Chapter 51 – NTL-001
─Aaah! Kyoko! I’m going to catch up with this!
─Haa… Mandible… Now, hold on… I can’t increase the output more than this!
The voices of two young boys and girls rang loudly over the voice channel.
Currently, in the retreating 2nd Platoon, it was Perah and Kyokyo who were holding back their ankles. The two are the youngest among the platoon members, and their careers are short. As a result, the piloting was relatively inexperienced and slow.
Netoru, who was at the forefront, confirmed Fera and Kyokyo, who were barely chasing after him. Gradually, I could see that the speed of Kyokyo’s holy cavalry was noticeably slowing down. It seemed that he had reached his physical limit.
‘… That’s not good.’
Even so, everyone in the 2nd platoon was slowing down for the sake of those two. It is impossible to slow down any further here.
No, it’s already too late
If you keep this pace today, you’ll soon be overtaken by the bugs that follow you.
I had to speed things up a bit here to somehow get around the bugs. But is that possible?
If you increase the speed further, Pera and Kyokyo aren’t the only problems. The other members of the platoon could not keep pace and would fall behind.
The one chasing the 2nd platoon was that fast.
Centipede-type Bug─ Pursuing Centipede
Unlike the penetrating centipedes, they do not have the ability to hide underground, but they are more mobile than other centipedes. In fact, the speed of movement was faster than that of quite a few holy cavalry.
It was for this reason that even though Fera and Kyokyo were moving with all their might, the distance was getting closer.
─Yellow! How are you going to do this!? I’m really going to get caught by the bugs!
Rin, who had been following her, also asked in an urgent voice if she cared about the two of them. However, there was no way for Netoru to have a clear method here.
First of all, it was a problem that the pursuit type centipedes were fast, but there were too many of them.
Unlike the penetrating centipedes armed with heavy machine guns, the main weapon of the pursuit type was ‘acid’. It injects poison by biting the opponent with a biological organ called a poisonous bird.
Even though they’ve even removed basic firearms for mobility, to be honest, one or two aren’t a big threat.
However, the story is very different when dozens or hundreds of such guys attack, not just one or two.
The sexual cavalry was basically a humanoid biological weapon.
That’s why, unlike robots made of machines and steel, it was a weapon that could be addicted to something called ‘poison’. So, once or twice I started getting bitten by them, it was an instant to collapse.
Can you deal with dozens or hundreds of them and never get bitten? Even if you get bitten, the poison won’t affect the holy cavalry right away, but if you start to have problems with your mobility, it’s no different than the end.
—… Mr Netoru. I feel like I’m at my limit now.
Then a quiet voice flew in. Among the platoon members, Shuichiro was the least talkative. To say that the boy who had been moving silently was having a hard time was really the limit.
… After all, is it impossible to escape like this?
Netoru checked the screen linking information on the bugs Rien observed in real time. Then he saw countless red dots following the platoon members on the map.
And the red dots were still appearing one by one. Through the underground passage that the big monster created.
“… Commander. Please continue briefing the situation. What is the exact number of bugs observed so far?”
─Currently, the number of chase-type centipedes observed is 79 in total. And long-range artillery spiders are appearing one by one.
The situation is very goofy.
Even with long-range artillery spiders…
Are there 79 chasing centipedes following me?
Also, as expected, a lot. At least one platoon of four men could not defeat it.
And above all… That big bug is the most serious problem. Perhaps the pit you saw in the observation tower the other day was made by that monster.
I never thought there would be such a bug.
‘Is this why he was hiding it?’
Certainly, after seeing her in front of her eyes, it was not difficult to understand why Rien was deliberately trying to hide it.
If I let them know that there is such a thing, it will have a great negative effect on the morale of the troops.
But still…
It would have been better than not knowing at all. At least that was the case with Netoru. If there was a guy like that, I would have thought about it in advance.
Netoru clicked his tongue slightly at the unexpected identity of the enemy and closed the voice channel with the other platoon members. The story to be told from now on was because it would not have been good to tell the other members of the platoon.
“… Commander. Did you just say the name of that big bug was Death Worm?”
—… Yes. You’re right.
“Why didn’t you tell me when I asked? It must have seemed like he knew something when he received the report.”
—… Sorry.
Seeing the situation like this, even if the opponent is the commander, the words don’t come out well.
It seems to be a bug that roams underground, but it must be a special entity that cannot be observed. In fact, he was like a natural disaster who never knew when he would attack.
