"So that's why you said it was half the answer!"
Tyr admired honestly. Although Tyr was greatly satisfied with the quiz that relieved his boredom, Hilde, who had actually presented the quiz, was displeased.
"Eh, that's too much! I'm the one who gave the quiz, so how could you tell him the answer! That's cowardly!"
"That's why the person who acts like they know first is the winner. You should have stopped having fun and dropped a hint slowly."
"That's a life lesson... I'll learn one."
While Hilde muttered sulkily, Tyr, suddenly remembering something, asked.
"The moat was created to block us vampires."
"I don't think that's necessarily the case. Isn't that a bit of a victim mentality?"
"Regardless, a moat is only useful if there is an enemy. Then, what is the 'enemy' of the Military Nation? An enemy that requires flowing land, and must be guarded against to the point of preventing bridges from being built?"
Ah, that. There's no need to even say it.
Tyr might not know because he was asleep for a long time... but if a war were to break out, it would have to be with here.
"That is, exactly..."
The moment I was about to open my mouth.
[Emergency! Check the communication that just came in! Signalman Captain Dizi warns all passengers of the Cataphract!]
An urgent voice of a golem flowed from inside the Cataphract.
[Enemy forces confirmed! Prepare for a raid!]
"Tch. They don't even give me time to explain. How boring."
With my muttering in the background, the urgent voice of the signalman was heard.
[It's the Mobile Unit of Yeolguk, the Jackals!]
After the golem's warning, the Regressor, who reflexively jumped out, stood on top of the Cataphract and opened his Seven-Colored Eyes. The Regressor, examining the ridgeline with his sixth pupil, the far-seeing Lan Yan (Blue Eye), muttered.
"...I don't see them."
True to his words, nowhere along the Cataphract's route could the shadow of the enemy be found. The communication golem Dizi answered that.
[I think they haven't arrived yet!]
"I know. Because I don't see them. If even my eyes can't see them, prepare for what raid? No, more than that, how do you know there's a raid?"
[There was a corresponding warning from another signalman! A raid is expected soon!]
I didn't doubt for a moment that the report could be false. Because that's the signalman's network. Transparency without even the concept of doubt was the signalman's characteristic and strength.
However, the golem holding the handle grumbled slightly.
[But, it was too early for a warning based on engagement protocols. According to the warning, they should have revealed themselves by now... Like the pontoon bridge earlier, they can't seem to calculate the estimated time of arrival properly. Abby seems to be completely hopeless at driving.]
He's even grumbling about Abby in the meantime. Is expressing personal emotions in communication Abby's influence...?
No, it originally had that ability. It just hadn't been revealed until now. Anyway, it's positive. I replied casually.
"Well, mistakes can happen."
[Why would there be an error in something so simple... It's hard, but I'll try to understand... Wait, alarm received! They're coming!]
This time, the Regressor also spotted them. The brown dust rising from beyond the hill gradually thickened.
The wait wasn't long. The first thing heard was the sound of horse hooves pounding the ground. And then someone's shout was heard.
"Yaha-! Found them!"
Their appearance was very unique.
They were all wearing patched-up clothes. On top of that, there was no concept of aesthetics at all, nor any visible pattern. It was clearly made by adding or patching things up on the spot. There was no consistency from head to toe.
However, if there was one thing in common. It was that they were all riding something.
"What did I tell you! I said the follow-up supply unit would come! If we wait for it and take it, we can make a solid fortune!"
A human riding a large two-wheeled vehicle shouted. With only two wheels front and back, it looked very unstable, but it was running while barely keeping its balance with long iron bars extending to the sides.
A human on a horse spurred it on and followed behind him.
"The money is well packaged and left there! You just have to pick it up!"
"No need to attach wheels! There's already a huge one attached!"
"Hahahaha! How much is all that? Picking up small change is meaningless after all. You have to aim for one big hit!"
"If only it were a bit faster, I'd be riding it!"
The Cataphract I'm riding is the Military Nation's strategic weapon. A steel fortress weighing tens of tons alone. Setting aside how to conquer it, its weight made me doubt whether it could even be taken back, but they didn't care at all.
Because the weight of the Cataphract was exactly what they wanted.
The concept of 'money' in Yeolguk is a bit different.
Geumguk (Nation of Gold), which had a blessed king led by the descendants of the five lords and was a nation of technology and metallurgy, was brought down by just one human.
The Golden Mirror, Demo. A genius called the monster of understanding.
And the Absolute who destroyed Geumguk with gold and plunged the continent into chaos.
As the Golden Mirror reigned, gold lost its value in Yeolguk. The proverb to treat gold like stones was commonly used in Yeolguk. Not in a moralistic sense, but in an economic sense.
Perhaps because of that. Instead... a unique economic system emerged in Yeolguk.
"It's a fairly high level of alchemical steel. It looks like it weighs at least tens of tons! With that much, you could live off it for the rest of your life!"
None other than weight.
In Yeolguk, unless it's an incredibly special material, weight and value are generally proportional. Therefore, a means of transportation that can move a lot of weight is essential. This system combined with Yeolguk's characteristics, turning Yeolguk itself into a massive nomadic nation.
Even though it's a nation of alchemy, even alchemical coins with alchemical value fade in Yeolguk.
