“Come to think of it, Asahi was talking before about biological weapons... and now there’s a real example of it in a place like this...”
Remembering Asahi’s earlier plan to implant machinery into Rein Kroin and turn it into a biological weapon, Eve let out a sigh.
‘Big Sis! This is an excellent case study! We absolutely {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} have to investigate it thoroughly!’
Asahi cried that out in high spirits.
‘This may be one method of making effective use of <Magic Stones>! If something that can generate a barrier like this could be mounted on a Gigantia, for example, we could turn it into an invincible airborne fortress!’
“That may be true, but reusing corpses is another matter...”
Unlike the eager Asahi, Eve was clearly reluctant.
“Biological components” sounded acceptable enough, but the reality of it was patching corpses together.
Looked at normally, it was not something that felt pleasant at all.
For example, ripping out the brain and shoving in an electronic computer in its place to make the body move... wasn’t that depravity in the extreme?
Asahi had proposed dismantling Rein Kroin, linking its <Magic Stone> and blood vessels, using the skin as exterior armor, arranging the skeleton as reinforcement material, and connecting the muscles to each moving part, but the whole thing was far too blasphemous.
“If there’s absolutely no other choice, I’ll approve it, but we don’t need it, do we? Honestly.”
‘Well, at the moment there’s no particular necessity for it... but Big Sis, science does not advance without challenges!’
“Not if the field advancing is corpse recycling...”
Ringo listened silently to that exchange between mistress and subordinate.
As a rule, it respected Eve’s intentions, but depending on the situation, it was prepared to accept Asahi’s proposal as well.
For example, if it would dramatically improve Commander Ma’am’s safety, it intended to manufacture it even if it had to override opposition.
‘Well, first comes investigation, Big Sis! We may be able to reproduce it by some other method, after all! And for that investigation, we’ll need to secure a working specimen!’
“Well, that much is true. But just so we’re clear, unless it’s an emergency, report it to me before you start turning monsters into biological parts. I do not want to realize I’ve been living inside a corpse without knowing it, okay?”
“Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.”
While that exchange was taking place at the main base, Iris was reorganizing the Prava Divine Kingdom invasion force.
Within three days, maritime transport of four Jotun-class land battleships would be complete.
Production of the four-legged tanks was also proceeding smoothly, and was projected to recover to full strength by the start of the second invasion.
This time, in addition, main multi-legged tanks would also be committed as backup, and the plan assumed the use of two Gigantia groups.
Since air power and airborne troops would be added, the combat-power evaluation was judged to be 1.5 times that of the first invasion.
Meanwhile, the combat strength on the Holy Capital side of the Prava Divine Kingdom was roughly half of what it had been during the first invasion.
Moreover, there was no prospect of recovery.
The figures would change significantly if Bishop-class personnel who had been deployed in the provinces still existed, but at present there was no sign of that.
In other words, the Divine Kingdom side as well had concentrated as much force as it possibly could.
Which meant that if the force currently present were destroyed, the Divine Kingdom’s military strength would be exhausted.
On the assumption that the second invasion would destroy all currently identified super-combat units, Iris was redrafting the strategy.
For form’s sake, a surrender recommendation would be issued before the invasion began.
Still, based on all previous experience, the probability that the Prava Divine Kingdom clergy would surrender was almost zero.
The unseen movements of the force believed to be stationed there, the Chimiya Family, remained an uncertainty.
But considering that it had not deployed in the previous battle, it likely would not appear in the next one either.
To begin with, it was unclear whether it was even still staying in the Holy Capital now.
Its objective was, from the start, to open a road through the <Demon Forest>.
The defense of the Holy Capital was, from its perspective, a trivial matter.
<Paraiso> had demonstrated great power.
It might soon be possible to open dialogue with the Chimiya Family as well.
◇◇◇◇
The bots hidden in the Holy Capital of the Prava Divine Kingdom continued transmitting information.
Most of the automatic machines that had entered when the city gates were breached had been destroyed, but a certain number of the information-gathering bots and the underground-buried information-collection devices had survived.
