Chapter 32: V.S. Cavalry – Part 2

I pulled every string I could. Made all the preparations I was able to, at least on paper.

With that in mind, it was time to give it my all.

As the final step, I slotted a Tree Crystal core into the Hound Model. From Sheep Unit, I received a ghillie suit. The camouflage pattern was designed using desert fleck, perfect for blending into the wastelands. I suited up.

Ambush.

That was the strategy I chose when heading out to face Shinzo.

“…”

The Type-5 clicked and clattered as it fed on bullets.

Leaning against a massive boulder, I took slow, steady breaths.

This fight favors me.

I know where Shinzo’s base is, and he has too much to protect. But he’s a Rank 4 too. He could be ruthless. He could be merciless. Even so, I’ve decided to win—without hesitation, without mercy.

Which is why—

“You really don’t need a watcher for this, Primula-san?”

“Oh no, no, I’m just worried whether you’ll actually do the job. You wouldn’t let the target slip away, right?”

Of course, the footage from my headset will be submitted afterward. Still, having an uninvited guest hanging around is annoying.

I tried to soothe my fraying nerves by looking for Rudo, but he’d run off toward Dog Unit and the others, who were still in hiding because they didn’t like Primula.

Depressing.

With nowhere else to place my hands, I drew them back and turned to face the unwelcome guest.

“…I see. In that case, to improve my chances, could you at least give me more intel on the target?”

I knew full well I’d been found out. Still, I pretended not to know the target was Shinzo.

There was a simple reason for that.

“That’s all part of the job too, Touji-san. More importantly, are you sure you’ll be okay? You know that saying—‘know your enemy,’ right? Can you really win like this~?”

She was keeping up the act too.

A cheap, third-rate drama. Exhausting. I swallowed the sigh that nearly escaped.

“As long as I know, that’s enough to pull the trigger. Doesn’t matter who the target is.”

“Ooh, so cool. Is that a sniper’s philosophy?”

“No. It’s just a survival instinct when killing someone. Not knowing makes it easier.”

“Oh my. Were you cryogenically frozen as a dangerous murderer or something?”

“No. I wasn’t.”

…Probably.

“…I wasn’t, okay?”

“The fact that you sound less and less sure is really not helping your case.”

With a strained smile, Primula backed away from me and retreated behind her bodyguards. As usual, those poor brutes looked like they were stuck catering to her every whim. I felt sorry for them.

“…”

I gave them a small nod. Thanks for your service.

***

I waited for about three hours.

Three bikes and nineteen Monoz units entered the search perimeter. Rooster Unit confirmed visual contact. Target identified.

Shinzo and two kids came back from the job they took in Uraba.

Incidentally, the client was Eevee, a cute girl from Tooth.

The request: “Escort and accompany an investigation of a Bubble nest. (Required Skill: Piloting Lv. 4)”

What if someone else took the job?

That would make me a clown. Not even a metaphorical one—a real, actual clown.

…Right. I mean, putting out a fake request to delay someone is fine and all, but there’s always the chance some completely unrelated person could accept it. Actually, the odds of that happening are higher, aren’t they?

Which would mean I’m not a strategist, I’m just an idiot who threw money around pretending to be clever.

I felt crushed.

I wanted to go home.

“…”

For now, I decided to stop thinking.

Pulled my hat down low. Switched gears.

Right eye on the scope, left eye watching the minimap projected in my headset. I left my awareness anchored in the left.

Only Rat Unit was by my side.

Alright, time to drive the prey.

Fox hunt.

“From S1 Leader to all units. Operation is go. Tiger Unit, Boar Unit—relocate. Move within fifteen seconds. Hold position at destination.”

Update from Rooster Unit: No change in route.

“Dog Unit, Monkey Unit, Rudo—link up with Rooster Unit after passing point B1. Cut off the escape route. Close-quarters engagement is generally off-limits. Herd them in.”

Let me know if you’d like this written with more tension, more military precision, or with heightened sarcasm.

Confirmation came back from Dog Unit, the team leader. Four light dots began to move, tracing the same path Shinzo had just taken.

“Tiger Unit, Boar Unit—prepare for close-quarters at point B1. Snake Unit, Rabbit Unit—prepare for sniping at B3. I’ll take B2. The goal is to pin them down and take away their combat ability. ETA to contact: thirty seconds. Rat Unit—countdown.”

All five units confirmed.

I shifted my focus to my right eye.

The world narrowed.

The count began: 3… 2… 1…

Tiger Unit slashed in first, Boar Unit charged in like it was proud of its armor.

Shinzo slipped past them, effortlessly. Slick, fluid movement. Just steering alone, he maneuvered his Monoz around both units without missing a beat.

He left a gift behind: a deafening metallic clang.

A shotgun blast fired at point-blank range hammered into Boar Unit’s armor, forcing it to cry out.

Impressive.

But expected.

Nothing outside the plan.

“Hit.”

Result: Hit.

Snake Unit and I had done our jobs.

Each of us took two shots—four total—shredding the tires of the bikes ridden by the two kids traveling with him.

