Kanata and the others have arrived near the front lines, and the bloody battle is about to truly begin.
Marika-san has decided to walk across the precarious bridge of my ever-accumulating inferences.
I appreciate her trust, but I myself am highly doubtful as to whether I’ve reached any certainty.
It’s a suspicious overall picture, pieced together from unreliable fragments.
Most of all, I’m worried about Natsume, who is infiltrating alone near the enemy’s flagship.
However, Marika-san seems to have a plan for that.
I wonder what she intends to do.
Shigure-san and Abby-nii are also advancing ahead in fast vehicles.
It’s tough not being able to rely on the strength of the Land Battleships in this situation, but it can’t be helped.
After all, the 5th Division is undoubtedly already engaged with the enemy.
A mixed unit of the 1st, 2nd, and 8th Units attempts to make contact with Major General Hinckley in the mountainous area between Beta Street and Alpha Street.
After adjusting the antenna position several times, they manage to connect with Major General Hinckley.
Marika, representing the three captains, speaks.
“Clyde, this is Hinckley. You’re Marika of the Scarlet Eye, are you not? I’m in a bit of a bind right now. Please keep it brief.”
Major General Hinckley was a gruff-looking Caucasian man who seemed like he was made through sheer hard work. A scar running horizontally across the middle of his nose further emphasized his appearance as a frontline commander.
“You should have received communication through Vice Admiral Shinonome. Why didn’t you wait for us?”
Even though he’s a Major General, Marika is acting as usual. I wonder if everything’s going to be alright.
“Don’t mistake us for the spineless officials at the Joint Operations Headquarters who can’t wage war without being spoon-fed.”
True to his upbringing as a soldier, Major General Hinckley didn’t seem offended by Marika’s impolite remarks.
Perhaps he’s just got bigger things to worry about.
“So, what’s the situation? The enemy is the Mechanist Army’s 3rd Division, led by Lieutenant General Raul LeBron, right?”
“Yes, we were outmaneuvered this time. It seems the core unit of the sortie force, sent to the rear to break the stalemate, was ambushed by the Annihilation Unit. We were forced into battle without being able to coordinate with the sortie force, and the main unit was counterattacked. I’m currently trying to rally the troops by contacting the various units of the sortie force, whose command structure is in disarray.”
“They must have anticipated your pincer movement from the rear. The core unit of the sortie force ambushed by the Annihilation Unit has likely been wiped out. What are your remaining forces?”
“Around 4,000 in total. About half of them are unscathed.”
“What’s the strength of the Mechanist Army’s 3rd Division right now?”
“Approximately 6,000. The number of combat-ready personnel is likely between 4,500 and 5,000.”
“Major General, that’s a terrible defeat.”
“Did you come all this way just to be sarcastic?”
“I came to clean up your mess. Show a little gratitude. How long will it take to regroup the remnants of your sortie force?”
“Of the 1,000 members of the sortie force deployed in the forest, about 600 have been accounted for. They are currently being evacuated while engaged in combat. It will take two hours.”
“You’ll only be able to evacuate about half of those 600 remnants. And while you’re evacuating those 300, about 500 of your main force’s soldiers will die.”
Major General Hinckley’s face turned grim as his sore spot was hit.
“Even so, we can’t just abandon the remnants of the sortie force and run.”
“I heard from Iska that LeBron suffered a significant defeat at your hands before. He’s probably craving your head. If you show yourself, he’ll likely concentrate his forces on you.”
“Indeed, LeBron, that coward, would never step onto the front lines himself.”
“We’re not expecting him to. The question is whether you, Major General, are willing to risk your life to save your subordinates.”
A thin man beside Major General Hinckley, likely his adjutant, shouted in a shrill voice.
“Y-you! Are you telling the Major General to be a decoy! More importantly, gather the forces you have and come rescue us quickly! This is an order!”
“Don’t make such a fuss, you dried-up piece of jerky! I’m talking to the Major General! Well, Major General, are you going to do it or not?!”
“If I go out and act as a decoy, what will you do?”
“We will push through the weakened enemy lines and carve out a path to evacuate the remnants of your sortie force.”
“How many forces do you have?”
“Less than 300.”
“With that many men! Even the Asura Unit is… ”
“Don’t lump us in with ordinary soldiers. Major General, time is short. Make your decision.”
“…Very well. I will trust the Asura Unit’s Ace, Marika of the Scarlet Eye.”
