A total of 13 cannons could target Rain Croin. They fired almost simultaneously, and the launched cannon shells rushed towards Rain Croin.
“Impact confirmed.”
Controlling the firing interval to achieve simultaneous impacts of all 13 shells was a remarkable feat. The shells, arriving at a shallow angle, pierced the massive body of Rain Croin beneath the water’s surface.
Amidst the spray of water that rose tens of meters into the air, Rain Croin’s massive body also soared.
“Damage, unable to confirm.”
The footage from the moment of impact showed the armor-piercing shells simultaneously striking different locations. However, just like the first shot, a membrane of light and ripples appeared, completely blocking all the shells. Furthermore, some shells seemed to have hit at too shallow an angle, glancing off the surface and being deflected in random directions.
“…”
Commander (Eve) watched the footage in silence. ＜Ringo＞ continued its analysis, but no breakthrough was in sight. It was necessary to consider something from a different perspective than ＜Ringo＞.
“…I don’t want to think it can defend infinitely, but I wonder if that membrane will disappear if we keep shooting.”
That was a possibility. If it had the strength to defend against anti-ship shells infinitely, there would be no way to win, so it was a somewhat hopeful observation.
“Shells with more penetration than armor-piercing shells… Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot (APDS), or High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT). But since the opponent’s armor isn’t metal, the penetration effect might be limited…”
“Ma’am, the shell velocity at impact will be faster than the current armor-piercing shells. It’s worth trying. However, the range is only about 3km, so it won’t be possible immediately.”
“I see. Also, anti-ship missiles. The entry speed is Mach 3. But I can’t hit it while it’s underwater.”
In the footage, Rain Croin writhed and opened its large mouth. Water spray rose in front of its mouth.
“It’s roaring. Is this… a threat?”
“Is it angry?”
At that moment, the third shot hit. They must have calculated the impact point well. Rain Croin’s massive body jumped, flipped over, and landed on its back.
“No significant change due to the impact location. No matter where it hits, a light and ripple like a defense membrane appears.”
“Defense membrane… huh…”
Rain Croin turned its body around and submerged at once. The fourth shot was blocked by the vast amount of seawater and was hardly effective. And its massive body accelerated rapidly.
“Rain Croin, starting to move. It’s approaching us.”
“Damn, it noticed.”
After being shot at so many times, it seemed to know where the attack was coming from. It began to swim towards ＜The Tree＞ while submerged.
“Rain Croin, accelerating. Speed 10, 15, 20, 25, estimated to reach the absolute defense zone in 5 minutes.”
“This is bad. What about the Alpha-class?”
“Three ships have completed deployment.”
“What about torpedoes?”
“Only one ship is equipped.”
“Fire it.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
It wasn’t exactly expected, but the torpedoes loaded were high-speed torpedoes that utilized supercavitation. The maximum speed exceeded 800km/h, but there wouldn’t be enough time to accelerate to that speed. Still, it was the only weapon capable of countering an enemy underwater.
“Launch.”
Three high-speed torpedoes were launched in succession from the torpedo tubes aimed at the water surface, spewing rocket flames. The torpedoes plunged into the water and sped towards Rain Croin.
“Rain Croin, reaching 50km/h. Depth 50m, 3km remaining to the absolute defense zone.”
“…Please work.”
The torpedoes reached 300km/h and were still accelerating. Although not at maximum speed, it was fast enough.
“5 seconds to impact, 3, 2, 1, now.”
The first torpedo directly hit Rain Croin. The shaped charge in the warhead first ejected a metal jet, and immediately after, the regular warhead that penetrated exploded. The second and third torpedoes timed their explosions to coincide, detonating directly below Rain Croin. The resulting bubble pulse greatly shook Rain Croin’s massive body.
“Oh…”
A huge pillar of water rose, and Rain Croin’s body leaped out of the water.
“Impact.”
