I moved immediately.
If a wave was happening right now, there was no time to waste lingering inside Ark.
"…Are you leaving?"
"Yeah."
"Take care of yourself."
Hearing such words from none other than Maybell Pilgrim felt strangely sentimental, but I didn't have the time to dwell on emotions.
Right now, outside Ark, countless hordes of beasts were surely baring their fangs, advancing toward the city.
["Ooooh, getting some encouragement now? Not bad."]
'Should I just take it as much as you give me?'
["Oh? You're learning how to wag your tail. Our Master's grown a lot, huh?"]
Esther chuckled mischievously.
Ignoring her laughter, I quickened my steps, leaving the special weapons research lab behind.
["But seriously, how long has it been since the last wave? And another one's already here?"]
'It can't be helped.'
The journey back to Ark after completing a mission was never short.
Considering the time that had passed, it wasn't at all surprising that another wave had begun.
'At least it's not a multi-wave situation. That would've been worse.'
The time gap was too short to classify this as a multi-wave event.
This was just a standard wave.
Given my track record, it wouldn't have been surprising if a multi-wave had happened.
But this time, since I had been away from Ark, I hadn't been hunting as many beasts or monsters—so the intensity of the attack was lower.
'I'd prefer to head outside Ark if possible… but that's not going to be easy.'
Fighting inside Ark wasn't the worst option, but I didn't need credits at the moment.
More importantly, if I wanted to deploy the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun, I had to leave Ark.
It wasn't exactly a small weapon.
Pulling it out here would draw way too much attention.
The problem was that once a wave started, Ark completely sealed itself off from the outside.
Of course, there were still ways to get out, but the current situation didn't warrant taking that kind of risk.
'Well… I'll figure something out.'
During battle, things like CCTV cameras breaking were common enough, after all.
Red-17 Gate,
That's where I was heading.
Other gates likely wouldn't let an outsider like me pass.
But Red-17 Gate, where Lieutenant Imosha was stationed, would be a different story.
The city was in chaos.
Soldiers rushed to reinforce defensive positions.
Citizens scrambled for shelter.
Police officers frantically blew whistles, trying to maintain order.
No matter how accustomed people became to waves, Ark never emerged completely unscathed.
Every time a wave hit, civilians evacuated into underground bunkers and prayed.
They prayed that this wave, too, would pass without disaster.
["Wow. What a mess."]
Esther commented dryly.
I had no reason to argue.
She was right.
["I've been wondering for a while… why do the humans of Ark even live on the surface? If they're just gonna hide in bunkers every time, wouldn't it be smarter to live underground from the start?"]
'Monsters exist underground too.'
["I know that. But isn't it safer down there?"]
'Even if we ignore the difficulty of building an underground city, the infrastructure to support human life underground doesn't exist. The biggest issue would be food production.'
["Can't you just farm mushrooms underground? Or eat beast meat? "]
'Beast meat isn't edible for humans.'
I had once tried processing and eating beast meat.
It wasn't just about toxicity—the stench, the taste, and the disgusting texture made it completely inedible.
'And more than anything… humans don't want to abandon human ways of living.'
["But shouldn't survival come first?"]
'If it ever comes to that, then sure. But Ark isn't at that point yet.'
More precisely—if Ark did ever reach that point, it would mean Ark was already doomed.
Ark's defense had no middle ground.
It either held or it fell.
That was the nature of the waves.
Each one forced Ark to choose between survival and annihilation.
["Well, if you say so, Master."]
As Esther and I talked, Red-17 Gate finally came into view.
A soldier immediately stepped forward.
"Stop. Civilians are restricted beyond this point. Please evacuate to a bunker immediately."
Ignoring him, I said,
"I'm a mercenary employed by Ark. I'm here to assist in the defense of Red-17 Gate."
"…A mercenary? May I ask your name?"
"Carl Marcus."
"Ah! Go ahead."
The soldier immediately stepped aside.
It seemed my name had spread among the Red-17 Gate personnel.
'Well, that works for me.'
Reputation was a double-edged sword, but in cases like this, it was a useful asset.
Lieutenant Imosha, busy directing troops, glanced at me and nodded.
"…You're here."
"What's the situation?"
"Not good. The wave is smaller than the last one, but the quality of the beasts is noticeably higher."
I could tell just by looking.
Waves always got stronger over time.
Even if this was just a standard wave, the monsters in it were more dangerous than any previous wave.
"Can you assign me a squad's defensive point?"
"…I trust you, Carl Marcus, but that's too dangerous."
As expected, I wasn't allowed to single-handedly cover a squad's position like before.
Not that I had planned to insist—it was risky even for me.
'Fighting alone is more comfortable… but I'll deal with it.'
I asked instead,
"Which point is the most vulnerable?"
Imosha hesitated for a moment before answering,
"…Point R17-16 is heavily exposed."
