Editing Tytania:Volume 2 Chapter 6 (section)

=== II ===
The hull of the Tytania special operation vessel, hovering in the air, opened, and five shuttles, gleaming with a dull greyish-white sheen, descended to the ground. It was a sight reminiscent of silver cocoons being laid by adult insects. Amidst the settling dust cloud, the landed cocoons split open and human figures emerged.

Fully armed soldiers stepped onto the surface one after another. Even at a glance, it was clear that the force numbered at least two platoons. Although no tanks or heavily armoured vehicles were in sight, should reinforcements arrive, they might well encounter such machinery. For the time being, the mere fact that there were enough heat-ray rifles and laser guns to go round each soldier meant they constituted an overwhelming force. At the very least, it seemed unlikely that Hyulick’s benefactors—whose identities remained unknown—would be able to put up a proper fight against them.

“I heard that the ‘strategy of sheer numbers’ was Duke Zarlisch’s speciality. How shall we deal with this?”

At Hyulick’s question, the doctor groaned.

“But this is not a fief of clan Tytania. It is a sovereign state in its own right. Tytania cannot simply exercise military force as it pleases.”

“There’s no point telling me that. Go and tell Duke Zarlisch. And do so with the utmost courtesy.”

The government of planet Bargash would undoubtedly lodge a strong protest with the court of Tytania’s Clanner. But by then, it would all be over. Only the fact that the Bargash government had protested would remain in the diplomatic records. Or perhaps Tytania would pay compensation or a settlement to Bargash, and neither side would hold a grudge. As for Fan Hyulick by then, far from holding a grudge, not even a single bone of his would remain in this world.

It was the wake of an airship piercing the sky that tore apart that bleak vision of the future. As it rapidly approached the Tytania special operation vessel, it came to a halt in the air at a distance of approximately one-three-hundred-thousandth of a light-second, and transmitted a signal.

“This is the Armed Peace Force (APA<ref name="ftn11">“Armed Security Force” (武装保安隊) is abbreviated here as “APA”.</ref>) of the Bargash Government. Any person engaging in illegal or unlawful armed activities in this area will be dealt with in accordance with national law.”

The flashing signal lights were interpreted as such by Fan Hyulick’s eyes as well.

“Cease fire immediately and submit to an inspection by the authorities. I repeat, submit to an inspection immediately!”

The Tytania special operations vessel showed no reaction. It was clearly hovering in the air, displaying hesitation and indecision. It would be possible to “deal with” a mere Bargash light patrol vessel using less than half of its total destructive power, but that would constitute an act of outright hostile act towards the Bargash government. Even if Tytania were to plunge into all-out war with Bargash, it would certainly not be defeated; however, such a conflict would spell the collapse of Tytania’s foreign policy.

Tytania’s core diplomatic principle was to crush any enemy that arose without mercy, while avoiding the creation of new enemies wherever possible. This was well understood by the lower-ranking members as well. Hence, their hesitation; yet, they finally sent a signal in reply. It was a refusal.

“A Tytanian obeys only the orders of his Tytanian superiors. Your vessel should report this matter to the Government Headquarters and await further instructions. This vessel will comply solely with the orders of its superiors.”

In short, the Tytania special operations vessel feared the wrath of Duke Zarlisch more than any legal action by the Bargash Government Headquarters. And as if to shake off its own hesitation, it extended its gun barrels once more.

Adjusting the angle of the muzzles and reducing their firepower, it fired all three guns simultaneously. Thick, dark-orange streaks of fire sliced through the sky at a 20-degree depression angle, grazing the patrol vessel’s hull before exploding on the ground some five kilometres away. It was a blatantly overt act of intimidation.

“Cease fire!”

“Shut up, we won’t listen.”

Though it did not voice these words, the Tytania special operations vessel made its intentions clear through its actions. While maintaining a posture ready to continue firing warning shots at the patrol vessel, it sent orders to the infantry unit awaiting on the ground. Emerging from the cocoon that had birthed them, the infantry unit began to advance.

“They’re coming…!”

The hushed voice not only stated the fact but also conveyed the tension in his mind. They mounted their sole large-calibre machine gun on the giant dragon’s oesophagus. An old-style thermal rifle was also handed to Fan Hyulick. It was handed to him by a female soldier with short, sepia-coloured hair who was for some reason wearing a sun visor, and clad in camouflaged field uniform. She was a young woman, just over twenty, with rare gentian-blue<ref name="ftn12">“Gentian blue” (竜胆色) is pronounced “gentian blue”.</ref> eyes. She was beautiful, though not quite a stunner.

