Chapter 261
This cave is spacious and well-ventilated, so it's no problem to have a campfire in front of the Mochi Dungeon where we sleep.
While enjoying the adventurous atmosphere, we're checking today's results.
"How much would this be worth if we sold it?"
Ingrid is cooking on a grill, like one you'd use for a barbecue, and it'll still take some time to finish.
Next to this space filled with delicious aromas, a makeshift warehouse has been set up, and today's spoils are stored inside.
Nell's tail sways happily as she lifts the cloth and peers inside—perhaps she's in a good mood.
Even with occasional breaks, continuously defeating Wind Dragons naturally results in a considerable amount of loot.
So, with a pile of items that would be star attractions even among nobles, Nell naturally becomes curious about their value.
The number of dropped items that don't fit in the Magic Bag isn't left behind in the dungeon; we've collected them all, resulting in a mountain of scales and magic stones.
"Let's see... If we offered all of this to the royal family, we could probably buy a Marquis title with a territory including ten villages and two towns, don't you think?"
After intently examining the pile from behind Nell, Lady Esmeralda offers an answer based on aristocratic values.
"I don't think that's what Nell was asking, though."
I smile wryly at the noble-like response and interject from the side.
"However, even my ducal house would exhaust its assets if we tried to purchase this. Even if we planned to resell later, it's different from the Marsh Dragon situation. These are far more valuable, and finding buyers would be extremely difficult. Purchasing such a massive quantity simply isn't realistic.""I see. Buying one or two is one thing, but buying everything at once is impossible, so we'd need to use substitutes instead.""Exactly."
Hearing the reasoning, Nell also seems convinced.
I thought it was an aristocratic calculation, but realistically, buying all these Wind Dragon scales and magic stones would bankrupt even a great house.
In the game era, items worth hundreds of millions or even billions were traded between players, so the idea of exchanging them for land never crossed my mind.
"Well, we're not selling them anyway; we're turning all of this into consumables for the Rainy Devil."
I feel a bit bad for Nell, who's now satisfied, but while leveling is the main goal, I also chose this dungeon for its byproducts. Like Wind Dragons, materials from dragon species often turn into useful magic items.
Especially these scales and magic stones, which are relatively easy to obtain among drops, can't be sold.
"They'll be used for ballista bolts, right?""With Wind Dragon scales for the blade and magic stones attached, they'll transform into high-penetration ballista bolts that seem to ignore gravity. Perfect weapons against the airborne Rainy Devil."
Even the resistance-monster Rainy Devil isn't completely immune to damage.
Even with seemingly endless regeneration, overwhelming numbers can deal damage.
"So it's a simple damage source even for the spirits."
But even if the entire party, let alone just me, attacked with ballistas, it would be like a drop in the bucket. Even a volley from just six people would be meaningless.
So, we need to borrow manpower, and that's where our Amina Fan Club members come in.
The divine prophecy truly deserves praise.
It moved the Spirit King to establish a cooperative system.
Thus, combat-capable intermediate and higher spirits among the cooperative spirits have gathered.
That alone is a significant force, and we'll equip them with ballistas enhanced with Wind Dragon scales for volley fire.
Numbers are power—truly.
Even materials from the lower-class Wind Dragons can become major damage resources depending on how they're used.
"That's the idea. Though this is just a tool for attacks from below to distract from aerial assaults.""Wouldn't 'distracting' be a bit too mild for something with such lethal intent?""Well, we are attacking with the intent to kill."
Fundamentally, materials from dragon species are generally high-spec, regardless of the dragon.
If they can handle defense against higher-level enemies, they can also handle offensive performance.
Picking up a Wind Dragon scale, it's remarkably light.
About the size of a palm, it feels light but not soft at all. Dragging the tip across the ground leaves a clean line.
Not a messy line, but a sharp one, as if cut by something.
Even unprocessed, it's sharper than a crude iron knife.
"We're preparing other things too.""Well, we need countermeasures for tentacles and ways to seal the enemy's skills."
Returning the scale to the pile, I recall the plan I explained to the Spirit King and the entire party, who are helping gather materials to create these tools. There are no secrets, not even about the trump card.
"My only regret is that I never got to say, 'I anticipated this might happen!' just once."
