Live Broadcast Stream!
「First Combat Engineer Unit, drilling complete. All leaders, report your status.」
「Second Combat Engineer Unit. Drilling operations are complete!」
「This is the Third Combat Engineer Unit. We’re currently in the middle of operations!」
Reports came flooding into Fuyuki’s Caledonian Crow comms one after another. After confirming the situation, Fuyuki connected the line to the reconnaissance team.
「Units One, Two, and Five have completed their tasks. Marker placements are done. Are we good to go?」
「This is Robert from the Aristides! Leave the first marker to us!」
「Jialing here. We will take the fifth marker.」
A large-scale operation was about to commence.
「All units that have completed their tasks, disperse!」
「Roger that!」
The Combat Engineers’ Caledonia Crows began to move away from the area.
「Aristides will launch the ground anchor. All hands prepare for the assault!」
Robert’s command rang out. The crew swiftly operated the equipment, aiming the turret mounted on the ship’s bow at the Megareus. It was the same weapon they had used when they defeated one of the strongest and most massive Murders, the Eris.
「Targeting system ready. Firing angle adjusted… Ground anchor, deploy!」
From the 5 o’clock position relative to the Megareus, the Aristides was about 50 kilometers away. At that distance, a straight shot would result in a crash into the ground. Like with artillery fire, the firing angle was carefully calibrated, and the ground anchor was launched. The massive harpoon-like anchor was fired at the marker and struck the Megareus directly.
「Even though a space battleship’s elevators are hatch-style, they’re mostly located along the sides. The elevators, designed to carry heavy loads, are actually sturdier than the surrounding armor. However—」
Fuyuki’s Caledonia Crow had moved to a safer distance to assess the results of their work.
「It’s a simple principle of stress concentration. You create holes around the robust sections of the elevator disrupting the continuity of the material and creating weak points, once that’s done, the armor around the hatch will become weak enough for whis reinforced projectiles to damage it. If at that moment you shoot the ground anchor at it, the damaged points won’t be able to endure the stress and break.」
The thick armor of the space battleship’s elevator hatch was pierced by the giant harpoon. The surrounding armor was destroyed, and the gigantic harpoon carrying the elevator hatch with it pushed into the depths of the hangar, smashing against the outer wall and shattering upon impact. It fractured because the supply of Wis from the A-Carbuncle had been cut off.
Some of the Silhouettes lying in ambush inside the ship were caught in the destruction.
Fuyuki’s unit had created openings around the side elevators that connected to the hangar. Ideally, they would have blown it apart all at once, but the armor of the space battleship was too strong to destroy with explosives. Instead, they resorted to smashing it with the ground anchor of the assault carriers directly.
「Pericles, launching the ground anchor now!」
Following this, the Pericles’ ground anchor was deployed as well. Positioned at the 11 o’clock direction relative to the Megareus, the two-pronged attack was in full effect.
The Pericles’ ground anchor also pierced through the elevator hatch that had been sabotaged by the Fifth Combat Engineer Unit. With this, two points of entry into the ship had been secured.
「This is Barry. To all forces: we have secured two entry routes into the Megareus!」
Cheers erupted from the Metal Iris. The Megareus, once thought to be an invincible space battleship, now had its vulnerabilities exposed. A breach had been successfully opened.
Everything was going according to Fuyuki’s plan. The combat engineers had successfully completed their sabotage operations to pave the way for the Megareus assault.
But there was no room for complacency. The real danger for the frontline combat engineers was just beginning.
「The enemy will begin counterattacking from the inside. Let’s go.」
At Fuyuki’s command, the combat engineers attempted to infiltrate the ship. Their task was to hold the line until the reinforcements arrived. Suddenly, an ambushing Kazakh, a high-performance enemy Silhouette, charged at them with its blade raised.
Fuyuki’s Caledonia Crow stepped back, dodging the Kazakh’s attack. In response, he swiftly used a detonation cord to bind the enemy unit. Immobilized, the Kazakh’s chest was drilled through, its reactor destroyed in the process. The machine was blown apart by the explosive force of the detonation cord, scattering debris in all directions.
