24 – The Mine (2)
The interior of the mine was quiet. It was different from what I had imagined.
Structures, seemingly built by humans, adorned the inside of the mine. Scattered lights faintly illuminated the area.
It was spacious inside. There were railroad tracks for carts to transport resources.
Avakusa muttered, “It’s hot here compared to the cold outside.”
“It’s poorly ventilated. Don’t take off your mask.”
“Who would dig a place like this?”
“I heard that the subjugated species captured by humans are utilized as miners.”
“…If they have human-level intelligence, couldn’t they create unmanned machines at least?”
“Avakusa, humans are sensitive to artificial intelligence. This is firsthand information obtained from captured human prisoners. Humans created the Harvest and ended up being swallowed by their creation. It’s only natural to feel resistance towards creating artificial intelligence that surpasses human intellectual capabilities.”
A story that permeates this world.
Humans, possessing advanced technology, ended up being devoured by a machine called ‘Harvest’ developed on some farm. And after the subsequent war, they even abandoned the planet they lived on.
They fled to this place. It’s only natural for them to despise artificial intelligence.
The auxiliary artificial intelligence that assists pilots was the limit of their own artificial intelligence. A mass of machinery that leaves autonomous decisions to humans.
Thus, it was known that hacking the Harvest could resist to some extent.
We continued down the mine. There was occasional noise, but nothing was found.
“Feels disgusting,”
“The most important fuel for creating the core and main metal for all Titans comes from here. Occasionally, gas can escape through the holes in the mine, causing the noise.”
Tetis Libra walked further in. She turned around at a fork in the road.
“There’s no division of personnel. Move to the right.”
The creaking sign clearly said “no entry,” and Abacusa pointed to it.
“Isn’t it no entry?”
“The important mission point is this way. It’s our mission to check all the places the enemy could enter. The remaining path will be checked by another unit that will follow in our wake. We are…”
She took out a map of the mine.
“Move to the right, follow the path. After confirming whether or not there are enemies in the last underground area, the plan is to turn around and come out.”
“The place to be wary of is the temporary residence of the miners inside the mine. It’s possible that enemies and war prisoners are mixed in.”
“If they’re allies, do we have to save them? What if we can’t identify them?”
“Even if we can’t identify them, we save them.”
Tetis Libra cut to the chase neatly.
“We protect the ones in need. That’s what the resistance army does.”
“…But what if we end up losing?”
“Don’t use profanity. Abacusa. I don’t consider the worst case. We are soldiers. We exist to protect civilians.”
It was the tone of an honorable soldier. And since I agreed somewhat, I didn’t say anything.
…But.
I felt like if that situation were to arise, I would pull the trigger immediately. Unlike Tetis Libra’s thoughts, I have to survive somehow.
Even with a bitter aftertaste, my life comes first. I’ll be careful not to play around with the trigger.
“Let’s move.”
A deep hole that led down. Passing through a slightly steep slope, we entered the first shelter.
Tetis Libra sent a signal. I quickly occupied the door.
No sign of movement was heard. I signaled to Tetis Libra.
A nod leading to Abacusa.
Bang!
He kicked in the door.
“Damn it! They’re all dead!”
Tetis Libra’s expression hardened.
“Follow the tactical manual. Abakusa. Go back and submit a reflection paper.”
“Suppression of power, sir.”
“It’s good to suppress power and get shot.”
Tetis Libra checked inside. I moved into the building immediately too.
Miners’ temporary lodging.
It was full of dust. There were traces of people, but they were all old.
“… No one is here.”
Abakusa searched the drawer. He found a bottle of liquor and giggled.
“hahahaha. What free stuff is this?”
“Put it away. Abakusa.”
“Hey. Won’t having this make us feel like working harder?”
“All items discovered are military property, and any behavior that interferes with combat is prohibited. Put it on the road.”
“… Tsk.”
Abakusa put the liquor in the drawer. Tetis Libra, who took out the map, made a light note.
“You have one more place…”
— GooOOOOOOO……
A scream was heard.
A bizarre cry that could make everyone freeze.
The sound disappeared after a while. But we, including Tetis Libra, did not move.
We looked beyond the open door with rifles tightly gripped. The light was still shining, but the fact that there was no change made the situation even more uncomfortable.
“… What the hell.”
Abakusa looked back at me.
“Hey, bastard. Did you hear that too?”
“…If I hadn’t heard it, it would have been weirder.”
“What the hell is in this damn mine…?”
I swallowed my dry saliva.
Frontier Online.
In this world, only intellectually shaped life forms of simple human form do not live. They were not easily discovered, but twisted and bizarre creatures sometimes walked on the ground.
Creature.
Strange creatures of unknown origin.
The number of specimens was small, but sometimes bizarre entities were discovered, comparable to titans in their strangeness. They could be described as monstrous beings that crawled into our world through dimensional rifts caused by humans.
If one of them is down here…
I don’t even want to imagine.
