“Target, Tefen has begun moving towards the oil field. It has already been two hours since it started moving, but there are no signs of changing course.”
“Ugh… so it’s coming this way…”
It wasn’t an emergency, but ＜Ringo＞ decided to inform Commander (Eve) as soon as she woke up, as it was a situation that should be reported, though she felt bad about it.
“Yes, Ma’am. At this speed, it will reach our defense perimeter in approximately 12 hours. We are currently preparing aircraft at Fortress Two for sortie. The concern is the lack of readily available air power due to the unfinished runway at the Oil Port. It was fortunate that the drone base was completed in time.”
According to the map information displayed by ＜Ringo＞, Tefen’s moving speed is about 10km per hour. Considering its massive size, it’s moving at a strolling pace.
Well, moving that huge body requires a considerable amount of energy. This might be its cruising speed.
And the defense perimeter of the oil field is set to a radius of 5km. It’s a vast area, so it’s basically maintained by constant monitoring with stationary sensors and patrols by reconnaissance aircraft.
Patrols by Multi-legged Tanks and Multi-legged Reconnaissance Vehicles are also being conducted, so surveillance can be said to be in perfect condition.
However, this also means that the defense forces are dispersed, so we are in the process of expanding our immediate response capabilities.
In particular, if we can maintain air power, the burden on Fortress Two will be reduced, so we have been working day and night on construction, but we didn’t make it in time for this.
“Since the purpose is unknown, we can only respond by gathering our forces.”
“I see. We could have equipped the aircraft with bombs, right? Is it ready?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We can do it with conventional explosives immediately. However, the damage radius is small, so precise dropping is required. It might be better to launch missiles equipped with Fuel-Air Explosives from Fortress Two.”
“I see. The threat level of ＜Serket＞ is also unknown. If it has anti-air capabilities, there’s a possibility that our main propeller aircraft could be shot down…”
The speed of a propeller fighter is at most 500km per hour. The opponent is a living creature, and we have not obtained any information about Monsters with anti-air capabilities so far.
However, in the first place, we have never seen air power in this Northern Continent, and we have not been able to confirm any creatures like flying Monsters.
Therefore, it is impossible to determine whether this ＜Serket＞ has anti-air capabilities.
“At least, the Forest Country (Lebresta) has the power to attack 20km above the sky. So, the concept of anti-air attack exists. And, it is too optimistic to think that a giant Monster cannot attack an airplane flying 1,000m above the sky.”
“Yes, Ma’am. If it comes to a battle, we will have no choice but to conduct a forced reconnaissance.”
“Okay. I’ll allow for losses. I think we can handle a threat like ＜Rain Croin＞ now… but set the allowable loss line appropriately. If it exceeds the line, retreat immediately, okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Understood.”
Tefen walks, but it is surprisingly quiet compared to its huge body, and not much sand dust is generated. It moves smoothly, skillfully moving its eight legs without dragging its body.
However, now that Tefen is actually moving, a huge amount of sand dust was being generated. This is due to the influence of the small Scorpions that follow it.
Six hours have passed since Tefen started moving. The number of small Scorpions following it has risen to 50.
The movement of these Scorpions was generating a large amount of sand dust.
The fact that the current moving route is clayey rather than sandy is also a major factor.
“The Scorpion swarm centered on Tefen is still moving towards the oil field. Fortunately, there is no movement on Mestet’s side. If both had moved at the same time, we might not have been able to cope.”
“I see… but what are they really? With a swarm of this size, are they really planning to invade…”
“It may simply be a movement of hunting grounds, but we have no material to speculate.”
“That’s troublesome. Well, maybe it can’t be helped because we were the ones who started the invasion first.”
However, the existence of such a large Threat Creature in the desert was unexpected.
After all, there are too many things we don’t know about this world.
If we can secure oil, the resource situation will be much calmer. We should seriously settle down and work hard to collect information.
“About this ＜Serket＞, couldn’t we get any information from the ambassador of the Forest Country (Lebresta)?”
