Queen of the shell beast
Translator: Skythewood
Editor: Darkdhaos, alkin
After
dropping off the former Regent and Prince at the Ravine Gate, the twin’s Tzendorg
pulled the wagon containing Toybox that was piloted by Eru into the depths of
the giant tree garden courageously.
They
met resistance from the shell beasts along the way, but defeated these forces
with the powerful attacks of Tzendorg. Despite that, the number of enemies
flooding them kept increasing. The strong adversary with amazing strength made
them wary.
“It
doesn’t look good! There are still more behind!”
“What
should we do, Eru? It will be terrible if they surround us, should we seek
another route or turn back?”
No
matter how powerful Tzendorg was, it was still just one machine. They will be
surrounded and crushed by their foes if this went on. In contrast to the
hesitant twins, Eru was decisively in his judgement to forge ahead— He came up
with a plan.
“Maintain
current course, deploy the equipment of mode three. Make a pin point charge
with support from magic shots.”
“I
have been waiting for this!”
“Under—
stood—!!”
This
wagon known as mode three wasn’t just a giant transportation device, it could
also display the power of the cavalry to the fullest, a prototype equipment
used purely for battle.
Tzendorg
was connected to the wagon behind which was loaded with all sorts of equipment.
The two pilots busied themselves with their control stick and buttons, doing
the necessary preparations.
“We
are going, Eru! Releasing secure belts… Battle transformation, begin—!!”
The
moment they gave the command, the back half of the wagon broke away. Eru sat on
the remaining front half grabbing a connector with Toybox. Toybox supplied mana
and script to the wagon, moving the armour around it.
Most
of the wagon was made up from auxiliary arm and flexible coat. The sub arms
lifted the armour as instructed and changed its deployment, concentrating on
the seated Toybox. At the same time, numerous equipment kept within the armour
was revealed. Huge foldable blades jutted out on either side with a dim glow,
while two Silhouette Arms were erected to Toybox’s sides.
“Battle
transformation complete… Presenting the mode three equipment ‘chariot’!!”
It
looked totally different from a huge wagon. The armour covering all angles,
beast slaying sword for melee and the Silhouette Arms ‘Culverin’ jutting out
intimidatingly, it was truly a chariot.
Tzendorg
expelled gas really loudly and increased the speed of its charge, dragging the
heavy chariot in a gallop.
‘Culverin’
showed its fangs to the shell beasts, it was meant to be mounted on a chariot,
a powerful Silhouette Arms not meant to be wielded by hand.
The
magic shots that glowed bright red flew towards the shell beasts blocking the
chariot’s path. Piercing the shell with ease, the ‘Culverin’ sent many of the
demon beasts to a fiery death. Mana supply of the ‘Culverin’ didn’t come from
Tzendorg. Instead, it tapped into Toybox’s mana pool. Toybox was flawed as a
Silhouette Knight, but it had plenty of mana to spare because of its multiple
ether reactors.
Toybox
relied on the mobility of Tzendorg to move while using most of its mana to
attack. It was named a chariot, but it's used exceeded that with its turret on
a moving platform and was closer to a tank.
The
chariot charged at top speed towards the wall of shell beasts that was
decreasing due to the barrage from ‘Culverin’. Enemies right in its path was
struck down by the lance of Tzendorg, while the adversaries around them were
slain by the beast slaying swords. Instead of an edged weapon, the beast slaying
sword looks closer to a blunt weapon. With the inertia of the chariot, the
thick metal blades could cut through the shells of the beasts.
The
further the chariot advanced, the bigger the body count of the shell beasts
was. They forged ahead through unstoppable courage and strength.
As
the chariot took out the shell beasts in its path, it headed deep into the
forest.
The
giant tree garden was a boring place. All you could see was endless gigantic
trees. This numbed their sense of time and position. Ady was the one to tire of
this boring sight first.
“Nah
Eru, where are we going?”
“Well,
why do you think the shell beasts attacked us?”
She
tilted her head in response to Eru’s question, and Chid answered in her stead.
