Mines, Mines, and More Mines
「What’s the status of the Gorgias?」
Raimund the leader of Roche Phalanx asked Captain Sans for an update.
「Still no response. It might be best to give up on it.」
There was no way to save the space carrier, now sunken into the sea of magma.
Even the space battleship Navis was only just managing to regain its posture underwater. Recovery operations were underway inside the ship.
On the screen, the image of the Gorgias remained utterly still, as if it had sustained a fatal blow.
「What about the other ships?」
「All of them have successfully stabilized their positions. The first wave has already moved forward and taken flight, it appears to have engaged the enemy.」
「I don’t expect them to be defeated easily with such overwhelming firepower… However, let’s regroup with them quickly.」
An uneasy feeling crept over him. The Mercenary Association’s space fleet was equipped with state-of-the-art, high-grade Silhouettes. These Silhouettes were capable of aerial combat, and even though their numbers of Angels were insufficient, their firepower was more than adequate.
「What’s our status?」
「Almost ready. We’ll surface alongside the remaining ships and form up as the second wave.」
「Understood, go ahead.」
A blaring emergency alarm echoed through the hangar.
「What is it this time?!」
「We’re under attack! And not just us—the other ships are too!」
Sans let out a panicked cry at the unexpected assault.
「Calm down. We’re underwater. Is it an enemy space battleship?」
「We’re confirming the silhouette… It’s a submarine!」
「A submarine? They even have submarines? You’re telling me they anticipated this?」
Raimund was thrown into confusion. The idea of submarines being in play hadn’t even crossed his mind.
On the current planet Asia, disputes over marine resources no longer existed. Humanity’s habitable zones were confined to Fortress Areas and Defense Domes. The undersea colonies of the Interplanetary War era had long been abandoned. In other words, war in the oceans simply didn’t happen, making submarines unnecessary. At most, submarines might be used by searchers—archaeologists exploring ruins in the ocean depths.
The significance of oceans and underwater zones had diminished. The concepts of tactics and strategy related to these areas were practically nonexistent. In fact, the general perception was that these areas were safe zones, so desolate that not even Murders would venture there. Even the Argonautai only realized their importance when the Asia War broke out. It wasn’t surprising that the mercenary Association had overlooked it as well.
No matter how skilled a commander might be, expecting them to remain vigilant in an unfamiliar battlefield they had never considered before was a tall order. Moreover, the mercenaries of Roche Phalanx were not part of a formally trained military. Their understanding of the importance of oceans vastly differed from that of the Transferees who had experience in land, sea, and air military operations.
「Something resembling mines is colliding with us. The explosions are incredible. These spinning, thread-like devices keep coming one after another.」
「Autonomous mines?」
Underwater, mines have significantly greater destructive power than on land. Sustained hits would be perilous.
「The Navis is holding up, but the assault landing ships are in trouble.」
「Should we deploy the Angels to handle it? Lasers and charged particle cannons are useless underwater.」
The versatility of the Angels was exceptional. They were even capable of operating underwater. It was said that, during the frontlines of the interplanetary wars, the key to victory was how many of these Angels could be deployed.
「Understood. While I doubt mere mines will take us down, the captains of the other ships are in a panic. We’ll have them respond immediately.」
The Mercenary Association’s fleet, now realizing there was no such thing as a safe zone even underwater, found itself in chaos.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
「Well done, Outis.」
「Thank you, Marujin. Your prediction was spot on.」
A transmission arrived from the Eunomia in low orbit. It was from the masked man, Marujin.
「The enemy completely misread the timing of a tactical shift! Yes! Just like the Spanish Armada of old. That fleet, which relied on the outdated method of overwhelming numbers to board and seize control of ships, was countered by England’s Royal Navy under Her Majesty, which adopted new tactics, strategies, and technologies.」
Marujin, exhilarated by the results produced by the Star, became unusually talkative, while Kou quietly listened.
「And what were those?」
「They replaced iron cannons with more durable bronze cannons—what is also known as gunmetal. Then they made their ships smaller and faster. Through long-range bombardment at distances of over 1,200 meters and the use of fire ships for direct assault, they reduced the invincible armada of 130 ships by nearly half.」
「So the Mercenary Association’s Headquarters military is also being affected by a Paradigm Shift, it seems. Their weaponry makes it obvious…」
「Exactly. They equipped themselves with inadequate weapons. Railguns were merely substitute armaments of the time. Ironically, the exceptional condition of their space fleets became their undoing.」
The overwhelming presence of high-performance but outdated models, combined with the reliance on lasers and particle cannons while ignoring the inherent weaknesses of optical weaponry, proved to be their downfall. Their reliance on munitions-free weaponry saved them the need for ammunition storage and supply chains, with the saved space allocated for more silhouettes. It was undeniably efficient for space fleets—until now.
