In-cockpit Radio!
「Hi! Good morning! It’s time for Dusk Buster, or rather, Morning Buster. Today, I’m broadcasting straight from the cockpit! In other words, I’m broadcasting live from the battlefield!」
Blue was weirdly worked up as she endured her embarrassment.
「I’m going to be receiving requests straight from inside my cockpit!」
Kou was desperately trying not to laugh out loud as he piloted the Thunderstorm.
The rest of the Thunderstorm squadron was also following behind him. They all launched out from Astraea.
「Everyone from the construction unit! Thank you for working hard the entire night for us. The theme for today’s request is the train. So, I would like to accept song requests related to trains please!」
Many people were preparing for battle while listening to the radio broadcast.
The construction unit happily turned up the volume of their radios. They couldn’t believe their wish actually came true.
Ambush troops were already stationed in the surrounding hills. Many Silhouettes sported large-caliber cannons while laying prone on the ground. They deployed temporary walls in place of trenches. This time, they were not conducting an assault. It was a defensive battle.
「Let’s go ahead and get things started. The first request is from the construction unit! It’s a famous song. It’s a jazzy ditty called『Let’s Take the A-train』!」
Multi-rocket launchers and howitzers moved into their designated positions.
They were going to be the first among the ground troops to engage the enemy. Long-range bombardment was their specialty.
There were a lot of them. Many were mounted on half-tracked armored vehicles, and once they’ve used up all their ammo, they would head straight back to the Fortress Area to resupply. Once the battle turns into a melee, the other armored combat vehicles will come into play.
「Yes. Requests are coming in one after another. The next song was requested by Admiral Aimer! It’s the BGM of a train stage of the fighting game she played together with her important person. The next number is called『Kurikinton』. Enjoy!」
A recon unit penetrated deep into enemy lines. They used the music as their BGM.
The unit was composed of two custom-made Dragoon tanks and their partner Silhouettes. Their machines were specifically designed to have significantly reduced weight and improved radar capabilities.
They were forward observers. Their purpose was not to check the enemy’s strength. They were tasked with directing artillery fire onto specified targets.
「We still have more where that came from! Oops. It looks like our machine is switching into attack mode. My pilot’s still a bit unfamiliar with the controls, so I apologize.」
Blue couldn’t have imagined that her careless words would come back to haunt her later. She wasn’t aware that she was gradually turning into an idol already.
The true identity of Blue’s pilot became a hot topic among the listeners.
Some people were aware that it was their Hidden Boss accompanying her but were too afraid to say anything. When it comes to their Hidden Boss, their lips were sealed.
The canopy of Fortress Area P336 opened, and the Thunderclap formation launched out.
Although flying at high altitudes was currently rendered impossible, the Thunderclaps and Thunderstorms were heavy attack aircraft created mainly for low-altitude combat.
It can be said that this current battle situation was their forte.
「The next requester is our regular, Mr. Wintertree! The song he requested was a classic that was used as the BGM of the first stage of the very first video game he bought when he was a kid. It’s Schubert’s『Three Marches Militaires』!」
「Hm. That Fuyuki. To play a military marching song during a military advance. Pretty good.」
It was a classical piece that Rick liked as well. He often listened to it and Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
The military march started. A piano duet with a fast tempo began to play.
It was obvious that the requester was Fuyuki just from hearing the alias.
The tank corps advanced along with the catchy army march.
Each tank moved to its designated position as they switched to an umbrella formation. Silhouettes were quite tall and were easily targeted. Therefore, the tanks were the key players in the ground battle.
Following behind them were wheeled and tracked armored combat vehicles equipped with large-caliber tank destroyer guns. They advanced ahead of the artillery corps and were tasked with supporting the tank corps.
Lastly, there were the Dragoon tanks along with their partner Silhouettes.
Under the backdrop of Blue’s small talk, Fortress Area P336 was about to engage in the grandest land battle ever conducted on Planet Asia to date.
「Ate’s detailed data?」
Barry and Jenny were planning strategies in the combat command center of the Cimon.
The fighter squadrons were currently on stand-by. In case of an emergency, they would participate in the battle by flying at a low altitude. But right now, it was better to preserve air power. That’s why they were refraining from reckless sorties.
