Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume20 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 3===

“Contact. Claire Whist to Baby Magnum. I’m one of the guest technical officers given an online invitation to deal with this emergency. My specialty is Object design. I know your specs already, so can you pass me the data I need to analyze the enemy Object?”

All hell had broken loose in the Legitimacy Kingdom territory near the Mont Blanc border on the west side of the Alps.

“!”

The Princess observed the enemy through her special goggles that used lasers to read her eye movements.

The Baby Magnum was making quick evasions to the left and right, but the Princess was aware she was also gradually falling back. This one was especially difficult to deal with.

The Blast Samurai.

It had a main cannon on either side…except they weren’t quite cannons really. This Faith Organization Second Generation wielded twin 10m blades made of ultra-hot low-stability plasma. She was dead if it got close enough. That plasma was so powerful it couldn’t be fully controlled with ordinary magnetism, so it would be able to slice through a nuke-resistant Object like it was made of jelly.

“Its versatility is a much bigger threat than its simple destructive power,” said Claire Whist. “It can trigger an explosive blast in those two blades to make high-speed dashes to either side.”

“I’m…well aware!”

“It can also explosively strike the air, so by mixing in an impurity, it can set up a scattershot barrier. That wouldn’t be a fatal blow, but it would be hard to dodge and definitely slow you down. Don’t get careless and lose your balance. If you stop moving, it’ll cut you down in a single strike.”

“Argh!!”

(Why does this have to happen when I want to talk with Quenser? I want to ask him how I’m supposed to live in this new world and about so much more too!!)

A volley of her own main cannons was not enough to stop her opponent. In fact, the moment of motionlessness after firing would give the Blast Samurai a chance to rush in.

She had to keep her distance to survive.

That was a bad situation when she was supposed to be holding the line to protect their home country.

And on top of that…

“The Zombie Powder is moving.”

The U-shaped part surrounding the back and sides of the spherical main body was not additional armor. It was probably a field hospital. Even from here, she could see an elevator for carrying people up and down. Its design appeared to have focused on that to the neglect of its other functions. It had two ski-like floats for its static electricity propulsion device and its only main cannon was an extremely short mortar-like railgun on the very front, so it was even less creative than the Princess’s Baby Magnum.

That railgun was no threat except at extreme close range and the skis were split into pieces like a chocolate bar to match the bumps and dips in the terrain. The Princess felt no envy toward that Object.

However…

“Listen, Princess. Don’t try to deal with them both at once. The Zombie Powder is a support Object and it can’t do any critical damage to us. Focus on the Blast Samurai for now!!”

“I know that!!”

The Princess clenched her teeth at the old maintenance lady’s advice.

Something was moving along the ground. The surface was crawling with Faith Organization soldiers. Those soldiers in synthetic uniforms charged fearlessly toward the 50m mass of firearms and armor that was the Baby Magnum.

The Zombie Powder was a special Object with a U-shape field hospital on its rear. It was also the reason the Faith Organization would not stop or give up no matter what.

They didn’t realize how suicidal their actions were until the bullet had passed through them or the explosive blast had hit them and modern medicine could do nothing for them. When an Object blasted you or ran you over, there was no chance of recovery.

If any of the soldiers did notice the horror of their situation and came to a stop, another one would grab them by the shoulders.

The reluctant soldiers were dragged back to the hospital where their mind was destroyed just the right amount to throw them back out onto the battlefield.

Hence the double meaning of the Zombie Powder name.

This was not just a battle between foot soldiers. Quite a few soldiers and trucks recklessly charged directly toward the Princess. The Legitimacy Kingdom’s defensive line was being pushed back, but the Faith Organization did not look at all happy to the Princess. It almost looked like they had a vague idea what was happening to them and wanted to die of their own free will before their mind was fully destroyed.

It reminded her of army ants.

They were a great threat, but it didn’t feel like she was battling humans.

(How far is the Faith Organization willing to go!?)

“Claire Whist to Baby Magnum. What are you doing? Crush them already. Your top priority is the Blast Samurai. You can ignore the enemy infantry as long as you don’t stumble over them. That static electricity is keeping 200 thousand tons afloat, so the high-voltage current will obliterate anyone you pass over. I’m guessing you had already noticed, but that’s actually what they want.”

[[Image:HO_v20_BW1.png|thumb]]

[[Image:HO_v20_BW2.png|thumb]]

“Hey, can I switch off her channel!?”

“The Zombie Powder is designed to anger its enemies like that,” said the old maintenance lady. “Don’t let the tragedy get to you. Your heroic feelings will cloud your strategic judgment. You can’t throw out your own calculations if you want to avoid being sliced by the Blast Samurai’s dual swords!!”

“Their home country has fallen, so how do they have so much momentum!?”

“The highly skilled delinquent units that were being restrained before have now been unleashed across the globe,” said Claire.

“The rules of the clean wars don’t apply to this world war,” said the old maintenance lady. “These are the fools who sold their soul to the devil for power. I’m from the Island Nation, so I understand how frightening technology sans morals can be. Let your guard down and it will consume you!!”

Of course, the Faith Organization wasn’t the only threat. Capitalist Corporations and Information Alliance Objects were taking advantage of the confusion to approach as well. It wasn’t clear if they were targeting the Legitimacy Kingdom or Faith Organization, so the Princess had to assume they were hostile.

Just then, the old maintenance lady’s mic picked up a tongue click. She had likely had an operator directly whisper a report in her ear instead of receiving it on another channel.

“So that wasn’t an instrument malfunction.”

“?”

“Um, there appears to be a discrepancy in the altitudes of the Alps. It’s almost certainly caused by rapid plate movement. The mountains have grown by 2-3cm in just the past half hour.”