Baka-Tsuki - User contributions [en]

Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 63

2018-08-13T21:35:05Z

162.158.134.55: whether or not the pursue -> whether or not to pursue

==Chapter 63: Water Provider on the Thirsty Battlefield==
[[Image:Horizon6-C656.jpg|thumb]]
''Is the sign of a comeback

''Literally having your back to the water?

'''Point Allocation (Where’s the Water?)

Below the night sky, the battle on the green field began with advance and retreat.

The Hexagone Française forces led by middle gods of war moved forward to secure the position for a charge.

Meanwhile, the Hashiba forces moved back to take the position for intercepting the middle gods of war.

All actions were made swiftly on this battlefield. Paris stood at the center of the war stage with the breakwaters surrounding it, so it was shaped somewhat like the inside of a pot.

The height difference was only about 10 meters, but that height was enough for Hashiba to use for their angle of fire and defense. And one’s weight became a greater issue when making a charge against them.

Also, the Hashiba forces altered their formation in response to the middle gods of war.

While the Hexagone Française middle gods of war advanced, they passed by their own warriors on the side.

Kiyomasa commented on the situation to the east, west, and north.

“From here on, the gods of war will be the enemy’s main force.”

'''6:''' “Their heavy gods of war will be coming too, so the immediate fight won’t be the end of it.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Then we’ll just have to keep the battlefield moving as quickly as possible.”

As the Hashiba forces discussed the situation, the Hexagone Française middle gods of war began to enter the space between Hashiba and Paris.

But they did not place Paris directly behind them.

They angled themselves diagonally to Hashiba as if to give the enemy a view of Paris.

That was a way to ensure the artillery fire from Paris could continue.

Attacks were already flying back and forth in the space between the two sides.

Hexagone Française had their middle god of war units out front and they fired from the gaps between those machines.

Meanwhile, Hashiba fired from diagonally above and from the light warships in the sky.

But Hashiba was at a disadvantage here.

While the middle god of war units opened defense barriers and blocked the aerial bombardment, the real issue was the increased accuracy of the supporting fire from Paris.

Hashiba’s supporting fire was from aerial warships, but those floating ships were shaken by their own cannon blasts. Their cannons’ aim shifted slightly with each shot, so their effectiveness dropped.

But Paris’s cannons were affixed to the city walls, so they could use all the ranging data taken from the previous shots. Their cannons were controlled by automatons, so even though the long range weakened the shots, they still had destructive power if they reached the target.

The Hashiba forces were forced to change their position while fighting a defensive battle. And…

“Here they come!” shouted Katagiri. “The enemy’s middle god of war units are charging!”

The anti-ship defense barriers raced forward while supported by hunks of metal.

The distance was approximately 800 meters. With the exception of the downstream western area, their route took them from a plain and up a slight hill.

“Go!”

They raised a cry and ran forward to pierce something, but that something was not the enemy themselves.

It was the breakwater walls behind the enemy.

If they were to stop Hashiba’s flooding, that had to be their priority target. And if they destroyed the downstream ones, Hashiba could make no excuses. So the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units rushed toward the eastern, western, and northern breakwaters.

Of course, they knew the enemy was after something else now.

The enemy had realized they could not flood the Seine.

Readings said they were gathering ether fuel in the transport ships landed beyond the breakwaters.

Why had they given up on applying reinforcing divine protections on the breakwaters and instead returned the ether fuel to the ships?

The enemy had some kind of plan and it involved those transport ships.

But the breakwaters stood as barriers in front of the ships.

So…

“Go…!”

The breakwaters ahead of the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units were also conduits for retrieving the ether fuel sent to the reinforcement facilities. Destroy them and the enemy would have nothing except for the large reinforcement facilities to supply the transport ships with ether fuel.

They had bought some time. It was past 7:30 PM.

Even if Hashiba began their Great Return now, the Kantou Liberation would be half over before they arrived.

If the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units could fight here and delay them further…

“We’ll show you how it feels…!”

Hexagone Française had once arrived at the battlefield too late.

At Magdeburg.

They had arrived, but something important had slipped from their fingers.

So.

Back then, they had been on a hill overlooking a fortified city.

This was the same.

It was the same, but in reverse.

“Let’s go…!”

The enemy was straight ahead. Hashiba’s main force was there.

All the runners to the east, south, and west saw the enemy.

The middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units stared at the M.H.R.R. and P.A. Oda warriors and shouted a contradiction.

“Outta the way! Hit them!”

They would hit them, but they would not aim. Their targets were the breakwaters behind the enemy.

So they ran as if to pierce straight through the enemy.

“Go…!”

A great noise raced along the slope.

The Hashiba forces took a certain action in response to the racing middle gods of war.

They did the same thing to the east, west, and north.

“All units, form ranks…!”

They all took a single step, some diagonally to the left and some diagonally to the right. And that formed ranks with thrice the side-to-side density.

With the charge of large defense barriers bearing down on them, those on the far left and right of the ranks raised their voices.

“Open up to the sides…!”

Immediately, they all activated spells.

The M.H.R.R. warriors used body strengthening spells and the P.A. Oda warriors used wind spirits spells.

And they all kicked at the ground and ran to the left or right.

Hashiba’s main force split like an opening door. However…

“Ignore it!”

Meanwhile, the middle gods of war raised their voices and charged toward the breakwaters.

The breakwaters were made from layered and joined armor panels and they stood about 10 meters tall. Twice that height was embedded in the ground below them. Those walls were taller than the charging middle gods of war. So…

“Break through!”

In the instant of impact, all of the middle gods of war took the same action.

They thrust their defense barriers straight forward.

And they did so while positioning the barriers perpendicular to the armor panels.

As a result, there was a deafening noise of breaking metal.

The middle ''Lourd de Marionnette''s had accomplished something: the destruction of the breakwaters.

“…!”

Their high-speed clash first produced a great roar. Then the perpendicular-oriented defense barriers broke through the breakwaters like the blade of a cutting machine.

The speed and weight of the ''Lourd de Marionnette''s combined with the sharp corners of the barriers sliced through the breakwaters.

The cry of destruction was followed by the sound of the breakwaters being sliced into a top and bottom half.

It was a sparking noise combined with the creak of stubborn metal snapping.

They were sliced through.

That simple action was accompanied by a great quantity of mass and ether light fragments.

The initial defense barriers shattered after bisecting the breakwaters. The next ones pushed at the broken-off tops of the breakwaters.

“Don’t flinch…!”

The continuous destruction of the defense barriers was what tore through and pushed away the severed breakwaters.

Due to their momentum, there was nothing more than a tremor on the ground.

Instead, the many middle ''Lourd de Marionnette''s had their shoulders destroyed by the reactive force and the motors in their hips and legs groaned.

But it had been a success. And…

“So they’re here!”

Something arrived above the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units that were stopped by the clash.

It was the warships overhead.

As the giant silhouette seemed to drop down toward them, they directed their shoulders upwards.

“Here come the warship bombs…!”

The middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units lifted up their straining bodies and created defense barriers toward the sky.

“Come! We’re ready for you!”

“No. Henri, that is the wrong decision.”

On Paris’s wall, Henri was viewing the defensive arrangement of the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette''s and she did not even question the Roi-Soleil’s words. She immediately sent a command using a divine transmission ''signe cadre''.

“Middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units! Fall back!!”

She did not know why, but their Chancellor had pointed out a mistake in her decision.

So she raised her voice to correct it.

“Direct your defenses forward!”

Immediately, fire erupted from three directions around Paris.

These were explosions.

And they occurred where the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units were.

But Henri’s vision scanned the color red blossoming at the edge of the battlefield.

The explosions she could see had not come from the falling warships.

The row of destroyed breakwaters had exploded.

“Had they placed explosion spells in the breakwaters!?”

It was entirely possible. If an aerial ship’s armor panel fell, it could do damage to the surface. For IZUMO, the Ariake, or other island and ships with a permanent position in the air, incendiary spells would be placed in their armor panels and other materials so they could be fully destroyed in midair.

The enemy had done the same thing here. And it was obvious who would have come up with the idea:

“ ‘High Damage’ Takenaka!”

