Chapter 137

“Release the entire collection, and set the location at the nearest empty space.”

– Collection functionality released. RT-2PM2 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles and six mobile launcher vehicles have been released from the collection and placed at the nearest vacant location.

The mobile launchers align in a single row inside the cruiser’s arsenal.

With a few trips between the cruiser’s arsenal and the underground bunker in the city, the cruiser’s arsenal transforms into a nuclear weapons storage facility.

“Wow….”

“The director’s abilities are impressive whenever we see them.”

The voices of the team members, filled with awe.

Blushing slightly, I felt a bit shy at that moment when rapid footsteps approached me.

“President! Director!”

A female officer, urgently calling out to us.

“What is it?”

“Invaders’ reconnaissance units have appeared!”

“Hmm.”

The president turns his head and looks at me.

“A little sooner than expected, what do you plan to do?”

“First, I’ll contact Banetta… and perhaps we could ask the team members to take care of the rest of the transport?”

The president nods in agreement.

“That would be best, let’s head to the command bridge.”

“Yes!”

We promptly arrive at the cruiser’s command bridge.

Valder, seated in the command chair with a serious expression, reacts to the sound of the door opening.

“President, Director. Have you arrived.”

“Yes, please explain the situation.”

“Yes, could we play the video clip again?”

Valder turns back and issues an order to the soldier.

“Understood, Deputy Commander.”

The soldier operates the equipment, and a holographic screen appears at the center of the command bridge, showing the footage.

Outside the city, a bright red glow quickly approaches, stirring up snow in their wake.

Based on the speed, it seems to be either a scout tank unit or an armored patrol team.

“It seems they’ve noticed something.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

“What about Banetta?”

[ I’m here. ]

Banetta’s face pops up on one side of the hologram screen.

[ I’ve heard the report. Is it true the Invaders are coming? ]

“Yes.”

Banetta, with a nod, turns her gaze toward Valder.

[ So, Deputy Commander, have the items I gave you been properly set up? Have you installed them all? ]

“Yes, according to your instructions, we’ve set up a defensive line at the city entrances.”

[ Good, that should suffice. ]

A satisfied smile forms on her face.

“Banetta.”

[ Yes, Edu? ]

“But, what exactly are those items? I heard they assist in defense, but…”

[ Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t explained to you yet, have I? ]

“Yes.”

Banetta clears her throat.

[ Edu, are you familiar with EMP weapons?]

“Of course.”

EMP, or Electromagnetic Pulse. As the name suggests, this emits electromagnetic waves in the form of a pulse. Commonly depicted in the media as the ultimate tool for disabling machinery and akin to an agent of doom.

However, EMP weapons are rarely found in AOE because the core principle of EMP, which is to fry integrated circuits, doesn’t affect Invaders as they’re biological beings sharing characteristics with machines.

“Rather than EMP not affecting them, it’s that they don’t have integrated circuits, which is why it doesn’t work?”

“Actually, I started thinking, if regular EMP doesn’t work, maybe the output isn’t enough?”

“So, you’ve developed an incredibly powerful EMP that only activates in a limited area, almost like a mine?”

“Ah…”

An internet meme comes to mind, about how if it’s a problem money can’t solve, it might just be that you don’t have enough money.

“So you were considering that if a regular EMP doesn’t work, it might just be because the output wasn’t sufficient.”

[ Exactly, Edu, you catch on quickly. Still, we can’t be sure if it will completely neutralize them, so please prepare other responses too. ]

“Yes, Valder?”

Turning my head, Valder nods in agreement.

“Understood. Main cannon maneuvers! Prepare to fire at any moment!”

“The order comes from the command bridge. Main cannon maneuver, responsible personnel must be ready.”

The instructions echo throughout the cruiser.

Meanwhile, the approaching group of Invaders reaches the city’s entrance.

A flash of bright light.

Rumbling sounds akin to thunder and lightning fill the air, and the Invaders freeze in place.

“Oh, it seems to be effective!”

[ Hmm… ]

Banetta’s expression turns cautious as she focuses intently.

Her demeanor reveals her as someone strict about her tools, displaying the precision of an expert.

A short silence.