The detailed data of the Ate sent from Astraea was jaw-dropping.
「It’s equipped with two large-caliber charged particle cannons built into its sickles that are similar to the Mantis type. And the thing that sports the greatest destructive power is its tail huh.」
「It’s a mantis shrimp after all. A combination of a mantis and a shrimp. Its sensors are also amazing. Above all, it has a really tough double-layered exoskeleton. It’s about twice as thick as a Fortress Area shelter, and inside it is a full armored muscle system. There are no gaps we can exploit between the joints either.」
「What kind of cannon do we need to use to get through that armor?」
Barry sighed as he looked at the 3D model of the Ate.
「The charged particle cannons are quite limited in performance on land. That’s because those things are basically hyperpyrexic water guns. Their range is about 20 kilometers. If it exceeds that, it will stop advancing in accordance to the Bragg peak. However, a direct hit from them is capable of destroying a Fortress Area’s shelter in one blow.」
「It’s a monster that can move underwater and over the sea. In the sea, it can make use of seawater for cooling and replenishing its metallic hydrogen reserves as much as it wants.」
「It really is modeled after a mantis shrimp huh.」
Jenny wanted to complain that a weapon that’s modeled after a mantis shrimp should not be able to roam on land.
「We have to decide everything before it gets within 20 kilometers of the Fortress Area. But we have to deal with the Murder swarm first.」
「Although they’re all obsolete models, there are still quite a lot of them.」
「They probably wouldn’t be able to penetrate the armor of our Fighting Bull MBTs though.」
「There are Enyos as well. It’s impossible to deal with those without several Silhouettes attacking it……」
A transmission from Aki came.
『Reporting. Currently, the enemy troops are heading to Fortress Area P336 from three directions. The ones that seem to be the main forces are coming from the 4 o’clock and 7 o’clock directions. Another force is coming from the 5 o’clock direction. We are checking all directions for signs of an Ate.』
「So, they have at least three of these huh.」
「8 to 10 o’clock would be the sea. 11 to 4 o’clock would be the mountain range. So, they’re planning on moving along the mountains in order to surround us, with the ones coming from the 5 o’clock direction filling up any gaps huh.」
「Shall we give a hard blow to the ones in the 7 o’clock direction then?」
Barry grinned.
「If they employed deep battle operations, then we’ll conduct an AirSea battle on our end. No, it’s actually AirLand battle in this case huh.」
「What’s the difference?」
「Nothing major, really. Even if they’re employing simultaneous deep battle operations, there’s always a certain trend they’d tend to follow in their attacks. We’ll surround that direction and strike hard.」
「That doesn’t seem so different from the enemy encircling us in order to annihilate us……」
「But sufficient mobility is needed in order to hit the enemy forces before they manage to complete the siege. It’s called mobile defense. And that mobility is achieved through the performance of weapons. It’s really fitting for us, right?」
「That’s true. So, we’ll bridge the gap in strength with weapon performance huh.」
「Right. If we don’t defeat them quickly, we’ll just get exhausted in a prolonged battle against the Argonauts. That’s why we need to end things fast」
「The Murders wouldn’t withdraw no matter how high their casualty rate is. Okay, commander. I agree to conduct a quick battle.」
Barry broadcasted an announcement within the Cimon-class.
『This is Barry. We will now conduct an amphibious assault and hit the Murder forces hard in one go. Star Soldier squadron, prepare for conducting a ground attack operation. The landing units will be composed of the Dragoon tanks, support vehicles, and the Quattro assault unit.』
The interior of the ship suddenly came alive with activity.
『The aerial squadrons on the Astraea-class will remain on standby. That includes the transformable Silhouettes. After all, most of our other Silhouettes have already headed out. If something happens, I hope you guys can cover us.』
『Understood.』
Aimer conveyed Barry’s commands to Astraea using the internal broadcast system.
『Alright, you guys! It’s finally time for a landing operation. Let’s do this!』
In the wake of a rough-sounding command that didn’t seem to have come from the mouth of a commander, the Cimon-class began to aim for land.
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