Takenaka placed her hands on the edge of the Azuchi’s bow deck and viewed the explosive conflagration.

From here, she could see the eastern fire was stronger than the western one. But…

“That’s a little weak for a high return.”

'''□□凸:''' “Eh!? Didn’t this catch them right in the middle of it!?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “No, they fell back and redirected their defenses just before taking damage! I doubt many of them took direct hits!”

Even so, it was still a close-range explosion. None of the middle gods of war would escape unscathed.

But that explosion had also used the portion of the breakwater armor panels that were buried underground.

So even if it was only a small hill…

“It’ll cause a landslide.”

She could hear the sound. Dirt was crumbling and sliding down.

The armor panels buried belowground had applied hoe-like damage to the crust.

The power of the explosions had ruptured the ground at the base of the hill more than the top. A vertical cross section was formed where the breakwaters had been, creating a deep drop off.

“This will make it impossible for their middle god of war units to rush the transport ships. Also…”

Takenaka saw the giant forms descending from the sky above the landslides.

Those were Hashiba light warships.

The light warships descended such that their sides were positioned alongside the crust cross section created in front of the transport ships.

The ships landed on the piles of destroyed earth.

The dirt supported the light warships like a blanket and the bottom of the ships sank into it a bit, but…

“Once the warships’ weight creates a mold of their shape in the ground, we will have created specialized landport docks.”

The flames of the explosions still burned as the black light warships landed on the collapsed crust with their lower half below the top of the hills.

That position perfectly defended the transport ships.

Takenaka’s long ears twitched at the rumbling of landing ships and further shaking of the crust.

“Now. We may have lost the breakwaters, but the transport ships have new barriers. Plus, these barriers can fire and open defense barriers.”

…''If we use the remaining breakwaters to transport the fuel, we’ve both made and lost some progress.

In the end, all they had done was repel the enemy’s vanguard and fortify their defenses. That was far from a high return.

And the enemy had not taken any clear damage to their middle god of war units. In that case…

“Is it time for the next move?”

Henri read through the damage reports from the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units.

Not one of them was unharmed. They had taken explosions from head-on. Those who had gotten their defense barriers out front in time had fared relatively well, but those who had not had been knocked over and taken damage to their front armor and arms.

But none had been lost. That was all thanks to obeying the Roi-Soleil’s words, but…

“Roi-Soleil, how did you know about the enemy’s trick?”

Armand said “it was his…y’know, intuition” via divine transmission, but she ignored him.

She soon received her answer.

“Henri? If they had detonated the light warships at a low enough altitude to affect the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette''s, it would have also damaged their transport ships, right? That is why I concluded the attack would not come from the light warships.”

The Roi-Soleil took a breath.

“Middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units, can you hear me?”

The Roi-Soleil’s voice traveled via divine transmission.

“Middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units…you did well. You revealed the enemy’s main focus to be the transport ships and you also tore down the enemy’s final barrier. From here on out, the enemy will likely make a new attack, but they have nothing but the light warships to use as a shield. Meaning…”

Meaning…

“The battlefield has been established. Vassals and knights-in-training, well done paving this path in the night. I thank you for your kindness.”

Henri heard the response to the Roi-Soleil’s words over the divine transmission.

“Testament.”

“…Testament!”

“Testament. …I lost an arm, but I can keep going!”

“Testament,” replied Henri as well.

Their morale had not dropped. So to ensure they were not picked off individually…

“Everyone back to your positions! And…”

Henri heard loud noises from three directions as she spoke.

Something had collided with the enemy forces after they split to either side.

“Oh?” There was a smile in the Roi-Soleil’s voice. “The heavy ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units were waiting behind the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units? …Was making a charge their request, Henri?”

“Testament. The middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units are falling back to regroup, so they are providing cover for that. Do you have any orders?”

“Simply that you do not forget our main goal. As long as you do that, you may go on as much of a rampage as you like. And…” The smile in his voice was bitter now. “It seems there is one spot where the attack is developing differently.”

Just as he finished speaking, the distant sound of breaking metal raced quietly through the night.

While the flames and smoke of the explosion continued to rise in the west, a middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' tumbled through the air and crashed into the ground.

“That was…”

The presence that had thrown the middle ''Lourd de Marionnette'' stood beyond the flames and smoke. It was…

“Hachisuka’s Hidamari Genbu…!”

Koroku thought to herself on the battlefield.

…''From now on, I belong here on the front line.

This was her first time using Genbu as part of the main fighting force on a legitimate battlefield.

Before, she had secretly fought using gods of war captured from other nations or provided support from behind the scenes.

“Testament. And thanks to that, I know how much effort goes into these things.”

Koroku grabbed something in her right hand, lifted it up, and threw it away.

It was a middle god of war.

It was likely 7 or 8 meters tall. Since it was specialized for defensive charges, its arms had shoulder spell launchers built in. The legs naturally leaned forward and it could use a pile bunker ability to run.

Koroku felt it was a good design for standing on one’s toes. And…

…''It’s pretty heavy.

But the enemy’s giant body soared high in the sky.

Something white fell down from the middle god of war floating in the night sky with its body sprawled out. It was likely the pilot. Since they did not have a fall control spell, they made a midair ejection while relying on body strengthening divine protections.

Even if they were injured in the fall, they had made the decision based on their guess as to what was about to happen to the god of war.

They guessed right.

Koroku swung her right arm to strike the falling middle god of war.

Genbu had expandable armor on the back and front, so its current form was of a turtle-like dragon standing upright.

The arm was shaped like a gauntlet with the elbow sticking out backwards. There was a hand at the end, but…

“Genbu…right arm.”

''Lernen Figur''s danced about the right arm that swung casually forward from the shoulder. They were colored black and looked something like a turtle shell. They were the Genbu’s OS program ''lernen figur''s. They rippled across the arm from back to front, creating a growing shape.

“Excessive Jab…Genbu.”

It produced a strike.

Koroku realized her attack had produced instantaneous destruction.

The middle god of war hit by the Genbu’s strike was crushed from the surface of impact and flew forward while breaking apart.

The straining of metal joined together and broke apart in the night.

The mass of metal was crushed on the surface of impact and burst on the opposite surface, but it was not the Genbu’s physical strength that had done it.

Something had appeared beyond the fist at the end of the black heavy god of war’s right arm.

It was a thin disc of light.

A closer look showed that striking light was dark yet had light bursting from within. That light was the power that had struck and shattered the middle god of war.

“So that’s all it does when I use that much power for an attack.”

Koroku muttered that as the Genbu moved forward. The striking light dispersed from the end of the black heavy god of war’s right arm.

The ether light scattered like fog and distorted the surrounding scenery.

But the Genbu did not look at that slowly vanishing hammer of light.

It advanced down the slope. The enemy heavy god of war unit was up ahead. 12 silver machines ran forward with assault spears at the ready.

“Western unit, the real battle begins now.”

Koroku opened an OS ''lernen figur'' on her left arm and raised it while she spoke.

She did not even look at the approaching heavy gods of war. Her eyes were on Paris’s wall. The western gate was open and a giant form was exiting.

“Isaac of the Three Musketeers.”

That god of war automaton was primarily used in artillery battles.

That would be Koroku’s opponent. But first…

“Western unit, let me thank you in advance,” said Koroku while holding her left arm out toward the charging heavy god of war unit. “I am not arrogant enough to think I can handle Hexagone Française’s elites with a single god of war. So, western unit, you handle them.”

If you do that…

“I will handle the enemy’s representative.”

The heavy god of war units on the east, west, and north clashed with the enemy.

The enemy had split to either side to avoid the middle god of war units, but they were gathering back together now.

The heavy gods of war charged straight toward them.

The enemy had regathered in front of the light warship barriers, but they were ready for this new charge.

The layout was the same as at Magdeburg.

Hashiba’s tactics were to stop the charging gods of war with a closely-packed formation and buffering spells and then they would defeat the gods of war that failed to withdraw in time. However…

“We won’t let you do that again!”

The heavy gods of war had devices attached to their waist hard point parts. They were attached to the back, but they opened them out to the sides.