“Ah,
because they are ‘splitting hive’, so they are leaving their original swarm.”
“That
is correct. From the structure of the shell beast society, there must be a
queen at the centre of the swarm. Hive splitting occurs because of the birth of
a new queen, so we have to take out the queen to stop this ‘invasion’. I heard
the queen shell beast is a tough nut to crack, that’s why we will deal with her
with our mode three.”
“I
see. Great, the bigger the opponent, the more exciting it is!”
The
trio chatted casually, but Tzendorg didn’t slow down as it sped through the
forest. No enemy showed up to stop them, and they pressed on with a speed
normal Silhouette Knights couldn’t match, allowing them to break through the
sturdy barrier of the soldier shell beasts.
The
weird thing happened suddenly. A shrill sound of crushing shook the atmosphere.
The scene before their eyes stunned them— colossal trees that were as tough as
normal demon beasts were crushed mercilessly, falling along with its broken
branches.
“...
Jackpot?”
Even
Silhouette Knights would find it tough to snap colossal trees, and was
impossible for humans to achieve. To meet something that could pulverise the
giant trees… There were not many answers that would fit.
In
the dust cloud that was sky high, they could see a giant, dense shadow. Its
head was about the same as the colossal trees around it, so Eru and the rest
thought it was the trunk of a tree. However, they quickly realised that thing
moved, and was actually the leg of a demon beast.
“Eru!
A super huge one came out!”
“Yup,
that is probably the queen shell beast… It is bigger than I imagined.”
Even
Eru couldn’t hide his worry. The demon beast emerging from the dust cloud was much
more massive than they imagined. Surprisingly, the top of the body could touch
the leaves of the colossal trees, with the legs as thick as the colossal trees
responsible for most of its height. No wonder they were mistaken.
From
afar, its body structure consisting of six walking appendages and two claws
were similar to the other shell beasts. Its torso that was covered in
exoskeleton bent like a shrimp. The most prominent thing was the part hanging
below its abdomen, which wasn’t protected by shell like normal shell beasts. It
was several times larger than its torso.
The
scientific name was ‘incubator shell’, the organ that produced eggs for shell
beasts. Eggs produced by the queen would hatch inside its body, and the
hatchling’s infancy would be spent inside the incubator shell, only leaving
when it was matured. Apart from being the only one capable of reproducing, it
was also the nest itself, the embodiment of the swarm.
I
see, so the gigantic legs is for supporting that massive belly, Eru thought nonchalantly.
However,
there was no way that they would know that a queen splitting hives would not
had grown an incubator shell yet, since it hinders movement and was an obvious
weak point. A queen that functions as a nest migrating— that was an abnormality
for the behaviour of shell beasts. The main reason was that the swarm had grown
far beyond normal standards.
“The
problem isn’t the size, but the toughness. Let’s try attacking.”
In
the face of the humongous demon beast, their fighting spirit continued to burn
brightly. The chariot charged towards the feet of the queen shell beast. Maybe
it didn’t notice or didn’t care, the queen continued its slow pace that send
tremour through the ground. The heavy incubator shell was a heavy burden and
the queen couldn’t go any faster.
“Let’s
stop its movement, go for the legs!”
Toybox
aimed the Culverin on the chariot and fired directly at the demon beasts legs.
The queen seemed to notice them and stopped. Using this chance, the chariot
advanced, shearing at a leg with the demon slaying sword as they passed by— but
the attack was ineffective, knocking the chariot into the air because of the
reactionary force instead.
“Ohh!
Hyaa!?”
The
heavy chariot went airborne because of the collision and started spinning. The
twins in the pilot seat widened their eyes helplessly. Both chariot and pilots
would take heavy damage if this continued.
Immediately
after this, a bright flame shot out from the airborne chariot. It was Eru who
activated Toybox’s magi jet thrusters. The powerful propelling force countered
the spinning momentum, restoring their balance. After this close save, the
chariot which was about to flip over, landed safely. The group was silent for a
long while as the chariot kept going as if nothing was wrong.
“...
Let’s not attack the legs.”
