Track-laying Armored Vehicle
Currently, the engineering corps was surveying for strategic points according to the surrounding terrain.
Fortress Area P336 can be said to possess terrain that’s easily defensible.
A mountain range extending from the north to the northeast existed, and beyond that was the sea.
There was a relatively flat plain in the west, but beyond it was the sea as well, and even further beyond was the open ocean.
Hence, the invasion can only come from the east or south.
The forests surrounding Fortress Area P336 had been turned into a minefield by Fuyuki and his troops. In addition, Therianthropes conducted regular patrols as well, and it was set up so that even a relatively small number of troops can mount an effective defense.
The number one priority was the east where they predicted the invading force would most likely come from. This was because the Fortress Areas and Defense Domes controlled by the Stones were concentrated in that direction.
Fuyuki and his men were combat engineers. They did various construction work on the front lines.
Many fresh mercenary recruits and former train track builders applied as combat engineers.
「The problem is the Ate. We were planning on building a small base at the foot of this mountain ranger, but the war started earlier than expected.」
「Which point were you planning to build it on?」
Tetsuya, who was in charge of track construction, inquired.
「Here. Originally, we were planning on extending the track all the way to that point on the mountainside, but that’s already impossible now, so let’s just extend it a little from the outskirts.」
「Eh? Is it really alright to extend the track up to there?」
「The underground railway network extends up to this point near the Silhouette Base outskirts, right?」
Fuyuki pointed toward the designated location and asked to confirm.
「That’s right. If we extend it until the outskirts, the tunnels would get destroyed by bunker busters, and the railway tracks would be vulnerable to air strikes. The construction will get delayed.」
As the person in charge, Tetsuya had a good grasp of work progress. He had already confirmed up to what extent their work would be done.
「Eh? But both the rails and tunnels of the railway network are really tough you know?」
「Eh?」
It looks like the two’s thoughts weren’t in sync. Fuyuki explained while sighing inwardly due to forgetting to brief the other man.
「Fortress Area P336 wasn’t originally suitable for heavy industries. That’s because the quality of the A-Carbuncle inside its control tower is fairly low.」
「I’m aware of that. Everything depends on the output of the A-Carbuncle. Most Fortress Areas follow a uniform standard when it comes to the quality of their A-Carbuncles.」
「Correct. But the reason we were able to transform P336 into a heavy industrial Fortress Area was due to Asia’s help. Specifically, we used the A-Carbuncle we took from Fortress Area F811 when we rescued her and replaced the A-Carbuncle of P336 with it.」
This was all thanks to Fuyuki. After successfully rescuing Asia from Fortress Area F811, he pulled out the A-Carbuncle from its control tower in order to incapacitate the Fortress Area. He also set up traps that did quite some damage to the Stones troops that returned to F811 when Metal Iris withdrew.
「Yes. I’m aware of that as well.」
「And so, the original A-Carbuncle of Fortress Area P336 was brought here, and with the permission of our hidden boss, we’ve decided to use it exclusively to reinforce the railway network. That’s why we’ve been really pushing for extending the railway to the outskirts……」
「Are you serious? But that means……」
「 We’re using an A-Carbuncle that can power and reinforce an entire Fortress Area to reinforce the railway network alone. Both the railway tracks and the tunnels possess defensive strength close to that of a Fortress Area’s shelter. We can probably stretch that reinforcement to about 10,000 kilometers worth of track.」
「My word! I thought we were just sharing Whis with Fortress Area P336.」
「That was the plan at first, but a dedicated control box was just completed a week ago. I haven’t told you about it yet, right? That’s my fault. I’m sorry for failing to inform you earlier.」
Fuyuki apologized. They had hurriedly installed the dedicated control box sent from the Silhouette Base’s sealed area and left it at that.
「We’ll need at least two days to extend the tracks that far.」
「Hm? What is it, Ogasawara?」
Fuyuki addressed the man who was mumbling beside him. Ogasawara Yuuma silently made a gesture with his hands. He had spread them out widely.
