Chapter 93

"Enemy, contact with the defense line!"

"Commence firing."

"Roger!!"

"...It's begun."

As I watched the artillery fire from our allies rain down on the horde of monsters, I focused solely on regulating my breathing.

In my heart, I wanted to join the attack and reduce the enemy numbers as much as possible.

However, my assigned task was to eliminate the large monsters.

Of course, I could snipe from this distance if I wanted to.

The basic principle of sniping is that it's most efficient to take out the enemy when they are off guard.

So, this could be considered the perfect timing.

But, it's too far.

The further the distance, the higher the chance of missing, which goes without saying.

And if I miss once, the enemy will be on alert.

It's almost impossible to take down an alert monster with just sniping.

In other words, if I miss the first shot, the mission will fail.

If we fail to eliminate the large monsters, the current operation will also fail.

If the operation fails, we die.

Yes, we die.

I don't know if we'll be vaporized by the magical artillery fire in retaliation or physically crushed, but at least if we're crushed here, there's no way to survive.

A proper soldier would have made up their mind.

Someone like a colonel would surely attack with the resolve to die.

But I don't have that resolve right now.

"I can't die here."

I can't leave my sister Yuna alone.

I have to return alive.

To do that, I must succeed with the first shot.

That's why I can endure the urge to fire immediately.

While enduring, I'll review.

The two 25-meter-class monsters, the largest among them, were assigned to me by headquarters with the order to "definitely take them down."

One has a slender body reminiscent of a mantis, and the other is a large, bear-like creature.

I don't know which is stronger, but I definitely don't want to get close to the mantis.

"Even the son of the strongest creature on Earth couldn't beat a 25-meter mantis."

Therefore, I will snipe. I will definitely take them down with sniping.

However, the threat isn't just the two assigned to me.

I need to consider what happens after taking down the mantis and the bear.

After all, they have one 20-meter-class and three 15-meter-class monsters.

During the pre-battle briefing, it was said that "if equipped for artillery combat, we can defeat the 20-meter-class," but that only means we can defeat the 20-meter-class. Whether we can withstand the counterattack from the surviving monsters after taking down the target is a different matter.

And the same applies to those in other types of units.

"Only Iwagaya can take evasive action, and even she can only do it once or twice."

No matter how you look at it, we're going to die.

Thank you.

Please look forward to their next life.

"...If only I could cut it off so cleanly."

If humans could so easily cut things off, life wouldn't be so difficult.

"I need to provide support."

Is it impossible? Are you too busy with your own affairs?

Don't you know the famous line, "Exertion is the word of liars"?

"...That's why I can do it. I can do it."

With each breath, I concentrate my mind.

With each breath, I purify my thoughts.

The task is clear. It's just a matter of doing it.

After a few seconds of waiting,

"...They're here."

I saw the horde of monsters step into the point set by the military.

"Confirmed arrival at the target point. Commencing the hunt."

"Yeah, go all out."

There's no room for hesitation. Just shoot.

---

"I see them."

Bending my four legs, I leap with all my might.

Boosting to gain height.

From about 100 meters up, I can see the target group on the boundary between the land leveled for the base and the forest that hasn't been touched because it's in another country's territory.

"Planning to fire artillery? You're too naive."

From their perspective, I probably just look like a black something flying out.

They certainly don't see me as a threat.

The fact that they don't fire magical artillery at me when I appear is proof of their complacency.

This complacency is my opportunity.

"I'll destroy them."

First, I aim at the mantis-type's head and torso, which are stationary because they're preparing to fire, and pull the triggers of the two cannons I hold in each hand.

A feat only possible with a machine three times heavier than the Kusanagi.

Simultaneous firing from two turrets, not two pistols.

Normally, the recoil would send me flying without any control over my posture, and pinpoint aiming would be impossible.

But with the evolved machine, my magical control, and the various support systems developed by Saikou Heavy Industries, it's a different story.

"!?"

The two armor-piercing rounds fired almost simultaneously blew away the mantis-type's head and abdomen without missing.

"First one down."

The most troublesome one is gone. Next is the bear.

They must have realized they were under attack, as the dozens of monsters fired magical artillery at the spot where I was, but they couldn't hit me as I was free-falling while subtly moving horizontally.

Boosting to prolong my jump time, I rotated the turrets to eject the spent shells.

