Keita, who belongs to the Special Operations Squad, is broadly under Shibano’s command, but his original superior is the commander of the Second Division. Therefore, even if he opened fire without Shibano’s order to do so, it wouldn’t be insubordination. Rather, not taking action at the predetermined time would be insubordination. So no matter how scared he was, no matter how desperate the situation in front of him seemed, Keita had to move once the scheduled time came.
To stop this, Shibano would have had to order Keita: “The situation has changed, so we’re changing the plan. Standby until further orders.”
It’s simple. Keita just acted because the scheduled time came while the members of the command post were flustered by unexpected events. In other words, he’s just faithfully carrying out his military duties.
“What have I done…?”
My lack of resolve has led to the death of the children I was supposed to protect. Moreover, the interception unit, unable to fight or retreat without orders from Shibano, is now suffering casualties due to the enemy’s counterattack.
(This is all because of my failure to give immediate orders!)
I was prepared to die myself. But that was on the premise of keeping my allies alive who should be saved. I had no intention of letting them die in vain or dying in vain myself. But now, I can’t afford to think like that anymore.
“There’s no choice now! We’ll take down as many enemies as we can!”
The unit will suffer heavy losses. Those left behind will struggle because of me. But that doesn’t matter now.
“We are the elite 2nd Division, the nation’s guardians. There are no cowards among us who would show their backs while letting children fight!”
“Yes, sir!”
As soldiers, no, as adults, we have things we must protect.
If we’re going to die anyway, shouldn’t we die embracing that duty?
Just as Shibano, with a newfound resolve different from moments ago, was about to give the order, the command center staff witnessed something beyond their comprehension.
“All units, prepare to att— [30M-class silenced!] …Huh?”
“Special Lieutenant reporting! The prototype’s sniper fire has silenced a large one! Furthermore, while evading, it counterattacked? The 20M-class is silenced!”
“Huh?”
“After sniping, it jumped to avoid enemy counterattack, and not only that, it struck while evading! Then it struck again upon landing? It’s adding another hit while leaping backward! 30M-class and 25M-class silenced in succession!”
“Huh?”
“Another 25M-class silenced!”
“…That’s incredibly fast sniping.”
“It’s countering their counterattacks.”
“The enemy’s attacks… they’re not hitting! It accelerated suddenly mid-jump!”
“How?”
“It seems to be using an anchor to pull the machine!”
“Another sniper shot!”
“The enemy is in attack formation, so they can’t evade or defend. It’s targeting that weakness.”
“Even large ones will die if they take a magic-infused thermite armor-piercing round from a 120mm glide cannon to the head, huh?”
“I understand the logic. But it doesn’t make sense.”
“20M-class silenced!”
(He’s strong. No, it’s not just the firepower to take down large ones in a single hit, but his mental strength is even more impressive. …He hasn’t given up in this desperate battle. He’s fighting to win!)
“30M-class and 20M-class silenced in succession! Only two 10M-class large ones remain!”
“Just 10M-class? Ah, I see. He was prioritizing the larger monsters among the large ones.”
It’s natural, but even within the large category, the threat level of a 10M-class monster is completely different from that of a 30M-class monster. The natural law of [size (or weight) = strength] applies to monsters as well.
Between 10M-class and 30M-class monsters, the muscle mass is different. The armor thickness is different. The intimidation factor is different. The magic power they contain is different. The power and scale of their attacks are different. That’s why when faced with a 30M-class monster, everyone prepares for death. Shibano was no exception. That’s how formidable these enemies were.
But now, those mighty foes are gone.
(The intimidation emanating from the 30M-class giants. Some might have been frightened by the anticipated scale of their counterattacks. But thanks to him, those worries have been wiped away!)
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10M-class is not a problem. Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but at least the pilots and gunners have experience with attacks from monsters of that scale. They should know how to handle them.
Moreover, it’s hard to believe that he, who so easily disposed of the 30M-class, would struggle with 10M-class monsters.
As if to prove this point…
“Two 10M-class silenced!”
(See?)
I can’t help but smile wryly at this casual report of the downing.
“To take down 10 large ones in less than 10 minutes…”
“No hits taken. All that’s been consumed is ammunition and a scorched gun barrel, huh?”
“What an incredible machine.”
“No, this isn’t something that can be done with machine performance alone!”
“That’s right. It’s the combined skill of both the machine and the pilot that made this possible!”
(Have they been inspired by his fighting? I can understand why. No, I’m probably the one most affected by the heat of the moment. Normally, a commander doesn’t need such passion. But this time is different!)
“…We can win now. Am I the only one who thinks so?”
“Colonel!”
The air of desperation that had enveloped the command center until moments ago no longer exists.
“The kid, no, the Special Lieutenant has annihilated the large ones for us. He’ll likely take care of the medium-sized ones next. So what are we doing? Just watching the Lieutenant’s exploits from here?”
“Of course not!”
“Absolutely not!”
“Let’s go!”
“We’ve seen enough of his power! Now it’s time to show the strength of our elite 2nd Division!”
“Well said! I feel the same way! The men waiting for orders on the front lines must feel the same! It has to be so!”
“Indeed!”
“Relay to all troops! Hurry with attack preparations!”
“Yes, sir!”
—With a resolve completely opposite to what they had just minutes ago, Shibano and the 2nd Division chose to launch a full-scale offensive rather than retreat leaving a rear guard. This decision would lead the large-scale monster offensive, unexpected by both the demon race and humans, into a new phase.
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