Chapter 125: The Incompetent Commander and the Wiseman

According to Caster, during the 109th Defense Battle, he had carried out effective reconnaissance and advised the upper command accordingly. Despite that, the upper command ignored him and carried out pointless reconnaissance instead. Then, after the battle situation deteriorated, he took back command and somehow turned the front around.

…Was this an illness?

“I see. And what happened to the incompetent upper command?”

“I didn’t even want to kill them, you see. So I restrained them and threw them into a cell.”

Apparently, Caster had been working desperately the whole time.

…It was an illness, wasn’t it?

After returning to university, he had apparently put the excellence he showed on that battlefield to use by devoting himself to volunteer circle activities like this.

Circle activities, huh…

I had all sorts of things I wanted to say, but saying them would not help, so I did not.

It did not look like shaking them off was possible, so I obediently followed their guidance and decided to go to the town they specified. Apparently, there was something like an orphanage there, built for children. Since it had not come up in our investigations so far, it might be a separate supply route unrelated to the kidnappings. Going to check it out was, well, not a bad idea.

I reached that conclusion, though I hated the idea of being made to listen endlessly to Caster’s story about the dream he had.

“…Pops.”

The children, however, did not seem to agree.

Stop making that thumb-across-the-throat gesture.

Was that supposed to mean, Let’s hurry up and kill him, then go?

Well, I could hardly blame them. At the camp, the last defense battle was used in class as an example of commander incompetence. Caster was extremely popular among the children. The other day, I saw E.B. scolding them: If you keep doing that, your commanding officer will be Caster!

I had my doubts about that method of discipline.

I digress.

The educational policy did not matter right now.

I required everyone to equip Centipede, and ordered the Monoz not present to rendezvous with the stealth team, Dog Unit and Snake Unit. Monkey Unit, Rooster Unit, Tiger Unit, and Boar Unit were to join us.

No, that would be bad. We would not have enough firepower here.

I called Boar Unit back, designated the separate detachment as A0, placed Dog Unit in command, and prohibited further contact.

“…”

The people who had been tailing us were gone.

Was it because there was no longer any need to observe us? Or because they disliked that our numbers had increased?

Which was it?

“Hey, boss, you’re not taking off that Centipede?”

“Injury from a mission…”

“Ah, that so? Sorry, shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I answered stiffly as one of Caster’s friends threw an overly familiar arm around my shoulders.

In my head, I called him the Wiseman.

I did not remember him.

But Rat Unit did.

He had been one of my classmates back at Double C.

During the Shinzo rescue operation, he had been the troublesome person yelling about something.

As for his combat record, on his first mission after thawing, he had apparently taken the top score among our cohort and been auctioned off for an unusually high price. After that, he completed various jobs, then entered university to learn more.

“But don’t worry, boss. You know Snipes? No? Well, it’s like, from Double C—the company that thawed me out—it’s a title, I guess? They give it to people who are good at sniping. And I’m the Snipes of my generation! Lucky you, boss! You won’t have to get hurt anymore!”

“…Yay.”

Woo.

I raised both hands to express my joy.

…What were these people?

Fans of mine?

Still, I was grateful.

Now I knew they were not to be trusted. Self-reported information, too. Very reliable.

***

I assumed it was just playacting, but apparently this circle did actually do things.

There were about twenty children with them besides us.

“…”

I might need to contact Mr. Howard somewhere along the way.

That was what I thought.

In the end, all of us—me, them, and the children they had taken in—would be crossing the wasteland together.

The circle’s Monoz prepared a bus. I knocked lightly on the body. Plastic, they told me. Light and strong. A result of university research, apparently.

“…”

I scratched it lightly with my Centipede-clad hand.

It marked white.

Brittle, with no toughness to it.

I see.

The sort of thing that could not go mainstream, then.

It would be enough for moving, but if a fight broke out, it would be rough. Would it not be better to mix in at least one proper vehicle? I thought so, and said as much—

“Amateurs should be quiet. You should follow me, the man who commanded the 109th Defense Battle.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I, Snipes, say it’s fine, then it’s fine!”

“…”

That would be me, so if that is what you are saying, I would very much like you to listen.

For a moment, I considered taking off my head armor and showing them my face.

