Gate – Jietai Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri Vol 8 Chapter 5

Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There! Volume 8 Chapter 5

Translator: Nigel

Editor: Deus Ex-Machina, Skythewood

Night fell as the sun set.

The reed-like plants had their roots in the river and rose to roughly a man’s height from the surface of the water. Imperial troops stared at them from their boats, paying attention to the rippling and splas.h.i.+ng of water.

They reached out with their torches, seeking to shed the light of their torches on whatever was drawing near. But the lotus-like plants were like a curtain that prevented the light from spreading too far.

On a moonless night, the light of the torches made the piled-up weeds and sedge gra.s.s that surrounded the fortress even more visible. It was not uncommon to see these things clumped up everywhere, thanks to the current. For that reason, the troops could not study them for too long.

“Oi, let’s go.”

In response to the somewhat impatient voice of his comrade, the Imperial trooper said, “I want to take a closer look, hang on…”

He leaned out from the boat, studying the darkened bank opposite him.

“Must have been a fish jumping, right?’

“Too loud for that.”

“So it was a big fish. If we stop every time we hear a splash, we’ll be patrolling forever. Plus, there’s alarms strung up around here. If we set them off by accident, we’ll never hear the end of it from the vets.”

The fact was, whenever a patrol boat touched the alarm triplines, the soldiers had to waste their time falling in.

If they only did it once or twice, they could be forgiven for simply being diligent. More than that and the excuse would not hold up. In addition, this was the middle of the night. Anyone woken up for a false alarm certainly have something along the lines of “Who’s that stupid motherf.u.c.ker who set the alarm off” for whichever luckless friendly had done it.

Life in the military could be very complex. It did not pay to have the veterans’ eye on you, or perish the thought, their anger.

The Imperial soldier paused to think, and nodded to his comrade before turning away.

“Alright, let’s go.”

And so, the patrol boat with Imperial soldiers aboard continued to their next patrol waypoint.

Are they gone?

Kenzaki poked his head above the water’s surface, and gestured to the pile of weeds in front of him.

At a closer look, said pile of plant matter was actually a well-camouflaged face belonging to Matoi, painted in shades of dark and light green. The only clue that it was actually a face was the two white eyeb.a.l.l.s within it.

Matoi scanned the area around him, and gave a confirmation signal.

“That was close.”

After patting his chest in relief, Kenzaki returned to his work near the barricades.

In truth, taking care of the triplines around them was not difficult. Neutralizing them followed the same principles as silencing a tin-can telephone; in other words, one had to hold the vibrating string in place.

Specifically, they would embed a bamboo rod into the riverbed and then run the tripline on top of it. After that, they could cut through critical parts of the alarm network. However, his hand had slipped and the rope had fallen into the water. That sound was what the Imperial troops had heard.

After verifying that the patrol boat was sufficiently far away, Kenzaki continued sawing through the palisade.

Fortunately, sufficiently waterlogged wood made hardly any sound when sawn through. Before long, he had cut through one of the logs that formed the palisade.

Still, the hole he had opened was only 30 centimeters across. In order for Kenzaki and the others to pa.s.s through in full battle gear, they would need to cut through another log, forming an aperture of 60 centimeters.

Kenzaki continued his work, and cut through another log.

He pasted a pale green fluorescent sticker on the parts of the barricade he had sawn through to mark it.

Everyone was in camouflage uniform, and their bush hats dripped with water. The M4 carbines they carried were not standard issue in the JSDF. Some of them did not carry guns, but bows instead.

Finally, Kenzaki surveyed his surroundings warily before giving Matoi the signal and moving in.

Matoi — who was tasked to stay behind — returned to his rubber dinghy hidden among the lotuses. After that, he peered through the night sight of his 50 BMG rifle and observed Kenzaki and the others as they advanced.

“Be more careful! Check out any movements you notice!” Centurion Borhos, Primus Pilus of the Imperial Army, bellowed at tonight’s sentries lined up before him.

“Even the sound of fish jumping out of water?”

“That’s right. You will root out and capture any fish who try to disturb us with all your hearts and souls.”

Perhaps they thought it was a joke, so the men laughed. However:

“What’s so d.a.m.n funny? Huh?”

Borhos glared angrily at his men, his serious expression unmoved.

The laughter stopped immediately. Then, one of the new soldiers nervously raised his hand and said. “Commander… there’s something that’s been bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“I just came back from patrol.”

“And? Speak up, Trooper Terry.”

“There’s something I want to show you.”

What the young man showed the centurion was a stick connected to a tripline. Several other lines trailed into the river from there. Terry brought his torch near one of them, and told Borhos to take a closer look.

“And what’s the problem here?”

“The day before yesterday, I was tightening the lines so as not to get the alarms wet, so…”

“At a closer look, one of the lines was loose, and the part of the web it was secured to had sunk into the water.”

“I see.”

“At first, I thought it might have come loose over a couple of nights, but it would seem the same thing happened to other triplines. That was pretty weird, and it stuck with me.”

“When did you discover this?”

“Just now.”

“Good. Well done.”

Borhos patted Terry on the shoulder in praise.

“a.s.semble all the duty sentries! The enemy has entered our perimeter! Notify the commander right now! This is an emergency!”

Much like the waterside, the sandbars were covered in man-height vegetation. Hidden among them was Os.h.i.+no, peering through his night vision optics. He flashed a signal behind him to let the others know he had spotted the objective.

“There… Major Izumo, over there. The cage in the central plaza.”

“There” was a place roughly 200 meters from where Izumo was hidden. The cage was in the center of the plaza.

Still wearing his night vision gear, Izumo produced a laminated picture from safekeeping, using an infrared torch to verify the target’s ident.i.ty before looking at the cage again.