The swing arms pulled out short-barreled quasi-anti-ship cannons. The ''auspuff'' vent opened and they aimed the light-recoil muzzles on the opposite end.

They fired while charging forward with captain-level acceleration.

“Fire…!”

But just before they fired, the gods of war saw the enemy’s reaction.

The enemy formations activated several defense spells and buffering spells.

“Anti-artillery defenses!?” shouted one while pursing the bullet they had fired. “Sorry! This is because of our poor performance in our attack the other day.”

“Don’t let it get to you!” said their captain while rushing toward the expected hit point. “Your attack didn’t end back there! This is just a continuation of it! No, everything from the previous generation leaving us to the end of this battle is all part of the same attack!”

“Testament!”

With those words, the wind whipped up.

In each charging god of war group, four used the flight devices on their backs to make an ascent.

But as they flew, they were fired on by the two light warships still waiting in the sky above. Sparks flew from their armor, but they took a course that avoided any direct hits and swung their wrists toward everyone below them.

“We will hold them in place from above. So…”

“Testament,” the others replied.

“It doesn’t matter who! Someone destroy that transport ship!”

''The battle is undergoing a transition,'' thought Henri.

It had simply been an exchange of attack and defense before, but it was becoming much more jumbled together now.

It was difficult to get an overall view of the battlefield like this.

But Hexagone Française was pushing forward.

That was mostly thanks to the charge of the heavy ''Lourd de Marionnette'' units and the artillery fire. Once the enemy’s closely-packed formation crumbled, the surrounding enemy concentration could be greatly reduced even after the charge.

Also, the autonomous armor meant a lot. It was normally used for defense and it would act without instructions from the pilot to block shells and swords, but it could also be used as giant striking weapons against infantry.

After the battle at Magdeburg, they had gone as far as stopping the ''Lourd de Marionnette'' production line just to get that added in. The artillery system used the same technology, so it had greatly increased the overall cost of each unit.

“The anti-air equipped units are also doing quite well.”

Two light warships flew in the night sky to the west, east, and north and four ''Lourd de Marionnette''s each were battling them.

Since Hexagone Française was not a naval nation, they generally did not need ''Lourd de Marionnette''s that could travel between ships. They instead needed the sturdiness to defend their vast territory over long periods of time and the mobility to pull off ground battles.

When battling an enemy’s aerial forces, their strategy was to draw back into their vast land to extend the battle line while they cut off the enemy’s supply line and dealt with the aerial ships with anti-air fire.

But times had changed.

With the rise of P.A. Oda, the increase in population, and the national stability brought by strengthening royal authority, the trend was for nations to work toward expanding their territory.

Thus, Hexagone Française would undergo a change ''here''. These were not aerial ''Lourd de Marionnette''s and they had not gone through extensive flight training like pilots in Tres España or other coastal nations. But…

“If we narrow it down to assaults and ship-top battles, our knights can learn to do it for a short time.”

By showing off their combat technology ''here'', they could deter other nations in the future.

And this flight technology was sure to come in handy for Hexagone Française down the road. After all, if they left for the outer world, they would need to move between two ships or between ships and the ground.

And if their ground ''Lourd de Marionnette''s could also perfectly fight back in ground battles, the other nations would be unable to carelessly invade.

If they could mass-produce those, then Hexagone Française would be more than a decade ahead of the other nations as the 5th generation of ''Lourd de Marionnette''s arrived.

“This battle paves a path to the future for Hexagone Française.”

With that, Henri reached for the battlefield information provided by the ''Belle de Marionnette''s positioned around the city.

And she noticed something odd there.

…''The northern enemy formation is moving?

''Odd,'' thought Henri. The northern enemy formation led by Kiyomasa had moved far to the east as it fell back for defense.

Even though the enemy supposedly needed to keep the transport ship behind them.

Of the two light warships in the sky, one was descending toward the surface, but the other was moving east.

…''What is this?

Henri checked a few pieces of observation data.

She saw a large movement taking place in those real-time observations.

At the front of the northern formation, the entire Kiyomasa unit was on the move.

That ground unit was moving east, which was to the right from Henri’s perspective.

Of the two light warships still in the air, one was descending and the other was moving east. None of them were waiting to see what happened.

“Are they abandoning the north and concentrating their forces to the east and west!?”

That was exactly what it was.

The observation data showed the heavy ''Lourd de Marionnette''s hesitating over whether or not to pursue Kiyomasa’s forces.

However, their target was not Hashiba’s ground forces.

They had to target the transport ship that the enemy planned to use somehow.

But Henri raised a shout.

“Northern ''Lourd de Marionnette'' unit! Defend yourselves!”

Immediately, the light warships that had landed to the north exploded. That meant the one that had already landed and the one that was currently landing.

Two giant explosions blossomed below the night sky.

The sound had yet to reach Henri, but the spreading flames and shockwave enveloped most of the attacking ''Lourd de Marionnette''s and blew them away.

Kiyomasa did not look back as she ran.

But she did raise her voice.

“Defense to the rear!”

It arrived just as she said it.

The shockwave wind, the sonic impact, and the flaming materials raining down from the sky.

Those were pieces and components of the light warships.

Occasionally, a metal pillar or armor panel piece would roll past them while they ran. Also, heat filled the wind and blew between their arms and hair.

But they continued to run. Paris’s wall and moat were visible to their right.

Paris was bright.

The immense light escaping over the city walls made it feel as if something like justice resided there.

The people of that city were on the side of light. So Kiyomasa’s side…

“——————”

She hid that thought in her heart and gave a shout.

“Everyone, go on ahead! I will stop the Hexagone Française unit pursuing us!”

She opened her mouth while leading the group through the night toward Fukushima’s group to the east.

That eastern formation was visible ahead of them.

Fukushima had split her unit into three to defend against the enemy gods of war while staying on the move.

They were all desperate. So…

“If there is a light side and a dark side of this battlefield, then the enemy is the light and we are the dark. But you must not forget that, when the light side shines, it also illuminates the dark side. We are the ones who have not forgotten about the existence of both sides and look to the light.”

So…

“We shall give the enemy darkness and give ourselves light. …Now, go on ahead!”

With that, Kiyomasa watched the others’ movements.

Not one of them hurried onward and they lined up alongside her instead.

It was more than just one or two of them. Every member of the northern unit was there.

Even though she had told them to go on ahead.

“What are you doing!? I ordered you to go on ahead!”

She prepared for the coming fight as she shouted at them. Her critical tone should have been convincing.

But they all turned toward her with faces illuminated by Paris’s lights. They were all serious expressions with raised eyebrows. The female student in the front spoke.

“Sorry, Kiyomasa-sama. But this is a history recreation.”

“A history recreation?”

They all nodded and the female student next to her turned toward her.

“Lord Kiyomasa, whose name you have inherited, apparently said the following during the Age of the Gods: ‘Generally, the lower ranks learn from their superiors’. We have simply obeyed the Testament by doing so.”

“You mean…?”

She knew what they meant. Those under her command were following their commander’s lead.

She wondered what to do and the female student lowered her eyebrows.

“Did we make a mistake?”

“Testament, you did. That line is meant to encourage the lower ranks to obey their orders.”

They all hung their heads and groaned.

And Kiyomasa said more almost as if responding to that.

“But…I would likely have done the same thing in your place. So you were indeed learning from your superior. The mistake came from me.”

“Testament!”

They all nodded and the surviving light warship passed by overhead.

The eastern formation was visible ahead of them. Fukushima moved her trisected unit and stood on the front line to fight the gods of war.

Kiyomasa’s unit could arrive in time to attack the enemy’s flank.

…''But first we need to strike back against the remnants of the northern enemy forces.

They had to rescue Fukushima after that.

Kiyomasa readied Caledfwlch, turned around, and raised her voice.

The number of enemies pursuing them was greatly reduced. She raised Caledfwlch toward them.

“Everyone, strike back…!”

''So Kiyomasa is joining them,'' thought Koroku with a mental sigh of relief.

…''Now the battlefield is taking the general shape Takenaka expected.

Their plan was beginning to follow the proper route. That meant Takenaka’s proposed idea was realistic.

“And if we don’t pull it off, then it’s our fault.”

