Chapter 237 Alert! The Destroyer is Coming!
The piercing alarm, without any warning, ripped through the tranquility of Axel, like a wailing ghost, instantly covering the entire town!
"destroyer Alert! destroyer Alert!"
"The mobile fortress destroyer is currently approaching this town! All residents of the town, please evacuate immediately! All adventurers, please arm yourselves and gather at the Adventurers' Guild immediately!"
"mobile fortress destroyer?"
Arthur, who had been lounging on the sofa petting White Tiger a second ago, suddenly stood up and strode to the window, his gaze sweeping the outside.
The street was already in chaos; residents screamed, pushed, and jostled, rushing back to their homes, and then, in the next second, fleeing in a panic with their meager belongings.
"Run! Run as far as you can!"
Even Aqua, a goddess, was so scared she lost her composure, scurrying around the room like a headless fly, knocking over tables and chairs, creating a clattering noise.
Megumin, lightly dressed and with only a small package beside her, held Douzhinosuke and calmly sipped hot tea, as if she had seen through the world.
"At this point, panicking won't do any good. Since everything here will be lost anyway, we might as well go directly to the Demon Lord's Castle and challenge him."
Kazuma, who had just rushed out of the room fully armed, watched the two of them with a vein throbbing on his forehead, seeing their complete lack of motivation.
"Hey! What are you two doing? The Guild has issued an emergency broadcast, hurry up and put on your gear and go!"
"You too! Idiot Kazuma! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"
Aqua, while frantically rummaging through a corner for her hidden stash of high-grade sparkling wine to pack, yelled without looking back.
"That's the mobile fortress destroyer! Kazuma, do you want to die?"
Kazuma scratched his head: "To be honest, I have no idea what that thing even is."
"A moving steel nightmare."
Darkness's voice came from the second floor. She was wearing a heavy set of armor that no one had ever seen before, each step producing a dull metallic friction sound, clearly indicating its high value.
"The so-called mobile fortress destroyer is a colossal golem, originally built by the ancient magical technology nation of Noise as the ultimate weapon to counter the Demon Lord's Army."
Yunyun, wearing her robe and holding her staff, followed behind her, her face pale as she added.
"It utilizes the technological pinnacle of the Noise Kingdom, with a powerful magic barrier covering its body, rendering all magical attacks ineffective against it."
Kazuma gasped: "A pure magic-immune BOSS? That's certainly tricky!"
Megumin shook her head: "Not just that. The destroyer is as big as a castle, and any creature daring to approach will be crushed into a pulp by its eight giant legs."
"Hiss—!"
Kazuma instantly lost his composure. He looked at Arthur, the only one who remained calm, his voice trembling slightly.
"Brother, what should we do? Should we go to the Guild, or... run away?"
Arthur tucked White Tiger into his pocket, picked up Fou, who was still yawning, with one hand, his eyes full of amusement.
"Run for what? Don't forget, your adventurer card will record your history as a deserter. Let's go to the Guild and see what's happening first."
With the only authoritative leader speaking, even a very reluctant Aqua could only pout and follow.
The streets were in utter chaos, residents pushing carts and herding livestock formed a chaotic torrent, and the usual peace and tranquility were completely gone.
When Arthur and his group pushed open the Guild doors, it was already bustling with people.
Adventurers had all put on their strongest, long-unused equipment, their expressions grave as they gathered there.
Arthur noticed that the proportion of male adventurers was surprisingly high, and some of them were even trying to butter up Kazuma with lewd expressions—
Hmm, it was probably just his imagination!
Soon, Guild staff member Princess Luna stood on several tables pushed together and shouted with all her might.
"Thank you all for answering the call! We are issuing an urgent quest to subjugate the mobile fortress destroyer! This quest has no level or class restrictions, all are to participate!"
"Listen! Once the Guild determines the quest has failed, we will immediately abandon the town and organize everyone to evacuate! You are the last line of defense protecting this place! Please!"
As soon as Princess Luna finished speaking, after a deathly silence, the crowd erupted in noisy discussions, and a sense of unease spread like a plague.
"How can we possibly defeat it? Who doesn't know how terrifying that thing's power is?"
"Magic is ineffective, so only physical attacks are possible, but getting close is a dead end. If we use bows and catapults..."
"It's useless... arrows will bounce off its sturdy magical metal shell! Catapults can't even keep up with its speed!"
"Don't forget, it also has countless autonomous medium-sized golems inside, specifically designed to deal with approaching enemies..."
One after another, battle plans were proposed, only to be instantly rejected, and the meeting fell into a stalemate.
The adventurers, who had been chattering earlier, were now silent, their faces filled only with a sense of powerlessness.
Arthur's gaze swept over the faces filled with despair, finally settling on the goddess in the corner who showed no signs of tension.
Aqua was pouting, sprawled on the table, using her finger to draw in the water from her cup to pass the time.
"It's about time you made yourself useful."
Arthur's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"It's just a magic barrier, surely your Sacred Exorcism can break through it?"
With a single sentence, Arthur and the bored Aqua instantly became the center of attention.
Princess Luna, as if grasping at a lifeline, rushed to Aqua, grabbed her hands tightly, her voice trembling.
"You, you have a way to break it? The destroyer's barrier?"
Aqua was startled by her urgency and quickly waved her hands.
"I haven't tried it, how can I guarantee it will work..."
"Even so, please, you must try!" Princess Luna pleaded, "As long as we can break the barrier, and then cast a powerful enough magic..."
She trailed off mid-sentence, her brow furrowing again.
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted.
"Speaking of powerful magic, isn't there that Crimson Demons kid who casts Explosion Magic every day!"
"That's right! That little girl who always shouts strange lines!"
"Exactly, if it's her magic, maybe..."
Swish—!
Everyone's gaze, filled with burning hope, collectively shot towards Megumin, who was holding Douzhinosuke and quietly eating melon seeds.
Under the gaze of dozens of expectant eyes, the little girl's cheeks suddenly flushed crimson.
"Ugh... E-even my Explosion Magic, m-might not be able to... in one hit..."
Just as Megumin was so nervous she was incoherent, Arthur raised his hand and placed it on her magic hat.
"Go ahead and try. I'll take care of the rest."
Before he finished speaking, the entire Guild hall suddenly shook violently, the intense tremors causing everyone to stumble!
The chandeliers on the ceiling flickered wildly, and dust fell in a shower.
"Emergency Quest: Protect the town before the mobile fortress destroyer arrives!"