Southern Iberian Peninsula, on the stalemated front line.
The Brothers of Iberica had advanced to the vicinity of Port Harbor but were holding their position, not pressing further.
This stemd from the strategic judgnt that securing allied territories while tying down Porto's main forces was more advantageous.
It was indeed an effective strategy, and as Kroxx swept through the land, most of the Iberian Peninsula had fallen to them. However, for the troops stuck in the stalemate, it was an endlessly boring affair.
Naturally, as this sluggish standoff dragged on, the tension among the front-line soldiers had sowhat loosened.
Kroxx occasionally ordered vigilance, but while such commands could steel one's resolve once or twice, maintaining indefinite readiness without combat was difficult.
So, when the Orc on sentry duty spotted a Human comrade dozing, leaning against the watchtower, he simply chuckled.
“Hey, wake up. It’s ti for the shift change.”
“Huh? Ah, is it that ti already?”
“Ti must’ve flown by while you were sleeping.”
“Haha, sorry, sorry. It’s just so boring.”
In the midst of their idle chat, the Orc’s eyes suddenly narrowed.
“...What is that.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
The Human also turned his gaze, but in the dim twilight, nothing was visible.
“Eh, there’s nothing... huh?”
The mont he thought that, he saw sothing moving within the darkness, like a surging wave.
“Sothing’s approaching!”
“H-Hey! Light the fires!”
What was uncertain for a mont beca a chilling reality. The sentries’ shouts spread in a chain reaction, and soon the torches and bonfires, which had been partially extinguished for the sake of the sleeping soldiers, all blazed to life.
The dark, rolling hills, where only the imdiate vicinity was visible, instantly lit up as if it were dayti.
“Hah...”
And then, everyone saw them.
The enemies approaching, blanketing the rolling hills.
Countless swarming enemies were moving like a wave, covering the entire expanse of the hills as they advanced.
Enemies. They were clearly enemies, but no one perceived them as an army.
“What are those.”
A wave surged.
The enemies, nurous enough to cover the horizon, took a single step in perfect unison.
With another step, the wave surged again.
They weren't running quickly; they were rely walking slowly.
However, there wasn’t a single shred of error, no wasted motion inherent in the gait of a living creature.
The angular movents—as if soone had studied how a human could move with maximum efficiency and minimum motion and programd them accordingly—were not just unnatural, but grotesque.
They were clearly moving, yet one could feel neither vitality nor emotion. Everyone stood stunned and speechless at the approach of this terrifying tide that seed to move only with the purpose of ‘advancing.’
“Prepare for battle!”
Only after the belated shout of Kroxx's 10th Confidant, Broll, rang out did the soldiers snap to their senses and begin to assemble into battle formation.
Even as their own side bustled about in a frenzy, the enemy’s movents did not change at all.
They simply continued to walk with a steady, wave-like gait.
Broll swallowed hard as he watched the scene.
The complete absence of the excitent or tension of a battlefield only fueled his anxiety.
“Ready to fire!”
At Broll’s command, the Goblins and Humans raised their bows in unison—
“Fire!”
Arrows shot into the sky and rained down on the approaching enemy.
And nothing happened.
Arrows had clearly rained down, but the enemy continued to approach as if nothing had happened at all.
“W-What is that!”
Thud-
Now close enough, the sound of the enemies’ machine-like, synchronized footsteps echoed.
“What do we do?”
Thud-
Even Broll, Kroxx’s proud 10th Confidant and a Commander recognized for his valor, couldn't issue a command in the face of that horrifying sound.
“R-Ready to fire again!”
Thud-
As the soldiers with trembling hands fumbled through a slowed reload, those standing at the front with swords and spears could see the enemies’ forms more clearly as they drew nearer.
For Humans, they were far too thin.
“Hup-”
Above all, they could see figures approaching with arrows embedded in their bodies.
They were walking with arrows clearly sticking out of them, yet they moved with the exact sa motions as the others, as if they felt nothing.
“Fire!”
Once more, arrows soared—
Thud-
This ti, Broll saw it clearly with his own eyes.
