Ambush in the Hangar
“Enemy unit spotted at the entrance! Ugh.”
While I was calling out the enemy’s position to my flustered allies, the screen flashed white and everything went bright. Thanks to the fairies quickly switching off night-vision mode, the hangar was suddenly illuminated. Before I could even rub my stinging eyes, I yanked the lever and swapped weapons. As I drew the submachine gun better suited for close combat, White Fang—untouched by the explosion—moved first.
BOOM! The moment White Fang accelerated toward the enemy, the hostile unit’s gun barrel swung naturally in its direction. Grenades launched from the high-speed grenade launcher detonated with the force of tank shells, showcasing terrifying firepower. Yet the enemy seemed unprepared for White Fang’s acceleration; its aim lagged. Rendel slipped past the blasts by a hair’s breadth and charged straight at the foe.
CLANG! White Fang’s black shield slammed into the enemy’s own. The shields the intruders had carried when crossing the Alitus border weren’t made of Ellydium, but they were enchanted with special magic that could deflect a fair amount of mana-infused sword strikes. Probably the same type.
“Senior, it’s the same kind we saw at the border.”
「I know.」
Rendel sheathed the Ellydium sword and drew his usual blade. The Ellydium sword repelled mana outward when channeled through it, which was why he avoided using it here. According to him, if he had truly mastered the technique he could focus mana only on the non-Ellydium side, but he still couldn’t do it smoothly. We would’ve been in serious trouble if that weapon had broken last time. In the original story Kirié would’ve made him a new one eventually, but still.
“Form up! Beta Unit, take the wounded and fall back!”
「Yes, ma’am!」
While Rendel bought us time, I carefully lifted a power-armor soldier whose suit had been breached and moved him to safety. Then I arranged the Aindiums into a defensive formation to protect the remaining troops. Units equipped with barrier projectors took the center to block the high-speed grenade launcher, while the squad leader with the best marksmanship stood ready to support Rendel. We spread out to avoid being hit all at once and laid down suppressive fire.
Rendel channeled mana into his sword and swung. The enemy’s shield edge scraped against it with a harsh metallic screech. If the foe had tried to block head-on, the blade would have sliced straight through, but the enemy’s shield technique was impressive—tilting the angle at the moment of contact to deflect the strike. In the end, Rendel had to settle for shearing off the edge of the shield before the enemy could reload its grenade launcher.
The hostile unit swung its shield wide and fired at point-blank range, knocking White Fang back. 「Now! Fire!」
As White Fang retreated, our Aindiums opened up in unison. I also launched a grenade to help destroy the shield, while others threw Aindium grenades. The problem was that we hadn’t brought heavy weapons because we’d lightened our load for infiltration.
The enemy’s gun barrel swung toward us.
“Barrier!”
Before I even finished shouting, the barrier deployed. A translucent silver-gray membrane spread in front of us, and a chain of grenade explosions hammered against it. The barrier was a type of defensive field that could absorb a set amount of impact. Unlike the standard Aindium shields, it could be expanded to cover a wide area and was far more durable. Normal Aindium barriers could only stop a few bullets before needing seconds to recharge, and they were practically paper against grenade blasts. Rimpy’s own barrier was strong enough to withstand one or two explosions, but it still wasn’t as reliable as the projected field. Of course, the barrier wasn’t invincible—if the impact exceeded its limit, it would shatter and feed the shock back into the casting Aindium. Just like now.
「Ghh!」
「Alpha Four!」
The barrier broke under the accumulated strain, sending two Aindiums flying toward me. The units that had taken direct grenade hits were damaged beyond immediate repair. From the rear I slammed the pedals, shoving my teammates’ Aindiums aside, blocked another grenade with my own barrier, and used a short hover to dodge the follow-up shots.
Beep— Beep—
Several sections on Rimpy’s status display glowed red. Left arm and leg. At least the weapons were still functional. Where the hell was Rendel?
