As we sped along the outskirts of the forest, the information became increasingly accurate.
The sound of cannon fire grew nearer, and it became possible to estimate the firing positions based on the time lag between firing and impact.
Here, one of my guesses turned out to be correct. Indeed, the “Aigaion Class” wasn’t at the frontlines. They had retreated to the maximum effective range where shells could reach the edge of the forest, likely staying about 150km away without satellite guidance.
Their aim seemed to be burning the fringe of the forest to drag out the Tupiarius. Fighting inside the forest would disadvantage them too much, regardless of their equipment.
What was frightening in this situation was being approached stealthily and dragged into close combat aboard a ship. The Magius Geanaite isn’t necessarily better at close combat than the Tupiarius warriors, and with those stealth capabilities, automatic anti-missile systems would be less effective.
Especially since the knightly order Virgil once commanded specialized in heavy armor designed for anti-dragon combat, which doesn’t pair well with the nimble Elf-like Creatures.
Given that, the only feasible strategy would be to bombard and pull them out, leaving no other straightforward course of action.
It’s frustrating, but they did their homework and thought through their strategy carefully. They understood their own weaknesses and didn’t struggle to overcome them unnecessarily or act heroically by fighting on their opponent’s terms. Instead, they applied the optimal solution possible.
Many knights must have opposed this strategy, yet the plan was well executed.
“Approximately two hours until contact.”
“Be careful not to enter the enemy’s visual sensor range. We’ll halt just at the horizon to confirm the battlefield layout, focusing on gathering information.”
“Understood.”
While anxiously waiting, we reached the barely observable distance and released all of our regenerated “Fruit Flies” simultaneously, revealing the battlefield.
“Two Kottos Class minesweepers sighted.”
“Seriously? They really survived with the full package?”
If my memory from two thousand years ago is correct, the “Briareos Package” consists of one flagship Aigaion Class, one Gyges Class for direct support, and three Kottos Class vessels for perimeter security.
If this fleet is Virgil’s prized force, it would make sense for them to prepare escorts around it as a precaution.
Pushing forward smaller ships—though they’re 300 meters long—was a strategically sound decision.
The main cannons of the Aigaion Class firing from the rear suggests they likely left one Gyges Class and a Kottos Class behind to secure the area. They avoided overcommitting for fear of losing the local ground, but it is still a rational decision.
This isn’t holding back but rather an appropriate allocation of forces.
“Damn…”
“Quite a sight, the incendiary attacks.”
The edge of the forest was ablaze. Though the Gyges Class lacks a grand main cannon, it’s equipped with two rapid-fire 127mm guns that can carry a variety of munitions: anti-ship missiles with homing devices on the warhead, buckshot-like scatter projectiles for intercepting flight vehicles, and various special rounds.
Further, they’re armed with compressed light cannons for anti-missile use—these work well unless dispersed with fogging equipment—and machine gun mounts that bristle like porcupines. Along with ground and anti-air guided missile launchers, they’re perfectly suited to burn down forests.
“They’re hitting the rear with artillery to draw them out and incinerate any that emerge. That bastard might be a despicable knight but is a top-tier tactician. Either he has exceptional observational skills or surrounds himself with good advisors.”
“Wouldn’t it be preferable if he was utterly incompetent?”
“Even a real fool wouldn’t have risen to the acting commander of the order of knights.”
Despite my unintentional scoff, Virgil was neither foolish nor incompetent. If his method of efficiently hunting down the Tupiarius gathered in the north works and proves effective, it’s devious but clever.
Apparently, he scattered expendable pawns just enough to annoy the elders, which was merely a preparation for concentrating forces and annihilating them all with artillery fire. A ruthless strategy reveals a warped mindset.
“The Tupiarius are moving out for a counterattack but… ”
“They’re completely at a disadvantage.”
The gardeners driven out of the forest are being defeated one after another. Running at speeds over 80km/h is impressive, and their stealth ability makes them uncatchable by sensors, which could make them threats to infantry. But they’re up against monsters armed with dozens of machine guns.
