Chapter 102 – Masquerade Party (16)

Whisper whisper—

“Hey. Hepburn.”

“Mmm…”

“Do something! I’d rather die than try to go through that thing!”

“No, wait. Those guys on the sides are supposed to run out by now…”

While Ezel was struggling to push outside of the borders, Gyosu’s group was also in an unexpected situation.

“Why are they retreating?”

Gyosu didn’t know much about the Raptor’s tactics, but he was an expert on the Dome’s to the point that he could read out every single detail. He had basically carved it into his mind after losing his mother and preparing for revenge.

And according to the Dome’s tactics against the Raptors, the fact that they were retreating like this meant they weren’t thinking of winning in the first place. Because…

Shwoooo—

Phoomp!

P—pwhmp!

The critical pawn in the Dome’s defense strategy, that electromagnetic field defense device called Speed Bump, was an incredible device.

‘If it isn’t a beam or plasma-type projectile, that thing blocks anything and everything in midair. As long as they have enough power, the entire Raptor nest can come charging in, but they wouldn’t be able to put even a scratch on the Dome if they use artillery.’

Of course, it had a weakness. It ate up ‘an outstanding’ amount of power. Usually, when they used it for about 15 minutes, the entire Dome suffered a blackout for 3 days.

Because it consumed so much power, its range was limited to about 20 meters outside of the Dome, where it could easily access the energy, but during battle, it was possible to slightly extend that range.

The large, streetlight-looking posts connected to all sorts of cables that were currently following behind the Exosuit squad, the Electric Pole, were the reason why. It had a fancy name, but it was just a sort of transmitter that made it easier to deliver the city’s power to the field. A very large, powerful transmitter.

‘An unbelievable feature of nullifying any sort of ranged metal bullet. The more those electric sticks come forward, the closer the range of the electromagnetic net will be to the Raptor’s formation. The only way to stop it is either to send out a unit to somehow destroy the poles and prevent them from moving forward or to retreat like they’re doing now. But if they retreat, then that buys time for the city’s cannon to get charged, and not even the T-7 can stand their ground against a modern weapon that shoots out a whole day’s worth of the Dome’s energy in one shot, so retreat basically means they’re announcing defeat.’

In the first place, the moment the Old Picture plan failed and those devices were activated, their defeat had been clear, but if they stopped the Electric Poles and all of the troops attacked at once to increase the power usage of the electromagnetic net and cause an overload before the cannon was finished charging, they would have a chance, so he thought they would 100% send out those mini thingies on the side to prevent the net from crawling forward….

But they weren’t budging. Without even a thought to move, they just slowly retreated their base back and accumulated damage on the Exosuit squad.

“Mmm…. can we get a little closer to them?”

“That’d be suicidal. Even if they can’t use radars because of the jamming, those guys on the sides were positioned there to stop guys that came their way. This piece of yellow cloth won’t take us anywhere near them.”

“Damn it, then there’s no other way.”

Gyosu scratched his head under his raincoat and erased the rough sketch of the three men’s routes he had drawn on the sand.

“Then we’ll give up attacking the flank. We could take a risk and shove our way in there, but the chance that one of us will die as a result is too large.”

“Oy, oy. Wait a minute. Then…. you’re saying we should just stay here? That’s… not going to work.”

“Looting is important, but surviving is the first priority.”

Ian, whose raincoat looked at least two sizes too small for him, scratched his chin with a bit of an awkward expression.

“It’s not the money. There’s a…. guy I need to kill over there.”

“What? What’s this about all of a sudden? Did you recognize someone?”

“I recognized the one I should know. That Pack Leader a few moments ago was yelling out nonsense on the loudspeaker. Sol Amar. I kind of have to kill him, so I can’t just stay here and let them retreat like this.”

“My f—ing goodness. And it’s their leader?”

“Jaw, I understand that there’s a personal story behind this, but can’t you wait a little longer? I know I have a knack for it, but it’s hard for even me to pass through this open field and kill those big hunks of mass for—”

“He killed my wife.”

“Yo—umm….”

“And my daughter.”

“Uh……..mm…..”

The words that left his mouth were too heavy for how easily they came out. So that meant… the guy who killed his family was right in front of him.

“Keheheh! Why so quiet all the sudden? You don’t have to worry about me, so buzz off. I’m not some rookie that’s never lost precious people in my life. I won’t suddenly go crazy all of a sudden. I’m fine, right now.”

“Mmm….. then that’s a relie—”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m happy right now. It isn’t right. Just watching when my nemesis is in front of my eyes. As a father, and as a man who promised the world to a woman.”

