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Successful Defense

 

A communication came through to the MCS of Unit 5. Standing behind Kou, Asia’s Aimer relayed the message to the defense squad.

「The Pericles and the Eunomia have arrived at the P336 Fortress Area. Everyone, we’re almost there.」

「That’s a relief!」

From the Pericles, transformable Silhouettes and fighter jets launched one after another. From the Eunomia, the Wild Hunt squad took flight.

The Therianthropes piloted their new flying units. Those who had been defending on the ground were stirred with excitement. Inside the dome, they had used the mobility of the Quattro Silhouettes to great effect, overall having great performance, now it was the time to show their prowess in the sky too.

「Sorry to keep you waiting, Kou!」

Matt chimed in through the communication line, and Jialing soon joined the conversation as well.

「Yeah, and don’t forget—we’ll never forgive those who wrecked our companies!」

Both their companies, Gallop Corporation and Aegis Corporation were located within the P336 Fortress Area. These two were furious due to the large-scale destruction.

「We’ve been waiting for this. Let’s drive them back.」

「Of course. And we’ll finally be able to show the Therianthropes in this city the new Gargoyle-type Silhouettes!」

Matt grinned. The Therianthropes in this city had been drawn here by Gallop Corporation’s Quattro Silhouette.

The flying Silhouettes—finally, they would be able to show them off to those who had been eagerly awaiting them.

Just as expected, the Wild Hunt squad mesmerized the Therianthropes on the ground.

「That’s amazing! Is that the Gargoyle-type we’ve heard rumors about?」

「Once things settle down, I’m sure we’ll start mass production. But first, we need to drive them back!」

Soon enough, Gallop Corporation would likely begin mass producing the Gargoyle-type as well. At last, Therianthropes would be able to take to the skies in Silhouettes.

「This is Barry. The enemy is starting to retreat.」

「This is Fuyuki. Same here, the enemy is pulling back. We won’t pursue them too far.」

Communications from Astraia and the Cimon, who were holding the defensive line at the front, came in.

「This is Asia’s Aimer. The enemy forces are retreating from the P336 Fortress Area!」

「Aerial and artillery units, attack as necessary. Tell the pursuing units to not go too deep.」

「Understood. I’ll relay those orders.」

Asia’s Aimer followed Kou’s instructions, directing the allied forces to focus on long-range attacks as they pursued the retreating enemies.

「We’ll also initiate the chase. Combat will be restricted to within the shelter.」

「Leave it to us!」

「Retreating enemies can be formidable. Stay alert, everyone.」

Kurt cautioned calmly.

「Exactly. Well then, let’s start the hunt.」

Said Jamie, as if savoring the upcoming pursuit.

「We and Blue will have fun blasting them away, nya!」

「Wait! Don’t lump me in with you. I’ll be sniping coolly, providing support for Kou and the others.」

「Yeah. I’m counting on you both.」

With the Hrafnagud in the lead, the two Lanius flanked from either side, cutting into the enemy formation. Even Jamie had now become a close-combat fighter. Watching the six engage on the monitor, Voy couldn’t help but think, ‘Just fire your D-rifles already’, but he didn’t interfere with their fighting styles.

The two Eponas maintained pressure on the surrounding enemies with their D-rifles. In particular, Nyanta’s suppression-focused D-rifle unleashed brutal power. Any enemies that managed to escape were promptly taken down by Blue.

As they moved past the urban area, the tank units joined the battle. They were part of the Wangcheng Industrial Group’s tank division. Leading the charge was an Epona, adorned in black and gold. The black lion, as it was nicknamed, had been gifted to Yuton, who had saved Nyanta some time ago.

「Big Boss! As expected, you really drove them off! If it’s a field battle, leave it to us!」

「I’m counting on you, Yuton-neesan!」

「You got it!」

This tigress-type Therianthrope, with her confident demeanor, had earned the deep trust of her comrades. Even Kou had started calling her ‘neesan’ without realizing it.

The tanks formed a squadron and charged at the enemy, moving into full pursuit mode.

The enemy began retreating swiftly, transitioning into a full withdrawal. Silhouettes cautiously covered the rear as they pulled back. Protecting the rear guard were Arachne-types.

The Black Widow, a multi-legged tank specialized in anti-Silhouette combat, had its weaknesses.

It wasn’t well-suited for fighting against regular tanks.

Equipped with guided main guns and electromagnetic nets, the Black Widows had an agility that normal tanks couldn’t match. However, against the sheer size and firepower of traditional tanks, which could pull off slalom shooting with turret flexibility, it was at a disadvantage. In a frontal engagement, where armor and firepower were the most important variables, the Black Widows couldn’t do anything against traditional tanks.

