What, Failure to Transition!? Volume 5 Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Chapter 6 – Interception, Start

Around the time when the first wave of enemies will reach the boundary line in a few minutes.


Yoichi parked his US-made SUV about two kilometers behind the line and waited for the moment.


“Looks like they’re coming.”


“Yoichi…”


At Yoichi’s side, Karin and Misato let out worried voices.


After sending Charlotte back to the original world, Yoichi immediately returned to the city and brought Karin and Misato to this place after they had finished their preparations.


Before that, he had made this place, where he had parked his car, his home point until Charlotte had finished setting up.


“We need to do our best here to ease the burden on Alana and the others as much as possible.”


“Yes. You’re right.”


“We’ll do our best.”


Alana is currently waiting near the city with a group of adventurers.


They have set up in a defensive base about three kilometers outside Meilgrad and are ready to intercept.


The stronghold was built using a small wall that had previously been constructed in the area to counter the remnants of previous monster outbreaks in the past.


“Well, it’ll be a while before we get to the real thing, so don’t get too hyped. Besides, we’re only here to help. So don’t push yourself too hard. Okay?”


“Okay.”


“Yes!”


Yoichi’s words seemed to ease the tension between the two women.


Boom. Boom.


“They’re coming.”


But as soon as Yoichi calmed them, explosions rang out in the forest and wilderness, quite a long distance from where they‘re in.


“Looks like it worked.”


The first thing he and Charlotte set up in this operation were landmines triggered by a wire trap.


Dozens of anti-vehicle mines were placed 50 to 100 meters into the forest, and their tripwires were strung between the trees that grew around the boundary line.


These are the mines that had exploded just now.


Since the first wave of enemies consisted of many small and light monsters, such as hounds, wolves, kobolds, and goblins, the traps were able to kill 1,000 monsters at most.


And in addition to the effects of the explosions and blasts, they had the side effect of changing the terrain and knocking down trees, thereby also slowing their progress a little.


“Oh, looks like there are some flying ones out there.”


Bird-like monsters, bat-like monsters, winged lizard-like monsters, and other flying monsters.


Other medium to large monsters could also be seen, including humanoid harpy-like creatures with wing-like arms, hippogriffs that looked like a combination of an eagle and a horse, griffons that looked like a combination of an eagle and a lion, and even a wyvern, a sub-dragon species with the ability to fly. Fortunately, the number of such monsters was very small.


And no matter how capable they are of flying, these are the types of monsters that cannot fly forever.


The flying monsters of this world fly not only with the power of their wings but also with the power of their magic, completely overriding the laws of physics. However, not many of them can fly for long periods of time.


As a result, these types of monsters travel on land until they reach the halfway point, or they stay on the shoulders or backs of land monsters and only take off when they have crossed a certain distance.


This time, they took off early, probably because they were startled by the mine explosions that they unexpectedly jumped out of, or because they did it to avoid the explosion, or because the land monsters they were riding on were injured and taken out.


Of course, there were also a number of flying monsters that were caught in the explosion and died without being able to fly away.


――Dooon! Dooon! Dooon!


A series of deep, heavy gunshots rang out, and one by one, these monsters fell.


“The little ones are fine, but how about the big ones?”


Many flying monsters took off for the city, but Yoichi’s party chose to ignore the smaller ones.


By the time they reached the city, which was about 100 kilometers away, they would no longer have enough energy to put up a real fight.


Therefore, Yoichi first targeted medium-sized flyers, such as hippogriffs and griffons, which had long flight distances and high flight speeds.


These monsters would be within the effective range of the anti-materiel rifle within a minute or two, so he used [Appraisal+] to lock on to them. As soon as they were in range, he shot them down mercilessly.


“Karin, take care of the medium-sized ones I missed, and Misato, take care of the small ones that are approaching!”


“Got it!”


“Okay!”


Some of the flying monsters mistook the three of them for enemies and flew toward them instead of the city. Still, Yoichi concentrated on shooting down the ones heading toward the city anyway.


Of those that approached Yoichi and the others, the smaller ones were killed by Misato’s magic when they got close enough, and the medium-sized ones were killed by Karin’s bow when they got closer.


“Gigiii!!”


“Gueek!!”


“Bigyaaah!!”


“Kuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihh!!”


With desperate cries accompanying them, Misato’s magic first shot down the small monsters in a flurry of spells.


