The Little Prince in the Ossuary-Chapter 111 : Premonition, San Ardo oil field (2)

Premonition, San Ardo oil field (2)

Mutants employed basic ambush and cover tactics. Even if their intelligence was on par with that of a pack of beasts, from the enemy's perspective, it was a real headache. The so-called cover they used was often soaked with oil. Not only was facility damage a concern, but fire hazards as well.

As a result, opportunities for heavy-armored troopers to shine increased—though they themselves didn't enjoy it.

Gyeo-ul led Yura's squad into the second facility.

Aside from sunlight broadcasting in through windows and vents, the interior had no lights at all. Gyeo-ul raised his visor to check. A sharp, volatile smell hit immediately—crude oil seemed to be leaking somewhere in the facility.

'It's hard to make it ignite just with gunfire... but you never know.'

There was also the stench of rotting flesh. It had to be more than one corpse. Gyeo-ul lowered and locked his visor again, then used hand signals to warn the rear: caution when firing, and expect multiple enemies. The squad members spread out to positions where they could cover each other, setting up fields of fire free of pipes or equipment.

The first enemy appeared, surprisingly, straight ahead. Its lean body was packed with muscle—on the verge of becoming an enhanced mutant. A brief standoff. The non-human creature twisted its head repeatedly, snapping its teeth, as if testing their response.

[Captain!]

A sharp warning suddenly rang out. Gyeo-ul swung his crowbar overhead. At its apex, he felt a jolt—something caught. Blood sprayed. With another swing, the mutant—caught on the crowbar's edge—was slammed down heavily. It had dropped from the pipes above. Too late, tatata-tang! gunfire missed—covering fire.

'So one draws attention, and another attacks?'

The one that drew attention charged. Gyeo-ul charged as well. When the distance closed to zero, he crashed into it shoulder first. Thump! The impact rattled his whole body. Gyeo-ul was testing the combat style of heavy-armored troopers, and the result was just as expected—the mutant bounced off, completely overpowered. Gyeo-ul chased after it for three steps and brought the crowbar down.

Kkaang! Concrete shattered between its rotting thighs and sparks flew noisily. It was stuck.

'Too slow.'

If only he weren't so weighed down. Gyeo-ul let go of both his regret and his crowbar, advancing. He seized the mutant by the hair as it twisted to get up. With a sharp yank, not just hair but scalp peeled away. Was it the inflammation? The bloody skull was exposed. Shocked, the mutant collapsed at the boy's feet. That wasn't the plan. Gyeo-ul raised his fist.

Kwang! The crack on its skull was visible. Kwang! It was oddly satisfying to strike right at the fissure. Kwang! The mutant foamed at the mouth, clinging to the boy's waist. Kwang! The monster bit at him, trying to topple him. Kwang! But, given the weight, it was impossible. Kwang! The bone was about to cave in. Kwang!

The last sound was slightly different. Gyeo-ul blocked a crowbar swung from behind with his wrist, striking just inside the incoming blade. Before it could slip away, he grabbed it with his other hand. A contest of strength ensued. The ghoul holding the handle bared its fangs.

Multiple mutants began to crawl over the pipes. The squad members fired their aimed shots from predetermined positions. However, one person was overrun—his head crushed, he fell and couldn't support his own weight plus that of the mutant.

[Aaaagh!]

A scream resembling a cry of death agony.

'If only he'd stayed calmer.'

It wasn't as dire as the scream sounded. Ordinary mutants could not break down a protective suit. Gyeo-ul shoved off the two that clung to him first.

The ghoul that snatched his crowbar was the real problem. It was a beta ghoul, and its strength was considerable. The one clutching his waist was already weakened, but even just hanging on hindered Gyeo-ul, making it difficult to use his lower body and core strength.

It was a dogfight. A beast with a tool makes a mess of using it. As long as he blocked the full swings, that was fine. One hand sufficed for defense. Trusting in the defensive capabilities he had experienced so far, Gyeo-ul ignored the minor blows and seized the ghoul by the face.

The creature shook its head violently, making it hard. Its ferocious biting pressure was impressive—worthy of an enhanced mutant. Each bite left scratches.

