Chapter 45: No Forest Stands After a Single Swing (1)
Chapter 45: No Forest Stands After a Single Swing (1)
"Status report?"
"Fix your clothes first."
"Mind your own business."
The moment I stepped into the briefing room, Heavenly Sword tried to pick a fight, but I ignored him and took my seat.
"Um... excuse me. Uncle. I think it would be better if you fixed your outfit."
When even Oxymoron commented on my attire with a dubious look, I finally looked down at myself.
My combat-grade Magical Girl outfit was scorched and shredded from being caught in the nuclear blast. The overcoat had been blown away entirely, but since I was wearing white tights underneath, no bare skin was actually showing.
"Isn't it fine?"
We’d spent thirty years rolling in the dirt together; surely there was nothing left to see that we hadn't seen already.
"It’s just... we aren't the only ones here..."
Not the only ones?
I turned my head and saw that, in addition to the various military commanders and the Management Bureau’s task force, there were faces I didn't recognize.
People in business suits were visible through the monitors.
—Using a nuke? What were you thinking?
—Didn't you say you could stop them? Riots have already broken out in several countries.
—If the defense line is breached after doing this, who exactly is going to take responsibility—
Even the Management Bureau’s hearings followed an order for speakers, but this was worse than a rowdy marketplace.
These guys were just shouting whatever suited them.
Wondering if there was any deeper meaning, I listened closely to the deluge of voices, which could be summarized as follows:
Why did you use a nuke instead of maintaining the front line?
You've already retreated once; can you really stop them?
Why wasn't there any media control? Anxiety is peaking now that word of the nuclear explosion is out.
If this continues, we will withdraw our national forces.
"Shameless bastards," I muttered under my breath, leaning back in my chair and tilting it on its rear legs.
"What if they hear you?"
"They're just decorations who don't even know we're here. Most of them probably don't even know what Macbeth looks like."
"You're probably right. Not a single one of them has even asked for Commander Macbeth."
Heavenly Sword agreed, tapping his scabbard as he watched the monitors, seemingly finding the situation amusing.
The people currently working hard to refute the nonsense pouring from the screens were the soldiers and the Management Bureau staff.
Commander Macbeth stood back, letting the noise go in one ear and out the other.
After a period of meaningless time, the people on the screens finally uttered their closing remarks, as if they felt they had voiced all their demands.
—If you fail this time as well, we will be lodging a formal protest with the Management Bureau. Consider yourselves warned.
Beep.
A protest, huh?
"If we can't stop them, they'll all be dead anyway. I wonder if they'll have time to protest then."
"Hahat! Well said, Hammer Kid. I don't know where these overnight politicians, who've never even stepped foot on a front line, get the nerve to open their mouths."
"Indeed. Their posturing was quite unpleasant to watch."
I had just tossed the comment out casually, but it shifted the atmosphere of the briefing room instantly.
The military commanders, the Bureau staff, and the old Heroes—everyone laughed, mocking the politicians' lack of a sense of reality.
"Still, it's a relief they aren't actively sabotaging us."
As long as it ends with complaints, it's within a tolerable range. At least they aren't dropping nukes on our heads, embezzling supplies, or kidnapping Heroes.
Thump. Thump.
From the inner part of the room, where everyone was enjoying a few jokes at the expense of the higher-ups, came the sound of metal striking the floor.
It was the sound of Macbeth standing up and tapping his RPG against the floor.
"Is the small talk over?"
It had been a while since I'd seen Macbeth in person. I missed him at the meeting a few days ago because the Lord of Infinite Castles was acting as his deputy. How many years had it been?
His military uniform, which had begun to lose its color long ago, was now a dull gray. To match, his hair was a salt-and-pepper gray.
He still insisted on carrying an RPG around as if it were a cane, though.
Macbeth waited a moment for the room to fall silent.
Once the commotion died down and silence permeated the hall...
"We will begin the operational briefing."
Thump.
The RPG struck the floor, and a small magical screen flickered to life in the center of the room. It displayed maps of the Pacific front, various satellite photos, and graphs.
It was a mess of complex data that couldn't be understood at a glance, but I didn't need to interpret it.
Macbeth or the Lord of Infinite Castles would explain everything anyway.
"How many of you here have not been briefed on why we are gathered?"
"Bering Sea sector. I came as soon as I heard the emergency recall."
"Oceania is the same."
"South Pacific units as well."
Aside from the Bering Sea, these were units that had suffered almost no damage.
Since most of the enemies in the Southern Hemisphere had been wiped out in the first strike, they would have been largely unscathed.
"Quite a few. Then, I shall proceed with the explanation."
As Commander Macbeth waved his 'cane,' the data on the screen began to shift.
"Originally, the plan was to establish a second defense line here."
Behind the first defense line, which had turned black, a red second defense line appeared.
It was a coastal defense line stretching from Tsushima in East Asia to the coast of California in North America.
"However, under normal circumstances, there was a high probability we wouldn't be able to hold there and would be pushed back."
Flash. Flash. Flash.
Colored lines followed.
Images of Giant Entities appeared on the screen, and third and fourth defense lines were drawn in succession. It showed the US mainland being invaded and the coastal areas of East Asia completely vanishing.
"Accordingly, we intended to evacuate civilians and conduct most of the combat at sea, but..."
As long as the people survive, we can recover somehow.
Houses and buildings can be rebuilt quickly.
"Due to a proposal by Hero Lee Ha-ram, this operation has been scrapped."
Beep.