「We’ll send those strange tanks packing!」

「Press the attack!」

The tanks of the Wangcheng Industrial Group, piloted by Familia, advanced into the outskirts, pursuing the enemy. On the retreating enemy side, the Black Knights, piloting the Black Widows, tried to take down the pursuing tanks—but—

「We’ll cover the flanks! Everyone, leave it to us!」

Unit 5 intercepted the Black Knights attempting to destroy the tanks’ treads and turrets from the sides. In a flash, Kou sliced through one Black Knight in midair, then swiftly switched weapons to take down another with the D-rifle, shooting it out of the sky.

The Black Knight that crashed to the ground was quickly silenced by a concentrated barrage from the tank corps.

「With Big Boss guarding us, we’re unstoppable!」

「Tank Corps, advance! Fire!」

The morale of the Familia tank crews surged.

While several Black Knights remained, Kurt and Kou’s team moved in to provide cover. Half-tracked armored vehicles from the rear of the tank formation provided supporting fire, systematically taking out the enemy.

Although the Black Widows were durable, they couldn’t withstand the concentrated firepower. One by one, the multi-legged tanks began to show gaping holes, ceasing to move. Yet, the enemy calmly continued to fulfill their role, fighting to secure a safe retreat route.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

「Castor-sama, the retreat from the P336 Fortress Area has begun.」

Vasa reported to Castor, delivering the news of their defeat, his words weighed down with the gravity of the situation.

「It can’t be helped. Not when they’ve deployed a Space Fortress Carrier.」

No one could definitively say that it didn’t possess combat capabilities exceeding that of the Megareus.

「Our allied fleet plans to return to the Sphene Continent in a few days.」

「In a few days? My brother sure is loyal to a fault. Damn it, how many tricks do they have up their sleeves?」

From the data gathered on the enemy fleet, they had identified the reinforcements as a Space Fortress Carrier of the Sophos class, similar to their own Megareus. The Enterprise was a restored ship the same as the Megareus, so its combat capabilities were unknown, and the number of weapons it could carry was staggering.

Even a new Mobile Arsenal Platform had joined the battle. Castor seethed with frustration at the sheer force of what should have been merely a corporation and a mercenary team.

「The enemy will likely attempt to capture or destroy the Megareus. However, we have more Silhouettes and weapons than they do, and ours are of higher quality, aren’t they?」

「Indeed. Their tanks are designed primarily to counter Silhouettes, but our Eber II heavy tanks, and Vasa’s high-performance Silhouettes, are more than capable of repelling them.」

The Eber II heavy tank, developed by Albert, was recognized even by Metal Iris as a formidable adversary. As long as it was properly deployed, even three high-performance Silhouettes would struggle to destroy it. Although it was vulnerable to flight-capable units and close-combat Silhouettes using muscle armor, these weaknesses were mitigated by the presence of allied Silhouettes.

「What’s next will be a war of attrition. If we can dodge their initial strike, victory will be ours. The Stones control several continents, and our supply lines are plentiful. But what about them?」

「They’ve only secured one orbital elevator and are dependent on supplies from trading companies.」

「Exactly.」

The air power they had sent to the P336 Fortress Area, composed mainly of flight-capable Silhouettes and variable-wing fighters, had returned already. Should a defensive situation arise, they would be able to cooperate with their tanks and land battleships.

In war, the defending side had the advantage. And the key defensive position was the mighty Megareus. The enemy’s counterattack was the best opportunity to deplete their forces.

「We intercepted this footage from the front lines. Take a look.」

「Is this… Admiral Aimer?」

The image displayed Aimer, her eyes glowing with a golden hue.

「From the orders being issued, it appears she is connected with Asia. In other words, Asia and Aimer are in some form of fusion state.」

「Is such a thing even possible?」

「Hermes-sama himself is currently analyzing the situation. If this is possible, it explains why the enemy’s tactical maneuvers have been so seamless.」

「Indeed.」

「Apparently, they were in the backseat of the guardian of the sealed area. It seems she was behind the opponent you fought.」

「So she was with Asia’s Knight! My apologies, I didn’t realize.」

Vasa internally accepted this. It made sense—being near that man would be the safest place. And Asia had overheard their conversation. She had understood his true intentions, which was a pleasing, unexpected outcome.

「It’s fine. The P336 Fortress area turned out to be a far more important stronghold for them than we anticipated. Their counterattack will be fierce.」

「Indeed.」

After all, they’d hit them with a carrier bomb. The enemy’s fury would be intense.

