Chapter 3: Expeditionary Force
Raynesia couldn't move until she got down from the griffon. A dance partner would put a hand around her
She didn't think it would be so embarrassing to be treated this way by a man. Raynesia struggled to loosen
It didn't feel like reality when she made the decision during the meeting, it felt like she only acted on the
Raynesia had spent too much time with Krusty this past week. Compared to facing this young man who
that was how she mustered her courage.
Raynesia knew Krusty was concerned about her and protected her from being blown off the griffon or
see right through her as well.
about rolling around in her room, a useless and incurable person. But Raynesia didn't mind Krusty
But there was one thing if possible... No, one thing she must hide from him. That was her feeling of
"Please."
This was Akiba.
bonfire from the sky was actually a variety of light sources. The seven bonfires in the city square were
"That... Thank you very much."
approached them hastily, they had a brand on their clothes similar to that on Krusty's cape.
down.
"Of course, but is it okay with you?"
After talking to the young man called Shiroe, Krusty left with the group that had similar brands as him and
Raynesia felt lost as the young man Shiroe spoke to her.
Akatsuki."
like she kept to herself.
Shiroe turned and started walking, the streets were filled with Adventurers and they seemed to be rushing
Raynesia declared that she wanted to come to Akiba to convince the Adventurers, but she had no concrete
vague impression, she should first seek permission from them before meeting the Adventurers one by one.
Unlike the beautiful and gorgeous Maihama with fruit trees and crystals by the streets, this town seemed to
so Raynesia focused on staying alert.
before nodding and going off. Raynesia thought that since Shiroe was chosen as a lieutenant of the
(But he is walking so fast...)
were very strong physically, but she never expected to experience this much difference.
communicating through magic.
"Shiroe-dono!"
There seemed to be 3 men waiting in the lobby behind the door, one of them was dressed like a merchant.
"Hi! I heard about you, the daughter of clan Corwen. I am a merchant Charasin, leader of the 8th District
The man named Charasin was indeed a merchant as he greeted Raynesia with a business smile. But to
(This Adventurer seems very straightforward and dislikes hypocritical courtesies.)
Shopping Center was a unique name, but from the way he introduced himself, it was probably a
"I am Raynesia from clan Corwen, please take care of me."
"And so, Charasin-san."
"... Eh, how should we do this, which one should we choose. I was thinking something flashy and grabs
Mail'?"
But this sense of ease did not last too long. The youth Shiroe and Charasin started to discuss something,
"Yeah, no problem. From the overall viewpoint, it will be good if we push it to this level. Please prepare
sword with a beautiful design, any equipment below level 4 will do... Akatsuki, can you rent a room for
good."
Raynesia was brought to a simple room. Stripped and adorned with battle equipment with the help of the
Most nobles changed their clothes with the help of their maids and Raynesia was the same, she didn't
The source of her shame and confusion was due to her first time wearing battle armor.
Breastplate and a shirt made from thin shiny silver chains.
But the problem was... the chain armor around her waist.
your arms was a common design for dresses, but clothes that showed off your thighs seemed so vulgar,
Akatsuki said simply: "The skirt... I will help you wear." But instead of a skirt, it looked more like a belt
(My... my thighs are showing... And the breastplate's shape is so real, how should I put this, it seems a bit
As Raynesia was stunned by this, Akatsuki hung a sword on her waist and tightened all the straps all over
From the weight and comfort, this should be a famous magical armor, Raynesia was impressed... But the
Raynesia thought her figure was not bad, but this set of armor... left nothing to the imagination. Raynesia
"Ermm... Akatsuki-san? If I wear it like this, the curves of my body are a bit..."
Raynesia was too intimidated by Akatsuki's glare to say anything.
delicate than any maid's, but Raynesia was only getting more and more tense.
Akatsuki grabbed the procrastinating Raynesia and dragged her outside where Shiroe and Charasin were
attempted to hide behind the short Akatsuki, Charasin smiled widely upon seeing her.
to just have the expression of someone judging and gauging. Raynesia entered Shiroe's name into her
"Charasin-san, it is pretty good right?"
"... Thank... Thank you for your compliment."
(she didn't want to recognize this as a skirt) was too short to pull.
Shiroe's words and smile sent a chill down her spine for some unknown reason, but she could only nod
Part 2
"Thank you everyone for gathering here so early in the morning, I am Shiroe from Log Horizon. The time
It was dawn.
the city square, there should be more than a thousand.
