I'd like to wipe out the elf girls with my Sword Saint's swift blade technique, but it's ill-suited for this formation as it would leave me exposed.
"Cherry Blossom Flash!"
With my cherry blossom effects sparkling, I cleave through the elf girls. What remains afterward are doll-like figures with spherical joints and blank faces, immediately recognizable as puppets. It seems they've layered the image of the elf girls over these wooden dolls.
That said, it's impressive that someone can manipulate over a thousand dolls so seamlessly—undoubtedly a feat worthy of an S-rank. We cut through the enemy ranks like in a hack-and-slash game, tossing elf girls left and right. In the distance behind us, the Crimson Gem Knights stroll leisurely down the path we've cleared, taking down any elf girls we've missed.
I thought our strategy of a central breakthrough was reckless, but the enemy's main force—the elf girls—only rely on physical attacks and don't use magic at all. This allowed us to overwhelm them with sheer brute force. Just as I thought we'd have no trouble making it to the enemy's main camp, we suddenly saw a massive magic circle glowing beneath our feet.
"Fall back! Get outside the magic circle!" Zeke shouted, and we halted our advance to retreat beyond its edge. As we did, a single elf girl emerged from the radiance of the circle.
However, this was no ordinary elf girl—she stood a towering 8 meters tall and inexplicably carried what looked like a school backpack on her back.
"What the hell is that?"
"Wait, is that also a doll?"
Yuri and Trinity stared up at the gigantic elf girl in disbelief, and we were just as shocked.
"Wahaha! Did you see that? Surprised, aren't you? This is the mobile doll RX78-2 Eldam!"
The enormous elf girl—Eldam—spoke with the voice of a young girl. It seemed that the S-rank adventurer who controlled this army of dolls was now piloting this one directly.
"Is that the RX78-2 Mobile Suit Gundam!?"
Ignoring my inner exclamation, Eldam raised his right hand.
With a clang! A weapon-like object emerged from his arm.
"Fireball Machine Gun, launch!"
In the next moment, a barrage of fireballs erupted from the gun, raining down on us and the members of the 7th and 9th squads.
"Wah, wah, wah!?"
Desperately dodging the incoming fireballs, he raised his left hand, and another weapon appeared.
"Shining Ray Laser, launch!"
This time, a laser beam shot from his left arm, piercing the ground and tracing lines as it chased after us.
The elven girl dolls surrounding us were caught in the chaos of falling fireballs and the devastating strikes of the lasers from above.
It was, in a way, a hellish scene of screams and chaos.
The soldiers of the Lonely Principality's army were capable of such attacks due to the elven girl dolls, but that massive figure—no, that robot doll—was just unfair!
Who had taught them about our world's knowledge?
It was clear that the puppeteer had some mastery over the elements of heaven and earth, suggesting that someone, somewhere, had whimsically imparted them with knowledge of real-world weaponry.
"Burst Flare!"
"Gehenna Stone!"
"Gigano Ava Scythe Lance!"
Aya and the other squad's mages unleashed a torrent of spells toward Eldam.
However, despite being engulfed in explosions and struck by massive stone pillars and ice spears, Eldam suffered little more than surface soot.
"I was a bit surprised. Well, in return, I'll surprise you too!
Homing Bolt Missile, launch!"
With that, the flap of the makeshift backpack on my back swung open, unleashing a swarm of homing missiles.
"That robot doll is insane!"
I wielded my sword, executing the Sword Dance of the Sword Princess style, striking down the oncoming homing missiles with Unicorn.
"I'm aiming for the legs of that giant figure! Let's immobilize it!"
Its enormous size made our attacks difficult to land, so targeting the legs was a typical strategy to hinder its movement. However, surprisingly, despite its size, it moved quite swiftly.
Hitting those darting legs proved far too challenging.
"Leave it to me."
But Aya chimed in, chanting a series of spells in a round.
"Bind.
Freeze Bind.
Chain Bind.
—Calamity Bind!"
The magic Aya cast interwove vines, ice, and chains, ensnaring the legs of the Eldam.
Impressive. She combined multiple binding spells into one, creating a much stronger binding effect.
"W-What?! Suddenly it can't move?! The Eldam can be stopped by mere magic?!"
"Alright! Let's destroy its legs while we have the chance!"
At Zeke's rallying cry, everyone launched their attacks simultaneously.
"Steel Slash Sword Style: Raging Fire Slash!"
"Terraite Flash Sword Style: Crescent Slash!"
Zeke and Hilde unleashed their techniques from the Steel Slash and Terraite Flash Sword Styles.
"Sterile Knightly Path: Sword Bash!"
"Ruf=Grand Rope Sword Style: Tackle Stab!"
Yuri executed a powerful body slam using the sword and shield techniques of the Sterile Knightly Path, while Trinity utilized the rope and dagger combat techniques of the Ruf=Grand Rope Sword Style.
Ava summoned countless ice swords with her blue blade, the Infinity Ava Subblade, launching them towards Eldam's knee.
I also struck with a technique from the Sword Princess Single Blade Style.
"Sword Princess Single Blade Style: Thunderclap Slash!"
I unleashed a swift slash imbued with the thunderball magic of the lightning attribute.
Our unit, along with the 7th and 9th squads, charged at Eldam while he was momentarily immobilized. This coordinated attack successfully shattered his left leg. Ava's precise targeting of his knee proved decisive, and even after the binding magic wore off, Eldam's movements slowed, allowing us to focus our assault.
Just as I thought we could finally land a hit, this extraordinary puppet, Eldam, sprang another surprise.
"Oh no! My leg is done for! There's no helping it now; I must reveal my trump card!"