She added “what a pain” from the shade below some eaves.

She was not on the battlefield. She was inside Genbu. This was the virtual cockpit she had created to perceive herself while combined with the god of war. Even though it was virtual, people generally made them look like a cockpit, but thanks to Genbu’s excellent processing power, she had constructed a more scenic location.

Of course, the movement of the outside world and control of Genbu took priority.

She did not even have to close her eyes to perceive the movements of the battlefield in addition to the scene visible around her.

But Genbu’s processing power showed it all to her in slow motion. It was not at the level of an automaton, but her senses perceived the outside world with the speed compressed several hundred times.

…''It would be exhausting if it was always like this.

That was why she stayed in here during that time. It was always daytime with a sunny sky. She did not know what the temperature was because she could not establish that level of detail. She wondered if a new program could add that functionality.

“Ah.”

Her right arm had just sent an enemy god of war flying.

That was thanks to the efforts of the M.H.R.R. students down below. A dozen or so attacked the enemy god of war’s shins.

“Rock Faust!!”

All they did was hit it with the rocks unearthed by the previous crust bombing.

But it was a decent effort. The slope was poor footing for the enemy, so they could not move if they shut off their senses. Those attacks had smashed through the armor panels on the shins and it would have done as much damage as an equivalent attack on a human. Would the next generation gods of war prevent that by automatically shutting off their senses?

Koroku suddenly found a plate of watermelon on the bench below the eaves.

It was meaningless. It would have no flavor even if she ate it. It was the same as the background data.

But she was glad it was there.

She lightly raised Genbu’s left hand as a sign of thanks to everyone who had made such an effort below.

“There.”

And she placed her hand on the enemy spear sent her way from the left.

The enemy was moving well. The charge had essentially been a surprise attack, but they properly twisted their spears forward to increase the penetrative power.

“I can see you.”

She aimed a short cannon toward the enemy’s waist.

She targeted the enemy that attempted to hide below the spear aimed at her.

It was a good combination attack. The god of war pilot had probably come up with it themselves. However…

“I can see you.”

Koroku had placed her hand on the spear. She made a forceful twist to repel the assault spear and her fingers touched the spear tip. And Koroku stood up below the summer sun.

There was a field beyond the plaza-like garden ahead of her. She directed her gaze there.

“—————”

And she shut her eyes.

The Hexagone Française god of war unit saw something baffling on the battlefield.

After charging at the Hashiba god of war, one of their own gods of war suddenly transformed.

Twisting and rotating the outthrust spear had been necessary ever since Magdeburg. It increased the force of the attack, but it also prevented the enemy from grabbing or pushing back the spear tip.

Also, the pilot who had made the attack on the Genbu was an expert gunner. They excelled at firing an unseen blast along with their standard attack.

But this transformation stopped all of that.

It happened in an instant.

The god of war’s right arm twisted inward several times and ended up like a wrung cloth.

The spear held below the arm was at the center of the twisting.

The spear too bent deeply and seemed to wrap around itself before striking the god of war’s body along with the arm.

Two movements immediately followed.

The first was the pilot making an emergency ejection from the god of war’s back.

The second was the pilotless god of war’s body spinning.

The pilot’s arm was broken from elbow to shoulder. Even though Hexagone Française safety devices were on the fourth generation and they ejected the pilot as soon as possible to ensure their safety.

The god of war was twisted. As if the spiraling of the spear and arm was propagating through the rest of it, its body ducked below the arm and spear.

“—————”

With a scream of tearing steel, the god of war’s body made a full rotation.

The ultra-heavy god of war bounced up as if its bent back had snapped back.

And the Genbu struck it.

In the instant of destruction and crushing created by a bright attack, the Genbu clearly spoke.

“Now, come.”

The first to notice was Katagiri who was looking up into the sky.

He saw two silhouettes in the sky to the east and west.

One was the light warship which had gone ahead of Kiyomasa into the eastern sky.

The other was a light warship from Hachisuka’s unit.

Several figures could be seen lined up on their decks. They were…

“Charging Company – Schau Essen!”

They threw themselves into the night sky with perfectly natural movements.

They threw their bodies straight into empty air like they were jumping onto their beds.

They did not spread out their arms and they did not flail their legs. It was as if to say a relaxed pose was best. However…

“Klassisch Kunst: Weight of Life…activate.”

Weight spells manifested the weight of their lives.

Their destructive power came from equating their physical volume with the quantity of their life.

Their movements awaited the falling process. They positioned their heads downward, controlled their attitude, and thrust their arms down.

“Listen, Landsknechts! Have you eaten!?”

“We have!”

“Like pigs!?”

“They’ve got nothin’ on us!”

“Well said,” laughed their captain. And, “We are those with a greater quantity of life than your average person!”

“We are those with a greater quantity of life than your average person!!”

“We are those who use that life to fulfill our duty!”

“We are those who use that life to fulfill our duty!”

He breathed in.

“So let us shout and eat our duty: Schau Essen!”

“Testament! Schau Essen!”

They shouted as they fell. They picked up speed, transformed themselves into weighty hammers, and sang.

“In the lovely Westerwald.”

It was an ode to the beautiful mountains of northern M.H.R.R.

“Over your heights the wind whistles so cold.”

They continued on.

“However, the smallest sunshine.”

They fell straight down.

“Thrusts deep into the heart!”

And a tremor ran through the depths of the night.

The battlefield was literally struck.

M.H.R.R.’s ground unit had used their bodies to provide aerial support.

They did not care if the god of war unit crushed them or blew them away.

“Don’t moooooooooooove!!”

They slammed their bodies against the enemy, crashed into the defense barriers, and stopped them.

As a result, they scored direct hits on 7 of the 18 heavy gods of war active on the east and west and 4 more were struck by semi-direct hits.

The sounds of impact had been heard far too often this night.

But there were two new noises this time.

“Yes…!”

One was the Hashiba forces cheering for some actual progress on their part.

“Damn you…!”

The other was the middle god of war unit who had been forced to fall back after the explosion of the breakwaters.

Hexagone Française’s main force had gathered to the east and west.

Meanwhile, something gathered in the eastern, western, and southern sky.

“What is that…!?”

The transport ships landed there were giving off light. Ether light extended outward from fairly high above the sides of the ships like horizontally spread wings.

That light produced a spell product that everyone was familiar with.

“A virtual ocean…!”

“So that’s it!”

Henri shouted while running along the passageway from the northern wall to the eastern wall.

She finally understood the “flooding” the enemy had in mind.

Hashiba had prepared some insurance in case they found flooding Paris would not be possible.

“They intend to expand the virtual ocean of an aerial ship over an extremely wide area so that it surrounds Paris and effectively ‘floods’ it!”

That would require some interpretation, but it was plausible. After all, aerial ships could use a virtual ocean to ascend because submerging the ship in the virtual ocean supplied buoyancy. So…

…''Is it too late to send forces to the southern transport ship!?

“Everyone, destroy the enemy transport ships on the east and west! That supersedes all other orders!”

Fukushima stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kiyomasa.

They were in a defensive formation.

Outside that, the enemy had sent their middle god of war unit to the front in preparation for another clash.

But they too were preparing for a clash.

After crashing down from the sky, Schau Essen moved to the front of the Hashiba forces. They had already prepared their spells and the corners of their mouths were lifted in smiles.

“Let’s see who has more to them: us or those gods of war,” they said. “So you take care of any enemies that are too much for us.”

“Testament. I will stubbornly do exactly that. …This is the perfect chance to test myself.”

An ocean spread out overhead.

“It should take about 30 minutes for this to envelop Paris from the east, west, and south,” said Fukushima.

“So we need to see whether or not we can change history in that 30 minutes, right?” said Kiyomasa.

That did not seem to hit home with anyone, but Fukushima smiled.

“I am sure this will be an incredible thing.”

When everyone saw the look on Fukushima’s face, they altered their own expressions.

They all smiled with slightly raised eyebrows.

“Testament!”

Essentially, this meant there were 30 minutes left. So until then…

“Everyone, prepare to resist. Kiyomasa-dono and I will…”

“Testament. We will break through the enemy’s front line and head to Paris.”

