Chapter 27

On 2/15, the seventh volume of "Maou-sama no Machizukuri" (GA Novel) will be released! Please look forward to it!

The ultra-tiny droplet-shaped slime perched on his shoulder jumped.

"It's time for the regular report!"

It was a split entity of Siegel.

Not a subordinate, but the same individual.

Thus, it possessed the ability to resonate and share thoughts even across the boundaries of the world.

Siegel had used this ability to construct a massive information network called the "Slime Network."

In the original world, not only within the dungeon but also on key figures and major countries, Siegel's ultra-tiny split entities were attached, forming a network on a global scale.

Needless to say, it was an extremely useful ability.

"The enemy is still stuck on the first floor. The number of enemies defeated is 423. Our losses are five Mithril Golems that overheated and six EDJ-04 Aimurs that broke down from continuous operation. Ammunition consumption is about 30%. We can still keep going."

"Is the attack from the dimensional space under control?"

"Lord Rue is handling it with ease!"

"Good work. Keep it up at this pace."

Then, my dungeon will be safe for a while.

To let over 400 monsters die in vain, as a fellow commander, I find it hard to accept.

This is probably a human wave tactic, anticipating our attrition.

However, such tactics should be used as a last resort, and they should have used their heads to find a strategy, and if they couldn't, they should have withdrawn their troops to buy time.

Perhaps this Demon Lord is not battle-hardened.

For a Demon Lord, "war" is not a profitable endeavor.

Even if they win, the losses are too great. Especially for monsters that can only be created through synthesis with medals, there are no replacements.

Therefore, unless it's absolutely necessary, they do not engage in "war."

In my world, the frequent "wars" are the result of being manipulated by the creator.

If this Demon Lord has been abandoned by the creator, "wars" would be rare, and it's no wonder they are complacent.

...Of course, in our world, there are many ambitious Demon Lords. Like him, him, him, and him.

"Siegel, there's no change in the plan. Proceed with the original plan."

"Understood. I'll report again at the next scheduled time."

With those words, the ultra-tiny slime fell silent.

"Master, I'm relieved that the defense is holding up. There's no need to rush."

"Yes. If they start to falter, we'll push harder, but at this rate, we can prioritize safety."

"Agreed. Let's proceed steadily."

Currently, we are sending Purple, the specialized stealth and information-gathering Round, Invisible Violet, ahead to gather information.

After that, we step in, and at that moment, Aura uses the wind to thoroughly investigate. No monster I know can deceive both the sensors of Invisible Violet and Aura's wind.

If time were short, we would have to rush forward without such thorough investigation.

"The Demon Lord of [Tree] is pitiful, unable to even get past the first floor."

The celestial fox, Kuina, shrugged her shoulders.

"Kuina, how would you get past the first floor?"

"That's easy. Kuina would fill the entire floor with flames."

"...One shot, huh."

Kuina could easily fill the entire floor with flames.

And Kuina's flames can vaporize bullets in an instant.

Thus, the bullets would disappear before they even reached their target, and whether it's a Mithril Golem or a heavy machine gun, they would melt.

It's an incredible brute force.

"Hmm. We should devise specialized anti-flame armaments for Kuina."

"Hey! Why is Kuina the hypothetical enemy!?"

"I'm not targeting Kuina. It's for dealing with monsters that can do the same as Kuina."

Loron is probably irritated that her creation, the EDJ-04 Aimur, was said to be easily penetrable.

Watching Kuina and Loron playfully bicker, Purple, who had been gathering information ahead, returned.

Loron received the data.

"The Demon Lord of [Tree] seems to have lost patience. They've prepared a large force for the next floor."

"That's not just losing patience. Since assassination and surprise attacks didn't work, they have no choice but to use a frontal assault. If they lose more forces, they won't even be able to... In that case, we can only bet on the second attack not coming. That's what they're thinking, right?"

"Right. They're getting desperate. If they lose more forces, they won't even be able to bet on the second attack."

That's not wrong.

A strategic bombing, and the tactic of dispersing forces to assassinate me with a surprise attack, was reasonable.

And if that didn't work, with inferior individual strength, they had no choice but to rely on numbers, even at the risk of it.

However, unfortunately, the result of that gamble is already clear.

"Loron."

"I understand. We'll use the second shot here. But this is the last one."

Atomic Scarlet, which had already suffered damage from the first shot, stepped forward.

Then, it received the external armor and the second nuclear warhead, Atomic Buster, from the fortress, Fortress Brown.

The Atomic Buster is limited to two shots.

Atomic Scarlet is designed to specialize in large-scale destruction and to withstand the aftermath, but the destructive power of the Atomic Buster is extraordinary. Each shot damages the external armor and the internal mechanisms.

Safely firing the Atomic Buster is limited to just two shots, and after two shots, it will be in a heavily damaged state.

...Actually, a third shot is possible, but it would result in irreparable damage.

Therefore, neither Loron nor I will allow a third shot.

However, only two shots per unit. If there were multiple Atomic Scarlets, more shots would be possible.

Among the Rounds that are not mass-produced, Atomic Scarlet is an exception, with multiple units existing.

