Chapter 152: The Threat from the Sky
“Wheat Hill City has been successfully occupied by the ground forces dispatched from the outskirts of Furatara City, with little resistance encountered. The Play Knight Territory Village has been surrounded by the cargo aircraft airborne units, and the local lord’s surrender has been confirmed. Currently, the Aflarasia Royal Capital is executing a neutralization operation with descending forces. North End City is now under the aerial presence of Gigantia, Titan, Oceanus, and Coeus, which are conducting airborne drops. Within ten minutes, the follow-up cargo aircraft will also begin releasing airborne forces.”
The Paraiso military is launching a blitz invasion across various cities within the Afrasia United Kingdom, where relatively stable economic activities are still taking place. The operation is reported to be about sixty percent complete.
“I was a bit startled when the multi-legged tank was cut down. But, well, it’s within the expected range of damage,” Eve remarked.
“Yes, Ma’am. The destroyed multi-legged tank is currently being retrieved by the walkers. We are directing an Albatross to Jewelry Lake, located north of the Royal Capital, for air transport back for analysis.”
As Eve watched the real-time combat footage, she felt a rush of excitement when she saw a living human take down a multi-legged tank over ten meters in length with just a single sword. It seemed that in this world, one could indeed face off against colossal creatures with nothing but a blade.
Naturally, Asahi, who was watching alongside her through the Communication Window, was cheering with delight.
“Sister!! Can I, Asahi, also get a chance to analyze that? I want to directly communicate with the AI of that multi-legged tank and ask about that slash!”
“Calm down, Asahi. You’ll get your chance to participate. Besides, you’re the leader here. Can you settle down a bit?”
“Yayyy!!”
Thanks to RINGO adjusting the volume appropriately, the Commander’s eardrums were spared.
North End City is the northernmost city in the Afrasia United Kingdom. It serves as a pioneering base in the northern region of the country and, in a sense, is also a frontline city.
This city is engaged in daily battles against monsters.
However, monsters do not attack in waves. To the north of this city lies the vast North Wall Mountain Range, a colossal mountain range so extensive that even The Tree, lacking satellites, cannot confirm what lies beyond its peaks.
These mountains rise over 10,000 meters high.
At the foot of the North Wall Mountain Range, a vast forest is said to be home to numerous monsters. The residents of North End City only know the surface of this forest; no one knows what lies deeper within.
Even so, venturing into the Demon Forest’s surface is a life-threatening endeavor, but it can yield rewards that match the risks.
Thus, North End City has a culture that values strength above all else. Had this city been located in a more favorable position rather than in the rural outskirts of a backwater nation, it might have become the most successful city. However, in reality, it remains a remote area with little interaction with other countries.
If they could have focused a bit more on trade, perhaps they could have developed further. But the location was simply unfavorable.
North End City is a haven for adventurers. Adventurers delve into the Demon Forest, hunt monsters, and bring back their materials. Almost all food and resources are sourced from the forest’s bounty.
Those with strength battle formidable monsters and return with their prey. Those with wisdom dissect the monsters, gather plants, and utilize their materials for combat and daily life. Thanks to the many materials with mysterious properties derived from monsters, North End City has developed to a reasonable extent, maintaining a standard of living that is not burdensome.
Thus, while enjoying a certain kind of peace, the city was suddenly invaded by aggressors from the distant skies.
It appeared suddenly in the southern sky.
Something was floating in the air.
Before long, they realized that it completely covered the sky.
Naturally, panic ensued throughout the city. The threat of monsters was all too familiar and close at hand. Thus, it was perceived as a massive flying monster.
Adventurers, who regularly challenged the Demon Forest, could only think of fleeing in the face of such overwhelming size. After all, they had developed a habit of not challenging monsters they could not defeat, avoiding them, and fleeing immediately.
However, there was no place left to escape. Since the threat was coming from the south, fleeing in that direction was not an option. Typically, high-threat monsters emerge from the depths of the forest. No one would intentionally flee toward the direction from which the monsters approached.
Yet, heading north would lead them straight into the monsters’ lair.
Thus, the residents scattered in different directions, planning to regroup once the threat had passed, and this decision was about to be communicated to them.
At that moment, something began to rain down in large quantities from the enormous creature in the sky.
Of course, it was the multi-legged tanks, the main force of the Paraiso military. The multi-legged tanks descended, roaring with rocket motors, surrounding North End City. This meant that the residents’ escape routes were now blocked.
Still clinging to a glimmer of hope, the residents split into multiple groups and fled through various gates. Staying within the city would only lead to devastation. No one believed they could coexist with the monsters or that surrender would be effective; this was a miscalculation on the part of Paraiso.
Nevertheless, the actions of Paraiso would not change.
Once air superiority was secured and safety confirmed above, numerous cargo aircraft flew in from the southern sky. The cargo aircraft released the multi-legged tanks and a multitude of multi-legged assault machines from their bellies.
It was a perfectly executed encirclement, not even sparing a single ant.
The adventurers and residents who attempted to break through the encirclement were intimidated and halted, their threat level diminished before the Communicator Androids were deployed to urge surrender. While the Communicator Androids were manageable terminals for The Tree, they were structurally very fragile compared to multi-legged tanks and were not intended for frontline combat.
Currently, the task of eliminating remaining enemies and neutralizing threats fell to the multi-legged assault machines, which were about two meters long. With the large-scale deployment of aerial forces, the microwave power supply range expanded, allowing for precise power control over numerous allied targets, leading to their mass deployment in city conquests.
The Communicator Androids were user-friendly but expensive, and their Brain Units had low defensive capabilities, making them unsuitable for actual warfare.
Eventually, the adventurers and residents who had been neutralized began to realize that this invasion was not the work of monsters but rather some enemy force. However, understanding this did little to change their fate.
While it was not good news for Paraiso, reports of damage and destruction among the deployed multi-legged tanks and assault machines began to trickle in. It seemed there were indeed several adventurers with individual strength present.
However, the forces allocated for the conquest of North End City included 212 multi-legged tanks and 848 multi-legged assault machines. Additionally, aerial forces including Gigantia, Titan, Oceanus, and Coeus were circling above, with numerous drones being launched simultaneously. There were also several multi-legged tanks on standby in the air as reserve forces, so even if the adventurers managed to inflict some losses, the overall strength remained intact.
A group of Communicator Androids, escorted by multi-legged tanks, multi-legged assault machines, and anti-personnel drones, stepped into the walls of North End City. The group that had given up on escape was holed up in the lord’s mansion.
It was the role of the Communicator Androids to call for surrender to that group.
Eventually, the last of the resisting group was neutralized.
The Afrasia United Kingdom was completely incorporated under the influence of Paraiso.
Above North End City, a massive aerial fortress slowly circled.
“Emergency. Unknown object detected. The Gigantia combat group has transitioned to first-class combat readiness. Escort fighters, scramble for emergency launch. All combat aircraft are preparing for takeoff. Unknown object, 11 o’clock direction. Altitude 1,200 meters, ascending. Estimated length over 100 meters. Approaching at a speed exceeding 600 kilometers per hour toward the trajectory of the Second Ship, Oceanus.”