“Yes, Ma’am. There is no information about giant Scorpions. Whether they are hiding it, judged that it was not necessary to explain, or they really don’t know. Considering the location where ＜Serket＞ was discovered, it is entirely possible that it simply hasn’t been discovered until now. Considering the level of civilization, aerial reconnaissance would be difficult, and moving on the ground would also be difficult.”
“I see. Well, when you think about it, I don’t think ＜Serket＞ can be defended by that kind of fort. It can be easily overcome, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that it has not been discovered.”
“I feel like we’re only encountering undiscovered or rarely sighted Monsters…”
She says so with a thoughtful face, but well, it was true. In other words, whether it’s the open sea, long-distance travel, or the desert, there is a high possibility that they encounter them with a certain probability, and those who encountered them did not return alive.
It was inevitable that ＜The Tree＞’s forces, which have long activity hours, would encounter such Monsters.
Twelve hours have passed since Tefen started moving. The moving speed is almost unchanged, but there are minor changes such as changes in the moving route and meandering, and it has reached about 30 minutes before reaching the defense perimeter, a distance of 5km remaining.
“Deployment of Multi-legged Mothership, Multi-legged Tank, and Ground Attack Drone has been completed. Installation of the composite sensor is progressing as planned. All deployments will be completed 5 minutes before contact. Bombers are on standby in the sky.”
This time as well, the Five Sisters are in charge of command and control. ＜Ringo＞ and Commander (Eve) are in spectator mode.
In this state, whether ＜Ringo＞ intervenes or not, it is judged that it will not have much impact on the result. Basically, the command is by the Local Strategic AI, and only policies are presented from within ＜The Tree＞.
“Two Multi-legged Motherships, 85 Multi-legged Tanks, 16 Ground Attack Drones, 4 Bombers, and 2 Reconnaissance Aircraft are the total forces for this operation.
The highest-level AI is being set to the Multi-legged Mothership waiting at the Oil Port.
Defense priority, information gathering priority.
We will set the loss line at 20%, and make a retreat decision when losses exceeding this occur.
Approximately 20 minutes until contact.”
The Multi-legged Tanks are arranged in a multi-layered structure to allow lines of fire.
Simultaneous firing with Railguns is possible, and there are more of them than the confirmed number of opponents.
At least, Scorpions other than Tefen can be defeated. Well, the biggest problem is Tefen itself…
“We will send a reconnaissance aircraft into the sky.”
In order to confirm the opponent’s response and to collect detailed information, one reconnaissance aircraft is moved to the sky above Tefen. Just in case, it seems that the course is set so that it only passes by without passing directly over it.
“Reconnaissance aircraft has started changing course.”
The reconnaissance aircraft began approaching at an altitude of 1,000m and a speed of 480km per hour. It is on a trajectory that will approach the closest in about 1 minute. The icon displayed on the map is rapidly approaching Tefen.
“Hmm?”
In the telescopic image from another reconnaissance aircraft, Tefen moved.
With a motion that seemed to make the onomatopoeia “Hyoi” audible, it used its claws to throw one of the Scorpions into the sky.
“Ehh!?”
Naturally, if Tefen makes such a motion with its huge body, a considerable acceleration will occur. The thrown Scorpion spun around and around, but steadily gained altitude.
“Are we okay!?”
“Yes, Ma’am. It is not an intersection trajectory. It is a near miss, but it is not a distance that can be reached without long-range attack means.”
The image from the approaching reconnaissance aircraft is displayed. Surprisingly, the Scorpion was spreading its limbs to the fullest and stabilizing its posture. It was not at all the behavior of an insect crawling on the ground.
“Trajectory calculation completed. If this posture is maintained, the apex of the parabola will be about 15m above the reconnaissance aircraft. Since the head is facing the reconnaissance aircraft, it may be observing it.”
“I don’t understand what this means!?”
And, as ＜Ringo＞ said.
The Scorpion passed by the reconnaissance drone without incident, and then fell away as expected.