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Chapter 7 Masked Ball (16)
***
Whispering-
“Hey, Hapban.”
“Hmm....”
“Do something! I can’t break through and get in there no matter what!”
“No, the guys on the flanks should be the ones to charge forward....”
Just as Ezelle was desperately trying to move forward, the professor’s group found themselves in a difficult situation.
“Why are they retreating?”
While the professor didn’t know much about the raptor’s strategy, he was an expert on the Dome’s strategy, to the point where he knew almost everything. He had studied it thoroughly, engraving it in his bones, in preparation for the day he would avenge his mother’s death.
From the perspective of the Dome’s anti-raptor tactics, the raptors retreating like this meant they had no intention of winning. Because,
Squeal-
Bang!
Crash!
The speed bump, a wide-area electromagnetic defense device that the Dome used to protect its city, was an unbelievable contraption.
‘Anything you shoot, unless it’s a beam or plasma, gets caught in mid-air. If the power supply is sufficient, even if the entire raptor nest charges forward, they can’t scratch the Dome with artillery fire.’
Of course, there was a weakness. It consumed an ‘enormous’ amount of electricity. Typically, operating it for 15 minutes would cause a three-day power outage in the entire Dome.
Given the massive power consumption, its range was limited to about 20 meters around the Dome where power could be supplied smoothly, though it could be slightly extended during combat.
The large lamppost-like device, the Electric Pole, trailing all kinds of thick cables as it followed the Exosuit unit and the Silver Guard, was precisely what was doing this job. Despite its grand name, it was essentially a transformer that relayed the city’s electricity smoothly. A large, powerful transformer.
‘The absurd performance of neutralizing metal projectiles within its range. The closer the electric poles come forward, the closer the electromagnetic net’s range gets to the raptor formation. The only way to stop it is to send a special team to destroy the electric poles and prevent their advance, or to retreat like this. If they retreat, the city’s main guns will have time to recharge, and even if it’s a T-7, they can’t withstand the city’s daily power output in the form of a brutally advanced weapon. So, retreating is essentially declaring defeat.’
Even if the Old Picture plan had failed and these devices were activated, it was almost a foregone conclusion that they would lose. However, if they could cause a momentary overload by firing all their weapons at once to raise the voltage in the electromagnetic net, there would still be a chance for victory. He thought the flankers, whether they were Minutemen or Minimi, would leave their positions to prevent the net from advancing.
But they didn’t. They didn’t even think about moving, slowly pulling back their formation while continuously inflicting damage on the Exosuit unit.
“Hmm... What if we try to get a bit closer?”
“It’s suicide. Even if the raptors have their jamming devices on and we can’t use radar, the flankers are there to block any incoming threats. We’ll get caught in this piece of cloth in no time.”
“Damn. Then there’s no way.”
The professor, scratching his head inside the poncho, erased the three people’s movement paths he had roughly drawn in the sand.
“Breaking through the flank is out of the question. We could force our way in, but the risk of someone dying is too high.”
“Hey, wait a minute. So... we came all this way just to sit here and do nothing? That’s... a bit difficult.”
“Survival is the most important thing, isn’t it? Besides, this isn’t just about money. There’s someone over there... someone I need to kill.”
“What? What’s this sudden talk about? Did you see someone you know?”
“I saw the guy I need to. The pack leader who was yelling into the megaphone earlier. A guy named Sol Amar. I need to kill him, so I can’t just let them retreat like this.”
“Oh, for crying out loud. And he’s their leader?”
“Yeah, I understand you have personal reasons, but can’t you hold off? Even if I’m good at improvising, passing through an open field with no cover to assassinate those heavily armed giants is...”
“He killed my wife.”
“Wh-what...”
“And my daughter.”
“...Hmm...”
It was a heavy statement, considering how casually it was said. It meant that the person who had killed his family was right in front of him.
“Grrr! Suddenly shrinking, huh? Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m not a rookie, and I’ve lost people more than once. I’m not going to lose my cool, so don’t worry. I’m cool, okay.”
