Chapter 67: The Birth of the Multi-legged Airborne Unit
High above, at an altitude of 10,000 meters, six Flying Boats soared through the sky. Accompanied by escorting Flying Boats on either side, she slowly opened the rear hatch.
As the door swung wide, a small parachute burst forth from the opening. Attached to it was a five-meter-long cylinder, released into the air. The cylinder, succumbing to gravity, began its descent.
Another Flying Boat followed suit, releasing an identical cylinder.
Once sufficiently distanced from the Flying Boats, the cylinder detonated its explosive bolts, purging its exterior. What emerged was a Bunker Buster, which began its free fall while deploying stabilizing wings. It adjusted its entry trajectory, spinning gently as it descended.
Ten seconds after the drop commenced, once the entry trajectory was confirmed, the rear rocket motor ignited. The rocket burned for approximately ten seconds, accelerating to the necessary speed for impact.
The two Bunker Busters struck their intended targets with pinpoint accuracy. The high-strength warheads designed to penetrate hard targets broke through the rocky layers, reaching the required depth.
And then—an explosion.
The shockwave generated blasted the subterranean enemies away, exposing them to the surface.
◇◇◇◇
It lay there, its sensory organs mostly destroyed, curled up in the earth.
It had spotted moving prey and attacked as usual, but it had managed to escape. Furthermore, it had been struck in a way it could not comprehend, losing a part of its body in the process.
Instinctively, it withdrew, holding its breath in the hole it had dug.
It assessed that the damage to its body was not critical. It would likely regenerate after some time. However, it lamented the loss of flesh. It needed to find a way to compensate for the missing parts. There was plenty of “food” in the area, so moving was not an issue, but it still required “meals” necessary for growth. Though it could not move due to the severe damage, once it healed, it would return to its usual—
Something pierced nearby.
The moment it heard that sound, it instinctively tensed up—
◇◇◇◇
“The Bunker Buster has detonated at the set depth successfully.”
“Wow.”
On the projection display, the ground erupted as if being peeled away.
“What incredible power! I wonder if the Worm has been pulverized?”
“Analyzing the footage… Confirmed. A body presumed to be the Worm is exposed on the surface. No activity has been detected so far. It may just be unconscious.”
Amidst the rising dust, the analyzed body of the Worm was displayed in a wireframe model. The plan to synchronize the detonation of the two Bunker Busters underground, attacking with shockwaves while pushing the target upward, had worked as calculated. However, it was unexpected that the Worm’s body showed no significant damage as it emerged from the ground.
“Based on the durability observed during the railgun attack, I calculated the Worm’s resilience, but it seems to have been tougher than anticipated. We should have been able to impart sufficient shock.”
“Indeed. According to calculations, there was a high likelihood of it being fragmented.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Depending on the location, the shock from the railgun’s armor-piercing shells could exceed that of the Bunker Busters, so we anticipated a high chance of tissue rupture due to pressure differences.”
The shockwaves generated by the two explosions reached the target Worm with a slight delay due to the layering of surrounding geological strata. The pressure difference was supposed to inflict damage.
As the dust settled, the epicenter appeared on the screen.
“What a sight…”
There, a massive crater had formed, and the Worm’s body was partially buried in the debris.
“Thank goodness the road wasn’t damaged.”
“Depending on the Worm’s position, there could have been damage to the road. However, with this level of impact, repairs can be made quickly, so it’s not a problem.”
RINGO noted this because the road was merely a simple path marked by wheel ruts. It was a route regularly used by merchant caravans, and as long as it was filled in, it would return to normal. Indeed, with a few heavy machines from The Tree, the road could be restored in less than half a day.
“Is that so? Well, I’d still prefer to fill in this crater if possible. It’s close to the road, and it would be troublesome if water collects there.”
“Yes, Ma’am. Understood.”
“Thank you. …So, the Worm isn’t moving.”
The Worm’s body, buried in the crater, showed no signs of movement, leaving its condition uncertain. Given the shock that created the crater, one would assume that even with tough outer skin, its insides must be in a terrible state. However, if it had undergone structural reinforcement akin to the Rain Croin, it might have survived unscathed.
“Hmm… For now, let’s deploy a Helicopter for transport. We’ll need to dismantle it and level the area, so we’ll need to bring in heavy machinery as well.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll arrange it. We’ll drop the heavy machinery via the SR-1 Albatross. For recovery… well, there seems to be a nearby lake, so we can use that.”
“Oh, since it’s a Flying Boat, it can land on the lake too.”
Thus, preparations for various heavy machinery and Helicopters were underway. Meanwhile, they continued to monitor the Worm, but ultimately, no activity was detected.
“Commencing the drop of the Multi-legged Tank.”
From the rear hatch of the Albatross, parachutes deployed, dragging the connected Multi-legged Tank out into the air. As it began its descent under the force of gravity, multiple parachutes opened to absorb the weight.
“Oh, what a spectacle!”
“This was also conducted to gather intelligence for future airborne units. However, the parachute descent takes time. If the enemy has sufficient anti-air weaponry, there’s a risk of interception.”
Commander Eve watched the descending multi-legged machines with innocent excitement, but RINGO seemed less pleased.
“I’m not entirely sure, but isn’t this something you typically do after securing air superiority?”
“Yes, Ma’am. However, if we are considering deploying tanks via airborne drop, it implies that the enemy’s position is fortified enough to necessitate such measures. If we had already suppressed the anti-air positions, deploying drones would suffice.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
“Yes, Ma’am. While I may lack expertise in tactics, there could be gaps in my understanding… It would be better for airborne units to decelerate forcibly using rocket motors after free-fall or accelerated descent. The parachute design is quite simple, so if it’s sufficient, we could manufacture new ones in time.”
As the concepts for The Tree’s airborne mechanical units were being developed, the Multi-legged Tanks and heavy machinery continued to land one after another. The greatest advantage of multi-legged machines was their ability to operate easily on uneven terrain. During landing, they could absorb the impact with their own legs. The downside was that they needed to support their weight on their feet, making them prone to sinking. However, this could be resolved by actively burying their feet into the ground, increasing the contact area.
The landed multi-legged machines began to walk toward the crater where the Worm was buried, while reeling in their parachutes.
“Make sure to recover the parachutes.”
“Yes, Ma’am. This is to minimize the leakage of technical information. While they are not reusable…”
“Hmm. Well… I suppose. Those who know what to look for might deduce the airborne capabilities from the parachute design…”
Given the structure of the parachutes, there was indeed a possibility that someone could realize that large objects could be safely delivered to the ground from the air. While the likelihood of such information leaking in this region was almost nonexistent, it was essential to maintain thoroughness in such matters.
“Arrived at the crater. No response detected from motion sensors. The Worm remains completely silent.”
“Well then… If we don’t know, we’ll have to dig. Proceed with caution while excavating. What about defensive measures?”
“The deployment of the Multi-legged Tank has been completed. Should anything happen, we can respond immediately. …Checking infrared imagery. As expected, the Worm’s body temperature closely matches the ground temperature. It cannot be detected by infrared sensors.”
There were many unknowns regarding the Worm, but it was clear that precise vibration detection would be necessary to detect the approach of this monster. Outside of areas believed to be inhabited by the Worm, the only option would be to keep Wide-area Surveillance Drones patrolling constantly.
“I’d rather not draw too much attention…”
“Ma’am, at this point, with the multi-legged units deployed, it would be better to accept that.”
RINGO thought that Commander Eve might need a little adjustment in her sense of reality.