Fukushima looked out ahead and saw three figures atop Paris’s wall.

The first was Sanada’s Miyoshi Seikai.

The second was Henri of the Three Musketeers.

And the third…

“ ‘Flying Katou’ Katou Danzou.”

The three of them vanished from the wall.

They had jumped down. And they were on their way here.

“Wow,” everyone said. “They’ve sent in three officer-class fighters?”

“That means we have reached the final stage of this battle,” said Fukushima. “The Roi-Soleil will defend Paris while they use all their might to put a stop to the Siege of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle. Thus…”

The three figures slowly walked toward them while lit up by Paris’s lights.

“They are now the attackers and we the defenders. The two of us will handle those three, so everyone else defend this location.”

With that, Fukushima stepped forward. She smiled with her eyebrows raised and held a hand out toward Kiyomasa.

“I shall accompany thee partway there, Kiyo-dono.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 62|Chapter 62]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 64|Chapter 64]]
}}
</noinclude>

Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 62

2018-08-03T22:34:03Z

162.158.134.55: Fixed typos.

==Chapter 62: Waiters on the Dry Land==
[[Image:Horizon6-C622.jpg|thumb]]
''Now

''We’re cornered

''But so is the enemy

''So is everyone

'''Point Allocation (Look to Your Opponent)

Narumi’s opponent said nothing while standing in a relaxed pose.

That opponent was Treasurer’s Aide Heidi Augesvarer.

She simply stood there with the wind blowing across her summer uniform. And she looked to Narumi and spoke.

“Greed leads to failure. Shiro-kun is injured and, after a quick chat, he said he would entrust this to me, so I have taken his place as his aide.”

“I see,” replied Narumi. She did not particularly care if the aide took his place. Besides: “He can’t prostrate properly while injured, can he?”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you?”

The Treasurer’s Aide wrinkled her brow and spread her mouth horizontally.

But once she took a breath, she held her right hand out toward Narumi. She held a white handkerchief in it.

“Shiro-kun left this 130 yen with me. He said he would entrust this to me, so I’ll be using this money.”

And she suddenly moved.

She got down on her knees, placed her hands in front of her, sat down on her lower legs, and placed her forehead in front.

“Please sell Houjou’s rights for this!”

It was a ridiculous prostration.

Mogami Yoshiaki assessed the Treasurer’s Aide’s action.

…''She moves quite efficiently.

Unlike the boy’s prostrations, hers was a tranquil one that adjusted her posture as if placing herself inside an invisible box.

The money from before was placed in front of her on the handkerchief as an offering. Refusing to let the money touch the ground may have been a sign of her pride as a merchant.

Everything about her posture was directed downwards.

Her prostration attempted to place herself lower than her opponent no matter what, as if burying herself in the ground.

…''She has excellent movement.

It was not too light but not too heavy either. It was always directed downwards and she seemed to continue rubbing her forehead against the ground.

And the current stage was good too.

She was in public. National representatives were watching, but she still performed the prostration.

Also, she had no money.

“Yes, this is a ridiculous prostration meant to force through a ridiculous request.”

Yoshiaki smiled bitterly when Yoshiyasu gave her a puzzled look.

“A splendid move. Prostrations exist to force through ridiculous requests such as this. So they are best performed when you have lost everything, thrown out even your pride, and have nothing to bargain with and no value as a living being.”

That was why the Treasurer had given his aide the paltry sum of money and “entrusted it to her”. The merchant could still fight even now. And she was the only one he could rely on while injured.

“Do you understand the true essence of a prostration? It is not an unsightly means of apologizing.”

Instead…

“There is a goal they must achieve even if it requires prostration. …And when that resonates with their opponent, their request will be accepted.”

Narumi looked to the prostration in front of her.

…''Expecting this to get their debt forgiven is ridiculous.

The Treasurer behind this prostration had lost to Narumi and to Houjou.

Musashi currently had one loss against Houjou.

So even if Narumi gave them the rights of a victory over Houjou, it would only cancel out that loss and not give them approval to enter the ruins.

…''But.

Narumi knew someone else was in charge of fighting for that.

“The Musashi Vice President.”

That girl was sure to do something about it. And this Treasurer’s Aide knew it. No, not just her. The Chancellor, Narumi’s partner, and everyone else understood that.

If they gained these Houjou rights, the Musashi Vice President would do something about the rest.

That was the reason for this prostration. So…

“——————”

Narumi raised her right leg and instantly stomped it back down.

She did not hold back.

“I am ‘angry’. That’s enough, right?”

Meaning…

“I am furious at the power of your prostration, but I accept because that is how it works. …And in exchange for my loss here, I will give Musashi the rights for my victory over Houjou.”

She spoke down at where her heel had stopped a mere 5mm above the Treasurer’s Aide’s head.

Houjou Ujinao looked up at the sky.

The cloudy sky was scarlet. The summer evening was gradually reaching its end.

But a sign frame appeared in the sky.

…''The Musashi Vice President?

''Yes,'' she thought to herself. ''They must have settled everything by now.

“What is it? Are you prepared to head to Kanie Castle?”

“Judge. We have managed to cancel out our loss to Houjou.”

Ujinao knew what the Musashi Vice President meant. In what could be seen as the final battle of the Siege of Odawara, Musashi had defeated Date and acquired the rights of a victory over Houjou.

“But that only cancels out Katou Yoshiaki’s win for us. …In other words, you still do not have a victory over Houjou,” said Ujinao. “Besides, I still remain here.”

“I have an idea and a suggestion concerning that.” The Musashi Vice President’s words reverberated through the wind. “A transport ship heading here from Suwa should arrive soon.”

“——————”

“If possible, we would like to swap out one of our representatives. The new representative will fight in what I imagine will be the final duel of the Siege of Odawara. And…”

And…

“We will leave soon for Kanie Castle.”

“We still don’t know if your new representative will win.”

“Oh, he will. Our idiot has taken on his impossibility. …So it’s impossible for him to lose.”

“Testament. Be prepared for what will happen if this does not go as planned.”

“Judge,” she replied with a bitter smile. “Thanks, Houjou Ujinao.”

The divine transmission ended there. And Ujinao spoke.

“The rulers of the coming age thanked me. …If that is Houjou’s final grade, it may not be a bad reward for a doomed Preta.”

By the time Kotarou viewed the encampment, it was all over.

She had not known it was over.

But she had guessed it would probably be over by now, so she stepped through the encampment’s curtain.

There she found a cloudy sky and a plaza.

Ujinao stood there with automatons waiting at a distance.

The scarlet of the sky was deepening, but Ujinao’s clothes were white below that sky.

“Ujinao-sama! Are you injured!?”

Kotarou knew without asking that she was unhurt.

But she noticed something while running over to make sure.

Something was scattered at Ujinao’s feet.

Something was broken beyond recognition. Every piece had shattered like an eggshell, making it unidentifiable.

And she heard Ujinao’s voice.

“I had the brain retrieved. …As it was a duel.”

“T-testament! …Ujinao-sama, um, uh.”

“Testament. That uncle was useless in the duels and holds no meaning after this, so I erred in my judgment of him. …Kotarou, you were correct to dislike him.”

Ujinao kept her eyes on the sky as she spoke. But after a while…

“Kotarou? What is wrong? I am saying you defeated me.”

“No, um…”

Kotarou was unsure if she should say what she had just realized and thought.

But conviction as a Mouse put it to words.

“Ujinao-sama,” said Kotarou. “I have determined that Ujiteru-sama retired in the best possible way.”

“…Is that so?” Ujinao did not look down from the sky. “Then I must trust you there. After all, your judgment of him was more correct than mine.”

“Testament! That’s right! Please think that!”

Kotarou looked to the same part of the sky as Ujinao as she spoke.

She looked north to the Suwa sky as she formed the words.

“Someone is sure to be here soon! Someone who will not allow you to be alone!”

Just as Kotarou tried to say more, Ujinao scooped her up in her hands.

Kotarou saw that Ujinao’s eyes were exposed.

They were gold. A trail of residual light followed their movement as they looked at Kotarou.

“That goes without saying.”

And Ujinao gently hugged Kotarou.

