VTuber RP Is Not a Concept - Chapter 89

“The Alliance chose a strategy of achieving localized successes rather than launching a counterattack along the entire front line. The primary goal was to reclaim some outposts occupied by the demons and to build a more stable defensive line.”

– “Listening to Ria makes her sound like a total military enthusiast.”

– “She seems uninterested in modern weapons, is she just a history buff?”

– “One thing’s for sure, I’ve never seen a woman talk like that around here.”

– “What? There are women around you??”

“One notable operation was the recapture of Drakenfels Fortress, a strategic point in the central region that had been occupied by demons for three years. Arden executed a feigned maneuver to draw enemy troops east while infiltrating a select unit through the western cliffs into the fortress, employing a two-stage tactic.”

– “Who is Arden?”

“Don’t you remember? The human general who led reinforcements during the Battle of Grassni Fortress. At that time, he wasn’t famous yet, but among his soldiers, he was already referred to as ‘the Eye of the Army’ for his ability to see through enemy movements on the battlefield.”

– “If it weren’t for Arden, Ria might not have debuted as a Virtual YouTuber.”

– “Thanks for bringing reinforcements, Sensei…”

“However, the demons quickly reacted and successfully reorganized. Before the main force could enter, the internal troops were left in a precarious situation, isolated after opening the gates.”

Since I didn’t participate in that battle, I could only relay what I heard.

“At that moment, the heroic knight Conrad Stolburn displayed his courage by breaking through the enemies guarding the gates and beheading the demon commander. With the gates opened, the main force of the Alliance entered, and after fierce fighting, they reclaimed the fortress.”

I achieved success in a different place.

“I was active in the Grimroeven Gorge. This was a location used by the demons as a fluid base. Instead of a fixed stronghold in the gorge itself, watchers and ambush troops were stationed alternately.”

I was deployed with a small reconnaissance unit to eliminate the enemy’s key snipers first. Among them, one particularly skilled sniper created an intense battle where the hunter and the prey kept swapping roles in the shadows.

Ultimately, it was my victory as I shot with a bit more persistence and a bit more accuracy. After that, the situation shifted in our favor.

– “Oh, I think this is the first time I’ve heard of serious sniper battles.”

– “I like the tension.”

– “With descriptions of camouflage, distance control, breathing, and psychological warfare… have you watched some sniper movies recently? Hahaha.”

– “What’s the furthest distance you’ve hit an enemy?”

“The standards for measuring distance here may not be accurate, but… hmm. Roughly converted, I think it was over 1500 meters.”

– “Come on.”

– “Is this how you want to conduct your research, Ria?”

– “Just shooting off the hip, huh? Hahaha.”

– “Are you a top sniper?”

– “Even a top sniper could never make 1500 meters…”

– “It’s not like this is fantasy.”

– “It is fantasy, though.”

– “Oh.”

“With the demons retreating, the Alliance was able to operate supply lines more stably.”

And there was one more thing.

“There was also a victory in the fjord siege led by Dwarf Balgrim.”

As we maintained a moment of silence, a question popped up in the chat.

– “So?”

– “Why did you stop talking? Hahaha.”

“Oh, the story of the Fjord siege is all there is. We won. The end.”

– “That’s it?”

– “Why is this part so short? Hahaha.”

– “Found a plot hole.”

“I didn’t ask Balgrim anything beyond hearing the victory news.”

– “Impressive… you manage to find excuses no matter what.”

– “Are you getting out of this one too?”

– “Ria is just slippery.”

– “Like a mudfish.”

“This series of operations allowed the Alliance forces to continue achieving results, and the atmosphere within began to change. The Alliance forces, which had been in a defensive position throughout the war, now had hope that they could push back the Demon King’s army. At that point, discussions about launching a larger counterattack began among the leadership.”

In the command tent, all the heroes who had accomplished great deeds, except for the Archbishop and Seraphil, had returned. There were conversations about where the next target would be and that it was time to prepare for a large-scale war.

Suddenly, the tent’s door burst open. A messenger, dusty and staggering, entered. Though he bore no wounds, fatigue was evident on his face. Everyone’s attention in the room turned to him.

“…Carmora has fallen!”

His voice, hoarse and cracked, froze the room. The hand that had been pointing at the front line on the map stopped, and a low murmur spread among the officers.

“What do you mean, fallen?”

Rodian II straightened up and asked.

“The city has been completely destroyed! One single dragon burned the city! The fortress walls collapsed in an instant, and the center of the city has reportedly melted in that fire.”

– “Ria trying hard to impress is cute.”