The tactics of Roche Phalanx seemed to rely on the assumption that they could win solely by leveraging the power of the superior weapons of the Interplanetary War era.
「At last, it’s time for Temperance to make its move. I’ll leave things to you for now.」
「Thank you.」
After cutting off the communication with Marujin, Kou issued instructions to the submarine unit.
「Deep One, deploy Temperance, the amphibious Panjandrum, to keep the enemy in check.」
From the submarine, the Panjandrum Temperance was launched, propelled by water jets.
「Hey, Kou—uh, Outis. Do the mines really need to be Panjandrums? Wouldn’t a torpedo work just as well?」
Matt, the commander of the submarine unit, couldn’t help but ask.
「It’s safer for our allies to have the mines move autonomously rather than scattering them indiscriminately, right? Whether they explode on land, underground, or underwater, it’s still a mine.」
「That makes sense! You’re absolutely right.」
Standing nearby, Lybia gave Matt a skeptical side-eye.
「Shouldn’t you argue a little more?… I mean, I’m also against scattering mines indiscriminately, but still.」
The Temperances struck one after another. A direct hit to thinner armor sections guaranteed damage.
「The Panjandrum was originally designed to roll off landing craft and crash into the enemy. So I thought, why not make it move underwater? That way, we wouldn’t even need landing craft.」
「It’d be faster to just fire missiles, Outis.」
Matt countered without hesitation.
Kou quietly averted his eyes.
Angels were deployed to intercept and began destroying the Temperances. They had no choice but to slash at them with blades, triggering explosions that sent shockwaves rippling through the water.
「The destructive power is even greater than expected.」
「The main stars are the anti-ship torpedoes. Anti-ship torpedoes designed with space warships in mind. Underwater, bubble pulses are the most efficient too, it increases the power even more.」
「It’s about time. Eunomia, is everything ready?」
「Already completed.」
「Triton Unit, deploy. Eliminate the Angels!」
「Understood. Therianthropes and Nereids—take out the Angels in the water!」
Matt relayed Kou’s orders.
From the rear of the Eunomia, mermaid-shaped silhouettes were deployed into the sea.
「Fire the torpedoes!」
Torpedoes were launched from each submarine, all guided by wires to maximize their destructive power. Among them, the ultra-large torpedoes fired from the Eunomia, a ship equipped with an A-Carbuncle, created massive explosions. A single hit tore a large hole in the port side of an enemy space assault landing ship, leaving the target scrambling to manage the damage.
Meanwhile, the Angels preoccupied with countering the Temperance Panjandrums underwater were suddenly ambushed by wave after wave of Triton–class Nixie Silhouettes. Equipped with specialized underwater weaponry, the Nixies overwhelmed the Angels with their vastly superior mobility. Many of the Angels sank into the darkness of the deep sea.
「Eirene, is it possible to change Temperance’s target?」
「Huh? Me? Sure! The Temperances are equipped with the Merlin system, so it’s totally doable.」
「Got it. Then change the target of the Temperances. Have them infiltrate the flagship Gorgias through the perforated, severely damaged sections and detonate from within. It’s submerged now, and the water temperature around the ship has dropped, so it should be manageable.」
「Understood! You want the Gorgias completely taken out, right? On it!」
「It’s just a follow-up. ‘Taking it out’ sounds a bit harsh.」
Kou remarked with a wry smile.
Eirene seemed to catch on, and promptly gave instructions to the Temperances. They adjusted their course and began converging on the Gorgias. For any survivors aboard the Gorgias, it would surely feel like a nightmare.
Even Aimer cast a look of pity toward the enemy. She thought to herself that while the legendary wizard Merlin’s father may have been a dream demon, he was not a bringer of nightmares.
「Better safe than sorry.」
Kou’s meticulous preparations and thorough approach to combat left those around him in awe.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
The flagship of Highlander—the second strongest Underground Force within the Mercenary Association Headquarters—was the space battleship Phalaikos. Highlander also possessed several other space vessels, including the carrier Aglaonice. All of them together formed a formidable fleet. Currently, the Aglaonice was in transit, working to regroup and reorganize the advancing space fleet.
「Has the Phalaikos still not managed to surface from underwater?」
The captain, barely concealing his frustration, demanded an update from his subordinates.