Tethys Libra quietly folded the map.
“We’re moving.”
“Are you going outside?”
“The mission comes first. We’re going down there.”
“What the hell! Didn’t you just hear?! You want to go down there without even knowing what’s below?!”
“It might be the sound of escaping gas. Our duty is to confirm that there is nothing inside.”
Tethys Libra left the room.
“Squad 13, we’re moving. No objections will be tolerated. Disobeying orders will be dealt with according to military law.”
“Damn it!”
Abakusa cursed and looked back at me as if asking for help.
There was nothing I could do.
“You already know what kind of person the squad leader is. It’s pointless to ask for a favor. You little piece of sh*t.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“…I am scared.”
It’s only natural to be scared. But since she mentioned military law, I had no choice but to follow. I didn’t want to be executed for disobeying orders.
“There’s no other way. You little piece of sh*t.”
“…I should have worn the necklace.”
Abakusa wiped her face. I followed Tethys Libra and walked further inside.
Inside the mine, we had no idea what awaited us.
And Vesmoph Litten, who assigned this mission…
What did he actually know?
…
“Commander, new personnel have arrived.”
“Assign them to each squad leader.”
“Yes.”
The door closed. Vesmoph Litten raised some documents.
Busy. Since taking over the Ascalon Plateau, work has doubled. However, that doesn’t mean I disliked being busy.
How strong the breeze had become after taking over the Ascalon Plateau. Thanks to that, we were able to pull out more capable prisoners from the prison, using the punishment unit as an excuse.
Not only criminals from the simple city of Pestal but also criminals from other nearby Elven cities could be conscripted with special extraction rights.
“…Hm.”
Vesmoph Litton casually flipped through the documents. The task at hand was not just personnel control.
Managing the resources spread throughout the Ascalon Plateau.
Other battalion leaders were doing the same, but the task entrusted to Vesmoph Litton was the most troublesome of all, managing the mines in the Ascalon Plateau.
Everyone who had seen the records had avoided it. Naturally, the remaining tasks fell to him.
Vesmoph Litton even embraced it. His ultimate goal was to create fully trained soldiers.
Hardships were rather welcome. We needed to push the soldiers further into the depths of hell for proper weapons to be born.
A sword that had to be wielded with caution against both enemies and allies.
“There were 62 missing persons… to the extent of temporarily closing the mine…”
There were no witnesses. No survivors returned alive.
To the point where sections of the mine were designated off-limits areas.
Even those humans were recorded to have hesitated investigating the truth. There can only be one reason for that.
“They deemed the losses greater than the gains.”
Despite the presence of danger, the humans continued to use the mine.
To them, the In’ikok were nothing more than easily controlled slaves.
They were nothing more than replaceable labor, even if they died. They must have judged that they could tolerate incidents of disappearances.
“…But I am different.”
He was different. The resistance forces had to be cautious about safety and preemptively prevent unnecessary sacrifices.
Investigating the mines was a necessary action. It is better to clearly understand the presence of the enemy.
Vesmoph Litton quietly recalled the 1st Platoon, 13th Squad.
Abacus and Drakan. Exceptional two soldiers. Their combat prowess was incredibly high. Just the two of them massacred human soldiers.
And this time, Tetis Libra, who joined as additional support, was the same.
An excellent combat force. It was enough to want to hone them further.
“She graduated top of her class at the Officer Training School…”
Tetis Libra’s abilities stood out. Even if only her skills matched her background, she would have been on the elite course.
Unifying under the pride and honor of being part of the resistance forces, she was a woman who admired the fake image she had created.
Her stiffness bothered him a little, but…
“A sharp knife will sound even better as you continue to use it.
“If only I polish it.”
Will it not become a good knife?
Vesmoph Litton drew a triangle in the air. Then, he gently moved his hand and added one more vertex.
1st Platoon, 13th Company.
Existences that could become their best knives if done well.
Unfortunately, the center is not the nicely sharpened Teetis Libra. A unique member among the resistance forces.
“Is that guy going in too?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Dracan.”
Abakusa mentioned it directly. It had a nuance that if he doesn’t go in, she wouldn’t either.
“…To climb up, inevitably, there must be a necessary talent.”
A talent to make capable people join your side.
Dracan was clearly a needed talent. Apart from simple combat skills, members of the 4th Platoon, 13th Company asked about his well-being.
From Noble mtl dot com
It’s an excellent talent. Leadership and combat abilities that don’t look back can be very useful.
However, he seemed like someone who would leave without looking back after two years. You could forcibly drag out the period, but then efficiency would inevitably decrease.
The best way is for him to stay within the resistance forces himself.
“We must only unleash fierce beasts in our den.”
Besmoph Litton glanced briefly at the documents placed next to him. He quickly picked one from among the documents gathered for the criminals sentenced to death.
“If he comes back alive this time…”
Besmoph Litton raised the corners of his lips.
“I should create a group with the same level. To make them feel a sense of responsibility.”