* * *
“Now, Mechanical Soldiers, without thinking about the consequences, charge at that monster! Buy me timeーーー!”
It all started with that order from Chubos, the jester-like man.
The moment they heard that order.
“““““KYURURURURURU!!”””””
The Mechanical Soldiers surrounding Emi changed!
They stopped moving, and as if activating their internal mechanisms at maximum output, they all simultaneously spewed white steam from the cylinder-like parts on their backs!
And then…!
“““““PIPIPIPPIPIIIIーーー!!”””””
With a deafening electronic sound, like a scream, echoing through the plaza, they raised their large swords and charged at Emi from all directions!
“!!”
She can’t handle this.
Emi, making that judgment, leaped straight up.
Dodging the several large swords swinging down at her.
<Emi! Get down immediately!>
Extra-sama’s warning echoed in her mind!
Looking at the Mechanical Soldiers below, something cylindrical was extending from their heads… where their mouths should be.
(…Gun barrels!!)
Emi, immediately understanding what they were, slammed her 【Black Arms】 onto the ground.
The Mechanical Soldier standing there was crushed and exploded, but that was just a bonus.
This is Emi’s way of moving her body in midair.
Emi pulled herself towards her 【Black Arms】, which were anchored in the cobblestones, and returned to the ground.
The next moment.
BANG, PAPAPAPAN!
A volley of gunshots was fired towards the spot in the air where Emi had been floating!
It seems the Mechanical Soldiers have a limited number of bullets, and they were holding back until now, but… after receiving the jester’s order, they must have removed the restrictions.
Emi, even now, wouldn’t die if she took those hits… but it would probably hurt a lot.
In other words, this is getting tricky.
Emi intends to chase after that jester-like man, Chubos.
<A jester who makes suggestive remarks is the mastermind!! This is the truth I arrived at after watching countless isekai reincarnation broadcasts!>
That’s what Extra-sama’s saying.
(A jester with glowing eyes is… an enemy!!)
Yes, that’s what Emi’s convinced of.
But if the Mechanical Soldiers have long-range attacks like gunshots, she can’t just leave them and move on.
As mentioned earlier, if she’s shot from behind, it would hurt quite a bit, even through her armor.
<If it hits your head, you might lose some hair. As a girl, that’s a serious problem!>
And then, Extra-sama, whether as a joke or seriously, started saying unnecessary things, but Emi ignored her and repeatedly opened and closed her palms.
Her body can still move.
But the accumulated fatigue is becoming a problem.
Grrrrr…
Her stomach started growling too.
“Pipipipiiiiーーー!!”
Here, a nearby Mechanical Soldier swung its large sword down, and Emi easily stopped it with her right hand.
And then, pulling the large sword hard, the Mechanical Soldier, unable to resist Emi’s monstrous strength, fell face-first onto the ground.
“…………”
Emi quickly approached the Mechanical Soldier, stepped on its back, grabbed its head… and pulled hard!
With tearing and snapping sounds, the Mechanical Soldier had its head ripped off its body and stopped moving.
“I see.”
Emi, lifting the Mechanical Soldier’s body and using it as a shield, dodging the sporadic gunshots from afar, thought about her next move.
The Mechanical Soldiers break if you crush them.
They also stop functioning if you cut their torso in two, top and bottom.
And if you rip off their heads, it’s the same.
They don’t attack after losing their heads, so they’re just a little tougher than humans, essentially the same.
<Did you figure something out?>
“…How to break them.”
Saying that, Emi threw away the remains of the Mechanical Soldier she had been using as a shield, stepped hard on the cobblestones, channeling mana and solidifying her footing.
And then… with a single leap, she jumped into the group of Mechanical Soldiers charging towards her!
She had already retracted her 【Black Arms】.
Because they consume a lot of mana.
Emi is hungry.
She needs to conserve energy as much as possible.
So the special abilities she’s going to use are 【Body Strengthening】 and 【Mantis】.
Emi, leaping into the horde of Mechanical Soldiers, extended her fingertips, and began to slash and tear at her surroundings with hand chops!
“Pipi!”
“Pi… pipi!”
“Pipipipipipipiiiiーーー!”
The Mechanical Soldiers’ attack methods are large swords and gunfire.
The large sword attacks are inevitably wide swings, and gunfire also requires time to aim.
In other words, if a fast enemy gets close to them, they can’t do anything!
The Mechanical Soldiers’ armor is thick, in preparation for such situations, but… it seems to be useless against Emi’s hand chops.
They’re quickly sliced apart, their death throes echoing in the form of electronic sounds, and stop functioning!
BANG!
At that moment, a gunshot rang out from afar.
Emi instantly turned around and nonchalantly caught the incoming bullet.
Because it would hurt if it hit her!
Now, looking in the direction the gunshot came from, she saw another group of Mechanical Soldiers.
These Mechanical Soldiers formed a line and began firing at Emi all at once!
However, their gunshots.
Emi has already confirmed that they can’t penetrate their own armor.
Emi glanced around, confirming that the nearby Mechanical Soldiers were already destroyed.
She picked up the remains of one that was still relatively intact and used it as a shield.
And then, she started charging towards the group of firing Mechanical Soldiers!
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!
The armor of the Mechanical Soldier she held up deflected the bullets, deflected, deflected, deflected!
And in an instant, once again, Emi found herself in the midst of the Mechanical Soldiers, wreaking havoc.
She already understood the strength of these Mechanical Soldiers.
Their toughness is certainly troublesome, but if she uses the right method, she can quickly break them.
There’s no way she could lose to them!
“““““Pipipipiiiiーーー!!”””””
Every time a Mechanical Soldier let out its electronic death throe, the number of gunshots decreased.
The ‘holes’ Chubos opened were already closed, and there’s no sign of more Mechanical Soldiers being replenished.
The Mechanical Soldiers in the plaza were being destroyed, rapidly… !
But, it was at that moment!
“That’s enough!! You Grim Reaper-like girl!!”
With those words, a large sword attack was unleashed towards Emi, swinging horizontally!
“!!”
This is different.
Different from the clumsy, brute-force attacks of the Mechanical Soldiers until now!
Emi, instinctively sensing danger, immediately crouched down and dodged it.
After the large sword passed over her head, she jumped back, creating distance.
“You’ve certainly caused quite a rampage… you dog of the council faction nobles!!”
The large man, wearing armor similar to the Mechanical Soldiers, with a scar on his cheek, glared at her and spouted something incomprehensible.
“But your winning streak ends here!!”
Saying that, the man channeled mana throughout his body, swinging his large sword around!
And with a loud voice, he announced his name!
“I am Orbos da Tomoou! Your head… I shall take itーーー!!”