Overture of War
A square table sat in the center of the commander's office.
I looked over the ECHOs, who could be called the core strength of Ark 69, one by one, and spoke in a deliberately calm tone.
"In preparation for the upcoming all-out war with the Astral, I'm going to reorganize the squads."
"...Reorganize the squads?"
Among the surprised group, Arva was the first to break the silence.
As always, her voice was filled with rational questioning.
"I believe the current squads are stable enough, Commander. Everyone's roles and coordinated plays are already well-synchronized. But... is there a need to take the risk and make changes?"
At Arva's words, the other ECHOs, including Pomen and Helena, seemed to agree, nodding their heads.
Her argument certainly sounded reasonable.
That is, if I weren't a player who had passionately played the mobile game Echoes of Humanity — ECHO.
Instead of answering, I tapped the desk with my finger, and at that signal, the Central AI, Wanderer, displayed data on the Astral units on the main screen.
"Now, everyone look at the screen. Most of the enemies we've faced so far were zombies. They were opponents that could be handled somehow by pushing through with strength, speed, and heavy firepower. But the Astral are different."
Those things possessed powerful Energy Shields that deflected almost all long-range attacks.
In the early days of the Calamity.
They were the ones who neutralized humanity's powerful firepower and forced humans to hide within the Arks.
"Of course, we have Pomen's Exclusive Weapon and AP-5 Ammunition, but there's a limit to neutralizing them with those. You all admit that, right?"
I continued, looking at each of the ECHOs' faces.
"Therefore, the way we've fought until now—projecting firepower from a distance—won't make it easy to suppress the Astral. In fact, Wanderer has run several simulations, and the results were mostly..."
[Mutual destruction. In a stalemate, there was a 97.3% chance that both sides would suffer damage exceeding half of their capacity.]
At Wanderer's mechanical voice, the ECHOs' eyes began to waver with anxiety.
That was how big of a problem their Energy Shields were.
However, in our Ark, there were two ECHOs who could smash those Energy Shields.
"The weakness of their Energy Shields is that they are clearly vulnerable to physical impact, especially sharp slashes or strong strikes. So, what if we dive into their embrace, tear through this shield, and strike the internal Core directly?"
“...Then we could clean them up easily.”
Arva said softly, having realized my intention.
"Correct. That's why I'm reorganizing the squads. An anti-Astral specialized squad. Well, it's a temporary squad. I have no intention of breaking up unique squads like Arclight or Cerberus."
Nor is there a need to.
"In that case... what combination are you thinking of, Commander?"
At Arva's question, I revealed the hand I had prepared as if I had been waiting for the moment.
"Arva, Moi, Lapis. And Lena for the support role."
The moment those names were called, the air in the commander's office shifted subtly.
In particular, I could feel Lapis and Lena looking at me with surprised eyes, as if they hadn't expected their names to be called.
"You will be the main strike force. Cerberus will handle support and harassment. And a temporary Arclight consisting of Cordelia, Pomen, and Noah will take on the role of defending Bastion and deterring the enemy."
And so, I began to explain my plan for the battle against the Astral to the ECHOs.
Even as I did, I hoped the Astral wouldn't make a full-scale advance into Hongwei-7.
Our Ark still... is absolutely lacking in the number of ECHOs.
No matter how strong Arva and Moi were, if a Leviathan Mobile Fortress appeared, the damage would be immense.
What if a Crown Ark-class mothership containing a Named entity appeared?
At that point, I might have to abandon the Ark and run without looking back.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Ark began to grow busy.
The ECHOs assigned to the new squad worked tirelessly to synchronize their breathing, familiarizing themselves with their roles and their comrades' movements. In the temporary munitions factory, under the direction of Karen and Lena, firearms and ammunition for the anti-Astral war began to be produced.
"Even so, it's just AP-5 Ammunition."
"Still, that's enough. We have to advance into Zhenlong City once this is over anyway, right?"
"Ah—that's the place where the zombies are swarming, right?"
I left the defense of the Ark to Madeline, Karen, and Rai.
Since I couldn't expect much from Karen and Rai's combat capabilities, I was essentially leaving the Ark relying solely on Madeline.
Well, we had already cleaned up the surrounding area, and the internal defense facilities were mostly operational, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
Thus, we loaded the produced shells and ammunition into the Mercury Howl and headed toward Hongwei-7.
And then....
Rat-tat-tat! Boom! Kaboom!
"Hongwei-7! Multiple energy reactions detected! It's the Astral forces!!"
"No, when the hell did they invade?!"
The red dots on the screen were surrounding Bastion, which served as the defensive line for Hongwei-7.
What the hell is so attractive about Hongwei-7?!
It felt like it hadn't even been a few days since the scouts clashed. Their movement was much faster than I had anticipated.
Still, we were lucky.
Holy shit... that was almost a disaster.
Bastion, the fixed defense platform, already looked like it had reached its limit.
The barrels were glowing red from overheating, and scratches from enemy attacks were vivid across the armor.
It struggled to block the nonstop barrage of energy rounds but only served as unbreachable armor, unable to neutralize the foes but not letting them in either.
