CH 77

Assault on the Ruined City 1

Countless strikers are flying just above the sea surface which is being illuminated by the sunrise. In surface warfare, flying as low as possible to avoid enemy fire is a common practice.

“Kisei-san, how’s the new Jet Armor working for you?”

Schleer asked as she glanced at the [Caliburn-Revive] as she flew beside him. The chalky humanoid weapon was equipped with unfamiliar blue add-on equipment on its shoulders and legs.

“It’s flawless. The fitting was done perfectly as well, I don’t feel any discomfort at all.”

Kisei replied in a carefree voice. This extra piece of equipment called the Jet Armor contains a thermonuclear engine that provides propulsion inside the atmosphere. Since it works by absorbing the air within the atmosphere and converting them into thrust, it technically gives you almost infinite propulsion. Naturally, it can not perform instantaneous acceleration like a standard thruster but it still gives enough power for a striker to fly at a reasonable speed within the atmosphere. That’s why it is one of the must-have equipment for surface battle.

“More importantly, I have a question about this operation.”

“What is it?”

“The area of operation this time is an urban area, isn’t it? Won’t we have to worry about the civilians there?”

Point V886, their AO used to house the largest city on Senstera Prime. Firing live rounds in such a place would inevitably cause civilian casualties. Kisei’s concern on that point.

“The city that used to be here…..Rinnai III was destroyed by the enemy orbital bombing. It seems that the Nored Empire still hasn’t migrated any of its citizens here……..I think it can still be considered an almost uninhabited city ruin.”

“Ah, I see.”

Contrary to his light tone, Kisei’s expression was cloudy. He’s heard that the Nored Empire has no qualm slaughtering civilians but even when he knows about it beforehand, he still can’t hide his disgust.

“That being said, it is possible that some of our citizens may have escaped to underground shelters before the bombing. We should be on the lookout for them.”

No matter how much the Nored Empire couldn’t care less about civilians’ casualties, it’s impossible for them to entirely wipe out all inhabitants on the planet. There should be many survivors left on Senstera Prime. That’s why taking such survivors into their protection is also a part of this operation.

“Well, since we don’t know what we will find, there’s no choice but to improvise huh.”

“We will have to be flexible, yes.”

“It’s rare to hear you talk like a commander nowadays, Your Highness.”

Saki chimed in. However, her voice did not sound sarcastic. She probably only wants to help lighten the heavy atmosphere. Understanding that, Schleer smiled and replied, [How rude].

From that point, there’s nothing that could be counted as a conversation. 

Because this is the first major counter-offensive operation since the beginning of this war, all pilots except for Kisei’s group were more or less nervous. It can’t be helped that they are less talkative now. 

After around 10 minutes of silently flying above the sea, the shoreline finally became visible to them.

————–

“They are here, it’s the Calencians!”

“Shoot them down! Don’t let them get close to the shore!”

Naturally, the Nored side also placed a lot of their defense along the shoreline. A large number of strikers took off from the coast while the multi-legged tanks bombarded them.

———————–

“Our first objective is to eliminate the enemy in the coastal area and build a bridgehead! Clean them out before the next wave arrives!”

“Roger that!”

In response to Schleer’s command, the Calencian Striker Corps launched their attack. Countless shells and beams race through the clear early morning sky.

“I will start crushing their rearguard first! I’m leaving my back to you!”

Kisei shouted and accelerated forward. Seeing that, Schleer and Saki follow him. The Noredian Striker Corps launched a concentrated attack on them to prevent their advance but against 3 Zeniths, the mass-produced strikers like the [Jettas] are powerless to stop them. 

“Go be a coral reef for a while, why don’t you!”

A shot from Kisei’s blaster rifle pierced the engine of an approaching [Jetta], sinking it into the sea with a trail of black smoke. The striker which is a weapon designed for space combat is completely watertight. Even when fully submerged, the cockpit will not be flooded. All they need to do afterward is to recover the pilots they shot down as POWs.

“That white one, isn’t it the [Wicked Star]!?”

“The one who defeated the [Heavenly Roar]? There’s no way we can win against that……”

“All eyes on Hokuto huh!”

When the [Jetta]’s pilots panicked at the sight of the [Caliburn-Revive], Saki’s [Dainsleif] closed in on them like a bullet.

“Shi–!?”

The [Jettas] try to avoid her charge but their crimson armor was cut clean off by Saki’s extremely fast slash. 

Saki smiles ferociously inside the [Dainsleif]’s cockpit. 

“A mere [Jetta] can’t possibly keep up with my [Dainsleif]!”

While avoiding the enemy’s bullets using irregular maneuvers, Saki starts slashing up the enemy one after another. Just like she said, the Noredian Striker Corp consisting of only [Jettas] was completely at the mercy of her blade. Not only that, the enemies that were distracted by Saki are also being taken down by Schleer’s accurate bombardment. The number of destroyed strikers easily exceeded double digits.

“This combo! I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

“Well, the only thing I trust about you is your fighting power after all.”

Schleer cooly replied to the excited Saki. However, there’s an invisible smile on her face.

“They are having fun rampaging huh.”

Kisei said as he glanced at the number of his blaster rifle remaining rounds. He’s using a normal magazine for it right now since he is saving the extra-sized magazine the Chief Mechanic made for him for the 4 Heavenly.

“Then this is my chance to charge in!”

Switching to an anti-ship grenade launcher, Kisei accelerated toward the shore. The multi-legged tanks that are stationed along the shoreline opened fire at him with their main guns one after another but Kisei did not have any trouble avoiding the falling shells. 

While evading the bombardment, Kisei gradually approached the shore.

“……”

He can now see the ruined city with row after row of collapsed buildings. Only a glance of it made him frowned so Kisei pulled the trigger with no hesitation. The launched anti-ship missile flew with a trail of white smoke behind it and pierce into the body of a multi-legged tank. Before it exploded, the two tank crews jumped out from the inside.

“Let’s get this over with!”

With a loud exhalation, Kisei energetically shouted.