Anyone of the fired magic will reap the life of man with deadly force. However, Those same forces only make slight scratches on the aluminare.
And the captain’s aircraft lunged forward.
But the opponent isn’t an aluminare’s pilot for show so he wouldn’t let it continue. With the captain having closed the distance, he readied his sword and dealt with it.
The huge sound of two swords colliding into each other thrilled my tympani.
“Tch…!”
My body trembles in the aftermath of the fight and fever strokes my cheeks.
Fear due to some serious killing intent with a sense of euphoria when I first piloted an aluminare. It is something you can never feel at the Academy.
“The captain is pressuring him, as it is”
In the battle of two mechas, the captain looks dominant. The annihilation of the infantry unit is caused by the obviously panicking opposing pilot.
It’s a fighting style that keeps the teachings of the academy where one does not miss the opponent’s gap while defending, followed by a counter.
Anyway, the opponent now has limited means of escape.
The captain’s mecha dodges the opponent’s sword and shoots a magic spell at close range as it approaches the head.
The released fireball covered the head, causing a small explosion and destroying the head of the enemy’s mecha.
“Yes!”
My voice unintentionally leaks out. He just destroyed one of the cameras, but the fact that it was broken should put pressure on the opponent. It further creates impatience and gaps.
While greatly falling backwards, it fires magic towards the ground. A huge cloud of dust was roiled up and visibility temporarily deteriorated.
Is the enemy mecha retreating all the time trying to escape? However, it is impossible to escape in a one vs one battle.
If so, are there other reasons to retreat?
So, is it reinforcement? An infantry is meaningless. If there is a possibility of one coming …
“A second mecha!”
If so, my job as a scouts is to find it first and inform the captain.
The direction in which the enemy is retreating to remains the true north. That’s to say, it is highly possible that the other party is intruding from α block. Surely Benoît-san will be already working as he had noticed the possibility.
While thinking so, as I went through the forest, I went to the 15 – B forest road.
“I found it!”
By coming out of the forest, my field of view cleared and I found a green mecha running straight from the north to here.
I can not see its feet because of the trees, but from that speed the infantry is probably leaving. I guess he found magic generated in battle and came here.
“How do I inform him?”
The problem is how to inform the captain of this.
Then, I have to prepare something the stands out here.
When I looked at every direction as if something was wrong, I was able to hear a call from a nearby bush.
“Eldo-kun”
“Benoit-san?”
It was indeed Benoit-san who showed his face from the bush.
“Why is Eldo-kun here?”
“Oh I see, Good judgement, isn’t it?”
“If that’s the case, I have a signal bullet, if I launch it, you will see that red lights will light up, but the timing is difficult with the enemy’s smokescreen”
“I see”
Due to the magic the enemy continues firing while moving backwards, there was a possibility that the light could not reach the captain even if the signal bullet was launched from here inside the cloud of dust.
Is the enemy’s smoke screen something in antic.i.p.ation if this rather than protecting itself from attacks?
“I will temporarily blow away that cloud of dust, meanwhile, shoot the signal bullet”
“I understand, I will do my best, so I will move a little bit away from here”
If I activate magic at a position that is too close, there is a possibility that the launched signal bullet will be struck by magic. With that in mind, I move to the other side of the road and prepare my magic.
“In order to blow this smoke away all at once…”
If I do not blow it away at once with a powerful large-scale magic, the enemy’s magic will wind up the dirt again. Therefore, there’s one magic to use.
“Okay, Here I go!”
Sending a signal to Benoit-san on the other side once and start casting it.
“[Air Blast], s.e.xtuple installation”
Putting my hands up along with the completion of the casting, the s.p.a.ce around me greatly distorts six time.
“Open!!”
Waving down my hands, releasing the spell that was on standby. Sudden gusts blown out of six distortions. .h.i.t the captain ‘s Aluminare while rolling up the leaves in the surroundings, swiftly blew out the smoke.
At the same time, there is a sound like *Pa.s.shu* going out of the direction of Benoit-san and a red light rushes over the sky.