However, the more important thing was that Bastion was still functioning.
"At this rate, there is a 96% probability that Bastion will be neutralized within 10 minutes, Commander!"
"Arva. Lead your temporary squad and deploy immediately!"
"Yes, Commander."
I need to restore the communication facilities quickly and establish long-distance communication with Bastion.
I almost ended up discovering nothing but the wreckage of a destroyed Bastion without knowing a thing.
"And Cerberus squad, resupply Bastion with shells, and Pomen, provide cover so the defensive line doesn't collapse."
"Understood."
As soon as my order fell, the cargo doors of the Mercury Howl, which was speeding down the road, opened, and the anti-Astral deck—the Mech Deck girls led by Arva—leaped out.
Among them was Lapis, who had been lying in the recovery device until recently.
In her hand, a massive Saint Hammer made by melting down the shell of the Carapace Lord was emitting an ominous light.
"Let's park over there."
"Yes, Commander!"
I took a position in a half-collapsed five-story abandoned building a short distance from Bastion's defensive line.
From here, I planned to strike the enemy's flank while simultaneously supporting the isolated Bastion.
Bang! Bang-bang-bang!
"Whew..."
Positioned on the rooftop, I caught my breath and pressed my eye to the scope of my Exclusive Weapon, the White Tiger.
The target was a Specter, a giant floating drone and the standard reconnaissance unit of the Astral.
Drawing on my experience playing the mobile game, I aimed for the red lens—their weakness—and pulled the trigger.
Tung! Tu-tu-tung!
"Tsk! They're damn hard to take down."
But the first few attacks bounced off futilely, as if hitting a transparent wall.
The Astral's characteristic Energy Shield.
As expected, it was an incredibly annoying defense mechanism.
There was a reason users called it fucking bullshit.
However, the many veteran players who religiously played Echoes of Humanity — ECHO had developed a few tips to neutralize the Energy Shield through control.
One of those was....
OP: Why is the shield of the Astral motherfuckers so hard? Fucking shit, was this even made to be broken?
💬 Comments
— ??? If you just attack the same spot repeatedly with a Tuk-Tuk, it breaks?
— Source: trust me bro.
— It’s not BS; it’s my actual gameplay. I pushed all the way to Stage 25 without a Mech Deck doing this. Video attached.
— ???
— No, how the hell did you even do it?
It was a method of neutralizing the Astral's Energy Shield by attacking the same spot consecutively.
A tip that had produced many results both in theory and within the game.
Recalling those details in my head, I pulled the trigger once more.
Bang!
The moment the shield blocked the external impact and was about to recover. What if I hit that gap once more?
Bang! Bang-bang-bang! K-zzzzzt!
Piercing through the Energy Shield, whose strength had momentarily weakened, my bullet accurately shattered the thing's red lens.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
You have acquired 1600C.
Acquisition History: Destruction of Astral - Specter in Hongwei-7 (Combat Participation Reward)
Of course, to prove this in reality, it required shooting skills bordering on the divine—continuously planting bullets into the same coordinates on a moving target.
"……."
But it actually worked?
"How did I even do that?"
Even though I was the one who did it, I let out a hollow laugh because it was so absurd.
I couldn't understand what kind of life the original owner of this body had lived... or why the hell he possessed such an ability.
Or was it because of the body modifications?
Regardless, it wasn't a bad thing in the current situation.
Rat-tat-tat!
Pomen, who had taken a position like a fixed turret, fired bullets indiscriminately at the mechanical monsters approaching Bastion.
No matter how high the Astral's resistance to long-range attacks was, it wasn't easy to withstand the hail of bullets pouring out at over 600 rounds per minute from her Exclusive Weapon, the Queen’s Calamity.
"Die! Die! Die—!"
The blue light of the Astral's Energy Shield began to flicker noticeably, the recovery speed unable to keep up with the continuous damage, and the minigun's bullets began to bury themselves into the main body.
And another hunter did not miss the opportunity provided by that defenseless state.
Bang—!
A single bullet flew in with a flash.
Zap! Zzzzzzap!
A sniper round fired by Silva of the Cerberus squad, who was positioned in another building, accurately pierced the thing's power Core.
Kaaaboom—!
I nodded as I watched a Cryptrain collapse, emitting black smoke along with a massive explosion.
"Nice shot, Pomen. And Silva."
[Hehe, did you see?]
"It was the best."
It was an armored charging unit with a fairly sturdy Energy Shield, but the Exclusive Weapons certainly made a difference.
As I stayed on the rooftop, shooting down the Specters approaching Bastion one by one, I suddenly felt a presence behind me.
An enemy?!
Reflexively, I turned the muzzle of the White Tiger backward.
[Po—?]
But what entered my sight was Podic, standing precariously on the rooftop railing.
It seemed she had caught my scent and slinked out.
It was at that moment.
Zzzzzing—!
Zing!
Every single Astral unit was turning its head toward Podic.
Even the units that had approached Bastion were turning their bodies toward where Podic was.
"Uh—?"
No matter who looked at it, they were targeting Podic.