The debris in the city square had been cleared in the past few months, it was now 20% more spacious
immovable background, but now they could be moved or destroyed.
making Akiba look more vibrant and lively.
rising in the east and yet there were so many people already gathered here. For Raynesia who had not
And those gathered here were not just human knights.
nobles, the stalls peddled their food and drinks to the crowds, which seemed to be the norm in this city.
the preparations after Shiroe contacted them. Gathering the veteran Adventurers, setting up the stage, and
Raynesia who was staying inside the tent next to the stage could only see the Lumiere called by the
They were using the valuable mage, the highly respected Summoner, as a stagehand. This went against the
"... Because of these reasons, centered around Sand Leaf peninsula, in the northern hills and forests of the
There are several Adventurers in Sand Leaf reporting about this attack. The governing organization in
Round Table Council, this threat is just a threat, the League of Freedom Towns Eastal will not be wiped
equivalent to the destruction of their military, but it is not to the extent of wiping out all the People of the
The report Shiroe was reading out was more detailed than that of the nobles and he was merciless in his
But the scene that amazed Raynesia the most was not Shiroe's attitude, but the comprehension in the eyes
From what she could observe from the tent, not one person looked bored or confused. Some of them even
This was a scene that made Raynesia, one of the People of the Land, amazed. Weren't the people gathered
Raynesia thought that the Adventurers gathered here were just common soldiers, but their comprehension
people with military and geographical knowledge, and they seemed to know the political situation of the
What were nobles? What were peasants? What were farmers?
"On the other hand, we feel that defending Akiba from this army is something simple... apart from food,
defense capabilities, it is not necessary for us to aid the League of Freedom Towns Eastal. In terms of
hope everyone will listen to the words from this 'person' while keeping this in mind."
When many people gather together, they would create a certain warmth. In the heat of the silence, Shiroe
"Ah?"
She turned around and saw Krusty in a sky-blue armor, she was not sure if it was for ceremonial or
"Eh? Eh?"
Krusty dragged her out of the tent and a sudden bright white light shone onto the city square.
east.
This was the center of the stage, the forefront where there was no escape.
thousand Adventurers, a being that was different from the People of the Land. Even if they had the same
She could feel this from her short contact with them.
A sharp sound came from her right.
axe into the floor and placed both his hands onto its handle. The sound just now was the axe
This was followed immediately by a dull thud from the left. Shiroe who moved here was holding a
moment ago.
was rising gradually, the scenery in her eyes was changing its shape, but her thoughts were unexpectedly
Adventurers chatting softly in a corner clearly.
the League of Freedom Towns Eastal, the daughter of the Corwen clan governing Maihama. My name is
Her voice was so clear she surprised herself.
"Just as Shiroe-sama described, Yamato is facing a great crisis. I announce without any reservation that
Eastal will need to handle this crisis themselves. The goblin invasion force is the biggest ever in history,
Towns Eastal. The People of the Land have city walls, magic barriers, and soldiers, but how effective our
polishing their blades and fortifying the walls in preparation for war. But even with all these efforts, we
Raynesia threw her gaze far away.
"It might sound shameful, but the League of Freedom Towns Eastal has not come to a consensus even at
territories and were reluctant to send aid to each other. Not only that."
But she was unable to stop.
Round Table Council's ambassadors. We were scheming to rely on the immortal Adventurers, rely on
worthy of apologizing on their behalf... But I am deeply sorry, and I also feel remorse over one more
Raynesia did not notice the bright purple cape and 'Valkyrie Mail' that Shiroe chose complemented
everyone respected and adored.
When she made her plea to the Adventurers, Shiroe turned his head slightly and gave Krusty a look.
"Both the League of Freedom Towns Eastal and I do not have much to offer in terms of rewards...
want to use worldly items to exchange for everybody's freedom. But as a daughter of the Corwen family, I
everyone today."
shameful.
If the Adventurers present were knights or bureaucrats, or in other words nobles, she wouldn't lower her
was their top protection priority.
With her title, she would also be respected as a noble in Akiba. But she would not have a group of people
the people on the street.
She would not receive the princess-level of attention she was so used to in this city. But she would also
The woman in the social circle of nobles did not have rights.
words of admiration.
medicine. But they were seeing her as an individual to adore.
she was treated with care.
with a guarantee of high pedigree, she was just a top-class trophy.
understood that she was powerless to deny this fact.
is fine with you, will you be willing to go with me? Are you willing to help me based on your kindness
(Even if I say that... Even if I want to protect their freedom...)
She was a member of the Corwen family, but she did not have such authority because she was born a girl.
testimonials to one or two Adventurers and she could hold dinner parties.
Raynesia also thought she was giving an empty promise.
