Chapter 245. The Immortal (13)
Enoch stared intently at the cylindrical small bomb.
It seemed there was no spare. The fate of the entire 19th Outsourcing District hinged on this single, small bomb.
Just then, Elena swept her long cool-toned brown hair behind her ear and folded her fan shut in one hand.
"But actually, there is one problem. The Atrophy, or AP Bomb for short, can only deliver its full firepower under specific conditions."
Enoch tilted his head.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Even if Lord Enoch and his squad carry the AP Bomb to the target as-is, it won't be enough to properly finish off that colossal magical beast."
Elena, wearing a thin smile, tapped the cylindrical bomb on the table with her folded fan.
"Detonating it as-is leaves the firepower somewhat uncertain, so it has to be detonated inside Anarchilon's body to fully annihilate it — that's the analysis our technical team arrived at."
Enoch covered his mouth with a finger and nodded.
"An internal detonation, huh. I roughly see the picture."
"As expected of the man I've invested in — you catch on quickly. Uhuhu."
But it seemed not everyone in the room had followed yet. Sirocco pricked her ears beside him and asked,
"Hm? What does that mean?"
"Simple. Instead of placing the bomb near the target, we bury it deep inside and detonate it."
"Hmph. Sounds tricky. Is there a reason?"
Enoch turned to Elena instead of answering. She looked as though she'd been waiting, and pressed her folded fan to her pale cheek.
"Let's see. Are you aware that an explosive produces more force when sealed inside a solid container rather than detonated in open air?"
"No, I don't know about that kind of thing."
"For instance — if you set off a firecracker just resting on your open palm, you'll get a slight burn and that's it. But if you clench your fist around it and set it off, you lose the hand. The AP Bomb is powerful on its own, but simply detonating it won't be enough to completely annihilate Anarchilon."
"Hmph. So we need something tough around the bomb to seal it in even while using the AP Bomb?"
By the time Sirocco had gotten that far, the others seemed to have grasped the general idea as well.
The quickest to understand was, predictably, Nano. She adjusted the visor on her head and looked up.
"That means we deal damage to Anarchilon first, then before it regenerates, we shove the AP Bomb into the wound and wait for the wound to completely close back up before triggering it. Is that right-mka?"
"Exactly. Especially given how massive a body it needs to support, the muscle and cellular structure would have to be far denser. Therefore, in more detail……"
"……Ah! Could it be — an implosion reaction-mka?!"
"As expected, you understand immediately."
At Nano's exclamation, Elena nodded, hiding her smile behind the spread fan.
"In other words, to push the power of an artifact rivaling 7th Rank Unique Magic to its absolute limit, we have to create the optimal conditions for it."
Enoch nodded quietly as well. The process Elena described was very easy to grasp.
Since Anarchilon resembled a colossal beetle, aside from its outer carapace, the cellular tissue would have to be immensely dense to prevent its body from being crushed under its own gravity.
First, deal damage. Then, drive the bomb deep into the magical beast's body and wait for it to regenerate. The bomb would then be fused within the Experimental Subject's body, achieving a fully sealed state.
Triggering the timed fuse at that point would produce a devastating explosion and raging flames that would vaporize the enemy from the inside out.
In other words, Elena intended to use even the experimental magical beast's rapidly regenerating flesh as a container to amplify the AP Bomb's damage.
"From here on, I'll go over the key precautions, so please listen carefully. The bomb is armed with this."
Elena pointed with her finger at the gap in the center of the tea-canister-like bomb. Looking closely, a red scale mark was visible at the seam.
"Turn this dial to set the AP Bomb, and it takes three minutes to activate. After that, channel mana into the trigger device and operate it remotely from close range to detonate."
"So after inserting the bomb into the enemy, we evacuate from the blast radius and then trigger it?"
"Correct. Being nearby when it detonates means getting caught in the violent explosion, so that's another critical precaution."
Elena manipulated the tablet, sweeping her long cool-toned brown hair aside.
"Ah! And one more thing — once the bomb is activated, it becomes extremely sensitive to impact, so strong shocks are strictly off-limits. Absolutely, absolutely be careful."
"B, but. Is that really possible?! This is way too dangerous……!"
Lily, listening to the audaciously bold plan, went pale.
Of course, if Elena's method worked, it might truly be possible to take down Anarchilon. But not every question had been answered.
April raised her hand with a cautious expression.
"The plan is sound, but then someone has to get extremely close to Anarchilon to deliver the bomb, right?"
Elena shifted her gaze this way and nodded.
"Correct. Therefore, the operation requires someone with the speed, command ability, and strength to pull it off. And the ideal candidate is already decided."
"Already decided? Where?"
The moment Enoch asked, he noticed that everyone in the tent was looking at him.
More precisely, at the unidentified black cloth bag slung across his back.
The gazes of the squad members around him were already brimming with expectation and fervor.
"Could it be…… you, Direct Lineage-mka……?"
"Hmph, obviously."
"It's true that nobody else here could pull off an operation against an enemy like this, but still……"
Listening to Nano, Sirocco, and Lily each chime in, Elena smiled behind her fan.
"That's right. Well, I shouldn't need to explain why I've kept Lord Enoch as my unofficial sponsor."
"……"
It was a somewhat sudden nomination, but feeling the trust in her words, Enoch slowly raised his gaze.
He had never intended to sit this operation out.