There was no need to rush. His defense was solid. Gyeo-ul kept trying. Eventually, crunch!—his thumb jabbed into the creature's eye. Blood leaked from the now-hollow socket.

"Keaaaak! Gyareureu! Kkaaaak!" [onomatopoeia retained]

The ghoul shrieked like a mad dog—a fitting sound for such a fight.

The second time was easier. Groping by feel, he wedged his ring and little finger into the hole, then moved his thumb to the remaining eye. Slippery bone under his fingertips. He tried pressing with his thumb again. Failed. Again—failed. But he succeeded on the third attempt.

The now-blind ghoul was no longer a threat. He drew his machete and stabbed it deep into the orbital cavity. It jammed—maybe because his hand was slick with blood. Gyeo-ul choked the remaining mutant with his left arm, then pounded it repeatedly with his right fist. A monotonous motion, like hammering. And his fist, as hard as a hammer. The weight and hardness of the ballistic armor were lethal in themselves.

Peoseok! The sound of something breaking at last. The pressure on his waist vanished.

Yura's squad was also finishing up the fight. As both team leader and squad commander, Yura remained the calmest.

Gyeo-ul thought: stress training does work. Practicing target distinction and shooting under verbal abuse and shoves. Among firearms training drills, it's the closest to real combat. Only Yura had received one-on-one instruction from Gyeo-ul.

She was armed with an automatic shotgun. Right in front of Gyeo-ul, she fired twenty rapid shots and mowed down the mutants, precisely gauging the spread. The walls and floor were torn up, but not a single piece of machinery was touched.

Gyeo-ul helped with pistol shots. It was quicker and handier than a machine gun. Taang, Tang! The clattering slide spat out short shell casings. He barely felt the recoil—that too was due to the armor's weight.

"Is everyone okay? Report your status."

Gyeo-ul's voice. Over the comms, there were sniffling cries. Fewer than half answered properly. He set those aside as the perimeter and had to comfort the rest, one by one. It wasn't their fault—they were all new recruits, lacking combat experience. Heavy-armored trooper was typically the role of a seasoned veteran.

Yet, it was the containment commander who ordered regulars recruited from refugees to be deployed.

Apparently, the only role for Fort Roberts' garrison during operation name Manifest Liberation was not just establishing supply lines.

[Captain, are you all right?]

Yura's small, worried voice. Yet she herself was not all right—her trembling was obvious even through thick protective gear, and her muzzle wasn't steady.

Gyeo-ul allowed them a short rest. At the very least, they needed to be able to aim.

A little later, the search resumed. Fortunately, that first ambush was the only one. The rest of the facility sections were chaotic with oil-stained footprints, but otherwise, quiet.

The process repeated itself in similar fashion. Only one casualty occurred while securing the oil field area—a heavy-armored trooper, who forgot to lock his visor, got his face bitten and killed himself in tears.

Lieutenant Colonel Capston called for Gyeo-ul.

"Good work. Seems you didn't spare yourself again this time."

He was looking at Gyeo-ul's armor, covered in blood and flesh.

"So, how does it feel wearing that armor in the field?"

This question came immediately after the standard words of praise. Apparently, the lieutenant colonel wanted the boy officer's feedback on the new armor. As the field commander, capston also had to write a Centurion operation report. Gyeo-ul started with a personal impression.

"It's a good piece of equipment and the protection is solid, but it's just not right for me."

"How come?"

"If I'd worn this in Santa Maria, I'd probably be dead."

It was an easy example; the lieutenant colonel nodded.

Wearing the suit dulled Gyeo-ul's strengths: quick, precise shooting, high-speed movement in dangerous environments, aggressive hit-and-run tactics, and so on. The skills 「Firearms Proficiency」 and 「Movement」 were both strongly affected by the suit's weight and thickness.

'Should I just invest in 「Close Combat」 instead?'

Since he'd put off skill development for so long, Gyeo-ul had plenty of options. But the higher the skill grade, the fewer times he had actually acquired it, so his talent advantage was thinner and the required resources ramped up sharply.

He set those thoughts aside. Lieutenant Colonel Capston was still waiting.

