Chapter 290: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 290: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (8)
The Western Outer Rim of the Earth Federation. In orbit around the planet Yurabe-3.
In the silent, black void of space, a large Federation assault ship was quietly on its return course. All external communications were cut. The internal ship code was classified as a Level-A top-secret military operation.
On the bridge, officers with silver rank insignias silently watched their panels, while the captain, a colonel, gave orders with an expressionless face.
"Prepare for planetary entry. Commence descent within five minutes after the orbital bombardment."
As the order was given, a deep, heavy sound echoed from the mech hangar. The Federation's mobile weapons, the Hounds, synchronized their glowing red cores and fell into formation.
Among them, a Type-E Valkyrie, equipped with a high-output thermobaric cannon—a weapon classified by the Independent Colonial Alliance as an inhumane weapon of mass destruction—was positioned at the very front.
"Report. Defensive armaments on Yurabe-3, negative. Detecting bio-signs."
"Colonist population approximately 69,240. Unarmed. Evacuating to public facilities."
"Orders?"
The captain was silent for a moment. On the virtual command panel floating before his eyes, the following was written in red text.
『Plan: Planetary resource retrieval / Eliminate stronghold regardless of resistance.』
He closed his eyes, then opened them and said resolutely.
"Preemptively eliminate 70% of ground targets. If there are any survivors, leave none."
And then—
[Commencing Orbital Assault]
A plasma beam split the sky, and the thermobaric shell that pierced through it slammed directly into the heart of the city.
—BOOOOOM!!
A maddening flash of light, a massive explosion that scattered bone and flesh into the air.
The sky above Yurabe-3's central city was instantly dyed in flames.
The ground shook, and amidst the black smoke that rose like a heat haze, people collapsed one by one, unable to utter a single word.
"Ah!"
"No! Don't go out there!"
Wails and lamentations, collapsing buildings, a burning planet.
*
Amidst the rubble of collapsed concrete, the musty smell of dust stung his lungs.
The underground refugee area, behind a collapsed wall.
Oh Hyun, huddled under a worn-out military greatcoat, gripped the rifle in his hands tightly. It wasn't even a proper military weapon. It was an old-model plasma rifle he'd gotten from the civilian militia; it was in poor condition, and he had never even pulled the trigger.
But now, he had a life to protect.
"...Hyung, what is that...?"
Hoon's young voice trembled. Tears streamed down his blood-smeared face from below his slightly split lip.
Beyond the collapsed wall, a mech descended, splitting the sky. It had red fluorescent panels embedded in both shoulders, and the impact of its landing caused a nearby building to half-collapse.
A silhouette distinctly different from the white mechs of the Earth Federation.
"......It's not from the Federation."
It was an Arsenos.
A tactical mech belonging to the Independent Colonial Alliance.
A medium-sized Federation warship still hovered in the sky above the city. Hundreds of plasma beams had already turned the city into a sea of fire. Their parents had been caught in the first bombardment... blown to pieces right before Oh Hyun and Hoon's eyes.
It was the moment he thought there was nowhere left to run.
-CRASH—!
Another impact sound echoed from ahead.
"Wait... what's that..."
Oh Hyun held his breath and turned his gaze. In front of a corner building, two Federation soldiers were dragging a woman.
Long gray hair. Her uniform was torn and soaked in blood, but her gaze remained unbroken.
"Let go of me... you bastards...!"
"Hah, so noisy. Just be quiet."
"Been cooped up in space for too long. Looks like we'll have some fun today."
The men laughed. They threw the defenseless woman to the ground, and at that moment, Oh Hyun unconsciously placed his finger on the trigger.
'Don't do it, Oh Hyun... Just run away...'
His stomach twisted into knots. But when he took Hoon's sobbing hand, he knew he couldn't back down anymore.
"Hyung..."
"......Stay behind me."
-Click.
The trigger was pulled.
—Pew!
A plasma bolt flew out. It pierced one man's shoulder, and a scream rang out.
"Aaargh!! W-what the hell?!"
"There, over there!"
