Secretive

 

「Well done. It was truly exhilarating. You have my praise, Albert.」

「Your words are most gracious.」

Albert knelt before Castor on the screen. The battle results before him clearly showed the extent of the damage they had inflicted on the enemy. The outcome should have been decided by that first carrier bomb, however, it was still uncertain. The enemy shouldn’t be underestimated.

They wouldn’t have needed to use so much military strength if the enemy wasn’t strong. Castor had stopped underestimating Metal Iris a long time ago. Albert was on standby in the Megareus, ready for any eventuality.

「How are you planning to proceed?」

Castor asked Vasa, who was beside him.

「First, the carrier escorts, the Arulars, and their modified version, the Seesava-Arular will move forward to attract the enemy’s fire. After the carriers reach the attack position, the escorts will change formation to secure air supremacy over the P336 Fortress Area. If there are no issues with the follow-up units, they will participate in the ground suppression operation.」

The gray eagle, the Seesava-Arular, was an enhanced version of Arular, the main enhancements this new model had received compared to its predecessor were related to radar performance.

「We have taken into account the possibility that the leading carrier will be subjected to concentrated fire. The leading carrier will carry two hundred Arachne models and about twice that number of Aberration Silhouettes to help the Arachnes with artillery support. Additionally, we’ll drop three hundred of the new model heavily armed battle silhouettes, the Strelite, and another three hundred of the new airdrop-capable dragoon tank, the Luisark. Both are firepower-focused units.」

「Simultaneous deployment of several new models of tanks and silhouettes, combined with artillery units. The sight alone will strike fear in Metal Iris’s members hearts.」

「Next, the second carrier, will deploy two thousand units of the new assault silhouette Kazakh via parachute drop. This will be the main force of our army.」

「Argoforce’s main Silhouette model sporting armored muscle. Finally, it’s making its debut.」

The Argoforce had never used Silhouette models sporting armored muscle of their own design. They had only used refurbished captured units like the Ravens and the Corvus. The Kazakh was a simplified production model based on the Accipiter.

「Yes. Lastly, we will deploy the enhanced Kazakh model, the Krylro-Kazakh, from this carrier, along with the Raven units. As escorts, we’ll use the Bivoi-Ohotnik. This is a new transformable Silhouette sporting a metallic hydrogen generation reactor.」

「This time, I will also join the battle.」

That was why Castor had boarded the third carrier.

「Understood. We have prepared a Corvus for you, Castor-sama.」

「That’s unexpected. I thought you would have prepared one of the latest Silhouette models you designed.」

「The performance of the Corvus is perfect already. Especially if you, Castor-sama, are the one piloting it. Moreover, the latest model has some quirks that make it difficult to master.」

「I was also interested in the custom machine based on the Bivoi-Ohotnik.」

「Your words are most gracious. Perhaps you will have the opportunity to test it someday.」

「I look forward to it. You seemed quite engrossed in it, after all.」

Castor’s body was also that of a Development Engineer. His understanding of Bricolage was quite extensive.

Vasa’s latest machine, that he had built after several sleepless nights, was of great interest to him.

Recently, Vasa had been intensely focused on adjusting that machine within the Development Engineer’s section. He claimed to have gleaned further insights from the enemy units. He had even sent his own unit back to the main Fortress Area for reconstruction rather than mere adjustment.

「I will make every effort to meet your expectations.」

「Very well. Shall we prepare for our sortie? Will you be operating alone?」

「Yes. Bardo will be accompanying you as your escort, Castor-sama.」

「Good. I will join you later then. I can’t imagine someone of your skill losing, but…」

「If anything happens, I will retreat and regroup immediately.」

Castor nodded graciously. His confidence in the tactical and strategic ability of Vasa was absolute. His only concern was when Bricolage was involved.

Lately, Vasa had mainly focused on his role as the Argoforce’s main Development Engineer, his reasons for being engrossed were understandable, yet his fervor sometimes seemed excessive. It was akin to the affection Albert had for artillery but extended to all weaponry.

Moreover, he was extremely secretive and results-oriented. He only proceeded with mass production after very rigorous tests confirmed superior cost performance.

The new silhouette being deployed this time had already been in mass production for some time. However, deciding on the Kazakh as the Argoforce’s first main mass-produced Silhouette, had taken a considerable amount of time.

If they hadn’t seized a stolen Accipiter, it would have taken even more time. Once the decision was made, they used every available line to mass-produce a large number of units in a short period.

The Kazakh was designed as an assault silhouette with thicker armor than the Accipiter. It prioritized mobility by using stronger armor in key points and reducing the number of overall armored muscles. It utilized metallic hydrogen storage instead of a generator, making it less suitable for energy weapons. Ironically, its performance was similar to the Lanius A1 designed by TAKABA. The enhanced Krylro-Kazakh, designed for ace pilots, had an increased number of armored muscles. The Raven was extremely costly to produce, so the Krylro-Kazakh was created as a more accessible ace unit.

Until now, they had deceived the enemy by operating on various fronts using older-generation weapons and the weapons developed by Albert. For this operation, Vasa had finally decided to deploy all the weapons he had developed until now.

