20 – Ascal Plateau (3)
We run in sync. The head of a fellow soldier flies off.
Bullets fly terrifyingly close. Machine guns at the enemy’s forward base unleash fire.
The voice of the battalion commander echoes from behind.
“Chargeee!!!”
The Titan begins to move. Its massive barrel emerges amidst the bushes.
Kwaaang!!!!
A part of the advancing base is blown away.
Bunkers crumble. Debris from buildings rains down.
“This is insane!”
Avakusa shouts. Unintentionally, I let out a chuckle.
To laugh while someone’s head goes flying.
I must have gone completely insane too.
“Don’t stop!”
Elliot Moot’s voice is heard. Punishment troops only stationed on the front lines.
From Noble mtl dot com
Prisoners are being beaten up. Someone trips and falls. Another person groans with an open abdomen.
Instinctively, I turn my head. The tree right beside me shatters.
The boundary between life and death.
I stood there in between.
“Get inside!”
A part of the broken forward base. The resistance forces surge forward under the collapsed walls, like a tidal wave.
I could hear the screams of those who went ahead. The sound weighed so heavily that I unconsciously stopped walking.
Gunfire pouring down. Explosions that make the world seem to fade away.
“There’s another bunker inside!”
“We can’t use guns, explosives!”
“What?! Can’t you hear me? What did you say?”
“Exploooooosion!!!”
We pressed against the collapsed wall together. Eliot Mute signaled with his hand.
Some of the new members of the 13th Squadron clenched their teeth and entered inside. At that moment, the sound of a watermelon being smashed echoed.
A headless corpse crawled out. Within the Forward Operating Base.
Despite taking hits, the firepower remained the same. It didn’t decrease at all.
Is it because there’s only one collapsed wall? Rather, it feels like the firepower has intensified. Eliot Mute also realized this and raised his radio.
“Artillery request. 95, -95. 21.”
The location based on the map was instantly bombarded. The wall right next to us collapsed under the massive gunfire.
Dust rose up, making it hard to breathe. Eliot Mute’s voice could be heard.
“Advance.”
“Advance!”
“Advance!”
Everyone mimicked the voices. It wasn’t mockery. Due to the constant sounds of gunfire and explosions in the war, if they didn’t do this, they couldn’t hear each other beside them.
Garsh was the first to charge forward. Ironically, instead of pulling the trigger, he aimed the muzzle and attacked.
“Grrraaah!”
An exuberant cry as the orc tackled down. I immediately followed suit, not with a firearm, but by swinging my club-like weapon.
Due to the foggy dust, we couldn’t see ahead. Only the panicking sounds of humans were audible.
Visibility was limited for both sides.
“Into the armored vehicle!”
“Move! Turn arouuund!”
Commanding shouts from each squad leader followed. I threw myself into the armored vehicle. As soon as I looked up, I met the gaze of enemy soldiers.
Close-quarters combat.
“…Ugh!”
I quickly threw myself into the blind spot of the soldier who reflexively raised his gun. A bullet fired late passed by my side.
After digging into his shoulder, I swung my elbow into his jaw. A sharp cracking sound came from my fingertips.
The sound of a broken jawbone.
“Ugh?!”
Before the scream burst out, he smashed the remaining head. Immediately, I shielded him from coming in.
“Garsch!”
“That’s right!!”
Garsch followed behind me. We pushed forward as we were.
“Enemy infiltration!”
“There they are!”
Gunshots rang out. There was a sound of bodies being pierced. But the bullets didn’t reach our bodies.
The protective gear worn by human soldiers seems to be quite good.
“Glory to Gulash!”
Garsch sprang out from behind me. Whether it was instinctual or not, he entered the enemy’s reload timing perfectly.
A swinging battleaxe. Broken teeth.
Two soldiers fell to the ground with precise strikes to their heads.
“Keep pushing!”
“Roger!”
Garsch, like me, lifted up a body. We continued to pierce through the trenches.
Breaking through the obstacles, stabbing when approaching. Occasionally, explosives would go off to the side, but we immediately avoided them.
Blood stained our bodies. The smell of cooked meat wouldn’t leave our noses.
Stabbing.
Stabbing.
Stabbing again.
By the time my fingertips started to itch, the trenches became quiet. The company commander’s roar followed.
“We advance to the highlands!!!!”
I threw away the corpses. Discarding my gun, I picked up the human’s weapon.
An assault rifle filled with mud. I don’t know the type of firearm. I just shoved the magazines I found into my pockets.
From now on, close combat will be almost impossible.
“You bastard!”
Abakusa called out to me. He gestured at something.
A necklace that started to sparkle. I stopped stealing things from the corpses and ran towards the front.
“Company 13! Assemble!”
Elliott Moot shouted.
The steep uphill path. What exists above it is human fortress.
An immense sense of victory was placed on top of it. The incredible, reckless bombs literally split the terrain.
“Jeonji-iiiin!! Resistance forces have come…!”
The head of the major who was yelling was blown off.
Qua-a-a-a-a-a-a-ng!!!!
The earth shook. As if indicating that the enemy titan was beginning to move, the situation began to spin out of control. Simple infantry could barely breathe.
“Abakusha! Benzence! Turn to the side! Drakan! Stick by my side! Garsh! Edan… where are the rest of you?”