Thud-
Faced with the rain of arrows, the enemies showed no reaction natural to a living being, no flinching or attempt to defend themselves.
Thud-
They simply took step after chanical step through the arrow storm, as if nothing was happening.
Thud-
A few did fall after being hit by arrows.
But most continued to advance, arrows protruding from their bodies as if it were nothing.
“H-Hiiik, Monsters!”
Thud-
“Th-This is—”
Should we retreat?
Thud-
Just as Broll’s mind plunged into chaos at a distance where the vibration from the ground now seed palpable, the sound that had been steadily marching and shaking the earth, ceased.
The mont everyone felt a chill at the silent change, the bizarre human-like figures that had been approaching began to charge without so much as a war cry.
*
“Huagh!”
Broll scread and awoke.
But as he tried to bolt upright, he tumbled over comically.
“Ugh...”
Only then, Broll realized he was bound by ropes, and a thunderbolt of mory struck his mind.
A horrifying sight.
Gaunt, emaciated things that looked like humans had charged without a sound.
The echoing screams...
“Hk...!”
Broll caught his breath as he saw those enemies standing next to him.
'They' stood without a single twitch.
Their physical form was Human.
Precisely, they had the form of a desiccated human, as if they had been completely dried out.
They looked more like corpses, but Broll had seen with his own eyes how they moved, what kind of power emanated from those withered bodies.
He didn't know the principle, but he, who prided himself on his strength as Kroxx's 10th Confidant, had been knocked unconscious after only a few blows.
Most of all.
Broll shuddered, recalling how he had swung his axe and cleaved one of the enemy’s shoulders nearly in two, only for it to swing its arm at him as if nothing had happened.
“S-Sir Broll.”
Broll turned his head at the voice calling him.
Most had not yet awakened, but his subordinates were thrown together like him, bound by ropes.
The battle had been an almost completely one-sided defeat, but it seed most of his subordinates had been captured alive.
Humans and Orcs, strangely, had survived in large numbers, as if the goal wasn't victory in battle, but capture.
And yet, not a single one of the Goblins who had surely been there was to be seen.
This strange discrepancy filled Broll with an even deeper sense of unease.
“...It seems we’ve beco Prisoners of War.”
They had risen up to stop the tribes allied with Port Harbor from selling their compatriots as slaves to Demons.
So they would likely be sold as slaves to the Demons themselves.
Though he naturally thought this Broll forced himself to speak to reassure his subordinates.
“The King will soon co to our aid.”
Just then.
A being brimming with vitality that seed out of place appeared from between the ranks of the bizarre, lifeless army that stood motionless.
A beautiful figure with blood-red hair flowing, dressed in the strange fashion of a white coat over a purple dress.
But seeing the horns on the being’s head, Broll ground his teeth.
“Demon.”
The demon, Paimon, ignored Broll completely, a smile playing on his lips as he surveyed the large group of captured prisoners and then spoke.
“Ah, as expected, if you want efficiency, you have to do it yourself.”
Broll did his best to swallow his humiliation and opened his mouth.
“...Are you the Commander? I am Broll, King Kroxx’s 10th Confidant. My King will be willing to negotiate a prisoner exchange.”
Only then did Paimon lower his gaze towards Broll.
As Broll endured the indignity of having to look up at the demon while tied in ropes, Paimon twisted his lips into a smirk.
“Ah, you were the Commander? My apologies. As the service provider, I failed to give a preliminary explanation. I am Paimon, CEO of ‘Sloth,’ a subsidiary of Abyss Corporation, at your service.”
A voice like a lody, a polite tone unfitting the situation, and unfamiliar terms further confused Broll’s mind.
“...Service? Preliminary explanation? What are you talking about?”
“Regrettably, a prisoner exchange is not part of our company's plan. Instead, let congratulate you. You and your subordinates have been ‘purchased’ as ‘products’ of Abyss Corporation.”
“W-What did you say?”
As Broll struggled to comprehend the words, Paimon approached a withered, corpse-like human figure standing motionless next to him, caressed its chest, and smiled.
“Ah, yes. How did you find the experience of our company's ‘Drone’?”
Broll could say nothing, but Paimon began to chatter on his own.
