The sun slowly rose.
Dazzling sunlight rose over cold Lower Manhattan. The devastation hidden in the darkness was revealed one by one. Airborne anti-tank self-propelled guns destroyed by friendly anti-tank missiles, and corpses strewn around them.
The torn pieces of people quickly cooled by the cold winter wind blowing through Manhattan, and then froze. The pools of blood that had formed from melting snow on the ground also began to freeze while retaining their color.
It was a time when equipment was more valuable than people. And even equipment could not be taken care of if the situation was not favorable. The Allied soldiers who decided to withdraw had to get out before the road out of Manhattan was cut off, and some of their equipment was left behind.
However, there were those who did not withdraw, or could not withdraw.
Aside from the fact that the Dagger Team was freely moving around the rear and causing devastating damage to the command center, the soldiers who had already been continuously attacking around Central Park HQ were left behind.
Some climbed onto the roof of the building and fired mortars, and others climbed onto the windows of nearby hotels and residential buildings and fired at the American soldiers who were blocking the Allied offensive from the walls of the fortress.
After about ten months, the HQ had become a solid fortress and was nearly impregnable, but the Allied forces had also committed several brigades. There were more Allied soldiers roaming around Manhattan than there were people in Central Park HQ.
New York City, one of the pivotal axes of the Northeastern defense. The moment this place fell, the path to New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the capital, Washington, D.C., would be open. The Allied forces thought so and did their best to capture the base.
Until that the communication was left in the middle of the enemy, "Lyapunov?" "The intense electronics in the enemy fortress, the communication bottle was barely confirmed by using the antenna equipment on the building!" It was no different from the destruction of the brain or gangliness. However, the difference was that they were not completely dead and their bodies were still alive, but this situation occurred in the middle of a World Championship match where one side would die if they lost.
If they didn’t respond quickly, a counter punch would come right away.
“We’re going to retreat while keeping our equipment and... troops intact. The Americans won’t be able to destroy the bridges connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, or New Jersey. If they did, they would suffer losses too.”
“What should we do with our troops who are deployed in a position where retreat is impossible?”
“We should take them alive or something. If any airport had fallen, we would have had a lot more room to maneuver, but we couldn’t even take Westchester Airport and our main force is tied up in New Haven... I don’t like everything about them, you incompetent bastards.”
Retreat, retreat, and retreat.
Strictly speaking, there was a good reason for the retreats taking place in all directions.
In some places, the commanders in the battalion headquarters were completely destroyed, and the airborne battalion could no longer be deployed in battle, so they had no choice but to retreat. In some places, all the friendly forces that had to watch over them and give orders had retreated, so they had to retreat to prevent isolation.
However, if they continued like this, they would never be able to completely destroy the enemy's stronghold that they had been beating so excitedly.
And-
'... Will we be able to return to Manhattan at this rate?'
No, will they be able to achieve their operational objectives in the first place?
If they keep making concessions like this, where will they end up? That thought suddenly crossed the company commander's mind, but if they didn't retreat and kept beating, would the friendly forces that had retreated be able to come back?
The other companies deployed nearby also seemed to have reached similar conclusions, and each gave their own answers.
- We have secured enough ships. In an emergency, we will abandon our armored forces and cross the river to be able to retreat, but until then, we will hold out nearby and wait for our forces to re-enter Manhattan.
- Confirmed. The 3rd Company will retreat. Our morale has dropped drastically due to the close combat with the crazy guys who set people on fire. We will retreat via the Queensboro Bridge and move to the vicinity of LaGuardia.
-... We will also hold out. We lost most of our vehicles due to drone attacks.
Those °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° who remained in Manhattan due to their own circumstances, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, will remain, and those who did not will struggle to get out of Manhattan somehow.
However, it was clear that it was not as easy as it sounded. There was no separate electronic warfare platform, and air superiority was not completely secured. Neither side could exert force, and it was clear that the outcome would not be good.
Dawn broke, and the sun rose to its zenith. And every time it set and rose again, the Allied forces lost a certain number of soldiers for their own reasons, and Central Park HQ gained time to reorganize.
The Allied Forces would have to chew on that fact until they were defeated, but at least those on the front lines didn’t have the luxury of doing so.
The reason was simple.
“Once you’re in Manhattan, you should see the Bold Drop event, Slav friends. Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Damn, it’s the Icarus Operators! When the hell are you-bang!”
“This is ridiculous, I heard you were in northern Manhattan just 10 minutes ago...!”
The asymmetrical power began to spin like a blender.
