I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun-Chapter 800: Washington D.C (16)

"Whoa, whoa, damn it...!"

"Are you okay, Race!?"

"Fuck, get off... AAAH!"

Kuuuuu!

Washington D.C., inside the Black Eagle 'Kestrel' command center, a top secret area, a strange noise I've never heard before fills the room with vibrations, and the air currents change.

And in the middle of it all, a single figure lets out a voice of pain. A thin red fog that is almost impossible to see unless you look closely is swirling around her body.

Outside the room, numerous military doctors were on standby in case of an emergency, but unfortunately, no one knew what was happening inside the top secret area room and how to deal with it.

Unfortunately, not even the person in question knew.

"...!"

If I said that my blood was rushing to my head, would that be enough to express the pain I was feeling right now?

After returning from a battle, she had to readjust her suit, but she couldn't worry about such trivial things right now. She was being assaulted by a kind of pain she had never felt before.

Her face was facing the floor, blood dripping from the tip of her nose. Even if she didn't know, she was sure that if there was a mirror, it wouldn't show a very good sight.

But that wasn't the end of it.

"Ahhhhh-!

"What the, what the, Elliot!"

"My left hand is completely dried up... Doctor, Doctor!"

"Everyone, get out of the room! "Get involved!"

The moment he crossed a kind of 'area' that was difficult to confirm without looking closely, the left hand of the unfortunate one who crossed it shriveled up.

It was a completely different kind of pain than the one Race was feeling, but in any case, even the soldier who was involved felt a strange kind of pain in his hand. It was as if his entire left arm had evaporated, and the accompanying pain was similar.

It was a gruesome sight that revealed the outline of his bones. The victim tried to move his hand with difficulty, but every time he did, his half-dried skin would tear like plastic. The fact that not a single drop of blood came out added to the bizarreness.

While the soldiers, who were more well-trained than anyone else, left the room screaming like children, Race, who was lying there, swore.

"... This is fucking shit... Crow, respond... ."

- Are you alive? I'm checking the CCTV right now, but you made a funny mistake with the left arm of one of our precious soldiers. Are you feeling okay?

"Damn it, if I don't divert my mind somewhere else like this, I'm going to lose my mind... !?"

- I can't do anything about it. I think it's the result of abusing her ability. I didn't think there would be no risk at all, but... it's scary.

The result of abusing her ability. It was a very plausible statement.

I knew it was wrong to go out to the scene halfway without even understanding the true nature of her ability, which was to be able to manipulate the blood in the vicinity, but I didn't think it would lead to this result.

However, even after painfully recalling the past amidst the terrible pain, the conclusion was the same. If there was a price to pay for using her ability, she had abused it to the point where she had to pay a considerable price.

She attacked the enemy and even defended herself against flying bullets. If the 'normal' standard American soldiers she still remembered had been the target of the battle, she could have annihilated dozens of them on her own.

However, the target of the battle this time was not a normal person.

"... ."

Olivia Lorelai.

Race engaged the person who was considered the most dangerous mutant, beating out the other mutants of the Dagger Team inside the Black Eagle, and was defeated without actually landing any effective hits.

A painful fact that was even more vivid because it had happened only an hour or two ago - if she hadn't received help from the multiple rocket launchers at the last moment, Race would have been in the Pentagon by now.

Maybe it was because of the difference in actual combat experience, or....

However, there was no time to ruminate on the past.

To be exact, the moment she turned her thoughts elsewhere, the inexplicable pain that was occurring throughout Race's body began to subside little by little.

Unfortunately, she was one of the few commanders who could currently control the troops inside the Kestrel, and so even after the pain was over, she couldn't rest. There was a lot to do.

First, she had to discuss the results of Hunter's first appearance.

- It seems you've calmed down a bit now. Answer This might be difficult, so let me just say the main point. The higher-ups say that the Hunter Project has achieved its intended success. Maybe even more.

"...Yeah, damn it. I don't think so either. To be honest, the fact that they survived the engagement with the Dagger Team is an encouraging achievement in itself."

- It's quite bitter to have to be thankful that about four people came back alive, but on the other hand, if they were deployed where the Dagger Team isn't, there's a high possibility of achieving operational gains.

"Unless those crazy guys are deployed at any time in wingsuits or something... ."