Krusty was the first one to acknowledge she had the freedom to take to the battlefield, Adventurers
Raynesia who never had such freedom all these years, this was the first time she had such an aspiration in
"I sincerely ask everyone to help me."
square, a group of people in blue with a coat of arms on their cloaks clashed their weapons and shields
A company of knights in black armor unsheathed their swords and swore to take to the battlefield; on the
holding axes howled mightily in the crowd.
(Ah...)
"And so, this city... We will be sending out our first expedition army, the condition for enlisting is level
and respect of this People of the Land onstage. Comrades who are willing to take up the quest please ride
enemy. The formation of parties will be done while on the move, I hope everyone will cooperate. I am
"The role of tactician will be taken by me, Shiroe. Within 15 minutes from now I will be contacting the
Akiba River and the experimental dock. 'Ocypete' will be waiting for you there... For the members who
registration counter situated at the city's east gate to collect your quest forms. You can proceed as
the formation of parties while you make your way there, the preparation time is 15 minutes, please give
"Ah, ah..."
"Why are you acting so lost and panicky?"
Raynesia's voice was trembling as she couldn't find the words to say.
heard remained a secret... Except for Krusty.
and mutual understanding as their eyes met. But to the bystander, they were the perfect couple smiling
Anyway, the expedition plan had been set.
peninsula, numbering over 10,000. And so, Akiba formed an expedition army for the first time, heading
Part 3
They were exhausted both physically and mentally, but their expressions were still spirited.
Minori's group. The consecutive battles from Ragranda forest until now had made them gain several
After going through multiple fights, their teamwork gradually became more polished. They could
The 5 in Minori's group were more relaxed walking on the farm trail than staying in the forest, but they
surroundings, but they maintained a peaceful atmosphere as they advanced.
Minori might be scared, but she was no longer fearful.
this feeling was almost the same as giving up.
stand a chance as long as you didn't give up, even if it was shameful, even if you were shivering, there
It was a bit late to call this morning.
"Hello...! Hello...!"
In this alternate world, dirty equipped items will become clean automatically when they were repaired.
Since it was insignificant, the visual cleanliness would correspond directly... This was the logic behind
But since there was a set durability value, if you used the equipment roughly, the value would drop.
it to the blacksmith for repair periodically.
than Minori. They took advantage of their might to charge into the center of the pillaging goblin group to
The formation centered around 2 Swashbucklers must have had battles much fiercer than Minori's group.
"Teacher Naotsugu, I did!"
Serara pounced at Nyanta.
a sigh of relief and helped to check their equipment and wounds. Shouryuu aside, Rezarick was a Cleric
concern of these two made Minori's heart feel sweetness and remorse.
Minori was afraid they might run out in the midst of battle.
understand their own characteristics, numbers, and the effect of night raids.
"Let's stop resting and return to town, I can only relax after seeing it myself."
respond and headed for Choushi.
The strong sea breeze unique to Sand Leaf hit their faces, blowing through the farm from the coastline.
beaches and the beach trees fell on the farm trails, making a beautiful picture of contrast.
seemed like the adventurers battled the goblins last night.
Naotsugu said happily in a soft voice.
companions as well as Nyanta, Naotsugu, and others formed guerrilla parties last night and battled the
could to reduce the number of goblin parties, a brutal guerrilla tactic.
down, and it would be a manageable pace... This was the strategy Minori came up with.
overwhelming numbers to break the defenders' formation and tactics.
Adventurers would be able to prevail with their superior battle power.
of them. The Adventurers would of course fend off many of them, but there would be gaps because of the
If they went through the gap, they would be able to savor the fruit that was Choushi, they could also
returning to town to fight off the raiders or to continue fighting the goblins in front of them.
tribes had always used.
The proposer of the tactic, Minori, had a very simple thought.
and was easily infiltrated, this was a weakness that would put them at a disadvantage.
weakness.
Minori's group was insistent on executing this tactic.
planned, and Choushi was indeed attacked last night.
ambush or to take another route, taking longer than planned to reach their target. This caused the goblin
The feature of a saturation attack was to focus all their forces at one point, forcing the defenders into a
muster their forces still proceeded to attack Choushi under the orders of their leader. But their tactic
Adventurers.
able to handle them.
Choushi, and was welcoming the dawn victoriously.
"Woah woah, Welcome back...!"
Adventurers that were familiar with Serara and Shouryuu greet them as the group entered Choushi. The 2
people. Nyanta, Naotsugu, and Rezarick also exchanged information with the other veteran adventurers.
The goblins failed to invade the town.