The Golden Mirror is the world's strongest alchemist. Because they can even mass-produce alchemy costs.
"Tch. As expected, they rush in greedily. Those jackals..."
Their rides were all different, but the jackals were all rushing fiercely this way. There was not a single hesitation in their eyes gleaming with greed.
The Cataphract isn't slow, but it's not fast enough to shake off the starving jackals. I said.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to let them approach this close?"
The Regressor answered casually.
"Well, let them come for now. I need to extract some information."
"What information? They're just stragglers sent deep into the Military Nation for rear disruption. They won't know any useful information. Let's just wipe them out?"
"Then what about the information?"
"Mr. Shay. Have you forgotten what is driving this Cataphract? It's a communication golem. How long are you going to get information in a primitive way? Let's use a more sophisticated method."
Nodding in agreement, the Regressor took out the Cheon-aeng and aimed it at the enemies rushing diagonally. On top of the Cataphract moving at full speed. The wind brushing past backwards was sucked into the Cheon-aeng in an instant. The humming sound gradually grew louder.
"Cheongeomgi, Four-One."
And the Regressor thrust out the Cheon-aeng.
Thump. Something faint stretched out exactly along the trajectory the Regressor thrust. It looked more like a distortion of space than an arrow or a bullet. When that distortion, which seemed like it would reach the end of the earth, reached the jackal at the very front, he bounced up as if hooked and then slammed into the ground.
The precariously rolling two-wheeled vehicle also lost its balance as its rider disappeared. He rolled on the ground, becoming one with the vehicle.
The vanguard became an obstacle and crashed right into the humans following behind. The riders who hastily changed direction shouted in surprise.
"Did you see that just now?"
"I didn't see anything!"
Those who don't know their place don't believe or acknowledge what they haven't seen. If they had been ordinary idiots, they might have mistaken it for a slip and kept running.
However, the jackals of Yeolguk are a bit different. With raids as their daily life and running away as their livelihood, they instinctively recognized the opponent's caliber.
"From this distance, no one saw an attack? Then it's a monster!"
"They weren't just stragglers!"
"Run away!"
The jackals immediately turned their mounts. The wheels scraped the ground violently, and the horses that reared up turned their bodies around. As soon as the jackals of Yeolguk were convinced that the opponent was strong, they ran away at full speed.
"Oops! I have to take this too!"
In the meantime, the one chasing at the very end picked up his fallen comrade and left. I'm not sure if dragging him tied with a chain counts as 'picking up', but anyway. Leaving the heavy Cataphract behind, they sped away like arrows.
Tyr stared at the sight and muttered.
"They don't abandon their comrades. Despite their appearance, it seems they have camaraderie."
"Camaraderie? Not at all. They'd probably rather wish they had died."
"Why?"
"If they didn't die, they can't be sold, right? Because they'll run away on their own."
The reason they pick up their comrade's remains is no different. Just like the reason they target the Cataphract, it's because heavy steel is worth quite a bit of money. Even more so if it's a vehicle.
There are no exceptions even for their own comrades. Just because it's a comrade's remains doesn't make the scale tip any less.
"They're all riding mounts like bandits. I understand now. Why the flowing land can be a moat that blocks them."
I nodded at Tyr's words.
"Right. They are looters who invade, fill up their stuff, and run away. The Meta-Conveyor Belt is quite a tricky obstacle for such people. Even if they try to jump on it, they have to do some pretty dangerous acrobatics, while the Military Nation uses the Meta-Conveyor Belt to move troops quickly."
"Bandits blinded by thievery. You have some annoying neighbors."
"Yes. On a national scale, a raiding party of that scale is just annoying, but for rear disruption, an annoying level is enough."
Anyway, Yeolguk's first raid ended in vain. This side's military force was too strong to be bothered by a few jackals.
Moreover, the Regressor's Cheon-aeng is a freely maneuverable weapon that can cover both medium and long ranges. It can wipe out even the jackals who don't fear bullets or arrows in a single sweep.
However, Hilde let out a sigh looking at their appearance.
"This is troublesome~. How long has it been since the war started, and they're already coming down here to cause a fuss? If they could meet us without crossing the Meta-Conveyor Belt, some cities must have already been pillaged."
It was close to talking to herself, but a certain word among them stimulated the Regressor. The Regressor asked.
"The war has already started?"
Hilde answered casually, as if talking about the snack she ate last night.
"Yeah~ Well. It's more of a battle than a war, but it's already started, right?"
"When? No, how? Clearly until just a while ago, the Military Nation's troops were riding the Meta-Conveyor Belt?"
"Aren't you underestimating the Military Nation too much? No matter how large the scale is, with the Military Nation's system, it takes less than two days to prepare and send them to the Abyssal Plain."
"Right! It's only two days. But how could a war have started?"
When I met Yuel, I heard that sporadic battles were already taking place. Since a full day has passed since then, it's not strange if a war has started.
But to the Regressor, it was the first time hearing it.
'A war isn't child's play, it's a major event fought with the fate of the nation on the line! How long has it been since the Abyss disappeared, and they're already starting a war?'
If you think about it logically, that's true.
But Regressor, you know too. Both the Military Nation and Yeolguk are strange nations that transcend common sense.
"It's not just the Military Nation that sent troops to the Abyssal Wasteland~."