As a sniper, Fan Hyulick’s skill were neither particularly good nor bad. Whether in shooting practice or in actual combat, he was an unremarkable figure. Nevertheless, once the firefight began, he took careful aim and picked off the intruders.

He certainly hit one of them, but the wound did not appear to be fatal, as the enemy dropped his gun and retreated. Instead, a barrage of gunfire focused on Hyulick, and he hastily concealed his tall frame behind a rock. The enemy was using a scope, and despite being inside the cave, their shooting was extremely accurate.

Just as Hyulick was about to stand up, the sound of rapid fire rang out once more, and red and blue sparks scattered across the surface of the rock face. A ricochet grazed Fan Hyulick’s eyelashes. Under normal circumstances, he would have taken a ricochet just above the ear, and his personal history would have come to an end. But he narrowly escaped death when a woman’s voice shouted “Watch out!”, and his left wrist was grabbed and pulled away.

At that very moment, the cave was filled with a blinding, pure white light. Someone had detonated a flare. The panicked screams that followed were caused by the light destroying the amplifiers on their scopes. The Tytania infantry unit was left temporarily blinded.

In that split second, as they stood frozen in confusion, a barrage of fire from the anti-Tytania forces rained down upon them. Gunfire echoed all around, and few shots missed their mark. These were well-trained marksmen. Having suffered around ten casualties, the Tytania infantry unit was forced to retreat.

After catching his breath, Hyulick introduced himself and thanked the female soldier who had saved his life; she looked at him with interest.

“Fan Hyulick? You’re that man who’s said to be wage a war with Tytania all on his own?”

“I have no intention of waging a war. They’re setting the price on their own<ref name="ftn13">The play on words is completely lost in translation. In Japanese, “to sell” can also mean “to pick a fight”.</ref>.”

“Well then, make sure you sell yourself for as high a price as possible. Otherwise, it would be a shame, wouldn’t it?”

The young woman laughed, and as she did, an expression of astonishing vitality lit up her face. Hyulick could surmise that her beauty stemmed less from her physical features than from the vibrations of her inner vitality.

In any case, he had managed to repel the Tytania infantry unit once. This was due to the advantage of the terrain and, more importantly, the enemy’s excessive caution. From the perspective of the Tytania infantry, however, despite having scopes, they were unfamiliar with the terrain inside the cave and had no idea of the enemy’s numbers or deployment. They could well imagine the wrath of Duke Zarlisch if they were to kill Fan Hyulick by using large-calibre firearms. They decided, therefore, to retreat for the time being and devise a plan for a renewed attack.

This was, one might say, a reasonable course of action, but an unexpected sight awaited them as they emerged from the cave onto the surface. The sky looked as though it had been smeared with human blood; apart from their own mother ship and the Bargash patrol vessel, there should have been no other ships floating there, yet now a single vessel was rapidly expanding its dark silhouette. Judging by its speed and direction, it was clear that it intended to engage the Tytania special operation vessel. It was the ''Honest Old Man''.

The ‘''Honest Old Man''’s’ armament was slightly inferior to that of a Tytania destroyer-class vessel, yet surpassed that of a special operation vessel. The true strength of such an arms-smuggling vessel lay in its speed and manoeuvrability, as well as the skill of its crew in handling their machinery as if it were their own steeds. It was through this that the crew of the ‘''Honest Old Man''’ had succeeded in assassinating Count Arses Tytania. Although this encounter took place under the unusual conditions of the atmosphere, it was a one-on-one ship-to-ship duel, and the ‘''Honest Old Man''’ held the upper hand in terms of firepower. Precisely for that reason, Captain Casimir was all the more cautious.

It brought to mind a duel between heavily armoured knights of the Middle Ages Not for its splendour, but quite the opposite. While they moved with complete freedom in the airless expanse of space, now, deep within the high-pressure depths of the ocean, their movements appeared almost sluggishly slow. Circling gently through the air in wide arcs, they bided their time, waiting for an opportunity to drive a spear of energy into their opponent’s vital points.

The valiant patrol vessel Bargash continued to send out frantic warning signals, but these were completely ignored by the two lawless combatants.

The first flash came from the Tytania special operation vessel. A glittering beam of energy lunged at ‘''Honest Old Man''’. It missed. Or rather, the ‘''Honest Old Man''’ had dodged it. This time, the ‘''Honest Old Man''’ fired a beam of its own, striking the special-purpose vessel. A white plume of smoke rose amidst a flash of light, and the special-purpose vessel appeared to stagger slightly in the air.

At that moment, four new silhouettes of ships rushed into the airspace where the one-on-one duel was taking place.