Shwww—

Ian’s finger made a cross over the enemy’s symbol on the sand drawing.

“If there isn’t a way through, I’ll make it. There’s a few toys I’ve gotten from the Dome, so I’m positive I can attract their attention.”

“Hey Jaw. Don’t tell me….”

“Sorry to all of you. The moment I heard that bastard’s name, I didn’t care about money or cars anymore. But that doesn’t mean I plan on dying, so while I shake them up, you two can sneak in and—”

Pow!

“Agh! F—! What!”

“What? Don’t act all dumb, you idiot. You know what, take some more punches. Hey Vex! Beat this guy to a pulp.”

“Ouch! Ow, you, fu—! Uregh!”

“Right, my ass! Do you think! Your wife! Would like it! If you met her in heaven! Doing those shenanigans!”

“Idiot! Bastard! Stupid bastard! Idiot bastard!”

They couldn’t make big noises because they were near enemy lines, so the three of them bickered under the cramped shadow of the camouflage ponchos.

“As if you’re really fine. You’re already out of it. You want to go cause a scene between those giants with gatling guns… and make it out alive?”

“Why not! I’ll start with a big blow and some explosions, then get to a combat vehicle and make some space between me and them while you guys sneak past them to go to the commander’s car and—”

“Ex-act-ly. Who knows if you’re going to become a beehive or oil while that happens? Look at this guy. The blood got all the way up to his head, and his brain melted down. Fine, my ass, that’s the best joke I’ve heard this year.”

Looking at his endless lecturing finally calming down Ian, Gyosu let out a deep sigh. He was saying this to the man, but he didn’t really deserve it. If this ordeal hadn’t been related to the Executive Department, would they have interfered this much? He couldn’t give a clear answer.

What’s important now is that, now that they know the reason, it doesn’t look like Ian is going to let go of that Salty-something Pack Leader anytime soon.

“Calm down and listen to me. I said we’re going to give up the flank, not just stay here and watch.”

“But you said we’re not attacking the flank?”

“Because it’s too risky doing ‘only’ that. The situation’s changed, so we need to change our plans accordingly.”

Gyosu continued, dividing the entry routes drawn on the sand into three branches.

“Let’s raise the danger level just a little bit. Vex?”

“Yeah?”

“You know how to drive, right?”

“I only know how. Hepburn, you know that I crash the car every time I’m behind the wheel.”

“That’s okay. I want you to crash it.”

“Ok….ay?”

“Just keep that in mind for now. Ian?”

“I’m here.”

“I need to confirm this with you because this is just a rumor that I’ve heard, but is it true that the driver of the T-7 tanks…?”

And as Gyosu asked Ian the question, he quickly started to draw something on the sand.

The sight of him smirking with his signature mischievous grin makes Vex feel incredibly uneasy. Especially, even more so, after seeing him draw a skull in the direction the V was pointed.

5 minutes later.

P—pt!

“Hah, hah! Hah, hah!”

After briefing their plan, the three started heading their separate routes. Facing the flank of the Raptors, Ian went towards the front, in the direction closest to the tanks. Gyosu ran to the center, and Vex himself was running as fast as he could towards the rear.

The basic structure of the plan was still identical. When the flank opened up, Vex, who is the best at stealth and infiltration, was going in. However, the difference was that because they now didn’t have a space to sneak through, the two others were going to split up and lure them out.

Vex lowered his body flat on the ground and covered himself with the beige-colored raincoat as he caught his breath and started to count the minutes.

‘When Gyosu confirms that I’m in position, he’s going to signal Jaw. It starts when I wear the raincoat. And it’s 3 minutes after it starts, so there are 144 seconds left.’

Tick, tock.

Continuing to collect his breath, Vex quietly took off his clothes under the raincoat. The Dome’s uniforms were tough and useful, but they were also what the enemies on alert were looking for, and according to Gyosu’s plan, it was just deadweight he didn’t need, so he judged that it would be better to take it off beforehand.

Completing his undressing in an instant, Vex began to rub the dirt onto his skinny body. The sweat from all of that running made the dirt stick easily to his skin.

“23, 22..”

He didn’t have a clock, but he was sure it was correct. In the past, he has always been good at counting the time. It was most likely after he believed that every moment he was alive was a debt he owed to the ‘Uncle’ who saved him that he was able to do this.

“3, 2, 1.”

Banggggg!

And at that exact moment, the sound of an explosion came from the far front.