“Hmm... If that’s the case, then it’s a relief...”
“But I’m not exactly happy about it. It’s not right. To see my enemy right in front of me and just stand by. As a father and as a man who promised to take care of a woman for life.”
Squeak-
Ian’s finger traced over the symbol representing the enemy on the sand.
“I’ll create an opening if there isn’t one. I have various gadgets from the Dome, and I’m confident I can draw their attention.”
“Hey, Jo. You’re not seriously...”
“I’m sorry, but the moment I heard that guy’s name, everything else became irrelevant. I’m not planning to die, so while I create a distraction, you two need to take advantage of the chaos...”
Smack!
“Ouch! Damn! What!”
“What? What are you talking about? Take another hit, you fool. Hey Vex! Beat this guy up.”
“Ouch! Ah, this, damn! Damn!”
“Your principles are frozen! If you go to hell and say you were making a fuss, your sister-in-law will be very pleased!”
“Stupid kid! Idiot! Fool! Moron!”
Without making too much noise near the enemy lines, the three of them were bickering under the narrow shade of the camouflage poncho.
“Cool? You’re completely out of your mind. You’re planning to cause chaos among those guys with their massive Gatling guns and survive?”
“Why not! I’ll start with a big explosion, and while I’m engaging the combat vehicles, you and Vex can attack the command vehicle from inside...”
“That. Is. Why. I’m saying, how do you know your body won’t turn into a beehive or obsidian? Look at you. Your head is so full of blood that your happiness circuit is burning out. Cool? You’re just being ridiculous.”
As Ian gradually calmed down under the professor’s rapid nagging, the professor sighed. He knew he wasn’t in a position to lecture others. If it weren’t for the involvement of the executive committee, would he have gotten this deeply involved? It was impossible to say now.
The important thing was, after hearing the situation, there was no way Ian would give up on that belly-out pack leader named Sol something.
As Ian, who had calmed down but still had a fierce look in his eyes, was being pacified, the professor said:
“Listen carefully. I said we’re giving up on the flank breakthrough, but I didn’t say we’d just sit here and do nothing.”
“You said we’re not doing the flank breakthrough?”
“That’s the only thing we can’t do right now. The situation has changed, so we need to adapt.”
The professor divided the entry route on the tactical board into three parts.
“Let’s just slightly increase the risk. Vex?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you drive?”
“I can, but you know I almost always cause an accident, Hapban.”
“It’s fine. We’re planning to cause an accident.”
“Wh-what?”
“Just remember that for now. Ian?”
“Yeah.”
“This is something I only heard about, but I want to confirm. The T-7 tank driver...”
The professor asked Ian while quickly drawing something on the sand.
Vex felt an inexplicable sense of unease at the professor’s mischievous smile and the way he drew a large skull on the direction where V was pointing.
***
5 minutes later.
Crack!
“Huff, huff! Pant, pant!”
After receiving a brief plan, the three quickly dispersed. Ian moved toward the front, closer to the tanks, the professor moved to the center, and Vex himself ran to the rear, his breath nearly catching in his throat.
The basic structure of the plan was the same. If the flanks were open, Vex, who was skilled in stealth and infiltration, would move in. However, since there was no opening, the two of them would spread out to slightly draw the raptors away.
Vex, lying flat on the ground under a sand-colored poncho, took deep breaths and counted the seconds.
‘The professor will signal Jo when he confirms I’m in position. The moment the poncho is removed, it starts. Three minutes after it starts, so 144 seconds from now.’
Tick, tick,
Vex, breathing steadily, quietly took off his clothes inside the poncho. The Dome’s uniform was sturdy and useful, but it was also what the alert enemies were looking for. Since the professor’s plan required him to take it off anyway, he thought it was better to do it in advance.
After quickly changing, Vex started rubbing dirt on his lean body. The dirt stuck well due to the sweat from his intense movements.
“23, 22...”
There was no clock, but he would be accurate. He had always been good at counting time. Probably since he started thinking that every living moment was a debt to the ‘uncle’ who saved him.
“3, 2, 1,”
Boom!