"I'll reinforce that position."
"…Please do."
No further words were needed.
I headed straight for R17-16.
["Master! Look up!"]
At Esther's shout, I glanced skyward—
A barrage of lights soared into the night sky.
Fweeeeeeeeng──────!!!
A piercing sonic boom.
Hundreds of missiles ripped through the air, slicing the atmosphere apart.
JD-074 Thermobaric Missiles,
Ark's signature opening move.
Moments later—
The missiles rained down upon the beast horde below, detonating in massive firestorms.
KABOOOOOM──────!!!!
The ground trembled, and the air quaked.
Despite the massive explosion, the beast legion continued its advance toward Ark, paying no heed to anything except the beasts that had been caught directly in the blast.
'Persistent bastards, as expected.'
Of course, Ark had no intention of ending things here either, as a second wave of attacks soon followed.
However, such one-sided assaults could not last forever.
Before long, countless flying-type beasts and monsters, including aerial species and large insectoids, appeared and seized control of the sky.
If missiles were carelessly launched while they dominated the airspace, there was a real risk that one could accidentally fall onto Ark itself.
A catastrophe would ensue.
Thus, Ark had no choice but to halt missile strikes and transition to conventional firepower combat.
War had begun.
Meanwhile, I was already moving swiftly, reaching Sector R17-16.
As soon as I arrived, a sergeant, who appeared to be in charge of the area, stepped forward to greet me.
"...Are you Carl Marcus?"
"That's right."
"Welcome. I've already been informed by the officer in charge."
It seemed Lieutenant Imosha had given prior notice, so I didn't need to provide any further explanation.
"I'll be moving separately. Don't worry, I won't get in the way."
"Understood, sir."
Ark's soldiers obey orders.
Naturally, the non-commissioned officer, having received orders from Lieutenant Imosha, complied without much question.
'Now then...'
I looked up at the sky above Ark.
As expected, the battle began with a fierce struggle against the flying creatures hovering over the frontlines.
"They're coming!"
A shout rang out.
At that moment, the flying creatures, which had been circling the sky, began charging toward Ark's walls.
"Fire!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!
BANG! BANG BANG!
SWOOOOOSH──!!
Ark's firepower was overwhelming.
As proof of that, countless flying creatures were shot down, unable to even attempt evasive maneuvers, and fell like riddled corpses from the sky.
[KIEEEEKK!]
[KRRRK…!]
I, too, picked up my Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle and added to the barrage.
Despite the sheer amount of firepower being unleashed, the number of flying creatures showed no signs of decreasing.
And that wasn't the only problem.
[KIEEEEEEKK!]
[KYAAOOO!]
By now, the beast legion had reached the base of Ark's walls, beginning to break through or climb up little by little.
No matter how overwhelming Ark's firepower was, they could no longer afford to focus solely on aerial threats.
'Now the real battle begins.'
While the soldiers' attention was briefly fixed on the frontlines, I quietly opened the [Rift Space] from within a CCTV blind spot.
['Rift Space' has been activated.]
Reaching inside, I retrieved a CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher that I had stored.
'No one's paying attention to me anyway.'
Click, click—
With the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher slung over my shoulder, I pulled the trigger without hesitation.
SWOOOOOSH!!!
Not just once.
Not even twice.
I kept pulling the trigger, making sure the advancing beast legion learned firsthand what fear and terror truly meant.
BOOOOM────!!!!
The rockets arced through the air before crashing into the ground, consuming the swarming monsters in flames.
[KEHEHEHEK!]
[GRRRLUK!]
But the flames didn't last long.
Soon, new monsters and beasts filled the gaps, proving the endless nature of their forces.
'Still not enough.'
If I could've pulled out the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun, it would have been great, but the situation didn't allow for it.
Instead, I opted for something else.
Something that, in terms of sheer burst power, far outmatched even the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun.
BZZZZZT—
I pulled out the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher from my coat.
It was an eight-star weapon, having undergone not one, but two upgrades through Maybel Pilgrim's expertise.
'With this, it's possible.'
Thanks to the two stages of enhancement from Maybel Pilgrim, the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher now had durability that was beyond comparison with a standard model.
That meant tactics that would have been unthinkable before were now entirely within reach.
'Let's do this.'
I calmly aimed the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher at the beast legion.
And then, I pressed the button.
BZZZZZZZT────!!
A brilliant red beam shot forward.
But I didn't stop there—I swung my wrist freely, sweeping it across the battlefield.
BOOOOM BOOOOM BOOOOOM!!!!
The crimson light streaked through the beast legion, carving destruction into their ranks.
"What… what the hell?!"
"This is insane…!"
Even though it defied all common sense, an immense energy beam was tearing across the battlefield without dissipating.
Continuously.
Relentlessly.
The light of annihilation swept through the battlefield as if devouring everything in its path.