The Lizardman, Vasen Lak Orazen, said, “Let’s talk about that walking castle.”
He neatly unfolded a piece of paper and grabbed a piece of charcoal.
“First…this castle has feet. How many did you say it had?”
“Twenty five.”
As the Elf, Theone Itimo replied, Vasen shook his head.
“Oh, I didn’t specify. The feet are divided into big, medium, and small ones. How many of each of them are there?”
From beside Thone, the Pangolin, Margo, said, “Well, there are 3 big ones, 9 medium ones, and 13 small ones.”
Vasen sketched the legs with light strokes.
“Are they roughly this shape?”
“Yes. Those are the shapes of the legs.”
“And these are whole pieces of metal?”
“Yes.”
Vasen properly drew the legs without saying anything for a moment.
He then turned to Theone. “You said you talked to the new gunpowder engineers that arrived, right? Did you ask them about what I was curious about?”
“Oh, yes.”
“What did they say?” .
“That is…they unfortunately said that would be difficult. When they estimated the weight of the Moving Castle, they said it’s unlikely to be made of simple steel. It would have been made with the help of magic, or with technology beyond our understanding, so with the simple gunpowder we have, we would only be able to destroy the small legs…”
Vasen replied with a disappointed voice, “Even if the expedition team members were to get close to the legs and install gunpowder?”
“Yes. While they didn’t replicate the actual conditions, the technology department at the palace has conducted an experiment, and they said that it wouldn’t be enough even if we were to use all the gunpowder we have.”
Vasen looked at Mazdari, and Mazdari shook his head.
“Magic isn’t omnipotent. Of course, there might be some kind of magic that I haven’t discovered yet which could destroy the Moving Castle, but for now, just holding onto one of those small legs is all that can be done.”
“Hmm, Well, I did think it would be challenging from the beginning.”
Vasen then wrote ‘Destruction of legs: rejected’ next to the drawing.
The current target of the expedition team led by Vasen was the Moving Castle. While he wished to postpone investigating this Moving Castle if possible, according to the priests, it was said that the gods of the Pantheon secretly wanted the Moving Castle. In particular, the denomination of Concealed Text God, which was in the lead in resurrecting dead gods, was especially supportive. Not only did they provide verbal support, but they also provided actual financial aid, so in Vasen’s position, he couldn’t just ignore their will.
Vasen observed the Moving Castle for quite a long time and came to the conclusion that the best way to enter it would be to destroy its legs. The Moving Castle consisted of 25 legs of different sizes that bent like those of a crab, and depending on which legs were broken, the outcome would differ. It was calculated that the Moving Castle would become unable to function with one-third of the legs broken. However, the investigation showed that the legs supporting the Moving Castle were too strong.
Vasen said, “What about digging up a trap?”
The idea of a trap seemed ridiculous, but Vasen judged that it wasn’t impossible. Things that walked on the ground all had the possibility of falling into a hole. There was no reason that wouldn’t apply here just because it was a castle.
However, Theone disagreed.
“It likely won’t work.”
Theone unfolded a map that was folded in half.
“This is the Moving Castle’s movement route.”
The map showed a circle that seemed distorted here and there.
“Does it continuously move along this path? Then it seems like digging a trap would be good because there would be no need for bait.”
“That’s true, but there are two reasons why it wouldn’t work. First, it takes about 43 days to complete a full cycle along this path. Even if we start digging the moment it passes, wouldn’t it be quite challenging to dig a hole big enough for the Moving Castle to fall in in just 43 days?”
A groundbreaking method to deal with this issue didn’t come to mind, even for Vasen.
“And the other reason?”
“The Moving Castle doesn’t just move on its own. It’s controlled by someone, so they would most likely notice the trap. Also, a Rakshasa reconnaissance unit goes ahead of the Moving Castle to check for any dangers.”
Vasen said, “That is a problem, the Rakshasas.”
The Moving Castle was said to move at a speed similar to an average person’s walking speed. That was slow given its sheer scale, but when considering the massive size of the castle and the fact that it moves continuously without stopping, that speed seemed reasonable.
However, its speed made it difficult to attack the castle with Vasen’s current capabilities. The fact that it moved about as fast as an average-sized person walked meant that the Pangolins would have to move quite fast to keep pace, and if the Rakshasas protecting the Moving Castle were to engage in a prolonged war outside the castle, it would take hard work to catch up to the castle with a large number of troops.
“Although there are many entrances into the castle…”
“Well, that’s not entirely a good thing.”
As Margo explained, Vasen continued to refer to the partial drawings that the reconnaissance soldiers had brought back and completed his sketch of the Moving Castle.
“From what I’ve heard, when the Rakshasa tribes weren’t unified, the Moving Castle was attacked, and they simply cut off the ladders they climbed to block the attacks…”
“What about invading by climbing up the legs?”
“The legs are very rusty and covered in lots of moss, so those who know how to climb trees would be able to easily climb them, but other than the three big legs, there’s no other way up. Additionally, the parts where the legs are connected are constantly patrolled by the Rakshasas day and night…”
“Hm,” Vasen said. “Then I guess there’s only that option left.”
“By that option you mean…?”