Their Monoz were down.

The remaining seventeen Monoz engaged. Not Shinzo’s front and rear demons, these were the kids’ machines we’d just crippled. But they lacked experience.

From behind, Dog Unit, Monkey Unit, Rooster Unit, and Rudo pounced— 

And from the shadows, Snake Unit’s silenced precision shot, a hind-snipe, punched through from somewhere unseen.

The kids’ Monoz couldn’t take advantage of their numbers. 

One by one, they were neutralized.

Emergency Alert: Situation Critical!

Suddenly, text flashed into my left eye.

Tiger Unit’s in trouble. She keeps slashing in, but every strike is dodged, and every dodge is met with a shotgun blast. Her body may be the heavily armored Murasame, but that’s still brutal.

“Boar Unit, deploy the LMG!” (Light Machine Gun)

Boar Unit’s Monoz body was a Masamune, made by Tatara Heavy Industries. 

Painted in deep forest green, it began to shift.

Two auxiliary legs extended to stabilize the frame, and in its open maw: three barrels, a gatling gun.

Gunfire bloomed. A deafening storm of rounds forced Shinzo to disengage from Tiger Unit.

It chased him. Hounded him. And then, he countered.

Shinzo dashed through the rain of bullets. He was hit. He had to be. But it didn’t matter. Not fatally. Which meant he could keep going.

He surged forward, closing in on Boar Unit.

Closer.

Closer.

And I—

I aimed. I tracked. I locked on.

A split-second.

I aimed for that one instant—

The moment Shinzo would break through Boar Unit’s defenses.

I fired.

A split-second.

Shinzo had aimed for that exact same moment. The moment I pulled the trigger.

“Tch—!”

Barrel roll.

Only a Monoz—mounted on spherical omnidirectional wheels—could pull off a stunt like that.

Maybe it was a trick. Maybe it was a goddamn technique. Either way, Shinzo flew. He jumped. Vaulting through empty air, he cleared Boar Unit’s gatling fire—evaded my sniper round—and flew.

Metal rang out.

His shotgun, fired mid-air, slammed into Boar Unit’s exposed internals.

Boar Unit—signal lost.

“Damn… that.”

I knew it was coming.

“He’s good!”

I let the awe slip into my voice and shifted the world into my right eye.

Shinzo had his sights locked on Tiger Unit.

Snake Unit took the shot.

He dodged it.

But I’d already planted a bullet in the space he would move into.

It grazed him.

Shinzo stumbled, posture disrupted.

Tiger Unit, barely avoiding him, came out unscathed.

I glanced at the minimap—one second.

Dog Unit and the others wouldn’t make it in time. Worse, because I had pulled Snake Unit to cover this side, their formation was starting to crumble.

I needed to send Snake Unit back.

But how?

Think.

Think.

“Tch. Ox Unit, Sheep Unit, Horse Unit—charge, charge, charge! Push forward!”

I threw the last three units I’d been holding back into the field.

They weren’t particularly strong in combat. But numbers were numbers. Maybe they’d help stabilize the front line.

No.

Not even close.

Rank 4.

The line where quantity loses to quality. The bare minimum it takes to be called a hero.

See?

It felt like the battlefield was mocking me.

This is Shinzo. A man whose sheer skill behind the controls earned him the right to be called a hero.

What he unleashed was a slash on wheels.

He accelerated toward the three units. Then, without breaking momentum, carved a sweeping arc into the earth itself. The front wheel became the pivot, and he spun like a blade.

Mass became impact.

Speed became sharpness.

And with that, the full weight of his bike slammed into the three Monoz units—direct hits, clean and brutal.

He never slowed. Never pulled his punches. Even the reinforced Monoz bodies couldn’t hold up. Metal buckled and warped under the force.

Ox Unit, Sheep Unit, Horse Unit—signal lost.

“—”

So I say it, too.

Look.

This is me. The technique of a man who earned the right to be called a hero through sniper skill alone.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, the ticking of a second hand echoed.

I pull the trigger. It misses. I knew it would.

I pull the trigger. It misses. I knew it would.

I pull the trigger. It grazes him. I knew it would.

I pull the trigger. He dodges.

That’s what the shot was for.

—Dragon Unit.

I don’t remember giving the order out loud. But somehow, I must have. Or maybe I didn’t need to.

With five bullets, I did what my Monoz were supposed to do. I drove Shinzo into position. Right into Dragon Unit’s line of fire.

So now, everything proceeds as planned.

A band of light streaked toward the off-balance Shinzo—laser fire, burning through the air.

He dodged it. Even at light-speed, he dodged it. Flat on the ground, posture broken, and still, he pulled off another barrel roll.

No height. No speed. But somehow, still fast enough. Still clean enough to evade.

That shouldn’t be possible.

To dodge a killing blow delivered at the speed of light, from a compromised position. That shouldn’t happen.

And yet—

“I knew you would.”

Even if the whole world declared it was over, I alone knew Shinzo would make it.

I believed it.

So I pulled the trigger. And put a bullet through his back as he twisted midair.