Tank-type Transformable Machine
A tank that was from Gogyou Heavy Industry’s Souya disembarked on the shoreline.
Even though the Souya was a gigantic amphibious assault ship, it could move through wastelands, sandy beaches, swamps, and the like thanks to its Archimedean screws.
The tank will participate in urban warfare along with the troops from BAS.
「That’s a tank!」
Aimer was the one who noticed it first.
Then, the Gogyou Heavy Industries tank transformed into a Silhouette.
Aimer thought it was a Dragoon tank model at first, but it looked like that wasn’t the case.
If one looked closely, the treads of the Gogyou Heavy Industries tank was actually divided into front and rear treads.
The ones in the front would turn into parts of the Silhouette mode’s feet while the ones in the rear would be on its back.
「That’s the tank-type Shapeshifter, Type-10. It’s a prototype machine that was born from the weird concept of a transforming tank that our company came up with in pursuit of a Silhouette comparable to a heavy tank.」
The Jun’you’s captain, Eri, introduced the machine to the rest.
「Tanks are unable to enter into alleyways in urban areas, so you’d require infantry. But in head-on firefights, tanks are the most effective.」
「Until now, I thought Shapeshifters were only limited to aircraft.」
「Understandable. That’s why the Dragoon tank was born after all. That machine, on the other hand, is a part of Gogyou’s Ten Colors Plan Prototype Test Troops.」
「Are the Type-0 Shapshifters, Type-7 fighters, and Type-2 airships part of that plan too?」
「Yes! Actually, the latest model in the Ten Colors series is the Type-0. But it’s actually the eleventh machine.」
Eri smiled bitterly. The Zero was only made as a last resort. The plan name was decided even before it went underway, and this was the result.
However, the Type-10 makes good use of its stronger and thicker armor, playing the part of a shield unit.
The Type-10s attract enemy fire, and the Type-0s act as support.
In fact, the Type-10’s cannon turret literally functioned as a shield as well. It was equipped with a mantlet.
The cannon itself was a railgun. The warheads it used didn’t employ an ounce of explosive nor gas.
After all, they couldn’t risk an explosion accidentally blowing up the tank’s mantlet shield.
Its secondary weapon was a 40 mm machine gun, and it was also equipped with the same cold blade as the Type-0.
「It looks like there are also regular Dragoon tanks in your ranks. Wait, are those actually armored vehicles?」
「Those are our company’s next-generation standard Silhouette, the Type-1, and the Type-6 Dragoon armored vehicle. They were designed specifically for joint operations with the aim of having better mobility compared to Dragoon tanks. As a set, they’re called the Type-16.」
The Type-10s hold the front line while the Type-1s and Type-6s get in formation and provide fire support.
『It looks like we can rest assured that the weapons made by Gogyou Heavy Industries are reliable. Even though their specs are high, one can also recognize the company’s ingenuity through the designs that keep the price relatively low and ensure ease of production.』
Astraea gave her evaluations with a calm expression.
In fact, the Armadillos which comprised the majority of the enemy defense forces were practically no match for the Gogyou machines, and even the Bisons that were used mainly by mercenaries working for the enemy couldn’t keep up.
The Type-10s were mainly taking on the enemy heavy tank model Eber-1.
「Kou and the others have come out of the underground facility. They’re now heading to assist Kurt-san.」
「Understood, Aki. Thank you.」
Kurt was currently fighting enemy machines on his own.
Kou and Hyoue were heading back to his rescue.
Kou and Hyoue rushed to the surface and immediately headed to Kurt’s location.
「Kou, here are the coordinates.」
Asia, who was sitting on Unit-5’s back seat, served as Kou’s navigator.
「Okay. Thanks, Asia. Is it really okay for you to stay here?」
「I can’t do anything else until Ulysses takes full control of the Fortress Area after all.」
「That’s true, I suppose. Okay then. I’m counting on you to watch my back, Asia.」
「Yes!」
Asia replied while displaying a happy smile.
「Kurt still seems to be fighting with six Silhouettes. You two should hurry and reinforce him.」
「Ou. Leave it to us. Let’s settle it in a flash, Kou-kun.」
「Okay!」
When they finally met up with Kurt, they found him fighting while keeping his distance to avoid getting surrounded.
「The both of you are already back! I wanted to clean them all up before you two got here though.」
「Hehe, don’t be so stubborn, Kurt-san. Those guys are top-of-the-line machine too after all.」
「That’s right. I think they’re roughly equal in performance to the Badb Catha. Being able to face six of them at the same time until now is already plenty impressive.」
Even Kou didn’t have the confidence to face more than ten Badb Cathas alone.
Kurt treated the mass-produced machines based on his design as enemies he absolutely had to defeat.
This allowed him to display a level of tenacity that made up for his overwhelming disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Hyoue slashed away at a Raven that tried to keep its distance and attack him from range.
「Oh c’mon. If you keep shooting from range, that machine’s gonna cry in frustration!」
Machines equipped with armor muscles were generally not that suited for using railguns, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t shoot from range at all.
After all, engaging in close-quarters combat was risky for most regular mercenaries.
So, it was only natural for the Raven pilots to try and keep their distance from their three opponents who could be considered close combat demons.
Unit 5 made its move as well. Once the three of them teamed up, the remaining six Ravens weren’t much as opponents.
A Raven was cut down without even getting the chance to switch to its sword. The Raven that was engaging Kurt lost its support, so it became practically helpless. It was quickly finished off by the Hrafnagud.
「We’ve finally finished up here. Thank you.」
「Don’t mention it. You really helped out by taking all their attention earlier after all.」
「That’s right. But it looks like the enemies have now begun deploying mercenaries under their service.」
Then, Kou looked up to the sky.
And to his surprise, he saw what seemed to be a panjandrum that was flying.
「That’s……」
「It’s a new weapon made by BAS. It’s apparently called a Cruise Panjandrum.」
Asia introduced the strange flying panjandrum to the three.
「A Cruise Panjandrum huh? I’d like to have a talk with the Development Engineer who made it.」
Kou expressed his interest.
「Kou, it would be best if you didn’t say something like that to Astraea. I’m sure she’d get really depressed.」
「Eh? O-Okay?」
Kou got the message. Hence, he could only agree.
「Kou, you should return to the Astraea for now. You suffered quite a bit of damage, right?」
Since its chest armor got penetrated, it was really hard to say that Unit 5 was still fine.
「Eh? But I can still fight.」
「We can’t afford to take any chances. The battle is still ongoing. You have to go get your machine repaired first.」
「Right. I think we should return first too.」
Asia also suggested to go back to the ship, but she also had her own reasons to return.
Being told as such by his three companions, Kou couldn’t argue against it any further and eventually agreed.
「I understand.」
「I have something else I have to do. I’ll go back too once I’m done with my business.」
「Alright. I’ll be assisting the Metal Iris troops then.」
Kou and the other two separated and headed to each of their destinations.
Hyoue muttered something coldly under his breath.
「That machine I saw just earlier. I’m sure that’s the stolen Accipiter. Just you wait. I’m definitely gonna cut you to pieces.」
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