In Avalon's hangar, there are four more Atomic Scarlets, and about ten Atomic Busters are always on standby.

"Master, from the data from Purple, the selection of magic to be infused is complete. We're ready to go."

"Then, let's do it."

"Understood."

Loron touched the Atomic Scarlet, which had completed the external armor change and the installation of the Atomic Buster.

"Atomic Scarlet, the element to annihilate them is fire. ...Atomic Buster, Mode Fire, prepare to fire."

This time, it's fire again.

Despite showing a combined physical and fire magic attack at the beginning, they didn't seem to have prepared for it.

Or rather, they couldn't.

It was a calculated risk, knowing that two shots would be the end.

Atomic Scarlet, infused with fire magic, moved to the next floor.

From there, it was a replay of the beginning.

The merciless nuclear and magical strike destroyed everything.

It seems they attacked more fiercely this time, trying to crush us before the launch, but to Atomic Scarlet, which was designed to withstand the Atomic Buster, it was like a cool breeze, and it was meaningless.

After everything was destroyed, we stepped into the next floor.

Everything was gone, melted and solidified into a glass-like surface, a dead land of mirrors.

In the middle of this, Atomic Scarlet, with its external armor脱落, cracks everywhere, and smoke billowing, was on its knees.

It had already been damaged from the first shot, but now it was on the brink of death.

"Loron, let it rest."

"I understand. Fortress Brown."

Following Loron's command, Fortress Brown stored Atomic Scarlet inside its body.

Inside, there are ultra-miniature repair golems that perform emergency repairs.

"This war, it seems that about 70% will be handled by Loron alone."

"My Rounds are amazing."

Loron's golems are excelling both in offense and defense.

"Yes, the Rounds are amazing. They are the world's strongest golems."

To my praise, for some reason, Loron quietly shook her head.

"No, the Rounds are not the strongest."

"Are you still improving them?"

"That's not it. I didn't create these to make the strongest golems. They are too specialized in their fields, and they have too many weaknesses to claim the title of strongest."

I didn't expect to hear that from Loron.

"The Rounds are not designed to be the strongest themselves, but to create the strongest. By pushing each specialized function to the limit, I can test bold designs and new technologies while collecting a wide range of data. Based on the data from the twelve types of Rounds, my plan is to create a perfect golem, a golem that surpasses the Rounds."

...To think that these Rounds, which are so strong, are just experimental models.

Indeed, upon reflection, it seemed unnatural.

Despite being specialized, they had too many flaws and problems as weapons.

However, if they are viewed as experimental models, it makes sense.

And it's incredibly exciting.

A golem that inherits all the strengths of these twelve specialized models.

It would undoubtedly be the strongest.

"When will it be ready?"

"I don't know. The design is still in progress. But it won't be too far off. I'm looking forward to showing it to Master."

"Me too."

We exchanged grins, and then a growl came from behind us.

Turning around, we saw Kuina with her cheeks puffed up to the limit.

"Muuuu, muuuu, muuuu, it's not fair, Loron is always the one who gets to shine! It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair!"

She was completely sulking.

Kuina in this state is unmanageable.

As I was thinking about what to do, Aura placed her hand on Kuina's head.

"Don't worry. Kuina's turn to shine is coming soon."

"Already, Kuina won't be fooled by such things!"

"No, I'm certain. This dungeon is strange. When monsters are killed, their power should flow to the Demon Lord or the monster that defeated them, but the amount is too small."

"I noticed that too."

In a Demon Lord's dungeon, the emotions and the power of the monsters that die are divided between the ruler and the one who defeated them.

However, the amount that comes to us is too small.

In other words, the power that should flow to us is being taken by something else.

"I've been tracking the flow of power. It seems to be flowing deeper and deeper, probably to the Demon Lord. In other words, the power of all the monsters we've killed so far is being concentrated in one place. They must have some ability... Frankly, it's quite dangerous."

We've killed about 600 monsters in this dungeon so far.

If all that power is concentrated in one monster, or the Demon Lord itself?

A monstrous creature would be born.

Perhaps the Demon Lord of [Tree]'s purpose is to have us kill a large number of monsters and concentrate their power.

If so, that's interesting. I might have to reassess the Demon Lord of [Tree].

"Yay! It's Kuina's job!"

Kuina, who had been sulking, now jumped around with an innocent smile.

Her fluffy fox tail wagged happily.

"Hmm, the ace's job."

"Well, we'll help if necessary. But I don't think it will be needed."

"Of course not!"

There is no tension among the monsters in this situation.

It's not complacency, but absolute trust in Kuina, the ace.

Probably, the Demon Lord is just a little further ahead.

There, the final battle between the Demon Lord of [Tree] and Kuina will take place.

Kuina rarely has an opponent worthy of her serious efforts.

Kuina is so strong that she has excess power and is bored.

I hope the Demon Lord of [Tree] is strong enough to blow away Kuina's boredom.

On 2/15, the seventh volume of "Maou-sama no Machizukuri" (GA Novel) will be released! Please look forward to it!

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