CH 89

Chapter 89 – Robots and Grenadiers

The story goes back to just before the war started.

Actually, yesterday, I called up Simon on short notice to see if there was any way against the Golem.

“RPG-7, is it? Of course, I have it in stock, but how many do you need?”

“I need at least ten people to have them. The rest depends on the price.”

“The current market price is around five to seven hundred dollars. A launcher and three warheads start at about $1,200. Back when there was a shortage, the cheapest Chinese-made warheads used to cost around $150 a round.”

That’s a lot of fluctuation. Well, if there seems to be a lot of production and demand, it depends on consumer needs at the time.

I asked for an estimate of 20 sets of launchers with three warheads for the time being.

For Yoshua-sama, I can give you 20,000… no, about $15,000, but how about a newer, more powerful model? There are also 16s, 22s, and 29s from RPGs. They are far more powerful and capable.”

It made my back itch to be treated like that, but that was okay.

I had to seriously stop him before he started calling me “Your Majesty the Demon King” whenever I told him what was going on in the small talk.

“Of course, you know that there are no tanks in the enemy army. They are Golems, huge puppets made of earth, trees, and ore. The T-55s out on the front lines have missed their shot, and we want to deal with them at low cost.”

Simon tilted his head and laughed. He looked amused as if he were fighting against something he didn’t understand again.

He may have adopted a condescending attitude out of business necessity, but Simon’s essence remains the same.

“I see. You push numbers over quality.”

“In addition, it would be best if I could capture them without destroying them all. That’s why the latest models are too powerful.”

Simon’s nodding face says, “Capturing clay dolls?”

As expected, I don’t want a clay or tree thing either, but I’m relieved to see that Simon’s inner businessman isn’t fully developed yet.

“For example, couldn’t you just use a pit or something?”

“I’ve already tried that. It’s difficult to do because the man inside is a magician, a wizard. There is a magical barrier that keeps them from coming out. I was in a rush at the time, so I blew it up with an IED.”

“Why don’t you do the same this time? I don’t know what you plan to do with it, but it will serve your purpose.”

“You have no idea what the Japanese are like. When it comes to food and robots, I’m not going to compromise.”

“…Robot?”

I pull the legs of the Ore Golem out of my storage and show them to Simon.

The original was a monster or something, and the main body could not be stored. That’s what I want to capture. Not in pieces, but something that can be moved.

The giant legs, nearly ten times the size of a human, weigh 100 kg. The design is not the smart lines of an anime mecha designer but rather an old-fashioned mix of a steam locomotive and heavy construction equipment.

The contrast between the silver joints, which seem to be made of some kind of light alloy, and the shiny black outer armor is really tacky.

“This is… amazing.”

“Right!? A ten-meter tall Golem that a person can get into and move. It’s only natural that I want to get it intact and in a… recoverable state!”

That’s one reason, too. But the main reason for choosing the RPG-7 was to see if it could be operated “after I’m gone” in Casemaian. But that’s not something I’m going to tell Simon.

“Are you sure about that?”

“…Yeah, of course.”

Simon seemed to be struggling to keep a serious face, but then his face contorted into a big smile, and he started to laugh out loud.

“Okay, Brother. Fine, I’ll get you as many RPG-7s as you want.”

Before I knew it, he was back to the real Simon. I don’t know if he was bored or tired, but he was really pushing himself to create that character. I don’t mind either way.

“Instead of that, I’d like to sell you this. 20 RPG-7 launchers and ten warheads. And a… yes, I’ll put in a recently acquired KPV as well.”

“KPV… come on, seriously?”

The KPV is a 14.5×1, the same as the Simonov anti-tank rifle used by the huge Elf Kemich. It is a heavy machine gun capable of firing 14mm rounds in rapid succession.

It boasts tremendous power, more powerful (50% more energy) than the M2, the representative heavy machine gun of the West.

I don’t know what kind of business opportunity he found in the Golem’s legs, but in exchange for such a treasure, I would gladly give him the Ore Golem’s legs, which I thought I had no choice but to keep for a while.

