© 2023 時雨沢恵一/KADOKAWA/GGO2 Project
At this point, every team facing the NPCs in the castle lost, utterly and completely. It’s clear to them that they have no chance of winning as separate teams, worried about each other as much as the enemies they’re supposed to take out. But when you’re facing god-tier NPCs, who do you turn to? The devil—or in this case, the next closest thing: Pitohui.
The moment she takes over command from M, it’s an entirely new game. It’s no longer about strict tactics as much as out-of-the-box thinking and manipulation. Of course, Pitohui knows that no one trusts her, so she sends out Llenn to make contact. Llenn may be in the running for GGO’s strongest player, but she’s a respected foe. Not one known to backstab her allies at an opportune moment (even when she was the literal traitor in the last Squad Jam). Once Llenn can open lines of communication, Pitohui can get her claws in.
It’s pretty clear that Pitohui has figured out the trick to this little game; that the “NPCs” are anything but. The hints are all over the place. They can read, make decisions about friend or foe, speak in a language other than Japanese (which is then auto-translated), have a moral code that prevents them from killing what they see as “child soldiers,” and, finally, leave a player’s “dead” marker when defeated. At this point, all signs point to the “NPCs” being from some foreign military, probably a special forces unit.
If this is indeed the case, then they will obviously be far better at military combat than any gamer, no matter how skilled. The thing is, as real as GGO can seem, it’s still a game. Thus, the players of the game understand how to exploit this. Pitohui builds her new team’s strategy around this fact. In the real world, no hand-held shield can stop a bullet from an anti-material rifle. However, M’s shield (and to a lesser extent, T-S’ armor), can shrug off way more damage than anything in the real world. She has the T-S members play “tank” and protect those behind them as they advance on the castle.
Llenn likewise uses the video game’s rules to her advantage. No living human is as fast as Llenn. Thus, when she comes rushing into the minefield and the NPCs set the bombs off, their timing is wrong so she survives. Then, when she is captured, while they tie her hands and gag her—likely to stop her from biting off her own tongue—they are still unable to foresee that she’d have the ability (or force of will) to run head first at super-speed into a wall to kill herself.
All this ties back to the players’ biggest advantage. They have multiple lives. They are able to run suicide tactics and take no losses in manpower or material. Llenn’s “suicide” brings with it a ton of intel for Pitohui and the others to use, including the location of four of the five remaining enemies and their current armament.
At this point, the odds are insanely stacked against the “NPCs,” or rather they would be if not for the fact the game has a time limit. With only 8 minutes left and no bomb to disarm, all the “NPCs” have to do is hold up somewhere and fight a battle of attrition. Of course, when your enemies have lightsabers that can cut through walls and no fear of death, this may be easier said than done.
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Random Thoughts:
• What does Llenn mean by two lives left? I thought they had three lives total and she’s now died twice. Maybe she was still counting the one she had just thrown away?
• I admit, if I don’t get to see some Pitohui/David photon sword action next week, I’m going to feel super let down. Those are the perfect weapons to use against the “NPCs” because there is nothing like them in the real world. A sword that can cut through anything is not something they will be prepared for.
• I’m shocked that David decided to work with Pitohui after the last two squad jams. He clearly hates her with a burning passion.
• I wonder: Does Fukaziroh have any of those plasma rounds left? There would be no real need to fight the “NPCs” at all if you can bring the entire castle down around them with just a few shots.
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