As soon as they reached the sandy beach of the shore, the amphibious golden carriage began to transform its shape again.

As the wheels that had been like water wheels returned to the shape of normal carriage wheels, the carriage that had been shaking also regained stability.

Dorothea asked, “By the way, where is the witch now? I don’t think the castle we fought in last time would be safe.”

“Normally, she would have rebuilt the castle even using homunculi, but even so, it’s impossible to complete it in less than two days.”

Franka pondered with her hand on her mouth, then continued after a moment, “There’s one more castle on this island besides the one we visited first. I’ve only seen it from afar and never been there, but given my master’s personality, she wouldn’t stay in a shabby place, so she’s probably there.”

“So it’s not certain, but we have no choice.”

The existence of the bracelet that could confirm the location of companions was newly missed, but if they hadn’t used it as bait, they might not have been able to enter the island at all, so it couldn’t be helped.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ asks if there’s no possibility of her hiding or running away!]

“…He’s asking if there’s no possibility of her hiding or running away?”

“Huh?” Franka reacted as if it was absurd. “The opponent is one of the Four Great Witches. A monster among monsters that has been legendary for over hundreds of years. There’s no possibility she would do something to lose face like that while dealing with novices like us. She might let her guard down, if anything. You should know, since your master is also one of the Four Great Witches, right?”

“No, if it were my teacher, she’d probably do it without hesitation, saying, ‘Does face feed you?’”

“…”

“…”

The two stopped talking.

It was a topic that wouldn’t be pleasant for anyone if they continued.

“Anyway, we have nowhere else to go, so let’s head that way.”

“I’d like to take down any magic beasts or homunculi we find on the way and recover their corpses.”

Unfortunately, Dorothea’s hope was not fulfilled.

No matter how much the carriage ran, no magic beasts appeared in the surroundings.

Thinking they might be waiting for an opening, they deliberately stopped the carriage to repair damaged parts, or set traps by making throwing spears using the ground as material and piling them up, but still there was no response from the opponent.

Thanks to this, the carriage could run without obstruction, but the group’s expressions were far from bright.

“Don’t tell me they’ve given up on a war of attrition just because we won’t replenish our cards?”

Franka denied Dorothea’s words, “No, that’s impossible. Homunculi are one of the two spears an alchemist can handle. There’s no way she’d just give that up…”

Franka’s words suddenly stopped.

She repeated the words she had just uttered.

“Two spears. Yes, two. Then, the other is.”

Franka’s face turned pale.

As her head turned sideways, the gazes of the other members followed.

The ballista at the front of the carriage was the endpoint.

Dorothea’s lips trembled.

“Hey, wait. Don’t tell me.”

And bad premonitions always come true.

─────Boooooom─────

It was then that a bizarre sound reached their ears.

The sound was very small, but at the same time heavy.

The sound of something very huge tearing through the air and flying in.

Their gazes turned to the sky.

──Boooooom──!!!!!

With an even clearer and more intense sound, it revealed itself.

It was difficult to describe it as simply large.

No joke, it was as if a new star of the same size had been born next to the sun.

An enormous arrow, with an arrowhead alone comparable to the size of a mansion, was falling towards them.

“Kyaaah!”

A scream escaped from Franka’s mouth.

She seemed to have no room to care about face or anything.

But it wasn’t a meaningless scream. Even while screaming like that, she fulfilled her role.

The direction of the carriage bent almost at a right angle, drawing a bizarre trajectory.

The insect-winged monkey moved its legs diligently, as if about to break the pedals.

Right after that, a super-large ballista struck down at a position about two large steps away from the carriage.

Boom!

An enormous impact sound rang out.

The sound itself felt like the very incarnation of violence itself, and it was such a thunderous noise that some people might unconsciously clutch their chests and have to suppress their heartbeats.

The power of the attack was so fierce that even though they avoided a direct hit, the carriage floated in the air by the amount of one wheel just from the impact shaking the ground.

Dorothea almost fell out of the carriage losing her balance, but thanks to the Tin Knight quickly catching her, she was able to avoid an unfortunate accident.

Holding onto the Tin Knight’s arm, Dorothea shouted, “No, even if the scale is big, there should be a limit! What on earth is your master!?”

Franka also shouted back, “How should I know!? What do you want me to do!!”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ advises that he understands they’re getting along well, but to do it later!]

[O-ooki? Ookiiiiiii!]

The familiars’ advice was valid.

─────Boooooom─────

At the sound of air being cut again, Dorothea braced herself for a second impact and held onto the Tin Knight tightly, while Franka attempted a drift with the carriage while letting out a silent scream.

Boom!

Landing. Impact. Aftermath.

This attack was even closer.

The body of the carriage, already unstable due to the sharp turn, tilted completely sideways from the following shockwave.

It was a situation where the side of the carriage and the ground would have a deep kiss in just one more second, but at that moment, the Tin Knight’s leg strongly struck the ground.

Thud!

The tilted body of the carriage forcibly regained its balance.

It was a dangerous action that would have shattered not only the foot and leg but also the pelvis and spine if an ordinary person had attempted it, but the only damage the Tin Knight suffered was a slight scratch on his foot. And even that scratch was immediately restored.

The two witches were momentarily terrified, realizing they had narrowly avoided a major accident, but rather than being relieved about what had passed, they prioritized preparing for what was to come.

