Omnidirectional Support – Multi-turreted Tank

 


The BAS Company deployed its ground forces.

「Abel-san, Is it really going to be okay for a single tank to rush headfirst into enemy lines?」

「It’ll be fine. That’s what it was designed for in the first place. That’s the multi-turreted tank Blazer.」

「Oh, I see. It really does have lots of turrets.」

「Before World War II, Britain had already developed such a tank specifically to break through trenches. Other nations then followed suit. Thus, Blazer can be said to be a machine specifically designed to pierce defense lines.」

Just as Abel said, after World War I, Britain developed the multi-turreted tank, and other nations soon followed suit. However, they also quickly realized that it was ultimately a failed concept.

Since it employed lots of parts, it was prone to mechanical failure, and it was also expensive to produce. There were many other drawbacks such as the turrets interfering with one another and the firing angles ending up being too limited.

Because of their general structure, multi-turreted tanks were also quite large and tall. One big reason for its failure was that the use it was primarily designed for – breaking through trenches – became practically invalidated when trenches themselves declined in use.

Fortunately, the size and weight of the tanks produced in Asia were adjusted with Silhouettes in mind, so the problems were minimized.

「Come to think of it, didn’t Kou also design something similar?」

「Oh! I didn’t think there was someone who shared the same sentiments as me! By any chance, was he the one who designed the panjandrums that destroyed that gigantic Murder?」

「That’s right!」

「Wonderful! I’d really like to meet with him!」

Aki and Astraea’s eyes glazed over after hearing Abel’s words.

「Astraea, did Kou really make such a thing too?」

『Yes…… It was my mistake. My teaching methods were inappropriate. I’m truly sorry.』

「It’s not something you have to apologize for, Astraea. But I have a strong feeling that something really bad will happen if we let the two of them meet. I really can’t help but feel that way.」

『I feel the same way.』

The multi-turreted tank Blazer charged straight toward the central urban district.

Its multiple turrets were quite tall so as to not interfere with one another. Hence, it was nearly as tall as a Silhouette.

Its main gun was also equipped with a large mantlet. The tank was designed to shield Silhouettes from enemy fire ones its ammunition runs out.

Its main gun was a 155 mm railgun, and its secondary weapon was a 60 mm Gatling gun. It was also equipped with two large-caliber rocket launchers.

Two MCS units were installed inside it. It was operated by a total of four Familiars.

The enemies facing it would be wary of taking direct hits from its railgun, but the ones that posed the most danger to them were the rocket launchers.

They were capable of rapidly firing a large number of rockets, ensuring devastating firepower.

In other words, it was able to fire a number of rockets that could overwhelm high-dimensional projection armor’s defense even though it was normally strong against explosions and powerful shockwaves.

The Blazer didn’t have any Silhouettes escorting it. They were all positioned at the rear. Since the Blazer was a multi-turreted tank, having Silhouettes right beside it would just limit the Blazer’s line of fire.

Because it was a heavy tank, the Blazer was equipped with thick armor, and even if enemy Armadillos and Bisons close in on it, they would be dealt with by the Silhouettes at the rear.

「It’s a tank with high area suppression capabilities, Abel-san. By the way, it doesn’t seem to have any escorts.」

「That’s one of the Blazer’s drawbacks. The Silhouettes would on serve to block its weapon’s firing lines.」

「Eh……」

It was a problem unique to multi-turreted tanks. At first glance, the Blazer might seem to be isolated, but it actually wasn’t.

It was supported from above by transformable Silhouettes, and the regular Silhouettes following behind it can cover for it as well.

Gogyou Heavy Industry’s multi-turreted tank Blazer dominated the urban district in its own distinct way.

The Blazer’s destructive capabilities in confined spaces such as the urban district was simply overwhelming.

The Argoforce tanks that blocked the way and the enemy Silhouettes that jumped out of corners were quickly destroyed by rockets and autocannon fire.

The more the enemy Silhouettes tried to flank it and attack its blind spot, the more tragic they ended up.

The Blazer had practically no blind spots, to begin with.

「Aren’t those rapid-fire rocket launchers a lot nastier than the tank’s main gun?」

「Admiral Aimer, it’s great that you’ve noticed. Those rapid-fire rocket launchers are capable of firing 500 rounds each, for a total of 1000. They can hit enemies with 60 rounds per minute. They can be equipped with both anti-air or anti-ground missiles depending on the situation. However, the cost of replenishing its ammunition is quite high as a result.」

「Is that really okay? Isn’t BAS short of money right now……?」

「Ahaha. How harsh. I can’t exactly deny that though.」

Aimer inwardly thought that BAS was incorrectly using their finances.

She then turned her attention to the Silhouettes.

The regular Silhouette model manufactured by BAS was called the Lamorak. Its armor was relatively thick, and it was actually electromagnetic armor. It belonged to the heavy Silhouette category.

Originally, it was supposed to work as the partner Silhouette of BAS’s Dragoon tank model, but since the company prioritized naval and air units, the new Dragoon tank models weren’t finished yet. That’s why only the Silhouettes were sortied out in the end.