Even with rough aiming, the continuous scattering of bullets ensures some hits. Besides, the smaller calibers are capable of shooting down aerial vehicles, meaning my bare-handed disassembly skills wouldn’t matter if hit once by a stray round.
“What shall we do, lieutenant?”
“We can’t just sit idly by.”
“Is it out of a sense of justice…?”
“Come on, do I look like the kind of person to overlook a crucial countermove?”
Though, my concern wasn’t entirely out of pity for the Tupiarius futilely shooting ineffective arrows or forming a plasma-attack formation only to be blown away. Of course, there’s some of that, but fundamentally, letting this continue could lead us to a checkmate.
As it stands, the Tupiarius army will inevitably be wiped out. They won’t retreat into the forest to save it once they realize it will be burned down, especially with their warrior spirit being undiminished in this situation. They’ll be lured out by Virgil’s fleet and annihilated, leaving them to leisurely search Block II-B2 by burning the forest.
This would create a complete stalemating situation, where resistance is impossible. Titan 2 is designed as a remote-control system operable by ancient humans, and with the front-line Briareos giants, the operation is sufficient. Even the ships alone would be more than enough, but with guardian deities lined up, a visit from those ships would crush the capital city’s morale.
Despite my extensive experience operating mobile weapons, I’m no monster who can single-handedly destroy dozens of them.
Should I fail to protect the capital and surrender, I’ll not only lose one fragment of what little I know happened here and the production facilities but also risk greater consequences. Surely, he’ll come rushing south next, seize Tiamat, and burn down the Sylvanian Kingdom.
To eliminate me, who stands in the way of his ambitions.
Ah, it’s frustrating—had I been a worse person, I might have taken my resources, searched for a more convenient place, and planned for a resurgence.
However, since arriving here, I’ve found more things I can’t abandon.
“Well, there’s only one approach for us in situations like this.”
“Close and board.”
“Disrupt their operations in hand-to-hand combat.”
“Ah, the ultimate goal of an integrated military soldier, isn’t it?”
While listening to Selene’s sigh, I struck my fist into my palm and prepared the Gray Wolves under my command.
“Nozomu! What are you doing!?”
“Destroying it from the outside with the current firepower is impossible. We must board and seize it.”
“That’s absurd!”
“We’re a group that specializes in these high-risk combat doctrines, Galatea. I won’t force you to join if you can’t handle it. The teams assigned to this mission are often called kamikaze crews.”
In space or on the ground, large structures’ vulnerabilities are internal. Once you’ve infiltrated them, even the fanciest equipment becomes useless. Sending in a powerful melee force to ravage from within is a classic tactic of the Higher Orders.
Furthermore, we have equipment designed to turn this suicidal mission into a feasible tactical approach.
“Ah, how can I stay behind while you risk your life!?!”
She removes her helmet slightly tearful but determined to follow me. It helps that she believes in me. The more combat personnel we have, the faster we can secure the target.
“Saint! Please let me accompany you!”
“Too sentimental, tribe chief. If commanding Tech Gob warriors, you should come saying you happily volunteer for death!”
[Nozomu-sama! Please let us come too! If sent without us, we won’t be blessed by the gods in the starry sea after death!!]
Oh, quite a few are eager to die. Let’s do it, then.
“Selene, command the vehicle squadrons and artillery.”
“Understood. May fortune smile upon you. May T. Osamu’s blessing be upon you.”
“Yeah, you too. May the blessings of the three saints be upon you.”
I mounted the Gray Wolves, readying for departure. Six machines carried mortars rigged as makeshift high-mobility self-propelled mortars with sixteen elite machines in total volunteering for the special attack force.
In such a grand war, the Tech Gobs, eager to boast to the Great Mother in the afterlife, the Sylvanians desperate not to lose face with Tisy and Selene if left behind, and the knights eager to support the holy fight all struggled to be selected, but time was tight. So we resorted to direct nominations from me, which calmed the dissent somewhat.