At the exact moment, a loud explosion was heard from the front.
Amid the continuous artillery fire from the raptor tanks, a different, massive rumble.
Vex removed the poncho and crawled on the ground, which was shaking as if an earthquake had struck.
‘The infantry is in disarray. Their attention is focused over there.’
The infantry near the front were running toward the explosion, and the rest were boarding combat vehicles and aiming in that direction.
-------
‘First, let’s draw some attention. You got those wireless mines, right?’
‘Cough, cough! To draw attention, do we really need such a high-end item? I got two, but I was planning to keep one as a collector’s item...’
‘No, you have to use it. It’s wireless, so when you detonate it, all the attention will be on you. You’ll turn into a beehive the moment it goes off.’
‘But, my rifle has a grenade launcher. Can’t I use that...’
‘At the range where a grenade launcher can reach, a machine gun can’t miss, can it?’
-------
‘7 seconds after the first explosion. Three, two, one, now!’
Boom!
As the pre-set mine exploded, Vex moved like a cat, hiding his body in a spot he had previously scouted where the dirt had accumulated.
“Enemy attack!”
“3rd Legion, hold your position! 5th and 6th Legions, form a firing line!”
“Maintain formation! Maintain formation!”
Despite the sudden attack while they were retreating and firing at the Dome, the raptors showed no signs of disarray. Ian had used fragmentation mines, so even if he detonated them at a distance to draw attention, there would still be casualties. Yet, not a single soldier showed any signs of panic.
‘They’re like moving machines... They don’t let their guard down, so their eyes are sharp, but these rigid soldiers have few openings. They only move according to what they’ve been taught.’
Tick, tick,
The second hand in his mind kept turning. Ian’s role was over. Next was—
Clang!
Far behind, the professor stood in line with the raptor tanks and Ian. He had said he would snipe, but...
‘What is he doing?’
In the open field that the Dome had cleared around the city, the professor, who seemed a bit short, climbed onto an iron bag Ian had left behind. Still not tall enough, he gathered heavy rocks from somewhere and climbed on top of them to aim.
Clang, Clang,
In the chaotic battlefield, the sound of the near-future bolt-action rifle was somewhat weak.
‘The penetration power is insufficient against the thick armor of the tanks and the bulletproof pads of the mini-shooters, but...’
Vex smiled as he saw sparks flying from one of the exposed combat vehicles that had to reposition to form a firing line.
‘It’s enough to ignite the fuel tanks attached to the rear of the raptor vehicles!’
Clang!
Whoosh-!
“Wh-what! Fire! Fire!”
“Aaah! My body! My body is burning!”
Clang!
Thud.
“Don’t panic, it’s just an enemy guerrilla! We only lost one vehicle and one soldier! Fire brigade! Form a line!”
“Sniper! Call for a sniper!”
The fire from the fuel tank spread to the vehicle, causing one combat vehicle to burn, but that was all. The soldiers in the vehicle moved to other vehicles, and about half a dozen snipers with rifles emerged from the inner ranks and aimed at the blackened, burning vehicle.
With snipers in place, the professor couldn’t move. Despite the commotion, their efforts had little effect.
-----
‘Professor Park. Aren’t you underestimating the raptors? They’re crazy about combat. They won’t just fall into chaos because of a few explosions and a burning vehicle.’
‘Of course I know. If it were that easy, we wouldn’t be here. Our role isn’t to cause chaos. Simply put—’
-----
“Always move in a way that confuses the enemy...”
As Vex slowly counted the time, he saw the well-maintained formation suddenly disarray.
Unlike the neat firing line and alert posture of the rear ranks near him, the front ranks were in chaos.
“3rd Legion! Retreat! Retreat!”
“One vehicle has been completely destroyed by the enemy’s guerrilla!”
“Move the vehicle! Move it now!”
“The 2nd Legion has also stopped moving!”
“Pack leader! The vehicles won’t move!”
“Push them out! If you don’t want to be crushed by our own tanks!”