Hearing the proud announcement of her brother, Minori looked up and saw Tohya grinning widely like a
Minori felt warmth in her heart looking at his smile.
happy that she protected Rundelhous. Tohya extended his fist and Minori bumped it with hers.
let down our guard yet!"
Isuzu and Rundelhous shouted from across the street. The twins walked towards them, their footsteps
Part 4
The ship was made originally by putting a steam engine on a big paddle wheel ship to experiment with the
Compared to the paddle wheel ship in the old world, the steam engine here was more elaborate in design.
feature of this ship.
ship. The steam engine turned the two wheels which in turn paddled the water and moved the ship
A propeller ship was better than a paddle steamer in terms of performance, being more efficient in
But taking into consideration the difficulty of making parts and installation, they concluded that they were
Paddle steamers lost to propellers in terms of efficiency, but they could operate in shallow waters,
Prototype steam engines on small boats had been completed just a week after the formation of the Round
The 'Ocypete' was ferrying about 130 Adventurers. It may be noisy with people, but the ship was big
Raynesia stood alone on the deck near the ship bow. She had traveled by ship before, but this ship moved
The Adventurers around her were resting in their preferred positions, or moving around to make
Krusty, so they should be from the same clan.
She was not seasick. She was familiar with ships of all sizes as a granddaughter of Maihama's governor.
(I said something like that again...)
critical juncture? It might be the effect of her education to be a perfect lady, but she was troubled about
(It has been crazy since last night, a woman barging into the nobles' meeting and causing a commotion,
together... and was held by him on the back of the griffon...)
(That's not what I meant... And I came to Akiba and was forced to wear such shameful clothes. I am still
She held her head with her hands.
But from her view, she insisted on obeying the proper etiquette.
grandfather and others, understood this premise, but she really felt the true meaning behind it when she
Raynesia had never seen any group with so many knights with the intelligence of bureaucrats.
There were 'Ancients' in this world who were both skillful in swordsmanship and possessed the magical
suitable words to express it, but the strange thing was 'such talented people suddenly numbered in the
The nobles' congregation believed that if they played their cards right and lured them with nobility titles
the nature of the Adventurers, they possessed such intellect and wealth, how could they negotiate with
The nobles were wrong.
understand this clearly.
cotton pajamas and lazily eat and sleep all day. It was the same for the different life-form known as
way was to plead with them for aid.
Even if it was a small thing, keeping and following through a promise would earn their trust.
This was the way Raynesia came up with to accumulate trust.
(Saying something like 'I want to go to the battlefield' was too heavy a promise, have I gone mad? Or is it
She wanted to squat down, but her long years of education made her think that she had to stand gracefully
rooted in her body, not allowing her to relax.
method almost made her cry.
unable to take it back'."
Raynesia jumped as if she was electrocuted as Krusty came out of nowhere and said these words that
"Fu fu fu, there is no such thing Krusty-sama."
With her follow-up lines sealed, Raynesia could only look out to the ocean with her 'depressed'
"Seems like you are losing patience."
come personally to plea for help since I am asking them to risk their lives and accompany them to the
this, this..."
"Ah?"
the announcement by the ship crew that they had arrived pulled her back to reality from this feeling.
Even if it were crossing the gulf, they were able to ferry more than a 100 knights to their destination in the
The familiar 'Cinderella Castle' of Maihama was before her eyes.
The Maihama citizens working at the dock were in a state of panic, probably startled by the gigantic black
This was normal.
An army where everyone had a personal long range communication device, was literate, and able to
Adventurers, they would be able to understand the reason, purpose, and follow-up plan of this ship.
But the Maihama Raynesia resided in was not like Akiba. As the sole People of the Land on this ship,
Krusty guided her to the bow of the ship to wave to the people. The Raynesia right now was nothing like
Part 5
The strategy that Shiroe and Krusty were adopting was not 'steady advancement', but 'speedy and
but if they ran out of food on the hills, they would obviously raid one of the towns. They were currently
The choice of where to fight lay in the hands of the enemy which was a disadvantage.
Fortunately, the zone between Maihama and Akiba was relatively flat in this alternate world. The only
Predicting that the route was relatively safe, Shiroe decided not to muster the troops and move out
The tactical headquarters was a communication network formed by Shiroe, Charasin and 10+ others.
Adventurers to the network as well.
didn't take long to set up. After confirming the interest of a guild to take part in the operation, they would
the representative would add each other to their friend lists.
communication networks.
problem that Shiroe's headquarters was facing was how to party up this strange expedition force.
we should set a rough destination for them to gather.)
region... a place between Akiba and Maihama. According to Shiroe's knowledge of Elder Tales, there
But they had no choice if there were no suitable zones to choose from.
moving to the abandoned port of Narashino under the guide of a few People of the Land.
