Chapter 372: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (89)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 372: Blazing Flames of the Battlefield[R-18] (89)
Several days had passed since I returned to the colony. I told Adele and my comrades everything I had seen that day in the asteroid field. We immediately dispatched troops to investigate again, but the site had already been wiped clean. The fortress, the mobile weapons—all of it was gone.
We were never able to determine where Aaron Blake had disappeared to.
But one thing was certain.
The situation was changing rapidly.
“...That’s it. That’s the rock fortress I saw.”
I pointed at the screen. On it, the fortresses that had now appeared near the neutral colonies were in the middle of an attack.
Elena shook her head and muttered, “Seo-yun, it seems there was more than one of those fortresses you saw.”
Her expression was grave, as was Adele’s.
“Things like that are attacking various colonies and satellite bases simultaneously right now.”
She switched the screen and added, “We’ve also received reports of a rock fortress appearing a short distance from the zone where the Federation and Arsenos forces are currently in a standoff.”
I watched the screen in silence.
“First, we have to catch Aaron Blake. I think that’s the only way to stop this.”
Sheryl quietly added, “...And what if they don’t stop, even if we do catch him?”
I shrugged.
“Then… we’ll just have to hunt them all down, one by one, and destroy them.”
Elena let out a sigh that was half a laugh.
“That’s one way to do it… but I think we need to dig deeper into the relationship between Aaron Blake and the current Arsenos Chairman. He must know something about him.”
I slowly nodded.
“That’s another viable approach.”
Just then, Adele spoke up quietly.
“For now, the neutral nations have sent urgent requests for aid. I intend to accept them.”
At her words, all eyes in the room turned to her.
“We will start by supporting the nearest colony.”
Adele began to speak, her eyes calm.
“Oh Hyun, Lisa, Carla, and Mason—”
Her gaze shifted, looking at each of them in turn.
“—will be deployed to colonies in different sectors. Support the local defenses… and prioritize destroying any rock fortresses that appear.”
“What about me?”
“Darling, I need you to keep the Arsenos forces—who are still fighting the Federation Army—in check. And amidst the chaos… secure the Arsenos Chairman.”
“You want me to capture the Chairman alive?”
“If possible. Capturing him without killing him would be ideal. But I’ll leave the method up to you.”
She immediately turned her gaze to Sheryl.
“Sheryl, you will remain here. Please be ready to respond immediately if the situation worsens.”
Sheryl nodded silently.
“Understood.”
The meeting concluded with that. Oh Hyun, Lisa, Carla, and Mason departed for their assigned battlefields, and I began my own operation at once.
My mission was to strike the Arsenos forces, currently in a standoff with the Federation, from the rear. As I sat in my unit’s cockpit, checking our formation, a communication came in from the bridge.
[Sir Seo-yun. Our forces are fully deployed. We can attack on your command.]
I nodded. There was no reason to hesitate.
“We attack immediately. Is our coordination with the Federation side complete?”
[Yes. It was arranged with the Federation commander beforehand. We’ll be at the rear, the Federation at the front. Once the encirclement is complete, we’ll attack in unison.]
“Good.”
I replied curtly and zoomed in my view. Far in the distance, the Arsenos fleet maintained its silent formation, completely unaware of our presence.
“Begin.”
[Yes, sir.]
A moment later, from both the front and the rear, a massive fleet’s bombardment rained down all at once.
KRA-KOOOOM!!!
The vibration rattled the hull as beams and missiles tore through space, beginning to annihilate the Arsenos fleet. The first strike was a success. Their formation began to crumble in an instant.
“All mobile weapons will now commence a surprise attack on the enemy’s rear.”
I issued the command to each squadron’s command channel.
[Squadron 3, confirmed! Launching!]
[Squadron 7, ready for takeoff! Engaging!]
[Squadron 8, entry point secured! Commencing infiltration of the enemy rear!]
From the ship’s deck, mobile weapons began to launch in unison.
*
“Stop them, now!”
“M-Mr. Chairman… please, calm down!”
“How can I be calm? We’re all going to die here!”
The control room descended into chaos in an instant. The communications officer staggered and yelled, “This is bad! The rear fleet has been completely wiped out!”
At that moment, the Chairman’s face went deathly pale. His eyes looked ready to pop out of his head as he screamed, “A-Admiral! Do something, now! At this rate—!”
The admiral on the other side of the command table shot to his feet.
“Sir, I can’t command if you’re causing such a scene! Please, just sit down and be quiet!”
It was a disrespectful remark. But at those words, the Chairman was speechless. The cold stares of the soldiers fell upon him. It was a silence sharper than any protest.
His lips trembled. The Chairman quietly shut his mouth and clenched his teeth.
‘...How dare they. As soon as this operation is over… I’ll deal with them first.’
He fumed as he sat down and discreetly turned on his terminal. Rechecking the communication logs, he muttered to himself.
‘Aaron, what the hell is that bastard doing right now…'
All contact with Aaron had been completely cut off for some time. He had trusted his words and led his forces all the way here.
Aaron had sworn that the Earth Federation Army was already weakened, and that now was the time they could push straight to Earth. But upon arriving, he found their forces were far stronger than expected.
He had ignored Aaron’s instructions and avoided an all-out war.
To conserve his forces, he had avoided engaging the Federation Army, maintaining a long standoff instead.
He had judged that expending his troops here would have negative consequences later on.
‘...Dammit. If I’d known it would come to this, I should have just pushed forward from the start and crushed the Federation!’
