There are Also Gonna be Supplementary Classes
The attack on the Cimon by the Argoforce tank corps led by the land cruiser still continued.
The Cimon in its combat base mode was truly akin to an impregnable fortress.
It supported the front-line troops by firing long-range missiles, resupplied them, and offered a safe place for conducting repairs. It was practically the complete package.
「The enemy must be aiming to wear us out.」
Jenny calmly analyzed their predicament.
「Should I sortie out again?」
「There’s no need, Barry. Reinforcements from R001 have arrived. We got this in the bag.」
Jenny smiled confidently.
Rick also looked at the screen.
「So, there was this hand as well. It’s definitely unexpected.」
「With this, victory is as good as ours.」
Rick and Barry recognized the reinforcements.
It was the Souya, running across the wilderness with its signature drills.
「Traveling on land with the Archimedes screws is within design expectations.」
Eri muttered under her breath inside the Junyou’s bridge.
「The downside is that the screws continuously plow the ground. We’ve packed enough supplies and weapons to replenish the Cimon back to full capacity.」
As per Eri’s instructions, the Souya departed from Fortress Area R001 with supplies and weapons in order to support the Cimon and its troops.
They calculated the shortest route to the Cimon’s location and advanced straight through it.
The Melos Transcontinental Panhandrums had taken a large detour, but they could afford to do so because of their speed.
The Archimedes screws of the Souya can’t reach that kind of speed.
Tank-type transformable Silhouettes, Type-10, and the Type-0 launched out one after another.
The Type-10s were in tank mode, anticipating a shootout in the vast wilderness.
「Join up with the Souya and push the enemies back all at once. With our combined forces, it’s more than doable.」
Jenny immediately gave out orders to the troops.
「If the enemy troops decide to withdraw, there’s no need to pursue them. Any enemy that’s slow to escape will be finished off by the Cimon through missile fire.」
「You sure are merciless, Jenny.」
「We’ve been on the back foot for a good while. We need to get back at them at least this much.」
Jenny herself had gotten shot down. So, she was understandably quite upset.
Just as Jenny declared, the Cimon fired hyper-velocity gliding projectiles in order to finish off the enemy tanks that were slow to escape, destroying them.
「This is Astraea. We’ve entered Fortress Area P336 from the north along with the Pericles. The Aristides and Jeanne d’Arc are standing guard at the sea.」
「Understood, Admiral Aimer. Just stay on standby at Fortress Area P336 for now.」
「Alright. Matt and Abel-san took the subway to the Silhouette Base. Kinukawa-san will join the other Development Engineers stationed here on P336.」
「Most of the A-Class Development Engineers are there now. Kinukawa-san, Kurt-san, Takaba-san, and Yunlan-san huh? I heard from Kou that it’s for wartime weapons development.」
Kou and Asia gave a mission to the Development Engineers of Ulysses.
Hence, each Development Engineer was cooking up enhancement plans for existing units and designing entirely new ones as well.
「That’s right. They will each contribute their knowledge and expertise in order to develop various new weapons.」
「It’s like a wise man’s round table. Understood. Thank you, Admiral Aimer.」
Barry cut the transmission with Aimer and connected to Fuyuki next.
「This is Fuyuki. Good job defending the Cimon, Commander Barry.」
「You’ve also had a hard time, Provisional Commander Fuyuki.」
The two men exchanged knowing looks and started laughing. They both knew that it wasn’t in their characters to serve as commanding officers.
