“I’m glad we made it in time…”
Creios, the fourth ship in the Aerial Escort Ship (Titan) series.
This giant warship, which was undergoing final outfitting, was somehow made ready with only the bare minimum of equipment and dispatched to the skies above the Forest Country (Lebresta).
“Altitude 812m, ground speed 496km/h. Approaching stall speed. Recommend increasing speed or gaining altitude.”
“After releasing the Multi-legged Tanks (Hopper), increase speed and take out that Mountain Boar or whatever it’s called.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Currently, three Gigantia and Titan series ships are also in the air.
However, due to the large amount of cargo, they cannot reduce their speed, and they cannot fly too low due to the impact on the ground.
In addition, allowing the main combat force to enter the airspace of other countries was also frowned upon, and the Gigantia Squad is, in the first place, the guardian of the Afrasia United Kingdom’s skies.
Leaving their posts was something I wanted to avoid if possible.
Therefore, the fourth ship, which seemed like it could be ready in time if we worked hard, was hastily prepared.
By minimizing the amount of cargo and reducing the weight of the ship, relatively low-speed flight has been achieved.
Of course, it was also possible to dispatch ordinary fighter and transport aircraft units.
But that was more in the realm of hobby and romance.
“Releasing four Hoppers. Engine output increasing, acceleration started.”
U-class Tactical AI ＜Wedelia Four＞, installed in Creios. Commonly known as Creios.
The tactical data transmitted from Creios updates the monitor display one after another.
“Any concerns?”
“Report from Creios: Target, Mountain Boar’s durability performance is unknown. Damage estimate to the surrounding area is impossible. Anti-air attack capability unknown.”
“There’s so much we don’t know. Well, I guess that can’t be helped. The tactical objective is to repel or defeat it. I want to believe it doesn’t have anti-air attack capabilities, but first, let’s observe. We have no choice but to fire Cannon Shells and observe.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
◇◇◇◇
A giant monster advancing while blowing away everything in its path.
The Mountain Boar, a legendary monster living in the world of fairy tales.
According to the defense officer of the frontier village of Lalan, there have been no sightings of it until now, and it only appears in bedtime stories that have been passed down.
In that case, there is some doubt as to whether this is really a species called Mountain Boar.
However, it is hard to believe that there are many monsters with a body length of 40m and a height of 25m. Or rather, I don’t want to imagine it.
Therefore, it was decided that this type of monster would be called a Mountain Boar.
Fortunately, only this one Mountain Boar has been observed.
It seems that this type of monster is not swarming in the depths of the Demon Forest.
However, for a country inhabited by people, a monster of this size is certainly unnecessary.
It would be nice if it would return to the depths of the forest, but at least, that will be impossible until the Wyverns calm down.
In that case, it is desirable to defeat it on the spot.
＜Wedelia Four＞, Creios, aligned the Multi-Stage Electromagnetic Cannon (Coil Cannon) installed on its ventral side with the center of the giant body.
Fire.
The Cannon Shell, fired at 5,000 m/s, travels the distance of 4 km in less than a second.
Impact.
The impact of the Cannon Shell caused the Mountain Boar’s giant body to fly into the air.
Well, that in itself is abnormal.
When a Cannon Shell traveling at Mach 12 or more collides with an object that follows the normal laws of physics, it does not react by being blown away.
At best, it penetrates, and usually, it explodes due to the impact generated.
As a result of image analysis, it was confirmed that the Mountain Boar was naturally generating a Magic Barrier.
The Cannon Shell shattered upon impact, and the kinetic energy was converted into thermal energy and evaporated.
Then, the impact that could not be completely dispersed blew the Mountain Boar away.
However, we already have experience in dealing with Magic Barriers many times.
Saturate the Barrier with missiles and Railguns to render it ineffective, and then slam a Coil Cannon Cannon Shell into it.
Creios calculated the impact times of each attack and immediately put it into action.