According to the data brought back from them, the Holy Capital’s defense force seemed to have taken considerable damage.
Unlike machines, they were flesh-and-blood humans.
Wounds from battle did not heal in only a few days.
However, that did not seem to mean that war-weariness was spreading among them.
They looked exhausted, but they were quietly carrying out the cleanup.
A multi-legged heavy machine that had approached to retrieve the wreckage of a destroyed four-legged tank was discovered by patrolling cleric-soldiers and destroyed.
Their numbers should have dropped sharply, yet they still had not neglected regular patrols.
In a sense, they were carrying out their assigned duties like machines.
Iris estimated that this was the result of powerful indoctrination.
It was classified as indoctrination, but in practical terms, it was simply the educational environment.
If from early childhood one were forced into a way of life as a cog in the machine, then loyal, machine-like soldiers who suppressed individual emotion could be produced.
From within such a collective, the talented would be elevated upward and installed at the top of power.
A group was formed out of people whose individual desires had been suppressed to the utmost, and within it, there was little room for the display of self-assertion.
In another few decades, even a system like this might have decayed into a corrupt power structure smeared with greed.
But at least for now, every last one of them was advancing straight ahead toward the maintenance of the Divine Kingdom.
Even if a sheer cliff had opened its mouth at the end of that path.
They would calmly throw themselves over it.
◇◇◇◇
“Even if they are completely wiped out, they mean to inflict even the slightest possible damage on the enemy. That appears to be the shared thinking of every cleric-soldier engaged in the defense of the Holy Capital. To them, the Chimiya Family is the force they are meant to support, and we, <The Tree>, who are highly likely to interfere with it, are enemies of God.”
“So the Holy Capital itself is not even something to be absolutely defended, but simply the city most suitable for receiving the enemy. Hm... can people really think that way so easily? Normally, wouldn’t they value their own lives?”
Listening to the results of the information analysis, Eve tilted her head.
“Big Sis. At times, humans make irrational choices. Especially in a state like collective hallucination, phenomena where everyone rushes toward an incorrect ideology have repeated themselves many times throughout history.”
That was Akane’s explanation, followed by Ichigo’s doubt.
“Even so... it still feels abnormal that every single one of them would charge ahead without a single person snapping out of it.”
Certainly, no matter how deep the faith, could everyone really offer up their life willingly?
That was the point that seemed to bother Eve as well.
‘Big Sis. It’s possible the cleric-soldiers are connected into some kind of network!’
The one who cut in with that idea was Asahi, the fantasy specialist.
“...A network?”
‘Yes! Cleric-soldiers, priests, Bishops... we confirmed multiple times in the last battle that they were coordinating organically without any visible signal at all! We’d been assuming it was communication through some magical technique like telepathy, but it may go beyond that!’
Asahi’s holographic projection lifted one index finger and began speaking with complete confidence.
Ringo thoughtfully displayed the caption Personal Opinion Only behind her.
‘Like our AI species, they may be linking thought-data itself and forming a data network like distributed computing! If that’s the case, individuality would become weaker, and behavior prioritizing the interests of the whole would become possible!’
“Hm... well, I suppose that does make sense. I did think they were disregarding the individual far too much.”
It seemed Asahi had reanalyzed the battlefield data using her own angle of attack.
‘We confirmed multiple cases where teams of cleric-soldiers were accepting casualties for the purpose of maximizing battle results! I kept wondering what kind of training could possibly make that happen, but if they were fundamentally acting while treating multiple units as a single whole, then it makes sense!’
“As a member of the same human species, I am not prepared to accept that explanation!?”
Inflicting losses on the enemy while taking losses of their own.
Throwing away the self for the sake of the whole.
No matter how much indoctrination was repeated, it was hard to believe that every single person could be made capable of that.
And yet, on the previous battlefield, scenes like that had repeated themselves everywhere.
What was more, the cleric-soldiers had shown no sign of grieving those sacrifices.
Now that the battle was over, they did show signs of mourning the dead.
It had also been confirmed that they handled the recovered bodies carefully, even though they were cremated.
But while the battle was underway, such behavior had been almost completely absent.