“Cheh, I can’t see his face.”

The captured man lay down in the wooden cage. He seemed to be sleeping, and his knees covered his face, so they could not confirm his facial appearance.

“What should we do?”

“Stick to the plan. We a.s.sault after verifying that’s our man. Until then, we wait.”

“Still, if he’s sleeping, then he won’t lift his head until dawn. It’ll be light by the time he wakes up.”

“Our objective is to rescue the kidnap victim. Do you honestly think we can do something embarra.s.sing like extracting a fake? We only have one chance to verify him, so take care.”

A tall team member peered out from behind Izumo.

“Boss. You basically need to wake up that guy, right?”

It was Delilah.

She was dressed in camouflage fatigues and disguised in the same way the rest of the team was. After covering up her ears with a bush hat, she was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the men. That said, the curves of her body betrayed her femininity. After all, no man had such an ample bosom or slender waist.

“Do you have something in mind, Delilah?”

Delilah produced a fish sausage from between her cleavage. She bit open the top, and then stood up like it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Leave it to me. If it’s going over there and waking him…”

“You can’t do that. Hang on, wait, hang on.”

Izumo and the others frantically tried to stop Delilah, who had already gotten to her feet.

Delilah was good enough that she could operate alongside the Special Forces Group. Her movements, alertness, awareness, enemy-tracking ability, close combat proficiency and other skills were superior to that of any man in the SFG. While she only used the bow and the sword, the need for noise discipline made them superior to firearms in the present circ.u.mstances.

Unfortunately, she had a fatal flaw.

That was to say, she did not fully consider the consequences of taking action. She had not acted independently, so there had been no problems there, but in contrast that implied that someone had to keep an eye on her and micromanage her.

“We have to hole up here. If we get close, we’ll end up as the proverbial fish in the barrel.”

(TL Note: the CN proverb is 瓮中之鳖. There’s a story behind it, go Google it)

“That’s right. You need to worry a little more about your own safety.”

Kenzaki and Os.h.i.+no scolded her for her carelessness. As Os.h.i.+no had said, Delilah paid little heed to her personal safety. However, Delilah seemed to have something to say, and puffed up her cheeks even as she munched on the sausage.

“Still, didn’t we come here to rescue that person? We won’t do that by sitting on our b.u.t.ts here.”

Izumo lightly patted Delilah on the shoulder.

“That’s true. But charging in recklessly is a one-way trip. We can only take action once we’re sure that person is Matsui-s.h.i.+. Until then, we have to be careful. Got it?’

“So that means it’ll be fine as long as I go, right?”

“Are you kidding me? ‘We’ includes you as well.”

“R-really? So I’m everyone’s comrade?”

“That’s how I see it, but do you think otherwise?”

Izumo nodded, followed by Kenzaki and the others. Delilah bowed her head and quietly replied, “I’m sorry. I didn’t see it that way earlier. I get it now. So as long as I don’t get close to him but wake him up, it’ll be fine?”

“That’s right. Well, as long as you can do it.”

With that, Delilah withdrew an arrow from her quiver. She did something to the tip, and then nocked it to the bowstring.

“Oi, oi, what are you doing?”

“Taking off the arrowhead. That way, he’ll wake up once I poke him.”

As Delilah explained her actions, she drew the string back.

So that’s it… seems a little rough, but for all we know, it might actually work.

Izumo studied the target through his night vision optics as he directed Delilah.

“Don’t hit the head. That’ll make a high-pitched noise.”

“Got it. I’ll aim for the shoulder or waist.”

Warrior Bunnies did not need night vision equipment to find their targets in the dark, probably because their innate night vision was very good. Then there was their enviable arm strength, which could easily draw a bow to hit a target within 200 meters.

Before long, Delilah had spotted her target. She held her breath for a moment, and then the bowstring tw.a.n.ged, sending an arrow forth.

A m.u.f.fled impact rang out from the distance.

The sleeping male lifted his head in surprise, rubbing his sore shoulder and looking around fearfully in an attempt to figure out what was going on. As he saw that face, Izumo was certain.

“Umu, that’s right. He’s Matsui Fuyuki-s.h.i.+.”

His hair was messy and his face was frail. His looks had changed dramatically, but they still fit the image of “what he would look like after being thrown into a cruel environment”.

The members of the SFG rose as one.

Advance and secure the objective. That was their aim. However, Delilah gestured for them to “wait”, which made them halt.

Though they had their doubts, they went to one knee again. They warily formed an all-round defense, covering their arcs of fire with their weapons as they waited for instructions.

Before long, they saw the reason why Delilah had halted them.

Soldiers bearing torches suddenly appeared, reinforcing the security around the cage.

In addition, they began deploying numerous smaller search parties, which started investigating the area around the plaza. If this kept up, the riverside where they were hiding would soon fall under their search radius.

“This is bad,” Izumo sighed as he realised they were being pushed towards a dead end.

“No need to worry so much. Time to a.s.sault,” Utsuta whispered.

Os.h.i.+no replied, “That’s not all of them. If it’s just us falling back we could a.s.sault, but don’t forget the hostage.”

“That’s right. Dammit,” Utsuta muttered.

“What should we do?” Kenzaki and Imawano asked as they looked toward Izumo.

“Observe first. Why did all these guys pop up at once? I want to find out… Delilah. Listen to them.”

“Understood.”

With that, Delilah took off her bush hat and closed her eyes, her bunny ears standing up.

Her keen sense of hearing picked up the conversation Izumo and the others could not hear.

“Centurion Borhos, the men have been a.s.sembled.”

“Good. Once in position, begin a thorough sweep of the vicinity. Do you understand?”

Without Delilah’s acute hearing, Izumo and the others observed the enemy’s movements through their night vision optics.