「They have been playing with us until now thanks to their bizarre weapons. Now, it’s our turn.」

Recalling the bitter prior defeats, Castor grimaced.

「I feel the same way, Castor-sama.」

Vasa, unusually, also smiled wryly.

Below them lay the P336 Fortress area. Capturing this key defensive position would bring them just a step away from the enemy’s headquarters, the Silhouette Base.

From the last airborne carrier, the elite units of the Argoforce began their descent.

The difference from previous units was that all were high-performance machines that did not require parachutes to descend.

### ### ###

Smoke still hadn’t cleared, and amidst the dust, Metal Iris’s defense units were deployed. The Arulars and its upgraded units were securing air superiority above.

Those Arulars were being shot down one after another by the sniper unit led by Blue.

「This is Blue. Sniper unit in position. Commencing anti-aircraft fire. Shall we start, Big Boss?」

「Okay. I’m counting on you, Fairy Blue.」

「You got it!」

Next, Nyanta’s image appeared.

「This is Epona Trooper 1. Urban combat preparation is complete. Leaping over piles of rubble is easy, nya.」

「Don’t get careless. Be careful.」

「Roger, nya!」

Ground units reported to Kou one after the other. Asia’s Aimer was coordinating with the Familiars and issuing commands.

「The smoke is clearing. The enemy units are starting to infiltrate through the open canopy section. All enemy units are descending without parachutes. It is expected the enemy will initiate operations upon landing.」

A voice came from behind.

「The enemy’s landing site is around the area of the destroyed urban district. They probably intend to assemble their forces here.」

「That’s likely. The descending dragoon tanks and the Arachne models also seem to be targeting this area.」

Kou was monitoring the battle situation on the surface level.

「This is Trooper 2! Kou…san! There’s something urgent you need to hear!」

A communication came from the fox-eared Therianthrope, Palm. He had been strictly instructed not to call him ‘Kou-sama’, which seemed to make him hesitate. However, this was no time to worry about such details.

「What is it?」

「We’ve engaged the descending enemy units. The enemy’s new assault silhouettes… they appear to be closely related to the Lanius. The enemy is also aggressively engaging in close combat.」

「What did you say!」

Kou shouted, not expecting the enemy to mass-produce Lanius.

「Yes. I confirmed it from the unit I cut down with a diagonal slash. Its structure is very similar to the Lanius A1, with armored muscles integrated within. Its armor strength appears to be higher than that of the Lanius A1.」

Palm’s Silhouette was equipped with an arc blade, crafted by Arges. His achievement of defeating an enemy’s antique silhouette had earned in the position of an ace allowing him to use an Epona.

「Lanius A1… I’ll issue the orders. Asia’s Aimer, instruct everyone to keep their distance from the enemy’s new assault silhouettes. Target each enemy with several units and avoid one-on-one combat.」

「Understood.」

It was ironic. Kou found himself instructing his allies in the very style he had the most trouble with. It was the style he disliked the most, but he knew everything about it because he’d been drilled by Blue and the others on the weaknesses of the Lanius, just so he wouldn’t get into trouble in battle.

「Palm, thank you for the report. Fight carefully.」

「Understood!」

Kou reviewed the data and sighed.

「Two thousand machines comparable to the Lanius A1… Metal Iris doesn’t even have five hundred of those!」

The high quality of the enemy forces heightened his sense of urgency. Linking with Palm’s data feed, he observed the enemy movements. Indeed, they exhibited the distinctive flexibility of armored muscles.

「The enemy… is strong. We must not falter.」

Suddenly, a memory from the past came rushing back. It was a memory of playing video games with Tsuji.

Tsuji laughed as he pressed the continue button. Another round was starting.

「Damn. You’re still unbeatable at games. But I won’t give up!」

「The ‘at games’ part is unnecessary. There’s no way I could ever beat you in swordsmanship.」

Kou chuckled.

「Never Give In Never Never Never!」 1

「What’s that?」

「It’s a quote from a great but troublesome British politician. It means ‘to do everything you can and never accept defeat’.」

「A troublesome but great politician, huh? From Britain? I don’t know much about that.」

「There’s more to the quote, actually…」

The memories ended there. Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

「Kou? Are you worried?」

「No, I’m fine. Never give in, never never never.」

「It’s something you sometimes mutter when playing fighting games. Yes, we’ll never give in. Absolutely!」

「Did I really mutter that?」

「Yeah!」

Kou and Aimer sometimes played games from the Earth era. Aimer excelled at aerial combo moves, which Kou struggled with, so he sometimes muttered things. Aimer remembered all of Kou’s mutterings.

「I really want to rush out and fight. But, I can’t right now.」

He was the only one who could defend this place.

「So this is the feeling of frustration of not being able to be on the front lines, huh? Aimer, you’re strong.」

Aimer had endured this feeling all along. So had Barry.

「No, that’s not true. If I’m strong, then you’re even stronger, Kou.」

Asia’s Aimer smiled gently, denying Kou’s praise.

「Believing in everyone is important, too.」

「Yeah. I’ll take the advice from a senior commander to heart.」

Kou genuinely felt that way.

 

TN1: This phrase is attributed to Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during World War II. He said this words during a speech in 1941

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