Even with the continuous sound of the Raptor’s cannons, the sound of the explosion had a different, deeper ring to it.

Vex took off his poncho and crawled across the ground, which was shaking like an earthquake.

‘The infantries are shaken. Their attention’s turned there now.’

The soldiers that had been standing closer to the front ran towards the location of the explosion, and the rest got onto the combat vehicles and trained their aim in that direction.

‘Let’s first try and attract their attention. You said you got a wireless landmine, right?’

‘A-ahem! I don’t know if we really need to use something such as a high-end item just to attract attention….. I took two just so I could keep one for my collection….’

‘No, it has to be that. It’s wireless. The little thingies and their gatling guns are all going to turn to you when it goes off; you’re going to turn into a beehive if you’re nearby.’

‘T-there’s a grenade launcher attached to my rifle. Wouldn’t that work out some….’

‘You think a machine gun won’t reach the distance that a grenade launcher reaches?’

‘7 seconds after the first explosion. Three, two, one, now!’

Baaaaannng!

In sync with the sound of the prepared mine going off, Vex crawled on all fours to a mound of dirt that he had checked out earlier.

“It’s an attack!”

“3rd corps, hold position! The 5th and 6th corps will form a search network!”

“Maintain formation! Maintain formation!”

Even while they were ambushed while retreating from the Dome, they still moved in perfect order. Because the mine that Ian used was a shrapnel mine, they would have had some injuries, but not a single soldier looked shaken.

‘They’re like moving robots…. They have sharp eyes because they don’t lower their guard, but stiff guys like them have a lot of spots to hit. Since they only move as they’re taught.’

Tick, tock…

The clock in his head continued to count down. Ian’s role was over. Next was—

Bang—

A long way back, at the extension line that connected the Raptor’s tank and Ian, was Gyosu. He did say that he was planning to snipe….

‘But what’s with that?’

In the open field that the Dome created around the city, he was taking aim on top of what looked like Ian’s metal case that he left behind, with heavy rocks on top of it for an even higher position.

Bang— Bang—

In a battlefield where all sorts of noises were rampant, the rather weak echo of the futuristic bolt action rifle rang out into the air.

‘Its power isn’t enough to pierce stupidly thick tanks or those Mini Shooters covered in bulletproof pads, but….’

Vex’s mouth curled into a smile as he saw sparks coming from a combat vehicle that had been exposed as they shifted their formation into a net.

‘It’s more than enough power to ignite the fuel supply tank hanging on the back of a Raptor’s vehicle!’

Bang—

Whshhhh—!

“Uh, uhhhhhhHH!”

“Fire! It’s a fire!”

“Aghhhh! My body! My body’s on fi—”

Bang!

Thud.

“Do not get startled! It’s just the enemy guerrilla! We have lost just one car and one soldier! Fire squad! Fire extinguishing squad to the left!”

“It’s a sniper! Call the snipers!”

The fire from the fuel tank had spread to the vehicle and set it on fire, but that was it. The soldiers riding in the vehicle moved to another, and five or six soldiers with sniper rifles rushed out from within the ranks, mounted their guns on the black vehicle that had been extinguished instantly, and aimed at the location where the gunfire came from.

Now that the snipers were out, Gyosu was unable to move. Unlike the ruckus it made, the two people did not cause much damage.

‘Gyosu Park. Do you think the Raptors are stupid? Those guys are war maniacs. They won’t fall into chaos just because of a couple of mines and a car burning down.’

‘Of course I know that. I wouldn’t have been sitting here racking my brain if they were that easy to scare. Ensuing chaos won’t be our role.’

‘Then?’

‘I said it the first time too. If the enemy is trying to do something, stopping it will always be beneficial to us. Especially if the enemy is continuing on that action even at a loss, we have to stop it at all costs, is what I mean. Simply put—’

“Always move in a way that screws up the enemy……”

In the eyes of Vex, who had been calmly calculating the time, the seamless formation suddenly seemed to be disrupted.

Unlike the back row closer to Vex, which neatly formed a net, the front row had become a mess.

“3^rd corps! Back up! I repeat, back up!”

“A car has been burned down by the enemy guerilla!”

“Take the car out! Right now!”

“Movement has stopped in the 2^nd corps as well!”

“Pack Leader! The cars, the cars aren’t moving!”

“Push them out of the way if you need to! If you don’t want to be crushed by the tanks!”

What Ian used was not just any old anti-tank mine but the latest anti-tank mine that was used in World War III, the magnetic claymore ‘Flambéjour’.