So I understand Rien’s judgment to some extent.
Knowing the existence of such a bastard would only cause fear and stress to the troops. So he might be better off not knowing, rather than continuing to be afraid of a guy who might come up from under the ground.
A cluttered atmosphere,
Lien must have worried a lot too.
But even so, Netoru had no intention of acknowledging her judgment.
“How many records are there of Death Worm now? Is there anything that can help?”
—… Unfortunately, there is virtually nothing that can help. No combat records have been reported since first sightings in Area 47.
“So you don’t even know exactly what firearms the monster is armed with?”
─Yes…
In general, bugs were prepared to equip firearms suitable for their bodies.
The Locust armed with a light machine gun, the Spider with a powerful cannon, and the Penetrating Centipede with a heavy machine gun on its tail.
Then, at first glance, what the hell is the monster armed with, which seems to be about 100m long?
Just imagining it makes my eyes dizzy.
‘… A monster like that hasn’t been well known until now.’
After hearing the story, it seems that the unit withdrew from Area 47 because of that Death Worm.
Although it is obviously no small thing,
It’s funny, but Netoru didn’t know anything about what had just happened in District 47.
In the first place, the world where information transmission is not smooth.
There is no media such as TV, and the only information delivery media that exist are radio and newspapers.
In particular, at this point in the war with bugs, information control must be stricter than usual.
“… What is the Death Worm doing now?”
—… So far, there are no specific moves.
I don’t know why I’m still, but it’s fortunate. If he had followed him, it would have been quite difficult.
But that didn’t make things any better.
“How long will it take for the other members of the unit to join us?”
—… It will take at least 20 minutes for the other platoons to join. Can you escape by then?
… 20 minutes. I’ll probably catch up before then.
It’s a game that will catch up in a minute, let alone 20 minutes. So it was at that time that I tried to answer that it seemed impossible.
“… “
Netoru, who was watching the movements of the bugs through the linked map, narrowed his eyes.
I don’t know why, but I felt like the speed of the centipets following me had slowed down a bit.
Apparently, the chasing type centipets that had been chasing right up to the bottom of the chin just before had already moved away.
… What? Are the guys tired too?
Since bugs are also living things, the concept of stamina existed. In fact, when you advance from a long distance, you can see a noticeable drop in combat power.
But what should I say about this…
I don’t feel good.
It would be nice if it was an illusion, but it looked like they were deliberately letting go of their platoon members. Even if they were really tired in the first place, it was the same here.
Before one knew it, the Kyokyo holy cavalry that Fera was riding, and the Izumi holy cavalry that Shuichiro was riding were falling behind.
Thanks to that, not only Netoru but also Rin are slowing down to match those two…
But in this situation, the distance is not gradually getting shorter, but on the contrary, it is getting farther away?
No matter how you look at it, this is kind of weird.
I cannot take the situation positively.
So I’m wondering if there’s something different,
“… No way.”
At that moment, there was a flash like a grain of sand in my brain.
I hate to admit it, but it’s a family that I can’t help but think about at least once.
“… Could those guys be deliberately letting us go?”
Pursuit Centipede.
Maybe the guys are really just chasing as the word says. It’s like checking how far the aptitudes go.
Why is that?
He’s probably using this opportunity to find out where Unit 393’s base is. Otherwise, there would be no way I would be so blatantly missing it.
Basically, the ability to observe bugs was quite poor. Like Lien, commanders can observe the movements of bugs with magic, while bugs do not have such abilities or skills.
That’s why most holy cavalry units preferred to intercept. Because you can see the movement of the bugs and take advantage of the features at any time.
And this was also a strategy to prevent the location of the base from being exposed.
However, if the base is exposed to bugs,
It becomes a very dangerous situation.
In the worst case, it could be suddenly bombarded one day by bugs like long-range bombardment spiders armed with firearms like howitzers.
Of course, running away like this won’t expose the base right away. However, it was clear that the range of roughly where the base would be would be narrowed down.
That should be blocked
So the trouble was not long, and the judgment was quick.
Netoru made a request to Rien.
“… Commander. I think we need to change the confluence point.”
─Yes? Why all of a sudden… ?
“I will explain as I go. The confluence should be around point 97.”
─Now, wait a minute! Is there a completely different direction? Then you’ll catch up before you join!
At Rien’s bewildered voice, Netoru tugged at Ceres’ control rod and answered quietly.
“I will do it somehow.”