That's right.

That was the problem. With the right amount of helium, balloons to hold the gas, and steel cables, the Dagger team could be deployed to any part of Washington, D.C. in a matter of minutes.

Washington, D.C. itself was quite large, but strictly speaking, this was only on the map, and the actual combat zone was smaller than expected. It was only a few dozen square kilometers.

Dozens of square kilometers may seem like a huge area at first glance, but it was actually a little different. The Washington, D.C. battlefield was a square that was less than 8 kilometers long and wide.

That was also the reason why they were reluctant to introduce tactical weapons such as aerial bombardment or ballistic missiles. One reason was the dense air defense network, but no one knew what would happen if the circular error probable (CEP) increased due to jamming.

That's why the Black Eagle and the Pentagon had always used the Potomac River as their boundary. He was putting in so much effort to recapture or defend the jamming and air defense bases that were everywhere.

"...Whew, I only come to my senses when I talk about shit like this."

-Are you feeling a little better? Then let's talk about the next story. About the information about the Hunter that leaked to DARPA.

"If we get screwed next time, we can tell those Slavic bastards to at least add a self-destructive function. Right now...there's nothing we can do. Anyway, there’s no one who can face the Hunters except those crazy Icarus Operators, so it’s not that important.”

- I understand that you mean you’re not unprepared.

There was silence.

Race struggled to get up from her spot. Although it was only for a short time, she was in extreme pain, so she was sweating profusely. Since the suit’s self-purification function wasn’t that great, she took off the suit when no one was there.

Sweat mixed with blood ran down her body. A pungent and unpleasant smell slowly permeated the room, but fortunately, no one was there except Race.

Continued speech.

- The higher-ups seem to want to prepare a separate safety device in case something happens. It seems like they’re going to do whatever it takes... Fortunately, we have the choice.

“You’re going to do whatever it takes? What does that mean?"

-Eclipse.

At that moment, Race's expression, which was wiping his body with a towel, hardened.

Eclipse. To be exact, Eclipse Gas. Very few people knew what it was, and only some of the Black Eagle field staff knew about it.

A toxic substance created based on the knowledge of Jordan Amherst, who had become a machine that simply outputted necessary knowledge due to a malfunction in part of his brain, and the data obtained in Boston.

It was originally planned to be manufactured in the form of a virus, but that was opposed, but in any case, the resulting product was a weapon of mass destruction with a different name.

Race let out a sigh right after hearing the story.

"Anyway, the guys in the upper ranks are out of their minds. If it were real, you should have banished them to space instead of prison. You should have figured it out when you tried to use that crazy bastard who would make a profit."

- I'm not really curious about what they're thinking, so let's not worry about it. Besides, unless they're seriously disadvantaged, they won't use something like that.

"No matter how much I think about it, I can't help but think that I shouldn't have set foot in this fucking place."

- Haha. Now that you think about it?

Now that you think about it, you really are.

Thinking that, Race let out a sigh. Inside the room, there were only neatly stripped-off suits and naked Race. Normally, she would have been aware of the CCTV, but she didn't care at all.

Not only was she not aware of her own body, but she didn't have the time to care about such trivial facts right now. Eclipse was something worth talking about.

She muttered as she sat naked on the sofa.

"If you look closely, you can't tell if these crazy kids are doing this because they want to build a new America, or if they're doing this to tear everything down."

-Haha, well.

Then he continued.

- Changing jobs might not be that easy, but it's not like it's completely impossible. It's not like you're tied to the Black Eagle... Well, you have to decide quickly before your superiors plant a bomb or poison in your body.

"Ha. That's really helpful."

- That's obvious.

Race, who had lost her sense of absurdity, waved her hand, and only then did the CCTV lights go out and the communication end.

She let out a sigh in the room filled with silence.

"Fuck, no matter how I look at it, it's a bad check...."

Since she was no longer a soldier who demanded absolute loyalty after her body changed, she shook her head and swore.

It was a night where she became deep in thought in many ways.

"The operation plan has been released. There's still a long way to go until it starts, so let's focus on the inside for the time being."

"The US military is planning to move south and join us. Everyone's hearts are set. We've been given the mission of opening the prelude to a grand offensive, so just live up to expectations."

Meanwhile.