Eldam, balancing on one leg, suddenly had the backpack on his back lift into the air, and wings resembling those of an aircraft unfurled.
"Activating the Raywing Booster!"
Huh? What was that?
While we were still dumbfounded, Eldam spread its wings and soared into the sky. From that lofty height, it unleashed devastation upon us, far beyond the reach of our attacks.
"Ha ha ha! Attacking from the sky is just too easy!"
Wait, flying is a thing now?
The scene on the ground transformed into a hellscape of chaos and cries, and now we couldn't even retaliate.
...This is bad. Are we cornered?
Just as I started to consider a retreat, a silver shape suddenly charged toward Eldam, which had become complacent in the air.
"What the—?! What is that?!"
"Hey! Look over there! It's Silver Drake!"
To my shock, it was Snow, my own riding Drake. Due to its enormous size, I had left Snow behind in the outskirts of the imperial city of Jipanes, thinking it was unsuitable for this mission. But sensing my peril, Snow had rushed to my side.
"Don't worry! That's my riding Drake! It's on our side!"
Everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of the Silver Drake, but once they recognized it as mine, relief washed over them, mixed with astonishment as they looked at me.
"Kurraa!!"
Snow executed a powerful charge and then hovered in place, conjuring a series of glowing orbs to unleash towards the unsteady Eldam.
Speaking of which, Snow could use light magic. Though he could only fly and wasn't able to maneuver freely, Eldam couldn't dodge the magic attacks Snow unleashed.
"Whoa!? I'm falling!?"
Without his wings, Eldam plummeted to the ground.
"Snow! Pin him down!"
Snow dove down rapidly, using his massive body to pin Eldam to the ground. With Eldam immobilized, we launched a coordinated attack and succeeded in completely destroying him.
From the now-still cockpit of Eldam, an elven girl emerged.
She was likely the S-rank adventurer and puppeteer. Her appearance was identical to that of countless elven girls around us. No, it seemed this elven girl was the model for the elven puppets.
"Ugh! How frustrating! I can't believe Eldam was defeated by a mere Drake!"
"Sorry to interrupt your lament, but we'll be taking you into custody."
Zeke quickly moved in to restrain the distressed puppeteer. Once he secured her, all the elven puppets on the battlefield would cease to function, effectively guaranteeing our victory.
"Zeke, watch out!"
But before Zeke could reach the puppeteer, three puppets surrounded her.
One of the dolls swung its sword at Zeke. Thanks to Ava's warning, Zeke barely managed to evade the attack.
"Heh, there's no way I'm going down that easily! These three dolls are special. Don't think you can take them out without a fight," said one of the dolls.
"Master, you never seem to lack confidence, do you? I'd love to know how you maintain such assurance against this enemy force. I am your sword and shield, Elven Knight Nazha. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
"That's one of your best traits, Master. Nazha, let's try to relax a bit. Oh, I'm the one who destroys anyone who stands in the way of Master, Elven Grappler Gana."
"I couldn't care less. I just want this to end quickly. Even introducing myself feels like a chore, but it's Master's command. I am your explosive power, Elven Sorceress Viz."
Just when Zeke thought he had defeated the mobile puppet RX78-2 Eldam, three new dolls appeared before us: a fully armored knight that bore the same face as the puppeteer, a lightly armored martial artist, and a sorcerer.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
AIWOn Lorialf: The saga of the warrior dolls, Part 14
101: Anonymous Adventurer, 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:01:12 ID: Roli5NGo6
"The Third Doll War was something else...!"
102: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:04:51 ID: Td105OUkb
Wow, that was incredible!
103: Noja-san Puro Puro: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:06:43 ID: Noja3prprelf
I was amazed too! I never expected a giant robot to show up!
104: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:10:01 ID: bla510Pls10
Actually, it's more of a mobile doll.
105: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:12:23 ID: 100Sho9Zoc
I think calling it a robot works just fine! I mean, the name is a clear rip-off of Gundam!
106: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:13:59 ID: 2ChN6erM07r
Controlling a giant robot while managing a thousand dolls? That's insane!
107: Noja-san Puro Puro: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:16:43 ID: Noja3prprelf
The sight of a thousand Noja-san dolls was truly impressive!
108: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:18:12 ID: Roli5NGo6
Yeah, I would love to have just one of those!
109: Anonymous Adventurer: 2059/5/10 (Sat) 16:21:01 ID: bla510Pls10
"Huh? But that doll is just an illusion. Once the magic is lifted, it's just an ordinary doll, right?"
"The weapons are just modern technology applied, too, haha."
"Even in war, I felt it was wrong to take down that Noja doll..."
"Wha... what?! That Noja doll is an illusion?!"
"Clearly, the player must have gotten carried away and taught it that. Oh, and I bet the other one was the same reason!"
After losing an aerial battle against Snow, the puppet master who had crawled out from the mobile doll RX78-2 Eldam called forth three new elf girl dolls, each readying their weapons.
The S-rank adventurer puppet master, who commands a thousand elf girl dolls, clearly demonstrated that the three special ones were of a different caliber altogether.
By the way, since Snow was so large, it made her an easy target. So, she took to the sky again to avoid danger.
"No matter how impressive they may be, having just three of them puts us at an advantage in numbers. If we surround the puppeteer and restrain them, victory will be ours!"
With that determination, Zeke instructed not only our Eighth Temporary Unit but also the Seventh and Ninth Units to encircle the puppeteer.
"Ha ha ha! Unfortunately for you, I am not just a puppeteer! There's a reason I proudly call myself an S-rank adventurer!"
As he spoke, the puppeteer began chanting a spell, unleashing a potent incantation. The released magic manifested as Diamond Dust—a spell that froze the air around, sending shards of ice flying to inflict damage in all directions.