“Isn’t it beautiful? This is the ultimate realization of extre efficiency, of sloth itself. It is truly perfectly perfect.”
Instead of responding to the insane demon’s words, Broll asked about the thing that had been unsettling him for a while.
“...Where are the Goblins?”
“Aha, our headquarters' 'Drone' technology pursues thorough standardization and efficiency. Goblins, due to their racial traits, have unsuitable body specifications and ager Mana, making them an inefficient ‘product.’ They have all been ‘disposed of.’”
Broll couldn’t fully grasp what was being said, but he understood one thing: all his Goblin subordinates had been killed.
Looking down at Broll’s face, subrged in rage and grief, Paimon feigned a kind smile and spoke.
“Ah, don't worry too much. You and your subordinates present here will not receive such miserable treatnt. On the contrary, our company will spare no technological support to help you achieve your maximum value realization.”
“...What are you talking about.”
“Hahat, hahaha. To explain the core of this ‘Drone’ technology, I must first tell you what inspired to devise it. As you may know, all sufficiently evolved Primates, including Humans and Orcs, possess Mana. However, only those who have undergone the necessary training can properly handle it, and even then, many cannot utilize it properly depending on their aptitude.”
Paimon slowly covered his cheeks with both hands and spoke, as if it were a great pity.
“Isn't it lantable? To live inferior lives, unable to utilize the resources they possess? That is truly inefficient, and a tragedy for Primates who have evolved so far. And so, I thought, if I could develop a technology that allows all Primates to utilize their Mana to the fullest, wouldn't that be the supre technology that allows them to realize their maximum value?”
Stunned, Broll said nothing.
“After long research, our company has developed a technology that can extract the mana contained within a Primate as energy. We had so trouble balancing the process to extract the maximum amount of mana within an appropriate period and maintaining life support during that ti, but in the end, we did it!”
Paimon caressed the Drone's chest beside him and spoke.
“Once the mana extraction is complete, the Primate's empty body is processed through a Magitek Engineering Process and utilized as a Drone, and the Drone’s power source is the Mana extracted from the Primate. In other words, we maintain the Drone with the Mana extracted from a Primate, and the Primate whose Mana has been extracted is utilized as a new Drone.”
Broll finally understood completely what this mad demon was saying.
And the fate that awaited him and his subordinates.
“Theoretically, a single ‘Drone’ can perform its given mission for at least 10 years without a single mont of rest. Naturally, since a Drone that has finished its Mana extraction is not alive, it feels no emotions or pain and requires no rest. Mana is sufficient as a power source! No laborer or slave could ever generate such astounding efficiency. It is an innovation that brings a revolution, circulating with maximum efficiency! Truly, it can be called perfectly perfect!”
Paimon, chattering away in excitent, saw Broll's expression and spoke as if to soothe him.
“Oh my, don't worry too much. You and your subordinates will be in a state of dreaming the most pleasant and happy dreams, thanks to the technology provided by 'Lust' Corp, until all your Mana is depleted and your life functions cease. Frankly, I think it’s a bit of a waste of money, but it is the policy of Abyss Corporation, which pursues humanitarian coexistence.”
“M-Madness...”
“Oh, it is deeply sad that you do not recognize the amazing value of this technological innovation. You all were destined to be dragged away as slaves, to suffer your entire lives, experiencing all manner of misfortune, and to die in agony, producing only the most ager efficiency.”
Paimon smiled deeply, then spread his arms wide and shouted.
“But with our company's technology, those who would have otherwise been unable to produce more efficiency than vermin while laboring and suffering will be liberated from all suffering and generate maximum value while dreaming happy dreams! This is liberation from all labor and suffering! The true realization of sloth! Is it not perfectly perfect?”
“...King Kroxx will not let you get away with this.”
“Hahat, hahahah.”
Hearing Broll's words, Paimon laughed and said.
“I am so terribly curious, I can’t bear it.”
Then, grabbing Broll’s shoulders, he smiled with utmost cruelty and whispered.
“What expressions will King Kroxx and Marquis Lafayette show when they are captured by their own drone-turned subordinates.”
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