No.

Bad idea. If they made a fuss, that would be a problem.

I let out one sigh and gave up on many things.

“I’ll say this first. Pretend those twenty don’t exist.”

I gathered the children in my unit and told them only that, then placed my unit in the window seats, where it would be easier to escape.

“…”

I ignored several looks that seemed to want to say something, boarded the lead vehicle—bus number one—and secured a window seat. Rudo came over, so I set him on the seat beside me. That alone left the seat covered in fur.

I felt just a little sorry.

“Wasn’t shedding season over?”

At my question, Rudo gave a vague little hefh of a reply, then rested his chin on my thigh and began acting spoiled. He looked up at me from below, ears flattened sweetly against his head.

Sorry that I was still wearing Centipede, but I petted him anyway.

It probably did not feel very good. Forgive me.

With thoughts like that in my head, I was carried across the wasteland.

There seemed to be frequent traffic here. The road was maintained, and the ride barely shook. That was good. That was good, but it also meant the enemy knew in advance which road we would be taking.

“Rat Unit, send a map of the surrounding route to my terminal.”

I stroked Rudo with my right hand and operated the terminal with my left.

The route was basically straight. They had chosen a line with good visibility too, probably out of caution against ambush.

The rocky area along the way—no, that was not a problem. Even Caster would be on guard when we passed through there.

…He would, right?

I was not entirely confident.

I would be on guard too.

But that was not the real point.

The real point was five hundred meters before those rocks was a Tree Crystal colony. It was close to the town and harvested regularly, so the crystals were not that tall, but the footing was bad. In a vehicle, leaving the road to flee would not be an option.

If it were me, I would hide among the rocks and wait, then snipe.

If I could think of it, the enemy could too.

Even knowing it was coming, stopping it would be difficult. That was the kind of position it was.

“…”

Think.

Sharpen it.

Were there other points? How would they follow up the shot? I thought through questions like that. I wanted to grip my necklace. I could not. I could not remove the head armor.

Caster and Wiseman really were nothing but harm.

“…No.”

Rudo’s ears lifted at the mutter that slipped out of me. I petted them back down while I thought.

That was not it.

Letting them take the initiative was the problem. In that case, it would be better to show my face and seize command. But if I caused a scene here, the fish currently watching us might run.

For that matter, it was not as if an attack was guaranteed. Could I not just leave it alone?

That was one thought.

But if we were attacked, it would be the worst.

That was another thought.

What should I do?

I thought.

What was the right move?

I thought.

…What now?

I thought.

Pipipip.

The electronic sound rang out. The timer I had set reached zero. Apparently, five minutes had passed.

If I could not find an answer after five minutes of thinking, then that meant I could not find one at all.

In that case, nothing for it.

I would decide at random.

A coin toss. Except I had no coin, so I took out a pistol round instead.

If it pointed at me, there would be an attack.

If it did not, there would not.

Kiing. One metallic note as the bullet struck Centipede. The round spun and spun.

Without looking, I grabbed it at random.

The direction was—

“…No attack.”

Leave it alone.—Was what I wanted to do, but beforehand, I still decided on several action patterns for if an attack did happen and passed the instructions to the squad and the Monoz.

***

The world lurched hard enough to wake me.

I was dozing.

That warm, strangely pleasant haze vanished in an instant. My heart kicked, blood rushed faster, and my consciousness accelerated.

“…Well. Of course.”

The bet was wrong. My luck was about what one would expect.

“Status.”

My voice came short and sharp.

“Enemy attack! The rear—bus two’s been hit! Um, right side! The right side is under fire!”

“Attack type.”

“Live round, single shot, high power—Pops, it’s on fire!”

“I see.”

It was not a gasoline vehicle, so the chances of the fire spreading and ending in an explosion were low.

Now then. Who was in bus two?

I thought back.

The two girls from Caster’s group. Two girls from my unit— Ah. I remembered joking that it was the women-only car.

In that case, Boar Unit was there.

I checked Caster’s state out of the corner of my eye. He was flailing as he shouted into his communicator, “What happened? What’s going on?”

…That is the channel to Wiseman in bus three, isn’t it? Not bus two. Not the one that was attacked.

