Episode 145: Strange events (5)
“Command also does not take this matter lightly. “First of all, we need to know what’s going on.”
Lloyd, who came in person, sighed while urging his subordinates.
Last night, when Cassel barely survived and escaped after losing his men, I honestly couldn’t believe my ears. The story was that communication was suddenly cut off, and a strange monster I had never heard of ran rampant and harmed our troops.
But I had no choice but to believe it. The camera attached to Cassel’s body recorded the whole thing. A tall, thin monster wearing a black shell like full-body armor.
No infectious agent ever recorded has arisen in this way.
“Don’t worry too much. Isn’t it just one? Even though it’s old-fashioned, it’s military equipment. “No problem.”
“This is not an ordinary monster. He was a guy who could manipulate magic at will. “It is almost impossible to hit with ordinary shells or bullets.”
“know. That’s why I brought only those that can load ether bullets.”
As he had lost many of his subordinates, it was bound to be dark, so Lloyd nodded, looking at Cassel’s eyes.
Aether is a type of energy they utilize. Cassel knew that it was a force similar to magic power and that it was possible to interact with magic power.
In reality, all of the weapons that hit Raon were bombs using ether. If you concentrate that firepower, you can destroy the opponent’s magic shield.
“Then let’s start the investigation now. “First of all, there is nothing visible to the naked eye.”
Lloyd ordered the equipment to be activated. Unlike exploration drones, combat drones equipped with explosives and machine guns took off vertically and flew toward the contaminated area.
The armed unmanned vehicle also ran along the ground, heading towards the dead land that existed darkly under thick dark clouds even in the morning.
“I reported this to command, and they mentioned the possibility of mutants. “It hasn’t been observed so far, but it’s definitely a possibility.”
“No way. These guys are the ones who can’t grow anymore. That’s why you can’t cross this boundary.”
“That’s true, but I don’t know anything about the world.”
Lloyd opened his mouth as he watched the drones moving away. However, at the mention of mutants, where infectious agents evolve one step further, Cassel bit his lip and shook his head.
‘In the first place, that guy… … It didn’t even look like an infection. There’s no way these irrational beasts could use such swordsmanship.’
The image of Raon who fought last night is still vivid in his mind. Restrained behavior and momentum that cannot be felt from an infectious agent that only runs rampant.
It was so understated that it actually gave me goosebumps. Cassel felt this similar feeling when he was young, looking at the drones brought by the humans of Carthus.
“If it’s not a mutant, there’s no real chance. “What on earth is going on in the middle of that terrible hell?”
“Even if it’s truly a mutant, the problem doesn’t go away.”
“But I guess I can take an hour off. Anyway, fundamentally, they won’t be able to spread roots here.”
Unlike Cassel, who was serious, Lloyd had no worries if the other person was part of the infection.
Boundaries are not simply physical boundaries. A kind of invisible curtain spread by the cooperation of the surviving World Trees and their technological capabilities. The roots of the fallen world tree could not overcome this veil.
“It will take some time, so let’s rest. “It’s broad daylight.”
Lloyd took out a drink and offered it to Cassel. Even if the enemies were hostile to the allies, it was decided that there would be no problem since it was broad daylight and the infectious agents could not be active.
“So, warden! “The drones are being shot down!”
“W-what!?”
But that leisure did not last long. Lloyd, startled by the urgent shout, spilled his drink and hurriedly ran away.
* * *
[A cheeky act.]
Enemy drones cross the border and fly straight toward friendly territory. Lucy was angry when she saw that. Since he knew that his own espionage was natural and essential, he had no choice but to react sensitively to the other person’s espionage as well.
“Calm down and shoot it down. What can they do? “Even if we drop scout planes like this every time, there will be nothing we can do except send the drones again.”
He chuckled and instructed Lucy to shoot down the drones as she wanted.
Of course, Lucy followed the order and attempted to shoot down the drones. In order to avoid revealing the identity of our allies as much as possible, we used ultra-long-distance sniping.
[Successfully shot down.]
The magic that Lucy had cast directly overlapped in several stages and then shot out as a beam of light. There are several like that.
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The drones flying across the sky were simultaneously shot down by the strikes and fell to the ground.
“What on earth is this?”
Thanks to this, the only thing the drone observed was a shot of a beam of light fired from the ground far away just before it penetrated them.
Those who had never expected this to happen were panicked and panicked, and Cassel was the only one who kept his composure.
“It is something that can never be taken lightly.”
“Yeah, but there’s nothing more I can do. “Neither the headquarters nor headquarters will ever allow us to attack contaminated areas.”
