Editing HEAVY OBJECT:Volume2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 6===

The Legitimacy Kingdom 52nd Mobile Maintenance Battalion’s Object, Bright Hopper, continued forward through a mountainous region.

Its overall form was that of a giant sphere with a circular static electricity producing device attached to the bottom. The device allowed the Object to float slightly off the ground and three grasshopper leg-like units attached to the back would kick off the ground to move forward.

With each jump, a cloud of dust would explode up behind the Object.

In exchange for that destruction, the Bright Hopper was designed to carry out extremely high speed battles at speeds of 700-800 kph. The grasshopper leg design prevented it from moving backwards and only allowed forward movement, but no fear could be seen on the pilot Elite Halreed’s face.

Fleeing backwards was what unknown nobodies did. A proud Legitimacy Kingdom noble would approach his enemy at top speed and pierce the enemy Object’s armor with a quick attack. That quick destruction was the trick to quickly ending a war and preventing as much damage to both enemy and ally as possible. It was a compassionate and benevolent strategy.

The radar picked up on something flying at high altitude and Halreed immediately shot it down with an anti-air laser.

He was not worried in the slightest.

(…A missile?)

He frowned.

Halreed had of course been informed of the chaff missile fired previously.

It seemed the enemy was cutting off the electromagnetic and infrared links between the Bright Hopper and the military satellite in order to hide their location as much as possible. He had shot down the missile, but the chaff within had still spread out within the atmosphere to a certain extent. Static came from a few of his instruments.

He was 500 kilometers away.

However, once he got up among the mountains, the path the Object could travel through was as complex as the wrinkles of a brain. He was losing time due to that, but Halreed showed no impatience on his face.

(So they’re trying to hide. Just how cowardly are they?)

He determined that their decision to hide instead of fighting was evidence of the difference in ability between himself and them. The truly strong never needed to hide. A lion did not ask for protection and a giant Object was in a similar position on the battlefield.

Normally, he would have already annihilated the Mass Driver conglomerate by that time.

He had not done so because the Bright Hopper was specialized for land battles, so forcing it through sea routes had taken time. After covering it with countless balloons filled with a special gas to give it buoyancy, multiple tankers had towed it.

According to his subordinates who specialized in gathering intelligence, a similar sight of “tankers with something large” had been seen while the Mass Driver conglomerate was travelling from North America to South America. However, Halreed did not view it as a threat. The way he saw it…

(Even if that report was accurate, it could still be a dummy. It could be a gas tank or something like in Oceania.)

And if the Mass Driver conglomerate really did have Object development technology, they would surely have been a bit more strategic. It may have been true that Objects were synonymous with war, but the major powers of the world like the Legitimacy Kingdom and Capitalist Corporations had plenty of Objects. Creating an Object or two was not enough to put up a straight fight.

[[Image:HO v02 164.jpg|thumb]]

Also…

(It doesn’t matter if it’s real.)

Halreed grinned.

(A quickly put together model is no match for a Second Generation Object like Bright Hopper.)

As he travelled at high speed, Halreed performed checks on his main cannons.

His one worry was about leaving his maintenance convoy so far behind in his rush to reach the battlefield. If he waited long enough for them to arrive too, it would take days, so he had no real choice. However, it still meant the Bright Hopper could not resupply or undergo maintenance.

(I just have to wait until I can meet up with Froleytia’s 37th. There is a certain level of commonality to Legitimacy Kingdom Object designs. While nothing can be done about the individual weapons, I can have armor plates and the attached box for exhaust gas replaced with ones for the Baby Magnum.)

He would be butting in and taking the spare parts dutifully prepared for the Baby Magnum and the princess, but Halreed had no problem with it. The only thing he felt was disgust over having to use inferior First Generation Object parts. For better or worse, he was a stereotypical noble. He was not too fond of the mere existence of a battalion supported by a female commander and Elite.

(But it will all be over soon.)

He finished checking on his main cannons.

The Bright Hopper was specialized to carry out history’s fastest combat, so all of its weapons were laser beams. That monster literally attacked at the speed of light. Naturally, its main cannons were high output laser beams.

He would approach at high speed, fire countless lasers at the enemy Object’s feet, and then accurately aim the main high output laser cannons while the enemy was unable to move. One blast from those would be enough to blow the enemy away. Theoretically, the Bright Hopper could instantly destroy any Object in the world as long as it made it within its 5 kilometer attack range. The Multi Role Objects made to fight in various environments had less power for each individual weapon, so he did not like being lumped into the same category as those First Generation Objects.

(It doesn’t matter what kind of Object the enemy might have. A single honorable strike of light will easily take care of this supposed large target that is trying to flee.)

In that instant, something before him flashed.

Instead of from the mountains, it was coming from the sky above.

Halreed frowned slightly.

And then…