Delilah told them what the soldiers in the monochrome images were saying, and so they learned about the enemy’s situation.

Soon, a bulky man who did not look like a common soldier emerged, and began speaking to the man who looked like the leader.

“What are you all doing up so late, Primus Pilus?”

The man speaking was probably a high-ranked official. The Centurion took on a keen bearing and replied, “Sir, we have detected signs of enemy intrusion and we are tightening our security, G.o.dasen-kakka.”

“-Kakka?” Os.h.i.+no asked.

“Might be command staff,” Izumo muttered.

“Signs of intrusion, you say. Were you the one who discovered them?”

“Yes, sir. Trooper Terry reported when he found something amiss with the triplines. I verified the abnormality myself and concluded that it was a sign of enemy infiltration.”

“Are you stupid?”

“Have I erred in judgement, sir? My responsibility should have been to stay watchful against enemy infiltration and capture or destroy the enemy.”

“Have you fished before?”

“I am a soldier, sir. I have not indulged myself in childish games like fis.h.i.+ng.”

“You son of a b.i.t.c.h, are you trying to pick a fight with all the people of j.a.pan who love fis.h.i.+ng?!”

Os.h.i.+no seemed quite upset, possibly because fis.h.i.+ng was his hobby.

“I thought you would feel that way. You see, I like fis.h.i.+ng, In particular, I like bait fis.h.i.+ng. I delight in seeing the fish flop around helplessly on the hook when they’re caught. I like it so much that I often consider what sort of bait I should use to trick the fis.h.i.+es. Well, that’s about how good my skills are. To me, you’re making an amateur mistake. You place the bait on the hook and release it into the water. Then, the fish nibbles at it. Amateurs will immediately pull the rod up impatiently.”

“Sir, you feel that my decision is comparable to such a course of action?’

“Indeed. With such tight security, won’t the enemy slip off the hook?”

“I feel that it would be better to cast a net once we know there are fish in the pond.”

“With normal enemies, that would work. However, we face a foe with sharp teeth that can chew through a net. Thus, your men are now in extreme danger.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Call your men off for now. Do not put anyone around this cage. Wait for the fish to near the bait, and when the enemy swallows it, raise the rod in one go. If you understand, go change your troop a.s.signments. Do so now!”

The gathered men were issued orders to disperse.

“Alright, get lost!”

After being given these dismissive orders, the fired-up men soon lost their drive and began grumbling. Some returned to their barracks while others returned to their original posts.

“Sorry, it was too noisy so I couldn’t make the rest out.”

“Ahhh, it’s fine. You were a great help.”

With that, Izumo put Delilah’s bush hat back on her head, at the same time head patting her as a reward. He was not very gentle, which made her pout, but she still smiled shyly and looked away.

“Then, what should we do next?”

Izumo looked around for opinions. Kenzaki replied:

“All we can do is stick to the plan and perform a split a.s.sault, right? Team Two will launch a feint while Team One rescues the target. If we execute it well, we’ll be able to retreat successfully.”

Os.h.i.+no, Utsuta and Imawano concurred.

Now that time was limited, they had no other choice. However, Izumo did not think that plan would work. The reason was because he had seen how the enemy commander looked. The man looked very impressive and fighting him would result in a lot of casualties. Izumo’s instincts told him that more than half of the fourteen people here would not make it back alive.

Of course, that was not a problem. Each of them here was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. However, Izumo felt that any operation which a.s.sumed the loss of any of his men was a form of negligence on his part. Success achieved by luck, the will of the men and sacrifice could hardly be considered a success.

Izumo suddenly recalled a subordinate from a past training exercise, similar to this one. Unlike all his colleagues who had failed and died, he was the only one who had managed to save the hostage.

If he used the strategy that man had employed, it might work. However...

“Still, even so…”

He was highly averse to copying the actions of that man. After all, what that man had done transcended the boundaries of mere cunning and veered squarely into the realm of the despicable. No right-minded person would ever be able to do such a thing.

However, if he had to go up against a commander like that, such a morally repellent tactic might be the only way to overcome this situation. If it succeeded, they might be able to retreat without loses. If it failed, they could always fall back to the a.s.sault plan.

He felt it was worth giving it a go.

“There’s something I want to try.”

Izumo laid the plan out to the others. As he had expected, they all seemed reluctant to consider it.

“I hate fis.h.i.+ng!”

After receiving G.o.dasen’s orders, Borhos had dispersed his men from the plaza. However, with the night ending and the sky starting to light up, he found it difficult to continue waiting. Unable to contain his impatience, he paced back and forth, looking toward the bait in the cage, then turning in place like a bear. This cycle repeated itself over and over again.

Given his tension, the expected response was, “You’re not suited for fis.h.i.+ng, you should give it up.” Even a newcomer knew that no matter how many lures one put down, one would not catch anything if one paced around them.

“If you asked me what I hate most, I’d reply that it would be bait fis.h.i.+ng! I can’t understand how he can calmly say things like that! Doesn’t he feel sorry for the fish? They’re surely thinking ‘Mmm, that looks yummy, looks interesting’ when they go for the bait, but turns out there’s nothing there! It’s a con! A sham! It’s too much! And then instead they find a hook waiting for them! Does he have any idea of the depths of despair they’re being plunged into?!”

Borhos cursed like he had been a fish in a past life. He pa.s.sionately declaimed the feelings of the miserable fish on the hook to his men.

“The enemy should have infiltrated this place after dark. Is that right?”

Upon hearing that, Trooper Terry nodded while the rest of him remained ramrod straight.

“Yes, sir.”

“And we’re waiting for the enemy to take the bait, am I correct?”

“Yes, that’s right, Centurion.”