「There’s one more troubling report…」

Castor turned his attention to Vasa, whose expression had become grave.

「What is it? Speak.」

「Just now, an enemy Mobile Arsenal Platform of the same class as Astraea has surfaced from underwater and launched into space.」

「Another one?」

The situation was becoming tiresome—dealing with the Mobile Arsenal Platforms, a foe that had repeatedly forced them into bitter retreats.

「What’s its current movement?」

「It appears to be staying in orbit, doing nothing. Intercepting it from the ground would be difficult.」

「We don’t know what they’re planning, but their most likely move would be a strike from space. When the time comes, take it down with the main cannon.」

「Understood.」

A Mobile Arsenal Platform didn’t have armor as thick as a space battleship. If it was hit while re-entering the atmosphere, even one shot could be fatal.

「If they’re aiming for a tactical position, they would launch three ships simultaneously, wouldn’t they? If they were trying to collide it with the Megareus, an Assault Carrier would be better suited. What are they up to?」

「They’d want to avoid unnecessary losses of their space fleet. Perhaps they plan to infiltrate the Megareus using flight-capable Silhouettes.」

「If that’s all they’ve got, we can easily overwhelm them with numbers.」

The Silhouettes onboard Megareus were top-notch, and the pilots were elite. Even if they tried to board the ship by force, the entry points were limited, making it easier to defend.

「There’s still time before their ground forces begin advancing. I assume they’ll synchronize their attacks.」

「I agree. If they’re in orbit, it won’t take more than two hours to make a full revolution around the planet. They’ll likely descend at the right moment.」

「As long as we detect their presence, we can handle it. The last time they dropped self-propelled bombs from space, we shot them down without issues.」

「Even if they hit, those bombs couldn’t penetrate the Megareus’ armor.」

「The real issue will be coordinating air superiority battles with the advancing ground forces. The enemy has a lot of space carriers. They’ll likely use their mobility to engage us in battle. We should strengthen our defenses.」

Castor remained calm despite the presence of a new enemy vessel, but he felt the strain of being short on capable commanders. He desperately wished for a few more skilled officers. Many of the personnel under the Stones’ command, though competent, weren’t usable when independent and flexible thought was needed. Given the nature of the Stones, this was unavoidable. What they wanted were capable, loyal individuals—not leaders or those with too much independence.

Of course, the Lacedaemon class was skilled. They made excellent pilots, and operators, and could make reasonable situational judgments. However, those living within Stones’ structured hierarchy were poor at making overarching strategic decisions. It wasn’t a skill they needed. What Stones valued as ‘competence’ was contributing to their societal system—being outstanding in both physical and intellectual ability.

The shortage of effective commanders on the ground was critical. While the Lacedaemon class could manage some level of tactical decision-making, they were nowhere near the expertise of mercenaries like Bardo, who had the advantage of experience.

「Who would have thought that the withdrawal of just the three of us from the front lines would result in such a complete collapse?」

Despite their numbers and strength, they had failed to achieve their objective. The battle had dragged into the night, and the enemy’s elite forces had delivered a devastating blow.

「It can’t be helped. The Stones have no use for individuals capable of independent action.」

Vasa offered comforting words in response to Castor’s complaints.

The ideology of the Stones’ egalitarianism had also brought about unintended consequences. In a traditional military structure, the hierarchy of officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted soldiers was the norm, but Stones had rejected such a system. They only embraced selection based on ability, with equality ensured only within each tier of talent. Although the Argoforce, a branch of the organization, had promoted several Lacedaemon to officer ranks, the overall Argonautai system remained the same.

Vasa’s homeland had once officially rejected a class-based society as well. Using the knowledge from his nation’s history, he had advised on creating a personnel system that became the foundation for the Argoforce’s military structure within the Argonautai. The Stones’ egalitarianism bore similarities to the ideology once prevalent in his homeland, which had worked to his advantage.

The Stones, too, had increased their numbers of demi-gods in response to these issues, but the base abilities of the original humans remained crucial. Just because a person had undergone fusion did not necessarily make them suitable as commanders. This was why even pure engineers like Albert and rogues like Bardo had been pressed into command roles.

These structural flaws within the Stones were precisely what allowed Vasa to rise within the organization.

「In a defensive battle, even the Lacedaemon officers will have no difficulty commanding. Let us prepare our forces with a precise formation.」

Vasa issued new defensive orders. There was not a hint of doubt in his mind that they would succeed in their defense.