– “She is good at acting, though. Hahaha.”

– “The Rodian voice I heard last time is different… Did he rejuvenate?”

– “They say he became a tsundere.”

– “If only I could experience magic like that just once…”

– “Hey…”

“You have no idea how shocked everyone was. An extinct dragon appeared out of nowhere. However, even up until that point, there was still a flicker of hope. We thought it could just be a tragic accident.”

But that hope quickly crumbled with the messenger’s next words.

“It is the new Barnok! According to the survivors, he boldly declared himself the Second Seat Alduras.”

The moment was revealed that such an overwhelming presence could erase an entire city and bore clear malicious intent.

“The command center was in shock. It was an air raid in the west, a region that was considered relatively safe and not where the front lines were concentrated. The Alliance forces, which had been raising morale with a few victories, were suddenly thrown into a crisis where they had to reassess the entire front line.”

– “Can it be understood as dropping a nuke on a single city?”

– “If it’s the only dragon, that seems about right. Hahaha.”

– “But it’s not like it ends with just one time.”

– “If there’s no cooldown on city destruction, isn’t that too much?”

“The dragon didn’t continuously destroy cities. Because a cavalry messenger was dispatched from the nearby outpost to report to the command center, right? If additional destruction had happened in between, we would have had to hear about it along the way.”

Regardless, we couldn’t conclude just from the cavalry messenger’s report, so it was necessary to immediately dispatch reconnaissance units to confirm the situation directly. With my ability to respond to sudden variables and my lightweight movement, I decided to lead the reconnaissance team.

“The world is going insane. To think I would hear stories of a dragon appearing in my lifetime.”

After a moment of silence, Balgrim spoke gruffly.

“If you were up against such a thing, there wouldn’t even be a corpse left behind.”

“I won’t be caught. And I said you won’t get to see my corpse, right? I plan to live longer than you, no matter what.”

“You sure have plenty of energy to spout nonsense. I expect to see your annoying face again.”

“What are you talking like you are waiting for something? You should take on another mission or something.”

– “What are they doing? Hahaha.”

– “Ria vs. Ria who lost her voice.”

– “Elves and dwarves seem close… hehe.”

– “They’re practically best friends.”

“We’re not friends. I don’t like dwarves.”

After correcting the misunderstanding of the Pia, I continued the story.

“On the way to the west, I encountered refugees from the city. The dirt- and bl**d-soaked refugees all had pale faces, with their hands slightly trembling. Their eyes were thick with fatigue and fear.”

As I stepped a foot closer, some flinched and cowered, as if they were still running from the flames.

“…A black shadow came down from the sky.”

An old woman spoke. Her voice was dry and cracked.

“The sun was obscured. For a moment… it felt like day vanished, and night came.”

Another woman continued in a trembling voice.

“That was… the dragon. It was looking down on us. The soldiers on the walls tried to sh**t arrows. But, at that moment…”

She could speak no more. Another man took over the story.

“…fire engulfed us. That fire… was unlike any other. The fortress walls melted away. The stones became mushy. The soldiers on the walls… burned right there. They couldn’t even scream.”

The eyes of a boy, who seemed to have lost focus, stared blankly into space. It appeared that the moment was still vivid in his mind as he muttered blankly.

“At that time… a voice came from the sky. A thunderous voice.”

He instinctively covered his ears with his hands.

“‘I am Barnok, Second Seat Alduras!’ That voice… resonated deep within my bones. I thought my heart was freezing. In that moment, I believed everything was over.”

– “Wow, the depiction of PTSD is really well done.”

– “What about the details? RelTube.”

– “Listening to it feels fitting from a dark dimension.”

Hearing the boy’s words made me instinctively realize. The survival of these individuals was intentional. Alduras, having revealed his presence for the first time, had left behind those to declare his prowess and assert dominion.

And finally, when I arrived at the destroyed city with the reconnaissance team, I too felt his power.

“I had seen burned cities before, but this time was different. The fortress walls had melted away, and there was no trace left on the streets. There were no corpses either. It was as if everything had been swept away, leaving only ashes behind.”

Amid the ruins where ash swept through the streets, I and the reconnaissance unit walked with heavy steps.

It was then.

From somewhere— a presence brushed past that was different from the wind.

I instinctively froze. The reconnaissance team was clearly tense. I could feel a gaze watching us.

‘Someone is there.’

A soldier from the Demon King’s army? A survivor? No, there shouldn’t be anyone left alive in this ruin.

With no time to think, my body reacted first.

“I suddenly lunged forward like lightning.”