21 – Ascald Plateau (4)
The boundary between life and death is only a step away.
“Shibaal!!!”
From Noble mtl dot com
Human curses can be heard. Gunfire echoes.
As if predicting the scattered barrage, it rains down on my predicted path.
I start running immediately. Not straight, but diagonally to avoid being predictable.
I can’t break through like Elliott Moottah did recklessly. The machine gun keeps spitting out bullets incessantly.
“Die! You monster bastard!”
No matter how fast I am, I can’t surpass the movement of bullets.
I can only cover with near-perfect prediction and unconventional actions.
And that…
“…Phew.”
It consumes more stamina than I can imagine.
There is no body armor on me. Not even spare lives, just one gun and one knife in my hands.
Compared to that, it seemed like the ammunition in the machine gun was overflowing. Even though it seemed like over a hundred rounds were fired, it kept pouring.
For a moment, my legs, which hadn’t yet fully developed, paused. The undeveloped body often posed problems in terms of stamina.
Just like this, right now.
The heated barrels of guns directly pointed at me.
“Gotcha!”
“Definitely gotcha.”
The machine gun stopped.
A head-popping sound was heard.
“It’s your turn now.”
The bloodied Avakusa threw the fallen head out of the battlefield.
“You bastard. What a mess you are.”
“Do you have anything to say to the person who took on the role of bait?”
“Who ordered it?”
Avakusa chuckled.
“What about Vengeance?”
The man, hit by bullet shots and rolling down, had his neck broken.
“He’s dead.”
“…Damn.”
A scream came from Elliot Mute’s side. It seemed like another stronghold was being occupied.
I crawled up to Ascalon Plateau. Once I got off the steep hill, a vast plain stretched before my eyes.
The plateau.
Countless artificial structures built upon it.
“Did humans build these?”
“There are quite a few useful bunkers. And over there…”
The ground trembled.
The human side’s Titan began to move.
“Do you feel like fighting?”
“…Sigh.”
The amplified voice of Besmoph Litton covered the battlefield.
“Attackkkk!!!!”
The necklace began to flicker again.
I exchanged glances with Avakusa.
“I don’t have time to rest, you bastard. Run.”
“…Wait a moment.”
He tore off the hunk of iron wrapped around the machine gun mount. A thick piece of steel that remained intact despite being hit by the resistance’s rounds.
More useful than a tactical shield. It was somewhat heavy, but it wasn’t so heavy that he couldn’t carry it.
A metal shield that covered almost his entire body.
He could secure his line of sight through the circular hole where the machine gun was mounted, and use it as a real shield.
There was even a handle.
Abakusa made a disgusted face.
“This crazy bastard…he’s carrying that? Isn’t it heavy?”
“It’s bearable.”
“He really is a monster.”
Half of the artificial structures standing on the plateau were bunkers containing human soldiers.
Buildings erected in a hemisphere shape in preparation for bombings. Muzzles protruding from small gaps were constantly spewing fire.
“aaah! My leg…my leg…!”
“sh*t…sh*t…”
“Mommy…”
Screams erupted around me. I took a deep breath.
My necklace blinked as if it would break.
“You bastard! Move!”
“…I’m going.”
I held up the shield.
“Young bastard! Hide behind me!”
“What the f*ck! Where can I hide?!”
“Fold your waist!”
“If I bend that much, my spine will break! You bastard!”
Abakusa grumbled, but she stuck to my back like a magnet.
I ran.
Into the battlefield where bullets flew.
“You crazy bastard! Of all the damned stupid people I know, you’re the craziest!”
＂Yeah! I…!＂
The gunshot shook the metal.
The impact swept through me. But I carried everything on my shoulders.
I pushed forward with my whole body. Enduring the sound of metal that hurt my ears, I dashed into the bunker.
I’m scared.
So I screamed louder.
“I’m the craziest bastard in the world!!!!”
“hahahahaha!!! Kill them all!!!!!”
. . .
The pilot who scratched his buttocks let out a sigh.
The flying bullets struck the barracks building. He scratched his chest and turned his head.
“What the hell is going on?”
“P-Pascal Walker! It’s an emergency! The mobilization order must have been issued, why are you only coming out now?”
“I’m not regular army.”
“If you’re hired, follow the rules as a hired mercenary! Get on the Titan and fight now! Hurry!”
“You’re noisy.”
The pilot, Pascal Walker, turned his head.
Alright, let’s start by checking the situation on the battlefield.
Pascal Walker lightly operated the machine. The shared screen of the Titan rose above the armor and showed the situation on the battlefield from a high place.
“Tsk…”
Pascal Walker relaxed his tense body.
“This won’t work, will it? It’s a large-scale blitz, right? It’s not in the hundreds… but in the thousands? They’ve beefed up their forces with insufficient numbers. Pathetic.”
“Work, Pascal Walker! Get on the Titan and face the enemy now! It’s an order!”
“Oh. What was your name again?”
“I’m Blanc…!”
Bang!
An unnamed commander who lost his head fell to the ground. Pascal Walker casually put the gun away.
“You should have asked as a request, not an order. Mr. Blanc and whatever it is.”
Commanders belonging to the regular army of the United Federation of Humanity are mostly like that.
Most of them have the personality to be shot on the battlefield.
Pascal Walker climbed on the Titan.
[Synchronizing…]
The rising hologram status window connected several Titans.