“Kotarou. …That description fits you perfectly.”

…''It’s over.

Narumi looked up into the cloudy evening sky as she viewed the results and following actions on her sign frame.

The duels of the Siege of Odawara were effectively over. A duel between Houjou and Musashi remained, but Musashi would move to the Kanie Castle battlefield first.

Narumi would likely be placed on the rear guard for that.

The nations would be planning what to do about their various rights. And after seeing the result of the Siege of Kanie Castle, they would decide what to do during the Kantou Liberation.

The Kantou Liberation would begin tomorrow. Or tonight depending on what happened at Paris.

“See, look at that.”

The Reine des Garous pointed to a dark spot in the eastern sky.

The Hashiba fleet stationed in the Edo region had taken flight and was beginning to transport supplies and establish a formation.

“And more are coming from the northwest.”

Those would be reinforcements from P.A. Oda.

Groups of warships with numbers in the double digits were moving slowly but boldly while accompanied by transport ships. They were all moving from the northwest to the east. They showed no response to anything happening at Odawara, but because of that…

“They’re ready to do this, aren’t they? Look at that ship in the lead.”

Narumi looked where Ookubo’s white prosthetic arm was pointing.

The ironclad ship leading the fleet to Edo bore a name on its side.

“The Toba Castle…!? That’s Kuki Yoshitaka’s fleet.”

“Testament.” Yoshiaki covered her mouth with a fan. “They’ve sent a troublesome group. …We’ll need to be careful.”

Everyone agreed with that.

And Narumi wondered when the real explosion would happen.

If the Punishment of Houjou and the Siege of Kanie Castle were the fuse for the great battlefield of Kantou, at what point in the Kantou Liberation would the greatest explosion occur? Also…

“I hear Paris is at a standstill. Are these coals still only smoldering?”

“Aren’t things progressing oddly?”

A while before the end of Odawara, someone voiced a question on a battlefield surrounded by green fields.

Hashiba’s forces surrounded Paris on all sides and it was the northern formation that noticed the oddity.

Physical shell attacks were coming from Paris without rest.

And the enemy had set up a defensive formation without being pushed back.

But the enemy would occasionally advance and somewhat reduce the distance between them. Each time, Hashiba would also move to deter them. Then the artillery would alter its angle and attack the Hashiba formation after its move.

It was a boring but effective attack.

The Hashiba formation could not avoid some disarray while exposed to concentrated shellfire.

As a result, they would move toward spots receiving fewer attacks, but…

“…This is strange.”

Kiyomasa, who led the northern unit, had noticed a few oddities.

She knew the Paris forces had stopped making proactive attacks.

But after a few hours of shellfire and skirmishes, a thought occurred to her.

…''This is odd.

One oddity stood out in particular.

“Why haven’t the Seine’s waters risen?”

…''Is the water leaking out somewhere?

Kiyomasa was to the north. The Seine flowed from the south, passed through Paris, and left to the northwest. Including the moat dug around Paris, the Seine flowed in front of them from left to right.

But the river’s water level had not risen.

The Seine had been blocked up and the armor panel breakwaters set up around Paris would hold the water in. That was Hashiba’s strategy. Downstream to the west, the Seine was blocked up and the water was overflowing its banks.

At around mid-afternoon, the water spreading across the downstream area should have flooded this wheat field.

But the scene before Kiyomasa’s eyes appeared no different from when the battle had begun.

The water was blocked downstream to the west and it had formed a shallow lake there, but…

…''The water isn’t spreading any further than that?

The moats would be playing a role there.

But there was no sign of those moats filling with water either.

This oddity was clear to her specifically because she was in the north where she could view Paris from downstream. And she sent word of it to Takenaka via divine transmission.

“Takenaka-sama. …It doesn’t look like the floodwaters are rising very much. Can you make a decision about this from where you are?”

“Yeah, I had a feeling.”

Takenaka readily admitted it.

Shells landed around Kiyomasa, but she chose to ignore them.

To check on the others’ situation, she posted on the divine chat.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Directional commanders, have you noticed anything about the floodwaters?”

'''Llaf:''' “There is no change here in the east. We are waiting for the floodwaters to arrive from thy direction, but progress appears to be slow.”

'''□□凸:''' “The flooding isn’t supposed to have started here yet, so it’s impossible to tell…”

'''6:''' “Things are submerged here, but it is true the spread is slow.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Slow?”

'''6:''' “Testament, the flooding won’t spread. It looks like it disappears somewhere up ahead. It is gradually spreading, but is it supposed to be faster?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Hm.”

Kiyomasa tilted her head at Takenaka’s comment.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Is something wrong, Takenaka-sama?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “No, I set up a lot of different tricks, so this should turn out fine. I feel like the other side is self-destructing here, so it would be best not to react.”

'''Llaf:''' “Are thou saying we have a plan even if things do not flood, so we should not worry?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Hmm.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “It’s not really a plan, but I do recall hearing about a rather forceful move before we left. Do you really think that will work?”

She tried asking and Takenaka did not hesitate to respond.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “With Hashiba-kun’s current power, whoever makes the claim first wins, so it should be fine. But we aren’t quite prepared for that. Umm, are each of the directions listening?”

Takenaka spoke to them all.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “The command I’m about to give is a two-stage command with a time delay between, but please obey it. If the other side self-destructs, we’ll escape unscathed, but if they make a certain decision…”

Then…

'''Kuro-Take:''' “We’ll carry out the second stage of the command for a high damage exchange from 7 to 8 PM. Please be ready for that.”

“Henri, the enemy is on the move.”

Armand viewed the Hashiba forces to the west from atop Paris’s walls. He opened a telescope spell while calling Henri on a ''signe cadre''.

The ''Belle de Marionnette''s were alternately checking the range and firing. ''Belle de Marionnette''s carrying spell gunpowder and artillery shells were using stairs to climb up and down the city wall. And with the din of cannon fire in the background…

“Armand, I can see it to the north too. It looks like units have set up a rotation of falling back to the transport ship behind them and then returning.”

“Do you know what they’re doing?”

“Eating? No, it looks like they are receiving portable food and drink. Humans need a lot of water during this season.”

“And they can’t just drink the Seine’s water.”

With that, Armand opened another ''signe cadre''.

It displayed the Roi-Soleil buying fruits at the market.

“Roi-Soleil, what will you do?”

“My role is to fortify the defense barriers with my Testamenta Arma. But if it is ever absolutely necessary that I take part in the fighting, just call for me. …However, I hope that will not be necessary. Because I intend to improve my skills in cooking, which the Testament lists as one of my hobbies.” He held up an apple. “But if we have a plan, then so will they. …When the enemy does something on the battlefield, you must assume it will lead to their victory somehow.”

“Agreed, Roi-Soleil,” said Bernard whose voice alone reached them from the southern wall. “No living being will take action for no reason. Meaningless actions are only taken by the dead. And the doomed. Roi-Soleil, ''Belle de Marionnette''s, and everyone else…is this enemy dead or doomed?”

“They are not,” replied Miyoshi who was on the eastern wall with Danzou by his side. “At the very least, this enemy was able to do more than us.”

“Testament,” said Danzou. “If we are to provide death or doom for this enemy, we must stick to it. Let us show them that we are capable of persistently seeing this through and seizing everything for ourselves.”

“Testament,” replied the Roi-Soleil. “Then take action, everyone. If the enemy has a plan, then so do we. We might be outwitted in a spectacular fashion, but there is one fundamental rule of battle.”

That being…

“Those who continue marching toward victory will win.”

'''□□凸:''' “The enemy is advancing! They’re coming this way!”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Wow, they won’t even overlook our show of eating food? Just how cement-like are they?”

'''6:''' “…So Katagiri will be the first to fall.”

'''□□凸:''' “Th-the enemy is advancing on all of you as well! Please look!”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Testament, they are indeed coming here. Except…”

'''Llaf:''' “What is it?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Testament, they have stopped after advancing about 200 meters. And I might be overreacting, but it feels strange.”

'''6:''' “Testament, I can see it too. They stopped after advancing about the same distance here. Since it’s the same with Kiyomasa, they must be ''luring us in''.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “You mean…?”