All the lines drawn on the map vanished, replaced by a single, thick red line.
It was a bottleneck-shaped ring with Japan's Kanto Plain as its apex.
"From this moment on, we abandon our defensive posture and transition to an offensive one. We will push them back as much as possible from The Sea."
The red line gradually tightened until finally, only a portion of the waters off Japan and the Kanto Plain remained.
"We will gather all enemies in this Kanto Plain and annihilate them. Any objections?"
A Management Bureau official, who had earlier identified himself as the commander of the Oceania sector, stood up and raised a document.
"According to this data, such an encirclement operation is meaningless. Because the Otherworld’s laws make large-scale annihilation impossible, the initial grand strategy was to minimize losses while gradually whittling down their numbers."
Even if the land was contaminated and purification took a long time, the priority was reducing human casualties.
The higher-ups would hate it, of course.
Losing land? That's a disaster for the next election. But like we give a damn.
"Even so, I would like to know the reason for dropping a nuke and switching to a high-risk, all-around encirclement strategy."
Thump. Whoosh. Whoosh. Thump.
Macbeth swung the RPG, letting it strike the ground several times. The regular soldiers, who possessed no special powers, watched nervously, wondering if the thing might explode, but Commander Macbeth actually increased the pace, looking pleased.
"A good point."
Macbeth’s expression didn't change at all, but a few chuckles broke out among the veteran Heroes.
They knew that was the face he made when he was about to shove a tactical lesson down an Awakened's throat.
"Look at the screen."
Beep. Beep-beep.
The scene of the nuclear explosion.
The scene of my Ultimate Technique grinding the Southern Hemisphere to dust.
Then, a graph on the side zoomed in to show The Enemy’s estimated losses.
"Wide-area attacks are working. This contradicts all my experience and the data."
"Why do you think that is?"
"In the case of Self-Propelled Artillery, it had no effect even if it detonated in the center of The Enemy. However, Hero Crimson★Hammer’s Ultimate Technique and the nuke caused massive losses."
The young-looking Bureau commander touched his forehead, lost in thought.
This was Macbeth’s bad habit.
He was turning an operational briefing into a tactical debate, wasting time.
He was likely only doing it because there was still a bit of a buffer in the schedule.
Aside from the commander who had been questioned, those who hadn't received the full briefing also fell into thought.
Just as the sound of unconscious humming began to fill the room...
Thump.
"I shall reveal the answer."
His voice sounded like a teacher instructing students.
"It is a simple difference in power. A matter of how much The Enemy can withstand."
He waved his cane again.
Beep. Beep-beep.
The total amount of energy released by my attack, the calculations for the damage, graphs, and images appeared on the screen. It was a clear explanation and proof of why the attack worked and why the damage was on a different dimension.
"I proved it," the Librarian whispered beside me.
"During the battle?"
"Yes."
His brain is still something I can't keep up with.
"In other words, if the power exceeds a certain threshold, we can actually exploit The Enemy’s Otherworld Erosion to force massive losses upon them."
Beep. Beep-beep.
Simulation results appeared as if to prove his point.
The number of surviving enemies. The number of Leader Entities and Giant Entities.
How strong an attack was needed to wipe them all out.
The estimated distance required for it.
"I calculated those as well."
"Good job."
Why is this genius so desperate to show off? Is he asking me to pat his head with my hammer as praise?
"Through this proof, we have concluded that we can minimize sacrifices by herding all the thinned-out enemies near Japan's Kanto Plain and striking them. However, since this plan requires the East Asia line to remain unbreached until all enemies are gathered, we will concentrate the majority of our forces here."
The screen changed, showing the number of A and S-Rank Heroes deployed to each front.
Next, arrows indicated the direction each army would move.
"Since most of the small entities in this sector have been killed, the strength of ordinary soldiers won't be of much help. Configure this sector primarily with heavy weaponry units."
Then, the map expanded to show the entire Pacific. Data on how to construct the bottleneck-shaped encirclement followed.
"These units will tighten the noose. Use overwhelming firepower to push The Enemy back. I want the Oceania and South Pacific units, which have the least damage, to act as the backbone of this operation."
A low murmur followed.
Commanders exchanged opinions, re-evaluating their respective roles.
Thump. Thump.
After a brief period of consultation, the RPG struck the floor again.
"Any objections?"
Everyone looked at Macbeth in silence.
"Then, let us move on to the specifics."
I guess I can close my eyes for a bit now.
Since the general operational plan had been delivered, it was now time for the various commanders to discuss the details.
It would mostly be about troop deployment, weapon usage, and communication protocols—things I wouldn't understand even if I listened.
Just as I was closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep...
"I have one question."
An unfamiliar voice spoke up.
"According to the formulas, the final stage of this operation requires a strike of immense power that defies normal imagination. Surely, you aren't planning to use a nuke on the ground?"
What's the problem with that?
I slowly summoned my hammer and swung it over my head.
"There is your answer."
Commander Macbeth raised his voice, pointing at me. More specifically, at The Hammer I was swinging over my head.
The eyes in the briefing room converged on my hammer. I felt a mix of reactions—some people seemed to understand, while others looked completely bewildered.
"Just asking out of caution, Lee Ha-ram. Is a second use possible?"
"Yes."
That was why I had used that awkward timing of 13 seconds.
As long as Un-ho doesn't lose so much weight that he starves to death, there shouldn't be any major issues.
"Since it seems the questions are over, we will continue the meeting."
I've heard everything I need to hear.
Now, time for some sleep.