The first to emerge was a redhead woman.
“What the hell, Pascal! Are you really crazy?!”
“Noisy. Why are you scratching your head as soon as you arrive?”
“This isn’t modern times here! Attach yourself to the deployment area immediately! The front line is collapsing!”
“If I attach myself now, would it make any difference?”
“…You damn bastard!”
“Your mouth is still filthy, either way. There won’t be anyone taking responsibility. But if it were me, it would be fine, don’t you think?”
“Get the hell out of here!”
The connection was cut off. Pascal Walker laughed softly.
Aah, women are enjoyable. The battlefield is even more enjoyable. And among them all…
It’s tormenting those weaker than me!
“But still, I shouldn’t die… Should I massacre them enough and withdraw?”
Although Ascal Plateau is a strategic stronghold, it is not a place one should fight for at the cost of death.
It was occupied for this reason alone. Pascal Walker’s Titan began its movement.
[Synchronization rate 85%.]
It moves. Its colossal body. Holding a massive assault rifle, MK-15, with both hands on its back.
“Let me have a taste…!”
Kwaaah!!!!
The vision flickered for a moment. The Titan staggered, losing balance. Falling machinery.
The ground trembled greatly. Blood vessels burst on Pascal Walker’s forehead.
Most of the Titan’s defense systems were weakened by the impact.
However…
“…What kind of bullsh*t is this?”
Unpleasant feelings cannot be forgiven.
Raising his hand, Pascal Walker brushed away the smoke screen and swiftly spotted the approaching enemy.
Armor user.
Did they attack me with the Titan weapon they were holding?
“hahahaha. You little bug…”
Pascal Walker tightly gripped his rifle.
“How dare you crawl up?!”
…
He completely ransacked one bunker. He poured the stolen explosives into another bunker.
Boom!!!
Moans and screams filled the interior. Avacus and I had blood soaked on our hands.
“What a crazy night!”
“Don’t just stand there!”
Having been hit by bullets, I threw my partially broken shield. The tides were definitely in our favor.
Could it be because we had taken over the bunkers? The number of resistance fighters infiltrating the base had clearly increased.
“Turn them arouuund!”
“Don’t let anyone escape alive!”
It was chaos itself. The human army, caught off guard by the surprise attack, was retreating.
If we maintained this situation, we could occupy the Ascal Plateau.
Boommm!!!
A sudden gunshot resounded painfully in our ears. Flames erupted from the bunker behind us.
“What the hell?! It’s an incendiary grenade!”
“Bloo…aaargh!”
The engulfed resistance fighters burned just because they were nearby.
A chilling sensation ran down my spine.
“Avacus!”
I immediately pushed him away. Along with him, I also tumbled to the ground.
A massive incendiary grenade flew past.
Shrapnel flew, and flames caught on my shirt.
I quickly threw off my shirt.
“You damn bastard!”
A voice echoed in the distance. A human voice.
Along with that, the resistance fighters rushed forward in unison. A massive vehicle moved in the midst of the dust.
A Titan.
It is an enemy Titan. And a properly piloted one with remarkably smooth movements…!
“Who dare crawl on the worm’s topic?! Get crushed!”
Electricity surged from someone’s body swept away by the bullets. It was Elliot Moot, rolling across the floor.
“Gah!”
Part of the armor crumbled and scattered on the ground. It seemed that anomalies were unable to be used anymore, so I rolled and leaped.
I immediately reached out my hand to Avakusa beyond the flickering flames.
“Avakusa! Throw a weapon for the Titan at them! From inside the bunker!”
“What kind?”
“Anything!”
Something flew from beyond the flames. A Titan rocket. Disposable and single-use.
The projectile was loaded. Throwing a loaded weapon into the flames.
I said it, but quite audacious indeed.
“You bastard! Did you receive it?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“I did! Ears closed! My eardrums are bursting!”
I immediately strapped the Titan rocket onto my shoulder. A weapon I fired several times in simulations.
Different types, but same principles.
A conventional weapon means simplicity.
Aiming…
Firing.
Kwaahhhhh!!!
“Damn son of a b***h!!!”
The hit Titan staggered. It wasn’t enough to disable its defense system, but the Titan lost balance for a moment.
A fleeting gaze turned back.
“You… You brat… Ki… killed…!”
Kwaahhhhh!!!
Weakened defense systems were heavily struck by enormous projectiles all at once.
“Screaamm!! S***!!!”
The Titan’s arm was blown off. This time, it wasn’t mine.
It was the Titans of the elves guarding this side from a distant place.
Indeed, the Ent model specialized in long-range bombardment.
The person let out a scream and sobbed. They alternated their gaze between me and Elliot Moot.
“…You sons of b*tches!”
The one-armed Titan fled as it was. The elf’s volleys of gunfire came one after another, narrowly missing.
Since there was no energy to chase after them, I picked up the anti-Titan weapon.
The enemies were retreating. Resistance fighters appeared, pursuing the enemy until the very end, with loud cries.
We won.
It was when the tension left my body completely.
“…You…”
Elliot Moot struggled to get up, laboriously walking towards me.
But what she said wasn’t a word of gratitude.
“I didn’t…need your help…damn criminal!”
She grabbed me by the collar. Instead of expressing gratitude, her eyes were filled with anger.
As if expressing a sense of inferiority.