We Will Not Roll Over and Accept Defeat!
Kou’s group advanced towards a building under enemy control. It had been a large maintenance hub, now a ruin due to the Argoforce aerial bombing. During the earlier assault, a group of Ravens had taken control of it and were using it as a temporary base.
Unit 5 and the Hrafnagud took point and launched a surprise assault. The Kazakhs on guard duty immediately noticed them.
「Enemy attack!」
「Two enemy units…」
Before they could finish their report, Kurt’s great sword swung effortlessly in a wide arc, slicing the Kazakh in half. Silently, Unit 5 skewered another Kazakh with its sword and tossed the wreckage aside.
Soon after, a group of enhanced silhouettes, Ravens and Krylro-Kazakhs, appeared to intercept the two.
「Only two Silhouettes?!」
One of the enemy pilots exclaimed in frustration. They were elites, after all. Unit 5 and the Hrafnagud split in two directions, leaving the reinforcements unsure of which to pursue.
「We’ve secured the surrounding area. Which means…」
Kou murmured.
「Deploying our forces will be easier.」
It was the dead of the night, visibility was poor. Even sensors had their limitations. Combat vehicles piloted by the Familia, who had a thorough knowledge of the Fortress Area districts, lay in wait across various positions.
「Fire!」
Self-propelled artillery vehicles stationed around the area began indirect support bombardment, one after the other. Amid the barrage, two Eponas and Jamie’s Lanius C launched an aggressive assault.
「There are only five enemy Silhouettes! Eliminate the combat vehicles surrounding the camp!」
The pilots of the Argoforce kept calm and tried to respond rationally. However, they weren’t the only assassins lurking in the dark.
The skies were being closely monitored. Yet, there was another danger lurking in the skies aside from the Boons.
Attack helicopters designed for night operations. Vulnerable in open fields, these helicopters were made for urban warfare, especially night battles, and had long been a part of Metal Iris’ arsenal. Flying low between buildings, they unleashed a ferocious assault.
「They even brought attack helicopters?!」
Explosions echoed continuously from the rear. The Silhouette Workers, engrossed in their tasks, were hit by suppressive fire from Nyanta’s Epona, and in an instant, they were wiped out.
「Damn it. We’re abandoning this position! Fall back!」
As expected of the selected soldiers of the Argoforce, they were all elite soldiers. Soon, they recognized the situation wasn’t favorable and chose to withdraw their frontline without descending into chaos.
However, Blue and her sniper rifle didn’t miss the opportunity presented by the enemy’s retreat. Moving swiftly through the dark night thanks to her thrusters, Blue picked off the fleeing enemies with precision shots.
「Keep up the pressure!」
「Let’s go, Kou!」
Unit 5 and the Hrafnagud pursued relentlessly, determined not to let the formidable Ravens escape. Their goal was to reduce the enemy numbers as much as possible.
The two leaped onto the rooftops, sowing confusion among the enemy forces. The Ravens, who tried to intercept them, were cut down one by one.
The Hrafnagud swung its sword in wide arcs from a commanding stance. Any enemy that approached was slashed down, and even the supporting fire from the Stones barely slowed its rampage. Meanwhile, Unit 5, crouching low, would swiftly draw its blade and retreat after a single deadly strike. The enemy was bewildered by the contrasting combat styles of these two Silhouettes.
Though the Argoforce also received support fire from the back, it only served as a beacon for the Metal Iris attack helicopters and the Boons, who launched a full-scale assault on the enemy reinforcements. Three half-tracked armored vehicles fired their 90mm railguns, pinning the enemy in place. Metal Iris forces used the darkness and their knowledge of the terrain to their advantage, coordinating a devastating assault.
「Now’s the time! Let’s go, Palm!」
Nyanta called out to Palm.
The two Eponas ignored the enemies around them and pushed forward. Their target was the temporary maintenance facility.
「We’re going to take out all the Workers in one swoop, nya!」
「Roger that!」
Deep within the maintenance facility was a group of Silhouette Workers, tirelessly performing repairs and resupply, their pilots had their will stripped away, and were only able to work without rest as ordered.
Nyanta unleashed suppressive fire with her D-rifle, targeting the facility. The rate of fire of her D-rifle had been greatly increased, and she could lay long barrages without exchanging magazines thanks to its belt-type magazine. In the end, the group of Silhouette Workers was blown apart in mere moments.
Palm cut down any guards that approached while using his D-rifle to keep distant enemies at bay. Not even the D-rifle could take down in one hit the high-performance Silhouettes of the Argoforce.
Reinforcements rushed to aid the enemy forces from all directions, but the half-tracked vehicles continued their bombardment, holding the enemy at bay. From above, the Burn Owls provided additional support, strafing the approaching forces with its rear machine guns.
「The enemy units are retreating.」
Kou and his team had focused their efforts primarily on the Ravens, allowing the Kazakh forces to scatter and retreat.
「I see. No need to pursue them too far. They still have plenty of strength left, we could find ourselves in a predicament if they lay an ambush on our pursuing units. Besides, it’s probably unnecessary…」
Kou trailed off, thinking of the fate awaiting the fleeing Kazakhs.