In anime and manga, it's a trope to have a trump card ready for the final battle, pulling it out during a pinch with a line like, "I prepared this for this very moment!" But realistically, using a personal judgment to deploy an unshared secret weapon in a group fight is incredibly dangerous.
Using an unfamiliar item during a group battle could cause shock and injuries—no joking matter.
That's why I've fully explained how we'll use everything and how we'll win. There's no room for terms like "trump card" or "secret weapon."
But still, I think there's a certain romance in pulling out a trump card with a line like, "I anticipated this might happen!" Logically, it might be impossible, but in that moment, feeling like the main character is undeniably cool.
"Then perhaps you shouldn't have explained? My father often said he couldn't speak about military secrets.""Comparing war to monster subjugation... In human conflicts, secrecy is often necessary, but our enemy is a monster. Poor coordination due to secrecy would be fatal."
Seeing my disappointed look, Lady Esmeralda tilts her head curiously, but that's a separate issue.
Even I understand that now is the time for realism over romance.
Introducing unnecessary uncertainties here would be wrong.
"Phase One: A volley from the spirits on the ground to attract attention.""Launching a surprise attack directly from the Spirit Corridor... Liberta, you come up with some amazing ideas."
Nell, emerging from the materials tent while fixing her hair, looks back and comments, but the spirits are the ones who suggested this method. The Spirit Corridor is a unique technique for spirits.
Since players can't use it, I had to devise a safe way to execute a surprise attack. The result of our discussions is a tactic that would be considered a bug or cheat in the game era: firing ballistas directly from the Spirit Corridor.
"Phase Two: Meteor Strike by heavyweight spirits free-falling from extreme altitudes with accelerated descent.""I asked the spirits, 'Are you sure about this?' and they just smiled and said, 'Our muscles know no impossibility!'"
Following that cheat tactic, Amina worries with a wry smile about the spirit muscle group's heavy bombardment. This also resulted from me suggesting it would make the fight much easier, leading to the gathering of capable spirits.
I still vividly remember when I asked if they needed armor, they firmly declined and struck impressive poses.
Deciding the outcome before the battle even begins.
That's what fighting monsters is all about.
Facing a known enemy without carelessness or overconfidence.
"Phase Three: Bombing the Rainy Devil after it's slammed to the ground.""Those are the magic stone bombs commissioned from the Dark Spirit, correct? I heard they generously use Class 5 or higher magic stones."
Just as Ingrid finishes cooking and begins arranging dishes on the table, everyone starts taking their seats instead of gathering around the campfire.
"Phase Three: After shattering its umbrella and exposing the core in Phase Four, we emerge and launch a full assault targeting the core.""So we use Heavenly Fist for a full-power skill attack here? My arms are itching for it."
Winning because victory is assured.
This isn't a battle; it's a hunt.
I often use the word "hunt" when defeating monsters because efficiently overwhelming the enemy without giving them a chance is the essence of game combat.
"Well, considering the amount of materials and personnel involved, a staggering amount of money is being spent."
Today's menu is meat dishes—quite voluminous steaks, likely because they decided we need stamina. As we prepare to eat, the explanation reaches its climax.
"Perhaps a national budget—no, maybe a decade's worth of budget—might be invested.""Not just Wind Dragon materials; we're using plenty of other things too."
Lady Esmeralda gazes distantly at the cave ceiling, not even wanting to calculate the total cost of the essential materials for victory.
As if to cover for our level and equipment shortcomings with quantity, we're investing a large amount of relatively high-end consumables.
Even this pile of Wind Dragon scales isn't enough numerically.
The number of cooperating spirits is about 300 combatants.
Over 1000 including support.
Excluding the free-fall unit, about 250 spirits will assist with ballista operation and bomb deployment.
It's not just one volley; calculations suggest we need at least 10 volleys, but I estimate we'll need up to 30.
This pile of Wind Dragon scales is less than 200.
The road to our target number is endless.
On top of that, we're also gathering materials for the bombs.
We need to break the Rainy Devil's umbrella, the most durable part of its body, so the required number naturally increases.
The bombs are currently being mass-produced on a scale that dwarfs the Wind Dragon scales for ballistas.
I vividly remember Dark's tearful expression when he saw my order form.
The delivery date is set for over six months from now.
Gathering materials and production both take time.
"We still need to make the trump card item, so we'll be busy for a while."
In the end, I can only smile wryly, thinking we're still underprepared.