The other man scrambled to his feet to retaliate.
But Oh Hyun was already diving behind a pillar of the next building. Bullets sparked off the wall. He peeked out and fired again.
The second shot hit the man squarely in the abdomen. Blood splattered, and the remaining soldier collapsed.
"......!"
Oh Hyun cautiously approached, rifle raised.
"Are you okay?"
The woman looked up at Oh Hyun, gasping for breath.
"...You... saved me?"
"We have to get out of here. Before more of them come."
"......Follow me. There's a safe place."
She clutched her wound and got to her feet. Then she led Oh Hyun toward a steel door at the back of the alley. Oh Hoon stuck close behind his brother, not leaving his side for a second.
The area inside the steel door was on a completely different level from a typical shelter.
Oh Hyun's eyes widened.
"What... is this place?"
Automated sensors on the walls, a security scanner, a high-speed elevator leading deeper inside. This was not the kind of facility he knew from the refugee camps.
"It's a secret base."
A short, firm statement.
There was no longer any hint of a joke in the woman's eyes. Oh Hyun nodded silently and squeezed Oh Hoon's hand.
When the heavy elevator doors opened, they followed her inside without a word.
-Kooong...
The elevator began its slow descent into the deep darkness.
As they descended, the vibrations and faint mechanical hums from beyond the metal walls sent a strange tremor through his chest.
"What... what is this place for?"
Oh Hyun asked cautiously. The woman answered with her back still to him.
"It's a secret research lab for the resistance."
She paused for a moment, then turned to look at Oh Hyun and Oh Hoon.
"And... don't try to know too much."
-Ding.
The elevator stopped.
The moment the doors opened, a completely different world unfolded before Oh Hyun's eyes.
A long hangar, neatly arranged equipment. Countless people were moving about busily, carrying weapons.
The air was thick with the smell of sweat, oil, and resolute determination.
They each held guns. Carrying crude weapons and maintenance tools, they moved about busily, while someone gave orders over a radio.
"......There was a place like this under the city...?"
Oh Hyun was speechless at the scene unfolding before him.
Beneath the dark, damp ruins, another world was revealed, as if by magic.
People were bustling about, many with guns slung over their shoulders and tools in their hands.
It was clearly a base.
Just then.
A man came running hurriedly, parting the crowd.
Short, neat black hair, a sturdy build like a soldier's.
As soon as he saw the woman, he caught his breath, his face showing relief.
"Lina! You're safe!"
"Yeah."
The woman gave a short nod and gestured toward Oh Hyun standing beside her.
"This man helped me. No, it would be more accurate to say he saved me."
The man looked at Oh Hyun with surprised eyes, then bowed his head deeply.
"Thank you... so much."
"It was nothing."
Oh Hyun replied, a bit awkwardly. His face showed he still hadn't adjusted to the situation.
She, Lina, got straight to the point.
"How's the mech?"
The man called Mason lowered his head for a moment before continuing.
"...All the mechanics are dead. It seems they ran into Federation forces on their way here."
"Then... the mech?"
"It's inoperable."
Mason's face hardened.
"The exterior is fine, but maintenance on the control system and frame isn't finished."
Lina quietly pressed her lips together. A moment of silence passed, and she broke it by asking in a low voice.
"Mason, what if we take the mech into combat as it is?"
Mason shook his head grimly and replied.
"......I can't guarantee anything. The entire control system is malfunctioning, and the left leg's servo isn't responding. Even if a pilot gets in, there's a high chance it won't move properly."
At his words, Lina's brow furrowed. Having only one mech was a matter directly tied to the survival of this base.
"......Does that mean it's impossible to activate it right now?"
Oh Hyun asked cautiously. Mason nodded and replied.
"Yeah. We lack proper diagnostic equipment, and we have no maintenance personnel. None of us are any good with machines."
At that moment, Oh Hyun hesitated before speaking up.
"...Um, could I... take a look?"
All eyes turned to him. Lina glanced at Oh Hyun.
"You?"