There was no way he could understand the outside situation from inside.

No, more importantly, was this bus slowing down?

A lack of combat experience.

The Monoz handling Caster’s tires were shaken by the attack and eased off their speed.

Do not stop.

We had been attacked. That meant we were already in the enemy’s range. Even if there were traps ahead, stopping here was not an option. We should abandon the vehicles behind us and keep moving.

“Stop! Stop the bus! We need to check on bus two!”

And yet, he stopped.

We had already seen what happened. The situation was clear.

Fuck this shit.

I cursed once, conveniently shelving the fact that I had been asleep myself.

“Action Pattern B-2-L. Ox Unit, Horse Unit, Boar Unit. Can you move?”

Beep.

Three messages arrived on my terminal.

All green.

Then we move.

“Tear through.”

The go sign.

At the order, the left sides of all three vehicles were ripped open by three large Monoz.

B-2-L meant breaking through the left side and prioritizing rescue of bus two. Flimsy was not always bad. Cutlasses sprouted, and the Monoz spun like tops, carving huge holes through the vehicle walls with their own hands. Through those holes, my squad leapt outside.

“Wha—what are you doing?! This is insane! This is—!”

Noisy.

Shut up, Caster.

That was what I thought, but even the time to silence him was precious.

A stopped vehicle could serve as a wall, but fundamentally, it was just a big target. Only idiots stayed inside.

I jumped out and swept my gaze across the area. The sharp ones had already started escaping through the holes we had opened. But there was nowhere to run.

Bad.

So I gave orders.

“Sheep Unit, join the three advance units and establish a position. Use the vehicles as material if you have to.

“Squad members, support that.

“Rat Unit, Rabbit Unit, search. Find the enemy position.

“Dragon Unit, charge. Prepare ball drones.

“All Monoz except mine, focus on rescue.”

And I gave no orders to the five units of A0.

That meant, I still want you hidden.

Seven electronic acknowledgments came back.

A beat later, the children answered by voice.

Six voices.

…Six?

“Report injuries!”

“S-sorry for the late response! I’m okay!”

When I looked, one girl came staggering out of the bus that had been hit. The helpful one. Her name was Yuno, if I remembered right. Her footing was unsteady.

“Yuno. Once the position is built, move to medical aid. Do not carry a gun. Do not carry a shield.”

“I can! I can still go!”

“Shut up. Or I’ll shut you up.”

“—!”

Yuno flinched.

My voice had come out lower and rougher than I meant it to. I felt bad, but I had no time to deal with her. Whether she could move or not was not my concern. Cold as it sounded, I had no interest.

Follow orders.

“Yuno, understood!”

She must have remembered the basics of being a soldier. The reply came clear.

If she could answer like that, she would be fine. Reassured, I cut my attention away from her.

I slammed my body against the left side of bus one, using it like a shield as I moved toward the rear. I leaned out just enough to check the rocks.

A lens flashed.

…Two, then.

That was my judgment.

A sniper shot came at me for showing my face.

“…”

Ah.

Missed.

I judged it that way, so I kept my face out and continued observing.

Another detachment came in to match the sniping.

Drum cans—

No. Shorter.

And in exchange, the tracks were larger. About the size of a human. Too small to call tanks, but they had speed and could turn sharply. Their weapons were SMGs. Submachine guns. Shotguns for when they closed in. Grenades for suppression.

Something like that.

Suppressive fire.

Each unit carried two submachine guns, pinning our movement as they approached.

“…”

In my hands, I had one shotgun. A model I did not even know, and had no practice with.

What to do?

I thought.

Caster and the others were curled up small, too afraid of the snipers to raise their heads.

I would like them to at least look up. If they were going to pretend to be commanders, pretend to be the brains of the operation, the least they could do was grasp the situation.

“Draw them in, then shoot.”

I said aloud what I would do.

Ah.

Impossible.

I could see nothing but a future where they pushed straight through us. The distance closed, and the drum tanks’ fire grew more accurate. Keeping my face out was starting to feel frightening.

Woof!

A bark.

I dropped my gaze to my feet.

Rudo was there.

When our eyes met, Rudo licked his nose, wriggled backward as if dragging his rear, and sprang.