[ Ah. ]

Taking the cue from Banetta’s exhalation, the frozen Invaders begin to stir again.

“Valder?”

“Yes, Director. Fire the main cannon!”

“Fire the main cannon!”

Boom!

A projectile, lit with a burst of light, soars toward the enemy.

An explosion occurs at the center of the swarm, and the adversaries caught in the bombardment vanish.

As the smoke and the snow gradually subside,

At the cleared entrance of the city, a massive crater and remnants of the broken Invaders lie scattered.

“Accurate bombardment, well done.”

“Thank you for your praise. Since we’ve received a cruiser, we strive to practice tirelessly so as not to burden our comrades, including the Director.”

“Hmm.”

The President, satisfied with the answer, nods.

[ This power is insufficient. Hmm, if only we add plasma here… ]

Banetta has already moved onto research mode, muttering swiftly to herself, suggesting improvements for the EMP mine.

Frankly, it seemed as if the EMP mine and bombardment alone would buy us enough time, but just in case, I address the President.

“President, would you mind taking me to Jason?”

“To Jason?”

“Yes, just in case, I’d like to prepare on the ground ahead of time.”

“Understood, let’s do that.”

…

[ Report, additional reconnaissance data and target information secured. Requesting reconfirmation from Central.]

[ Confirm, please send the related data.]

[ Affirmative, transmitting the collected data.]

Information flow into the high-level processing unit.

The high-level processing unit, while meticulously reviewing the data, stiffens upon seeing a particular photo among the collection.

[ Confirm, are these the recently acquired materials?]

[ Affirmative, all data was collected recently by the reconnaissance units and surveillance assets dispatched to the occupied area.]

With the double confirmation, the high-level processing unit activates its thinking circuits, heating up with intensity.

– Opportunity.

Inside the picture the high-level processing unit confirmed was the black giant standing among natural phenomena.

Although it didn’t seem to carry any weapons this time, the figure and form clearly belonged to the enemy’s humanoid weapon, previously encountered during the battle with the E005 train legion.

This indicated one thing.

– The bug has come to our occupied area!

The emotion module, which was silent until now, reacts abruptly as the high-level processing unit quickly processes the situation.

The directive flowed through the communication network, targeting not only the requesting unit but also other units.

[ Directive to all forces. High threat level enemy detected in C1-A5 occupied area. All capable forces are to mobilize to the designated area and annihilate the enemy.]

[D1 Tank Legion, affirmative, sending forces.]

[C5A Artillery Legion, affirmative, deploying forces.]

[A8 Tank Division, affirmative, dispatching reserves…]

A series of reports follow.

From that point onward, a large contingent of Invader forces stationed in various areas begins moving toward Edu’s location in the city of Sarof.

…

“How’s the weapon procurement progressing?”

[ Thanks to the support of your weapons, we’ve progressed significantly, but since there are so many stockpiled weapons, it will take more time.]

“Understood, please continue with perseverance.”

[ Yes, Director!]

Valder’s salute appears through the screen.

As the holographic screen vanishes, a quiet settles around.

Whiiing – Boom.

The sound of the Colossus moving and a mild vibration through the ground from behind.

The giant with yellow eyes gathers the awakened weapons and loads them onto a cargo shuttle.

“Little Mom! This is cold!”

Seoli comes close, jiggling her fingers and showing a small snowball.

“Snow is naturally cold.”

“Is it originally cold?”

“Yes.”

“Snow! It’s originally cold!”

Seoli joyfully jumps around.

Nisia carries her on her back, only reaching out her hand to affectionately pat Seoli’s head.

Upon receiving my touch, Seoli giggles.

At that moment, another holographic screen appears.

[Director!]

“Valder? What’s the matter?”

[The Invaders are approaching again, but they’re much larger in scale than before!]

“How large is it?”

[ I’ll send you the data immediately. ]

Valder’s image shifts and the hologram changes.

In the scene of a snowstorm, numerous Invaders flashing their red sensors can be seen along with the swarm of tanks moving swiftly on the road.

The screen changes again, showing red arrows approaching the city from all directions, excluding the mountains.

“There are quite a lot.”

[That’s right, what do you intend to do?]