Effect (firepower), Range (distance), and Scope (area of effect or single target) are referred to as the three elements of offensive magic.


Misato’s first targets were several small, fast-flying monsters.


There, she used a series of long-range, single-target, medium-effect attack spells along with long-range, low-effect, narrow-scope attack spells to take down each monster with one or two shots.


However, even at long range, the maximum range of these spells was only 200 to 300 meters, so Misato felt it was severely lacking.


After luring medium-sized monsters in this way as a result of this, she would finish them off with medium-range, single-target attack spells, which had more effect but a shorter range and narrower scope.


By this time, many of the small monsters she had missed were rushing in, so she switched to a medium-range, wide-scope offensive spell that was less effective, traveled a slightly shorter distance, but had a wider area of effect to deal with them. The survivors that continued to be drawn in were also shot down with a wide area long-range spell with an increased effect, and so on, cleaning up the small fry just as quickly.


“Leave the big ones to me!”


Karin also shot down the medium-sized monsters one by one after she had drawn them to a certain extent.


Karin had strengthened her physical abilities and her bow and arrow with her newly acquired magic. Still, it was impossible for her to have the range of a rifle that could kill an opponent more than a kilometer away.


Even so, she was able to increase the effective range of her compound bow, which is said to be 100 meters, to about 300 meters.


“All right, we’ve taken out most of the dangerous ones.”


Having shot down most of the tough-looking monsters heading towards the city, Yoichi shifted his sights to those approaching their own.


There, two griffons have made it through the hail of bullets and are now coming at them from the left and right as if to pincer them.


“Karin, take the one on the right!”


“Roger!”


――Dooon! With a roar, a bullet hit the body of the griffon coming from the left.


The fur covering the body, the muscles underneath, and the innate magic power of the monster prevented the rifle from inflicting a fatal wound even at relatively close range.


“Gruaaaah!!”


Along with a scream that sounds like a lion’s roar combined with the high-pitched cry of a bird of prey, another bullet is fired into the body of the approaching griffin.


The bullet, fired from the same rifle with the same force, digs deeper into the enemy’s body than before, piercing the wall of muscle and destroying several internal organs.


“Gueeeeeeeeeeee…!”


And just like that, the griffon, having lost enough vitality to fly, crashed to the ground with an anguished scream.


Incidentally, [Appraisal+] confirms that the reason why the second shot was more effective than the first in Yoichi’s attack was because the first shot had taken a fair amount of energy out of the griffon, reducing the protection provided by the magic power that the monster had unconsciously used.


“Gurururru!”


From the other side, the remaining griffon approached at high speed with a roar.


“Gaaaahh……!!”


But before it could reach him, the monster was pierced through the torso by Karin’s arrow and died.


“I needed two or three shots to kill one of them, and you only needed one!”


“Fufu, isn’t that great?”


The reason Karin’s arrows can do more damage than rifle bullets is that her arrows themselves are made of a material from this world that has been imbued with magical power. In other words, their penetrating power has been enhanced by magic.


“It’s about time they came from below!”


But as the three of them continued to shoot down the flying monsters, this time, a wave of land-based monsters began to approach the minefield.


〇●〇●


[There are big rocks everywhere. It’s a waste not to use them.]


A few minutes after the mines hit the first wave, the next wave finally began to pass through the forest, stepping over the dead monsters and fallen trees.


These monsters were then confronted by large boulders arranged like a wall over a wide area.


In the rocky desert between the forest and the city, large rocks taller than a man were spread out.


Charlotte suggested, “Can’t you use your [Infinite Storage+] to carry them?”


At Charlotte’s suggestion, large rocks weighing several tons were stored in the [Infinite Storage+] and then arranged like a wall about 100 meters away from the gap in the forest.


Some of the walls of these large rocks were arranged with openings that would serve as deliberate pathways to draw the hordes of monsters toward them.


The idea was to make the monster horde as dense as possible and create a tight kill zone.


Of course, it would be easy to move or break the large rocks with the power of a medium-sized monster. However, because they are, well, monsters with lower intelligence, the presence of the opening caused some of the waves to move into it, preventing them from taking the option of going over the wall as Charlotte had planned and instead rushing into the open space, which was laid out like a passageway.


“We’ve been very busy up in the skies. Now, it’s time to take care of what’s on the ground. So Karin, Misato, take care of what’s above us for a while!”


“All right!”


“Yes, leave it to us!”