'''6:''' “They’ve moved to a position that hides as much of the Seine as possible from us.”

'''Llaf:''' “So they realized we have noticed the oddity in the water level?”

''Oh, no,'' thought Takenaka.

She was setting up a “last resort”. If she set that in motion, they would quickly approach victory.

And at the moment, they needed to buy time and distract the enemy so it could be set in motion.

Because once it was in motion, it would be a short, decisive battle. The short-term battle would settle everything.

So since their preparations were not yet complete, she did not want the enemy to notice anything odd about their actions. However…

…''They’re on the lookout…

The enemy wanted to see if Hashiba had noticed the oddity in the water level.

They must have decided Hashiba would likely notice at around this time.

But they had still moved forward to see for sure.

Hiding the Seine was the enemy’s tactic.

Of course, the Seine flowed across a large area of land and Hashiba’s forces were all on elevated areas of land. They could still see most of the Seine from those vantage points.

But they could not take proper measurements with the enemy in the way.

To observe the Seine, they had to send out scouts or take some other kind of action.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Hachisuka-kun? The water has spread a lot in your downstream area, but you mustn’t do anything to measure the water level, okay?”

'''6:''' “I’ll take a time-lapse recording with Genbu’s vision. I doubt it will matter, though.”

“But,” said the girl.

'''6:''' “What game is the enemy playing here?”

“Testament,” replied Takenaka while looking down at the deck below her feet.

There was something green there.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “It’s the wheat.”

Kiyomasa started to look around in response to what Takenaka said, but…

…''Oops, I shouldn’t show any sign that I’ve realized something.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “The wheat? It’s growing everywhere around here, so what about it?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “You know this wheat is a product of selective breeding, don’t you? After all, this is not the season for wheat. It’s generally harvested at around May. …So all of that growing around you is a new variety bred to grow enough for two crops a year.”

“Al – so,” said Takenaka.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “I had Katagiri-kun bring some here during the earliest stages, but…Katagiri-kun? How tall is the wheat you see around you now?”

'''□□凸:''' “Testament, it’s a little lower than the top of my legs.”

'''Llaf:''' “Is that about 80cm?”

'''Tsurugi:''' “81cm and 7mm is the average. It fluctuates a bit from day to day.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Oh, I remember you mentioning that before.”

'''□□凸:''' “Why do you know more about me than I do!?”

'''6:''' “Wait.”

Hachisuka curtly interrupted.

'''6:''' “It almost reaches my navel.”

'''Llaf:''' Is that about 90cm?”

'''Tsurugi:''' “Probably?”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Hm, that does sound about right.”

'''□□凸:''' “Wh-why are you so much more unsure than with me!?”

'''6:''' “You creep.”

'''□□凸:''' “I wasn’t saying I wanted to know!”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “…Katagiri-kun? Saying that is rude to Hachisuka-san. You’ll regret it once she grows up into a very attractive woman. So apologize, okay?”

'''□□凸:''' “S-sorry…”

'''6:''' “Kiyomasa, you’re overprotective.”

Since she waited until he had apologized, Hachisuka must have wanted him to apologize.

…''But the height of the wheat is curious.

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “What does that mean? Is the wheat in the flooded areas growing?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Wheat does not require much water to grow, but it appears this variety is a little different. When given a certain amount of water, it sucks it all up and grows. So…”

So…

'''Kuro-Take:''' “The vast wheat fields surrounding Paris are soaking up the Seine’s floodwaters.”

Takenaka thought, ''This must be a long-term trap.

…''This wheat was a variety created via selective breeding to increase Hexagone Française’s food production.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “But if it absorbs too much water, the quality drops, so they can’t export it. However, that doesn’t matter in an area with a poor food supply. For example, during war…or while cultivating the outside world.”

That was it.

This variety grew rapidly, but had too poor a taste for export. By linking that to Hexagone Française’s planned cultivation of the outside world and the flooding of Bitchu Takamatsu Castle, it had been used around Paris to research its production.

Hexagone Française must have been waiting for the Hashiba forces to get this close.

Wheat fields this large would likely be able to suck up all of the Seine’s water.

That explained the enemy’s confidence.

Then what were the Hashiba forces to do?

There was an option. Takenaka had prepared a Plan B in case the breakwaters were destroyed.

…''But this is not going to be easy.

'''6:''' “What do we do? Play dumb? It would be hard to believe we still haven’t noticed anything.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “If we show we’ve noticed, they’ll charge forward again. …We still aren’t quite ready.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “What exactly will we do?”

“Testament,” replied Takenaka.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Some of the power being used for the breakwater defense barriers will be rerouted to the transport ships. To prepare for a long-term battle, please connect the ether pathways between the transport ships and the reinforcement facilities’ fuel systems. By my estimate, the preparations will be complete in about 3 hours. After that, we can flood Paris guaranteed.”

'''6:''' “And high damage is guaranteed too.”

“True,” agreed Takenaka.

Three hours from now meant 7 PM.

After the fighting following that and after resupplying, when could they return to Kantou?

…''Early tomorrow morning.

That was later than planned. ''In the worst case anyway,'' sighed Takenaka.

…''I should probably tell Hashiba-kun sooner rather than later…

'''Kuro-Take:''' “We need to fool them for another 3 hours. Let’s try not to provoke them too much. We need to make it look like we’re settling in for a long-term battle. …Let’s play dumb.”

The Roi-Soleil walked through a Paris street holding a basket filled with a towering pile of apples.

There was a security ''Belle de Marionnette'' behind him, but his gait was carefree and he would bow or raise a hand in greeting when he saw someone. He started with a woman selling fried snacks on the street.

“Roi-Soleil! Will you be cooking with Lady Anne’s favorite: apples!?”

“Ha ha ha. That’s the plan anyway.”

“Roi-Soleil! Aren’t all those apples heavy!?”

“Ha ha ha. The basket is a bit prickly when it touches me down below!”

“Roi-Soleil! Should I strip too!?”

“Ha ha ha. …Guards, arrest this criminal.”

“What about you!?”

The Roi-Soleil responded to everyone’s accusation with a flare and a spinning turn.

“I am a natural-born nudist. I am nothing like that faker from Musashi.”

Everyone started whispering.

“…So it is bothering him.”

“…He must have hated being beaten by a crossdresser.”

“…He can’t pull off a naked apron after all.”

He shook his head at their quiet voices.

“It is a trivial matter. …The sun only need remain in its natural state.”

He then opened a ''signe cadre''.

“Henri, I would like to know how to cook an apple tart, so introduce me to a good cook. Also, it seems a festival has begun outside.”

“Testament. Some of the Hashiba forces have begun a history recreation of the festival while they resupply. They have an orchestra hiding behind them playing loud music.”

“They are playing dumb. Because they must have noticed what is happening by now. …They cannot complete their flooding with the Seine’s waters. And we dug deep ditches around Paris, so we are prepared to stop a ground attack. Do you know what happens then?”

“The enemy will see there is nothing they can do and the Princess can complete the Kantou Liberation in the meantime.”

“No. Hashiba is playing dumb here, so they must have a plan. A plan to complete the flooding instead of having to flee from here.”

“It couldn’t be…” said Henri before stopping and starting again. “No, you’re right. They must have a plan to complete the flooding.”

“Testament. That is why they have not fled.”

The Roi-Soleil resumed walking. Walking toward a garden in northern Paris.

That was his current home: the Louvre Palace.

The garden had been opened up during the battle as a place for the people to rest.

He walked toward that calm place.

“Everyone, advance close enough to make your very best attack. And from there, make yourself an audience for their terrible performance. As soon as they try something, immediately crush them.”

“Roi-Soleil, how far along do you think the enemy’s preparations are?”

“Armand, can you perform simple arithmetic?” He smiled. “The Siege of Odawara is underway in Kantou. I imagine it will be complete by 6 PM. Then Musashi will begin the Siege of Kanie Castle. …At most, that will take 2 or 3 hours.”

If a break period and the invasion of Edo followed after that…

“The Kantou Liberation will likely begin at around 2 AM tomorrow.”

The Roi-Soleil thought, ''That battle is sure to end by the time the morning sun has risen.