A party was made up of 6 Adventurers, a 'Full Raid' consisted of 24 people, a 'Legion Raid' was formed
Krusty may look like a gentleman wearing glasses, but he was actually the leader of the biggest battle
He fully understood the tactical importance of speed in this war and would continue to press on without
Shiroe took a map from his pack while riding his horse.
the goblin main force was. For a normal knight in this world, they would need to take 3 days to reach
The main expedition force was going by horse instead of sea, so their formation was pulled very long
(The low-level personnel should make camp about 5km north of Maihama...)
suitable grounds, this camp would be centered around the low-level Adventurers. They would need to
point so it needed to be big enough.
His finger stopped at this place marked with a a small green oval. If Shiroe recalled correctly, this was an
there were no heinous monsters, an ideal location.
Midoraunto Equestrian garden! The secondary company will go along the coastline. When the advance
All kind of possibilities flashed through Shiroe's mind.
(The battle this time trends toward lightning-fast engagement, there is no need to be too concerned with
The expedition's main force that Shiroe was commanding was about 1200, about 10 percent of all
Adventurers would be about 20%.
people. But Raynesia's speech had definitely set the spirits of many Adventurers ablaze, much more then
The duty of Shiroe was to keep morale up, avoid all kinds of obstacles and guide them to victory in battle.
anything if they failed in this expedition.
world, and their acceptance of the governance in Akiba. All these elements demanded that Shiroe
There was no room for failure.
needed to defeat 10 goblins.
front-line and pointing where they should expend their fighting spirit.
should make camp here. I should detail half of them to border security and do a wide area search for signs
force. Another way is to leave the defense of the city to the People of the Land and bring the whole army
... Shiroe simulated all the possibilities in his mind as he spurred his horse on.
Krusty was advancing faster than the upper limit of Shiroe's predictions.
groups.
For instance, all spells would naturally have ranges. Healing magic had the range of 20m on average
Only allies within range would receive buff support and healing. A group of people who could battle
Inversely speaking, the unit party was based on cooperating within this 20m range as its main principle.
A 'Full Raid' formed by 4 parties also needed to arrange themselves by this principle to maintain balance.
them into 4 parties of 6 healers.
As they may run into different situations, they would need to add variety to the parties to handle them.
monsters. It would be best for parties battling such powerful monsters to have 2 healers, or even 3 to be
From another angle, if there were no parties with more damage dealers, there would be no units to take
attrition.
If the party did not have excellent teamwork, they would not be able to perform to their full potential.
in the same or neighboring party. The famous veteran Adventurers would be able to work elegantly no
Apart from the class and abilities of each Adventurer, they also needed to consider their experience and
Even in the most basic 6-man party, the key to teamwork in battle was to communicate with each other,
For a 24-man 'Full Raid' group, the complexity and confusion would increase as well, so who would do
make judgements like this during battles, so each party needed to elect a leader to execute the plan of the
For a 'Legion Raid' battle, the 'Full Raid' captain would need to take orders from the 'Legion Raid'
the heat of the battle.
accomplish, as it was difficult to gather almost a hundred veteran players within the given time-frame.
The obstacle for challenging 'Legion Raid' quests was too high for regular players, since most players
The 'Legion Raid' quests were too difficult, only suitable for the few high-level veteran players to
very few.
Tales was a game. Guild Master Krusty of D.D.D was one of the group of less than 20 players on the
He used this experience expertly to organize the time with a surprising speed. The personnel arrangement
Krusty's group that disembarked from 'Ocypete' had been split into the 96-person blitz group and the 12-
surrounding area from the People of the Land, added the details to his military map and marched the group
The 'Full Raid' groups had been assigned a number from 1 to 4. They reached Sand Leaf peninsula in the
The blitz group from Akiba advanced on horseback to conserve their strength, the parties taking turns to
Like a flash of black lightning piercing through Sand Leaf.
Krusty's blitz group was speeding ahead like an arrow, going straight to the heart of the enemy forces.
Name:
Level: 90
Class:
HP: 13624
Equipment
A powerful Phantasmal-class Samurai
it very powerful, it is an AI type item that can
which acts as support during battle.
Calamities
and changes color. Reward from the quest
resistance to movement inhibition attacks
Warrior Armor of the New Emperor
ancient times. Phantasmal-class armor with
status bonuses. Its special ability is to absorb
curses.