The battleship-type Zork’s head had been ripped away, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.
Blue blood pulsed through the thumping, raw flesh. Looking at the creature as a whole, it was clearly a horseshoe crab-type, though it possessed a shape as if a shrimp-like head had sprouted directly from the torso.
The interior felt less like the inside of a living creature and more like the bowels of a spaceship—it was, for all intents and purposes, a dungeon. Mysterious, glowing objects illuminated the corridors. I wondered if these things were hybrids, half-biological and half-mechanical. To think we couldn't even finish it off after crushing it along with the city... it was honestly ridiculous.
"Leo, standby for orders."
"Roger."
I had to wait for the other machines to arrive.
The Imperial Guard veterans were the first to join us. They charged in, shields in one hand and machine guns in the other. Their shields were battered and dented, yet their main bodies remained completely unscathed. These guys were total monsters.
I waved a hand at them and waited.
The next to arrive was the Officer Academy Group. They, too, were people who had been forged by monsters. Led by Melissa, they had apparently used their shields to block the self-destruct attacks. However, unlike the Imperial Guard, their machines had sustained a fair amount of damage.
Are we... actually at the level of the Semi-Imperial Guard Class?
I had a good reason to think so. Most of the regular soldiers following behind us had machines that were on the verge of being reduced to scrap metal.
"Captain... do you think we’re..."
It seemed Melissa had noticed the same uncomfortable truth.
"Don't worry about it," I said. "We just need to keep aiming for the top."
The strength of our enemies was scaling too quickly. Rankings of strength among humans didn't mean a thing anymore. If we spent too much time looking down at those behind us, we’d just end up having the rug pulled out from under us. For now, the Zork were the only enemies that mattered.
"Casualties, standby here! Everyone else, move out!"
Major Piggett barked the orders. Unlike Raymond-san, she was incredibly reliable.
"Lord Groom is our trump card! If you charge ahead on your own this time, I’ll kill you myself!"
"H-Heeey..."
"Haha! Captain got scolded!"
Even Melissa was treating me like this now. Dejectedly, I trudged along at the back of the group.
Suddenly, Fairy-san appeared.
"Leo-kun, want me to try hacking in?"
"I don't have a terminal capable of infiltrating an unknown system like this."
"I’ll launch the attack. We’ll just leave the heavy processing to the cloud server..."
"Is there even a server still running?"
"There are several servers in the Palace with spare processing capacity. I think they’re the ones storing live data for the Emperor and the other heavyweights. Oh, though Veronica-chan’s data isn't in there."
"Alright, do it. You have my permission. In fact, tear them all to shreds!"
"Roger that! Okay, peel back that blood vessel-looking thing over there."
I used my chainsaw to pry a fleshy pipe away from the wall.
"Now, strip off the outer protein cover."
Using the same logic as filleting a fish, I worked my fingers in and peeled away the outer layer. Inside were cables that looked like avian nerves. Or were they actually nerves?
"Pull the cable out of your wired terminal and connect it."
"Where’s the tip?"
"It’s a terminal."
"Just tear the wire out and wrap it around the battleship-type Zork’s cable."
"Okaaay."
I wasn't an engineer, but any spaceship pilot worth their salt can handle basic electrical repairs. Surviving on a ship when the shaping printer breaks down means learning how to fix electrical equipment by hand.
"What about welding it?"
"Probably not necessary. Leo-kun, select [Probe Mode] and disconnect the cable."
"On it."
With a metallic clank, I disconnected the cable along with the communication device. With that, the setup of the simplified communication facility was complete.
"Alright, I’m starting the hack."
Oops, I forgot to report this.
"Major Piggett, Fairy-san is starting her hack. I’ve finished setting up a simplified communication facility."
"...I really can't take my eyes off you for a single second, can I, Lord Groom?"
"I’m properly following orders! Events just keep happening around me!"
"And what exactly does the AI intend to do?"
"Fairy-saaan. What’s the plan?"
"I’m going to rip their system to pieces. I’ll tear it apart and sabotage every single command they try to issue."
Yikes, that’s terrifying! I need to make sure I never get on Fairy-san’s bad side.
"Heh... hehehe. Infiltrating an unknown system... hehehe..."
"Stop it, you’re acting like a creep!"
Fairy-san ignored me entirely. She seemed to be having the time of her life.
"Analysis complete! Pfft—hahaha! Leo-kun! I’m taking the system down!"
"Wait, won't that make this thing crash?"
"It’ll be fine! System down!"
With a heavy thud, the glowing objects that served as illumination all died at once. A few moments later, the lights flickered back on—this time a dim blue, likely the emergency lighting.
"Security is coming~! Please clear them out."
"Wait, didn't we just put ourselves at a disadvantage?"
"Not at all~! Mechanical soldiers were deployed too, but I’ve locked them down so they can't move."
"Mechanical soldiers?"
"You know, the ones with the tentacles."
"The parasites? Those things were machines?"
That would have been a massive pain to deal with. Suddenly, the clattering sound of crab-like footsteps echoed through the halls.
"Now we're talking! This is getting fun!" Melissa shouted, drawing her blade.
The Imperial Guard drew their respective weapons, and the students moved into position, readying their ballistic weaponry.
"Come on, boys! This is a real battle, so fight with your swords!" Melissa provoked them.
"Like hell we can, you idiot! You guys are the only ones crazy enough to do that! Die, Leo!"
"Why are you shooting at me?!"
"Shut up! Heh... heh-heh... Once this war is over, I’m going back home to marry that girl..."
"You don't even have a girlfriend! Stop churning out death flags!"
"Shut it! Everyone! In the middle of the chaos, let's just take Leo out from behind!"
While they were using banter to dull their fear, a literal demon let out a low growl. It was Major Piggett.
"You Idiot Boys can joke all you want, but I won't overlook talk of attacking from behind. Once this battle is over, I'm going to beat every last bit of that twisted attitude out of you."
"Uwaaaaaah!"
"Haha! Serves you right, idiots!"
As I was laughing at them, the Major turned her gaze toward me.
"That includes you, Lord Groom."
"Ah... yes, ma'am."
In that moment, the hearts of us Idiot Boys became one. Let's take all this out on the Zorks.
The fear had completely evaporated. In its place stood a pack of berserkers.
When the Crab-chans finally arrived, they were met with a sight they probably didn't expect: a swarm of enraged, "Hyah-ha!" shouting boys.
The roar of a chainsaw filled the air.
"Charge!!!"
It was later said that the regular soldiers trembled in terror watching the boys fight with such unprecedented motivation. After all, when it came to fighting Zorks, these boys had a ridiculous amount of experience.