CH 114

Chapter 114 – New Power

After leaving the marquis’s territory, we, the returning Casemaian team, started to head north in two large Ural trucks and a Ural sidecar motorcycle leading the way.

We drove safely until the drivers, the winged ladies, became accustomed to driving. The truck was going quietly at about 40 km/h. I checked behind me frequently.

Though I checked behind them frequently, the two trucks did not seem to be able to keep up with each other’s pace. The space between the two trucks seems to be oddly close and open.

“Luvia-san, Owe-san, do you have any problems driving?”

I turned around to see Lumier-san in the passenger seat of the truck, about 20 meters away, offering a radio to Luvia-san.

“This is Luvia, no problem. It’s a very powerful and wonderful car.”

“…How about you, Owe-san?”

“Ahyah! Wait a minute; I can’t drive while talking, I still can’t, it’s difficult and… ah!”

The car seems to have stalled; I can hear the starter roaring from behind car #1, but it still won’t start. I can feel the impatience of the communicator.

I move a little closer to car 2.

“Calm down; it’s alright. There are no enemies in this area yet. Please get used to it slowly. First, put the car in neutral. Slowly engage the clutch.”

The car starts to move, but it is a little fast, perhaps because she is wary of the stall. Worrying about hitting the front of the car would cause the passengers to get dizzy from the acceleration and deceleration, and it would also cause stress to the driver.

“Then, Luvia-san, please pull over to the left side of the road at the wide area ahead and stop the car. Could you turn back around?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Owe-san, please drive forward on the right side of the road and drive at a speed you are comfortable with. It’s okay as long as you don’t drive too fast. Luvia-san and I will match you.”

“…Y-yes!”

Hmm. Owe-san, who usually seems calm, is in a panic. As expected, the trailer with the 40-foot container on it is too big for a novice driver to move. If she keeps running in lower gears, she’s going to run out of fuel fast and overheat.

“I don’t think we have any enemies who can stop that big thing, but it’s a problem if we’re not armed when the time comes.”

“Owe-san, from now on, you don’t have to answer me while you are driving. If there is an emergency, please honk your horn longer. We’ll go a little further. We will stay on the left side of the road as much as possible, so you keep to the right side of the road.”

In order to avoid being run over in the event of an emergency stop, my bike will be about 200 meters ahead of the convoy and will serve as a scout and a lookout for the convoy.

At the moment, there are no soldiers in our path, and we can’t see any herds of magical beasts either. There were a few stray monsters, but they were mostly alone. Moreover, they were shot down by Myrril’s UZI from the edge of my vision.

“What was that?”

“Goblins. Most of them are goblins at the moment. They are small magical beasts, so they may have been pushed out of the way of a group of magical beasts, or they may have been left behind while they were fighting something on the way.”

While speaking, she fires a UZI. Then, after a short pause, she fired another shot. Something fell over deep in the forest.

“What was that?”

“An orc. It died quickly, so it won’t call in the big ones.”

Myrril-san is an exceptional hunter who hunts even medium-sized magical beasts with handgun bullets, but she must have a heavy burden when it comes to hunting large groups of them.

I feel that a Humvee would have been useful as a breakthrough, but it’s too late now. What has been left behind can’t be helped.

A Soviet BMP infantry fighting vehicle would have been useful, but I have no intention of building an expeditionary force in Casemaian at this time. It seems somewhat wasteful to buy one for a one-time need. A tank would make a good turret, but an armored troop carrier or infantry fighting vehicle with thin armor and light armament would be too much.

I may be a demon king, but my wallet is a commoner.

◇ ◇

“Oh, you’ve come at a good time, Brother. I got some great deal for you.”

“…Hey.”

As soon as I opened the market, Simon started to sway my mind to try to break through with Myrril-san’s UZI reliance in order to save money.

I took an early break to talk to Simon about how to refuel with diesel fuel.

“Since it’s based on the same T-55 that you bought before, refueling and maintenance won’t be complicated, and if the need arises, useful parts can be transplanted. Above all, it’s cheap.”