Thus, our Casemaian defense force waited for the mounted Golem unit with unexpectedly heavy armament (while its defense remained almost as bare as ever). And it had one more leg, too.

◇ ◇

“Thus, the RPG-7 is your new weapon. Depending on where you hit it, it will penetrate even an Ore Golem. Clay and Tree Golems are no match for it. So, Kemich and the others will be in charge of this side.”

Immediately after procuring the RPG-7 from Simon, I gave a lecture to the Beastman volunteers.

The nervous Beastman began to stir when I suddenly said, “You can beat a Golem in a single blow.” I am sure that no one would think that I was lying based on my past achievements, but that does not mean that you could just accept it.

“Don’t worry; you’ll get your chance to prove it soon enough. The Golem unit is steadily closing in on us!”

I try to smile, but all I get is a dry, amiable smile.

That’s probably true. They had never seen or heard of the RPG-7, but everyone already knew the horror of the Golem.

“Before the actual battle, we test-fire one shot each. Don’t fire it arbitrarily because the danger is nothing compared to that of a rifle.”

“””Okay!””””

The problem with acquiring powerful firearms just before the battle is that the positions are just barely built, and there is no time for training, and if they shoot on the plain side from a safe place, the possibility of the T-55s entering the firing line is a real problem. The latter is a problem for the Dwarves’ position.

Heimann-jiisan, a Dwarven craftsman, has taken care of the latter problem to a certain extent.

I was in front of the ramparts, looking down on the plain. There, I saw a trench, a painstaking work of the Dwarven engineering corps (though they also serve as tankmen).

They were about 2 meters wide and high. Two large trenches extended to the south and to the east in a wide circle. The old man explained to me that this was a combination of the tanks and the location of the trenches, and it was obvious at a glance from above.

The first plan was for the tanks to escape in case they stalled, but the tanks would not enter the firing range of the allied reinforcement units, and we would not enter the firing range of the tanks or the impact zone of the tank artillery, and conversely, we could intercept the enemy who was aiming at the tanks.

The “route 1” that extends to the east is to support tank No. 1, and the “route 2” to the south is to support tank No. 2.

“Each of you takes only the launcher. I’ll teach you how to load the warheads later.”

I took out the RPG-7’s launcher from my storage and handed it to the Beastman, who had volunteered to be the grenadier.

Everyone is curious, but no one is stupid enough to operate it on their own. Firearms are dangerous, and it is well known that if handled poorly, they can easily kill you. Whether you are a muscle brain or not, the more muscle brain you are, the more you know that there is a fine line between the effectiveness of mighty power and danger. Safety checks are in Casemaian’s blood.

First of all, I gave a quick explanation of what a rocket is and strictly ordered them to be absolutely sure of the danger of backfire and to check behind them, especially for allies, combustibles, and obstructions. I also told them that if they got down in the trenches and took elevation, they could be burned whole with their comrades.

The power and lethality of the weapon had been given in detail at the outset, and the Beastman was listening intently. So naturally. It would be no joke if they and their allies were burned to death after defeating the enemy Golem.

“Then, here’s the next thing. Push the button at the trigger, and the safety device will engage. Check the lock.”

“”””Check!””””

Next, take the part that looks like a gun grip and turn on the toggle switch at its top.

“This should put a spot of light in the scope. Check it and let me know if any of them don’t glow.”

“””Check!”””

I had each of them look through the scope and told them to align their target with the center of the T-shaped scale.

In reality, they would be firing at close range, probably around 100 meters, so I wouldn’t give them that much detail. It’s not a sniper weapon, and I don’t know that much about it.

“Before firing, you have to raise the firing pin. The rear of the trigger, here, check.”

“”””Check.””””

Release the safety device, and let them fire in the air. That’s all there is to it. The Eastern weapons are simple and tough.

“All right, let’s test fire. The target is…”

As I was looking around for something hard and big that wouldn’t be a problem to break, I saw Myrril and Minya running in.

There should still be some time before the mounted Golem squad arrives, but I have a bad feeling about this. Especially the big smiles on their faces.

“There’s a stupidly large monster in the Dark Forest! It’s the perfect target for the Arpiji!” [T/n: RPG.]