「It’s impossible, sir! It was too close to the Gorgias…」
The battleships had been deployed in a formation resembling a defensive circular array to protect the Gorgias. Positioned at the three o’clock direction, the Aglaonice had suffered minimal damage.
However, the ships stationed closer to the frontlines were being systematically destroyed, with two already sunk by conventional firepower. The situation was growing increasingly dire.
「Deploy the air units! A large number of enemy fighters are closing in!」
From the Aglaonice, silhouettes launched one after another. While not all units were operational due to earlier impacts, most had completed restoration work and were ready for deployment. The intercept force consisted primarily of models capable of limited flight, alongside an elite selection of specialized silhouette units.
In the skies above, allied silhouettes exploded one after another. Even the supposedly invincible antique silhouettes were falling from the sky. Watching their descent, the captain was left speechless. These were Angels, superweapons with powerful armor, capable of virtually infinite flight within the atmosphere.
「Wha… What’s happening…?」
「The enemy fighter units possess considerable range and firepower. While allied lasers are diminishing in effect, the enemy is targeting us with railguns and guided missiles.」
「Railguns? On fighters?!」
「Yes, sir.」
The unexpected situation left the captain in disarray. During the Asia War, due to insufficient firepower from autocannons, many fighters had begun adopting medium-caliber railguns as secondary or even primary weapons. The current assault force consisted of the heavy fighter units of the Pleiades Squadron assigned to the Astraea.
「But I’ve never heard of anything piercing the Angels armor like this!」
「Those are likely the new ammunition-equipped models mentioned in the Roche Phalanx’s reconnaissance reports!」
Descending from high altitudes in an unexpected assault, the slow-moving Angels were struck by the Cannon Bird II—the Kanonenvogel Zwei squadron. The Angels’ anti-air lasers proved ineffective as the enemy systematically destroyed them with precision.
「Bad news! Two of our anti-air laser cannons have been destroyed!」
「At this rate, we’ll be completely defenseless…」
The weapons of a carrier are its aircraft, and the same principle applied to space carriers.
「Damn it. We have no choice. I authorize the transformation into Witch Nyunpé! Deploy ground units onto the flight deck and take them down with sniper fire!」
「Understood!」
The Aglaonice was a unique space carrier with a specialized transformation structure. The ship’s name, derived from Aglaonice, humanity’s first female astronomer and famously known as the ‘Moon-sinking Witch’, reflected this capability.
The carrier could operate large-scale aircraft, with its standard 1.5-kilometer-class flight deck capable of transforming into a massive 2-kilometer runway in its ‘Witch Mode’, complete with additional anti-aircraft weaponry. This design was a relic from the Interplanetary War era, built to accommodate large aircraft.
Ground-combat silhouettes were deployed onto the deck via elevators and began anti-air operations. However, that alone was insufficient. The silhouette-specific catapult slings were fully activated, launching units onto the deck for rapid deployment.
In no time, nearly a hundred units had taken position. But then, something unbelievable unfolded on the monitor before them.
「R-report… the enemy fighters… they…」
「You don’t need to say it.」
The captain’s voice trembled as he took in the scene unfolding on the monitor before him. It was—
「Fighters transforming into humanoid shapes?! And so many variable units at that!」
In mere moments, nearly a hundred silhouettes had been wiped out.
While Misumaru Heavy Industries‘ Pleiades Squadron pushed forward with their offensive, the Type-0 Squadron from Gogyou Heavy Industries arrived on the scene as reinforcements. Specialized for mass production, the Type-0s numbered a staggering 200 units. They transformed one after another and began boarding the flight deck.
「Enemy units are infiltrating the interior of the ship one after another! We can’t repel them!」
Leading the assault was Kurose, piloting his Akors, spearheading the attack deep into the Aglaonice‘s interior.
「Pirates… Are they pirates?」
The captain muttered in disbelief as the hollow sounds of explosions echoed around him, accompanied by the brutal massacre displayed on the monitors.
「How are they getting inside the ship?! Why are the hatches still open?!」
The captain’s rage exploded as he realized all of the side hatches meant for silhouette deployment remained wide open.
「There were no orders to close them… If we shut them, silhouettes wouldn’t be able to deploy onto the deck!」
「You fool! Close them immediately!」
「We can’t! The hangars inside the ship have been taken over, and we’ve lost control of the mechanisms!」
「W-what?! Just focus on repelling them somehow!」
The Aglaonice‘s silhouettes attempted to respond with gunfire, but the enemy Transformable Silhouettes of Trireme capitalized on the confined spaces, forcing close-quarters combat. The battlefront was rapidly shifting to the interior of the Aglaonice.
Comment (0)