“Yeah,
agreed.”
The
trio broke out in cold sweat and decided to pull away from the queen. Although
the chariot avoided the fate of being destroyed, the demon slaying sword had a
crack because of the impact earlier. If they did it again, it will definitely
snap.
“It
must be tough since it could support such a massive body. Destroying it with
brute force should be impossible.”
“What
should we do, Eru? Even mode three was knocked back, this is very bad.”
“Eh,
let’s attack the weak spot head on.”
The
chariot turned back after making a large detour, charging the queen shell beast
once more. The queen finally noticed the small object running around it and
adopted an intimidating pose against them. It stomped on them when it saw the
chariot making a beeline for it.
“Turn—!”
Tzendorg
made a sharp turn, tilting the body dangerously to dodge the stomp. With a
burst from Toybox, the chariot following behind also adjusted its direction of
movement.
Next,
Eru fired the Culverin in rapid succession after the queen stopped momentarily.
He didn’t aim for the leg, but the large weak spot, the incubating shell. His
shots were fired haphazardly, but he couldn’t miss such a prominent target.
Crimson magic bullets flew into the abdomen hanging below it, bursting into
hellish flames as dictated by its script. A bright blossom of explosion
appeared on the stomach of the queen.
The
relaxed shell beast queen lost its balance for the first time and shrieked in
pain. The powerful ‘Culverin’ roasted the inside of the incubator shell. Flames
burst out from the queen’s abdomen and it fell onto the ground.
“Oh,
that was unexpectedly easy.”
“Eru,
why didn’t we do that instead of charging from the very start?”
No
one answered Ady’s comment.
“Anyway,
let’s go back since we had settled this…”
Chid
relaxed and said after the unexpected battle outcome, but was overshadowed by a
terrifying scream from behind. Although the shell beast queen stopped
momentarily after its incubator shell was burned, it didn’t die.
Blowing
huge amounts of foam from its mouth, it searched its surrounding with its
focused protruding eyes. Finally, the queen found its hated enemy and was
coloured with rage.
The
shell beast queen stood with the sound of muscle tissue ripping. It came from
the abdomen connected to the incubator shell. It grew louder as it movement
became bigger before finally breaking off the incubator shell with a loud snap.
The
incubator shell was an important organ for the queen, but losing it doesn’t
lead to death; as long as its main body survives, it could be regenerated.
However, it would take a rather long time, which was a critical blow towards
the survival of the swarm.
“Oh,
her majesty is angry, let’s get away for now.”
Before
Eru even finished, the twins was already pushing Tzendorg to escape. When it
saw what they were doing, the shell beast queen also started moving. Without
the burden of the incubator shell, the queen moved with astonishing speed, as
if all its slow movement before was a lie. Its massive strides allowed it to move
even faster than the chariot. Catching up in no time, it used its legs to stomp
mightily.
“Oh,
no.”
The
powerful legs struck like an explosion, falling onto the path they were heading
in, cracking the ground and the roots as it shook the ground. If they crash
into it head on, they would be done for. The twins changed direction with
Tzendorg in a hurry. Toybox’s magi jet thrusters roared and their unified effort
completed the impossible tight turn.
Swerving
left and right, they kept changing their direction of advance, displaying a
nimbleness a heavy cart wouldn’t be capable of. They avoided each and every one
of the queen’s stomping feet.
The
queen was relentless in each pursuit, stomping all over the place in order to
crush the chariot. It seemed inevitable for them to be pulverised, but despite
being forced to the brink, they managed to evade their death.
“We
made it through!”
“Head
straight for the forest!!”
The
chariot slid in between the giant trees while the shell beast queen was
hindered by its massive body. Using this chance, they bought more time and
distance in order to discuss their strategy against the wrath of the queen.
“Shit,
it is fast and hard, mode three can’t take her out, what should we do!?”
“Yeah,
being tough and hard is fine, but it is fast, too.”
The
sound of the shell beast queen rampaging and breaking colossal trees could be
heard from behind. It had no intention of giving up, and was filled with the
resolve to chase them wherever they might go.
