落とし穴外伝：敵を倒すための編成 (Part2)
"I've received an aircraft carrier and an escort fleet as an advance reward from Luna, claiming they're necessary for the conquest. I plan to deploy an A-10 squadron from the carrier, along with three fighter squadrons for escort. As for the ground forces, I’ll be sending Steve and his men, a mechanized infantry unit led by John, plus artillery, defense, peacekeeping, and medical teams—about five hundred personnel in total."
"..."
Speechless. Literally, no words could be found, nor could a sentence be formed.
To deploy Weed's full arsenal of modern weaponry and soldiers equipped with state-of-the-art gear—it was impossible to imagine any future other than the total annihilation of the opposition.
"And for the initial phase, we’ll be going as doppelgangers. Taizo, Souta, Taiki, and myself."
"Wait, why us?"
"We’ve agreed to answer their summons, and there’s a risk they might underestimate us if we send women. While Taizo and Souta certainly carry the necessary gravitas, I have to go as the primary party involved, and Taiki’s title as a Hero makes him easy to trust. Above all, if we’re talking about who can handle sudden, unforeseen developments, it has to be the four of us."
"Fair point."
I couldn't argue with that. It was certainly better than sending Airi or the others.
"Of course, we’ll be using doppelgangers. Incidentally, this deployment also serves as a field test for the enchanted gear Narjia and her team have been crafting. You know, a practical evaluation of our weaponry."
"Wait, they won't self-destruct, will they?"
A sudden, unsettling anxiety flared up. The enchanted weapons Narjia and her team produced were undeniably brilliant, but they often indulged their personal whims, recreating abilities straight out of anime. I’d used them on a whim myself, but most were far too powerful to control, and for some reason, they were all equipped with a self-destruct mechanism to prevent technology theft.
I’d asked them to at least make it a "self-disassembly" feature, but they’d just nodded with bright smiles.
"That way, the thieves get blown to bits too! It’s a win-win!"
They showed no mercy to thieves. I understood that if the tech were misused, the damage would be catastrophic, so a self-destruct might be necessary—but a ten-meter blast radius was excessive. It would level surrounding buildings.
Yet, they just shrugged it off.
"It’s convenient, isn't it? We can blow up the whole gang at once."
They were impossible to reason with. They say creators treat their inventions like their own children, but this was taking it too far. And now, we were actually going to use them...
"The self-destruct is also intended for scenarios where the gear is captured by the enemy. We actually plan to let them steal it."
"You’re experimenting with that, too!?"
"Yes. If we can trigger the detonation at will, we can pinpoint the enemy's location and inflict damage on their core leadership."
"…I understand the logic. I suppose this is the only time we can pull off a strategy like this."
"Since we’ve agreed to keep this strictly confidential, it’s the perfect opportunity to deploy them."
"Exactly. But there is one more reason. To put it simply, we don't have the luxury of dragging this out. We don't want to end up eating cup noodles in the freezing cold on New Year's Eve, and more importantly, we’re already juggling the investigations into the two nations and the Dark Guild issue."
Hearing that, I could only nod.
Even now, the Rogali continent was teetering on the brink of war. We couldn't afford to waste time or resources when they might be needed elsewhere. A lightning strike was the only way to settle this quickly.
"So, I intend to let them summon us tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"
We nodded and began contacting the relevant parties. Even though the King of Ranks would be absent, we were sent off with a smile: "With a doppelganger, it will be fine. Please, go and contribute to the international community. Oh, but do make sure to return for the New Year’s greetings to the citizens and subjects. As long as you’re back for that, there’s no problem."
Being sent off like that left me with a strange, complicated feeling.
An overwhelming, unrestrained force.
Man, there’s nothing quite like having the shackles finally taken off.