Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Cross Federation's Offer
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The bad news for the Human Alliance wasn't limited to this.
They were controlling information about the battlefield situation, but there was no way they could hide it completely.
Rumors that had leaked out bit by bit were spreading like wildfire across every media outlet.
With even the third defense line no longer something they could confidently call safe, a rush of humanity migrating to the rear was inevitable.
To prevent that, Alliance HQ needed to take some action before the anxiety spiraled out of control.
In fact, Alliance HQ made its decision without delay.
Two additional legions, led by Central Superhuman Unit Captain Darmosa, were being dispatched as reinforcements.
Considering the scale, it was an astonishingly swift decision.
'Darmosa must have taken command. Wonder if he's doing okay by now...'
The image of him boasting about a bright future all the way to retirement after the combat machines appeared was still fresh.
With that dream shattered, his mental state must have taken a hit.
I'd done what I could to look out for him, but I worried it might all have gone to waste.
Still, it was more hopeful than in the original story, so I hoped he wouldn't get any funny ideas.
But what worried me even more was something else.
'Do they even have the spare capacity to hastily assemble two whole legions?'
I examined the formation plan in detail.
This level of forces wasn't something you could just whip up on a whim.
They must have cut corners somewhere.
'As expected...'
It looked like they'd forcibly pieced it together by slightly reducing the composition of the existing defensive fleets guarding the rear.
That would undermine rear stability, but given the urgency, it seemed like an unavoidable choice.
Not that it was the best option by any means.
'Tsk. This isn't the time to be patching things up...'
The Human Alliance had been around for nearly eighty years.
Perhaps because they'd enjoyed stability for almost thirty years with the fourth defense line in place, their core structure was already wobbling.
The interest groups clustered around families or corporations had forgotten the old sense of crisis and were focused solely on filling their own pockets. They'd already built up their own armed forces as a lesson from the Alien crisis.
Soon, simultaneous engagements would erupt across the entire 3rd and 4th living zones, and these private forces they'd nurtured would step up.
To protect their turf.
'But if they concentrated everything on the front lines right now, they could hold the fourth defense line.'
That was just a pipe dream.
'Come to think of it, the Cross Federation headquarters is back there too.'
The Cross Federation's main headquarters was somewhat on the outskirts.
Beyond the third defense line.
In a remote area off the main paths where Aliens usually appeared.
But with the fourth defense line breached, it was no longer a position anyone could call completely safe.
At a time like this, how must the cadets who came to the academy be feeling?
Just then, I spotted about a dozen cadets walking along as usual.
"Tch..."
Lunshin noticed them too and clicked his tongue.
But the next moment, Jang veered toward us.
"Huh? What's this? Why's he coming over here?"
I gripped the mechanical spear at my side.
But Jang's target wasn't Lunshin.
"Leonard Monarch. That you?"
"Yeah. What's up?"
"May the Lord's grace be with you. I have business to discuss."
This was the first time Jang had approached someone first.
At least, that's what I thought.
'What business does he have with me?'
I'd had little contact with the Cross Federation up to now.
To begin with, I wasn't a believer. Like most Alliance citizens, I was close to an atheist.
Even if gods existed, I didn't see them as something to rely on.
In my view, gods weren't beings humans could lean on.
"M-me? Nothing for me?"
"...I have no business with you."
He turned to Lunshin and said it firmly.
Then he ignored Lunshin's stunned grinding of teeth and stared right at me.
"So, what's this about?"
"It's related to business. Is it alright to talk here?"
"Hmm... Let's find somewhere private."
Business narrowed it down to the Salmon Research Lab.
'But coming straight to me?'
My ownership of the Salmon Research Lab was kept under wraps.
Plenty of people could figure out I was connected, but only a tiny few knew I wielded real influence.
"Captain. Mind if I tag along?"
"It's fine. ...Actually, yeah, why not?"
Gisz seemed reliable enough, so I let him come.
We soon arrived at a meeting room.
As expected, Jang brought up the combat machines the Salmon Research Lab was supplying to the military.
"So, you want to procure them independently?"
"Is that possible?"
All current combat machine production was going straight to military contracts.
We planned to supply other buyers once time passed, factories expanded to their limits, and supply stabilized—but for now, it was just a plan.
"Not right now."
"We'll provide all the supporting facilities, personnel, and resources needed for production. And the support will all be transferred to your ownership, 'Leonard.'"
They were offering to pour in more than the usual payment just to get production.
Even handing over full ownership of high-tech facilities like combat machine factories to me personally.
This had to be close to a bribe.
"...Why go that far?"
"For our Lord, and the land where He shall descend."
He gripped the cross pendant around his neck with his left hand and murmured a short scripture.
"Under those terms, it's doable. How much production capacity are you after?"
"I'd like a mass-production system capable of at least 100,000 units per day."
"100,000...?"
That was beyond imagination.
It hit me again just how loaded the Cross Federation was—the richest group in the Human Alliance.
'Well, no single family or corp can match them as a bloc.'
Even in decline, a religion's power was immense.
I snapped out of thoughts about the impact of over 100,000 combat machines a day.
The conversation wasn't over.
"We can't support that much right away. Even with automation, we need to dispatch skilled managers from here."
"That's fine. Just push forward as fast as possible with whatever you can."