The bridge was filled with urgent voices. The tide of battle was turning against them in real-time.
“Unusual reading from the enemy’s rear! Codename ‘Knight of the Apocalypse’ has appeared! Its target is… the command ship!”
“The defense line is collapsing! An enemy unit is approaching at high speed!”
The Chairman’s face hardened. He knew that name.
A single unit that had recently emerged, a name synonymous with nightmares. A being that devastated battlefields single-handedly.
“Firing delayed! We’re experiencing interference with our command signals!”
“Our response is being consistently delayed! Parts of the control network are down!”
Urgent shouts crisscrossed, reflecting the chaos of the battlefield. The very air inside the command ship grew heavy.
Beads of sweat had formed on the Chairman’s forehead, and his fingertips trembled. He clenched his fists, but he couldn’t hide the fear and rage boiling within him.
‘Dammit… I can’t let it all end so meaninglessly.’
At that moment, Aaron Blake flashed through his mind. The weapon data he had passed on, almost as an afterthought. The final card he had been secretly given, to be used when the situation became desperate.
The weapon was already complete and had been mounted on the lower section of the command ship.
The Chairman closed his eyes, then slowly opened them.
“...Admiral. Use… that.”
As the words left his mouth, all eyes turned to the Chairman. The admiral, too, stared at him in shock.
“Mr. Chairman, are you out of your mind? If we use that here…!”
“Didn’t you hear me? I said activate it now!”
“That’s insane. If we use that weapon, all allied forces in this area will be consumed by the flames!”
The Chairman shot his hand up, cutting the admiral off.
“So what? In this situation, my death would be the greater loss!”
“...You,”
The admiral turned his head, the word escaping him like a sigh. His eyes, as he bit down hard on his lip, were a mixture of fury and disgust.
“As the Chairman… does it mean nothing to you to see these young people shedding their blood?”
The Chairman scowled.
“Is that what’s important right now? If this war can end with a few young men shedding some blood, it’s a price well worth paying.”
“Is the blood they shed… a shield to protect your position?”
His voice was low, but sharp as a blade.
“They went to this war for their families and their country. But you’re just using their blood to save your own skin.”
The Chairman shot up from his seat. His fingertips were trembling, his face flushed with rage.
“Shut your mouth, Admiral. Maintaining my position is the only way to maintain Arsenos! What the hell do you know, to say such things—!”
“I… am not a soldier who fights for you.”
The admiral cut him off firmly. There was not a hint of wavering in his eyes.
“I am a soldier who fights for Arsenos. And you are no longer the supreme leader of this nation.”
“H-How dare you…! To say such a thing—”
Just as his face contorted in fury, the communications officer’s shout echoed through the bridge.
“The, the Knight of the Apocalypse is…!!”
Everyone’s gaze snapped to the screen. There, a massive, jet-black unit was carving a path of slaughter as it approached. Allied units fell helplessly as the ominous silhouette of the machine grew ever closer.
“Enough of this useless talk! Fire it now! If you don’t want to die, activate that weapon this instant!”
The Chairman’s voice was practically a shriek. His eyes, devoid of reason, were steeped in terror.
But the soldiers didn’t move. Not a single one of them lifted a hand. They all just quietly… looked at the admiral.
The admiral closed his eyes. After a long sigh, he lifted his head and looked at each of his soldiers.
“...I’m sorry. I would rather do nothing than aim a weapon at our own allies.”
He rose from the command chair. He then quietly detached the red insignia of his uniform from his hip and placed it on the desk.
“Anyone who wishes may take my place.”
In that instant, the Chairman’s hand darted toward the waist of a nearby soldier. In a flash, he had drawn the pistol from its holster.
-Click.
“Insubordination is treason.”
The Chairman’s eyes glinted with murderous intent.
“And the penalty for treason is death… Give the order now, if you don’t want to die!”
The soldiers froze, unable to stop him. The muzzle of the gun wavered between the admiral and the soldiers.
“No.”
The admiral didn’t even blink. The resolute answer was devoid of emotion or hesitation.
“You…!!!”
-BANG!!
The trigger was pulled. Along with the ear-splitting gunshot, the admiral staggered. Clutching his chest, he coughed up a torrent of blood and collapsed to the floor.
“A-Admiral!”
Someone screamed. The bridge froze for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, the Chairman turned the gun on the soldiers.
“Quickly, activate it…! You don’t want to die either, do you!”
The Chairman screamed, his lips wet with spittle. The gun trembled violently, his crazed eyes glaring at the soldiers.
“B-But…”
The soldiers were gripped by fear, anger, and confusion.
One of them broke, his voice trembling.
“...I-I don’t want to die.”
The moment he spoke, a tremendous impact shook the entire bridge.
-KRA-KOOOOOM!!!
“Wh-What was that…?”
“Impact on the hull! Intruder alert confirmed!”
“A single enemy unit has breached the ship’s interior!”
All eyes turned to the monitor. On the screen was a jet-black machine, a unit that looked like destruction incarnate, smashing its way through the hangar bay toward the bridge.
“N-No…”
The Chairman dropped the gun. At the same time, the soldiers’ hands grabbed him, forcing him down.
“Get ready to restrain this bastard, now!” someone said into the silence. Another soldier slowly approached the fallen admiral, picked up his radio, and spoke.
“...The enemy has infiltrated. All hands to battle stations. Prepare to engage immediately.”