It was equipped with what seemed to be a spear with a rather long blade. Lamorak was also the name of a knight in Arthurian legend who excelled in handling spears.

On the other hand, the aerial Silhouette Buzzard was a transformable Silhouette capable of VTOL.

The Lamoraks were equipped with rocket-shaped boosters.

One closed the distance between it and an enemy Silhouette in an instant as it performed a charging attack.

Since the booster was a rocket-type, there was a limit on the frequency of times it can be used, but it didn’t particularly guzzle up a lot of the stored metallic hydrogen. It can be said to be designed for short-range decisive battles.

「Oh, they use those spears to shoot sometimes, don’t they?」

Aimer noticed this detail after watching the Silhouettes fight for a while.

『That’s actually not a spear. It’s a type of plasma railgun. It converts a warhead’s heavy metal core into plasma, fires it, and slams it into an enemy machine using Lorentz force.』

「That sounds pretty strong. But isn’t the range a little too short?」

『It’s hard to say that its development was a success, but they still decided to mass-produce it probably because it showed promise when used as a spear. Its range ended up being reasonable enough, but they should have faced difficulties in maintaining the plasma state of the warhead.』

「It’s kinda similar to the way Aki fights. I mean, she stabs stuff and then fires too.」

「It absolutely isn’t! The main function of the Burst Lance is to pierce and destroy enemy armor from the inside, okay? It’s completely different from those things. They fire actual projectiles at point-blank range instead!」

Aki immediately countered. Perhaps it’s because she really didn’t want to get associated with the BAS machines.

「S-Sorry.」

Aimer quickly apologized to the sulking Aki.

「There’s no way Kou would let Astraea make a weapon that’s difficult to be called a success.」

『It’s just as Aki said. I personally would reject such a thing on the spot. However, they merely chose to take advantage of this particular failure for the sake of their reputation and honor.』

「I think it would be better to use a railgun normally too. –I see. It’s also the type that uses plasma as an electric conductor.」

After thinking for a short while, Aimer turned to Astraea to confirm her conjecture.

『Your conjecture is correct. Plasma is used in place of a rail, and the warhead that’s turned into plasma is fired out. Therefore, it would be fine even if it is handled more roughly compared to the type that utilizes two rails. As a result, it’s difficult to deem it a complete failure as well. Though I still feel that using a gun as a blunt weapon or spear is not a very good idea.』

「It kinda feels like they didn’t care about the details as long as it works.」

『On the other hand, that Buzzard transformable Silhouette is quite a balanced design.』

The fighter-form and Silhouette-form Buzzards were frantically fighting in the air and on the ground in order to support the Lamoraks and the Blazer.

Perhaps they looked more pleasing to Astraea’s eyes.

「We’ve been able to secure our advantage in this urban battle. Once we manage to reunite with Rick and the others, taking complete control of this Fortress Area would only be a matter of time.」

「Kou is coming back for repairs!」

「I’ll go ahead and ask Ma-chan to handle that. Those kids should be able to handle performing repairs and maintenance on the C-type.」

Kou was currently the only one who used the C-type additional armor.

Although it was quite inefficient as a supply ship, the Astraea was akin to Kou’s personal property. Hence, it was only natural for it to be able to fully provide Kou’s needs.

「But to think that the C-type took so much damage that it ended up purging its additional armor. Kou should have faced a really dangerous enemy.」

Aimer was sure about the matter.

She already knew Unit 5’s specs and abilities by heart. In fact, she should be capable of piloting it to an extent as well.

Aimer was relieved that Kou chose to come back instead of forcing himself to fight more.


Yoshikawa was desperately running away.

Takaba Hyoue chased after him with a demonic expression on his face. Yoshikawa could clearly see a blue Accipiter right behind him.

Once he gets caught, he’d surely die.

It was fortunate that their machines were roughly equal in performance. His two accomplices had already managed to flee. They arranged to meet up again later.

They made use of their familiarity with the area in order to escape.

「Damn you! Yoshikawa! Just choose between dying in agony or painlessly!」

「I still die either way dammit!」

Yoshikawa didn’t think he’d end up being on the receiving end of such a potent murderous intent.

「Just resolve yourself and die!」

「A ranked sword master like you shouldn’t be bullying an amateur like me!」

Yoshikawa pointed out that he was of a lower rank when it comes to swordsmanship in order to try and reduce the other party’s murderous intent.

「I can’t stand to let such a villain like you continue to live! This is for justice!」

It apparently didn’t work at all.

「Hah! I no longer have anything to do with your company. See ya geezer!」

「Shut up! You goddamn thief!」

Yoshikawa ended up adding even more fuel to the fire instead.

Even so, he was still a lot more familiar with the underground routes and narrow passages compared to the other party.

He memorized them just in case he falls into predicaments like this one.

Before long, he managed to shake Hyoue off and make his escape.

「Dammit. He shouldn’t have gotten that far away. I’m gonna find you, you bastard.」

In order to identify which routes Yoshikawa had possibly escaped to, Hyoue decided to cooperate with the Boons that were flying overhead.

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