"And that production volume will strain transport too. We'd need to split factories along resource lines. Factoring that in, 100,000 will take even longer."
"That as well."
"...One last condition."
The insular Cross Federation was reaching out first.
No way I'd let a chance like this slip.
"We need tech exchange."
"Tell me more."
"Simple. An agreement for tech exchange between the Salmon Research Lab and the Cross Federation."
"..."
There was a long silence.
He stood so still I almost wanted to poke him to see if he was a mannequin.
I barely held back and glanced at Gisz.
Even after hearing the talk, he showed no change despite realizing I held real decision-making power at the lab.
The 3-meter-tall giant stood solidly behind me, reassuring.
"That's a matter I can't fully answer."
"Then ask the decision-maker and get back to me. Include things that could help with the decision."
I pulled out a memory stick and loaded it with info up to an allowable level.
A filtered list of research, even skipping chief researchers at Fontana.
Each one would cause a massive ripple if leaked.
'They'll get it.'
The Cross Federation's tech level was top-tier in the Alliance, as seen with their Holy Weapons.
Plus, their independently developed tech branches weren't easy to access.
It was worth giving a little to gain more.
"Oh, and this is a personal favor. No big deal if you can't."
"Speak."
"Spar with me. Privately, no one else around."
"Anytime."
I felt Gisz glance at me.
Why ask Jang of all people for a spar?
Especially right after seeing Lunshin get shut down like that.
I was curious myself.
'Is it frustration?'
Lately, something felt blocked.
My performance was inconsistent too.
Yet Roze wouldn't explain why.
Why hide it?
Maybe sparring someone totally different from my usual opponents like Jang would reveal something.
'No way I'd rough up a business partner anyway.'
Plus, I wanted to test the real strength of Jang, who'd later be called one of the Miracle Generation.
The genuine article, if possible.
Anyway, Jang agreed to my request.
We set the spar for the day he brought back an answer.
*
Boom!
I slammed into the ground.
I used a landing technique, but it couldn't dissipate all the impact.
"No time to lie around!"
I hesitated for a moment as my skull rattled.
Then a sharp whoosh signaled the follow-up strike—I slid my body backward.
Roze's fist cratered the floor.
The internal barrier of the sparring room shook like it might shatter under the raw destructive power.
'Now!'
A gap.
My body lunged forward before my brain could process it.
Then...
Crash! Thud!!
I tumbled wildly across the floor.
"Urgh... again..."
"You okay?"
Not like I was a baby or anything.
Tripping on my own like this was so embarrassing I couldn't show my face.
"Lemon."
With my hands over my face, Roze approached and poked me.
Normally she'd chew me out immediately, but not lately.
'Not the first time.'
How many times had it been?
I'd noticed it since the end of the first semester—my body was jumping around as it pleased.
No issues during normal times, but during intense activity like this, my senses got tangled.
'Was it from then...?'
Thinking back, this symptom had a clear starting point.
Right when I got the Blue Demon's Horn implanted.
It started after accepting primal energy into the horn, my energy accumulation organ.
At first, I could control it somewhat, but now it was unmanageable.
"Umm..."
I parted my fingers slightly.
Roze sat beside me, frowning.
Then she spoke.
"No more spars for a while."
"What?"
"Focus entirely on static training until then."
We'd skipped everything else before, but never stopped sparring.
"Shouldn't we increase sparring time? It's a sensory misalignment issue."
"It's not that simple."
"Then?"
"It's because you went off and did whatever without telling your master here."
As she spoke, she ruffled my hair and fiddled around the base of the horn.
"The horn?"
"Yeah. In my view, it's a disharmony between inner and outer energies."
It was a theory I'd heard so often I thought I fully understood it.
But I never imagined it'd be the issue now.
"Martial artists build outer energy through training. Specifically, by tempering the body to fill it with inner energy, and as inner energy fills up, outer energy naturally seeps in to match."
"And?"
"The power in the horn is strictly outer energy. Power from outside. Your inner energy is the same as always, but suddenly a massive influx of outer energy invaded—so how could your body stay fine?"
"...It couldn't."
I got it instantly.
But if that was the cause, shouldn't she suggest a fix?
She caught my expectant look and turned her head slightly.
The peevish expression wasn't my imagination.
I opened my mouth cautiously.
"Master?"
"...Master only when you need something?"
"Don't be like that. I'll treat you to a nice dinner for three days."
"...Seven days."
"That's a bit much."
"Don't want to?"
"No. Fix this, and it's a deal!"
My "deal!" made her expression flip.
Grinning, Roze laid out the solution.
"It'll resolve itself with time."
"...Huh?"
"Inner-outer imbalance usually sorts itself out naturally. In your case, outer energy flooded in, but your growth was already too fast—outer energy couldn't keep up with inner energy's increase."
"..."
"Just wait, and balance will return soon. Plus, the horn's energy has a clear container: the horn itself. As long as it's there, no need to worry about it harming your body."
Wait, had Roze just tricked me?
Roze, of all people.
"It might even be a blessing in disguise. You were at a kind of bottleneck anyway. Could've taken ages to break through, but this might force you past it."
"..."
I followed the explanation.
It didn't fully sink in through the shock.
Roze chuckled and patted my shoulder.