I could not see carbon dioxide, so I had no way of knowing if it was flowing down the mountain, but if it failed, I would learn from it next time. I still had other methods, so there was no problem.
Still, if it worked, that would be good. No, I could only hope it worked.
I set up steel pipes on the flat part of the summit, threw a sheet over them, and made a simple tent.
I laid mats on the ground and hung guns and gear on S-hooks so they would not get wet.
「Ladarion. You can sleep」
「I will stay here too」
As soon as I entered the simple tent, Ladarion followed. It was narrow, so she should have gone back to the Sefuti Home.
She had no intention of leaving, so I gave up and the two of us squeezed shoulder to shoulder inside the tent.
Even in summer, the nights were cool. I took out a stove and a kettle, boiled water, and drank coffee. Ladarion drank cocoa.
「Hm? Did the goblins die?」
The reward amount began to rise.
At first it increased slowly, but after five minutes it climbed so fast I could not track the numbers.
One presence after another faded away. I felt relieved that the dry ice strategy had worked properly.
As time passed, the goblin presence continued to disappear and the reward amount kept rising. I would be happy if it always went like this, but life did not work that way. Never grow arrogant.
After more than two hours, the reward amount settled down.
It went from around seven point three million yen to over eleven million. A simple calculation meant four million. That meant eight hundred of them died. Three hundred kilos of dry ice had not been enough to wipe them out after all.
「Alright. Ladarion. We are heading back to the Sefuti Home」
「Are we done?」
「Yeah. But throw the processed meat before we go. There are still goblins lower down. I will use the next method」
I bought two hundred kilos of processed meat and had her throw it using her giant strength.
I had forgotten to tell Kainzel-san to leave the transceiver on, but when I tried calling, he answered as I expected.
「This is 02. Looks like you are safe」
「Yes. 00 and 01 are both safe. Is 02 without problems?」
「No problems. I am drinking while waiting」
「Then rest until morning. We will rest too」
「Got it. I will rest as well. See you」
We ended the call and returned to the Sefuti Home.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and downed it in one go. Ahh! That hit the spot. One more!
After three cans, I fell asleep.
I slept through the night without waking once and greeted the morning. First, I checked outside through the window.
I looked a full three hundred sixty degrees, but there were no goblins. None had climbed to the summit either.
I watched for a while, and once I felt there was no problem, I began preparing breakfast.
I had no idea how today would go, so I bought a hotel buffet set. Ladarion. Do not overeat.
After a shower, I ate breakfast, took a short break, and then started preparing for the day.
「Ladarion. Today we are using this. I want to see how strong it is」
「A bullet?」
She tilted her head at what I picked up.
「Well, sort of. We are using tear gas rounds」
I had no idea how effective this size would be. The only way to find out was to use them.
「But Ladarion, you have a sharp nose, so stay out of the downwind. And wear the mask even if it is hot. If anything feels wrong, return to the Sefuti Home right away」
A gas mask did not block everything. Some smell always leaked in.
「Okay」
「I bought a new SCAR with a grenade launcher」
It was a hassle to attach the launcher every time, so having two rifles for different uses was easier. I bought a VHS-2D with a launcher for my left hand as well.
I strapped a belt that held twelve grenade rounds onto Ladarion, and I put on a bandolier belt myself.
Once we finished gearing up, we stepped outside to test-fire.
Operating the grenade launcher was simple, but the rounds were more like projectiles you lobbed. You had to arc your shots. There was something like a sight, but accuracy was not the goal. Rough aim was enough, and test shots would give me the feel for it.
The goblins were about two hundred fifty meters away. Out of range, but practice was important. I earned four million yen from spending only around a hundred thousand, so this was a small expense. Improving your skills always cost money. Might as well spend it.
I bought tear gas rounds by the box, and we each fired about thirty for practice.
「Alright. We will head down in an hour」
Going down right away sounded dangerous, and the tear gas effect would probably fade after an hour.
I packed up the simple tent, had Ladarion load the magazines, and once an hour passed, we descended the mountain.
We moved slowly, checking for any lingering tear gas. Soon goblin corpses came into view.
In the mountains it did not matter if bodies rotted, but seeing this many made me wonder if it was really okay to leave them here.
We went farther down, careful not to slip on the bodies, and found goblins lying limp.
「Ladarion. Finish them with your machete. I will go a bit farther down」
「Okay」
Leaving that area to her, I descended another fifty meters and found goblins eating each other.
At first, I thought they would not do it, but lately I had seen it more often. Maybe they started once their numbers got too high.
It would be great if they reduced their own numbers, but they only did it to preserve their species. They did not go extinct. Depressing.
「Alright. Let us see what the tear gas can do」
I raised the VHS-2 and pulled the trigger on the grenade launcher.
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