The watershed has not yet ended.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

At this point, the operational area of ​​Washington D.C. was taking on a shape similar to a nut caught in a spanner. More precisely, the spanner was the US military, and the nut was the Black Eagle.

Some might say that it was almost like a complete siege, and that the US military, which could surround them, had the advantage, but that wasn't necessarily the case.

This was especially true in the special situation of urban warfare, where the defender could gain an absurd advantage depending on how they were blocked.

The US military stationed in the capital was roughly a little over a division, and the Black Eagles were having a hard time filling up two regiments while fighting continuously.

That's why the Pentagon TOC judged that the US military and the Black Eagles' power were similar. That's what it meant when you calculate the qualitative difference as well as the quantitative difference as variables.

And that's why the TOC judged that if they launched a full-scale offensive, Washington D.C. would become a no man's land, and that ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) they would have to blow up an entire division in exchange for driving out the Black Eagles.

Compared to the past when their ancestors opened up the Western Front in Europe, when the US military deployed about 8 million troops in succession, it was extremely shabby.

In any case, several prerequisites were necessary to prevent the 'horrible loss' that would inevitably occur in an infantry-infantry urban battle without any air support.

In order for the US military to win with the least possible damage, they had to penetrate the Black Eagle forward bases on the front line and completely neutralize or recapture the air defense bases hidden behind the defense line.

On the other hand, the Black Eagles had too few troops available, and they had no choice but to gradually neutralize the surrounding area with only one regiment, excluding the troops guarding the defense line.

The Black Eagles were able to demonstrate overwhelming performance compared to the US military, and because they paid so much attention to platforming, they could easily fortify a point they had once occupied within a few hours.

And the Eclipse WMD, which no one except some knew about, and the drone deployment platform that was soon to be brought in through Andrews Air Force Base were also Black Eagle’s weapons.

The Pentagon did not want to blow up any more American troops, and Black Eagle did not want the evil US to flatten Washington D.C.

Neither side was willing to move unless they had a clear opportunity, which meant that the battle in the capital was bound to be prolonged.

Even after Hunter appeared, the situation did not change much, and spring slowly passed by the capital, and before long, the hot summer sun was shining over Washington D.C.

However, one day in July and August.

The US military prepared to launch a full-scale offensive with tens of thousands of suicide notes and thousands of body bags.

"The weather is killing the sun. Without air support or tanks, we have to crash into that slaughterhouse on such a beautiful day."

"It's the same old thing. The Dagger team is leading the way. Let's open the way. Are you sure you have a nuclear briefcase?"

"Of course. It's something that will cool the livers of our Black Eagle friends, so we should take good care of it."

The day was hot, and the heat was rising from the broken asphalt that had not been maintained.

On a beautiful day when not even a single cloud could be found, thousands of US soldiers and the Dagger team stood at the forefront to break through the forward base and level the air defense base.

Over a hundred armored vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and mobile guns, were busy preparing to move through dozens of avenues, and the US military had prepared dozens of tons of white phosphorus for this day.

The scorched-earth operation began.

───Kuuung!

The 72nd Field Artillery Brigade, under the 1st Army Eastern Division, stationed about a few dozen kilometers from Washington, D.C., fired hundreds of shells at the buildings in Washington, D.C.

A 155mm caliber M825 white phosphorus incendiary bomb that flew for several dozen kilometers. The 116 wedges inside were separated by a separator and ignited at the same time, covering the rooftops and other areas.

The hundreds and thousands of submunitions fell evenly on the roads and rooftops, slowly igniting and covering the entire block with white smoke. There were almost no buildings burning, but that didn't matter.

This was to protect against rockets or anti-tank missiles flying from rooftops or building windows.

Furthermore, unlike Manhattan and other cities, Washington, D.C. had a height restriction on buildings, and the toxic smoke that began to spread slowly, even if slowly, sufficiently covered most of the buildings.

How much time had passed?

As the 0.7 square kilometer area was completely covered in white phosphorus smoke, several sealed infantry fighting vehicles and three separate teams of Task Force Daggers began to advance slowly toward the smoke-filled world.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

- Operation begins. I will count on you, Operators.

"We will open the way before the smoke clears. Keep your ADS on."

Washington D.C. was sweltering under the hot sun due to the added white phosphorus.

It was summer.