I can understand, though. In the Unified Army too, during desperate, do-or-die charges, the lead position was chosen by a lottery because everyone wanted to be involved.
“Alright, let’s go. Data-link check. Follow the tactical maneuver indicators. One mistake and we’re dead.”
Once I confirmed the responses from everyone, I led the tightly packed group of Gray Wolves out from the terrain’s cover.
“Disruption beginning.”
“Count on it!”
Here we go. A life-or-death gamble begins.
The distance from our position to the nearby Kottos Class was roughly 12km thanks to our earlier stealthy approach. With the speed of the Gray Wolves, it seems like a short distance, but before an armada equipped with countless defense systems, it feels endless.
Well, that’s only if we charge blindly.
As my cavalry unit rushed forward, the tank squad advanced, aiming their main cannons at the foremost Kottos Class—”Code Target A”—and firing together.
Needless to say, the “Sashigame” can’t penetrate the armor of a land battleship with its main cannon. These multi-legged tanks are mainly designed to combat enemy light combat vehicles, lightly armored aircraft, and infantry support.
Thus, the goal was anti-fire weapons.
Though I doubted their utility and pushed for saving space for standard rounds, I’m now grateful to Selene for insisting they be carried as emergency equipment.
The seemingly unused shells exploded just before impact, with their onboard sensors determining the optimal detonation distance.
Expanding was a jamming curtain designed for extended periods in the air using a magnetic field. The fine metallic powder spread like mist, reflecting light and rendering optical weapons useless.
This is why we generally prefer physical weapons. The Coalition of Zodiac considered enduring the effects or escaping the range, but for us, being forced to retreat or endure is already a loss of options.
“Light reduction almost 100%. Based on the weather and atmospheric conditions, the effect will last about five minutes. The ammunition allows for deployment up to three times, please note.”
“More than enough! Next round!”
“Understood. Launching now!”
Another round of shells fired, bursting just short of impact, scattering a different kind of metallic powder to form a thermal jamming screen.
Whereas the first acted as a wall against heat, this acted as an electronic warfare jammer, scattering radar-guided targeting capabilities with electromagnetic interference. We could see the confusion in the turrets and gun platforms that had previously fired indiscriminately in all directions.
Good, it’s working. Turns out, the crew really are complete amateurs at ship handling, relying heavily on their pseudo-intelligence AI systems with sluggish responses.
In situations like this, you switch to optical sensor visual combat and aim manually, amateurs. If the original crew understood that we aimed to drag this into melee, they’d respond more quickly or switch to optical modes in the beginning.
“Final one, coming up!”
“Alright!”
The world turned white with the third salvo, creating smoke screens to blind the visual sensors in the visible spectrum.
And it’s more than just smoke—it’s a thermal fog that mimics human body temperature, disabling heat sensors. The only thing this can’t fool are atmospheric scanning sensors that detect everything in the atmosphere, but we know they aren’t equipped with one of those. Our Higher Union exclusively retains that technology spanning over two trillion years of debate. It’d never be loaded on these monkey models.
“All troops! Pray now!”
We’ve done everything we can. Now, armed solely with the terrain data the Gray Wolves had previously scanned, we’ll blindly charge forward in a literally life-or-death coin toss.
By now, all the enemy can do is blindly fire in every direction in the dark.
Please enjoy this ultimate display of overwhelming force by the Higher Union….
【Planet Exploration Record】 Special Attack Tactics. While this should fundamentally be a last resort, the peculiar success rate achieved by the enthusiasts who prepared, trained, and incorporated this tactic into the battle doctrine has made it a habit for mechanized personnel in the Integrated Military to execute whenever possible.
Of course, if given the time, they would retreat and gather heavier forces. But in urgent situations, mechanized individuals show no hesitation in employing all-out suicidal strategies.
The next update is scheduled for approximately 15:00 on August 31, 2024.