“Then why hasn’t the enemy shown up? When the sun comes up, they won’t be able to escape under cover of darkness. Is the enemy really that stupid? Could it be that they’re a bunch of cowards who came all this way here to gaze admiringly upon the bait in the cage? To think even the Commander would make an error in judgement!”

The soldiers who had to bear the Primus Pilus’ wrath looked unhappy, but all they could do was suffer in silence.

“That would be a mistake, Centurion.”

There was an unexpected response to Borhos’ furious ranting. It was G.o.dasen’s voice.

“The enemy is far more cunning than we expected.”

“Commander-kakka?!”

When they turned to look, they saw that G.o.dasen was surrounded by a group of men in speckled green uniforms, in front of the others.

His hands were tied and a sword blade pressed deeply into his throat.

G.o.dasen s.h.i.+fted forward uneasily, as though being forced by the person behind hmn.

At a closer look, the reason why he could only shuffle forward was because his ankles had been tied together, probably to keep him from fleeing.

Borhos and the soldiers advanced, pointing at them and shouting:

“You filthy, despicable b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! Have you no shame?!”

“Well, we haven’t bathed or changed since last night, so filthy would be appropriate. Sorry about that.”

With that, Izumo indicated that they should make a path.

“If you want your commander to keep his life, then please release my countryman in the cage to us.”

The Imperial troops shrank back as they heard the threat, but Borhos stood resolute and shook his head.

“Fat hope!”

“Then your commander’s chances will be slim indeed.”

“Borhos! Save me!” G.o.dasen shouted.

However, the centurion replied, “Your Excellency, a moment please.”

Then, he continued his threat: “If you dare kill the Commander, I’ll have you hacked to pieces!”

As if to prove the truth of his words, the soldiers around them simultaneously nocked and drew their bows.

Looking around, there were more archers or crossbowmen than infantrymen with sword and s.h.i.+eld. A closer look revealed many catapults and ballistas waiting in the wings.

It would seem the Imperial Army had gained much experience in the running battles with j.a.pan. Primitive weapons could still be a threat in great numbers. In all likelihood, the j.a.panese would not be able to achieve overwhelming victory like before if they attempted an a.s.sault.

Izumo strove to mimic the thoughts and tone of his ex-subordinate and told the enemy:

“Well, being hacked to pieces just won’t do, so we’ll guarantee that we won’t take his life.”

Still, he felt that it was not a good imitation. It was too hard to copy Itami, after all.

“Good man. Looks like you have some sense. Then, let his Excellency go and surrender. If you do that, we won’t kill you. You’ll be treated better too.”

Izumo desperately wanted to give the Imperial commander an honest answer, but if he did that, negotiations would immediately break down. He had to give the impression that there was still room to negotiate, while bl.u.s.tering off the other side’s demands as though he did not care about the danger he was in.

What should he do now? How should he think, how would he answer? That man would surely mess up the tense atmosphere with his playful att.i.tude.

Izumo struggled to recall Itami’s words and deeds.

“Well, that would be a pain, No, no, if that happened, we wouldn’t be able to finish our mission.”

“Forget your mission, then. We’ve stationed an entire legion at Tanska to capture you. Currently, they’re converging on this location.

That much was true. The troops were pouring in from all directions. Izumo and the others were trapped like rats in a cage. The situation was getting worse and worse.

“Alright, so what will you do?”

“How about this? We’ll give a bit of the Commander-kakka back to you.”

In the past…

The scenario in that exercise was to recover a hostage being held by 50 SFG troopers.

Izumo and the others racked their brains and attempted a rescue, but since it was an exercise, the opposition knew when the attack would come. Thus, it was very difficult to surprise them.

The electronic tones indicating the deaths of his team members rang out continuously from their simulator gear, informing Izumo of the unshakeable reality of their defeat. The training instructors chalked this up to the operational conditions, saying, “How could anyone launch an actual surprise attack during a training exercise?”

However, Itami had pointed his gun at the SFG commander who had come to inspect the training exercise and taken him hostage, then requested an exchange of hostages.

“Release the hostage, or I won’t be able to guarantee this man’s safety.”

Of course, they could not accept such a request. The OPFOR team commander ignored Itami’s request. It was training, after all. Even if Itami said he would harm the hostage, the fact was that he could not carry it out. Thus, they disregarded him.

And then, before the eyes of the SFG members, Itami proceeded to cruelly pluck the remaining strands of the SFG commander’s hair one after the other. Everyone knew how much the Commander cared about his ever-dwindling hair, how he bought expensive hair-growth tonics and tended it carefully. They knew that a gentleman would not go anywhere near it.

Yet, Itami was the opposite. JGSDF safety standards were extremely high and the actions that could be taken in training were very limited. Since the SFG had been chosen from the larger body of regular servicemen, there was no way they could not have known that. They were already pigeonholed into the mindset of “This is training”. Thus, what Itami had come up with was to launch a surprise attack on that mindset.

As they witnessed his cruel actions, the SFG members grit their teeth in resentment and anger, on the verge of crying out in despair. “Here, I’ll give you back a bit of him.” When presented with a few strands of hair, the OPFOR commander’s face was a picture of utmost misery. Thus, crushed by the thought of “did he have to go that far” and driven by the desire to protect the thinning strands of their commander’s hair, the OPFOR had no choice but to accede to Itami’s request.

Of course, the umpires ruled that his attempt was “successful”. Because of that, the commanders and even the men underwent a change in mindset. The most important thing now was, “We are the SFG. Nothing is true, everything is permitted.”

Itami, the man responsible for this, received both a commendation and “special considerations” from the SFG commander… in other words, he was forcibly enrolled in a series of comprehensive long-term training courses from which he could not possibly escape.

Izumo and the others had not copied his methods exactly. This was because plucking a few strands of their hostage’s hair would not make much of a difference. Still, that was one way of doing it.

It was for that reason that Itami’s actions had been deemed “effective”, even though they had raised much debate around them.

“A bit? What did you say, a bit?!” Borhos was confused by what those words meant.

“Now, which finger would be best?”

Delilah’s tone was sunny and cheerful as she directed that question to G.o.dasen. Shocked, G.o.dasen practically shrieked at the Warrior Bunny holding a sword on him: “What, what are you doing? What are you going to do to me?”

Delilah’s eyes narrowed, and she asked:

“I was asking which finger you could do without. Hurry up. If you don’t decide soon, I’ll start by chopping off your right thumb.”

“Stop, please stop! Please!”

“Well, if you return the j.a.panese man to us, you won’t need to suffer.”

“Paul, Borhos, save me!”

A bitter expression came over the Primus Pilus’ face as he replied:

“Your Excellency, please bear with this. We can’t fall for their scheme!”

“Look, he’s telling you to bear with it. Well then, pick a finger.”

“But, but why? Please, save me, I’m begging you! I’ll give you the bait, just stop!”

“Well, let’s start with your right thumb, then~”

With that, Delilah pressed the edge of her sword to G.o.dasen’s right thumb.

“I, I’m right-handed. At the very least, start with my left ring finger!”

The fact that he did not pick the little finger was proof that he was a quick thinker. When humans held bat-like objects, they used the little finger to stabilize their grip. Losing the little finger was third only to losing the thumb or index finger, and it would make life very difficult.

“Guwaaaaaaaaargh!”

So great was G.o.dasen’s pain that the tears flowed freely. He screamed like he was going to wear his throat out.

Delilah looked to Borhos. “See? We’ll return a bit to you,” and tossed a slim white object out at him.

The object rolled to a halt before Borhos. As he took it in, he bellowed, “What have you done, you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds?!”

“Hey, you wanted him back, so we gave him back. Now, give us back our countryman.”

“You savages! You barbarians!” the Imperial troops cried in unison. Izumo and the others were bathed in a storm of invective. However, Izumo nonchalantly continued:

“Looks like one wasn’t enough. How about a couple more?”

“Next will be your right ring finger, and then your left middle finger, then your right middle finger, and then your right ear. Well, the ladies won’t be falling for you anytime soon, but it’s better than being inconvenienced in other ways, right…?”

Izumo and Delilah laid out the dangerous situation G.o.dasen was in. The combined terror and pain was too much for G.o.dasen, and he pa.s.sed out.

“Oh dear. I was hoping he would be able to walk under his own power.”

“Well, if we’re going to drag him, why not chop his legs off to save weight?”

Hearing this, Borhos was at his wits’ end. Still, all he could do was protect G.o.dasen’s life.

“So we’ll return this j.a.panese man’s finger to you as—”

Just as Trooper Terry moved to carry out Borhos’ orders, the hand holding his sword was blown away and he collapsed to the ground.

The surrounding soldiers were spattered in his blood. They backed away with terrified looks on their faces, because they realized that the j.a.panese had not done anything. Looking around, they did not see any trace of the enemy either. All they knew was that they had been attacked from a great distance.

That was Matoi’s sniping. He had moved to a vantage point where he could overlook the entire area and had been studying the situation as it developed.

The Imperial soldiers made a path for Kenzaki, unwilling to fall under the barrel of his M4 carbine.

“It can’t be helped. We can’t let the Commander-kakka be hurt any further.”

Unable to think calmly and clearly and forced to a decision, Borhos ordered his men to “let them pa.s.s” as a sweat cascaded down his back.

The SFG troopers cl.u.s.tered up as they approached the cage in the center of the plaza.

The Imperial troops backed away from Izumo and the others, their bows still nocked and drawn.

Once they reached the cage, Kenzaki and Os.h.i.+no broke the lock and addressed the man inside using j.a.panese.

“Are you Matsui Fuyuki-kun?”

“...Yes, I am,” came the j.a.panese reply.

There was no doubt that this was their objective. Now, all they had to do was retreat. Just then, a new voice hailed Izumo and the others.

“Alright, men of Nihon. Put down your weapons and surrender!”

That voice belonged to Oprichnik Dulles.

Dulles was wearing his elegantly-made kobold mask and cut an impressive figure. He strode before Borhos as though he were the true officer commanding here.

“The Commander-kakka is a man who values his public image. If he knew you let them go like this, he would surely blame himself. The responsibility for the failed operation will surely fall upon his shoulders.”

“So? What about it?”

“Do you not understand, Primus Pilus? We need to consider the Commander’s feelings. In order to prevent his family and va.s.sals from being dispossessed and forced onto the streets, tell your men to disregard everything and capture them!”

However, the soldiers glanced at Borhos, as though looking for confirmation on whether or not to make a move.

Dulles grew impatient with the insubordinate soldiers and shouted, “Seize these men! Did you not hear me?!”

However, the situation was far too p.r.i.c.kly. As though mirroring the men’s thoughts, Borhos replied: “Oprichnik Dulles. The Commander-kakka distinctly begged us to ‘save me’.”

“You are mistaken!”

“No, I am not.”

“You seem to have misunderstood the Commander’s intentions. I am certain G.o.dasen-kakka would surely say ‘It’s alright, don’t worry about me, just get them!’”

“No, no, I clearly heard ‘save me’.”

The soldiers nodded one after the other to indicate that they had heard the same thing.

“Then, I order you once more — arrest these men!”

“We can’t do that.”

“Do you wish to be purged?”

“Oprichnik-dono. I am the Commander’s subordinate.”

“But the Commander has become a hostage and has lost the ability to make rational judgements. That said, I am now the highest-ranking commander present.”

“I agree that the Commander can no longer think rationally. However, the chain of command pa.s.ses through him, and not through you, Oprichnik-dono. When the commander is absent, authority falls to the second-in-command. When the second-in-command has not yet arrived at the scene, then the Primus Pilus becomes the commanding officer.”

The soldiers were hard-pressed to veil their discomfort at the power struggle playing out before them.

Under normal circ.u.mstances, Borhos would be right. But anyone who angered an Oprichnik might find themselves being purged. Rather than get involved in the details, it was better to give in to the other party. One could consider that a humanitarian reason. However, the Primus Pilus was a stubborn man, and he could not adapt that well. He was not in the habit of bowing and sc.r.a.ping to those in authority. His men considered it both a strength and weakness of his, which was also why they approved highly of him.

While all this was taking place, Izumo took advantage of the dispute to order Kenzaki and Os.h.i.+no to grab the kidnappee. They were preparing to flee.

Borhos saw this and shouted, “Wait! Stop right there, you lot!” But he was distracted by Dulles shouting “That’s enough, listen to me!”

Kenzaki and Os.h.i.+no took this opportunity to escape the cage.

“Who gave you permission to flee?!”

“What? I figured that since you had forgotten about us, we could go back.”

“I’ll deal with you after I settle this. Wait there until I’m done. Do you hear me?!”

Perhaps it was a habit of his, but Borhos ended up pointing his index finger at Izumo and the others while he was speaking. Of course, none of that const.i.tuted a reason for Izumo to stay, so they flatly denied him.

“Ahhh, well, to be honest, I don’t really have time for this, so I’ll make a move first. As you can see, the kidnappee’s kind of frail. Then there’s the bleeding from the Commander-kakka’s finger. We can’t stop it. He might die if we don’t treat him.”

“What’s this? How could you disregard him like that! Stanch his bleeding!”

“Well, we tried performing some first aid, but it’s not enough. That’s what’s happening now, no?”

Delilah replied in a tone that was calculated to grate on his nerves. Frustrated and angry, Borhos could only click his tongue loudly.

“I understand, it can’t be helped. If you guarantee you won’t harm the Commander-kakka any further, I’ll let you pa.s.s to the main gates. Once there, you will release the Commander-kakka at once!”

“Oi! Borhos! Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Please be quiet, Oprichnik-dono. This concerns the Commander-kakka’s life.”

“You’re letting us proceed to the gates?”

Izumo looked like he was willing to agree to Borhos’ terms.

“Correct. We can concede that much. You will release the Commander-kakka once you reach there. How about that?”

Dulles shook his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Even if the regional commander had been taken hostage, he could not help but think of them as weak for actually negotiating with the enemy.

“It can’t be helped. If we don’t do something…”

He glanced to one of his men behind him.

Surprise flickered over the faces of Dulles’s men, but then they said, “It’s our turn,” and drew back their bows. The bowstring creaked as it was pulled taut, and they took aim in the direction of Izumo and his group.

“Alright, it’s a deal, then. We’ll clear a path for you to the main gates. Oi, you lot, stand down. And then get the physician. We must treat the Commander-kakka immediately once we recover him.”

After Borhos gestured, the soldiers moved in unison, like mechanical dolls. In an instant, they had formed a corridor of men leading to the main gates.

Izumo could not help but be impressed by their drilling and coordination.

“They may be enemies, but they’re pretty d.a.m.n good.”

As he had expected, this man was a dangerous foe. Anyone who could direct his troops so well with a single order must have extraordinary command ability.

However, as Izumo muttered to himself, a pair of arrows streaked toward G.o.dasen. Delilah immediately batted aside one of them with her sword, but the other sank into the hostage’s chest.

The pain from the hit woke G.o.dasen, and his cries of agony rang through the plaza.

“Dammit! Go go go!”

Izumo and the others wasted no time in counterattacking. They threw grenades into the Imperial army’s formations and blew apart the walls of men. Smoke grenades went everywhere, instantly veiling the surroundings in a heavy curtain of white smoke. The sounds of gunfire and explosions flooded the plaza.

“Fall back! Fall back! Who, who loosed those arrows?!”

Borhos bellowed loudly as his men died one after the other, in order to keep them from falling into chaos. The troops fled in all directions, as though afraid of being enveloped by the smoke.

Elsewhere, the SFG troopers hiding in the smoke did not have it easy either. Arrows flew from all directions and peppered Izumo and the others.

Within moments, several men were on the ground.

“This is bad. But that means it’s my turn!”

The first person to react effectively was Delilah.

She used G.o.dasen as a human s.h.i.+eld, and did not flee, but charged into the ranks of the Imperial infantry.

As the Warrior Bunny blitzed the Imperial battle-line, they could not bring themselves to shoot at G.o.dasen. That was all Delilah needed to reach them. Unable to switch to their swords in time, they were cut down one after the other by Delilah’s flas.h.i.+ng blade.

“That stupid bunny! She charged in recklessly again!”

However, Izumo shouted, “Follow Delilah!”

The unwounded members a.s.sumed their formation, Utsuta leading the way. He covered Kenzaki and the others, who were moving the wounded SFG troopers and the kidnappee, and then they launched their own a.s.sault.

Izumo might have called Delilah stupid, but she seemed to be having an easier time surrounded by enemies. All she had to do was swing at everything that moved. In contrast, the Imperial footsoldiers were having a hard time. Delilah was surrounded by their own people, after all. They hesitated in shooting, afraid to wound their comrades. Even if they hit her, they could not hurt her severely. In the end, the Imperial losses mounted.

And then, the SFG troopers were fighting as well. Their forward push threw the Imperials into chaos and trapped them between a rock and a hard place.

“At them! You will not retreat!”

Dulles bellowed at the soldiers and waved his sword from a safe position.

When thrown into confusion, the right decision would be to temporarily fall back to regroup and restore order. However, Dulles was very angry at his orders being overruled. He desperately tried to countermand Borhos’ orders to pull back, which only added to the chaos.

As Izumo watched this from afar, he picked up his radio handset.

“Archer, this is Caster. Are you enjoying the show from there? If you can, put a few rounds downrange for me.”

His reply was a crisp “Roger”, and then it happened.

Dulles’s head — covered by a kobold mask — was suddenly gone.

There were no holes in it, nor had it split. It was simply that everything above Dulles’s neck had vanished, pulverized into sc.r.a.ps and fragments of flying meat and bone.

It had happened just as the angered Dulles was about to stab at Borhos. The sheer impact of the event stole everyone’s eyes, and they froze in place.

A direct hit from an anti-materiel sniper rifle’s 12.7mm rounds tended to do that to human heads.

The decapitated man collapsed to the ground. Dyed red from the spray of Dulles’s gore, Borhos’ mind briefly shut down. Only after wiping off the face full of blood and looking down at his carmine hands did he realize what had just happened.

He looked around. Then, he discovered G.o.dasen’s body lying beside an Imperial soldier, near an expended smoke grenade. He ran closer and realized that although he had pa.s.sed out, the arrow had only struck his shoulder, so there was not much damage. The stump of G.o.dasen’s finger was bleeding, but his life was not in any immediate danger.

“Cheh. I fell for it, huh?”

“Centurion! The enemy’s fleeing! Should we pursue?”

After the men around him asked him that question, Borhos finally came to his senses and gave his orders.

“No need for that. We antic.i.p.ated that something like this would happen, so we had troops placed in ambush nearby. They never had a chance to escape in the first place. Our priority now is to aid the Commander-kakka.”

Borhos called out the nearby soldiers and ordered them to move G.o.dasen. Then he ordered: “Sound the bugles! Have the ambush troops move in! We will trap the enemies like rats in a cage!”

“Enemies at Point C too!”

“We’ll change evac point to D!”

“Hurry!”

The tension on the scene filtered through the wireless connection.

There were some in the Chinook who grew afraid as they heard this. There were some who grew impatient and uneasy. And then, there were those who were silent in order to control the pounding of their hearts.

“O-onee-sama. Are you alright?”

A shuddering, panting Rory nodded to Giselle. If she were on the ground, she would probably have charged out. However, she had to stay here. If she stayed here, she could reach the ground sooner.

The Chinook began to descend. If one looked carefully, they could see the battle taking place in the distance.

“This is Hayabusa, descending on Point D. Status report!”

“Hayabusa, you say? Good name. We should be able to make it back no matter what happens. This is Caster, moving to point D. Enemies are popping out from everywhere, we’re having a hard time.”

Itami poked his head out from under the pilot’s armpit and shouted into the pilot’s mike.

“Avenger here. Caster, any wounded?”

“Yo, long time no see, Avenger. Glad to hear you’re still the same. We’ve got more hurt than unhurt. What do you have in mind?”

“We expected that, so we brought a pretty nurse along. She loves casualties and she was going on about ‘I don’t care if they’re dying or their heads are falling off, all victims belong to me’. If we don’t give her casualties, we’ll become the next casualties.”

“That nurse of yours sounds like a real maneater . How come all the women you meet are like that? Kuribayas.h.i.+’s cute, but scary too.”

Apparently, any date with Kuribayas.h.i.+ would involve pa.s.sing by a dojo or boxing ring, and she believed in pa.s.sionate engagements with her partners. Apparently, winning such an engagement would result in a delightful prize… but sadly, n.o.body had won that prize so far.

(TL Note: the JP uses 突き合い, which sounds like 付き合い. The first refers to sparring, the second refers to dating)

“Wouldn’t you want to be eaten up by a beautiful woman? Just make sure you all come back.”

“Ahh, leave that to me.”

Itami turned back to brief his men and the local collaborators.

“Our mission is to secure the landing sight. Once the SFG troopers get aboard, we’ll dust off immediately, so don’t stray too far from the Chinook. Kurokawa, there’ll be casualties galore as you just heard, so I’ll leave their treatment to you.”

“Do I look like some sort of man-eating ogress to you?”

Kurokawa cracked her knuckles as she glared at Itami.

“I, I said a beautiful nurse, didn’t I? That’s okay, right? Right?”

“Right you are. Prepare yourself.”

As she spoke in a menacing, ogrish tone, Kurokawa picked up the defibrillator paddles for her portable Artificial Electrical Defibrillator (AED) unit and pointed them at Itami. Sparks flew between them, as though promising electroshock therapy for him.

“If possible, I hope the professors and Pina-denka can help with the wounded too. And Rory…”

“What is it?”

“Our mission isn’t to kill them all, but to clear an escape route.

As Itami told her not to miss the chance to pull back, Rory shrugged and replied, “I got it.”

“Ambush troops in Point D!”

“We can’t change the plan now. Force our way through!”

“That’s too reckless!”

“That’s what it means to be SF!”

The rear hatch opened, and the chopper’s downwash swept into the cabin like a typhoon.

As the helicopter hovered near the surface, the monsters, demihumans and Imperial footsoldiers gathered around it. Some of them were poorly equipped. It would seem they had pressed mercenaries and gangsters into service as auxiliaries. Even so, there were enough of them to make extraction tricky.

“Open fire! Keep firing!” Kuwabara ordered. In response, Kurata and the others fired madly.

And in front of them, black blossoms bloomed.

Rory leapt from an alarming alt.i.tude, her skirts fluttering in the wind. The instant she touched the ground, her halberd reaped a wide circle of enemies.

“Cover her! Fire! Fire!”

Kurata and the others opened fire on Rory’s flanks as she carved a crimson road through the foe.

During this time, Itami was looking for the rescue team.

He saw four men bearing a stretcher.

Covering them were about ten men with M4 carbines pointed in all directions, gunning down the Imperial troops in hot pursuit.

There were those among them who were leaning on their comrades’ shoulders, probably from wounds, but everyone looked exhausted. They seemed to be trying their hardest to run, but all they could manage was a brisk walk closer.

That being the case, why not go out and get them? Having decided that, Itami turned to Tuka and the others as the helicopter landed and shouted, “Alright, let’s go!” and charged out.

With covering fire from Kurata and the others, combined with Yao and Tuka’s arrow fire, Lelei shouted, “Go!” and explosions cut down the arrows flying through the air towards them.

“Professors! What are you doing? Don’t follow me!”

The troubling thing was the fact he was being trailed by unarmed civilians.

“What are you saying? Don’t take us for doddering dotards!”

Youmei, Urus.h.i.+bata and s.h.i.+rai took over the stretcher from Kenzaki and the others. “Good, let’s go!” they said, as though carrying luggage. Thanks to them, Os.h.i.+no and Kenzaki were freed up to join the fighting.

The cameraman lugged his camera to film the sight of the SFG troopers being pursued by the enemy, while Nanami yelled into her mike, “And now the JSDF’s special forces troopers have returned. There look to be a lot of wounded — aaaaahhhh!”

 

An arrow flying from behind her struck the Chinook’s rear rotor and was reduced to dust, which landed on Nanami.

Katsumoto pulled Nanami back and hid her behind him.

Lelei’s funnels flew forth again, exploding in mid-air.

“Gramps! Headcount!”

After seeing the SFG troopers scramble aboard the Chinook, Itami shouted, “Alright, we’re dusting off! Everyone, come back!”

On Itami’s command, everyone rushed back in. Even Rory — whom he was afraid would not return mid-slaughter — ran back, clutching her halberd.

“All aboard!”

As Kuwabara shouted that, the Chinook left the surface once more.

Looking back into the depths of the helicopter’s cargo compartment, he could see Kurokawa inserting cannulas into the arms of the wounded men, one after the other. “Alright, next! Alright, next!” she shouted, as she went from casualty to casualty.

“What, what’s she doing?”

Pina had been pressed into service as a tourniquet tyer, so as to make the wounded troopers’ veins more visible. She had no idea what Kurokawa was doing. After all, treatment to her meant stopping blood loss or dressing wounds. However, Kurokawa was simply poking her casualties with a needle.

“Circulation secure! Hamilton-sama, please help stop their bleeding!”

When performing first aid during an emergency situation like an accident or a natural disaster, the most important thing was to ensure the integrity of the circulation system. Once too much blood was lost, the casualty’s blood vessels would collapse and there would be no way to insert a cannula. Thus, saline solution was used to maintain blood pressure and prevent hypovolemic shock. In addition, one could infuse drugs intravenously through the cannula, which made treatment easy.

Of course, there was only so much one could infuse through the radial veins, so if the need arose, they might need to infuse through one of the bigger veins in the chest instead. However, there did not seem to be anyone who required such treatment among Kurokawa’s casualties.

“Yo, Itami, I don’t recall seeing you work this hard even when you were under me...”

A tall man patted Itami on the shoulder.

“It’s been awhile, Major Izumo. This time, we’ve got civilians in attendance and a film crew present, so I wanted to show them how cool we can be.”

Behind Izumo, the other men of the SFG — covered in mud and gra.s.s — presented themselves to him. Among them were Kenzaki, Matoi, Utsuta, Os.h.i.+no and Imawano. Then there was someone with sleek curves, for whom the term “man” was not appropriate. She bounded up ahead of the others.

A pair of arms wrapped around Itami, and he was briefly baffled.

“Boss Itami! It’s been a while!”

“Hey, isn’t that Delilah? What are you doing here?”

Indeed, it was Delilah. Delilah — who had once worked in Arnus’ cantina — was now dressed in camouflage fatigues and her bunny ears were hidden under a bush hat. n.o.body would have equated the two unless it was pointed out.

Izumo spoke on her behalf.

“Working with the locals has produced excellent results. You’ve done it yourself, haven’t you? So, Yanagida told me to make use of this bunnygirl.”

Delilah had been put on trial in a Tokyo courthouse for what she had done in Arnus, and she was sentenced to probation.

She did not complain about her sentence given what she had done to deserve it, and meekly accepted the court’s verdict. That said, she could not return to House Formal or the ALC’s cantina. With nowhere to go, Delilah decided to atone for her sins by taking care of Yanagida. Once he returned to the frontlines, she had become a local collaborator.

“I got rid of the person who tricked me!”

“That’s good. But are you alright? Physically, I mean.”

“Aw, everywhere from my waist to my a.s.s is damaged goods now. I can’t say ‘Don’t touch it, it’s not cheap stuff’ any more. Want to see? You can touch too, if you want.”

With that, Delilah suddenly began pulling off her belt, so Itami hurriedly stopped her with a “wait wait wait”.

“You’re doing okay, right?”

“No, that’s because the doctors were amazing. He fitted me with something called ‘t.i.tanium’ to replace my hipbone. It took me a month to learn how to walk again.”

Itami was quite surprised by the fact that she was bouncing around barely a month after such major surgery, but Delilah simply went on gus.h.i.+ng about the efficacy of j.a.panese doctors.

“Well, it does ache a little. Still, it’s great. I’m better off than Master Yanagida.”

Delilah replied that she would accompany Yanagida all her life to atone for her mistakes.

While they had this conversation, the cameraman turned his lens on the freshly rescued kidn