“Hostile act detected.”
Drei=Ringo declared a state of emergency to ＜Ringo＞ and simultaneously took what he considered the optimal course of action within his permitted capabilities.
He switched his internal state from normal mode to combat mode. The consumption of internal battery power and various nutrients (fuel) increased dramatically, but his cognitive and physical abilities soared accordingly.
(Zwanzig, emergency. Siebenundzwanzig, emergency. Multi-legged Tank Bravo, emergency. Multi-legged Tank Charlie, emergency. Multi-legged Ground Carrier Alpha, emergency. Achtundzwanzig, wake up request.)
(Zwanzig, Roger.)
(Siebenundzwanzig, Roger.)
(Bravo, Combat Ready.)
(Charlie, Combat Ready.)
(Ground Carrier Alpha, Combat Ready. Achtundzwanzig, Start.)
He sent commands to the multi-legged tanks and the multi-legged ground carrier, which were too large to fit through the gate and were kept on standby.
At the same time as activating the various dormant devices, he transmitted combat maneuver commands to the microwave transmission system.
All this took a mere 0.3 seconds. The reply from ＜Ringo＞ would take a few more seconds, but there was no time to wait leisurely for it.
It was a shame that he had removed his auxiliary device (goggles), but with the level of civilization in this country (Afrasia United Kingdom), he would not be a particular threat even in his natural state.
He drew a combat knife with his left hand and a handgun with his right. He swung the knife at the soldier who was about to thrust his sword at him. The handgun was aimed at the leader.
“Wha-“
Lord Radaeri Furatara opened her mouth to say something, but he ignored it and pulled the trigger.
At the same time as the gunshot, he struck the knife against the side of the sword blade, shattering the bronze weapon, and then stepped forward, thrusting his clenched fist into the soldier’s throat.
“Gahhh!”
The bullet pierced the lord’s left shoulder, passing through. The lord screamed, and the soldier was blown away. Multiple events occurred simultaneously, and the Flattala City’s soldiers were thrown into confusion.
Amidst this chaos, Leon Degraaf, the leader of the delegation’s escort, calmly drew his cutlass from his waist. Knowing their combat capabilities, he had braced himself and acted the moment she (Drei) moved.
He slashed away the sword that was about to be thrust, and tackled the soldier whose body was swaying from the impact, hindering the movements of the other soldiers.
A command response was received from ＜Ringo＞ for Drei.
(Response instructions, 126, 45, 4800, 3362,…)
Unless it was a full control operation, the transmitted information was kept to a minimum, so the instructions were given in combinations of predetermined patterns.
The number of these was very large, and the combination patterns reached astronomical figures.
However, since it was necessary to make various judgments while combining information from the field, proper actions could not be taken unless a sufficiently experienced Brain Unit was used as a terminal.
And the command that was sent was…
“＜Paraiso＞ will seize this town.”
＜The Tree＞ (Drei=Ringo) declared, pointing the tip of the knife at Lord Radaeri Furatara’s right eye as he climbed over the table.
“Resistance is futile. Surrender immediately.”
The multi-legged ground carrier (Alpha), having received the command, launched the anti-personnel attack drones that had been on scramble standby using catapults.
The drones flew at 250 km/h, reaching the airspace above the Flattala City’s lord’s mansion in 5 seconds. They decelerated rapidly using the deployed six propellers, directly confirming the target. Subsequently, the launched ground attack drones began to circle the same trajectory.
One minute after receiving the suppression order, the deployment of two anti-personnel attack drones, one ground attack drone, and one anti-air attack drone was completed.
Immediately after that, Number 28 (Achtundzwanzig), who had been waiting in sleep mode, was activated. She was also given instructions, and immediately donned her equipment and jumped out of the vehicle.
The side of the ground carrier slowly unfolded, lowering a ramp to the ground. The two multi-legged attack vehicles that had been waiting raced down using their wheels.
Achtundzwanzig, who had exited from the ceiling side, jumped on them and began to accelerate towards Flattala City.
The multi-legged tanks took even more direct action after receiving the command.
The second unit (Charlie) began running towards Flattala City on its wheels, while the first unit (Bravo) aimed its main cannon (railgun) at Flattala City.