He was hovering in the air with a sniper rifle in one hand, but before he could line up the shot, another enemy unit dropped onto White Fang from behind.
CLANG! The enemy must have been watching its rear camera; it spun its shield around and caught Rendel’s strike. Then, still aiming its grenade launcher at me, it fired.
My barrier hadn’t recharged yet. If those grenades hit, Rimpy would be wrecked. I slammed the flight button.
“Girls!”
[Leave it to us!]
The fairies kept Rimpy’s altitude so tight that we nearly scraped the hangar ceiling. The grenades streaked past our feet. Praying none of our allies would be caught in the blast behind us, I raised my gun.
The enemy, out of grenades, attached the launcher to its waist auto-loader and turned toward White Fang. It wasn’t even bothering to look at me anymore.
Rendel accelerated, circling to the side to avoid the shield. The shield tracked White Fang’s movement. Then the enemy’s back was completely exposed in my line of fire.
BANG—!
An armor-piercing round designed to punch through thick plating slammed into the back of the enemy’s head. But the head stayed intact—the enemy Aindium’s skull was tougher than the bullet’s penetration. On closer inspection, it wore an extra helmet-like casing over its head unit, preventing the round from digging in. All my headshot accomplished was making the enemy adjust its helmet slightly.
Most units didn’t bother with that kind of protection on the head section that housed the main camera. Improving barrier efficiency was usually more effective, and unlike humans, losing the head didn’t immobilize an Aindium. Besides, a helmet restricted the pilot’s field of view the same way a hood would for a person. That was why Vivald-class artillery units, which relied more on radar and operator coordinates than direct sight, often used them.
Come to think of it—wasn’t this thing a Vivald-class? At first glance I’d thought it was a twelve-meter Aind-class, but in the bright light it looked much larger than White Fang’s ten meters. Probably thirteen meters or more. That put it in the Vivald-class, which came with several drawbacks beyond sheer size: drastically reduced mobility and skyrocketing production costs. Most people said fielding a tank battalion was far more cost-effective, yet Vivald-class units kept being built for a reason. When raw defense mattered more than speed, they could mount armor that would be too heavy for any other class. The price was astronomical, but anyone fielding a Vivald-class had already decided money wasn’t an issue.
It was still ridiculous that a Vivald-class was blocking Rendel’s attacks with a shield. A machine that could barely use mana support was parrying an ace pilot’s strikes with nothing but raw skill and equipment. It was like a human fending off a wasp with chopsticks. If that thing had been an Aind-class and fought Rendel one-on-one, it might actually have won. Even now, I couldn’t see an easy way to take it down. But with Rendel’s speed and the rest of us providing support, the enemy couldn’t bring its full power to bear.
「This is Beta One. Charges are set!」
“Good work.”
The power-armor team that had withdrawn outside the hangar had finished planting the explosives. There was no reason to stay any longer.
“Everyone, get ready to pull out!”
「This guy’s not going to be easy to shake.」
“I can probably buy you a few seconds. Can you draw its attention?”
「Roger.」
Rendel drew the single-edged sword he’d been carrying as a backup. White Fang took a two-handed stance, both blades glowing blue. It deflected incoming grenades with the swords and closed in fast.
BOOM! Even through the blast, White Fang kept pushing forward. The enemy staggered back a step. I switched to full auto and raked the helmet. Ting— Ting— Ting— The rapid hits made the enemy helmet tilt, then spin completely around, front to back.
The helmet wasn’t just a simple steel cap; it resembled an old-fashioned helm. I’d suspected it could be knocked loose after seeing the enemy adjust it earlier, and it worked. With the main camera blocked, the enemy panicked and dropped the grenade launcher. Its secondary cameras were probably obstructed by the massive shield.
「Hah!」
With a shout, White Fang leapt high. The last thing the enemy saw after fixing its helmet was a silver streak falling from above.
CLANG—
With a sound of rending metal, the enemy Aindium’s head and arm were severed.