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Chapter 214 : #214 No.

‘Well, well, there’s no need to descend and chase after it!

I hope you’re right.

Ha-ha-ha …… I’ve got the drop-off points marked.

Naturally, our pursuit didn’t make it in time. This was because by the time we reached the terraforming Cormat IV, the suppression ship had already begun its descent, and attacking and destroying the propulsor would only turn the descent to Cormat IV into a crash. Since they had been told not to destroy it, there was no way to touch it.

However, the Krishna is still a small combat ship that can perform interstellar navigation on its own. The performance of its various sensors is also more than adequate, and it is easy to accurately observe the descent point of the suppression ship from the low orbit of Cormat IV.

Therefore, we mark the exact descent point of the suppression ship, and hold the head of the person inside the descending suppression ship while it remains in low orbit of Cormat IV.

‘I understand that the environment of a terraforming planet is very dangerous, but why are you staying here?’

‘Because if they’re hiding an interstellar capable ship in Cormat IV, if we hold this place down, we can hit it the moment it comes up into space.

Even for a cruiser, it would have to fly almost straight upward in order to break through the planet’s gravity and leave the atmosphere. They can’t even take evasive action, so they are extremely defenseless against attacks. That’s the level at which it would be easy to destroy just the propulsion vehicle, even if the opponent is a small ship.

‘If they can hold our orbit, it will be very difficult to come up into space. He who controls the control of space wins the battle. That’s the main reason why the armies of every interstellar nation, not just the Empire, are putting so much effort into the maintenance of their space forces.

No amount of strong fortresses, powerful soldiers, tanks, ships, or air weapons are powerless against orbital bombing from space as long as they are on the ground. Basically, the battle in this world today is about whoever gets the navigational rights wins the battle.

”Then why did that suppression ship escape to Cormat IV?

I’m guessing Cormat IV has some kind of reversal – a way to escape, or maybe it’s just a stall.

Are you stalling?

The only thing you can do is to pray and wait for the other party – that is, us – to retreat for some reason, unless there is some kind of reversal. As long as we’re running away, I’m sure we have some kind of expectation, but what that is is a matter of imagination.

And there’s one other possibility, but I’d like to think that’s not a quandary.

“For now, we’ll wait until the rest of the army arrives. When we take over, we’ll go back to the colony and deal with the loot.

Desperate.

‘Haha …… Well, well, there’s no reason for Krishna to bother descending, and it’s okay.

Knock it off, guys. If you speak out of turn, you might have to drop. I’m never going down. I’m not coming down!

★ ★ ★ ★

About an hour later, I was in an Imperial Air Force dropship.

“Let me go home.

No.

Across from me sits Major Serena, who isn’t in his usual small, clean military uniform, but rather in lightweight combat armor. Around him are Imperial Air Force marines wearing more heavily armored combat armor, and armored marines equipped with special jumpsuits suitable for wearing power armor, and so on. It’s not just the men who are hungry, there are also a good number of women, so the oppressive feeling is considerably reduced, which is a relief.

I’m not wearing my usual mercenary uniform, but rather my light combat armor for white knight battles and my chameleon thermal cloak, which I bought at the Vlad Prime Colony a while back.

This cloak is equipped with an energy pack that will allow you to comfortably overlook extreme weather conditions ranging from -50 degrees Celsius to +50 degrees Celsius, as well as a hood that will help you deal with typhoons and sandstorms, and a chameleon feature that will allow you to adapt to the environment around you for camouflage.

It also has a high-tech water bottle that collects water from the air and generates up to 2 liters of water a day, a high performance universal mask that claims to be able to deal with not only harmful gases but also unknown bacteria, viruses, and biological weapons, and other various survival equipment, as well as a pair of swords of various sizes, a laser It is equipped with guns and even laser rifles. It is fully equipped for battle.

The escaped and hiding Gerrits-Ixmal is a master swordsman with cybernetics and biotechnology enhanced physical capabilities. Right now, there is no one else in our system who can compete with him except you and me.

Why don’t you just surround it and laser roast it whole: ……

But that doesn’t mean you should settle the matter with a sword or are you a white bladedist in your head. Use more civilized tools.

”We caused a lot of damage when we tried to do so in the battle to suppress the space bandit base. We need to capture him alive in the first place.

Why?

‘It’s said that Gerrits is the brother of Count Ixmalar, a man who does all sorts of dark things as the Count’s right hand man. We couldn’t capture or interrogate him before because he didn’t show his tail, but this time there’s no excuse for it. If we can capture him and get the information out of him, we can crush the Countess Ixmalar. We must definitely capture him.

I don’t know what it is, but I know that Commander Selena wants to bring down this Countess Ixmalar.

That’s all you need to know. Well, you know, the Countess of Ixmalar, that’s what they call them.

Aristocrats, huh?　Well, you can tell it’s not a proper place just because your right-hand man is hanging out with a bunch of space pirates. I don’t want to get involved in the affairs of the nobility, so I won’t go into details.

But I thought it was said that the nobility are monitored by a mechanical intelligence and are not allowed to be mischievous.　And it doesn’t look good to openly ask Commander Serena here. It’s kind of like Elma, Chris, and other aristocrat-born people are always acting like they have things stuck in their back teeth when it comes to mechanical intelligence-related matters. I don’t know if it’s a tacit understanding, or an open secret, or if there’s something special about it that can’t be said openly.

