Earth Dungeon 75.2

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Chapter 75.2. Security Company

"Gunner! Get the machine gun ready. If you see any suspicious movement, open fire!"

"Understood!"

As his subordinates disembarked and he followed suit, Koukaku signaled to close the hatches. His bewildered younger brothers seemed frozen in place by the unexpected events. They probably hadn't expected an ambush; they must have planned to have their armored vehicles and troops behind them to make a dignified surrender offer.

Everyone remained vigilant, forming their defensive positions. The highly trained soldiers were performing their duties with the same proficiency they always showed, which gave Koukaku some satisfaction as he shifted his gaze forward.

Just as the lead and 2nd vehicles, traveling with a 50-meter gap between them, reached the bend in the road, they disappeared from view behind the corner.

Koukaku cursed, thinking it was a well-planned ambush. He wanted to believe it was an engine problem, but without communication, something had definitely happened.

"Suwa Kaneyoshi here. What's the situation? What about the lead vehicle? Send a report."

He waited for a report over the comms. Soon, the squad leader from the second vehicle, who had disembarked earlier, responded. Koukaku, the squad leader, and the vehicles could communicate through the comms.

"...The first vehicle has come to a complete stop. The engine is running. No sign of soldiers in the machine gun position... There's a possibility that the enemy has infiltrated the vehicle from the machine gun position."

"You didn't check with thermography? What's happening with the lead vehicle?"

"Um... Unclear. The hatch has just started to open... Uh... There's a girl inside? Uh, open fire!"

Amidst the report, there was the sound of intense gunfire.

"Damn it! Enemy! Take cover behind the armored vehicles and stay vigilant, everyone!"

"Understood!"

His subordinates moved behind the cover of the armored vehicles, aiming their guns forward, alert for any threats. The automatic rifle gunfire echoed briefly and then stopped.

"Second vehicle, what's the situation? How many enemies are there? Have you eliminated them?"

Koukaku inquired over the comms, somewhat relieved by the sudden cessation of gunfire.

"This is the 2nd vehicle. There was one enemy, a mysterious girl. A cute but strong girl, it seems. We've eliminated the enemy. For me, at least."

What came through the communication was the amused laughter of an unexpectedly cute girl, out of place in this situation. Koukaku was astonished and learned that his subordinates had been killed.

"Damn it! What happened? Stay vigilant ahead!"

While giving instructions calmly, Koukaku felt a boiling rage in his gut. There was someone who could take down his soldiers alone, and it was causing considerable damage.

Unbeknownst to him, Shizuku was coldly observing the situation from the 5th floor of a ruined building. She was already inside the enemy's rearmost building.

"They have quite the level of training. They're not flinching despite the partial destruction and are keeping a close eye on the front. The rearmost troops are guarding the rear."

This unit had impressive training. Shizuku signaled with hand gestures, dispatching two of her team as scouts. The status of the first two vehicles would soon become clear. Or rather, the soldiers from the 2nd vehicle hadn't boarded the vehicle and then been killed; they were split in half and sprawled on the road.

[Shizuku, wouldn't it have been better if I had taken them down?]

Yūtai's spectral presence furrowed its brows as it inquired, but Shizuku shook her head in disagreement.

"Sakimori-san, your role is to eliminate the enemies from the shadows using Magic Bits. It should be easy to wrap this up as a simple urban legend about a girl with a pointy hat. But, considering what might happen in the future, I also want to engage in combat with the military."

[What are Magic Bits? And what's a pointy hat?]

"It's a term for remotely controlled guided weapons. From now on, just mumble 'Pikin' while remotely controlling magic spears. 'Pointy hat' refers to a wizard."

[Sounds suspicious, so I'll pass.]

Sighing, Shizuku began to predict the enemy's movements. Once their losses exceeded 20%, tactically, they were already defeated if they had an excellent commander...

"They should be starting their retreat. But, that won't happen."

The primary objective was the annihilation of the enemy and the confiscation of their equipment. Shizuku desired the equipment the enemy possessed, including their vehicles.

"Then, here I go."

With a thud, she kicked off the ground and floated gently, landing at the rear of the fifth vehicle, amidst the soldiers who had formed a perimeter.

"Enemy!"

[Circle Blade]

As the soldiers turned to aim their rifles at the girl who had landed at their center, silver threads surged from her body. There was a sharp metallic sound, and the girl, who now wore a mask, transformed into a figure wielding a sword. The soldiers got dismembered by those silver threads and fell to the ground.

"Shh."

She swung her sword toward the open hatch. Oboromizu's short sword obediently extended like a whip, slashing through the soldier who had hurriedly attempted to close the hatch.

"Damn it! You monster!"

Against the soldier aiming the vehicle's machine gun at her, Shizuku pulled a knife from her waist and threw it. It entered the gap in the gunner's seat's armor, killing the soldier.

"Now, let me show you my skills inherited from the pipe maintenance worker."

She climbed into the armored vehicle and took the driver's seat. Stepping on the gas pedal with all her might. She charged toward the surprised soldiers ahead.

"Oh no! R, retreat!"

In a hurry, the enemy scattered, but she paid no mind to that and charged toward the fourth vehicle. It wasn't a particularly powerful collision due to the short distance, but the fourth vehicle was lifted and toppled over, and the fifth vehicle followed suit. Somersaulting in midair, she leaped out of the hatch.

"With this, the enemy's escape is impossible."

The fourth and fifth vehicles blocked the road, and she smiled playfully.

"Only about 30 left. That's no problem at all. Looks like we'll get a lot of weapons this time. It'd be fun if they quack like ducks with automatic rifles."

Holding Oboromizu's short sword, she surveyed the soldiers who now trembled in fear. To her, they looked like ducks carrying automatic rifles.