“Eldo-kun, please move quickly! An attack will come!”
“Eh? Y- Yes!”
I was trying to ascertain whether the captain noticed it or not, I respond quickly to the voice of Benoit-san and retreat from my spot.
The trees were mowed down and broken branches. .h.i.t my body.
“Huh…”
While enduring the pain and despite falling down on the ground from the shock wave that came after the spears fell, I was regretting my foolish act.
An infantry alone does not have means to combat an aluminare, but it does not mean that it can not do anything.
Even though we were able to locate the place, I shouldn’t be allowed to s.p.a.ce out.
I kept rolling and finally stopped hitting my back against a tree’s trunk.
“Gah hah”
Because I forcefully crashed my back onto the tree trunk, I could not breathe well.
While coughing, I was trying to recover my breath, Benoit-san rushed up to me.
“Eldo-kun, are you alright?”
“Y- yes, *Koho*”
My consciousness is stable. As for my injuries,the bruises are caused by scratches from branches and rolling on the ground. I may be a bit bruised, but there is no hindrance to my movements.
“I’m sorry, I was careless”
“It’s fine as long as you’re alive. and it looks like you were able to fulfill your role as well”
When I looked up, I saw the captain’s mecha casting magic against the reinforcing mecha between gaps in the trees. In other words, our signal bullet has been useful, huh?
“What a relief”
“But it’s still two vs one”
Although I was able to let him know about the existence of reinforcement, no matter how you face you face it, it’s still unfavorable.
If we do not attract reinforcements, the captain will be done for …
“I am not worried about that. Look…”
Saying so, Benoit-san looked up in the direction of Jacata, ahead of the forest road.
“Green light?”
What I was looking up to was a signal bullet glowing green.
“Could it be that?”
“This is our reinforcement, the buffer zone is large, but our patrolling routes are built so that we can cover it.”
Indeed, in order to suppress a large number of opponents in a wide buffer zone, the lateral connection becomes important. For that reason, the patrolling route of aluminare squad is carefully set to be able to immediately respond as soon as problems arise.
I guess the troops heading here perhaps rushed to us as they saw the first fire blazing column and heard the sound of battle.
“If so, with this…”
We have the advantage. When I thought so, the aluminare that fought with the captain suddenly turned his back and ran away.
However, he quickly loosened his stance and let the mecha withdraw. Then earthen spears fly by its feet.
“Sniper !?”
“It looks like we are going to withdraw, well, it’s a reasonable decision”
Enemy reinforcement seems to stop at that place and aim here from a long distance. And another machine that fought in the meantime withdraws at full speed.
As the captain sees what it’s going to do, he stopped releasing magic and retreated into the forest while paying attention to one of the reinforcements.
“Benoit, Eldo, we will also retreat, join with reinforcement forces”
“Are not you going to chase them?”
Although they’re shooting from a long distance, as long it is not a specialized mecha, the accuracy rate should be low. Besides, if reinforcements are coming from behind, shouldn’t we attack them here in one breath?
“It’s forbidden to chase too far. There is also the possibility that there is another mecha at their withdrawal destination. If that’s the case, next time we’ll be the one being ganged upon. We shouldn’t take that risk”
“Don’t worry about it, as a new recruit, anyone would think so, gradually get used to this battlefield, that’s why we’re here”
“Thank you”
Until the reinforcement unit arrives, we could only watch the empire’s aluminare escape.
“Bring me the spare cable!”
“Hydraulic pressure check, no abnormality. no cylinder pump problem!”
Many of the maintenance members behind me check the damage situation of the captain’s mecha and quickly repairing it.
“Ittsu…”[usually said while taking pictures and posing (selfies + peace sign)]
“What are you talking about this much for? it became much more in tatter since the Academy”
After joining with the reinforcement unit, we joined the standby squad and I received wound treatment from Karine-san.
In the most severe spot, it’s where I struck a branch had caused internal bleeding, but the others are really scratches, and it is enough to blot them with sterilization.