“Hmm…”

Just as I ponder for a moment, Freya’s face appears beside Valder.

[Edu, I’ve heard the story. The Invaders are coming, right?]

“Yes, and it’s quite large in scale.”

[Then how about we just cut off the roads? The Russian terrain is rough, so it’s difficult to move large forces outside of the roads.]

“Oh.”

I remember hearing that story somewhere on the internet.

“Valder, did you hear that?”

[Yes, I heard it. Should we preemptively bombard and destroy the entry routes into the city?]

“Yes, we’ll start our response as well.”

[Affirmative!]

Valder’s image disappears.

[Edu, what do we do?]

[How about you and Freya take charge of defending the roads individually?]

Questions from Freya and the President.

The two are formidable forces, but given the scale of the enemy, our aims differ from theirs.

We came here not to fight but to retrieve the relics of the old Russian heritage underground. Once we secure that, we only need to retreat. We don’t necessarily need to fight according to their plans.

“If we delay the retreat because of this, let’s have Freya and the President stay on standby for now. We don’t know if there are other forces beyond the regular troops.”

[Got it. I’ll follow Colonel’s instructions.]

[Then we’ll wait.]

Their images disappear.

“Edu, what’s your plan?”

“We need to summon a protector to block them.”

“Huh? But isn’t Colossus already working over there?”

I shake my head at Nisia’s confused expression.

“I’ll use something else this time.”

“Something else? There’s more than Colossus?”

“Yes, and I’ll show it to you right now.”

I clear my throat and raise my hand.

“Summon Armor! Squit!”

– Squit Reinforced Armor is still locked. Would you like to unlock it using skill points?

“Unlock it.”

– Unlocking of Reinforced Armor Squit completed. MP will be used to summon the protector.

Mana flowing out of my body.

Compared to summoning Colossus, a much larger mana sphere forms and quickly spreads out, solidifying into shape.

Angular armor plates emphasizing functionality and defensive strength.

A block-like head with a horn-like antenna protruding on the right side and brawny armor added to the arms and legs resembling a bodybuilder.

Boom!

The giant’s legs hit the ground, causing tremors, and blue light illuminates its single eye.

Stage 1 Reinforced Armor, Squit.

A 12-meter tall giant stands upon the earth.

“Wow.”

“Wow! It’s big!”

Impressed reactions from Nisia and Seoli.

“It already has weapons, huh?”

“Yes, the Reinforced Armor comes equipped with a set of armaments.”

As I look up at Squit, answering their questions.

Pods are attached to the waist and knees.

In both hands, rapid-fire cannons connected to the waist-mounted ammunition drums are held, and on the shoulders and back, missile pods shaped like boxes hang.

A moving arsenal surpassing the Colossus armed with bombardment modules.

But this wasn’t the end.

“Then, Squit! Transformation!”

Squit’s eye glows brightly.

With a mechanical sound, Squit kneels down then quickly shifts its form.

Armor plates face forward, unveiling a large hidden infinite track.

The gun platform faces forward; the upper body retracts inward, transforming into a turret.

In an instant, the 12-meter giant morphs into a super-heavy tank.

“Uh, what?”

“Wow!”

Nisia is taken aback, while Seoli’s eyes sparkle.

“Huh! Isn’t it awesome!?”

“Uh, er… um, it’s cool.”

“Super cool!!”

“Then, let’s hop in, Squit! Carry us, please.”

A hand reaches toward us.

I climb aboard and enter Squit’s cockpit.

I glance inside briefly out of caution, but as expected, its structure and size don’t match my body.

I shed a little tear but realized it wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

“Then, Nisia, shall we try again like before?”

“Ah, yes, let me give it a try…”

Her voice lacks confidence.

Placing the back of my head against Nisia’s chest, I gently tap her legs.

“Don’t worry, Nisia, you’ve been doing great so far. I’ll help you if anything gets tough.”

“Yes…!”

Nisia finally regains some confidence.

“Then, Seoli!”

“Yes!”

Calling out her name and opening my arms, Seoli dives in like it’s a game.

Sitting on Nisia’s knees with Seoli in my arms, I buckle the belt.

Nisia supports my body, while I support Seoli’s.

Hmm, perfect!

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”