“We’re done for!”
“Darn it!”
A groan escaped from Elliot Moot’s helmet. No matter how elite, regaining composure in such a battlefield was impossible.
It was the same for me. My heart rate was accelerating.
My head was spinning. But I somehow managed to hold on to the common sense that wanted to flee.
I had to survive.
Somehow.
“If you get the signal, go! Abakusha! Benzence!”
Elliot Moot raised his hand. For a moment, the gunfire ceased.
Time to reload.
“Run!!!”
Abakusha ran. Benzence followed. The turret on the machine gun started spewing fire again as they frantically changed the magazine.
The ground caved in. Benzence’s leg broke for a moment and he tumbled down the steep hill as if hit by a bullet.
“Don’t stop! Drakan!”
“Yes!”
“If I give the signal, run!”
Elliot Moot raised his hand. I put all my strength into my body.
“Go!”
For a moment.
It felt like time slowed down.
I put strength into my legs. Moved faster than ever before.
The changing terrain, with every second. I pounded the ground with all the force I had left in me.
“You crazy bastard! Are you a flying squirrel?!”
The shocked voice of Abakusa approached me in no time. I rolled once and leaned my back against the cover.
The barrage began to divide into two. The gunfire that was pouring onto one cover momentarily weakened.
“A sniper?!”
I aimed the barrel diagonally through the cover.
I see it.
The enemy’s face.
I pulled the trigger. But all I heard was a clicking sound. Jammed. Maybe because it’s covered in mud. It’s not functioning properly.
“Damn it!”
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered bringing the gun!
I threw away the rifle and grabbed the handgun I picked up instead. The distance is far. Will the bullets reach?
“If I give the signal, they’ll break through! I’ll take the lead!”
Elliott Moot gave an arbitrary order. He put his hand on his waist as instructed.
“Anyone who doesn’t follow will be punished immediately!”
An equally chaotic command.
The armor starts moving. I thought light was entering his whole body-
*Whoosh!*
Elliott Moot dashed forward.
A sudden leap. He raced down the slope at a speed that seemed to compress space.
Fast. An abnormal speed.
Does Elliott Moot’s armor have a singularity in high-speed mobility?
*Gruaaah!!*
A tank flew straight ahead. In the erupting explosion, the enemy’s bodies soared into the sky.
Truly, there is no tank here. It’s an absurd assault that enables recklessness.
Just counting the number of enemy soldiers rising, there are six. Six human soldiers were annihilated at once.
Formidable power.
My necklace flickered.
“Go!!!”
Abakusa shouted. He was the first one to run. I immediately followed him.
I ran with all my might on the steep road, between the pouring mud.
The moment I extended my leg, time slowed down again. I realized a moment too late that I had jumped forward compared to others.
The muzzle pointed towards me. Flames bursted out from the machine gun’s barrel, instinctively targeting me.
There is no accuracy.
It is spraying a barrage of bullets.
But it blocked my path as if it had anticipated first.
“…Ugh.”
I gritted my teeth.
—
Human soldier, Medrick Diggory blinked his eyes.
Amidst his patrol, war suddenly broke out. In an instant, countless enemy forces surged forward and annihilated the advance base.
The frontlines began to push back. Azkal Plateau was located behind Medrick Diggory.
This is where they must hold. Against the overwhelming speed of the enemy’s advance.
However…
There is something among the enemies.
“…Ah, armor…?!”
Move so fast that it is difficult to perceive with the naked eye. The moment he thought he realized, the enemy’s shadow was hiding on the opposite side.
Movement that would be impossible for a human or any other humanoid.
That one…
“It’s an armored user!”
Armored users were not common. Armor was a personalized weapon. Enormous amounts of practice and time were required to handle it.
Even humans with systematic training programs rarely produced armored users. Personal equipment given to trained elites.
Therefore, among the humanoid species, those who could properly handle armor were few and far between. Most were listed on a roster.
A dangerous individual to be wary of. Among them, the representative armored user on this front line is…
“Elliott Moota!”
Medrick Diggory’s fleeting gaze confirmed that the passing shadow was him. He urgently yelled to his deputy.
“An armored user is coming this way! Load your weapon now!”
“Yes, sir!”
In a fluster. The loading speed is slow. But Medrick Diggory didn’t complain about it.
Now that the war has started, two are better than one.
Besides, the time it takes to reload has already been covered by the machine gunner beside him.
“Reload complete!”
The machine gun made a metallic click. Medric Diggory grabbed the trigger again, accompanied by curses.
Right next to him, a mixture of screams burst out from the nearby trench.
“Elliott Moottah!”
“What?!”
What the… Elliott Moottah is behind that cover right now…
For a moment, screams echoed in his turned gaze. The neighboring trench literally exploded. Without time to look back, Medric Diggory grabbed the machine gun with both hands.
If the person next to him is Elliott Moottah…
Then who was that shadow that just passed by?!
Suddenly, enemies poured in. One of them was the first to spring forward. The same shadow from before. The relatively small humanoid and his eyes met in an instant.
“…What?!”
It’s fast.
Not only wearing armor, but not even carrying any equipment…
It’s fast enough to keep up with the speed of turning the barrel!
“That monster bastard!”