's right. That's it. Come at me with everything you've got. And the one who survives —— is the ruler of this planet. You guys, come at us with all your might!)

Moritz also felt bad about unilaterally destroying the innocent people of the kingdom.

However, if at the end of a battle like this, in which they put their whole heart and soul on the line, Moritz's heart would be somewhat lighter.

As the surroundings are confused, Moritz gives an order.

"Let the fleet continue to deal with the Kingdom's army. Tell them not to worry if Arcadia is attacked. And call the Magic Knights back!"

The attack on Arcadia caused unrest within the Empire's Army.

Wouldn't it be better to go to the rescue and protect Moritz? With that in mind, the instructions were to keep the flying battleships from faltering in front of the Kingdom's army.

And the reason the Magic Knights was called back was because of Einhorn's charge.

The Einhorn crashes into Arcadia, an aerial fortress, and its horns are pierced deeply.

Some people from Einhorn were infiltrating into Arcadia.

Arcadia's large eyes twitched as she glared at the intruders.

"How dare you invade my main body."

The monitors showed armors coming down from Einhorn.

Seeing the uniquely designed armor and large containers being carried on his back, the generals and staff officers around Moritz looked as if they had bitten a sour pill.

"Arroganz"

"The Grand Duke came on board personally?"

"That's crazy."

In addition to Arroganz, there were five other armors, and a number of drones behind them were glowing ominously with their camera eyes.

Arroganz noticed the camera set up inside Arcadia and pointed his rifle at it.

As it is, using an external microphone, Leon speaks to the command center.

"Hello everyone of the Voldenowa Holy Magic Empire. And to His Majesty the new Emperor, a bastard who picked a fight with us."

Moritz's surroundings were outraged by the extremely impolite language.

But Moritz found what Leon was saying to be quite pleasant.

When Leon destroyed the camera with his rifle, the image on the monitor was cut off.

Although Moritz can't hear him, Leon carries on regardless.

The vibrations were transmitted to the command center, as if they had started rampaging inside Arcadia.

Feeling the slight tremor, Moritz burst out laughing loudly.

"He's just as foul-mouthed as Finn told me he was. There aren't many people who can say things like that to me."

Moritz started laughing, and everyone around him was bewildered.

Moritz tightens his expression and orders everyone around him.

"——Give him the hospitality he deserves."

"H-Ha!"

As everyone around her began to move frantically, Arcadia trembled with hatred and anger.

[Even in our battles with the old humans, we never allowed them to infiltrate the interior —— I won't forgive them. I will never forgive them!]

Arcadia was so furious that veins appeared on the surface of its body, but it soon began to panic.

[Did you confirm that the princess is safe?! Send the guards immediately!!]

It seemed outraged, but even at a time like this, it was worried about Mia.

Moritz let out a small sigh of dismay.

He looks directly at the cane he holds.

(Bartfalt, who my father tried to form a partnership with, is coming on board. If we beat him, we win. When this is all over, I will take responsibility as well. ——And when it comes, tell me why you betrayed me.)