Chapter 98

"Stay together! Form up and deploy as a single unit!"

"Roger!"

"Honda and Ayase, provide direct cover! Even though it's not the main attack, don't let your guard down!"

"Roger!"

"Have you all deployed? Good, we'll start together, but after that, use your own judgment to fire! Prepare for simultaneous firing! Go!!"

With Shizuka's command, all the units of the Training Battalion fired their cannons.

Given that they were originally designed for artillery combat, their firepower was extremely high.

Moreover, the monsters were focused on the front base and did not expect an artillery attack from a position several kilometers to the rear.

As a result, the artillery shells hit the main force of the monsters, causing significant damage.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a sufficient achievement.

However, what was required of them was not just to inflict significant damage, but to annihilate all the monsters present.

And they had to do so while minimizing the damage to themselves.

Therefore, the next order was related to defense.

"Unit 8-rooms, disperse and fire! Don't let the monsters focus their attention!"

"Roger!"

While concentrating firepower sounds good, it means giving the enemy a clear target.

If they could move freely like Keita, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but the members here, except for Shōko who piloted the prototype No. 3, were inexperienced and could barely move. If they allowed the monsters to counterattack, they would suffer significant damage.

That's why Shizuka deliberately dispersed the 8-rooms, which were supposed to be their direct cover, to distract the monsters' attention.

Her judgment was correct.

She chose the best solution given the current situation.

However, just because they chose the best solution doesn't mean they could necessarily outperform the enemy.

"We've inflicted damage, but there are still too many. But we'll push through!"

Shizuka turned to face the incoming monsters, her determination clear even over the communication.

Indeed, the monsters had been hit and were in confusion. Continuing the artillery attack would further expand the damage.

But it wasn't enough.

There were still thousands of monsters left.

Moreover, many of the medium-sized monsters, which they had wanted to eliminate first, were not in the center but at the front or rear. The previous artillery attack, which hit the center, did not significantly reduce their numbers, which was a painful mistake.

There was another problem.

(I understand the colonel's aim, but the enemy's aim is still... unclear.)

She was fighting seriously and doing her best.

She understood that, but the enemy wouldn't just move as they wished.

The 8-rooms were also firing, but the monsters' target was still the Training Battalion, which was firing as a single unit. It was impossible to divert their attention from a unit that was just repeatedly firing without any restraint.

(The only one who can change this situation is me. But how?)

Realizing that the monsters' attention was still on them, Shōko was faced with a decision: to move or not to move.

If Shōko, who had the highest firepower among the artillery units, moved, the monsters' attention would be diverted.

This would make the other allies safer, and if they were safer, they could continue firing.

The pincer attack with the 4th Division was already in place.

If the 4th Division knew that their artillery had inflicted significant damage on the enemy's main force, they would immediately start their attack.

It was a race against time.

It was just a matter of whether it ended quickly or slowly.

To end it without the Training Battalion taking damage, she should move.

(Of course, I'll have to deal with the monsters alone!)

To attract the enemy with a single unit, she needed to stand out more than her comrades in the artillery unit.

The prototype No. 3 had the performance and firepower to attract the enemy's attention, so it wasn't impossible.

What was impossible was returning unscathed.

She could jump after firing.

Her aerial mobility was still limited, but she could probably get away a few times using wire anchors and other means.

But that was it.

Without allies who could keep up with the prototype No. 3's free movement, Shōko would be isolated on the battlefield.

(Of course, it won't take that long.)

The time would vary depending on the momentum of the 4th Division's attack, but given the current situation, she could probably hold the enemy's attention for about ten minutes at most.

(If the allies don't come by then, it's over. Even if they do come, if I'm surrounded by the enemy, it's over.)

The prototype No. 3, which was designed for artillery combat, did not have close-combat equipment.

Even if the enemy was small, if they got close, it would be bad.

(Allies' support? Well, that's impossible.)

The members of the Training Battalion, including Shizuka, were not yet at the stage where they could perform precise sniping.

They could probably burn the monsters, but then she would be dead too.

(In short, I have to fly out alone, attract the attention of the monster horde, and keep flying to avoid being surrounded until the allies arrive. ...Yeah, impossible.)

Shōko knew the reality.

She knew she couldn't do what Keita could do.

Therefore, she knew how reckless her plan was.

But what if she didn't move? The answer was simple.

They would be annihilated by the monsters' artillery. There was no other outcome.

The prototype No. 3 could probably hold out for a few minutes.

The machine had enough armor, and Shōko herself had enough magic power from previous battles to reinforce it.

But the mass-produced models, which had their armor stripped for weight reduction, and the Kusanagi models, which were forcibly converted to artillery, couldn't.

They would probably be eliminated in one or two attacks.

(What's the point of losing my allies and holding out for a few minutes alone?)

She would undoubtedly be toyed with and killed, and even if she survived by some miracle, she wouldn't be able to make it to the next battle.

If that happened, it would be meaningless to have left Keita behind to cover their retreat.

(I don't want that! First of all, I don't want to die here at all!)

If she stayed, she would definitely die.

Student? Test unit? Unexpected?

None of that mattered once they were on the battlefield.

It was either die or choose to live.

If so, the only path she should choose was the one that, though harsh, left a chance for survival.

(I'll do it! Besides, if not doing it means we all die, including me, there's no choice but to do it!)

"Lieutenant Colonel!"

"What is it!"

In the midst of the battle where both sides were fighting for survival, Shōko was about to propose what she believed to be the best move.

Thank you for reading.

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