“Then we have no choice but to leave it as is. If that happens, some monsters will come pouring out here from there in the future. Still don’t know why the infectious agents are so quiet right now? You’re hoarding your strength in some way. “The power to explode all at once.”
Cassel sneered, but could not refute that statement. As Changhyeon expected, what they could do was limited due to the circumstances.
Unless Lucy provided a justification, it was nearly impossible to take action first.
“… … “Isn’t it necessary to know anyway?”
Lloyd’s eyes wavered at that fact, and then he pursed his lips as if he had decided on something.
“Is there a way?”
“I’m not sure. The probability of success is low, and there is little to gain compared to the value invested. But it’s worth a try.”
Lloyd readied the missiles. And the missile was equipped with a camera that could transmit images in real time.
“If a drone is shot down, all you have to do is send something smaller and faster than the drone.”
Lloyd, grinning at the risk of breaking the upper part, launched the missile.
The missile transmitted images even as it flew, and soon it would explode and shatter. What they could get in that split second was all they could have.
“I think we can at least get a facial.”
They stared intently at the screen passing by at breakneck speed, focusing all their attention to see if they could see anything.
“That!”
And before long, the missile was intercepted at once. I couldn’t even see what had hit me. Because it was a speed far beyond human cognitive ability.
“Play the video again! Control your stomach speed!”
However, the transmitted video remains on the computer as is. Lloyd paid no attention to the missiles and began to review and analyze the images he had acquired.
“… … Unbelievable.”
“Surely, this is all?”
And through that process, I managed to get just one photo.
The photo that came out clearer after processing part of the video was taken just before the missile was shot down.
Dozens of light cannons were fired to shoot down the missiles, and a huge force was seen firing the light cannons from the ground.
They were incomparable to the infectious agents they knew.
The black something that was taking over the entire vast plain was spreading so endlessly that it was impossible to tell, and there were countless monsters inside it that could not be counted.
“This is… … .”
“They are similar to the ones who attacked me. “This is a mutant?”
Cassel, who laughed at Lloyd’s shocked and speechless appearance, pointed to the monster in the enlarged photo. It was the appearance of an Orc or Beta of the Demon King’s army attempting to shoot down a weapon that could shoot light cannons.
“I guess this is enough to convince you, right? They’re already huge. “No matter what conclusion is reached, it must be dealt with as soon as possible.”
“I’ll try. We need evidence, but what we have now based on your eyewitness accounts may be enough.”
Lloyd could no longer make excuses for Cassel’s words. The appearance of a group of monsters presumed to be new infectious agents. The identity of the black nest that was eating away at the huge contaminated area was the nest of these monsters.
They stand facing the sun, which was the weak point of the infected, as if they were mocking it. Monsters with a coldness that is different from the infectious agents that were like rampaging beasts.
[There is no way they would have fired such a low-quality missile without any intention, so the identity of our troops may have been exposed.]
And the gigantic Hivemind that commands those monsters has already sensed the intentions of the local forces.
“What do you think?”
After receiving the report, Changhyun asked Lucy what she thought. At first, it was slow to make a decision due to the lack of data, but now we have enough data and Lucy can make a decision.
[I think it would be right to attack first. For some reason, they cannot attack the inside of this contaminated area, so if you use the infected near the border as a buffer zone and dispatch troops to attack them, you can take full advantage of the surprise attack.]
As always, Lucy came up with the most efficient answer through calculation. The result of the calculation now is that we will attack first for the best defense.
The answer is mostly to attack and eat the enemy, but Lucy wanted that more.
“Then how are you going to attack it? “I don’t think I’ll do it like I did when fighting infections.”
[We will attack by dispatching troops made up of multiple flying types with high mobility and carrying out an assault. We plan to destroy their equipment, facilities, and troops and minimize the exposure of our troops.]
With its transcendent computing power, detailed tactics, hypotheses, and even post-processing have all been taken into consideration.
He had no reason to object to it.
“good. Then attack. Starting a new war. “I trust you, but you’d better think more carefully.”
[I move according to the calculation method.]
Lucy prepared her troops. It was a force consisting of thousands of units of large and small flying species that could be assembled right away.
This time, Lucy, who made Raon her commander, ordered him to lead the troops and attack them ‘right now.’
“You mean right now?”
[They have excellent communication skills. It is impossible to prevent news from our allies from being spread, but it is possible to be faster than their ‘judgment’.]
Lucy believed in mechanical devices that had the same fundamentals as herself, but did not trust humans. Lucy, who was convinced that their judgment would inevitably be slow, planned to attack the enemies right away and take the initiative against those who were embarrassed.