“We retreated last time, but I wonder what will happen this time.”
“They seem to have stopped moving…”
On the battlefield, where churned-up earth and rocks rained down, ＜The Tree＞’s units and the two ＜Fenrir＞s glared at each other.
Apparently, they were extremely wary after being injured again.
The Local Strategic AI also sensed this atmosphere and chose to take a cautious approach.
“It might be a stall! Look, they’re bleeding, but not much! Hmm, according to the analysis, the amount of bleeding is clearly decreasing!”
“Yeah… well, injuries don’t usually heal that easily…”
Through real-time video analysis, various stats were being quantified. Among them, Froz’s damage ratio was gradually decreasing.
According to the analysis, the injury to his left foreleg was recovering at an incredible rate.
The reason they stopped moving was perhaps to enhance this healing effect.
＜Iris＞ predicted that they were stalling for time while pretending to be cautious.
“However, the more time we take, the more advantageous the situation becomes for us. ＜Iris＞ seems to have decided to deploy air power.”
A means of inflicting damage on the ＜Fenrir＞s had been established. All that remained was to repeat it.
Therefore, they launched attack aircraft capable of firing barrier-penetrating missiles from the air, which would serve as the damage source.
Launching missiles from the base didn’t require worrying about inventory, but it was far from the battlefield, which restricted the timing of attacks.
By loading missiles onto attack aircraft and launching them in the air, the launch position and timing could be freely selected. Of course, the maneuverability of attack aircraft carrying huge missiles would be greatly reduced, so it couldn’t be done without securing airspace control.
“A flight squadron is launching from Ganey Fortress. The Gigantia-class aerial aircraft carrier ＜Eurytus＞ will head to the combat airspace as an aerial platform.”
“Titan-class aerial escort ships ＜Theia＞, ＜Leia＞, and ＜Themis＞ have begun changing course.”
“Escort fighters have begun launching from Eurytus!”
“Naglfar-class aircraft carrier ＜Mürkviðr＞ has also begun launching!”
“Hringhorni-class Battleship ＜Breiðablik＞… Main cannon aiming has begun… Smart warhead, cluster cannon shell selected… Seems like they’re going to fire a warning shot…”
The forces that had been waiting in reserve as reinforcements for the battle against the ＜Fenrir＞s were launching one after another.
Since Froz and Yarun had begun their feint attacks, it was judged that they recognized the ＜The Tree＞ forces as a threat.
Furthermore, Breiðablik was preparing to launch autonomous (smart) warheads from the sea, approximately 900km away. They wouldn’t be able to inflict fatal damage, but they would be used as a distraction or feint.
Smart warheads have the ability to change trajectory, and their rear rocket motors allow for range extension and increased speed during the final approach.
This time, cluster cannon shells were used, so final acceleration was unnecessary. Instead, the range could be extended. However, it would only be by a few kilometers at most.
Breiðablik’s main cannon was a triple-barreled multi-stage electromagnetic cannon (coil cannon), with a maximum range exceeding 1,000km.
Once Breiðablik completed its aiming, it began firing.
The 12 massive barrels of the four turrets fired smart warheads one after another, with the roar of a sonic boom. The firing interval for each barrel was approximately 5 seconds. Breiðablik alone could send 144 massive cannon shells per minute.
The initial velocity of the cannon shells was about 8,000 m/s, but the speed decreased due to air resistance. However, since the ballistic trajectory was at a height exceeding the stratosphere, air resistance was only encountered near the ground.
Also, it would take several tens of minutes for the shells to land. This was why they were fired before all the other attacks.
“Air units belonging to Eurytus are approaching the battlefield.”
“Froz and Yarun seem to have noticed the air units. We’ve detected them looking up at the sky.”
The two ＜Fenrir＞s seemed to have noticed the attack aircraft group that launched from Eurytus, which was closest to the scene, for some reason. Presumably, it was due to the emitted radar waves.
“Well, their injuries should be healed in a few more minutes… I wonder what they’ll do?”
“Do you think they’ve noticed the reinforcements?”
Even if they resumed the battle as it was, it would probably be a repeat of what happened before. There was a possibility that the Jötunn M series at the front lines would be destroyed again, but at worst, they could rotate the Jötunn from the rear. In the meantime, they could deploy barrier-penetrating missiles again.
Even if the ＜Fenrir＞s’ ability to respond improved somewhat, they could still fight on the same scale about three more times.
Furthermore, ＜The Tree＞ side could use the additional air power they had deployed.
If they layered additional attacks to coincide with the barrier destruction, they could expect additional damage.
“Froz’s posture has changed slightly. It’s highly likely they will retreat.”
Akane reported this while displaying the analysis video of Froz.
Since Froz’s center of gravity had shifted, there was no doubt that they were about to take some kind of action.
However, Eve couldn’t tell whether they were gathering strength before attacking, or trying to escape.
＜Iris＞ seemed to have judged that they might have lost their will to fight.
In the video, Yarun was growling lowly.
Perhaps she was complaining to Froz.
“It looks like we’re going to have a staring contest for a while.”
“The attack aircraft and transport aircraft… hmm, it’ll still take 50 minutes, huh?”
The distance from Ganey Fortress to the site was about 1,200km. Since the attack aircraft couldn’t fly at supersonic speeds, it would take about an hour to arrive. If they were just launching missiles, they could do it much sooner, so they could effectively enter the attack range in about 20 minutes.
Then there were the transport aircraft that had been sent in advance.
They had just started aerial refueling, so it would take about 20 minutes to complete everything.
From there, it would take another 20 minutes to reach the site.
Well, this staring contest would probably continue for several tens of minutes. Froz and Yarun would probably return to their fully healed state, but ＜The Tree＞ side would also complete its reinforcement.
If that happened, the battle would return to square one.
“Oh, it looks like the two of them are talking?”
“Oh, really? I wonder if they’ll retreat.”
Yarun, growling, glanced at Froz. While maintaining vigilance, they seemed to be trying to communicate something.
Yarun’s growling gradually subsided.
As time passed, both Froz and Yarun had retreated about 10m since the staring contest began. However, considering their size, it was only about a step back.
Even so, there was little doubt that the two were considering retreating. It would be easiest if they simply retreated without incident.
“Onee-sama. The air power will reach attack range in a few minutes.”
“I wonder if we should pursue them?”
＜Iris＞ seemed to have chosen to launch a full-scale attack when the situation was optimal for maximum damage.
First, barrier-penetrating missiles would be launched from the rear base. These could accelerate to supersonic speeds and reach the airspace above the battlefield in a few minutes.
Almost simultaneously, the smart cannon shell group, which had entered its descent trajectory, would begin automatically controlling its landing position. Attitude control fins would be deployed, and each cannon shell would make its own trajectory corrections.
“They’ll scatter cluster bombs from above at supersonic speed to create a distraction, then have the barrier-penetrating missiles break through. At the same time, they’ll fire the Jötunn’s main cannons and pursue them.”
“It would be nice if we could combine it with laser irradiation, but energy weapons don’t work well with kinetic weapons.”
This was about the fact that energy weapons and kinetic weapons couldn’t be used in concentrated operations. Normally, there would be no need to worry about such a thing, but as long as they were dealing with Threat Creatures, the problem would always be there.
From here on, it’s the air weapons’ turn.
Or so you’d think, but it starts with a naval bombardment. lol