Vasen drew a sketch of wings on top of the completed drawing of the Moving Castle. Although it was a rough sketch, everyone knew what it was because of the helical shape.
“We’ll fly.”
***
The Helix Wings that the Platys developed could carry a maximum of two Platys and a small amount of rocks. Therefore, two Pangolins, who had similar physiques, were also able to ride it, and for species such as Lizardmen or Human-like species with a medium-sized physique, only one person could fit. As a result, the number of Helix Wings available for the expedition team to ride on and attack the Moving Castle was very limited.
After capturing the Helix Wings of the Platys, only six of them were fixed properly, and out of them, two were sent to the Orazen palace.
‘We need more Helix Wings.’
The problem was that Black Scale, or at least the current expedition team didn’t have anyone with the technological capabilities to fix more of them. Vasen also believed that not even the top engineers of Black Scale would be able to exactly replicate the Helix Wings.
‘Because Black Scale doesn’t have any Doodooba trees that are used to make rubber.’
Currently, the Doodooba trees in the southern continent were said to be concentrated in the east, but this was also just an assumption. After all, the Platys located in that region were producing rubber powered technology there.
‘And we don’t even have enough time to make them now.’
Vasen judged that the next week would be the best time to attack the Moving Castle. The Moving Castle was heading toward the city of the Pangolins, Siol. It wasn’t certain whether they would go all the way to Siol or just continue to pass by it on their usual path, but now that they were getting closer, it was the perfect time to attack. Furthermore, Vasen didn’t want to give the Rakshasas any more time to prepare, and he also thought that it was the best time since the second expedition team had joined them now.
‘There’s only one way.’
Vasen planned to steal Helix Wings from the Fabirang Union. Even if they got damaged, replacing simple parts was something that the expedition team and the Pangolins could do without much trouble. If they had about 40 to 50 units to carry the expedition team, that would be sufficient enough to attack the Moving Castle.
‘But the Fabirang Union should have some knowledge on our gunpowder now and have prepared for it. So to ensure an easy battle, we need to figure out their weaknesses.’
Vasen walked into the prison where the captives were held.
“Golt Tebari, how have you been?”
The Platy, Golt Tabari, glared at Vasen and said, “Hmph! I won’t give you any more information now. I won’t speak with you.”
“Hmm.”
Vasen thought things had become somewhat complicated. Over the past few days, Golt had freely talked about the Fabirang Union to Vasen without realizing they were being interrogated, but now it seemed Golt had belatedly realized that Vasen had been trying to get information out of them.
Vasen was just taken aback.
‘After saying all that?’
On the other hand, Golt would be helping the Fabirang Union by keeping silent, so he couldn’t really blame the Platy. But of course, Vasen hadn’t come to see Golt without any plan.
‘What did Kyle say I should do again…’
Through Mazdari’s magic, Vasen had told Kyle, his younger brother and the emperor, about this matter and sought advice, and Kyle gave quite a simple answer. It remained uncertain whether Kyle’s interrogation method would really work or not, but Vasen had a feeling it would work with Golt.
‘Right, I remember now.’
Vasen said, “Listen up, Golt.”
“I’m not talking to you. Hmph.”
“We decided to execute you.”
“I said I’m not talking to… What?”
Golt looked stunned.
Vasen slightly waved his hand.
“Well, I mean, not immediately.”
“…Our Fabirang Union will not forgive you!”
“…But around tomorrow morning.”
Golt gasped. Golt’s eyes were now slightly watery, but Vasen pretended not to notice.
“Considering we’re here on an expedition and have too many mouths to feed, there’s no reason to keep a lot of useless?captives.”
Vasen then glanced at Golt to see their reaction.
Golt were tearing up, then they suddenly closed their eyes and said, “Go ahead! Kill me! If it means I’m sacrificing my life for the Fabirang Union!”
For some reason, Vasen felt a sense of relief.
‘Right on, they shouldn’t change their mind just like that.’
Vasen said, “Well, dying isn’t the only option.”
“Then?”
“We had decided to only kill half of the captives. But there was some opposition suggesting that it would be okay to save the ones who are useful. So if there’s someone willing to provide information about the types of rubber-powered machines and their weaknesses, we decided to let them live.”
Then Golt said, “B…but couldn’t everyone just remain silent?”
“That’s right.”
“Then eventually, everyone would be executed…”
“We never planned to execute everyone because we value Black Scale’s honor. We believe that those with fidelity are valuable. Oh, by the way, we decided to hear about the weaknesses of the rubber powered machines in a first come first served manner. So even if someone were to tell us information, it would be too late if they were the fourth out of the six captives.”
Golt’s situation could be summarized as: If all six captives remained silent, they would all survive. But if even one of them were to start talking, only three of those who talked first would survive.
Vasen believed Golt understood the situation well enough and turned around.
“Call for me if you want to start talking.”
As soon as his back was to Golt, Golt said, “Wait! Hold on!”
“…I haven’t even left the prison doors yet.”
“That’s why I called out to you, haven’t I?” Golt then said with determined eyes, “I will tell you everything.”
Vasen stayed turned around for a moment to hide his smile.
𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