――Dooon! Dooon! Dooon!


After killing a certain number of tough-looking monsters within the 100-meter range of the anti-materiel rifle, Yoichi immediately stowed the weapon away in the [Infinite Storage+], then put his hand on the heavy machine gun mounted on the roof rack of the SUV and mercilessly sprayed bullets at the group of monsters in front of him.


――DORURURURURURURURURU!


Large-caliber bullets fired at a rate of 1,200 rounds per minute struck down the group of monsters in front of the barrel.


Goblins, kobolds, hounds, rabbits, and other small monsters were reduced to lumps of flesh in the blink of an eye.


Even monsters with thick fur, such as one-eyed bears and dark wolves, which in the original world could not be easily defeated even with a .44 Magnum bullet that could kill a ferocious beast in a single shot, seemed helpless against the 12.7x99mm NATO rounds.


However, as might be expected with high-ranking monsters, depending on the angle of fire, some were able to repel a bullet of this large caliber.


Even so, the impact was still there, so their bones and organs were not left intact.


But even if they got stuck or couldn’t move because of their injuries, the stampede wouldn’t stop; the next wave would just trample them.


Still, it was futile, for no matter how many waves they were, and even if they advanced over the corpses of their comrades, they would still fall prey to the bullets fired by the heavy machine gun.


“Oh, something big is coming!”


Karin’s voice made them look up into the sky, and there they saw a group of wyverns approaching.


The wyverns were fast in flight, but their range was short, and they could only fly 50 kilometers a day before they ran out of power.


However, their minds were clever, as they seemed to be targeting Yoichi and the others without exception, as if they understood that they wouldn’t be able to reach the city if they didn’t deal with them as they were.


There were about ten of them.


“It’s not good if they get any closer, right?”


The targets were so large that they seemed to be quite close, but in reality, they were still about 500 meters away.


If Karin and Misato wanted to kill the wyverns, they would have to draw them within 100 meters and then hit them with magically enchanted arrows or multiple hits of highly effective single-target attack magic. The problem was that even if they could get all ten of them that close, there was a good chance that the attacks would not kill all of them and might cause damage to them in return.


With a quick movement, Yoichi removed his hand from the heavy machine gun, took out the anti-materiel rifle from the [Infinite Storage+], and readied it.


“Even though it’s a dragon, it’s still a subspecies in the end.”


The wyvern is a dragon species in the broader category, but when it comes down to it, it is classified as a sub-dragon, in other words, a “pseudo-dragon.”


There are several differences between dragons and sub-dragons, one of which is the presence or absence of dragon scales.


Sub-dragons have hard, scaly skin like reptiles, but dragons are covered on the outside with harder scales called “dragon scales.”


A wyvern does not have dragon scales. As such, it can be defeated with an anti-materiel rifle alone.


――Dooon! Dooon! Dooon!


A series of low-pitched gunshots rang out, and the enormous bodies of the wyverns crashed down one by one.


The wyverns are pretty large, so as expected, they cannot be killed with a single shot, but even so, five or six shots are enough to take them down.


Yoichi shot down five wyverns when they came within 500 meters of him.


“Can I leave the rest to you?”


“Okay! Misato, I’ll leave the small fries to you!”


“Understood!”


Deciding that once he had reduced the number of wyverns to five, Karin would be able to take care of the rest on her own, Yoichi readied his heavy machine gun again.


“Good, good. Our plan seems to be working.”


While Yoichi was killing the wyverns, another chain of massive explosions took place on the ground.


The wave of monsters that had been avoiding the great rock wall was pushed over it by the momentum of the following wave. Due to the constant piling up of corpses from the bodies being trampled in this way, the wall was soon surmounted.


However, the area beyond that point was also a minefield.


So, the plastic explosives, which had been stuck between the rocks or jammed into cracks to shatter the rocks in the area effectively, also caused another chain of explosions.


In addition to the blast from the bombs and mines, the rock fragments created by the shattering became deadly weapons that struck the wave of monsters.


More monsters were killed in this way, but the result was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.


Oh, is it getting worse now?


The sacrifice of the monsters removed the walls, and to a certain extent, the tightly packed group began to disperse.


However, it was a lucky miscalculation that most of the monsters then rushed towards Yoichi and the others, perhaps because the hostility the group had piled up due to the carnage up to that point.


〇●〇●


When the waves on the ground were only a kilometer away, Yoichi took out a revolving multi-barreled machine gun from the [Infinite Storage+].