"You can probably guess the rest already, sir..."

After pausing to check the colonel's reaction, Gyeo-ul continued.

"It's only useful for fighting in places full of obstacles. Otherwise, I doubt it's of much value. Not many people can trust the armor's protection and hold out if the enemy swarms them. Even if you mobilize ten million for operation name Manifest Liberation, they'll still mostly be rookies."

"Well, at least there's the psychological effect. Just knowing you're totally safe from enemy attack can reassure troops a lot. As you said, almost all of them are fresh recruits."

Gyeo-ul replied skeptically.

"I don't know... If you come across a Grumble, you're as good as dead anyway. The clever ones even use tools."

You tire quickly, your steps are slow. And the protection is only enough to block a bare-handed beta ghoul. Gyeo-ul intended to ditch his armor if a Grumble appeared. As for Trickster, he wasn't sure. The suit was insulated, but chasing Trickster required speed.

'At least, advance scouts have confirmed there are no special mutants.'

Heavy-armored troopers had been sent into the oil field, so they'd have ample warning from outer perimeter troops.

"So, in summary,"

Lieutenant Colonel Capston said,

"It's not helpful for someone like you, and it's a questionable fit for less capable troops. The environments where it's useful are limited to urban-like areas. And to handle Grumble, you'd need heavy fire support anyway... which is obvious, really."

"Do you think it's possible?"

Gyeo-ul threw a whole string of questions at once. Ten million is just too many to support properly. And the prep time is far too short. There will be shortages everywhere. Heavy-armored troopers are no exception. At the very least, are there enough transport vehicles? They can't even move without them.

"I'm not sure. HQ probably has a plan." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The colonel looked up at the sky. Dozens of transport planes flew overhead in succession, dropping modular building materials. Gyeo-ul recalled from the journal:

'It's already short on transports.'

Logistics to contaminated zones alone already outstripped transport capacity. It showed just how critical the containment command considered this oil field. But there was little time to build up stock—and the US military burns through massive amounts of oil. Supplying day by day from fresh production was far too tight a plan, even assuming alternative routes.

"Do you think it's because of the upcoming election?"

At Gyeo-ul's question, Lieutenant Colonel Capston lightly frowned.

"It's hard not to think that way, but don't mention that elsewhere."

A commander's job was to calm worries, not the opposite. That's what he meant.

Anyway, more than ten million troops—it's a number that can overwhelm most shortages by sheer mass. Even in the previous twenty-six iterations of this world, nothing had ever matched this scale.

Unless some disaster strikes, it's difficult to imagine failure. There's no way something like an earthquake will happen, right?

But Gyeo-ul was worried about the process itself.

---------------------------= Author's Note ---------------------------=

#Manifest Destiny

Some people immediately thought of Manifest Destiny from the operation name Manifest Liberation. Wow, impressive.

#Editing

I'll need to edit today's draft before submitting it to the publisher. It'd be better to cut out the most gruesome parts in advance...

But then again, if I have to edit this much, maybe I shouldn't publish it at all... Kind of how I feel.

#Q&A

Q. Moranone: @ I always enjoy reading. Your writing skill and descriptive power are so good that even with relatively mild violence, the impact feels strong compared to other works. I hope you're not too upset about having been hit with restrictions. Also, I'm guessing a Humpback is a mutant that can enhance or evolve other mutants.

A. Thank you! As for the Humpback's role... the definitive answer hasn't been given yet. Many people gave similar answers. It's not quite as dramatic as that, though. :)

Q. Moranone: @ You posted at about 11:40pm—wouldn't it be better to wait until just after midnight or schedule a post, since it helps with ranking, apparently?

A. I'm aware, but... this story only ranks up to about 30th, so I don't really worry about it. Haha!

Q. RGZ95: @ Reinforced exoskeletons are here! I feel like we're in for an event that will really explode a child's sense of wonder soon.

A. Since it doesn't have its own power source, can you really call it an exoskeleton?

Q. Harriet: It's odd for the US to have a Centurion system developed domestically rather than through Lend-Lease.

A. The US already has a weapons system called Centurion. Search "C-RAM". :)

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