Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Alien Onslaught
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Chaos erupted.
It wasn't just the academy under attack.
The planet Terra was facing an aerial assault as well.
The defense fleet, reacting a half-beat late, launched its counteroffensive, and deadly fireworks began blooming in the dark void of space.
"Everyone, gather up! We're heading straight to the shelter."
The instructor shouted.
He'd finally pulled himself together.
We were out in the external training grounds for anti-aircraft gunnery class, having left the main building.
It would take more than fifteen minutes by shuttle to get back.
'The safest spot is the main building.'
Defensive installations covered the entire satellite, but all the key facilities were clustered around the main building.
That's why I planned to hop on the shuttle too.
But before everyone except a few cadets could move, they all turned to look at me.
"What do we do, boss?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because you're the boss."
"...Leonard!"
The instructor called my name sharply.
He meant for me to handle it.
His tone made me shove my doubts aside for now.
In a situation like this, there was no time to hesitate.
"Grab those. Grab 'em and let's move."
The cadets scattered in an instant, picking out the ones with the most ammo left and slinging them onto their backs as they headed for the shuttle.
The psychics, lugging just one each due to the weight, watched as the physical types hauled two or three apiece.
It nearly exceeded the shuttle's weight limit.
I chucked a few back outside and yelled.
"Launch!"
Then I popped open the shuttle's lid and climbed on top.
The instructor followed, apparently wanting to check the situation with his own eyes.
"Can the defense fleet handle them all?"
"...No way. The area they have to defend is too vast. We should make it to the main building without incident."
The number of assault pods dropping wasn't the issue.
The real problem was what came after: the main hive.
Judging by the scale of the pod drops, the waves of aerial troops and massive entities that would follow were too much for the current fleet to fully repel.
"If they hadn't pulled ships for that reinforcement fleet, things might've been better."
"You're right! Come to think of it, that's why the fleet was short-handed...!"
The instructor let out a heavy sigh.
Never mind how the aliens had shown up here—the choice to hold the front lines had come back to bite them like a boomerang.
If they botched this, it would spell trouble for Darmosa's influence, the one who'd orchestrated the reinforcement fleet.
I kept monitoring the situation.
Drops came every three minutes, and they held off up to the third wave.
But as the fourth wave hit alongside swarms of aerial units, things went south.
"Look over there!"
"We're gonna be too late!"
This was no joke.
Assault pods were raining down like hail.
Most were hitting off in corners, but breaching the atmosphere at all meant interception had failed.
Aliens burst from the shattered pods embedded in the ground.
Grade-1 threats: Claws.
The ones we'd see the most from here on.
They were taking time to shake off the impact and dry their wings, but soon they'd start hunting for living targets.
"Just take out the ones getting close! Ignore the rest!"
"You gonna use this, boss?"
"Not yet. Save it. Now's not the time."
I shook my head at Giz rattling the Flying Jack.
Claws couldn't block the shuttle's path.
The shuttle was already holding back to avoid accidents.
A trip that should take ten minutes would stretch to twenty.
As I scanned the battlefield, I spotted something odd.
'Attacks are concentrating here?'
Rifts dotted the sky.
The whole planet was under assault, sure.
But zeroing in on the center? This place.
With rifts opening right near the academy, twice as many aliens were zeroing in here compared to elsewhere.
Easy to judge.
The academy sat on Terra's second moon.
Moons orbit without pause.
But that hole linked to the Astral Dimension? From my view in the academy, it hadn't budged.
Meaning the invasion's bullseye was pinned right on the academy.
'And it lines up just like that?'
The academy's defenses were top-tier.
A tiny moon packed with firepower that dwarfed Terra's surface area.
Yet in the original story, tons of cadets still died or got hurt.
It was meant to spotlight the Miracle Generation quartet's heroics.
A throwaway line I'd written without much thought.
Now eating the backlash firsthand? Infuriating.
'Getting to the shelter's the priority.'
I eyed the sky and adjusted the Flying Jack's ammo.
More and more were slipping through intercepts.
I broadcast the same settings to the cadets.
"Focus on clearing the path ahead!"
"Damn Claw bastards!"
Curses flew from the cadets' mouths.
No species got as much flak as Claws.
Weakest of Grade-1 threats and the most common.
But survive one ground-covering swarm charge, and that opinion vanishes.
Their numbers alone make them unstoppable.