The Kazakhs weaved between the buildings, retreating towards the rear. Unbeknownst to them, the night-specialized, self-propelled mine ‘Jellied Eel’ Jaridwheel silently rolled after them in pursuit.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
It was just before dawn. In the dim light, the fighter jets continued their valiant battle.
「Everyone… please, just a little longer…」
Ellie, captain of the Junyō, one of the ocean fleet’s vessels, murmured a desperate plea. The Junyō was taking concentrated enemy fire as it defended a key portion of the fleet. Night-specialized reinforcements had arrived, including the Moonlight, the latest twin-engine fighter from Misumaru Heavy Industries, but the sheer number of enemy forces was overwhelming.
After all, a massive fleet was advancing from the Sphene Continent, a Stones-controlled continent that had all its military forces intact.
The Metal Iris fleet had been fighting relentlessly to prevent the enemy from landing on the Scheelite Continent. While they still had supplies, the difference in numbers was staggering. Without the reinforcements from Eunomia, they would have been forced to retreat.
The Junyō had already lost two of its escort destroyers. As expected, the A-Spinel-powered vessels didn’t have enough output to endure such a barrage. Although the Junyō itself was outfitted with the more powerful A-Carbuncle, it wouldn’t be able to endure continued anti-ship attacks forever. The other escort ships were sinking one after another. To protect them, the carrier-based aircraft were fighting well beyond their limits.
Even the Zeros, which were transformable Silhouettes, and as such lacked durability, were fighting with incredible tenacity. But the disparity in numbers was impossible to overcome.
「Hope will arrive at dawn, huh? I wonder if something like that is really going to happen…」
‘The Hermit’s prophecy’, she had heard on the last communication from the P336 Fortress Area, echoed in her mind. If those reinforcements didn’t arrive soon the other companies’ battleships which were fighting on the front lines, fending off even more formidable enemies than her fleet, would inevitably sink.
The place the Junyō was located was relatively distant from the frontline, but that was only natural, being an aircraft carrier, the Junyō had thinner armor compared to battleships and was structurally inferior. The strength of an aircraft carrier lay in its mobility and operational flexibility due to its onboard arsenal. But even that had limits.
「Can you hear me, Junyō? This is the joint forces of John Arms and General Defense. We’re moving in to support you. Just hold out a little longer. Sorry for keeping you waiting.」
A sudden transmission came through, and on the screen appeared a white man with glasses, looking somewhat nervous.
「Really? Understood. We’ll hold out for just a bit longer! Everyone, don’t push too far! Reinforcements… are coming!」
Ellie’s words invigorated the Familia on the front line and the pilots of the transformable Silhouettes.
The communication was also relayed to Commander Barry on the Cimon Assault Base.
「Commander Barry, we will be joining the fight as well. We’ll be using the same IFF codes as BAS Corporation.」
「A joint military force? That’s a huge relief!」
「I apologize for the timing, but I must inform you that John Arms and General Defense, along with other companies funded by American transferees, have merged. From now on, we’ll be known as General Arms Industries. I’m the representative, Robin H. Weber, we have inherited Jack’s will. We won’t let Stones have its way with this world.」
The man introduced himself with confidence.
「You’re late, Robin! We’ve been waiting for you!」
The message was interrupted by Kelly, another American Development Engineer and apparently an old acquaintance of Robin’s.
「Sorry, Kelly. We’ve been conserving our strength ever since the fall of John Arms, waiting for the day it would be truly needed. It’s the guidance of the goddess.」
「Oh, here we go with the goddess again. That goddess must be a scheming troublemaker!」
「I won’t deny it. She introduced herself to us as Felonia, but I suspect her true name is something else. But that’s not important right now—」
Robin paused briefly, then turned his attention back to Commander Barry.
「Commander Barry, when we arrive, I want you to send the Pericles and the Eunomia to the P336 Fortress Area. We’ll handle things here.」
「What?! Are you saying you can hold this position with just one ship?」
If true, such strength would be staggering, comparable to that of an entire fleet.
「Don’t get your hopes too high, but with General Arms, BAS, Atou, and Gogyou on our side, we can win.」
He didn’t speak with confidence, but rather as though stating a simple fact.
「Against a fleet of that size?」
「Yes, we lost our base to the Stones’ assault and were forced to retreat in disgrace. But we will not roll over and accept defeat! The time for our counterattack has come.」
「Understood. Dawn is breaking. Show me the strength you’ve been saving.」
Barry urged Robin, unable to hide his impatience.
「Understood.」
As the sun began to rise, the sea parted, and a massive ‘island’ surfaced from the depths.
「Commander Barry… I’m not sure whether to call it a ship or an island, but a friendly vessel is emerging from the ocean, it’s approximately 4 kilometers long.」
「So, this is the trump card prepared by the goddess!」
It was a massive, man-made structure, like a scaled-down Defense Dome. The emblem adorning the dome was as majestic as a fine painting—a depiction of a beautiful girl with strawberry-blonde hair, crowned with laurel and holding a torch, reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty.
「Sorry to keep you waiting, this is our mobile stronghold, the Military Base Aircraft Carrier Enterprise.」
The name of the ship echoed that of a legendary vessel from history.
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