Although not as large as the heavy machine gun he had just used, this is also a type of heavy weapon that is used stationary on a tripod.


That’s because it’s the compact version of the modern Gatling gun (Vulcan), commonly known as the “minigun.”


The power of a single shot from this thing is inferior to that of a heavy machine gun. But the number of shots per minute is five times greater, at 6000 rounds per minute.


[Until the enemy reaches 1,000 meters, use the heavy machine gun to reduce their numbers, and when they get close to 1,000 meters, switch to the minigun to sweep up the small fry, then divide them into small clusters by confronting them with this gun. You can at least do that with your [Appraisal+], can’t you?]


Following Charlotte’s advice, Yoichi engages with the ground wave while sweeping the minigun from left to right.


Normally, the minigun would malfunction if it were not limited to 3,000 to 4,000 rounds per minute, but by putting it into [Infinite Storage+] every time the 4,000-round magazine box was emptied and using the maintenance function to restore its condition, Yoichi was able to push the performance of this ferocious weapon of massacre to the limit.


By the time the 25 ammunition boxes, or about 100,000 bullets, had been used up, the horde had already split into several small groups.


“Fire in the hole!”


As soon as Yoichi took his hand off the minigun, he pulled a grenade launcher from the [Infinite Storage+] and fired it at those small groups.


A series of rather hollow ‘thunks’ could be heard.


The grenades flew in a pile and landed at the desired location, causing an explosion.


While using [Infinite Storage+] to load and maintain the ammunition, he fired grenades in rapid succession to wipe out the remaining horde. Then, as he saw fit, he showered the remaining heavy machine gun rounds on the survivors.


By the time the heavy machine gun ammunition ran out, they had defeated nearly 30,000 monsters, far more than their initial target. However, they still could not kill them all, and several hundred approached the SUV the three of them were riding in.


“Misato!”


“Yes! Please cover me!”


After switching to an assault rifle for a quick response to the enemy, Yoichi kept the flying monsters Misato was fighting at bay.


Meanwhile, Misato had finished her chanting and used the super high-level attack magic “Scythe of the God of Death” to wipe out a swarm of several hundred monsters approaching inland.


The monsters that had rushed towards the two of them were split apart and turned to ash from the severed surfaces.


“The magic is truly amazing.”


“You can say that again.”


Yoichi and Karin spoke in awe.


Some of the monsters that had rushed in were able to withstand the fire of heavy machine guns and miniguns. But even these sturdy monsters were shredded like pieces of paper by Misato’s magic.


If it were a modern tank in their original world, modern weapons would probably be superior against it, but if it were a monster of this world, the weapons and magic of this world would inevitably be more effective.


Unlike Earth’s creatures, this world’s monsters have magical power that covers their bodies or runs through their veins. This acts as an armor that also protects them from the outside elements, so in order to deal with them effectively, you need weapons that have the same element that they’re made of – that is, magically powered or magically enchanted weaponry.


“Ooh, looks like the gigantic ones are finally approaching.”


The combination of Yoichi’s assault rifle and Karin’s bow and arrows was used to keep the monsters at bay. In contrast, Misato’s ranged magic was used to sweep them away.


Still, it was quite a spectacle for them to see giant monsters like Cyclops, Ogres, and Gigantes approaching in hundreds of units in front of them.


Even if Karin’s bow and arrow and Misato’s magic could defeat these monsters, there was a high chance that they would not be able to handle the extra-large numbers.


To defeat a giant monster, you need a magic spell with high firepower, and due to its limitations, the range must be shortened. Even if you try to defeat it with a bow and arrow, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to kill it before it reaches you.


In any case, it is considered necessary to attract its attention to some degree.


Or at least incapacitate them.


“We should reduce their numbers as much as possible.”


Yoichi took out a rocket launcher that he had been saving for the big game. But being careful not to get Karin and Minori caught in the back blast, he fired anti-tank grenades at the closest Cyclops in the meantime.


A few seconds later, a Cyclops exploded at the point of impact, scattering its flesh.


Even though modern weapons were less effective than magic, there was no problem as long as the physical force was strong enough to make up the difference.


After that, Yoichi aimed his rocket launcher at the tougher enemies that couldn’t be taken out with the grenade launcher and then fired his rockets at the group of giant monsters, reloading the rockets as needed by stowing them in his [Infinite Storage+].