Whether he would draw his sword and participate directly in combat remained to be seen, but at the very least, the fact that he could use the Emperor's Supreme Sword's Sense of Mana was a major advantage.
Having seen Anarchilon once during the last battle, as long as he knew the feel of its mana, Enoch's ability to track the creature would be incomparably superior to most detection mages.
Still — could he really defeat it with his own strength alone? With the fatigue from continuous battles and missions mounting, and his mind being eroded by the Sword Saint, in this current state.
Enoch shook his head. No. It wasn't a matter of whether he could. He had no choice but to. But to accomplish that, there were cards he absolutely had to secure.
"Fine. I'll do it. But I can't do it alone."
Just then, Alicia timidly raised her hand from beside him.
"Exactly! Even if we break through all the enemies and get close, how are we supposed to punch a hole in Anarchilon and shove a bomb inside?"
In the previous battle, the missile fired from the fighter-type drone at Anarchilon had been, with its weight, explosive force, and gravitational acceleration combined, quite literally a colossal iron mace of a blow.
And the reason Damastes had been able to damage Anarchilon in the first battle was largely due to his ice magic's characteristic combat style — flash-freezing the cells and then shattering them in a killing blow.
But both had only succeeded in destroying Anarchilon's exterior. To bury the AP Bomb deep within its body would require magic or weaponry possessing even greater impact force and penetration power.
"For something on that level, wouldn't you need destructive power comparable to a tank cannon, at least?"
As Alicia emphasized that point, Enoch quietly raised his head and spoke.
"We have one. Exactly one weapon with more impact and penetration power than a tank cannon, one that isn't broken, and one with proven reliability — the strongest weapon we have."
"Huh? Where?"
Enoch silently looked over at Alicia, who had asked blankly.
Alicia met his gaze and then, as though something clicked, looked around in surprise. All eyes had converged on her.
Alicia pointed at herself.
"Wha! M, me?"
"Yes. To properly drive a shell into Anarchilon, Alicia — I need you."
"B, but can I really do that……? Such a critical mission, me……"
Alicia stared down at her jet-black Bombardment Lance, planted on the ground.
But Enoch realized she already understood. If they were looking for someone in this group with the offensive power to crack Anarchilon's carapace, it was clearly either Sirocco or herself.
Furthermore, Anarchilon possessed an exceptionally massive body, practically the largest in all four stages of Monarch Class.
To drive a bomb "deep" into a target of that size, her bombardment technique — which utilized a gunpowder-fired magic gear to heighten penetration — made her the ideal candidate.
"There's no need to feel too pressured."
Elena, too, nodded with a smile.
"Since Lord Enoch has designated you as the specialist, who else could possibly be more suited for this operation?"
Alicia hung her head for a while, then gently met Enoch's gaze, and at last clutched her fist tightly before the chest of her uniform and raised her head to look Enoch squarely in the eye.
"Then, understood. Alicia of Victoria will carry out the order!"
"Thank you."
Elena brought her hands up to her ears and clapped twice.
"Then, everyone, let's review."
On the tablets placed at each station, real-time compiled operation data appeared on screen.
Anarchilon was practically Immortal, but since it controlled the other experimental magical beasts through fear, defeating it alone meant instant victory for their side.
The conditions to achieve that miracle in this battle were summarized on the tablet as follows.
First, rapidly locate Anarchilon within the enemy army.
Second, a combined force of Enoch's squad members and select freelancers would protect Alicia and Enoch while punching through the enemy lines all the way to Anarchilon.
And third, after dealing damage to Anarchilon, arm the AP Bomb's detonation dial, drive it inside Anarchilon's body, and extract.
If finding Anarchilon took too long and all allied forces were overwhelmed and killed — game over. If either Alicia or Enoch in the breakthrough team fell — game over.
If the bomb wasn't buried deep enough and failed to completely annihilate Anarchilon — also game over.
"Those are extraordinarily demanding conditions."
Enoch gave his candid assessment.
"But there is no other plan."
"Probability of success?"
"Only the Goddess would know."
April, who had been studying the tablet, cried out with a face drained of color,
"Th, then that means it's hopeless?!"
Elena gave a bright smile, slapped the table once with her palm, and leveled her fan straight forward.
"Then, from this moment, I hereby designate this operation: Piercing Thrust. Preparations must be flawless."
A literal thrust into the enemy lines to pierce through — a perilous operation where every participant might face danger.
Then Elena looked back at Enoch with her usual slightly upturned eyes and smiled.
"And one more thing. Before the confrontation with the main force, the enemy's aerial raid units I mentioned will soon begin their assault on the city center. Intercepting them is also our job."
"Then we'll need to shift the defensive line so we can support the city interior and re-establish the perimeter at any time."
"Oh my, we really do think alike!"
Elena covered her mouth with her fan and smiled.
"Then, Lord Enoch. Please give the order."
"Very well."
Enoch looked around at everyone and continued.
"From now on, we'll abandon the current defensive line, re-establish the position further back, and make our final stand against Anarchilon there."
April cut in with a startled expression.
"Further back than here? Are you serious? Is there even a place to set up a position?!"
Enoch exchanged a look with Elena and nodded. Elena spread out the 3D holographic projection on the table, pointed to their current position on the tablet, and dragged her finger backward.
Following the projected dotted line through the air, April gasped.
There stood the steel wall, dozens of meters high, enclosing the entire city outskirts.
Enoch slowly nodded.
"The site of the final battle will be the 19th Outsourcing District wall."