Indeed, to be a witch, ordinary temperament and courage were far from enough.

“Where on earth are they shooting this from!?”

Dorothea looked around, but no plausible giant structure was visible anywhere.

It meant they were firing from a distance so far that this side couldn’t even see.

“W-wait a moment! One more! Let me see just one more shot!”

“What?”

“To calculate the firing position, I need to see the angle it’s coming down at!!”

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Franka to prove her words.

Less than 3 seconds after she finished speaking, the next arrow fell.

After avoiding this attack too, Franka muttered something to herself intensely and then said, “30 minutes.”

“What?”

“At our current top speed, it would take about 30 minutes to reach the source where that ballista is being fired from!!”

“Can’t we go any faster!?”

“Can’t you see my child is already working to death!? This is already fast enough to treat ordinary carriages as nothing!”

Dorothea gritted her teeth.

She, too, knew that Franka’s words weren’t wrong.

But something not being wrong and being acceptable were separate issues.

With house-sized ballista arrows falling at almost 10-20 second intervals, they had to run this hellish course for 30 more minutes?

They were managing to avoid them somehow now, but if even one of those brute force attacks grazed them, that alone would be a dead end.

Dorothea looked at the staff in her hand.

Although she prided it as her masterpiece, it was unknown whether it could withstand such an enormous mass attack. Especially when the stakes of the gamble were their lives.

Even if they hoped for arrow depletion, the opponent was an alchemist who had mastered the reconstruction of matter.

All the land on the island was practically arrow material.

“We probably don’t have to endure the full 30 minutes. With a ballista of that enormous scale, it will become unusable due to firing angle problems as we get closer. Probably about 5 minutes away…?” Franka muttered as if unsure, but it wasn’t much consolation.

Dorothea’s mind raced quickly.

Speed, they needed to secure speed somehow.

But a way to suddenly accelerate the carriage, other than Sophia’s ridiculous stunt…

Ah.

A realization flashed through Dorothea’s mind.

Of course, she wasn’t trying to recreate Sophia’s carriage booster incident, which was close to a kind of gag. This carriage was a carriage in name only, without even horses.

What was really important was the incident that happened after that.

That was, what the Tin Knight did after falling into the lake.

“You, you! That thing from back then! Moving quickly underwater!”

At Dorothea’s words, the Tin Knight seemed to think for a moment and then answered.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ answers that if Dorothea is talking about propeller swordsmanship, that’s difficult unless underwater!]

[The ‘Tin Knight’ also says that if there was something like a large windmill blade with a long spear shaft at the center of rotation, it might be doable!]

“So you’re saying it would work if there’s a windmill blade!? At the front or back of the carriage, where!?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it doesn’t matter which side since he’ll be the one holding and using it!]

“Franka!! Make a windmill blade! With a long spear shaft at the center of rotation!”

Franka’s expression twisted with question and shock.

“What nonsense are you talking about in this situation!? We’re already busy just avoiding arrows!”

“If you don’t want to die, shut up and make it!”

“E-even if you say windmill blade, there are several types—what shape should it be?”

“Just make the one that seems like it can push the carriage best!”

“You really make it sound so easy!”

Although gritting her teeth, Franka complied with the order.

Using her favorite umbrella and the throwing spears piled in the corner of the carriage as materials, a huge windmill blade was created.

The Tin Knight was slightly impressed. Something very similar to the propeller in his memory had popped out.

The Tin Knight grasped the ends and center of the spear shaft with both hands, holding something that looked like a long stick stuck in the center of a fan blade.

If he just rotated this with his hands, it would be possible to generate some wind, but that would only be useful as a fan substitute, not enough to move a carriage like this.

The Tin Knight firmly fixed the spear shaft so it wouldn’t shake, then began manipulating mana inside his grip.

Mana that protruded like a blunt sword energy strongly pressed the spear shaft up and down, left and right.

And in that state, mana began to rotate in the Tin Knight’s grip. The spear shaft, tightened by mana like a vise, also rotated together.

It was a dangerous technique where the spear shaft could break if the angle or rotation speed of the right and left hands were even slightly misaligned, but the Tin Knight didn’t hesitate.

The memory engraved in his body told him.

That he “could do it”.

One rotation, two rotations. The propeller rotated.

At first weakly, but gradually faster.

And, matching that rotation speed, the carriage also began to accelerate.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ says to hold on tight!]

2 times.

Dorothea held onto the Tin Knight’s body tightly.

3 times.

The bat-winged monkey stopped fluttering in the air and nestled in Franka’s arms.

4 times.

The insect-winged monkey, realizing the pedals were already meaningless, devoted itself to holding onto its master and companion.

5 times.

Franka screamed, “I can’t control it beyond this!!”

The carriage wheels creaked incessantly, and the body screamed.

If it hadn’t been a carriage made of a single special catalyst, it would have been strange if it hadn’t shattered already.

The ballista’s attacks could no longer even approach the vicinity of the carriage.

Even precise predictive firing was meaningless in front of this insane rampage.

The witch’s castle began to appear in sight.

On the plain leading to the castle, an enormous number of troops were gathered.

Furry ones, ones with multiple legs, ones armed like humans, even ones flying in the sky.

It seemed like it was no longer a situation to conserve strength worrying about Dorothea’s necromancy.

Advance operation, successful.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken