[…Gun, barrel alignment complete! Firing angle secured!]
“Fire.”
KABOOM—!
A thunderous blast shook the forest. Flames belched from the muzzle, incinerating the nearby leaves in an instant.
“Ugh…!”
The infantry riding in the half-track armored vehicle following right behind the tank hurriedly ducked their heads into the cargo bed, and leaves shaken loose by the shockwave rained down over them. Some of them were burning, but fortunately, thanks to the damp environment unique to the Ashen Forest, the flames did not spread.
Whoosh—!
And a heavy high-explosive shell tore through the forest.
For a moment, it slipped along a single line of fire no wider than a needle’s eye between the densely packed trees.
Kwarururung!
Four hundred meters away, the waist of a massive dead tree vanished in a flash.
Not only did the tree snap, but thousands of fragments produced by the bursting charge became shrapnel, scattering in every direction.
“Kraaaaagh!”
The orcs lying in ambush around it screamed in agony as they were torn apart like rags and flung into the air.
Kuohoho—!
An orange pillar of fire lit up the darkness of the forest. The red dots on the [Minimap] were erased in an instant.
[Bzzzt— …Hit! Detonation confirmed! Unbelievable!]
The commander of Tank 140 reported in an excited voice.
[There was… an enemy ambush! At least three orcs!]
“Well done, One-Four-Zero. Realign your barrel immediately and return to formation.”
[Loyalty!]
After the tank commander’s booming reply, I set down the radio. Then I looked through the window at the lead tank advancing ahead.
Major Frederica was visible, her upper body protruding from the hatch.
Her mouth was half open as she alternated between staring at the spot that had just been shelled and my command vehicle.
‘Analyze condition.’
[Emotion: Shock and confusion, as well as belated awareness of having questioned command authority.]
It was a foolish expression that did not suit her titles of academy prodigy and genius armored commander at all.
The reason was simple. The order I had just given was an insane act that directly violated the tank manual. Firing into a forest with no visibility secured, and through the gaps between trees at that.
By common sense, I was wrong and she was right. It was no different from a parachuted lieutenant colonel acting recklessly.
But the result was the exact opposite. So it was only natural for Frederica to suffer cognitive dissonance.
Soon, Frederica’s voice came through the dedicated radio channel for senior commanders. For now, it was a frequency only Frederica and I were using.
[Bzzzt— …Um, Lieutenant Colonel.]
But I answered indifferently.
“The tank?”
[…Pardon?]
“Was there any problem with Tank 140? I am asking whether there were any abnormalities, since we forced a shelling inside the forest.”
[Ah, no, sir! Tank 140 is intact. The shelling hit as well….]
Frederica answered in a fluster, like a new recruit.
“Then that is enough. Do not overthink it. Right now, the operation takes priority above all else.”
I added calmly.
“As for that misjudgment just now, I will receive a separate report on it later.”
[…I will keep that in mind.]
It was a reply that sounded as if she were crawling into a hole.
“All units, move out. Maintain speed.”
Kurururung—!
Dozens of engines roared at once. Steel tracks crushed through the rough terrain of the Ashen Forest without hesitation.
An absurd sight unfolded: a tank unit traversing at high speed through a forest packed densely with trees.
I continued to command.
“Avoid the fir grove at eleven o’clock. The ground is soft, and the tanks will bog down. Detour through the bracken thicket at ten o’clock. There is bedrock beneath the surface there, so it is firm.”
[…I-I didn’t hear that correctly?! There isn’t a proper path there…]
“Do as I say. It may look dense from the outside, but the trees are arranged in a zigzag, leaving a line that exactly one tank can pass through. Fix your turrets to one o’clock in advance. You will have a firing angle the moment you enter.”
[……Th-that’s.]
Of course, the tank commanders were all horrified by my absurd order. But with the combat group commander giving the order himself, how many officers could refuse it?
[…Correcting course! All vehicles, hard turn to ten o’clock!]
The tanks pushed through the undergrowth and entered. Crunch, craaack! Beneath the tracks of the tanks that crushed their way through the dense brush, a smooth and solid layer of rock was revealed as if by magic.
[Bzzzt! First Tank Company commander reporting! Lieutenant Colonel, this is almost as if…… the trees are moving aside for us! The tips of our barrels are passing through without touching a single leaf!]
[Second Company reporting as well! We just passed through a thirty-degree slope, but because the ground is bedrock, there was no slipping at all! How on earth… how did you even know the geological conditions…?!]
Shock and cheers from the armored commanders erupted through the radio. At this point, it was closer to a kind of stunt than a normal tactical maneuver.
And for the orcs remaining in the forest, that stunt was nothing less than a bolt from the blue.
“Two o’clock ahead, range six hundred! Unidentified structure! It appears to be an outpost of the remaining orcs!”
The moment I received Hanna’s report, I grabbed the radio.
“Two o’clock. Fire high-explosive and pass through.”
[Confirmed! First Platoon, traverse turrets! Target at two o’clock!]
KABOOM—! BOOM!
Tanks weighing dozens of tons poured out fire while on the move. The gun stabilizers hummed, and dull cannon fire shook the forest.
The orcs hiding among the trees on watch were blown apart without even being able to lift a finger.
“Kieeeek!”
Green chunks of flesh soared into the air together before they even had time to scream.
[Bzzzt! Combat Group Commander! Ahead…]
“They’re coming out in droves. Crush them.”
There were far more orcs than expected, but it did not matter.
Kurururung! KABOOM—!
Every time a tank spat fire, a pillar of vermilion flame shot up, and everywhere the steel tracks passed, heavy track marks mixed with crimson blood and dust were left behind. The thick armor and shields the orcs were so proud of were nothing but sheets of paper before the tank guns fired by those dozens-of-tons masses of steel.
“Spread out ahead! Infantry, stick behind the tanks! Shoot only the ones that jump out!”
“Open fire! Turn them into beehives!”
Dududududu! Bang! Bang!
When machine guns swept the forest like brooms, the infantry advanced while finishing off the survivors.
And in the end.
“Uaaaagh!”
“Damn it! What are those iron monsters!!”
“Th-the ancestral spirits are enraged! Call the shaman!”
KABOOM—!
A tank’s high-explosive shell struck right in the middle of a group of orcs. With the blast, the primitive green creatures were launched into the sky. Terrified, they began fleeing without even thinking of taking care of their wounded comrades. To those primitive fools, this was a natural disaster itself.
[Bzzzt— Hammer One, this is Steel Rose.]
“Speak.”
[……Reporting. The battle situation is one-sided. It is embarrassing to even call it a battle.]
Frederica’s voice came through the radio. I could even sense a trace of emptiness in it.
“The only moment a tank needs to be wary of orcs is when it is trapped in a forest. If you drive them into open ground like this, they are not even worth dealing with. They are nothing but moving targets.”
I gave an order into the radio.
“We do not pursue. Remember our objective. Our goal is to break through the Ashen Forest in the shortest possible time and strike the Republicans’ rear.”
The tanks accelerated, spewing exhaust.
That was when it happened.
“Lieutenant Colonel, the mana reactions are… strange. The scattered reactions are gathering in one place!”
Hanna reported urgently.
At the same time, on the edge of the [Minimap], the red dots began gathering into one mass. The smaller dots around it kept joining, making it grow larger.
Soon, a massive cluster of red dots began surging toward us like a wave.
Their destination was obvious. Us.
[Bzzzt— Hammer One, this is Steel Rose! Emergency report from the forward reconnaissance team!]
Frederica began reporting rapidly.
[The fleeing enemies have suddenly changed their posture. Beyond the forest, toward the wide open field… they are launching a counteroffensive!]
At the same time, reports came pouring in.
[Bzzzt— First Company reporting! Enemy force size cannot be estimated! They cover our entire field of view!]
[…The pressure from the front is too heavy. Securing maneuvering space is impossible.]
[Bzzzzzt! Holding current position is difficult! We recommend falling back to the reserve position!]
[Damn it, there’s no end to them… Are these bastards sprouting from the ground like a swarm of ants?]
“Huh.”
I let out a hollow laugh. After Gromnar died, the orcs of the forest should have become a rabble. And yet there was someone capable of assembling an army of this scale in such a short time?
“So they are coming to us on their own feet instead of running away. That is good news.”
[Lieutenant Colonel, now is not the time for jokes.]
Frederica pointed out calmly.
It was true that the atmosphere had changed drastically. The red dots on the [Minimap] were now advancing with enough force to fill half the screen entirely.
No matter how great the technological gap was, numbers like that would be troublesome. And for us, in the midst of a breakthrough operation close to a gamble… every minute and every second was precious.
Clank!
Therefore, I opened the door of the command armored vehicle and leaned my body outside.
From far away, at the edge of the forest, from the open ground where the trees began to thin, came the majestic sound of drums.
Boom, boom, boom—!
At the same time, the earth-shaking cries of the orcs poured forth.
“Zagros! Zagros! Zagros!”
At last, an enormous number of orcs revealed themselves.