Chapter 10: Chapter 10
"... Colonel Suez! Enemy reinforcements! A squadron is approaching fast! There is also a flight of Mages coming from behind—they are probably the reserves!"
Oh God, why?
"The 16th Holershtan division covering the retreat has been overrun!"
Why is this happening?
"Major LaCampe's wing has an emergency message for all assault units! They are engaged by a wing of Empire Mages and can't keep the retreat route open for long."
Why did my home nation chose this wrongful path?
"I get it! There's no time—can't we take out that artillery observer right now!?"
No matter how unyielding Lt. Col. Anson was, his forces were being shredded by artillery fire, and the situation was becoming worse with every second. He could see it as he flew through the sky.
Even if Lt. Col. Anson was filled with rage and anxiety, screaming for the enemy's' indirect fire to stop, the situation was not improving.
"Scored a grazing hit!"
Lt. Col. Anson sighed deeply; if his eyes had lasers, he would have burned the enemy Mage to crisp with his glare. Ahh, even though these are the northern skies I am so familiar with. Everything in the world today, even the sky he knew so well, filled him with rage.
"He's taken an annoying position. To run above his friendly forces, such a troublesome bloke."
They were pursuing a single enemy with large numbers. Even though the enemy was willing to do anything to survive, they couldn't accuse him of being despicable.
If Anson was a third party, the relentless chivalry of the enemy would prompt Anson to offer his highest respect...but they didn't have time to be amazed by the enemy's skill in battle.
Anson Suez could hear the nonstop shelling and see his fellow countrymen being turned into dust.
"...Those damn politicians!"
It was obvious who was responsible for this. The words he swore rang clear. He really wanted to dump those morons looking down on the Londinum Protocol and ignoring the contents of the treaty down there. Their idiotic actions had landed the entire nation into a crisis.
"Close quarter combat! Prepare to charge!"
"Colonel Suez! Let's go for the secondary option and attack the artillery directly! The enemy Mage might have excellent mobility, but a flight would be enough to take him out!"
"We can't, Lagarde, the enemy's already sent reinforcements. We'll be wiped out!"
For better or worse, Lt. Col. Suez' unit was in too deep. If they had a bit more combat prowess, they might be able to forcefully attack the enemy battery.
However, they had to split his forces to secure the Federation retreat route, so he only had slightly more than a flight in numbers right now.
"Cunningham, how much longer 'til enemy reinforcements reach here?!"
"The closest unit is 480 seconds away! If we don't hurry, they'll be on our tail!"
While the Empire's forces were on their way to intercept, Anson couldn't see a way out in this gambit with his entire wing on the line. That was why he chose to do what he could with the forces he had on hand.
This was the stoic decision made by the Federation airman Lt. Col. Anson Suez, and was also the best choice he could make from the intelligence available to him.
He was a soldier without romantic ideals. That's why he concluded the enemy batteries must be defended heavily and gave up assaulting them directly.
This was the cruel reality for him. There was no cover above the artillery right now.
"Got it. Close quarters… Lagarde! You're too careless!"
"Captain! Captain Lagarde!"
"Cunningham, cover him! Lagarde, can you fly? Lagarde!"
Captain Lagarde who was growing frustrated with the situation charged the enemy Mage with a shout. His allies couldn't react in time, resulting in a lag in their covering fire.
The instant they stopped firing because of their fear of hitting Captain Lagarde with friendly fire, the enemy cast a spell. Lagarde, who thought his allies would cover him with suppressing fire, wanted to change course at the last moment but was too close to his opponent.
"Ugh, damn bastard! Support him, now!"
Not just a shock wave, it was as good as a direct hit. Just changing his course didn't help at all. His shield was downed and his armour breached. However, Lagarde made the snap judgement of covering his face with his arms which saved his life, a blessing from god.
"—Break off! That bastard did that on purpose! Thor?!"
Superiority in numbers. Concentrated fire. But paying the price of allowing the enemy Mage to regain his freedom after their suppression fire was too high.
"Casualty report!"
"Two down, Captain Lagarde is seriously injured."
Lagarde, whose arms were roasted, was losing altitude as he slipped out of consciousness.
Captain Lagarde's wingman, 1st Lieutenant Thor, got into the line of fire in an attempt to protect him, was caught by the blast from close range, and in no shape to fight.
"Tch, he played us like a fiddle. Colonel, I am going in, cover me!"
"Ah, damn it, cover him!"
"Hit! Hit!"
"I'm taking your arms!"
At that moment, he heard this clearly in his ears:
"I caught you."
This was an elated voice. The laughter of a maniac.
"No, Valt! Fall back, he's gonna…"
Just as he was about to give a warning, the Imperial Mage cast his own spell the next instant, pulling the charging Lagarde and himself into the magic's effective range.
"A suicide bomber…"
It wasn't a scene he wanted to understand, but he still saw it clearly.
"Colonel, that's the time limit! They're almost on us!"
"...We have downed the observer! Everyone pull out!"