Furthermore, armor-piercing shells struck Rain Croin’s body, which had appeared on the water’s surface, one after another. It was the 150mm smoothbore cannon controlled by ＜Ringo＞. A total of 21 shells fired from the fortress cannon and the Alpha-class ships struck with a slight time difference.
“Damage, confirmed.”
“Oh!”
Footage analysis. No damage from the torpedoes was confirmed, but the defense membrane, which spread ripples due to the successive impacts of the shells, disappeared with the 10th shell. The 11th shell scraped off its scales. The 12th and 13th shells had bad angles, sliding off the scale surface and being deflected. Although the subsequent shells scraped the scales or slid off and were not effective hits, it was certain that they had broken through the mysterious defense membrane.
“Judging that continuous attacks are effective.”
“Full firepower!”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
The 21 150mm smoothbore cannons began rapid firing at a rate of 45 rounds per minute. More than 15 armor-piercing shells per second concentrated on Rain Croin’s massive body. And the scene was being observed in detail with telescopic imaging.
“Many direct hits. However, the strength of the body tissue is high, and no fatal damage has been inflicted. Also, the defense membrane seems to regenerate every few seconds.”
Rain Croin was being battered. It was almost an aerial combo, but the armor-piercing shells couldn’t penetrate its skin. Rain Croin leaned back and twisted its body. The rounded body shape also caused the shells to slide off, which was a problem.
“It’s tough…!”
“Switching the Alpha-class shells to APDS.”
Judging that it was not making progress, they stopped firing to switch the Alpha-class loaded shells from armor-piercing shells to APDS.
Taking advantage of the momentary decrease in the density of fire, Rain Croin slipped into the sea.
“Ah, damn.”
Instead of just running away, Rain Croin submerged at once and began swimming towards the Alpha-class 15th ship (Oscar).
“Oscar, increasing speed.”
The gas turbine engine roared, generating massive power. While consuming the supplied power, the in-motor screw kicked up the seawater.
“O-oh…”
It was a close call. Rain Croin grazed the stern of the Oscar, which had accelerated with such force that its bow was leaping out of the sea, and leaped out with its mouth wide open. Taking this opportunity, the fortress cannons pounded it, stripping off the defense membrane, and at the same time, the APDS shells from the Oscar’s stern cannon at close range were pounded in.
The shell fired from the muzzle split into four in mid-air. The sabot for acceleration inside the turret detached, and the sufficiently accelerated spear-shaped projectile pierced the surface of Rain Croin’s body. The impact velocity was 2,000m/s. It seemed that it had no resistance to an object colliding at this speed.
“The projectile is perforating Rain Croin’s body surface.”
“Yes!”
“The second shot was deflected by the defense membrane.”
“Why!”
After the battle began and hundreds of shells had directly hit, one finally became an effective hit. It was unknown how far the shell had penetrated, but it could be confirmed that a hole had been made in the body surface and blood was flowing out. However, its defensive power had not been lost. It was necessary to strip off the defense membrane and then pound in the APDS from close range.
“We can aim for the next one, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Measurement complete. No problem.”
However, even a strategy that required severe timing became just a task when ＜Ringo＞ was involved. The firing interval was immediately changed, and the Alpha-class ships fired APDS shells immediately after the fortress cannons neutralized the defense membrane.
Eight APDS shells were accurately and mercilessly pounded into Rain Croin’s body.
Compared to its massive body, they were small holes like being stabbed with needles. However, there were not many creatures that could remain calm after being stabbed with nine needles all over their body.
It was unknown whether Rain Croin had damaged any important organs, but it seemed to have panicked from the pain. It began to rampage wildly without any aim.
In proportion to the movement performance of its massive body, huge waves were generated.
The course of the three surrounding Alpha-class ships was disrupted, and some of the shells from the fortress were blocked by the waves.
“The encirclement is disrupted. We can’t contain it.”
It could break through. If it could break through the encirclement by the Alpha-class ships here, there was a possibility that it could escape. We wanted to finish off this monster here.
“…! ＜Ringo＞, charge!”
“Yes, Ma’am.”