Its explosive power and ability to scatter shrapnel are the same as those of ordinary claymores, but Flambéjour had one more special feature that suited its purpose as an anti-tank mine.

Creak— Creeeeak—

“Something stuck to the axel….. is preventing the car from moving!”

That was, after a user detonates Flambéjour, after a certain amount of time, the powerful magnetic fragments embedded in the targets attract to each other, ruining the vehicle’s electronic equipment and interfering with its operation.

Moving in a line was easy with some training. But what about maintaining that line while backing up? And not just any line, but one with dozens of tanks and combat vehicles—several times that number?

Baang—

Even at this moment, the bullets of a railgun periodically flew towards the Raptor’s tanks from beyond the Dome’s border. A lump of metal that weighs 25kg was flying toward them at a speed that was close to seven times faster than the speed of sound. They couldn’t just turn around their massive shields just because they wanted to retreat.

‘And in the situation where they needed to back up, the combat vehicles that first needed to get out of the way had stopped.’

For the deformed tanks to step over the vehicles that had stopped moving, their giant shields were too heavy. And so the tanks ultimately were unable to retreat, and when they stopped retreating, the Electric Poles and electromagnetic net that hadn’t been kept in check would push forward towards the Raptors and…..

‘They’re leaving!’

In the end, we would need to use the traditional method Gyosu mentioned, sending out the infantry to keep the Exosuits in check and destroy the Electric Poles.

Whoosh!

Seeing the infantry in front of him rush out to the field, Vex quickly used the gap to get into the Raptor’s formation. Their initial plan to go for the Noisy Packs was impossible. He had just two knives with only his underwear on, and even if the infantry had been dispatched, the inside of the formation still had many troops on standby, and Ian and Gyosu were too far away to back him up.

Shlck!

“Grulp! Guhhh! Eghhh—”

Thud.

The objective of an assassin, especially one infiltrating enemy lines, needed to change flexibly depending on their situation. Slitting the throat of a soldier stopped the backup and came out to investigate the sudden commotion. Vex closed the eyes of the opponent that collapsed with red foam in their mouth and quickly changed their clothes, then used the canteen from his waistband to wash away the dust on his face.

“Infiltration step complete. All that’s left now is….”

‘Alright. Let’s say I did make it in. It’s easy enough to get in without anything too bad happening. But what’s next? Assassination? Arson?’

‘Those are good too, but then you’ll die. I heard from Metal Jaw, and God bless, there’s a perfect position for our Mister Vex to go in.’

‘Perfect…. position?’

“Oy! Hey, you there!”

The sharp voice that called from behind almost made Vex take out the knife he had hidden.

“What are you doing there? Name, affiliation?”

“Ah, uhh…. I…..”

‘Shortie, after you change clothes there, just act like you always would.’

‘Like I always would?’

‘Act dumb and slow.’

‘Hey! Since when did I—!’

‘Just act like it, okay? The Triceratops is full of flaws, but it is an especially big pain in the ass……’

“You’re short. Are you a tank driver?”

“Uh, ah…. Yes! Yessir!”

“Then stop meddling around and go back to your position! Don’t even think of running away!”

The man assumed to be an officer glaring at Vex roughly grabbed Vex’s arm and started to drag Vex to the front of the formation.

‘The cockpit is hella small.’

‘Isn’t that the case for all tanks?’

‘Yeah, it’s small in the first place, but the T-7 made the front even smaller because of its head. Anyone over 155 can’t even fit in it, so normal soldiers can’t get in. It’s that small even after they took out all of the shock cushions and stuff too.’

‘Then that means if I can do something to the original driver, then I’ll be able to get in….’

‘You don’t need to. That tank is supposed to withstand hits from a metal bullet the size of your head flying at mach 7, and they don’t have a shock cushion in the cockpit. It’s basically going into a massive tuning fork. In a battle where they’re facing the Dome, T-7 drivers are consumables. All they need to know is how to go forward and back, so the Raptors train short kids to drive it and switch them out every time they get knocked out. And you just need to waddle around acting like a scared kid.’

‘It really worked.’

“Get in! And don’t even think of coming back out again. You are serving the great Raptor Society! Have pride!”

Inside the armored personnel carrier, attached to the back of the tank, close enough that the gunfire they hear shakes them, sat children between the ages of 10 and 14, around the same height as Vex. Their terrified expressions and bruises on their faces gave him a rough idea of ​​how they treat the children.

’….Idiots.’

And so Vex succeeded in infiltrating the most important defense of the enemies, the T-7 tank’s cockpit, with the help of a Raptor’s official.