Assault Colossus of the Nemesis Warfront

「It seems that the number of enemy units attacking them is over 100,000 and there are also over ten Giant Murders.  The remaining teams seem to have engaged the enemy forces, but it’s night over there.  There’s no telling how long they can last with their main forces already having retreated……」

「Deny the request. In other words, what those guys are trying to say is that we abandon Fortress Area P336 and wipe their own behinds for them. You gotta be kidding me!」

「Understood. I’ve turned down the request for the reason that’s we’re currently engaged in a war with the Argonauts.」

Everyone then turned silent.

It was Kou who finally broke the silence.

「Even if we manage to protect this place, they’re aiming to completely prevent us from obtaining resources from space huh.」

Even though the resources from space were distributed by Okeanos, they wouldn’t be able to obtain them if the essential distribution sites had already fallen under enemy control.

「Hey, Asia. I’ve been thinking for a while. Have none of them really ever thought of rescuing you?」

『The first rescue operation conducted in order to free me was the joint operation of Metal Iris and Storm Hound.』

「They had that much power, so that’s quite strange.」

『They focused on protecting themselves, gathered enough strength in order not to be attacked, and gathered up relics from the Interplanetary War era.  The ancient weapons only served as deterrents.  And then, they gathered promising humans under their banner, invited people who possessed spaceships, and created the greatest and largest force on the planet.』

「So, they only became the strongest so they wouldn’t have to fight huh? And when their deterrence no longer works, they didn’t even hesitate to abandon an extremely crucial base in order to run away and escape.」

Even Kou could understand the Mercenary Association’s reasoning.  However, he also thought that there were certain things one absolutely had to protect, even if that meant fighting.

With that, another doubtful point emerged.

「The Mercenary Association is really an organization that’s hard to understand.」

『It’s an organization directly affiliated with Okeanos, and its upper management members are all genuine Asians. They are all descendants of those who were transferred to Planet Asia during the Planetary Pioneering era.  Hence, they have a strong tendency to abhor conflict.  That’s why they gathered Underground Forces solely for defense.』

「Hold on a moment. The Association gathered Underground Forces in order to use them as deterrence.  They strengthened themselves and pulled in influential forces and forces in possession of powerful Interplanetary War-era weapons one after another, right?」

『Yes.』

「But isn’t it prohibited to concentrate that much power in one place?」

『There’s an exception to that rule. If an organization works directly for the Mercenary Association, it’s exempted from that rule.  That’s why they are employed by Okeanos as well. That’s because working for the Mercenary Association ensures that their strength won’t be used for aggression.』

「They certainly didn’t use their power for aggression. But isn’t that because the Mercenary Association had rushed to secure large-scale Underground Forces to use as deterrents for the sake of avoiding a direct confrontation with the Stones? They only ever dispatch medium-sized mercenary teams here and there, and when those teams develop to a certain extent, they immediately get taken in by Roche Phalanx. If that’s the case, then they shouldn’t have been able to raise the power of their forces to such an extent.」

『Jenny, what do you think my answer will be?』

「Don’t tease me, Asia. I thought they were just an organization that fattened themselves up for the sake of self-protection…… but now I’m even more suspicious that it’s nothing as simple as that.」

「Money is needed to maintain a large organization. However, that money is also provided by Okeanos.  It’s payment for subjugating Stones forces.  If they had a sufficiently powerful force that occasionally kicks the Stones around to a certain extent, the money will continuously flow. Then, they’d set their sights on conspicuous forces or people and move in to recruit them.」

Rick smiled bitterly as he offered his own conjecture.

「So, you’re saying that there’s actually some sort of agreement between the Mercenary Association and the Stones? But why have the Stones launched an attack on them now?」

「It’s probably because of the Ate.  The Stones were unable to reactivate the Ate previously.  However, they apparently have a shot at doing that now.  That’s why they probably felt there was already no need to honor that farcical gentleman’s agreement with the Mercenary Association.」

「That’s why they only used that thing during the first simultaneous invasion of Planet Asia huh?  So, it actually couldn’t move any further after that.」

Fuyuki offered his conjecture regarding Barry’s question, and the latter agreed with what he said.

Kou, who already knew the exact circumstances, didn’t say anything.

「What’s the status of A001?」

「Many Familiars and Underground Forces are still fighting there. It seems the Underground Forces『Sledgehammer』and『Mayonnaise Lover』are shifting to guerilla warfare.  Currently, they are prioritizing the evacuation of civilian residents.」

「The orbital elevators aren’t allowed to be designated as targets.  So, they intend on eradicating the humans through sheer numbers and then proceed to occupy the Fortress Area.  They’ve really gone all out this time.」

Aki’s distressed voice rang out once more.

「Commander, another battle has erupted in the Pyrochlore continent.  It’s in the Pyrochlore continent development zone. Murders are invading the Pyrochlore mineral deposit zone!」

Tantalum and tungsten were minerals with very small reserves back on Earth.  That goes the same for Planet Asia as well. They were extremely precious raw materials.

They mainly mined niobium and tantalum in the Pyrochlore mineral deposit zone. Tantalum was a particularly valuable resource.

「That volcanic zone? Misumaru Heavy Industries is there, but they are pretty far away from the mineral deposit zone. It’s probably only a matter of time before that place falls to enemy control.」

「The entirety of Planet Asia has become one huge battlefield huh.」

「It seems a transferee company led by a B-Class Development Engineer is hiring Underground Forces to conduct guerilla warfare.」

Aki continued to report on the battle situation.

「The main battlefields are here and A001 huh? It’s unfortunate, but we already have our hands full here.」

「It seems the company coalition is also reluctant to help A001. It’s quite far away, and it would be troublesome if we keep receiving rescue requests afterward since the first and second-ranked Underground Forces have already escaped.」

「No matter how much they try, they wouldn’t be able to put together another force comparable to Roche Phalanx.」

Even so, sending in a rescue request to Metal Iris even when they themselves were in the middle of fighting a war was just too absurd.

Kou and the rest couldn’t help but think that there was some other intention behind such a request.

「Fortunately, we’re no longer affiliated with the Mercenary Association, but a defense force under the company coalition Ulysses instead.   I made that move in secret, but it looks like that was the right thing to do after all.」

「I really respect you for that, Barry.」

Kou meant that from the bottom of his heart.  He was thankful that Barry had made the best choice possible.

「Thank me after we win. Based on the number of enemies attacking Fortress Area A001, we can probably expect a comparable number to attack us as well. That means we’ll be expecting at least 100,000 enemy units. The number of their troops might be higher, but Metal Iris certainly trumps them in quality.  The Mantis types are no longer a threat to us.」

Barry confidently declared.

「First thing tomorrow morning. I expect them to arrive here right before dawn breaks. Then, we’ll finally engage in ground combat.  According to what that fellow said back then, the opening act still hasn’t ended yet.  First, we’ll annihilate all the Murders coming at us.」

The expressions of everyone participating in the conference tensed up.

「Also, I don’t think there’s only a single Ate. There should be at least two of them. Just like I told you, I plan to have you handle one of them, Fuyuki.」

「Yes. If I and my troops do well, we’ll hopefully be able to bring down one.  It’s a race against time.」

「We have to be able to adapt to the situation accordingly.  We’re going to engage in a ground battle next.」

Barry declared.

The battlefield had moved to a new stage.