Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume20 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 4===

“Ksh!! We are experiencing some unexplained signal noise. The Island Nation must be doing something!!”

“The complex arrangement of metal pipes and smokestack exhaust in Chiba’s industrial zone are interfering with our radars and sensors. Ksh, be careful you don’t hit any civilians!!”

Chiba, Kanagawa, and Tokyo.

Thick artillery fire pushed in to greet the Area By Chance fleet traveling north through the bay.

Very few people could stay standing on the shaking deck. Even the highly experienced old maintenance lady was carefully pressing up against the wall while she carried some repair materials. She knew relying on the metal railings would just get her thrown overboard when an impact rocked the ship.

Among all that, one commander held her right hand straight out, holding a rapier with the tip standing straight up. Lendy Farolito stared past the sword and into the distance, almost like a painter using her brush to decided where to start on the scenery.

(I can leave the stifling combat information center to that Legitimacy Kingdom smoker. I need to make up for the malfunctioning radars and sensors. That’s the best way to help that girl.)

The decoration at the base of the sword was what mattered here.

Lights flashed in the distance. Supersonic artillery shells were tearing through the air and pillars of water burst more than 20m up from the dark ocean near their ships. The fortress gun didn’t even need a direct hit. If a piece was torn from the plastic garbage floating in the ocean and hit her, it could tear off a limb.

But Lendy did not bat an eye.

This put her life at risk, but it also gave her a crucial hint.

Anyone who couldn’t think like that was not fit to serve as a soldier.

(The enemy is likely using 175mm guns. The muzzle flash is 1/2 the width of the Ki-Yong, so the range must be about 10km. The 30 second gap between light and sound confirms it. Double check complete.)

“Central command to Gatling 033. Set your reference point to 1200m west-northwest. The Island Nation fortress gun is loaded on a freight train. It appears to be traveling north at a cautious 40km/h to avoid tipping over from the oversized load, so correct your aim accordingly. Fire.”

A scorching light and a sizzling of the night air erupted simultaneously.

The laser beam secondary cannon unnaturally bent at a sharp angle from the exhaust heat coming from the industrial zone’s smokestacks, but that sent it straight down to accurately vaporize the enemy fortress gun hidden in the gap between industrial complex buildings.

“G-gun destroyed. The enemy mobile artillery gun in the Kisarazu area has been silenced!!”

“Wow, that laser beam flew over the industrial zone and then dropped straight down on its target. I never want to fight against that.”

A rush of reports came in, but cheers were the norm for an idol.

The idol Elite must have been able to see Lendy standing on the deck with rapier raised in front of her because she commented on it.

“Oh ho ho. I like that pose. I doubt you will go for it, but why not start your own career as an idol? You could go the thick and sexy route.”

“Please. I shine best as the manager working behind the scenes.”

Of course, taking out that one gun wasn’t enough to end it.

But each new instance of destruction tilted the overall battle further in the one direction.

The following conversation was held on the combat information center that Lendy found so stifling.

“Major Capistrano, the destroyers and small aircraft carriers have sent a request to our flagship!!”

“This is only a camouflaged cruiser – the Scarlet Princess.”

(Tch. That Information Alliance idol freak left the worst jobs with me. And now I find out that little girl in black and the red triplets from the Martini Series are mixed in with the potatoes entering the Island Nation. Damn, maybe I should have gotten out there too.)

The ship Frolaytia and the others were using was a special warship disguised as a cruise ship to lure in and slaughter pirates. Bringing it to the front line was like advertising the fact that they were so short on resources they had to use whatever was available.

“Our real flagship is that one carrying the Nikolaschka princess. Come to think of it, were they offering sunbathing and a chance to rest on there?”

The busty commander’s comment brought a troubled look to the operator’s face.

“It’s 2 in the morning. The sun isn’t out yet.”

“That’s too bad. I could really go for some sunlight after spending so much time in this windowless combat information center. Maybe I should at least have a sterilizing blacklight installed.”

Frolaytia’s comment earned a shrug from Captain Alfonso Zoom.

“We’ll do our best to avoid it of course,” continued the busty commander. “But this might end up being our final battle. Once things really get started, we won’t be able to get any fresh air.”

They were up against an unidentified Island Nation Object and a laser fortress gun installed at the summit of Mount Fuji.

It was an abnormal situation, but they had two Objects of their own.

(It’s two-against-one, so if we make an aggressive attack, they should try to keep their distance to avoid being trapped between our Objects. This isn’t going to end right away. Our ships are exposed to their laser fortress gun, but an Object’s laser beam or low-stability plasma cannon can increase the ocean temperature enough to bend light with steam or a mirage.)

She couldn’t let the great scale throw her off.

She couldn’t let the Island Nation’s legendary status stop her from thinking rationally.

Frolaytia Capistrano gradually gathered up what little odds they had and combined them into a real chance at victory.

“But first, we need to come up with a name for the enemy Object. Calling it ‘unidentified’ gives it an air of mystery we don’t want.”

That was a mass of metal ruled by physics and bound by chemistry.

It was not deflecting their bullets with a magical barrier or anything like that.