Chapter 136.1. Masamune
Date Masamune. A well-known daimyo from the past. Not a name adopted as a warlord during the Warring States period, but his original name. A precious name given by his parents.
Now, he's reluctantly serving as the commander of the Tsukuba Line Fortress. A job full of hardships with no rewards. His superiors, Nanbu and Soma, acknowledge their age and offer support, but he won't become commander. He understands that. It's so that when a formidable enemy appears, he can be the first to fight. The commander needs to be the last one standing.
Masamune sometimes contemplates. Thinks, and considers questions without answers. Specifically, when saving a life, whether to prioritize one life over many yet unseen.
He recalls occasionally. It feels like a distant past. Memories of when the dungeons first appeared.
When the dungeons emerged, he was just a rookie assigned to the tank unit. He was part of the tank unit first deployed when the dungeons appeared. Soma and Nanbu. They were his seniors, superiors, and comrades who rode in the same tank back then.
He doesn't remember where they got dispatched. What he remembers is just one thing. It was an unpleasant memory. A past that existed as the cause of the battlefield that shaped his present self.
It's a story from a forgotten time, a past that feels like it happened ages ago.
He forgot the place name, but Masamune urgently deployed to a city. The tank unit got ordered to deploy to the urban area for some reason.
The only thing for the tank unit to do was one. Just pull the trigger of the tank gun during exercises. Similar to pilots of fighter jets and combat helicopters. Japan, as a country, never used weapons labeled for combat in actual battles.
So, when the order to deploy came, he was perplexed. He, still a young recruit, moved the tank and was confused about what was happening.
In the shaking tank, Masamune asked his superior tank commander Nanbu.
"Nanbu-san, what on earth is happening? It's abnormal to deploy tanks. Could it be a terrorist attack?"
"Hmm, in the briefing, it seems a large number of wild animals appeared. Politicians decided to deploy tanks for that reason. It's quite a decisive move."
Nanbu also seems puzzled by the situation, tilting his head and not providing a clear answer.
"A virus leaked. There are probably zombies running around. In that case, I'll never open the hatch. You can count on that."
"Zombie movies are strange, aren't they? Why can armored vehicles and tanks be taken down by zombies that have the strength to break a house door?"
"Surely, they welcome the zombies, open the hatch, and greet them. They were probably benevolent riders."
With a hearty laugh, Soma and Masamune respond with forced smiles. It's a bad joke, but it does make them wonder.
After driving for a while, they arrived where they could overlook the urban area, making light banter.
In a casual manner. If it were a rescue operation, a tank battalion would not be called. Lacking imagination, they proceeded forward with laughter.
But, the laughter only lasted until then. As they approached the destination, everyone fell silent. The view outside the camera was tragic.
"What is that?"
Unable to believe what they saw, Nanbu uttered a strained voice.
The urban area visible in the camera was engulfed in flames and smoke, and even from the distance, Masamune and others understood the sight of people fleeing in panic. Although the people still looked like tiny dots, their expressions were unseen, but it was not difficult to imagine them screaming and running in terror.
After all, a giant lizard was chasing them from behind, biting and crushing people, pressing cars with its body, and smashing buildings with its tail. Compared to the size of a human like a tiny grain, the lizard was several times larger. It was 10 meters tall, had a length of about 30 meters, and was a fat, green lizard with four legs.
"Is that the target? What the hell is that lizard? Where did it come from?"
"It's not just one; they're all over the place!"
Nanbu and Soma growl with narrowed eyes, and Masamune swallows saliva, rubbing his eyes. He revisits the scene in front of him multiple times, wondering if it's a dream, but the evidence of reality doesn't let his eyes open. It was real.
The infantry transport truck ahead of them stops among the fleeing people, along with armored vehicles, discharging infantry one after another.
"This is the battalion commander. All vehicles stop. Lock onto the provisional target, the large lizard."
"Understood. Number 8, initiate lock on the enemy."
With instructions from the battalion commander via communication, they quickly lock onto the large lizard. The distance from here is just over a kilometer. A fairly close distance. They shouldn't miss it.
"Good. Ready to fire."
Without a word, everyone waits for the shooting instructions in painful silence. However, the instructions do not come.
"Something's wrong? Why isn't the shooting command coming?"
Nanbu mutters with squinted eyes in the silent tank, and Soma clicks his tongue.
"The infantry is being killed! What are they doing, those guys?"
The infantry, using the armored vehicles as shields, seemed to be engaging in combat. No, that's what it looked like. While desperately protecting and guiding fleeing people, the giant lizard mocked them, biting off several people at once, crushing them with its body, and smashing buildings with its tail. Compared to humans, armored vehicles were just as easily crushed and blown away as ordinary cars.
And the infantry is pointing guns at the lizard, but they're not firing.
"Why aren't they shooting? Shoot them quickly!"
Even though he understands that shouting here is useless, he shouts. He doesn't understand why they're not shooting.
"Operator, why aren't they shooting?"
When Soma communicates, a quick reply comes from the operator.
"Firing in urban areas is not allowed. Currently, there is a directive from the Minister of Defense to focus on evacuating civilians. We are deployed for pest control."
Mentioning the Minister of Defense specifically triggers a response. It's a ridiculous content.
"They're just trying to save themselves! If they allow firing in urban areas, the political careers will be over!"
Bangs on the gun and elbow rest, cursing with foul language.
"They can't shoot because the enemy is an animal? Nonsense! Or have they started shooting?"
Their lives are at stake. It was also a limit to blindly follow orders honestly. Once someone starts shooting, others follow suit one after another, and the infantry begins to sound gunfire.
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