“This made them back off last time, but let’s see what happens now.”
“It looks like they’ve stopped moving, but...”
On a battlefield where churned-up dirt and shattered rock kept raining back down, <The Tree>’s units and the two <Fenrir> stared each other down.
Apparently, being wounded again had made them extremely wary.
The local strategic AI seemed to have picked up on that mood as well, and had chosen to play for deterrence.
“They might just be stalling for time! Look, they’re bleeding, but not that much! Mm, and according to the analysis, the blood loss is clearly decreasing!”
“Right... no, wait, that kind of injury doesn’t just heal that easily...”
Real-time image analysis was quantifying all kinds of status data. Among them, <Froze>’s damage ratio was gradually dropping.
According to the readout, the injury to its left foreleg was regenerating at an astonishing rate.
The reason it had stopped moving was likely to maximize the effect of that healing.
<Iris>’s prediction was that it was only pretending to stay on guard while buying time.
“That said, the more time this takes, the more favorable the board becomes for us. It looks like <Iris> has decided to commit the air assets.”
They had already established a reliable way to damage <Fenrir>.
Now all that remained was to repeat it.
So they launched attack craft capable of air-launching the anti-magic-barrier missiles that served as the operation’s damage source.
Missiles fired from the rear base did not require worrying about stock levels, but the distance from the battlefield imposed restrictions on attack timing.
If missiles were loaded onto attack craft and launched from the air, both the launch point and the launch timing could be chosen freely. Of course, an attack craft burdened with such huge missiles would suffer a severe drop in maneuverability, so it could only be used after air superiority had been secured.
“Flight elements are launching from Gheni Fortress. The Gigantia-class airborne carrier Eurytos is heading for the combat zone as an aerial platform.”
“Titan-class aerial escort ships Theia, Rhea, and Themis have begun changing course.”
“The escort units from Eurytos have started launching.”
“The Naglfar-class carrier Myrkvids is launching as well.”
“Fringhornir-class battleship Blazablik... main-gun targeting has begun. ...Smart warheads, cluster shells selected. ...Looks like... it’s going to conduct suppressive fire.”
The reserve forces that had been standing by as follow-up support for the anti-<Fenrir> battle launched one after another.
Because <Froze> and <Yarn> had begun actively posturing in response, they were now judged to recognize <The Tree> as a genuine threat.
Meanwhile, from roughly 900 kilometers offshore, Blazablik was preparing to fire autonomous smart warheads. They could not inflict fatal damage, but they could be used for blinding and harassment.
Smart warheads were shells with trajectory-adjustment capability, using rear rocket motors to extend range and accelerate during terminal descent.
This time, however, they were cluster shells, so there was no need for terminal acceleration.
That allowed their range to be extended instead—though only by a few kilometers at most.
Blazablik’s main guns were triple-barreled multi-stage electromagnetic projection cannons, with a maximum range exceeding 1,000 kilometers.
Once Blazablik completed targeting, it opened fire.
Its four giant triple-gun turrets—twelve barrels in all—began launching smart warheads one after another, each shot accompanied by the thunderous roar of sonic booms. Each barrel fired about once every five seconds. Blazablik alone could send 144 massive shells per minute into the battlespace.
The shells left the barrels at roughly 8,000 meters per second, though air resistance gradually bled off their speed. Even so, because their trajectory rose beyond the stratosphere, they only faced serious drag near the ground.
They also took several dozen minutes to reach the target area.
That was why they had been fired before all the other attacks.
“The Eurytos air group is closing on the battlefield.”
“It appears <Froze> and <Yarn> have noticed the air group. Detecting upward visual attention.”
For some reason, the two <Fenrir> had become aware of the attack craft launched from Eurytos, the closest carrier to the battlefield.
Most likely, they were reacting to the emitted radar waves.
“Well then, their injuries should be healed in a few more minutes. ...So what will they do?”
“Do you think they’ve noticed the reinforcements?”
If the battle resumed right now, it would probably just be a repeat of what had happened moments ago. There was still a chance the Jotun M-series on the front line would be destroyed again, but in the worst case, they could simply rotate in the rear Jotuns.
That would give them time to commit anti-magic-barrier missiles again.
Even if <Fenrir>’s ability to respond had improved somewhat, they could probably still fight three more engagements on this scale.
And on top of that, <The Tree> could now commit the additional air power it had brought in.
If they layered further attacks on top of the barrier break, they could expect even more damage.
“<Froze>’s posture has shifted slightly. High probability of withdrawal.”
Akane reported that as she brought up an analysis image of <Froze>.
Its center of gravity had clearly changed, so there was no doubt it was about to do something.
Eve, however, could not tell whether it was gathering strength before lunging—or preparing to flee.
<Iris>, apparently, had concluded there was a possibility it had lost the will to fight.
In the footage, <Yarn> was growling low in its throat.
Maybe it was complaining to <Froze>.
“This looks like it may turn into a prolonged standoff.”
“The attack craft and transport aircraft... mm, yes, it’ll still take about fifty more minutes.”
Gheni Fortress was about 1,200 kilometers from the battlefield. Since the attack craft were incapable of supersonic flight, reaching the area would take about an hour. Since missile launch alone could be conducted from much farther out, however, they could effectively enter attack range in about twenty minutes.
Then there were the transport aircraft that had been sent ahead in advance.
They had just begun aerial refueling, so that alone would take about twenty minutes to complete.
After that, they would still need another twenty minutes or so to reach the battlefield.
Well, if this standoff continued, it would probably last for several dozen more minutes. By then, <Froze> and <Yarn> would likely have returned to perfect condition—but <The Tree>’s reinforcement buildup would also be complete.
At that point, the battle would simply return to square one.
“Oh? It looks like the two of them are communicating.”
“Oh, you’re right. ...I wonder if they’ll withdraw.”
At <Yarn>’s growling, <Froze> flicked a glance in its direction. It still maintained its vigilance, but seemed to be attempting some form of communication.
Little by little, <Yarn>’s growl began to fade.
And so more time passed.
Both <Froze> and <Yarn> had backed off by around ten meters since the staring match began. Given their body size, though, that amounted to little more than a single step.
Even so, there was almost no doubt now that both had begun devoting attention to retreat. If they would just back off without incident, that would be the simplest outcome possible.
“Big Sister. The air assets will reach attack range in a few minutes.”
“So we’re going to pursue them?”
It seemed <Iris> had chosen to launch a full assault the moment conditions allowed for maximum offensive output.
First, anti-magic-barrier missiles would be fired from the rear base. After accelerating to supersonic speed, they would reach the airspace over the battlefield in a matter of minutes.
At almost the same time, the smart shells descending on their fall trajectories would begin automatically controlling their drop points. Attitude-control fins would deploy, and each shell would execute its own course correction.
“They’re going to scatter cluster munitions from above at supersonic speed to blind them, then send the anti-magic-barrier missiles straight through. At the same time, the Jotuns will fire their main guns and follow up with pursuit fire.”
“It’d be nice if we could time laser illumination with it, but lasers and solid projectiles just don’t mix well.”
That was the problem with trying to concentrate energy weapons and physical munitions in the same strike. Normally, it was not something anyone needed to worry about—but as long as they were fighting threat organisms, that problem would keep coming back.
