In this era, what is the thing that threatens humanity the most?
Without a doubt, it is the visitor descending from between the stars, the “Festum,” and the alien lifeform brought forth by the Dimensional Quake, the “Beta.”
Whichever it may be, the harm they inflict upon humans is terrifying.
However, if one were to rank the two, then no matter what, one would surely agree that the destructiveness of the Betas falls far short of that of the Festum.
That’s right.
If the lands overrun by the Beta can still be reclaimed, and afterward rebuilt to a certain degree… The invasion of the Festum is not such a simple matter.
Pursuing the void, they will indiscriminately annihilate everything within their sight.
No matter what living thing, what equipment, even buildings and the very earth beneath their feet, they will make it vanish completely from the world.
In the end, all that remains is an ocean as far as the eye can see, flowing in to fill the gaps left by the sunken land.
Therefore, in regard to the Festum’s invasions, what the HRL has consistently upheld is an attitude of high vigilance and precaution.
…And so, even when subjected to an unexpected surprise attack, the defense forces stationed here still possess the capability for rapid response.
And at this moment, the Tieren squad racing across the snowfield is the most fitting proof of that.
“Sun Tzu said, ‘In all warfare, use the orthodox to engage, use the extraordinary to win’…”
Sitting in the cockpit of one of the Tierens, chewing over the famous words of the ancient military strategist with a worried expression, was a black-haired young man by the name of Yoon Tae-hwan.
“…I originally thought this was wisdom unique to humans. But to think the wounded during retreat would be subjected to a surprise attack in the same fashion. Could it be that over these ten-odd years of battle, they have learned humanity’s ‘tactics’? The Festum…”
Just as he was feeling somewhat bitter at this moment, another transmission squeezed its way into his ear.
“Hey, Lieutenant Yoon. Reciting that so-called… The Art of War again? Like a routine lesson… We graduated from the military academy a long time ago, haven’t we. Is it really still necessary to keep doing this…?”
It was the voice of a rather frank and straightforward man.
To this, Yoon Tae-hwan merely replied calmly.
“It is The Art of War of Sun Tzu. Drawing nourishment from the wisdom of the ancients is also an important thing, Captain Gordon. I do not believe I have done anything wrong.”
“…Ah, no. I didn’t mean to criticize you, Lieutenant Yoon. No… rather, it’s admiration. With a great enemy before us, it’s rare that you can still be so calm.”
“Not at all. I, who have been no match for you since our cadet days, have only this as a redeeming quality.”
Yoon Tae-hwan responded with his head lowered.
The truth was exactly so.
Yoon Tae-hwan and Jed Taylor Gordon were a pair of rising young elite twin stars on the HRL’s extreme northern defense line.
It was just that one of them grew up on the eastern continent, while the other was born on an island nation of the southern seas.
The two of them, differing in origin and even in race, could nonetheless get along so harmoniously.
It might well be a manifestation of the Human Reform League’s powerful centripetal force, smoothing away the boundaries that originally existed between nations and peoples.
…Let us set these matters aside for now.
The conversation between the two continued as normal.
“Military rank and standings, in the end none of these can be fully taken as standards for comparing ability, Lieutenant Yoon. I have always felt that you are a figure who surpasses me… But idle talk ends here. We are almost at the point where the enemy was reported to have appeared.”
“…Indeed. Then let us prepare for battle, Captain Gordon. We must ensure we do not stain Lieutenant Colonel Sergei’s honor.”
And with that, the conversation came to an end.
The two, standing ready, had clearly both entered a state of combat readiness.
Sergei Smirnov.
That was precisely the name of the direct superior officer of the unit the two commanded.
Bearing the alias “Wild Bear,” he had fought for many years on this absolute defense line against the Festum.
Not only that, Sergei had an illustrious battle record of several times saving the entire defense line from the brink of peril.
Thus, he was not merely a veteran commander of outstanding merit, but also a hero of considerable renown.
From the respect revealed in the words of Yoon Tae-hwan and Gordon, one could catch a glimpse of this as well.
And at the very moment this discussion was taking place, they simultaneously noticed that a strange signal was coming through from their machines’ OS.
That was…
“A cipher transmission…? Wounded soldiers in retreat?”
After identifying its source at a glance, Yoon Tae-hwan muttered somewhat strangely.
In combat against the Festum, because of their mind-reading ability, real-time radio interconnection was rarely employed.
Instead, contact was more often conducted by means of encrypted ciphers.
So long as the soldiers’ minds formed a certain conditioned reflex (for example, replacing the word “retreat” entirely with something like “chicken ribs”), then even for the Festum to effectively exercise their mind-reading ability, it would take them some time to decipher and comprehend it.
And the only ones capable of sending such a transmission at this moment were, without a doubt, that wounded unit which had encountered the Sphinx-type’s surprise attack.
But how did they have the leeway to send a message? Enjoying the story?
Had they successfully retreated, or else… Holding such curiosity in mind, Yoon Tae-hwan began deciphering the cipher.
“‘Someone is fighting… please go and support him?'” After reading out the contents of the cipher transmission, Yoon Tae-hwan could not help but be somewhat astonished.
“How is that possible… Is there a unit that acted before we did? If so, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei would surely have informed us…?”
Gordon was also dumbfounded.
“The Lieutenant Colonel is not an all-capable figure either. Perhaps even he has his moments of oversight… In any case, let us head to the scene first. We must hurry, Captain Gordon…!”
“…You’re right, Lieutenant Yoon. All units, pay no heed to fuel reserves, raise speed to maximum!”
At the command of Gordon, the de facto commander, the Tieren squad’s speed rapidly increased.
And it was when they had advanced at maximum speed to the location on the report…
“Huh. There’s… no one?”
What they saw was a scene in which no one existed at all.
Only, the chaotic tracks left on the ground, and the several blocks that had abruptly vanished, were proof that a fierce battle had once taken place here.
“…Just what is going on?”
Somewhat unable to comprehend the situation, Gordon clutched his head and murmured to himself.
“I’m not clear on it either. But if we contact the retreated wounded again through the channel from earlier…”
In contrast to him, Yoon Tae-hwan was undoubtedly the calmer one.
“‘…Could you inform us of the model of the machine that was fighting, and his identification code?'” After converting this string of text into cipher and sending it, Yoon Tae-hwan quietly awaited a response.
It did not take long before the party he had earlier contacted through his machine gave him the answer he required.
After routinely deciphering it, Yoon Tae-hwan slowly read out the other party’s reply: “‘Identification code unknown…'” This point alone was suspicious enough.
But the words that followed were even more shocking— “‘However, that the machine was a single red Leo is beyond doubt.’ …A red Leo…?”
“What, what? Is he saying that someone, in a machine from an old era, defeated… a Sphinx-type?”
At this point Gordon also leaned in, echoing with some confusion.
“Such a thing…”
“…Theoretically, it should be impossible, right?”
And in the end, the words of the two became an exclamation spoken in unison.