“Begin your operations in 20 minutes. We will contact you once the escape route is cleared. Major General, I need you to hold out for two hours.”
Major General Hinckley replied with a grin.
“What, just two hours? That’s a piece of cake.”
“Thank you, Major General. Good luck.”
“You too.”
As soon as communication ended, we sprang into action.
Major General Hinckley, as a commander who cares about his subordinates, seems to be brave and resolute.
“Tatiana, you heard. Finish setting up the traps on Alpha Street and Beta Street within two hours! After that, move to the planned minefield location and await my signal!”
“Yes, Mom!”
“Shigure! Abby! Don’t be sloppy!”
“Understood!”
“Alright, boys, time for some fun with guns!”
We, the thugs of the Asura Unit, jumped into our motorcycles and vehicles and charged towards the front lines at maximum speed.
After twenty minutes of speeding, we finally plunged into the heart of the chaotic melee.
“It’s finally time for my first date with Sergeant Major. It was worth dressing up.”
“Lilith, you’ll command from the command vehicle and keep the thugs in check.”
“Why, Marika! I want to battle alongside Sergeant Major!”
“Please. I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep an eye on everything this time.”
When Marika asks, Lilith can’t refuse.
“Ugh, fine. I guess I have no choice.”
“Hotaru, Natsume. Do as instructed and do a good job.”
Natsume nodded firmly, and Hotaru slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them a moment later, I was startled by the sight of her eyeballs.
Wh-what is that? They aren’t human eyes. They’ve become like insect compound eyes.
“Launching 60 Insect Users. Axel, open the ceiling hatch.”
“You got it. Leave it to you, Insect User.”
When Hotaru opened her aluminum case, a large number of small insect-shaped drone Insect Users flew out and took off through the ceiling hatch.
“Marika-san, what’s going on with Hotaru’s compound eyes and that swarm of Insect Users?”
“Normally, one can only control one Insect User at a time, but Hotaru can control 60 simultaneously. When she activates 60 at once, she can’t do anything else, but in return, she gains unparalleled reconnaissance capabilities, allowing her to survey the entire battlefield. Unit 1, no, the woman with the strongest reconnaissance ability in the Asura Unit. That is ‘Insect Master’ Tomoshibi Hotaru.”
Based on Hotaru’s visual information, Natsume was guided to approach LeBron’s flagship.
So Marika-san’s confidence was due to Hotaru’s ability.
She truly is the guiding light for Unit 1.
“Hotaru, can you handle both guiding Natsume and providing us with reconnaissance information? It’s difficult.”
“I can do it. Leave it to me.”
Lilith then interjected with a serious expression. If she always looked like this, she’d be truly dignified and cute.
“Hotaru, temporary truce. You focus on guiding Natsume. If you give me the reconnaissance information for Marika and the others, I’ll make tactical decisions and pass it on as needed.”
Hotaru thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Understood. Please.”
I hope they can get along well like this.
“Sergeant Major! Don’t let those Mechanist Army losers get close to the command vehicle!”
I know. I’m not the same me as before.
Now powered up under Master Shigure, I’m essentially Kanata Mark II.
I followed Marika-san out of the command vehicle.
“Kanata, protect the command vehicle with my platoon! I’m going on a picnic.”
“Rest assured, it’s in good hands.”
“You’ve gotten quite good at talking. I’m counting on you.”
Now, it’s time for my second real battle. The situation is…
Well, well, enemies everywhere I look.
Two enemy soldiers attack simultaneously from the left and right, and I block them by forming a Psyche-Barrier without any auxiliary movements.
“Hey? Are you guys trying to make me laugh by calling that an attack?”
I say that with an insolent face and a condescending stare, and the two enemy soldiers turn strikingly pale.
They’re scared, huh? Of course, they’re up against the Asura Unit’s strongest, the Crystal Widow.
Still, they keep attacking without giving up, which is kinda cute.
“Okay, you’re trying to make me laugh myself to death, huh? Wait for me on the other side!”
I imbue my newly acquired beloved sword, Onikiri, with a Psyche-Strike and slice the two comedians in half simultaneously.
You know, I’m trained daily by the first-class Marika-san and Master Shigure.
If I dare say so, compared to Marika-san and Master Shigure, you guys are nothing.
Yet they press on, a mass of beings, relying on their numbers to approach the command vehicle.
Fine, if you want to die, come at me. I’m ready!
We’ve surpassed 1,000 bookmarks. Bravo, Khara-sho! Thank you for reading this unorthodox work.