“Sigh,
this is bad, right, Eru? Wouldn’t it be dangerous if we run around with the
shell beast queen in tow?”
If
the Silver Phoenix Knights had to face the shell beast queen which was capable
of snapping colossal trees, it would be a hard fight. Even if the Silver
Phoenix Knights could handle it, they need to watch out for Alvanz behind them,
too. Just imagining bringing the thing along behind them gave them the chills.
“...
True. Alright, change of plans. Please continue to circle around the forest and
attract its attention. If it stops, do what you can to attack it.”
“Roger!
And, you?”
“I…
Will seek an audience with her majesty.”
Eru
released the securing harness as he spoke. By opening up the armour of the
chariot, Toybox would be able to move independently. He, then, detached the
Culverin on the chariot, and held onto it with the sub arms on the back of
Toybox. By using both of the sub arms, Eru finally managed to secure the heavy
lance onto his machine.
At
this moment, Tzendorg dodged into the shades of the colossal trees. The moment
the queen’s gaze was covered by the giant trees, Eru’s Toybox leapt off the
chariot. He observed the shell beast queen from the shadows, and saw that the
queen was only tracking the prominent chariot, not realising he had alighted.
“Alright,
the main event will be coming up…”
Eru
activated the magi jet thrusters on Toybox’s waist and shoulders and kept the
crystal eye onto the trunk of the colossal tree. Sounds of explosion erupted.
Toybox started accelerating and jumped onto the trunk, using the propelling
force to run straight up the tree. He was planning to use the magi jet
thrusters to aid the Silhouette Knight in climbing a tree. Eru’s action was
crazy as usual.
Eru
forced the heavy machine made from steel and crystal tissue up the trunk with
incredible speed. However, the magi jet thrusters output dropped suddenly
midway, and the unbalanced Toybox twisted its movement direction drastically.
“This
is nothing!”
Eru
kicked off the trunk, pushing off towards a branch nearby and grabbed on. The
thinner branch started cracking and falling, which softened Toybox’s landing.
He was lucky that the colossal tree could withstand the weight of a Silhouette
Knight. If anything went wrong, he might have fallen to the ground directly.
“I
don’t feel safe using huge amount of mana. If I knew this would happen, I would
have prepared some anchor wire… I will review it after going back.”
Eru
started grumbling. The failure of the magi jet thrusters was due to the
structural flaw of Toybox, leading to the unstable control over the ether
reactors. Short burst was fine, but operation over a long period was unstable
like hugging a time bomb. All he could do was to deal with it one step at a
time. Eru rested the machine a bit, and started climbing the tree once the
output was stable. He didn’t run up the trunk directly, but jumped from branch
to branch.
The
shell beast queen was right in front of him. Its protruding eyes turned when it
saw the giant figure leaping from tree to tree. Considering the machine as just
an obstacle in its path, the queen wasn’t fazed by it and kicked at the giant
tree with its destructive leg. Toybox lost its balance when its foothold was
destroyed.
“Well
done! Since I already reach this point—!!”
The
roots cracked as the colossal tree fell slowly. Eru stabilised the machine with
the jet thrust and charged full speed ahead, gaining height quickly when the
tree was tilting sideways.
Turning
the head of the machine, the holo monitor projected the image of the queen
leaving after it was satisfied with the destruction it wrought. Toybox focused
on its target and kicked off the colossal tree, taking off with the magi jet
thrusters at maximum burst.
Not
expecting this move, the queen reacted a tad slower. Toybox which leapt off
with explosive speed landed nicely on the back of the shell beast queen.
Turning its head which was much smaller than its body, the queen glared at the
unwelcomed guest on its body.
“Ara,
greetings, your majesty. Pardon me, but for a mere demon beast to attack my Silhouette
Knights… You better say your prayers.”
As
Eru made his joke-like speech, he struck first before the shell beast queen
could do anything, aiming for the giant beast’s head. Normal means wouldn’t
work against gigantic demon beast protected by tough shells. The only way was
to focus the attack on the weak points. The head was the obvious weak point
common to all living beings, the bigger the body, the easier for aim for it.