「The enemy’s siege network has broken down. They are concentrating their remaining forces on the 6 o’clock to the 9 o’clock direction. Fortress Areas Q019 and Q221 are concentrating their forces as well using the Megareus as the focal point. They have switched to making use of the local Defense Domes and preserving their strength.」
「So, they’re planning on conducting a drawn-out war huh?」
「Most likely. However, the enemy still has access to supply lines from the other continents. If we were to engage in a drawn-out war, then we’ll be at a clear disadvantage.」
「It seems the combat situation in the other continents will also greatly affect the situation here.」
「Undoubtedly. We do have two fortified positions, P336 and R001 which houses the orbital elevator, and also the Silhouette Base. However, those are all we have. It’s only a matter of time before Fortress Area F271 falls since a majority of the Misumaru Heavy Industries personnel and troops have already moved here.」
「That means we have no choice but to suppress Q019 and Q221.」
「Exactly. Even if we can’t take both down, we should at least take down one of them. And we need to convert this entire area into humanity’s stronghold.」
「That’s a tough one, Fuyuki. What are we gonna do about that space battleship?」
Fuyuki gazed straight at Barry and displayed a fearless smile.
「We have no choice but to take it on. We have to bring the Megareus down.」
「Easy for you to say.」
Inwardly, Barry also considered the possibility of defeating the Megareus.
The Development Engineers constantly exchanged ideas on how to defeat the Megareus every day.
There were five A-Class Development Engineers participating, including Kelly.
「Rick, sorry to bother you while you’re commanding the troops.」
「What is it, Kurt-san?」
Kurt sent a message to Rick, who was commanding the troops in the Cimon.
「I heard that Yunlan-san is going to give Kou-kun Development Engineer classes, but would it be alright if I and Kinukawa-san also conduct a lecture for him.」
「Of course! Please teach that young man who went as far as making fighter jets into slashing weapons some common sense!」
「I’m gonna go back to perform bricolage.」
Seeing Kou’s awkward look, Rick guessed that he ended up making something ridiculous again.
「There will also be supplementary classes, Kou-kun. Don’t forget.」
「I-I knew it.」
Kou averted his eyes and cut off the transmission.
Seeing his reaction, Rick couldn’t help but ask.
「Did Kou do something stupid again, Kurt-san?」
「He slapped a tank’s main gun onto an attack aircraft.」
「……」
Rick covered his eyes with one paw.
「The recoil would have been tremendous due to the resulting reaction.」
A railgun that makes use of Lorentz force normally produces a strong reaction. Depending on the projectile’s initial velocity, even a tracked armored car would get tipped over.
「What do you think?」
「……」
「By the way, it was a 155 mm cannon and not 120 mm. I relayed the matter to Kinukawa-san and even he was flabbergasted.」
「……I’ll leave that young man to you all. Please drill some common sense into him.」
Rick lowered his head to Kurt.
「Don’t worry. I’ll drill him thoroughly when it comes to land-based weapons. I’ll leave the sky-based ones to Kurt-san and the others.」
Yunlan interjected while displaying a wry smile.
Slapping a tank’s main gun onto an aircraft was simply too reckless.
「Well, he did make sure to design it so the initial velocity was as minimal as possible without compromising the weapon’s penetrating power, so the pilot was able to deal with the recoil. Barely. And the pilot was the one who demanded such firepower in the first place. So, Kou-kun was not entirely responsible for the matter. With a little tweaking, the design may be useable. Though pilots would be limited to Familiars.」
「I see.」
Kou’s honor was preserved in the end.
「However, there is an order to things. His talent needs to be built on a solid foundation in order for it to bloom.」
「He does have a good sense for things. He’s only been transferred over for less than a year and he’s already able to apply his skills on the front lines to such an extent. Granted that he had help from Astraea, but it’s still impressive.」
「I guess it’s mostly due to his desire to improve Unit 5. He’s basing his standard on what would work best on Unit 5. But it wouldn’t be bad for him to learn how to perform proper bricolage on tanks and combat aircraft as well.」
Kurt and Yunlan did highly regard Kou’s talent. He hasn’t let the power and authority Asia had granted him go to his head.
「Lectures and supplementary classes huh? And he’d be getting taught by the cream of the crop. Our other Development Engineers would probably become jealous if they knew.」
「If they have time, then they’re free to attend as well.」
「That does sound good. I’ll ask Barry about it later.」
Thus, Development Engineers from each company would end up gathering at Fortress Area P336.
It goes without saying that Kelly elected to participate in the fun as well.
Comment (0)