That's Claws for you.
'We're the target.'
Nothing else around was moving like us.
Auto-turrets bursting from the ground didn't draw as much attention as our speedy shuttle.
So here we were, flashy psychics blasting incoming Claws, turning the shuttle into prime bait.
"Ugh, check the rear!"
I glanced back on cue and flinched.
Even more back there.
Claws flapping in our wake had clumped into a mass.
"We gotta pick up speed!"
"One slip and we'll crash!"
"Just clean 'em all out."
Good news: the defense systems were finally kicking in properly.
Main-system-controlled auto-turrets punched through the surface, multiplying fast.
'Just handle this one wave.'
Then three assault pods slammed down right in our path.
Claws poured out in droves.
"Boss!"
The cadets who'd been aiming called out.
I set targets without pause and gave the order.
"Fire one through ten!"
Two thousand rounds spat from the Flying Jack in sequence.
One shot, one kill.
Every Claw blocking ahead was wiped.
The pods in our way shattered, path clear.
"Eleven through twenty—fire!"
The airborne cluster diving at us like prey exploded in a spectacular burst.
Sunlight poured through the suddenly clear sky, hitting my head.
"Free fire! Dump the rest!"
I tossed the empty Flying Jack case overboard.
Dead weight now.
The cadets, sensing rear pressure, targeted most remaining rounds at the trailing Claws.
The staccato blasts of the Flying Jacks swept through once more, Claws raining down.
Surplus rounds auto-retargeted, sweeping the surface and detonating every last alien.
"Whew."
A whistle of awe escaped.
Nothing like mowing down with a K2 in the army.
Life-or-death aside, I'd pay to do it again.
"We can handle the leftovers ourselves."
"Main defenses are online now anyway. Should be fine."
That brief breather had been key.
Post-fourth drop lull got us to the main building without further trouble.
'But that thing...'
The rift's position was still a nightmare.
Too damn close.
Normal assaults didn't escalate this fast.
Unless it was the front lines.
Aliens hitting ground before main defenses booted? Calling it unavoidable was an understatement.
"Pretty useful, huh?"
"Costs a fortune. And single-use."
Flying Jacks packed real punch against Grade-1s.
Brought plenty, but nearly wasted 'em holding back.
Still, crisis averted—mood lightened.
Even fifty cadets sans Jacks could've managed, or so they boasted. Lucky anyway.
"So? Used 'em well, right?"
"Short on supplies, they'll wise up."
"My spear's no ornament. Bring it on—I'll cave every skull."
Rune Shin crowed from atop the shuttle, full of himself.
As if we'd ever need his help.
"How many'd we get?"
"...Uh, around four thousand?"
"Only...?"
Giz's answer brought a twinge of frustration.
Four thousand wasn't impressive.
Aliens dumped millions per assault at minimum.
Usually tens of millions, sometimes ten times that.
That's true hell.
Defenses or no, holdouts have limits.
Unfortified zones get infested, forcing the military to purge before the next wave.
Fail that, hatcheries sprout everywhere, snowballing the threat.
Endless vicious cycle.
'This is just the start.'
The assault had begun in earnest.
Defend till drops stopped, or risk the Astral Dimension to smash the fortress.
That ended it.
"We're here."
We reached the Cradle of Heroes Academy main building.
It was already shielded in a dome of dark metal, safeguarding the cadets.
As the shuttle neared, a section parted, letting us in.
"Out!"
"What about the Flying Jacks, boss?"
"All casings. Ditch 'em."
We disembarked and headed underground.
Even if every other facility fell, that dome kept us safe.
"Look—soldiers."
"Full battle rattle?"
The troops impressed.
Elite armor suits issued only to special forces, bristling with high-powered weapons.
Two thousand of them blanketing the dome's perimeter? Reassuring.
"What now?"
"What do you mean? We hunker down till it's over."
Rune Shin seemed unbothered.
Even in an assault, holing up in the academy meant it'd sort itself.
I nearly corrected him but held back.
They'd figure it out when the time came.
After a kilometer down the underground passage, we hit the bunker.
Single entrance: ours.
Vast enough for all first- and second-years, dozens of thick pillars propping a sturdy ceiling.
'We're the last ones.'
Nineteen hundred pairs of eyes from those already inside locked on us.
"Lemon!"
Roze and Yun Ji-hye rushed over.