「Please give me ten hours. We’re gonna do it in ten hours.」
「Now just hold on. Even if you do overtime, there’s still over 60 kilometers to cover.」
「It’s possible. The tunnels have already penetrated all key points. The drainage and ventilation are also done. All we need to do now is to lay the tracks themselves. We have the secret weapon provided to us by our Hidden Boss, so we can do it.」
「Is that true?!」
「Yes. Let’s do it. We can work on it in two 5-hour shifts. We have Silhouettes and that secret weapon. We’ll definitely finish it at that time. I was just worried about enemy bombardment so I didn’t suggest it before. But now, there’s nothing more to be afraid of. Oi, Ogasawara. Go ahead and get it done.」
「I’m counting on you as well. If we can extend the rails up to this point, it’s definitely going to prove advantageous.」
Ogasawara nodded and left immediately.
「It would be great if we can carry supplies to the front lines using the freight cars.」
Fuyuki felt relieved. He was thankful that the railway construction personnel were excellent in their job.
「That’s just how much we all yearn for railways. And a railway that will save people is the best, isn’t it?」
Tetsuya said with a laugh. He also headed out to participate in the railway construction.
「Advancing ahead!」
A red panda-type Familiar who was a member of the Drill Formation was driving a tracked armored vehicle.
Beside him was another Drill Formation member red panda-type Familiar who was driving a similar vehicle. They were advancing in parallel at the same speed. If one looked closely, the two vehicles were actually linked to each other. They quickly laid a double-track railway line at regular intervals.
The plan was to lay a double track line all at once.
However, the sight was too unusual.
There were two road-rail vehicles with a total length of over 150 meters advancing in parallel.
They were the secret weapons created by Kou – armored track-laying vehicles. It was a work machine that was capable of automated track laying and was a road-rail vehicle capable of traveling on both roads and railways. It was also equipped with a dozer that will level the ground it was advancing on whenever necessary.
As the leading armored car advances, the connected cars automatically lay the rails and set sleepers made of nanofibers. Of course, the vehicle can also be used to replace aging rails and sleepers.
It was created based on similar vehicles that existed on 21st-century Earth. It was a high-speed track-laying armored vehicle that only the Silhouette Base can manufacture.
However, its performance was easily 50 times those of the track-laying vehicles of 21st-century Earth. It’s possible for it to lay 50 kilometers of track in just an hour. If it was pushed to the limit, even 60 kilometers was possible.
「Track maintenance vehicles and Silhouettes, hurry and check the tracks!」
The track maintenance vehicles with three accompanying Silhouettes each moved without delay.
Things weren’t over once the tracks are laid. Filling up the gaps and stabilizing the tracks were still needed. Even though it was going to be reinforced with Whis, it will still end up carrying considerably heavy loads. Hence, performing track maintenance was essential.
The track maintenance vehicles and Silhouettes ran side by side and checked all the tracks that were laid in the blink of an eye. The track maintenance vehicles that also functioned as multi-tie-tampers crammed gravel under the sleepers in order to stabilize the rails.
「To think you don’t need to worry about air strikes or tunnel destruction…… As expected of the future.」
Yuma, who was piloting one of the accompanying Silhouettes, felt excited about the possibilities trains can attain in this far future.
「We have a track layer that can even prepare the ground for us. It’s even fully automated. If we can’t do this in ten hours, then we have no right to call ourselves railway specialists.」
The problem was curves. However, things were different here compared to 21st-century Japan. Everything was calculated by the MCS and supported by Familiars.
Although there was still a need to calculate the track curve and add a slight cant, it was no exaggeration to say that everything was actually a breeze.
Electricity and Whis can flow through the rails. The body of the trains that will be used was designed as an electricity storage system. It didn’t use the third rail system but the standard system used in Japan instead. Collector shoes attached to the wheels of the train will absorb Whis and electricity from the rails.
This makes it possible to operate trains without the use of pantographs and overhead lines. The armored trains will probably sport their own reactors and would double as road-rail vehicles.
The biggest problem was rail replenishment. However, this planet had Silhouettes.
His colleagues and subordinates stood on stand-by in the succeeding cars, and once the vehicle runs out of rails to lay, they would immediately work to replenish it. The Silhouettes made replenishment that much easier.
Also, they didn’t have to worry about accidents caused by the electricity running through the track. It was a pretty relaxed track-laying process.
「Supply team, are you guys ready?」
「We’re proceeding with loading work just as instructed!」
Yuma contacted his comrades who were back in the Fortress Area through his MCS.
「Now then, shall we continue laying the tracks that will connect to the future?」
Yuma muttered under his breath and proceeded to chase after the track-laying armored vehicle that was running ahead of him.
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