4-102: Defend the Concert! 1

4-102: Defend the Concert! 1

Lets get this show going! Can you all keep up!?

As the songstress stirred the audience, waves of enthusiastic applause echoed, and excitement filled the venue.

The live performance had just begun, but the excitement of the crowd continued to reach new heights.

Meanwhile, the surrounding forest outside sank into the darkness, its only denizens, the security guards that patrolled for intruders. Of course, that was only the official side of the story.

Bullets of light tore through the darkness. Blades drew flowers of blood. Iron claws pierced through steel and flesh. Gunfire and explosions dominated the eyes and ears. Agony, screams, and silent corpses were scattered everywhere. There was only one word to describe such a scene, a battlefield.

Damn it! I dont understand, why, why is this happening!?

Shut up. If you have time to scream, use it to shoot instead!

H-HeyArgh! Damn it all!

One moment he was casually speaking with his colleague, then in the next, his colleague collapsed, and he was screaming in grief. His colleague sank into a pool of his own blood, but he knew it was pointless to try and rescue him. There was a massive hole on his body due to the armor-penetration of the large-caliber shell. The man died in an instant, and the only one left was him. But of course, he was not actually leisurely enough to think of all that. He was just scared and wanted to go home.

They had been informed that there was only one person protecting that area, and that was indeed the case. They attacked with four teams of three, so twelve people all in all. Everyone thought it was excessive. Even knowing that their opponents were fully armed and were elites of Nameless, at most, they thought that one or two of them might bite the bullet, but not even in their worst nightmares did they think that it could turn out to be such a massacre. Moreover, their opponents were all women, so they thought for sure this would be an easy job, not knowing that those same women pitied them for having such an attitude. True enough, a single gunshot was all it took to shatter their hubris.

The defenders were the first to move, and a hole appeared on someones head. As expected of those that lived in the underworld, they did not dawdle at the sight of someone dying and just moved in response. They estimated the shooters position and responded by fortifying their position.

Huh?

But light emanated from their feet, and remote-controlled photon landmines blew up. As though they had been bitten by a giant beast, their limbs were bitten away along with their exoskeleton.

Why hadnt they been warned about this? Why were the photon mines so strong? Yet even as the questions poured, and even as many of them were injured, they had no choice other than to respond appropriately.

With their shields, they protected themselves from the next barrage of attacks and flew. No matter how powerful the mines were, they were still just mines. Powerless against opponents flying in the sky.

There were no airborne mines. They had already checked with their exoskeletons sensors. At the same time, they tried to get their severely injured out of the area.

The forest was covered with barriers and advanced three-dimensional projections have been used on it by both sides, making it impossible to see what was happening from the outside.

Thats why they didnt have to worry about being seen. So they jumped up, only to be greeted with powerful attacks from all directions.

What the hell!?

Damn it!?

With the sound of an explosion, a swarm of iron balls rained down on them. There had been directional anti-personnel mines set on the trees, and it was through the force of their explosions that these iron balls scattered out in a fan shape and attacked them. At close range, these genuine Earth weapons could easily shred a human body, but they couldnt penetrate the armor and barriers of the exoskeletons.

Scaring us with such toys!?

Did you really think these would work!?

However, there was no denying that the sudden noise and impact was enough to momentarily stop their movements. The next trap began to unfold. The marble-sized iron balls that hit them were crushed and fell into the ground, but those that missed, rapidly transformed and revealed their true form as they launched a relentless attack.

Mobile-sized drones! Oh no!!

Hunters of steel covered the sky up above. With sharp photon beaks, claws, and large steel wings, they were a flock of raptors, and when they suddenly dove for them, they couldnt react in time.

One by one, they were slammed to the ground, becoming prey to those sharp beaks. It was just like a flock of vultures swarming over carrion.

Youve got to be kidding me!? Who would put drones in those!?

Those who were somehow able to repel the drones by fighting back recklessly cursed. It was a cunning trap that took advantage of the fact that Claymores and portable drones both had a standby state that resembled iron balls. It was a clever trap that exploited the complacency that arose from being accustomed to Garesto equipment.

Retreat! We didnt anticipate any of this!

Damn it!!

The battle had yet to begin, but already, they had fallen into the enemys trap. Several teams of their three-man-cells have suffered casualties, and they knew that their initial team setup didnt matter anymore.

So, as they flew about one meter above the ground, they sought to escape through the edge of the forest. Despite the panic they felt, they remained composed enough to retreat in a scattered formation. They didnt even get to meet with Nameless agents, so they didnt know whether the sniper that attacked them first was with them.

Not knowing where traps or attacks might come from, they decided that dispersing and escaping individually would increase their chances of returning home rather than staying together and falling into an all-encompassing net.

But

Alert!? Fast approaching!? What is it this timeGyaa!?



The second wave has already been deployed, but their momentum is unstoppable. We probably wont last another three minutes.

They should know just how much theyre expending themselves fighting like this, yet their morale remains high. Theyve been trained well.

