“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
The Little Owl, ignited by jet fuel, exploded in a massive blast, scattering fragments all around.
“Unidentified flying object detected. Estimated to be a high-speed projectile.”
“Onee-sama! Those guys have ranged weapons!”
The flock of peacock-like birds watched the Little Owl explode, then turned in unison. They began to fly horizontally towards the next Little Owl.
“Prioritize information gathering. ＜Scout A2＞, initiate radar emission.”
A new threat had appeared on the way to ＜Trout Nursery＞. To bring back even a little information about it, one unit knowingly began emitting radar waves, while the other two prepared to collect the reflected waves.
However, the moment the radar waves were emitted, the flock of birds in front of them drastically changed shape. With a smooth motion, as if they were a single organism, they escaped the irradiation range.
The peacock flock, now in the shape of a distorted donut, approached ＜Scout A2＞.
“Initiating wide-area radar irradiation.”
“Is it standard for flying monsters to be able to sense microwaves!?”
Since information gathering via microwaves was unsuccessful, ＜Scout A2＞ switched from irradiation mode to diffusion mode. Unlike normal radar, this function simply scattered microwaves over a wide area.
It was not a necessary function for practical radar use, but it proved useful that such a mode had been prepared for information gathering.
“Engaging.”
Then, as the distance between the peacock flock and ＜Scout A2＞ closed to within 500 meters, a yellow light flashed again.
“Successful capture. High-temperature projectile. High penetration.”
A sphere of orange light, emitted from the vicinity of the peacocks’ heads, pierced the Little Owl’s fuselage as a single beam. The Little Owl, pierced by numerous beams, ignited its jet fuel and exploded. The high-speed camera captured the scene in detail.
“It’s like the high-temperature, high-speed fire projectiles that ＜Fenrir＞ was shooting out before!”
“Is that a common means of attack, I wonder…”
Does this mean that there are certain rules to the phenomenon of ＜magic＞, which I don’t really understand?
Well, that in itself was expected, given that multiple species of Threat Creatures possessed defensive measures like magic barriers. To varying degrees, reproduction is possible.
“Ma’am. Analysis of the internal sensor information confirms that a high-temperature projectile pierced the aircraft. Estimated flight speed is Mach 2 to 3. Excellent penetration.”
“It doesn’t explode, huh? But it seems to have a pretty good hit rate…”
＜Scout A2＞ wasn’t exactly flying straight ahead like a fool. Although it wasn’t performing any drastic maneuvers for the purpose of gathering information, it was making some course corrections. In other words, those peacocks are doing accurate deflection shooting.
“Onee-sama. Detecting another flock.”
And then, the situation worsened.
Perhaps noticing the commotion in the air, two more flocks of the same species took off from the forest.
“I guess we can’t outrun them…”
Accelerating rapidly from below, the flocks approached ＜Scout＞. And as the yellow flash blinked, the video stopped.
“＜Scout A＞, all units have lost signal. Presumed shot down.”
“…Just how many of those peacocks are there…?”
The ＜Scout A＞ units captured a total of three peacock flocks. Their total number is at least 500. Since it is unlikely that they only inhabit a specific area, it is expected that many flocks of this size exist in the surrounding area.
In other words, entering from the sky would require breaking through a flock of peacocks ascending at subsonic speeds. Reconnaissance alone could be accomplished by flying at supersonic speeds, but airlifting an invasion force would be virtually impossible.
“Looks like the sky is a no-go after all. I guess we’ll have to steadily carve out a path on the ground.”
“A Titan-class might be able to handle it, but that would increase the likelihood of other Threat Creatures being attracted.”
A Titan-class, resembling a giant porcupine, might be able to defend against that flock. However, doing so would mean advancing the conspicuous Titan and its escort to the front lines.
In the worst-case scenario, we might face the nightmare of multiple ＜Wyverns＞ attacking.
“Radar lockdown would cause various problems, so we’ll have to take our time with this!”
“Yeah. If we rush and attract something dangerous, it won’t be a joke.”
Burning down the forest with napalm or thermobaric warheads was also a possibility, but of course, it would be a very conspicuous act. Considering the possibility of Threat Creatures like Fenrir, which could only be driven away with all our might, attacking, it was not an easy option to take.
We don’t have enough strength to pick a fight in all directions and win.
“Were these guys in Amadio-san’s records?”
“The closest match would be the monsters tagged as ＜Peacock＞. Aerial encounter records. Not found on the ground.”
“Continue investigating their habitat. But for now, we’ll have to make a road. This is going to be a long haul.”
A few days after that incident, a quadrupedal, bipedal automatic machine, a ＜Jumper＞, was moving through the Demon Forest.
Numerous Jumpers had been dispatched for ground reconnaissance.
The ＜Jumper＞ is a small machine about 2 meters in length. It is equipped with four legs for movement and two manipulators.
It does not have a control AI installed in itself, and is intended to be operated by radio waves from the rear.
Currently, a ＜Backpacker＞ carrying a control AI enclosure is waiting about 1 km behind.
Since control is via radio waves and power is supplied by microwaves, it is in a state where it could be attacked by Threat Creatures at any moment.
To disguise its position, another machine with a transmitter is sent ahead via wired connection, concealing the AI enclosure, which is the heart of the operation, in the rear.
“Onee-chan! I knew there was something around us!”
“It feels like we’re being followed all the time.”
Utsugi and Erika, who were controlling the Jumpers and Backpacker group sent to the front lines as reconnaissance units, shook their heads unhappily.
Apparently, even if they can’t see them, they can tell that something is gathering around them.
“The fact that they’re actively approaching suggests that they’re likely to be belligerent monsters.”
Asahi said, helping with the data analysis. Information about the monsters living in the Demon Forest is being collected from various places.
Currently, there is very little information about the monsters. Moreover, most of it is from the northern part of the Afrasia United Duchy, which is nearly 3,000 km away. The ecosystems are likely to be different.
“They’re camouflaged in the vegetation, and they’re moving too fast to be captured by the cameras. They must be moving through the trees. In that case, the most likely candidates are primates. Or mammals specialized for arboreal life. Reptiles are also a possibility!”
“In any case, it means we don’t know anything…”
The multiple sensors installed in the Jumpers clearly detect something moving. It’s mainly sound waves, but occasionally, unnaturally swaying branches also reinforce this.
But even with that much information, the Jumpers’ visual sensors don’t capture the creature at all.
“Are they highly camouflaged…?”
“If it’s active camouflage, depending on the performance, it’s possible to deceive the Jumper’s sensors.”
It would be unnatural if they didn’t show themselves at all. But it’s abnormal that they can’t be captured on video at all, even though it’s clear that they’re moving.
However.
“With this much foliage, you can’t see what you can see.”
That’s right.
There is a large amount of vegetation in this area, making it difficult to see even a few meters ahead. Still, the ground is somewhat open, probably because sunlight has a hard time reaching it.
“It’s hard to catch them when they’re moving through the trees.”
The Jumpers have high off-road capability. But even so, they don’t have the mobility to move freely through the trees. It wouldn’t be good to unnecessarily provoke the estimated monsters that are only being monitored.
“For the time being, we’ll let them proceed as is. Mapping is in progress.”
And so, the Jumpers continued their reconnaissance, ignoring the presence around them.
It’s like a stage gimmick. The sky is covered.
If you break through by force, a raid boss-like guy will come crashing in. I don’t know, though.
Fuhehe… I’m going to have the teacher draw a picture for me from now on…