Ian had used not an old anti-tank mine, but a modern one that had been active during the Third World War, the magnetic Claymore ‘Flambard.’
While its explosive power and fragmentation were similar to a regular Claymore, the Flambard had a special effect for its anti-tank purpose.
Creak, creak, creak—
“The tracks are jammed... The vehicle won’t respond!”
The magnetic fragments, after a certain time, would strongly attract each other, damaging the vehicle’s electronics and hindering its movement.
Moving in a line was easy with some training, but what about retreating while maintaining that line? Especially with dozens of tanks and even more combat vehicles in a line?
Boom!
While the railgun rounds from the Dome’s defenses continued to hit the raptors’ tanks, the raptors couldn’t turn their massive shields backward just by retreating.
‘The combat vehicles that should have moved out of the way first were stuck, causing the tanks to be unable to retreat. Once they stopped retreating, the electromagnetic net, powered by the Electric Pole and its power relay, quickly approached the raptors...’
‘I’m in!’
Ultimately, the raptors had no choice but to move as the professor had initially suggested, using infantry to restrain the Exosuits while destroying the Electric Pole.
Rustle!
Seeing the infantry in front of him withdraw like a tide, Vex quickly moved into the gap and entered the raptor formation. The initial plan to attack the Noisy Pack was impossible. He was only armed with two knives and was nearly naked, and even though the infantry had withdrawn, there were still many soldiers inside the formation. Ian and the professor were far away and couldn’t join him.
Scrape!
“Cough! Gasp! Ugh—”
Thud.
The goal of an assassin in the middle of the enemy lines is to adapt organically to the situation. Vex, who had taken out a soldier who had come out to assess the situation after the sudden commotion, closed the soldier’s eyes as he lay dying, quickly changed into the soldier’s uniform, and washed the dirt off his face with the canteen from the soldier’s belt.
“Penetration phase complete. Now, all that’s left is...”
-----
‘So, you’re in. That’s good. You can infiltrate without much trouble. But what about next? Assassinate a VIP? Start a fire?’
‘Those are good plans, but then you’ll die. I heard from Metal Jo that, by the grace of God, there’s a perfect role for you, Vex.’
‘A perfect... role?’
-----
“Hey! You there!”
At the sharp voice from behind, Vex almost pulled out the knife he had hidden in his coat.
“What are you doing there! Name, affiliation!”
“Ah, that... I...”
-----
‘Just go, change your clothes, and act like you normally would. Don’t think too much.’
‘Act like I normally would?’
‘Act stupid and foolish.’
‘Eek! When have I ever!’
‘Just pretend. The Triceratops tank is a mess, but there’s one particularly troublesome part...’
-----
“Short, aren’t you? Are you a tank driver?”
“Uh, y-yes! T-that’s right!”
“Then don’t dawdle, get into the armored car! Don’t even think about running away!”
The officer, who seemed to be a sergeant, grabbed Vex’s arm roughly and started dragging him to the front of the formation.
-----
‘The driver’s seat is incredibly narrow.’
‘Isn’t that normal for a tank?’
‘It’s narrow, but the T-7 is even narrower because of the head. Anyone over 155 cm can’t fit inside, so regular soldiers can’t enter. They removed all the cushioning and still, it’s that tight.’
‘So, you’re saying I need to take out the original driver and get in...’
‘No, you don’t. The T-7 is a tank that travels at Mach 7, and the driver’s seat at the front has no cushioning. It’s like being inside a giant bell. In the battlefield against the Dome, T-7 drivers are expendable. They train small children and replace them whenever they pass out. You just need to walk around like a scared kid.’
-----
‘Is this really going to work?’
“Get in! Don’t even think about coming out. You’re serving the great Raptor Society! Be proud!”
Inside the armored personnel carrier right behind the tank, where the sound of artillery was shaking the body, were children around 10 to 14 years old, similar in height to Vex. Their terrified faces and visible bruises gave a rough idea of how they were treated.
‘...Idiots.’
Vex, guided by the raptor officer, successfully infiltrated the most critical defense line of the enemy, becoming a T-7 tank driver.
***