Plasma emission.
Along with a high-pitched sound, an armor-piercing shell was fired from the barrel (rail) at 5,000 m/s, flying through the air in an almost straight line.
The target was the clock tower located in the lord’s mansion. The brick-built tower had no way to resist the shell that struck it at 5,000 m/s.
The supports and outer walls were shattered into pieces, and the clock tower, split in two, slowly began to collapse.
“Guuu… you…”
“We have the power of life and death. Disarm immediately.”
Drei began to move slowly, keeping the knife pointed at the lord’s eye. With their master taken hostage, the soldiers could not move. The six of them who had rushed into the room stood frozen, unable to do anything, with their swords drawn.
At that moment, the armor-piercing shell pierced the clock tower.
The resulting roar and vibration. The soldiers fell to the floor from the sheer impact, and Leon hurriedly clung to the back of the sofa.
The only one who was not shaken by this was Drei, who had known about it in advance.
Drei, who had moved behind him, whispered to him as he once again pressed the combat knife against his neck.
“Look to your right.”
“…!”
At the end of the lord’s gaze. Outside the window overlooking Flattala City, the collapsing clock tower was slowly falling. Following the sound of crumbling rubble, the unintentionally shaken bell rang out.
A few seconds later, the clock section slammed into the ground, and an especially loud bell sound covered the city.
“That was an attack from us. We can inflict that attack on any place we like in this city as many times as we like. Do you understand the meaning?”
After a pause, Drei announced again.
“Resistance is futile. Surrender immediately.”
And this was the first strike of ＜The Tree’s＞ first military invasion in this world.
◇◇◇◇
“Hmm… well, this can’t be helped…”
The lord’s unilateral declaration of attack and the counterattack by the Doll Machine (Communicator). When the icon suddenly turned into a hostile force (red), I wondered what to do, but after the lord’s mansion was quickly seized, there was no major confusion, and Flattala City surrendered safely. Well, it’s unclear if it was safe or not.
In the end, the ground carrier, which could not pass through the gate, broke through the East Gate and entered the city.
Naturally, the citizens who witnessed this began to flee in a panic, but it seemed to have worked out because it headed straight for the lord’s mansion, and the commotion quickly subsided.
Honestly, this was an unexpected event in a good way, and I had expected a riot or rampage by the citizens to begin. It settled down without incident, saving unnecessary effort, which was helpful.
After that, the ground carrier pulled up alongside the lord’s mansion and threw the lord, who had been seriously injured by a bullet in the shoulder, into the medical pod.
That also caused a bit of a commotion, but that’s just a side note.
It was about suppressing the clamoring soldiers with four Doll Machines (Communicators) and drones. Everyone became obedient.
With proper treatment, it would take about a month to fully recover. With intensive care in the medical pod, it would take about a week to fully recover from the gunshot wound. The shoulder blade was not shattered by the full metal jacket bullet fired at close range, and only a hole was made.
It was desirable for the lord to survive for the sake of future governance.
The next morning, the multi-legged heavy machines and multi-legged tanks were airdropped. Since the rocket motors for reverse thrust had not yet been developed, it was a parachute drop.
The sight of the steel Monster descending from the sky terrified the citizens, or so it seemed. The news of the lord’s Mansion falling had spread as a rumor overnight, but most citizens only truly grasped it at the moment of this aerial descent.
“We have successfully disarmed Flattala City. I believe we have eliminated the immediate threat.”
“I see… I didn’t expect it to come to a military invasion, though… Perhaps we should rethink our strategy…”
Well, even though I had anticipated it, seizing Flattala City was far from the original plan. It’s a worst-case scenario, you could say. Although it’s mostly cut off now, this city originally thrived as a hub for distribution. There’s no telling when trade might resume.
If it’s discovered that a mysterious armed group (＜The Tree＞) occupies the town at that time, it could become troublesome.
“We will continue the blockade for the time being. Nothing will happen immediately, but we need to solidify our policy within a few months.”
“There’s also the contact with Forest Country (Lebresta)… Well, I guess we can just think of it as lucky that a trading base has been established…”