Although it is a misleading term to say “made in Israel,” the T-54, 55, or 62 are all former Soviet-built.

They were converted from tanks captured from the enemy by Israel, which is surrounded by enemy countries in the Middle East, and the guns, cannons, and firearms were converted to Western standards so that Israel could supply the parts themselves.

“Sorry, but it’s impossible. Even if they share the same chassis, it will be impossible to keep up with the supply of ammunition if we increase the number of types of ammunition.”

“Don’t worry. They don’t have a turret.”

“Huh?”

“The turret has been removed and enclosed in an open-top shield. I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s an armored personnel carrier type. There is a machine gun mount on the front where the turret used to be, and it has a MAG that is in pretty good condition.”

The MAG is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by FN of Belgium and is a masterpiece adopted by the armies of Western countries. M6 is a 7.62 x 51mm machine gun, like the M6-0. NATO ammunition is fed by a metal belt link system.

“The price for four MAG barrels with 2,000 rounds of belt-fed ammunition is $30,000. I’ll also give you a thousand liters of fuel, extra fuel for your tanks, and a refueling pump for the drums.”

“Then I’ll buy it.”

Well, yes, I would buy it. Maybe the T-55 is a bargain, but for us, it’s the most powerful weapon on the ground.

The MAG and the extras alone are worth more than the price.

“You are very generous.”

“The flowers you gave me the other day seemed to have captured my wife’s heart. So this is my way of saying thanks to you.”

“Yeah, but what’s the truth?”

“You can’t use that kind of vehicle on the battlefield in this world.”

“You’re so honest.”

Well, that’s right.

The body of the vehicle is the main battle tank, even though it is a model that has fallen into disrepair, so it is far more heavily armored than a typical armored personnel carrier, but if it only has an open-top gun turret instead of a turret, it can be aimed and shot at any time. From the top, you can see right through to the inside of the vehicle, so if a grenade is thrown in, it’s all over.

Indeed, you can’t take that kind of thing out on the battlefield in Simon’s world.

“Well, that’s alright. We’re in great need of help. We’re about to break through a pack of magical beasts with just two Urals.”

“You’re still fighting against things I don’t understand.”

He said to me with an amused look on his face. I don’t like to do it either, you know.

“I want to get back as fast as possible without stopping, so I’m trying to get the Ural refueled before we collide with the enemy.”

Simon, who had been smiling, looked doubtful at my comment.

“…Hmm? How far have you traveled?”

“About 800 kilometers.”

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem then, will you? That main fuel tank alone holds 300 liters, and I gave you a full tank, didn’t I? So it should easily go a thousand kilometers or so.”

What the hell? This is all a big misunderstanding. The Soviet-made are hella cool. After using the Urals before, I decided to leave the refueling and maintenance to the Dwarves… Sorry, Grandpa and the boys.

Well, let the refueling pumps be useful for refueling tanks.

“Oh, yes, Brother. I remember the golem from the other day. The material for that.”

“Hmm? Did it contain any precious metals?”

“Not in the sense of gold and silver, but it is said to be a mass of rare metals. It was bought by a western research institute through underground channels because there might be unknown substances in it.”

“That’s fine… but watch yourself, okay?”

“Don’t worry; I’ll stay out of the public eye. The negotiations and transactions are handled by agents. From now on, if there is something interesting, I will buy it from you.”

Whether he’s dependable or not, I’m not sure, but I’d like to think that Simon is growing up in many ways.

I’m beginning to think that at this point (and because it’s someone else’s business), it might be a good idea to have him climb up the social ladder as far as he can go.

“So, again, thanks for the help, Brother.”

I’m back to feeling him like the previous Simon again.

I close the market, and in front of me are ten drums and a large refueling pump. And a yellow sand-colored tank was sitting there.

A protective shield just enclosed on all sides where the turret had been in the T-55, and a long-barreled general-purpose machine gun the MAG fits in.

“Oh, Yoshua. You got something interesting again?”

“Yes, indeed. This is something to look forward to later. Well, let’s have a meal.”