"I majored in mobile equipment maintenance at a technical school. I've worked on circuits and servos before. It's my first time with a real machine, but I can't just stand by and do nothing."
Mason narrowed his eyes.
"This isn't something for an inexperienced kid who isn't even a base mechanic to be messing with!"
Lina watched Oh Hyun quietly before nodding.
"Mason, we have no choice. Besides this man, there's no one else who can even touch the mech."
"...Haa. Fine."
Mason sighed and nodded.
"This way. I'll show you the mech."
The underground hangar.
A steel shutter opened, and something was slowly revealed in the darkness.
-Clank. Clank.
The metal frame shuddered as the massive mech came into view.
Oh Hyun sucked in a breath.
"...This is..."
"The new tactical weapon secretly developed by the resistance, EXILE-00."
Mason explained briefly.
"It's our last hope."
Metal arms and legs, energy cables running along the hangar walls, and beyond a translucent reinforced shield, the cockpit glowed softly as if breathing.
"...It's not a simple machine that a novice can handle."
Mason's voice was still skeptical. But Oh Hyun had already placed a hand on a terminal, slowly tracing the circuit connected to the connector.
"...It's the first time I've seen it, but it doesn't feel unfamiliar."
His gaze had changed. It was a feeling as if the mech itself was speaking to him.
*
"......Is he really a student?"
Lina crossed her arms and slowly tilted her head. Mason also exhaled silently and nodded.
"I can't believe it either."
At the end of their gazes, Oh Hyun was moving busily around the lower frame of the EXILE-00.
He was kneeling, having opened the cover of a blue servo actuator, and was checking the output lines connected inside one by one.
Beside him, two base agents who had never seen this mech before were handing him cables or touching circuits according to his instructions.
"The B-port has a bad connection!"
"The voltage on the E-line output is unstable!"
And yet, Oh Hyun wasn't flustered. He moved swiftly, muttering to himself as if calculating something.
"The B-port's connector is plugged in backward. Switch the line. For the E-line, bypass the relay module and connect it directly to the servo circuit. Rip out the wiring and plug it in again."
There wasn't a hint of hesitation. His claim of being from a technical school was no bluff.
Mason muttered from the side.
"...He seems more skilled than the previous engineers."
Lina also narrowed her eyes slightly.
"They teach that kind of stuff at a technical school?"
"No, not usually. As far as I know, it ends with an introduction to mechanical engineering or design modules..."
Mason shook his head.
"He's beyond that. He understands the structure intuitively. The way he works without any data, it's like... he's a veteran."
"Who is this kid?"
Lina looked at Oh Hyun once more. His hands were surprisingly steady.
When moving a pipe, he worked with its natural contours. When securing a terminal, he turned the tool exactly twice. It was hard to believe this was his first time touching a military weapon.
"Where did he learn all this..."
Just then, Oh Hyun suddenly ducked under the cockpit and shouted.
"Connect the main circuit! Prepare the initialization sequence!"
"Yes!"
A base agent quickly entered the command into a comp-panel.
—Beep...
[System Booting...]
[EXILE-00: Sub-control circuit normal. Lower body servo response restored.]
"Done."
Oh Hyun stood up, his forehead beaded with sweat.
"The basic output is back online. However, the power line for A-block could overload if pushed too hard. If possible, shift the center of gravity to the right and avoid continuous combat for more than ten minutes."
As he finished speaking, Lina and Mason turned their heads at the same time.
"......Are you really a student?"
Oh Hyun paused for a moment, then gave an awkward smile.
"I was a student. Before the war broke out."
Lina nodded with an expressionless face and muttered quietly.
"...If we time it right, we might be able to deploy it."
Mason looked up at the EXILE-00 with a complicated expression.
The massive mech, brought back to life by Oh Hyun's hands, was vibrating softly, as if breathing again.
—BOOOOOM!
The hangar shook.
Vibrations spread from the ceiling, and dust rained down.
[Emergency! Emergency! Enemy infiltration confirmed inside the base! Third Supply Zone, C Line has been breached! All combat personnel, deploy immediately!]