“Even so, you were rash, you suddenly interrupted the first fight between aluminares”
“Even so, I’m telling you that it’s quite amazing, in fact you were targeted by the enemy’s mecha and you got rushed by the earthen spears, didn’t you?”
“Ah ha ha. Well, yes…”
But three years ago, I was playing tag with an aluminare… because I was suffered attacks of ice spears at that time.
In comparison to that, honestly, the earthen spear is much. Well, I became full of scratches, but…
“Here, with this it’s over!”
Karine-san flicked on my bandaged wound. Even though I am stinging with the disinfectant, the struck wound from above protested.
“Ow!? ,What The h.e.l.l are you doing!?”
“Please do it to people in a serious condition, it’s just a scratch,”
“Ah, yes. Thank you”
When Karine-san stood up, she went to the maintenance members who are repairing the captain’s mecha.
However, when I tried to call out on the contrary I heard a call from behind.
“Yo Eldo, you look as sleepy as ever!”
Turning my head over my shoulder, there was Baptiste with a slight height and hair growth in a year.
“Baptiste! It’s been a long time! That’s because they’ve always been that way from the start”
I b.u.mp my fist to the fist that Baptiste took out.
“So, the reinforcement squad was your place, huh?”
“What’s that?”
I certainly casted magic against the aluminare, but it was towards the captain’s mecha and the reason was to blow away the cloud of dust, so it’s not like I’m someone that would something like that. That my magic could ever stop an aluminare, there no way it would be possible.
“What? Am I wrong? The squad is all over this rumor, you know? That this year’s newcomers are a collection of dangerous people”
“No no. You know I can’t do something amazing like that. just to let the signal bullet show, I blew away the cloud of dust. Or rather, what’s that “dangerous newcomers” about?”
Certainly our grade may have been better than the newcomers up to now, but I do not remember doing such an amazing thing that it becomes a rumor? Even this time’s battle, I ended up carelessly making a blunder.
“You don’t know? It looks like we’re unexpectedly rumored about; the man who’s more suited to scouting than scouts, Leon. The man who eats, Baptiste. The man who threw away his arm, Eldo”
“It’s the first time I hear of it… But I vaguely get it.”
For Leon, I guess it is due to his own insights and good reasoning. He’s specialty is to predict the position of the enemy just from little traces. If it was him, he would entice the enemy into a trap with almost no difficulty.
And Baptiste… Yeah, I guess he devours women. He became a regular pilot, and I got extremely popular… No way.
“Baptiste, Have you already made moves on a Support Maid?”
“Do not get stabbed by a member of the squad…”
I do not want to hear that a cla.s.smate died because of out of control jealousy.
I see, we may be member that are easily talked about to certain extent.
“In other words, because of that rumor, this time’s story that’s handed out is extremely exaggerated”
“Please, I don’t want to be thought of as someone who aluminares in flesh and blood”
“Of course”
When I bitterly smiled, Baptiste suddenly turns serious.
It is strange, I tilted my head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Eldo, this time was your first battle right? Despite that, you’re pretty calm. Honestly, I thought you’d trembling more”
I understand the meaning of Baptiste words and I agree.
Certainly, I appear to be calm on the surface. but–
“My inner heart is trembling quite a bit, although I hide it, I can’t stop my trembling hands yet.”
I killed a person for the first time. I did not have time to remember desperately during battle, but suddenly I remembered it while receiving wound treatment.
Even though I raised my right hand and made a firm fist, that fist trembled with a shiver.
“Hearing such a thing… Has Baptiste already experienced an actual war? How was it when you first killed a person?”
“How did you get over it?”
“Ah”
That sight can never be forgotten.
“Because I do not plan to end up like that, I will protect myself by killing the enemy. When I thought so, the second time I was unexpectedly easy to kill. That’s why I say I got used to it.”
“Each one of them are people, but I somehow managed to do it. well, I will have to go soon, If I chat too much, I’ll get scolded again.”
“Thank you. It got a little easier”
I give thanks to Baptiste who was waving hands across his back.
The trembling of my hands imperceptibly stopped.