Episode 252: Battlefield on the Lake
The excavating arms extending from the work vessel shattered the seabed with high-pressure water. Another arm sucked up the resulting sediment, sorted it by grain size, and fed it into a resource recovery machine.
In Yakari Port, now under ＜The Tree＞’s control, a large number of work machines were currently engaged in construction at an accelerated pace.
While excavating the bay to secure sufficient depth, they were also carrying out revetment work and building quays for docking.
The residents weren’t particularly tasked with anything, only prohibited from entering the construction site and the temporary base, and were otherwise told they were free to do as they pleased.
However, since their previous jobs were almost entirely gone, some kind of allowance was necessary.
With logistics at a standstill, only rations were being distributed.
In the short term, managing the port town; in the medium term, labor on farms. After that, it would be best to allocate them while observing the situation.
(No discrepancies have occurred in the progress chart. Error within ±3%. Within acceptable range.)
The O-class Strategic AI ＜Lotus＞, temporarily installed on the fourth Land Battleship ＜Jötunn＞, was conducting on-site command while receiving support from ＜The Tree＞.
After the ground facilities were completed, it would be installed there, but for now, it was being protected inside the Land Battleship.
(The emotional values of the local residents are also within acceptable range. The supply of luxury goods has caused the hostility value to decline.)
As expected from prior reconnaissance information, the people of the Prawa Theocracy were fundamentally oppressed and lacked tolerance for entertainment. It was assumed that they could be easily won over by providing entertainment.
(Impose labor obligations while providing entertainment moderately. For the time being, we are instructed to continue providing it from our side, but to make detailed decisions appropriately on-site… Difficult.)
Lotus pondered, sending instructions to the Doll Machines (Communicators) under its command.
◇◇◇◇
Several days had passed since trade caravans from the surrounding areas had ceased. Finally, the higher-ups noticed the abnormality, and the relay city ＜Ganey＞ began dispatching an investigation team.
But, of course, by that time, the encirclement by ＜The Tree＞’s forces was already complete.
What the investigation team discovered was a fortress-like, gigantic something occupying the roads leading to the east, south, and west.
Furthermore, enormous, spider-like Monsters were moving around the periphery.
From the information each brought back, Ganey concluded that it was surrounded by a gigantic something, probably Monsters. But even knowing that, there was nothing they could do.
There was no escape. The northern side was blocked by one of the largest lakes in the country, and the roads were blocked.
Because it was a large city, there were many Warrior Monks stationed there, but the number of Spider Monsters the investigation team reported was easily several times that number. Furthermore, three gigantic fortresses were looming.
The decision was made to defend while evacuating the residents to the lake behind them, and transport ships were gathered.
And ＜The Tree＞, which had been monitoring these movements, began its operation.
Heavy assault airships SG-1 ＜Gannet＞, which had taken off from Yakari Port, landed one after another on the lake. The residents who were boarding the ships to escape began to panic.
The Gannets were equipped with multiple ground-attack Cannons on their sides. They could be freely reconfigured, but this time, 18mm multi-barrel Cannons and 28mm automatic Cannons had been selected.
The 28mm automatic Cannons opened fire on the ships whose crewmen had begun to move to raise the sails.
The Grenades that were spat out struck the surface of the water, raising magnificent plumes of water. Screams arose, and several crewmen with tangled Legs fell from the ship’s edge.
In this way, ＜The Tree＞ blockaded Ganey’s port, completely encircling Ganey.
With their escape route blocked, Ganey’s dispatched High Priest made a decision.
To smash through one corner of the encirclement with all their forces and allow the residents to escape from there.
The change of plans was communicated, and the residents were led by the Warrior Monks to move.
They couldn’t prepare enough carriages for everyone to ride. In the first place, there weren’t enough horses.
The insufficient amount was made up for by some of the Warrior Monks pulling and running.
The adults who couldn’t ride walked. Together with the carriages and wagons packed with women, children, and as much luggage as they could load, they gathered in the East Gate square.
After confirming the flow up to that point, Erika communicated the final decision from within ＜The Tree＞.
The invasion by the Land Battleship and numerous Multi-legged Tanks began.
“The force ratio is 1:93. But, because the current force distribution is biased, it might be 1:5 locally~.”
“There’s plenty of margin, but is it dangerous?”