The
shell beast queen didn’t allow Eru free reign. A pair of massive claws attacked
the foreign object on its back. Toybox burst its magi jet thrusters
sporadically to evade the fierce attacks and then closed the distance to the
head while prepping the ‘Culverin’ on its back.
He
was just a step away from the head. At this moment, Eru suddenly turned the
magi jet thrusters around and braked sharply. The powerful pressure from
changing directions made the entire machine creaked. He stopped because
something flashed before his eyes.
They
weren’t claws, but something extending out from the head of the shell beast
queen. Those were sharp blades that send food to the queen’s mouth, mandibles.
Using its muscles like a spring, the mandible was strong enough to cut steel.
The proof was the slash on the chest armour of Toybox.
“You
are really talented! If I had known, I would have brought more equipment!”
The
mandible attacked the retreating Toybox again. In the face of the impregnable
double layer of defence, Eru couldn’t do anything. Adding the unstable foothold
on top, he couldn’t get near freely.
With
something foreign on its body that wouldn’t go away, the queen started losing
its patience. It probably understood the attack from its claw wasn’t working,
so it changed its approach. Suddenly, a tremour could be felt from under
Toybox. It was the shell beast queen lowering its stance and shaking its body
violently. With its huge size, its violent movement was earth shaking, Eru who
was on top of it felt the movement to be greater than a leaf in a tornado, it
took everything he had to not get shaken off.
“Wait,
this is terrible!”
The
violently shaking body of the shell beast queen became a weapon. Eru adjusted
the dampers and magi jet thrusters to balance himself as he jump around to
avoid being hit. This will exhaust the mana pool of Toybox really fast, so Eru
searched for a chance to counterattack, but the situation seemed dire.
What
gave the chance to the desperate Eru wasn’t the shell beast queen or Eru
himself. Crimson bullets came from the forest, hitting the leg and torso of the
shell beast queen and bursting into flames. It didn’t suffer heavy damage as it
was protected by the shell, the impact still made the gigantic beast lost its
balance and restraining its movements
“Eru,
are you okay!? We are here to help!”
The
one shooting the bullets was Tzendorg which had turned back. It ran around the
shell beast queen a large distance away as they fired the ‘Culverin’ left on
the chariot. The shell beast queen shrieked when it saw the despicable chariot
that destroyed its incubator shell. It had low intelligence, but the queen
remembered what its enemy looked like.
“That’s
right, aim for us! I will dodge all your attacks!”
After
getting the queen’s attention, Tzendorg escaped into the forest. Ignoring the
small object on its back, the shell beast queen changed its target and pursued
the chariot.
Using
this golden opportunity, Eru sneaked ahead with Toybox. The defence of the
mandible made it hard for him to attack the head. If that was the case, he just
needed to change the target to the joints of the legs. He still remembered the
‘theory of destroying giant weapons’.
Toybox
transferred the ‘Culverin’ secured by the sub arms to his hands and aimed for
the joint connecting the legs. The two ether reactor on Toybox churned angrily
at full speed, channeling powerful mana into the Silhouette Arms. The magic
bullet fired from an extremely close distance pierced the joint with flaming
heat. With the protection of strengthening magic, a single shot won’t have much
effect. Eru shot twice more and hid after seeing their explosion. The next
second, a column of fire erupted from the base of the shell beast queen.
The
queen squirmed its body as it shrieked. No matter how tough the shells were, it
couldn’t cover the joints as that would prevent movement. Even the colossal
beast couldn’t take the powerful shots of the ‘Culverin’.
Eru
struggled to balance on the suffering beast and attack the leg besides it. The
magic shot erupted into explosion again and the queen spasm with each blow, but
its movement was growing weaker. The legs on just one side was attacked,
causing its colossal body to tilt.
“Don’t
be shy, here, have one more.”
Eru
shot at the tilting shell beast queen from the side, the impact finally pushing
the queen off balance. Once the joints supporting the legs were burned, it
couldn’t fight against the pull of gravity. The colossal beast fell into a
cloud of dust silently.