“All that remains is to deal with the leftovers.”


“Just leave it to us!”


Since a single rocket alone could incapacitate two or three of these giant creatures, they managed to reduce the number of large monsters to less than half in a few minutes, and Karin and Misato were able to eliminate the rest that had survived and made it to them.


〇●〇●


“Yoichi, over there!”


Suddenly, a winged dragon appeared in the direction Misato had indicated.


The actual monster is a winged dragon, a true dragon species, about twice the size of a wyvern and covered all over with dragon scales.


Unlike the wyvern, which can fly only in a half-ass way, the winged dragon is a species that excels in both flight speed and distance.


With the winged dragon’s ability, it would be able to reach the city in less than two hours if left unchecked, and not only that, it would be able to inflict significant damage on any city it lands on.


Even though they still seem to be flying at a leisurely pace due to the distance and their colossal size, they can reach where Yoichi and the others are in less than two minutes if they want to. That’s how terrifying they are.


What’s worse is that Yoichi’s group confirmed that there were five of such monsters.


Two of them were heading towards Yoichi and the others, while the other three were heading towards the city.


“I’ll leave the ones coming this way to you.”


“Ahaha…”


“Y-yes!”


Karin and Misato became nervous at the majesty of the winged dragons that could be seen from far away. Still, Yoichi thought they should be able to defeat one or two of them with their abilities.


[It’s always better to be prepared, right? With this, you can probably kill a dragon with one shot.]


Remembering Charlotte’s words, Yoichi took out a portable surface-to-air missile launcher from the [Infinite Storage+].


“I’m really grateful to Charlotte for preparing this thing… and whup! There we go.”


With one breath, Yoichi slung the missile system over his shoulder and aimed it at one of the winged dragons trying to fly away.


――Beep beep beeeepbeeebeeepeeeeeeeeeeeeep!


“Fire!”


――The missile was launched.

 

The first dragon was successfully shot down by the surprise attack, as if it had not expected to be targeted.


While it was unfortunate that the missiles were less effective, it also made them less detectable, as the attack didn’t involve magic, at least for dragons.


Unfortunately, even a surface-to-air missile that can shoot down a helicopter in a single strike cannot penetrate the dragon scales that the dragon species wears.


But even with its strong dragon scales and powerful muscles, the dragon could not prevent the shockwave from the massive explosion after its impact.


So while the winged dragon appeared to have suffered only minor damage on the outside, its internal organs were shredded to pieces.


The second dragon, perhaps having learned from the first, noticed the second foreign object approaching at high speed and successfully intercepted it with its breath.


“Oooh, a dragon breath. A dragon indeed. But too bad.”


Yoichi, anticipating this, had already fired his third shot.


He had already found out that the breaths themselves could not be released one after the other, and to prove it, the winged dragon had already taken an escape position.


“You can’t escape.”


The winged dragon moved out of the line of fire, but the missile changed its trajectory and followed the enemy.


As a result, the second winged dragon, which had been targeted by the missile with an optical tracking system, was shot down next.


“Take that!”


Karin also fired a series of arrows at the third and fourth winged dragons, which were approaching at a distance of 100 meters upon detecting the new threat.


“GAAAUUUGHHH!!”


“GIGUUAHHOOOO!!”


This time, unlike the missiles, the magically enchanted arrows pierced the dragon’s scales. They penetrated deep into the winged dragons’ bodies, but they were not powerful enough to shoot their thick muscles.


Still, it was enough to stun them, and the winged dragons howled and wriggled in a foul mood.


The dragons, being slowed in their approach, gave Misato enough time to unleash her magic in time.


“Here we go……! Demon Spear of Hellfire!”


A long, black, flaming spear flew out and pierced the body of the third winged dragon.


“GGHHAAAAAHHH!!”


The monster let out a desperate scream and crashed to the ground.


“And that’s it! One more to go!”


The fourth saw this and tried to run away, perhaps afraid of the magic that had finished off its comrade with a single blow.


“I won’t let you escape!”


“GURURUUUU…!”


Karin fired quickly at it, and the fourth winged dragon, hit by several arrows, let out a short scream and thrashed around.


Meanwhile, Misato, who had finished her chanting, fired another “Hellfire Demon Spear,” and the fourth was shot down without a second thought.


The last one, which was heading towards the city, was also shot down by Yoichi’s surface-to-air missile in the end.


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