Pressing the L3 button simultaneously, what a surprise.

"Reload complete."

The machine automatically reloaded the turrets and the body. This took about 8 seconds, which is surprisingly fast considering the size and complexity of the turrets.

While I asked for this, I'm grateful to the Saikou team for implementing the command system's reload mechanism.

"I'll show my gratitude through results."

During the 8 seconds it took to reload, the monsters continued to fire at a slightly off-target location.

It's a bit sloppy, but it's premature to conclude that the monsters lack intelligence based on this.

After all, they are beings that have changed from living organisms and don't have precision machinery like we do.

Therefore, they can only target stationary bases or armored units that have lost their mobility due to concentrated attacks.

Moreover, unlike humans, they don't observe the enemy's position before firing; they attack almost reflexively at the point where the attack is likely to have occurred, so their attack range is very narrow.

What I'm trying to say is that the monsters don't have the capability to pinpoint a target that's only about 6 meters tall and moving in all directions from 6 kilometers away.

So, it's only natural that their attacks miss at this stage, and it doesn't mean they are weak.

I think their combat power is superior to ours at close and medium ranges.

Therefore, complacency is forbidden. The adaptability of these beings, which have evolved from wild animals, is not to be underestimated.

They might even adapt if this situation continues for a long time.

No, they will definitely adapt.

That's why I can't miss the opportunity to act decisively.

"Next, the bear."

Is size directly related to rank? The bear-type seems to be giving orders to the other monsters to target me after the mantis-type was taken down.

"…! …!"

They don't seem to be at ease.

In fact, they look scared?

Well, if the strongest one is taken down one-sidedly, and the counterattack doesn't hit, and you think you might be the next target, it's natural to panic.

It's like saying, "The bullet curtain is thin! What are you doing!?"

But this is a good opportunity.

"I'll take advantage of your panic."

No matter how thick the bullet curtain, it's only a few hundred monsters firing.

Moreover, because they're aiming poorly, their attacks are scattered.

If I were closer or had less mobility, it might be dangerous, but at this distance...

I can easily dodge after seeing the attack.

"It won't hit."

After moving horizontally for a few seconds and seeing the attack converge on a spot dozens of meters away, I confirmed that I could dodge if I didn't let my guard down and prepared to counterattack.

Stopping the horizontal movement by boosting to focus on control and switching to automatic descent, I aimed the turrets in both hands at the bear and fired.

"!!!"

The 25-meter giant, with a larger head and abdomen blown away by the two armor-piercing rounds, collapsed with a loud noise, albeit very slowly.

...It seems about ten medium-sized monsters were crushed as collateral damage, but where does that experience go?

"Well, it's fine."

While thinking about trivial things, I landed and, while reloading, moved by hopping at low altitude. The spot where I had landed a moment ago was blown away by a large amount of magical artillery fire.

The monsters' specialty is "targeting a location."

If I had been a bit slower, I would have been blown away too.

This is why I can't be complacent.

But I dodged their attack.

Now it's my turn.

With the sand and dust swirling behind me, I performed a high jump.

This jump wasn't to gain height like the first one but a parallel movement prioritizing speed and distance.

Boosting to increase speed, I aimed at the 15-meter-class assigned to the colonel and Taguchi.

"!?"

"Next."

Confirming the hit, I immediately aimed at the 15-meter-class assigned to Iwagaya and fired.

"!!"

"Good."

Sure enough, the turrets and aiming devices made by Saikou don't miss.

While reloading and thanking the eccentric engineers, I regained mental composure from taking down more enemies than expected before the operation and thought, "Should I take down the 20-meter-class assigned to the artillery units next, or reduce the medium-sized ones?"

"Black four-legged humanoid machine. That must be the rumored hero."

"Taking down four large and over ten medium-sized monsters in less than two minutes? What? Is he crazy?"

"If there was someone this interesting, he should have come out from the start."

Suddenly, unfamiliar female voices echoed across the battlefield.

Despite the lack of tension, their voices carried an overwhelming power that no ordinary being could resist.

In fact, the monsters, who knew that showing a weakness in front of the enemy meant death, stopped moving and looked up at the sky.

What they were looking at was not a griffin, but three figures, no, three demons, riding on the back of what should have been a griffin.

"...They're here."

At this moment, the demons, whom Iizaki and the others were most wary of in this operation, had joined the battle.

Thank you for reading.