Toybox
stayed on its back until the last moment before jumping into the air. Eru
attempted to slow his descent with his magi jet thrusters, but his earlier
reckless action made the output unstable, making it impossible to slow down.
“Toybox,
just hang on! Let me see your spirit!”
Eru
pushed the remaining mana into the side propeller, forcefully changing the
direction of his drop. Tzendorg that was pulling the chariot rushed to the spot
under him.
“Leave
catching Eru to me—!”
Toybox
aimed for the chariot and fell into it. During the moment of impact, the
flexible coat and sub arms took the place of shock absorbers, barely catching
onto Toybox. A sharp cracking sound could be heard from all over Toybox. Part
of its inner skeleton and muscle tissue broke, but Eru didn’t cared and focused
on the chariot. He activated the flexible coat and beast slaying sword, ready
for battle.
“Give
it the final blow! Ady, Chid, turn back!”
The
two of them gave reliable acknowledgements. Tzendorg galloped at top speed with
the chariot in tow.
When
the dust cleared, the shell beast queen was still on the ground. Its legs were
broken and it couldn’t move. Being large and standing tall worked against it as
it suffered severe injuries crashing into the ground. Despite its condition,
the queen was still struggling. Blood dripped out from its mouth as it moved
its legs in an attempt to move.
Sounds
of horse hooves rose. In order to deal the final blow to the shell beast queen,
the chariot charged at full speed. The queen had no way of defending itself.
Its mandibles broke during the fall; it could still move its claw, but its
attack range was limited. Its other legs wouldn’t help much.
“Checkmate.”
Eru
dodged its last ditch kick and the chariot charged pass the shell beast queen’s
head with its remaining beast slayer sword. The heavy steel plate powered by
the insane speed of the chariot crashed into the head shell that was already
crumbling from its fall, smashing it apart. The head of the queen splitted and
its contents sprayed out. The queen exhaled for the final time.
“Yay!
We really did it this time, Eru!”
“Yes,
thank you for the hard work, you two. Well then, let’s meet up with the
others.”
“Roger!”
The
trio didn’t have time to be emotional after taking down the shell beast queen
and hurried back to Althusser Ravine Gate.
With
the Knight Commander’s return, the Silver Phoenix Knights became even more
powerful. After losing their queen, the shell beast swarm lost control and
their only advantage in numbers were lost with the return of Alvanz. The battle
that followed was a one sided affair.
After
a week, the shell beast swarm was completely eradicated.
Thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteFIRST !!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chapter :)
ReplyDeleteWohooo
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A chariot in a forest sounds so hard to maneuver. Thanks for the chapter
ReplyDeleteThanks forma da chapteru
ReplyDeleteThank you.....if you mind me asking....will you continue translating kono subarashi sekai ni seifuku
ReplyDeleteThank you !!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteErnesti
ReplyDeleteServant class: Rider
__
Thanks for the chapter~
Hahaha F/Z
DeleteI felt bad for the queen
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter... ^^
ReplyDeleteYou are the best ....thanks
ReplyDeleteStill can'r imagine how toyboy look like...
ReplyDeleteArigatou~!
maybe it's like an incomplete Ikaruga
DeleteThanks again!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter
ReplyDeletei think the forest will be like in shingeki no kyoujin
ReplyDeleteWell, Eru only knows how to completely and totally casually shatter every remaining shred of common sense anybody ever had left in this story right?
ReplyDeleteWell thnx for the chapter. Very fun. At this point if I was anyone in the story other then the silver pheonix knights of prolly have heard of Eru and his lack of sense and would expect the lack thereof.
ReplyDeletethank for the update
ReplyDeleteThank you~!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering but when did the 2 tzendrinble changed into a tzendorg?
ReplyDeleteI am curious about this as well, and I'm wondering if the 'Culverin' in this chapter is different than normal Culverin? I thought it was normally something you can just hold with one hand with a SK, but the wording made it seem extra big and powerful.
Delete