Missiles are launched one after another from the vertical launch system on the Creios’ main body.
The vertical launch system has 10 doors on the back and 2 doors on the belly. It was quite a spectacular sight.
Then, using the time it took for the missiles to accelerate sufficiently, Creios tilted its hull.
This is to point the two Multi-Stage Electromagnetic Cannons (Coil Cannons) installed on the back towards the ground.
Creios begins a circling flight centered on the Mountain Boar.
There are also 12 Multi-barrel Railguns installed on the back. These cannons will strip away the Magic Barrier.
From previous analysis, the physical (?) characteristics of the Magic Barrier have been clarified.
While it is in effect, it basically cuts off all physical impact. It is speculated that it distributes the input force throughout the body and does not allow the effect to penetrate inside.
If the external force is less than its own weight, there is almost no effect.
If more force is applied, it moves in the direction of that force. In other words, it is blown away by the impact of the Cannon Shell.
Then, when a certain amount of external force continues to be applied, it suddenly disappears.
After disappearing, the Barrier is revived after a certain period of time.
It is not certain how much external force is required to make it disappear or how long it takes to revive due to the small number of samples, but since it basically exhibits the same performance for each individual, it is predicted that it is determined by the size of the body or the size of the Magic Stone inside the body.
At least, it does not seem to be affected by the presence or absence of injuries, condition, or consciousness.
The 12 Railguns spewed out plasma flames all at once. At the same time, surface-to-surface missiles poured down from the sky.
The target is a monster with its feet on the ground. No irregular movement will occur.
All attacks landed at the calculated timing.
The Mountain Boar is blown away, and the Coil Cannon Cannon Shell impacts its giant body.
However, it cannot penetrate.
The Magic Barrier itself was confirmed to be neutralized. However, despite the direct hit of the Cannon Shell, it was unable to penetrate its fur.
Simple calculation shows that one Coil Cannon Cannon Shell is much more powerful than the amount of work done on the Magic Barrier in the previous stage.
Creios updates the tactical data and changes the target.
It is difficult to defeat it with Creios alone.
If so, it is necessary to change the target’s direction of travel.
In short, we just have to prevent it from getting closer to the Forest Country (Lebresta).
The Mountain Boar seems to be dizzy from the series of attacks.
It is not moving, having knocked down trees and turned over.
Since there are reactions such as breathing, it seems that it is only unconscious.
Even in this state, the Magic Barrier is functioning, and since the main body itself is so sturdy, there is not much point in pursuing it.
However, for the time being, it has been stopped.
After this, if it regains consciousness, will it obediently return to its original location?
Alternatively, we could consider requesting an attack from the Gigantia Squad or a fighter squadron.
However, it has not been scratched despite being directly hit by a Coil Cannon. Are there any effective means of attack?
Strip away the Magic Barrier and bombard it with a large number of attacks. Even if it doesn’t penetrate the skin, damage can be inflicted by permeating the impact into the body.
Or, should we try to scorch it with a thermite warhead that uses a thermite reaction to generate ultra-high temperatures?
However, combustion reactions have a time lag, and if fired at high speed, they will self-ignite due to aerodynamic heating, making them difficult to handle.
In the first place, Creios does not carry thermite warheads.
What should be tried is the Maser Cannon.
By emitting high-output microwaves, the irradiation point can be superheated.
However, in the investigation of the corpse of ＜Rain Croin＞ that was recovered earlier, it was confirmed that in addition to physical durability, it also had extremely high heat resistance.
Basically, it has been found that this type of monster has extremely high physical strength and exhibits very high resistance to physical damage and denaturation.
In other words, cell damage due to pressure is unlikely to occur, and tissue denaturation due to heating or chemical reactions does not occur either.
Fortunately, the target is currently silent.
If it was dizzy from the impact of the Cannon Shell, then at least it was possible to inflict that much impact on the opponent.
By firing every time it wakes up, it may be possible to make it give up on advancing further south.