The sheer power of the drill left the remaining Kazakhs momentarily shaken.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「It’s time for Dusk Buster! Today, we’re broadcasting live! We’re about to finally take down the Stones’ space battleship, the Megareus!」
Fairy Blue’s radio show—this time, a live video stream—began. The Canary was broadcasting from inside one of the Mark I tanks. Kou had passionately convinced her that live streaming would be a big hit. Apparently, on Earth, gaming streams featuring avatars of fictional characters had become quite popular. And with the reasoning that it would boost morale, she couldn’t refuse the idea.
「If that’s the case, I want to use an avatar as well. Astraea, could you make one quickly for me?」
「It’s possible.」
Astraea replied, responding to Blue’s casual suggestion.
Kou, with a completely genuine expression, replied,
「You’re already famous, and you’re cute enough as is. I don’t think you need something like an avatar.」
Blue’s face flushed bright red, leaving her speechless, while Astraea let out a sigh with a soft smile. It was an unexpected comment that caught her off guard. A fuming Aimer reached from behind and pinched Kou’s cheeks while Fuyuki and Voy watched with amused grins, though Kou remained blissfully unaware of the effect his words had caused and why Aimer was angry.
With the situation unfolding as it did, Blue had no choice but to move forward with the live stream. Thus, her daring, all-or-nothing broadcast of the assault on the Megareus began.
「This enormous space battleship, forced into the ground by a mysterious object from space—what will become of its fate? I’m here, live on the battlefield, bringing you the action as I fight!」
While broadcasting, Blue carefully avoided revealing the identity of the ‘Hanged Man’ that had critically damaged the Megareus, keeping critical information from falling into enemy hands.
As she continued her commentary, she skillfully sniped and downed enemy aircraft without hesitation. Though she showed no mercy in combat, those precise and brutal actions were conveniently kept out of the broadcast footage.
「Take a look at this! The combat engineers’ drill attack in action! Drills are the ultimate unstoppable force! They can pierce through any armor!」
It was a drill specifically designed for use against space battleships. Naturally, it could easily tear through the armor of any Silhouette, but to the enemy, this unfamiliar weapon would be terrifying.
「And here it is! The most powerful drill strike has landed! What finesse! The enemy was captured, their movement sealed, and a gaping hole was drilled into them! All of that in a few seconds! Not the kind of death you’d want, right?」
Blue quickly switched to Fuyuki’s point of view, streaming the exact moment of the attack. Within seconds, a large hole appeared in the enemy’s chest, accompanied by the high-pitched, piercing sound characteristic of industrial drills biting into metal. The sound alone was enough to heighten the terror. A massive hole had formed where the enemy’s MCS should have been. For any pilot, it was a bone-chilling sight.
With numerous battles unfolding in real-time, a broadcaster’s skill was tested by which scenes they chose to highlight. Blue couldn’t help but inwardly curse Kou for getting her into this live commentary situation.
「We’ve secured two points of entry into the enemy battleship! Hey, Argoforce? If you’re listening, surrendering sooner would be a good idea!」
She taunted them. After all, the thrill of provoking the enemy was part of the excitement of live broadcasting.
「And now for breaking news! The third hatch has been destroyed! A direct hit by the railway artillery! This means we now have three points of entry into the ship. Argoforce, are you getting the picture? You’re out of options!」
At the 1 o’clock position relative to the Megareus and 300 kilometers away, the enormous railgun mounted on the dual-tracked Meicoon artillery train had just fired. The A-Carbuncle’s energy lines had been restored, allowing it to fire after lying in wait.
Blue immediately selected the footage of the direct hit, broadcasting the moment the massive hatch was forced inward, collapsing into the battleship’s interior.
「Metal Iris has air superiority at the moment. It looks like our Artillery Birds Squadron has made their move against the enemy tank units. Where does their obsession with tanks come from, I wonder!」
The Artillery Birds Squadron bravely advanced on the enemy’s heavily armored tank units, executing their daring attacks. The squadron, known for its reckless low-altitude flights, even in the face of railgun fire, was gaining a notorious reputation as tank busters.