A sheepdog from some far-off past, once bred to chase sheep, stepped on my knee, kicked off my shoulder, left an impact against my head, and raced up onto the roof of the bus.

He was going to assault the drum tanks.

From overhead, where they were not watching.

That was probably the idea.

I see.

Good call.

—No.

Bad call.

The snipers can see you perfectly.

“Dragon Unit! Fire on the rocks! Don’t aim! Just shoot!”

I shouted and started running.

I burst out from the bus’s shadow, drawing the attention of both the drum tanks and the snipers.

Aragane might be a mass-produced model, but Centipede was still Centipede. One or two submachine-gun rounds should not punch through it.

They would not, right?

They would not.

I decided they would not.

So please do not.

A rain of bullets hammered my body.

Terrifying.

Painful.

I shielded my face. I had no idea what was happening. No idea, but I understood one thing: I could not shoot like this.

Do not guard.

Raise the gun.

I told myself.

I raised it.

—Uoooooooohhhhhh!

Too loud. Who was screaming? My ears were going to go stupid. Close. Too close. Close? Ah. Right. The one screaming was me.

Point-blank range. Five meters to the drum tank. I pulled the trigger.

Missed.

Why?

Next round.

No time.

Peki.

A sound. Aragane’s armor had been pierced. My cheek was hot. It hurt.

If the next shot would not make it—

Then hit it.

The shotgun I swung down smashed into the drum tank’s head. It lost balance.

And then Rudo fell down.

Violet lightning.

A thunderbolt ran across the earth.

The flower of lightning that bloomed around Rudo where he landed burned through the electronic circuits of the surrounding drum tanks and froze them in place.

Good.

That works.

Go.

From below to above. I drove my shoulder into the stopped unit in front of me. Lifted it. Started running. I used it as a shield.

A sniper shot came. A hole opened in the shield.

That was all.

Amateur.

You do not even know how a bullet drops after punching through?

More sniper fire came for Rudo up ahead, but Rudo ran in a zigzag, and none of it touched him. His tongue hung out to bleed off the heat building in his body, and somehow it looked like he was mocking them.

Fifty meters left.

In other words, in pistol killing range.

We were in.

Rudo was going right.

Then I would go left.

I threw away the drum tank I had been carrying and drew the automatic pistol that had at least begun to sit comfortably in my hand.

Aim.

Fire.

“—”

Sound slipped away.

Because I had pushed my thoughts there, the world slowed.

The battlefield that had been dragging me along ever since Rudo moved came back into my hands.

—Ah.

Right.

This was how I fought.

A muzzle turned toward me.

A turret.

So my opponent was an automated interception device with sniper capability. The flashing light must have been a camera eye. If I crushed that, could I disable it?

I tried.

It fired.

But the shot was off target. Still, a lucky hit would be frightening.

“—, —”

So I shot.

Again.

I aimed for the muzzle.

Hit it.

No.

Put it in.

A flower bloomed.

The barrel split and the enemy ended there.

“Rudo?”

How about yours?

At my question, Rudo answered with an excited little hyang.

Against machines, Rudo was strong.

He had one paw planted on a turret coughing black smoke and looked terribly proud of himself.

“…”

Considering he was the reason I had panicked, he seemed to be having a wonderful time.

I walked over, grabbed the loose flesh of his cheek, and pulled it sideways.

Unyooon.

“…”

Apparently he had no complaints.

His tail was wagging.

The tension left me, and I laughed under my breath.

Well, in his own way, Rudo had acted because he wanted to break the situation open. It was not something I should blame him too much for.

Still.

Please never do that again.

If I kept fighting that way, I would die very easily. Getting through this unharmed was a fluke. Pure luck. I should not be placed on the front line.

I wanted the kob dog to understand that much.

“Now then.”

For the moment, this was settled.

We had not wiped out the attackers. A little earlier, I had seen a truck driving away. In that case, we only had to follow the one we had let escape.

That was A0’s job.

Dog Unit would have to work hard.

『Come back here! Why did you act on your own?!』

As for me, I had to silence the commander, who had only now found his voice.

Thinking up a suitable excuse, I started walking slowly with Rudo beside me, leaving the rocks at our backs.