“That battle will likely last about 4 hours. It will be over at 6 tomorrow morning.”

…''I just hope the sun will protect Terumoto.

Worrying for her was the prideful thing to do. Because it assumed she was lacking in strength and needed assistance.

But Hashiba’s actions were a problem.

“Let us calculate in reverse. The Musashi once traveled from M.H.R.R. to Kantou in about 4 hours. We estimate the Azuchi Castle’s speed is about equivalent to the Musashi’s. It is a giant and ridiculously fast ship, but if you include the time needed to collect their warriors and gather the individual ships, it should take 6 hours to reach Kantou. …Also, they must resupply for what they have used here. After all, going to Kantou while low on supplies would be their downfall.”

He could predict the amount of supplies and the time it would require based on the recent observations of the Azuchi.

“About 2 hours. …So 8 hours in all.”

Meaning…

“If Hashiba is held here until 10 PM, they will not arrive in time for the 6 AM ending of the Kantou battle. So what is it we must do, Danzou?”

“Testament. Observe them after 5. And if we can tell they are preparing an imminent attack…” Danzou spoke with the distinctive low and quiet voice of an old man. “We crush them. Or hold them here until after 10.”

“Precisely, Danzou. …There is also the previous generation’s grudge. I do not know what they will try to do, but we must swiftly analyze it and prepare some means of delaying them. Listen,” said the Roi-Soleil. “It appears as if the enemy has nothing prepared. In that case, what do you think they will use? Bernard, do you know?”

“Spells.” The reply was immediate. “Humans have long relied on spells when they lack equipment.”

“Exactly. So we must monitor the ley line movements and determine where the ether readings are concentrated. Then we do what we can to harass them.”

With that, the Roi-Soleil continued forward. He set foot in the garden and smiled.

“I wonder if apple tarts are good when freshly baked. I should have asked Terumoto.”

While the cloudy sky was dyed in the colors of evening, Terumoto received a question from Mouri-01.

“Princess, the Roi-Soleil would like to know if freshly baked apple tarts are good.”

“Huh? Can’t he figure that out on his own by baking one and eating it?”

“Princess? I think he wants to eat it with you.”

“I see.” Terumoto lifted up the book she was reading and looked to the sky. “Then tell him not to bother with a freshly baked one. I’ll probably be back in three days, so have him bake one we can eat then.”

“Testament, I will pass along your message.”

After that, Mouri-01 followed Terumoto’s gaze into the sky.

A giant ship’s silhouette was slowly moving there.

“Musashi is headed for Kanie Castle, aren’t they?”

“Once the Siege of Kanie Castle is complete, we need to immediately go over the rights from the Siege of Odawara and prepare for the Kantou Liberation. But…” Terumoto looked Mouri-01 in the eye. “The transition has gone pretty smoothly for us. So tell our idiot to do his thing without worrying. …Our stupid sun shines on Hexagone Française even at night. Right?”

While Hashiba and Hexagone Française made their moves in the west, the scarlet sky rapidly grew dark starting from the east.

Evening was becoming night.

Takenaka took a certain action from a position giving a view of that time change.

She was vomiting over the edge of the deck.

“Ero ero ero ero.”

'''Azuchi:''' “Takenaka-sama, I would like to focus exclusively on operating the ship, so could you please refrain from taking such actions? Over.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Oh, sorry, sorry, ‘Azuchi’. I had you make so many adjustments and here I am getting in your- ero ero ero.”

'''□□凸:''' “T-Takenaka-san! Calm down a little!”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “No, that’s not happening. Things are pretty bad right now.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “Did something happen?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Testament. I’ve been sending ether fuel to the transport ships this whole time, right? But a lot of that fuel is being lost to ley line interference.”

'''6:''' “Is Paris causing it?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “You get it?”

Hachisuka responded with a “testament”.

'''6:''' “Measure it while ‘Azuchi’ has some spare time. A massive amount of ether fuel is being consumed in Paris. It’s probably for the festival inside and to strengthen the defense barriers with the Roi-Soleil’s Testamenta Arma.”

'''Llaf:''' “It feels like they are standing up to the night, does it not?”

The enemy was preparing everything they had.

Hashiba’s forces were transferring ether fuel from the reinforcement facilities set up along the breakwaters to the transport ships.

That was because Hexagone Française’s wheat fields had rendered the breakwaters meaningless.

And the Plan B they were preparing in secret required the transport ships and lots of ether fuel.

So the breakwaters were being used as a pipeline to send ether fuel to the transport ships. However…

'''Kuro-Take:''' “The ley lines are interfering, probably because the breakwaters are stabbed into the ground. And I guess because Paris is consuming so much ether all at once, the ether of our fuel is being consumed too.”

'''Kiyo-Massive:''' “In that case, when will the necessary fuel be gathered in the transport ships?”

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “Hello, everyone. It is nice to speak with you again after so long. …My preparations are complete, so I performed the measurements for you. Most likely, the target amount will be reached at 8 PM.”

'''6:''' “So we’ll reach the Kantou Liberation with 2 hours to spare?”

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “No. …The length of the fighting here will influence it.”

'''Monkey Girl:''' “Mitsunari-san? Let’s make some final adjustments to your exterior, okay?”

'''Nari Nari Nari:''' “Hashiba-sama, you need not call me that just because I am complete…”

'''Monkey Girl:''' “No, no. Calling you by your model number or compatibility would be rude at this point.”

'''Llaf:''' “So Mitsunari-dono will finally be able to stand alongside us.”

Takenaka gasped a bit at what Fukushima said.

…''So it’s finally happening…

'''Kuro-Take:''' “Mitsunari-kun, the eight of you, and I will finally be together.”

“Then,” said Takenaka.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “I will ensure we complete the flooding no matter what. I will use all of you and it will require high damage, but it will happen. So afterwards…”

'''Monkey Girl:''' “Testament, we do everything we can and make the Great Return.”

Exactly.

Takenaka took a breath and checked the time on her ''lernen figur''. It was almost 7 PM.

…''One more hour. If we can hold off an attack until then, we can win this.

''I need to do my best,'' she thought. But just then…

'''□□凸:''' “Everyone! …I’m detecting an ether reading from the back of the enemy formations! There are large ether readings moving to the front of the east, west, and north formations! Their god of war unit is on the move!”

As soon as Katagiri’s words ran across the screen, the outskirts of Paris were filled with light.

In front of the enemy formations that extended far to either side, light scattered across an area of the same length but several times as high.

They were defense barriers raised skywards. And they were carried by…

'''□□凸:''' “Middle gods of war! These are rows of Hexagone Française middle gods of war specialized for defense!”

Kiyomasa saw a familiar enemy in the center of her vision: middle gods of war.

These could be seen as the enemy’s main fighting force, but they had appeared at the opening stage of the fighting.

They were deployed in three directions: the west and north that led to the downstream region and the western downstream region itself.

“So they’re finally here.”

She had clashed with these middle gods of war during the beginning of their invasion of Hexagone Française.

She remembered being made a fool of by Hexagone Française’s new weapons and new tactics. So…

“I must vindicate myself.”

While the middle gods of war slowly approached, she saw an enemy on Paris’s wall behind them.

It was a female automaton in a red coat: Henri the Musketeer.

'''Kuro-Take:''' “So they’re trying to ‘shake’ us. I doubt they intend to make a direct strike at this point, but they will do so before 8. They have Terrestrial Dragons too, so please be careful, everyone.”

'''Llaf:''' “What are thy orders for us?”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “I want you to endure the enemy’s attacks until at least after 8. And after that, just keep it up until the flooding is complete.”

'''6:''' “That’s easier said than done.”

'''Kuro-Take:''' “If I said it in a more difficult way, it would only depress you.”

Was that Takenaka’s form of kindness?

Still, it felt like they finally had a goal.

The enemy had made their presence known. ''Then we must do the same,'' thought Kiyomasa while opening her mouth before the middle god of war unit that had come to a stop.

“So our instructions are simple: just fight.”

<noinclude>
{{HorizonNavbar
| [[Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 61|Chapter 61]]
| [[Horizon:Volume 6C Chapter 63|Chapter 63]]
}}
</noinclude>