The Dagger Team, who assaulted day and night, sometimes in vehicles and sometimes in wingsuits, fully demonstrated their strengths. It was a completely different direction from the battles taking place in Long Island or New Jersey, but there was no denying that it was several times more effective.
For some reason, whenever thick snowflakes as cold as or colder than the mainland fell from the sky and covered Manhattan, enough blood flowed to melt all the snow.
A forest of dead concrete.
Snow piling up on the ground.
Even the sky where not a single ray of sunlight could be seen.
Under the silent sky as if everything in the world had met death, only gunshots, human screams, and explosions swept through the ground.
A strange, squeaky sound like the wind was being sucked out echoed countless times, and at the same time, the enemy soldiers exchanging magazines behind the vehicle hurriedly lowered their heads.
The Seeker Mine that had been thrown rolled away, glowing bright yellow, and the moment it approached close by, there was a loud noise and two enemy soldiers floated in the air for a moment.
As the car flipped over, a ghostly, hazy figure that could not even be identified as a ghost or something else crossed the street at incredible speed, beating down the Allied regulars like children.
There was only one result.
"...I surrender."
"As expected. Gather your weapons in one place. The men who will take you away will come soon."
During the endless night-long battles that lasted for two weeks, Task Force Arikon and Dagger Team killed about 250 enemy soldiers and captured more than that number.
The relatively low kill count and number of prisoners were due to the small number of Allied troops remaining in Manhattan, no more or less.
The first assault on Central Park HQ was a failure for the Allied forces, but the fire was not completely put out yet.
The anti-Western, extremist Muslims of Central Asia, who originally did not have a very good feeling toward the United States, were systematically trained by the Allied Forces and were crossing the Atlantic.
Nevertheless,
"... So, is this the end? Isn't it too much to go around without sleep for ten days just because you had a comfortable day? I'm dying of sleep."
"You've been beaten up so much, you won't be looking this way for a while... Then let's go rest for a while."
"If you rest for three days, you might never be able to return to Manhattan."
At least for now, both sides had to enjoy a short rest, even if it was forced.
It was one day not long before Christmas.
"Ugh, I think I'm going to faint..."
"You've been going around without sleep for about ten days? I'm dying. Even with gear, you can't completely replace sleep. The researchers would be happy to hear that."
"We were going around pretty harshly. Phew..."
Team Dagger Almost Breaks Guinness World Record for Most Sleepless Nights.
The fatigue that I felt for the first time since becoming a mutant covered my whole body. It was like returning to a normal human. A fatigue that could not be described in any other words weighed down my whole body.
I headed to the mutant dormitory without even washing up and fell asleep on the bed. In fact, it felt like it was worth it, but that was it.
As Mr. Logan had said, it was because it was revealed that even the Icarus Gear could not completely replace the mechanism of sleep 'yet'.
"The inflammation and waste levels rose so rapidly that even the Icarus Gear could not handle it all. I thought my body would be able to hold out a little longer, but doesn't it seem like I'm reaching my limit, similar to normal operators?"
"We've been around that much, haven't we?"
"That's true, but..."
"...I just hope this never happens again."
Sadly, that was my true heart.
Although I know very well that there are people in places like the Guinness Book of World Records who didn't sleep for more than 11 days, these records were achieved while living a life close to 'daily life'.
This is also the reason why the Dagger team returned to HQ when the situation calmed down a bit. They were fighting day and night, requiring extreme concentration, courage, and physical strength.
If they had just tried to rest comfortably, they could have easily lasted about two weeks. The fatigue and lactic acid accumulated in their bodies due to the battle, the adenosine and beta amyloid accumulated in their brains, etc. were at their limit, so there was nothing they could do.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
I heard that Mr. Lapland was able to hold out well because he took breaks and slept in between.
Anyway.
"Okay, go wash up quickly! You stink!"
"Wow, I came back from defending Manhattan and now I'm told I smell. HQ is so cold."
"Oh, no. That's not what I meant... Wait. Are you trying to make me a bad person again! It won't work, so go wash up!"
"Haha, I got caught. Got it, got it. Anyway, I can't speak well in front of my friends who have a sensitive sense of smell."
"Stop whining and go wash up."
Mr. Lapland is talking like his mother.
Mom, I don't know where you are, but somehow I'm doing well. Sometimes I miss Mom and Dad, but there are so many good people that I don't feel so sad that I feel like I'm going to die... .
... Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind, but at this point, I'm not heartbroken or sad. Because I knew that this world was different from the one I was in, and that the chances of 'my' parents dying in the great war that broke out in Korea were zero.
Anyway, thanks to the almost 14 hours of sleep, my mind was quite clear.
