The Mobile Fortress — Destroyer had finally arrived.
Its colossal metallic structure bristled with overwhelmingly destructive weaponry, its exterior clad in anti-magic armor. No matter how one looked at it, this was not something that should exist in a medieval-style world at all.
As the massive mobile fortress advanced along the road, it crushed everything in its path, unstoppable—like a gigantic steel beast trampling the land.
The rampaging mobile fortress had no specific target or restrictions. Ever since it had gone berserk, it had wandered aimlessly across the kingdom, wreaking havoc wherever it went.
It wasn't that the kingdom had never considered dealing with this hidden danger. However, with the Demon King's forces pressing closer day by day, they simply hadn't had the spare strength to address it.
Moreover, the fortress was powered by an immense magical energy source. As long as the magic within its core was eventually depleted, the fortress would naturally shut down once it lost power.
Because of that, the kingdom had long taken a hands-off approach. After all, no matter how terrifying the giant steel monster was, it would one day run out of energy.
But Akase City couldn't afford to wait for that day anymore.
The enormous construct was approaching at alarming speed.
With no one controlling it, the mobile fortress almost never altered its course. And whenever it encountered any obstruction, it indiscriminately classified it as an enemy and eliminated it.
Abandoning Akase City and evacuating was technically an option—but where would the residents go?
Located on the outskirts, Akase was far from other cities. Ordinary civilians attempting to flee would have to face countless monsters along the way.
Besides, they had lived in Akase for so long. Everything they owned—their homes, their livelihoods—was here. How many people would truly be willing to leave it all behind and wander into the unknown?
To make matters worse, with Lord Aldarp having vanished, Akase no longer had any guards at all.
After all, without someone paying wages, no one was willing to work for free. If Akase was to be defended now, it could only rely on its adventurers.
When the kingdom learned of Akase's situation, they did consider dispatching reinforcements—but with the Demon King's army bearing down on them, they were powerless to spare the manpower.
And the mobile fortress was no ordinary threat. To halt its advance, at least a thousand elite troops would be required—an impossible burden for the kingdom in its current state.
Yet if the royal family ignored Akase's plea for help, public trust in the kingdom would collapse completely.
Akase might be a border city, but it was still part of the kingdom's territory. If the crown could abandon Akase's people today, what guarantee was there that it wouldn't abandon others tomorrow?
The external threat of the Demon King's army hadn't even been resolved yet. If internal unrest erupted on top of that, the kingdom would truly be finished.
Thus, at the suggestion of Princess Arisu, His Majesty the King decided that the royal family would issue a formal commission through the Adventurers' Guild to stop the mobile fortress from destroying Akase.
Requests to the guild were common—but this was the first time the kingdom itself had stepped forward to issue one.
And the rewards offered this time were staggering.
In addition to a bounty of one hundred million eris, the royal family promised something even more shocking: a noble title and land.
Wasn't Akase's lord already missing?
And with the disappearance of the strange power once associated with Maxwell, the former lord's many misdeeds had reached the royal court's ears. Even if Aldarp hadn't vanished, the crown would never have allowed such scum to continue ruling.
Now that the mobile fortress crisis had arisen, the rewards were irresistibly tempting. Whoever stopped the fortress would be granted a title—and even the position of Lord of Akase wasn't out of the question.
Without a doubt, upon hearing such rewards, adventurers across the kingdom erupted with excitement.
The one hundred million eris was secondary. What truly mattered was the noble title and territory—the status of nobility itself. This was the very definition of rising to the heavens in a single step.
No matter how powerful an adventurer was—even a top-tier elite or a so-called hero—without noble status, they were still just commoners in this world.
But with a noble title, everything changed. One gained rights, influence, and standing far beyond ordinary people.
And with land of one's own, there would be no need to risk life and limb every day fighting monsters just to scrape together a handful of eris.
No matter how powerful the mobile fortress was, it was still a mindless machine. Compared to the Demon King's army, it was far safer.
If someone wanted to completely change their fate, this was the perfect opportunity.
On top of that, the commission had been proposed by Princess Arisu herself—renowned throughout the kingdom for her virtue, almost saintlike in reputation. There was no chance the royal family would go back on their word.
In short, once the commission appeared in adventurers' guilds across the kingdom, adventurers everywhere went into a frenzy.
By the day before the mobile fortress reached Akase, vast numbers of adventurers had already gathered—forming parties, forging alliances—all for the sake of stopping the rampaging war machine.
Opportunities to rise in a single leap were rare. Miss this one, and the next chance would probably require gambling one's life against the Demon King's army itself.
Driven by the lure of noble titles and land, many adventurers even emptied their savings, purchasing powerful magic tools in bulk just to stand a chance against the fortress.
However, because Akase lay on the outskirts and was far from other cities, it became the only supply point for these adventurers who had traveled from afar.
Of course, those bold enough to accept the commission and confront the mobile fortress were among the kingdom's top-tier adventurers. Naturally, they looked down on Akase—a beginner city—with thinly veiled contempt.
Still, a supply point was better than nothing. Traveling to another city for resupply would take too long. By the time they returned, the mobile fortress would have already flattened Akase—and their dreams of wealth and nobility along with it.
Large numbers of high-level adventurers flooded into Akase, discussing strategies to halt the fortress while replenishing their supplies.
Yet, just as they had anticipated, Akase truly lived up to its reputation as a beginner city. Whether it was recovery potions or equipment, everything available was painfully low-tier—utterly useless to them.
"Damn it! I didn't expect that mobile fortress to have such absurd durability! Even worse, we've burned through all our supplies. Are we really going to fail after coming this far?"
"It can't be helped. Akase is a beginner city—just look at the adventurers here. How could they possibly sell high-grade items?"
Several high-level adventurers took a short rest at the Akase Adventurers' Guild. The local adventurers had initially felt grateful for their arrival—but hearing remarks like these left a bitter taste in their mouths.
"Who are you calling all talk?" someone snapped. "Who said Akase doesn't have high-grade gear?! Go check out Ren Kuroda's shop—if you've got the money! I'm just worried bumpkins like you can't afford it!"