Sixs face twisted. Theyre egging us on, as though to say that we should send out more if we think we can get past them.

What are they trying to do? They just look like theyve lost their minds to me, Venom asked.

But while they might have the advantage now, they were essentially sprinting in a marathon. Venoms question was understandable, but that was precisely why Six answered him in a grumpy tone.

As Ive said, theyre just trying to egg us on. Basically, unless we send enough of our forces, we wont be able to scout whats lying for us up ahead.

In other words, they want to tire us out? In a situation like this?

Venom was incredulous, but Six remained solemn.

That is only because youve yet to grasp the situation fully. Its not uncommon for the numerically inferior side to diminish enemy strength through guerrilla warfare.

Which part of this is guerrilla warfare?

Its guerrilla warfare, only were being forced to send our soldiers straight into the lions mouth.

Originally, guerrilla warfare was a tactic involving frequent small-scale ambushes on advancing enemy forces. Through surprise attacks, the depletion of enemy forces, and immediate retreats to minimize ones own losses, it was possible to instill fear for the next attack, lowering the enemys morale, exploiting psychological fatigue, and allowing more unexpected attacks. It also involves disrupting supply lines to exhaust the enemys long-term sustained fighting capability.

However, what was strange was that they could still fight with guerrilla warfare even though they knew where they were. Every one of the enemys soldiers were strong, and there was that mysterious second defense line too, making it challenging to simply bypass the holes in the first line. Any hesitation at the entrance of the second line would open one to a flanking from the Ladies resulting in a wasteful depletion of their own forces. In other words

So, in the end, theres no changing what we have to do. Or rather, it cant be changed. Weve just been confronted with that reality now. Its like fighting a certain general. He didnt actually come, did he? Six said.

Despite knowing the enemys intentions, they had no choice but to play into their plans. For a commander, it was a humiliation that went beyond just falling into a trap. They knew they were being manipulated, yet they could only dance along. For a moment, the face of Nameless leader surfaced on his mind. That man had once pushed him to the point of self-destruction.

Dont even joke about that. I cant beat that general and that halberd of his, not to mention Masquerade.

Venom paled, however, as he cannot outright deny the possibility. He was the only one among them who might be able to fight Masquerade, but if he had to fight both Masquerade and the general, there was no chance of him winning at all.

Sorry, I just remembered something unpleasant, but dont worry, he wont come. If he does, hell bring all of Nameless army with him and fight us properly.

That would also be bad. Venom looked sour. They might have numbers, but they were by no means united, and morale wasnt that high. Moreover, due to the secretive nature of their organization and its vastness spanning both worlds, there were those who didnt even know about Six, the leader of the Fang.

On the other hand, General Ortiz, who has raised the banner of rebellion against the government, still enjoyed high support both domestically and internationally.

Engaging against someone like that in a full-scale confrontation in this state, with his loyal subordinates, was reckless to the point of stupidity.

However, Six deliberately ignored such signs and focused entirely on the real-time situation displayed on the monitor.

Hes really working the Crimson Ladies hard, isnt he? There must be preparations to meet us even after they fall. Or

It could be a bluff. Perhaps, there was another meaning behind this seemingly self-destructive strategy. Trying to delay? Perhaps, analyze their forces and tactics? An attempt to intimidate? Bait them? Maybe decoy?

While coldly observing the second wave that seemed on the verge of annihilation, Six shook his head. In any case, they need to find out whats waiting for them up ahead. None of the conditions to assassinate the Songstress or Masquerade have been met yet, so

Six?

Alright, I knew we were being lured from the beginning. Ill play along. Venom, deploy the sacrificial third wave along with the main force. Send one squad each for the ground and the sky. Send the ground squad here, while the aerial squad will infiltrate from the opposite side. The objective is reconnaissance, but if possible, break through. Also, request artillery support, and tell them not to worry about hitting allies.

Got it. This is really turning into an invasion.

Venom muttered to himself as he nodded, while Six thought to himself that it was still an assassination.

Even if the gathered forces were to be wiped out, it didnt matter. He genuinely believed that the simple force of numbers wont work against Masquerade. Having the forces consolidated made it easier to bury them too. It would be worth it if they could gain insight to what was waiting for them up ahead. Truly, no price was to great if it meant Masquerades death.

However, the preparations were far from ready. Until then, all the soldiers deployed would just create corpses. So, let them fall for traps, schemes, and die as much as the enemy wanted. The true battle could only begin once the conditions have been met.

To whom shall victory fall? How many soldiers can the Crimson Ladies take down? How much will Masquerades traps and strategies trouble the Fang? How many vicious hidden cards have been prepared?

But in the end, all of it was meaningless.

The battle unfolding before them was nothing more than a farce.

Let them scheme as much as they want and claim all the small victories they yearned for. If Masquerade was looking down at the board, thinking that he could turn it over anytime he wished, then he just needed to think on a bigger scale; therefore

Do try your best and protect the Songstress until the end.