Marines Assault

The assault amphibious vehicle Bison charges straight toward the target, undeterred by enemy gunfire.

"Buffalo hit! Speed dropping!"

The Buffalo, a nearby vessel, takes a hit to its engine and begins to slow, falling behind the Bison.

"Status of the Buffalo and feasibility of continuing the operation?"

Lieutenant Colonel Bosch calmly sips his tea, elegantly confirming the situation.

"The engine is on the brink of critical failure, possibly sinking at any moment. However, despite being twelve minutes behind schedule, it's still feasible to penetrate the target colony."

Understood. Proceed with the assault despite the delay—Buffalo will continue its mission. After deploying the marines into the colony, the crew will abandon the Buffalo and transfer to the main ship. Due to the abandonment, we'll adjust the operation slightly: change the Buffalo's entry point to avoid detonation risks, and have the crew reach the main ship on their own. Relay this message to Lieutenant Heinien, the Buffalo's captain: 'To the incompetent and barbaric Lieutenant Heinien—this counts as one debt. You now owe four. I won't allow you to die in battle until all debts are repaid.'

Understood. I'll relay the captain's words exactly as they were....From Captain Heinien of the Buffalo: 'You intellectual bastard, Bosch. I'm coming to the viper's bridge right away—knock me out with one punch.' That's the original wording.

Bosch nods, smiling.

The colony insertion is approaching soon.

During the insertion, the impact will shake the ship violently, spilling the tea from the teacup.

Bosch drained the tea from his cup.

【Combat Zone 9-12 Squadron】

"Captain, one of the two assault landing ships that forcibly broke through this sector is in critical condition after being hit by enemy fire!"

Hardin, the lieutenant, muttered in frustration inside his helmet.

Having secured orbital dominance by defeating the enemy in aerial combat using fighter craft, attacks on enemy vessels began with assault fighters. However, the main force—the destroyer fleet—had yet to arrive.

Yet before the destroyer fleet could arrive, two assault landing ships forcibly broke through the still-unsecured space zone.

"Can't the Marines handle this situation more smoothly?...Well, no choice. First and Second Companies, report casualties!"

"First Company: Two shot down, one moderately damaged, three lightly damaged. Fourteen remaining."

"Second Company: One shot down, two moderately damaged. Seventeen remaining."

In actual combat, some casualties are inevitable, and in a large-scale battle, casualties are unavoidable.

Even Hardy's squadron alone had shot down fourteen enemy combat vessels and sunk one enemy destroyer that had advanced to support the combat vessel unit.

When including the achievements of the other squadrons, one could say the situation was progressing overwhelmingly in our favor.

Two assault carriers had already broken through the airspace, but four more assault carriers were still scheduled to pass through this sector, which was under Hardy's squadron's responsibility.

"From Raze to all squadron units! Proceed now to escort the friendly assault landing ships and secure this sector. Aircraft with severe damage or in need of refueling return to the mother ship. Those still capable of combat, follow me!"

As the 32 combat craft of Hardy's squadron headed toward the assault landing ships for escort, a contingent of 52 combat attack craft followed closely behind, responding to the call.

[Assault Landing Ship Bison]

"Approaching target colony, locked onto assault point. Countdown to insertion: 180 seconds."

"Understood. Lieutenant Welter of the 3rd Squadron, reporting. Upon entering the colony, your unit will secure the command center as planned and seize control of the central system. How long will it take to gain control of the central system?"

"Ten minutes to reach the command center, five minutes to secure it, fifteen minutes to take over the system—thirty minutes should be plenty. Of course, that's assuming no resistance from the enemy!"

Bosh nodded approvingly upon hearing Welter's response.

"Good. Then, the Third Battalion must complete their mission within twenty-five minutes of entering the colony!"

『・・・』

Welter shrugged and smirked at Bosh's order.

"Damn it! The captain ordered us to finish this within twenty-five minutes—how amusing! Let's give it a try, shall we!"

"Affirmative!"

"Third Battalion to the captain! We'll have it done in twenty-three minutes!"

"Understood. I'm counting on you."

Bosh's voice over the speaker sounded amused.

The time to breach had finally come.

"Assault team, prepare for impact! Breach in eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one—breach!"

At the same moment as the operator's breach command, the ship violently shook.

The prow's ramming spike pierced through the colony's airlock, driving the front section of the ship into the dock.

Immediately, fast-setting foam filler sealed the gap between the ship and the airlock, halting the loss of air.

First to emerge were the second squad, equipped with two powered suits and three S-21-type dolls.

A squad member in a sealed suit, armed with a blaster assault rifle, leapt out and began securing the dock area where the Bison had breached.

Within just a few minutes of gunfire, the second squad had cleared the dock and eliminated all enemies in the vicinity of the Bison.

"This is Second Squad. Clearance of the dock is complete! Pressure in the dock has been confirmed."

Now it was the third squad's turn.

"Let's go, you bastards! Show them the Marine spirit of the Third Squad!"

Led by Welta, the Third Squad—eighty-three men across four platoons—charged forward.