Eve frowned at Erika’s words.
If there was a fivefold difference in strength, there would be no problem, but compared to the overall figure of 93 times, it was somewhat unreliable.
“We’re moving forces too, so it’ll be 1:58 three minutes after contact~. But, the first minute is the key, I guess~.”
“I don’t know if it’s intentional or not, but since they’re moving with the residents, it’s difficult to crush them with Cannon fire…”
It would be fine to bombard them here without hesitation, but annihilating a large number of non-combatants would be too unsettling. The AIs understood Eve’s intentions, so they wouldn’t eliminate them without question.
“The decision to break through by force and let the residents escape.”
“It was assumed that there was a 60% or higher probability of selecting that decision if the lake side was blockaded.”
It was a merciful (or merciless) operational choice to deprive them of their ability to continue fighting and extinguish their spirit of resistance by concentrating their forces and crushing them in a single blow.
Eve had ultimately given the OK, so there was no point in complaining, but it was true that she felt sorry for them.
She only felt it, but she would still execute it.
“Starting the fishing~”
The Multi-legged Tanks began to move. The main Cannon was not fired because of the large amount of damage it would cause to the rear. Using the close-range arms, they struck the leading group of Warrior Monks.
“Whoa! I got blown away!!”
In the video, a Warrior Monk who moved at a frame-by-frame speed seemed to have kicked the torso of a Multi-legged Tank. The tank, which should have had a tremendous weight difference compared to a human, was blown away by a single kick.
The Multi-legged Tank, which had experienced tremendous acceleration, had its actuators damaged in various places. Although the central processing unit was safe, most of the moving parts were reporting some kind of abnormality and it was grounded.
“Ugh, as expected, there’s a tremendous force stationed there…”
However, it was expected. Large cities had a considerable number of powerful Warrior Monks stationed there. It seemed that some of them had been reassigned for the war of aggression, but even so, many were stationed in Ganey.
They displayed unparalleled strength in close combat.
Simply throwing Multi-legged Tanks at them would only result in them being destroyed one by one.
“Alright, alright, heave-ho.”
Utsugi was sending instructions to each unit. The pre-prepared action plan had already been sent, but she was modifying it to suit the situation.
The Multi-legged Tanks worked together, gradually peeling away Ganey’s forces. 13 Multi-legged Tanks had already been rendered inoperable. Twice as many, 27, had suffered damage to their Legs and other mobility impairments. Here, the attrition rate was skyrocketing.
“A little more~”
The Warrior Monks, probably called Soldados (Holy Soldiers), high-ranking Warrior Monks next to the priests.
They became the leading group, cutting through the swarming Multi-legged Tanks. The High Priest and two priests stood at the head of the evacuating residents, protecting them. Lower-ranking Warrior Monks fortified the perimeter, and they ran.
But the ordinary residents, who were civilians, were slower than the fighting Soldados (Holy Soldiers).
The cooperating Multi-legged Tank groups controlled the battlefield, gradually dividing them.
“Now~”
The Local Strategic AI made a situation assessment.
Probability of damage to non-combatants due to Cannon fire: zero.
The Multi-legged Tanks, which had driven their six Legs into the ground and were in a precision firing stance, fired their main Cannons all at once.
Armor-Piercing Shells, flying in from outside the field of vision at Mach 20, literally pulverized the group of Soldados (Holy Soldiers).
In one blow, 80% of Ganey’s military strength was annihilated.
In the video from each angle, the High Priest shouted something and jumped out.
It was convenient if he voluntarily distanced himself from the group of non-combatants.
The main Cannon of the Multi-legged Tank, which had aimed at the sprinting High Priest, fired an Armor-Piercing Shell again.
A flash.
The camera of the firing Multi-legged Tank and the High Priest’s gaze met.
The Cannon Shell, which should have traveled in a straight line, was deflected by the Machete that the High Priest had somehow drawn, and its trajectory was diverted.
In the telescopic image, the High Priest, who moved at a speed that the camera’s frame rate couldn’t keep up with, appeared at the feet of the Multi-legged Tank, which couldn’t move because its Legs were fixed.
And the next moment, the Multi-legged Tank had been sliced in two.
This is where the Prawa Theocracy shows its true colors.
I’m starting to lose track of the laws of physics here.