I’m not a specialist in cutting up people in the flesh, but I’m a specialist in crackpotting on boats, not in cutting up people in the flesh.

Haha, you showed such great swordsmanship in your last match. You’re the only one who can compete with me, so please give up. Your employer has given you permission to do so. Well, when it comes to a formal request from the Imperial Air Force, I don’t think I could refuse.

Dirty. That’s very dirty, very public, very dirty.

‘Dirty is a rude word, isn’t it? I’ve done my best, and I’ve done my rights justice.

Commander Serena cowers her shoulders and willow away my detailed abuse. Gugnu.

”Thirty seconds to drop!

All hands, brace for drop!　Don’t bite your tongue when you’re messing up!

“‘Aye aye mam!

Commander Serena raises her voice, and the Marines respond loudly. It’s just like an army, but why am I being thrown in here alone?

Come on, you’re going to have to come with me. “Well, you’re going to have to go with me to the bottom of this world’s hell hole called a terraforming planet.

Commander Serena smiles smugly and at the same time, the dropship seems to start entering the atmosphere and the dropship begins to rattle and shake violently.

‘Oh no!　Take me home!

My cries were in vain, and the Imperial Air Force dropship was descending into the terraforming Comat IV.

******

Landing place secured!　Go-go-go!

“Armored Marines, proceed with equipment inspection and fitting.　Industrialists, hurry up and get the material projectors ready!

As soon as they landed, Imperial Marines jumped out of the dropship and Major Serena began to loudly take command. The marines seem to be moving briskly and beginning to inspect their equipment and set up their bases.

Arguably, the environment at the landing site is the worst. It was 20 degrees below zero, and although it was dry or not snowing, dust was blowing in the stormy wind, and if I hadn’t been wearing a mask, my face would have been covered in minor abrasions.

I was in contact with Krishna using a small information terminal. Through the universal mask connected wirelessly to the small information terminal, a communication screen appeared in my field of vision.

‘This is Hiro, we’ve landed safely for now.

“This is Mimi. I’m relieved to hear that you’ve made it down safely.

Yeah. So, you got me tracking from there?

That’s okay. If you need anything else, we can always use backup fire.

You’ll do me a favor. But don’t hit me.

“Trust my skills. I’m a well-trained Krishna sub-pilot, too. You know that.

Yeah.

Elma is also a sub-pilot of Krishna, and she’s trained to become proficient in Krishna. Of course, he can’t match my skills, but he’s mastered the skills to properly handle Krishna. I’ve been riding the Galactic Swan, a moving coffin that is difficult to maneuver in the first place, and Elma’s piloting skills are not low. If she can hone her combat maneuverability with her balancer off, she’ll be able to peel off another layer of skin.

‘I don’t want to be alive without power armor or anything like that: ……’

It’s a good thing I can’t wield a sword while wearing my power armor.

‘You should buy some power armor for swordsmen next time, shouldn’t you?　And there’s room for it, too.’

Maybe we should consider that, too.

Some lightweight power armor is marketed as having a range of motion when worn that is no different from that of the living body. Even so, its physical strength and mobility are strengthened compared to that of the flesh, and if optional parts such as jump packs are attached, short-range flight is possible. Instead, its armor is poor, and often looks like it’s just a hair’s breadth from the combat armor I’m currently equipped with.

But even so, the power armor is still a power armor, so its weather resistance and ability to adapt to the environment is very high. It would be of great use in these situations, so I might consider buying it.

However, you might want to buy some pricey equipment to help you get through these situations.　And when you suggest that, Mimi has learned a lot about the mercenary way of doing things.

”Right. Let’s keep on getting dyed in the same way and become a genuine mercenary.

‘Oh, haha …… is it good or bad? ……’

Don’t sound so complicated. It’s easier when you’re dyed in the dark, right?

So, off topic, what’s the plan?

Can’t we just sit on our hands and wait until the subject is found in a secure location?

Right now, in front of my eyes, a sturdy-looking base is being built by a military-grade material projector at an alarming rate. I don’t know what kind of high-tech technology they’re using, but the base is being printed out by light as if it were a model made with a 3D printer.

I wonder how it works. Well, as far as the use of high-tech equipment is concerned, it’s probably more commonplace than the protagonist of a crafting game, who chops down trees with his bare hands to create walls and ceilings in the void.

Of course not.

I was called from behind before Mimi and Elma’s voices came back from behind the small communication terminal. When I turned around, I saw Commander Serena in combat armor at the bottom. There was the usual sword at her waist, and she seemed to be wearing a variety of other equipment as well.

‘Hiro, you and I are the trump card against Gerrits. You will be the spearhead of the search for Gerrits with me, since normal forces could destroy each of them for good by the Gerrits.

Excuse me, sir?　Don’t commanders usually have a don in the back, don’t they?

‘When are we talking about?　With a command device, it is possible to manage information in a centralized manner, and as a commander from the aristocracy, it is only natural to be able to think fast and multitask. The commander of the Imperial Air Force is the one who stands in front and also takes command of the entire operation.

Goodbye …….

So I’m going to have to stand on the front lines with Commander Selena to find this Gerrit guy in the worst possible weather? Yeah, right.

“Bring me home.

No.

Commander Serena smiles a good smile through the transparent helmet that covers her entire face. Damn you!

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