I eat the high-calorie snacks and snacks that are essential items in the Alpha-level mutant dormitory and separate the equipment from my body. Mr. Lapland has already gone out, but what can I do?
People with good noses must be tired in many ways.
"Ugh, I'm dying... I'll just throw away the electronic devices and magazines and throw them in the washing machine. If I had more supplies, I would have thrown away my clothes and bought new ones, but I'm dizzy."
"If you put the gun in an ultrasonic cleaner, most of the foreign substances will be removed... Maybe because it's winter, there's not much dirt. That's fortunate."
"The youngest surprisingly doesn't cry these days."
"... Well, I'm a little embarrassed about going to psychotherapy now."
"Dude, what's embarrassing about saying you're having a hard time!"
But that's just slurp-slurp-slurp!
Of course, I couldn’t just say those words out loud. Besides, at this point, I was deliberately not asking them because I felt sorry for them, but they were talking about this.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
... Was it not only me who felt comforted by physical contact, but the other person as well?
Anyway, it was time to stop thinking like a middle school boy. It was time to take a bath and come out.
I suddenly wondered how many people would be able to enjoy the luxury of taking a hot shower even at this point when HQ was under attack.
Fortunately, the Alpha-class mutant’s dormitory was not destroyed by the airborne self-propelled artillery attack. In fact, it was also thanks to the laser interceptors installed throughout HQ intercepting the high-explosive bombs in time.
The reason I said this was because the first floor of the dormitory had a shower room attached to it. If this had been reduced to ashes, it would have been quite heartbreaking. Not to mention not being able to wash properly.
Of course, there was a reason I was thinking such useless thoughts.
"Oh my, it's hard. If the youngest was here, it would be all better."
"...Uh, you're using me like a pillow."
"You talk too much, youngest. Everyone was tired so we skipped the debriefing, should we do it here?"
"Wow..."
Because people as tall as 188cm approached me, my right to speak was reduced to zero.
The boiler's performance was as good as it could be, so the inside of the shower room, which had been as cold as ice, was soon filled with steam, and hot water began to pour out of the shower head.
It didn't take long for all the fatigue, waste, and dust from the past to be swept away in an instant. Everyone must have been joking before, because the inside of the shower room was filled with only the sound of washing without much conversation.
My body was getting tired.
I sat down on the chair, picked up the brush, and diligently brushed my tail. With the squeaking sound, my mind began to calm down.
I said this, but I survived this time too, and furthermore, I contributed to the survival of HQ. I heard that there were relatively few PTSD patients in World War II, and now I felt like I understood that feeling.
The clear division between good and evil, and the feedback from the battle results were felt clearly.
"... In the midst of this, wouldn't an emergency dispatch suddenly come?"
"If that happened, I'd be really upset."
"... What, why isn't the drain here draining like this... Wait a minute. Why is there so much fur and feathers here... Olivia, you little punk!"
"No, wait a minute! The fur is the youngest wolf's fault!?"
"And he's not here right now."
... What the hell is going on here?
I thought I had to cancel the words that my heart was calming down.
After the two of them had a good fight, the shower room became quiet again, and the conversation gradually shifted to a different direction, or more specifically, to a slightly larger situation.
"So Manhattan won't be a problem for the time being, and what's left is... Kennedy International Airport, New Haven, and Washington D.C."
"Probably. I heard that Albany is making something. What was it? They're planning to make our Titan into a vehicle?"
"It looks like they're going to use it as an anti-aircraft tank."
"Probably. At least they're trying to prevent the Allied Forces from gaining air supremacy."
"Then... we can just dismantle the air defenses before heading to the capital."
I guess he's not a natural soldier, so I'm already hearing this dull story again.
And since it was too late for me to turn a deaf ear to that, I roughly estimated how many more engagements there would be.
Once the US military regains air supremacy, the enemy will literally be left to fend for themselves in the New York and New Jersey area, and by then, the Dagger Team will be free to roam around freely.
Then... .
"Next... you'll go see Secretary of Defense Janet, right?"
"Probably so. Since she's one of the Black Eagle's main targets, if they're reading our every move, they'll be pretty busy in the capital."
"There's a week left until Christmas, so they won't tell you to go during that time, right?"
"Let's ask HQ to make sure we can send that."
So that's what's going to happen.
I was born in Korea, so Christmas doesn't mean much to me, but for America, where most people are Christian, it might mean a lot. I thought about it that way, and just... I just prayed that I could eat, drink, and be merry on the 25th.
It was still cold, and it was the end of December, with a lot to do.