CH 81

Underground Fortress Infiltration 1

A few hours after the Viscountess’s shenanigan. The party has taken a break and replenished their supply before heading further into the abandoned city. Their goal is to find the entrance to the underground base which is the objective of this operation. Naturally, they are more or less tired after the beach assault but they have to endure it as much as they can since the more time they take, the more the enemy will be ready for their defense.

“There it is!”

One striker from the engineer squad in charge of carrying a container pointed at something that looked like an entrance to an underground parking lot. The gate is shut with a rugged armored shutter gate. Even with a tank, it wouldn’t be easy to bulldoze through it.

“This is…..it seems that they are simply reusing the gate we installed. Do you think you can open it?”

“I will give it a try, Your Highness.”

One striker from the engineer squad inserted a cable into the terminal at the shutter gate.

“I see, they’ve installed a new defense system……..but if we just use the code we pulled from the Noredian striker……..”

After a few minutes of the engineer muttering something to herself and operating the keyboard in her cockpit, the gate lift opened with a loud metallic noise. What lies beyond the gate was a huge passageway surrounded by reinforced concrete walls.

“Good work, I make sure to reward you later.”

With the shutter opened faster than expected, Schleer was pleased. No, she may just have been in a good mood from the start because of the kiss Kisei promised her.

“It’s convenient that they are using the gate we originally installed. Let’s inform the other units to look for something similar.”

It isn’t a wise decision to concentrate a large army into one narrow underground passage. In the worst case, they might get wiped out in one fell swoop. That’s why their plan is to split up and find multiple entrances to infiltrate the base at the same time.

“We should go in. The other units will infiltrate the base from other entrances as scheduled. Now, let’s move.”

According to Schleer’s order, 4 multi-legged tanks enter the underground passage. The passageway was wide enough for tanks and strikers to easily pass through.

This passageway was built using humanoid construction machines called Metal Workers which are a common tool for large-scale construction like this. These Metal Workers are built with the same standards as Strikers so the passageway is just the right size for Strikers as well.

“You know what an underground base like this–”

Kisei who followed after Schleer and entered the passageways said in a relaxed tone.

“Doesn’t it look like a dungeon in RPG games?”

The reinforced concrete walls illuminated by dull white lights in interval does look kind of similar to a dungeon you often see in videogames. Thinking so, Saki laughs.

“We are using Ariadne’s thread too. I guess it does feel like exploring a dungeon huh.”

In front of her, a long cable is extending from the container on the back of the striker in the engineering unit. This cable is connected to the communication unit outside to ensure no communication blackout in an underground environment where wireless communication is unstable.

“What is it? This Ariadne’s thread.”

“It came from a Terran myth. It’s a story where the protagonist escapes an inescapable labyrinth by using a thread to retrace his way back…..”

(TLN: Google Theseus and the Minotaur if you want to know more)

Saki, whose grandfather is a Terran, is familiar with stories from Earth. Hearing her explanation, Schleer put her hand on her chin.

“Since I’m planning to marry a Terran, I guess I should start studying more of these stories huh……”

The moment Schleer muttered so, a turret suddenly emerged from the ceiling and began firing at the infiltrating party. A series of loud gunshots echoed inside the wide passage.

“Just a peashooter!”

However, in the end, it was only an Auto Turret. The only damage suffered was the scratch on the paint of the tank’s frontal armor. With a return fire from the tank’s main gun, the turret was completely destroyed.

“Th, that surprised me, Oi!”

“It’s alright, you will eventually get numb to a surprise like this soon.”

Kisei casually replied to the surprised scream. Since Kisei has roamed many battlefields before, he has a lot of experience fighting inside underground bases like this one. He’s already used to this kind of surprise attack.

“In the first place, I can more or less tell when a defense mechanism will pop out from how the place looks. If it’s a dangerous one then I will take them out beforehand.”.

“If you can tell that much then just take them all out from the start!”

“No way, it’s a waste of bullets right……”

In a straight passageway like this, fighting a Zenith that possesses high firepower is not going to be easy. Personally, Kisei wants to conserve ammunition as much as possible.

“Ah, then please use this.”

A [Claymore] walking behind them offered him a small firearm. It’s a uniquely shaped blaster pistol with a magazine installed in front of the trigger. It’s a blaster pistol model that is mass-produced in Calencia as a standard sub-weapon.

“A Broom Handle huh! Nice. This will be plenty enough against unmanned turrets.”

After receiving the pistol along with some spare magazines, Kisei walks forward while avoiding the tanks in front and start leading the way while humming to himself.

“Ah……”

Schleer was about to stop him but she decided against it. Being at the forefront is naturally dangerous but this is Kisei here. No matter what comes out, he will surely be able to handle it. Moreover, there are only a few pilots on the Calencian side who have actual experience fighting inside an underground facility. If a veteran like him can take the lead then she should just be grateful and accept.

“Whoah, this time it’s an automatic rocket turret huh. That’s dangerous.”

Thinking how overly reliable he is, Schleer smiled bitterly at Kisei who immediately shot the hidden turret with the blaster pistol.