However, Blue’s claim of air superiority was a bluff. In reality, the battle for control of the skies above the Megareus was still fiercely contested by both sides’ fighter jets. But for the Artillery Birds Squadron, air superiority didn’t matter—they were determined to hunt tanks regardless.
From the enemy’s perspective, the sudden onslaught of attack planes would give the impression that they had lost air superiority.
「One tank, two tanks… they’re being hunted down one after another. Although we’re losing Artillery Birds as well, they never give up! They repair quickly and redeploy immediately!」
The downed Artillery Birds were dragged back by friendly Quattro Silhouettes, returning them to the rear. There, the repair teams performed emergency fixes, and they immediately took flight once again. This entire process was broadcast live.
「Footage from the front lines is brought to you thanks to the cooperation of the Familia tank squad! And for your listening pleasure, here’s the first track!」
Blue switched the feed to the tank squad’s battle footage and played a song to accompany the intense visuals. The fighting was intensifying, and Blue was preparing to rejoin the fray as a sniper.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「Kou-kun, Blue’s really getting into it, huh?」
Hyoue chuckled, unable to hold back his laughter.
「Yeah, she’s definitely a natural at this.」
Kou replied with a wry smile. Despite being the one who suggested the live stream, he knew there was no one better suited for the job than her.
「We should try to secure the hangar area if we want to keep the excitement going for the live broadcast,」
「Yeah!」
The two were conversing casually while clashing blades with the enemy.
「They’re not going to let us break through that easily though.」
Hyoue cut down the Arulars that continued to land on the deck one after another, analyzing the situation as he fought. Meanwhile, Kurt was engaged in battle a little farther away.
「The enemy has Assault Silhouettes waiting in ambush. We should lead the charge.」
Kurt suggested while instructing the Badb Catha squad to gather around him.
「Kurt-san will lead the assault force? If it’s the Badb Catha squad, they’ll definitely get through.」
The ship’s interior had a lot of confined spaces, and close-quarters combat would favor the Badb Catha which specialized in melee fighting.
Suddenly, Hyoue received a personal transmission. Few people knew his private line, so this was unexpected. He connected the call.
「Can you hear me, Hyoue?」
The voice on the other end was completely unexpected.
Though the figure’s face was obscured by a deeply drawn cloak, Hyoue immediately recognized him.
「You… Castor!」
How Castor had gotten access to Hyoue’s private communication line was unclear, but considering that Castor was the leader of Argoforce, it wasn’t surprising he had his ways.
「You’ve got some nerve, sending me a message like this.」
Hyoue was furious. He wasn’t one to dwell on the past, but the fact remained—Yuzuki had been defeated by this man. Even if Hyoue didn’t intend to voice it, personal feelings couldn’t be set aside so easily.
「Indeed. I thought it was time for you and me to settle this once and for all. I have Chiba’s blade right here with me.」
A different video feed popped up, showing a Silhouette—likely Castor’s Corvus—holding a sword unmistakably crafted by TAKABA: an arc blade.
「You want to finish this? Fine by me. I’ll put an end to you.」
「A one-on-one duel. Are you sure about that?」
「Don’t joke with me! That’s exactly what I want, you bastard!」
「Then come alone to these coordinates. It’s an abandoned Defense Dome.」
The coordinates flashed on the screen. A vein pulsed on Hyoue’s forehead as rage began to simmer.
「You’ve really gone and mocked me for the last time.」
On the other end, Castor’s lips curled into a smirk.
The coordinates pointed to the abandoned Defense Dome where TAKABA had once had its headquarters—a place of great significance. It was where Tsuji had fallen in battle and where Kou first encountered Unit 5. This location marked the beginning of everything for Hyoue.
「I’ll be waiting there. It’s not far from the Megareus, is it?」
The distance was less than 200 kilometers.
「Yeah. You’d better be ready when I get there.」
The transmission cut off abruptly.
「Kou-kun! Kurt-san! I’ve got some business to take care of. Can I leave things to you here?」
「Understood, Hyoue. We’ll handle the entry and sweep.」
「Got it!」
Just as a precaution, Hyoue let them know before heading out. His Accipiter unit shot into the sky and accelerated, heading for the place where he would finally settle the score.
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