Lieutenant Imosha's eyes widened.
The sudden surge of the light of destruction was so overwhelming that she could clearly see it even from where she stood.
"Plasma... launcher?"
Was that thing really meant to be used like that?
A normal plasma launcher would have run out of energy after just a few consecutive shots—or if not, it would have malfunctioned and become unusable.
However, what was unfolding before her eyes completely shattered that common knowledge.
As far as Lieutenant Imosha knew, if something beyond reason happened in Ark, it could only be the work of one person.
It had always been that way, and it would continue to be so.
'Carl Marcus.'
She had no idea why Carl Marcus was going to such lengths for the Ark that had cast him out.
However, one thing was undeniable—Ark was being protected by Carl Marcus.
'If only I had made a different choice back then…'
Lieutenant Imosha recalled that day.
The day she personally cast Carl Marcus out of Ark.
Would Ark have faced a different fate if she had chosen otherwise?
She didn't know.
Lieutenant Imosha had no way of knowing.
As she momentarily sank into old memories, the blinding light of destruction, which had seemed as if it would never end, gradually faded.
The light that had seemed eternal had finally come to an end.
Even in the midst of all this, Lieutenant Imosha did not lose sight of her duty.
"Relay this to all R-17 unit commanders. Prioritize engaging flying-type beasts, especially aerial species."
The battlefield on the ground had gained a brief moment of respite due to the overwhelming flash.
In other words, now was the perfect opportunity to reduce the number of those troublesome airborne creatures.
That was Carl Marcus's intent, and it was the best course of action Lieutenant Imosha could take in this situation.
"Fire!"
Her commanding voice rang out, and a coordinated barrage was unleashed toward the sky.
* * *
Tss, chiiiik…
After firing several consecutive flashes, the BLT-47 plasma launcher finally gave out.
It seemed the excessive use had taken its toll.
'Looks like it'll take some time before I can use it again.'
It wasn't completely broken, but it would take quite a while for its self-repair function to cool and restore the overheated components.
The cost had been significant, but what had been gained was far from insignificant.
'At the very least, it's bought us a temporary break in the battlefront.'
The beasts that had been clawing and crawling up the walls had vanished in an instant.
Technically, the gap in their attack was only momentary, but right now, even that brief respite was a blessing.
It gave the soldiers stationed at the R-17 Gate a chance to reorganize their ranks and, for the moment, shift their focus entirely to the airborne beasts.
And just from that alone, Ark's casualties had started to decrease dramatically.
"Fire!"
"Aim for the wings!"
Among the threats to Ark's defenses, aerial beasts were some of the most dangerous.
Even Ark's towering walls were meaningless against them, and their exceptional mobility forced unnecessary waste of firepower.
More importantly, the loss of air superiority meant that Ark's powerful artillery was essentially neutralized, making airborne beasts the highest-priority targets.
'Then…'
I wasn't about to waste this opportunity either.
Gripping my Ark-15 automatic conversion rifle tightly, I raised it toward the sky.
No matter how many advanced weapons I got my hands on, I always seemed to end up using this one.
But considering how reliable it was, I couldn't exactly complain.
Click—
The trigger was pulled.
A burst of fire erupted from the barrel.
Tatang!—
As my finger kept pressing the trigger, A-985 explosive rounds shot out, tearing through the air in a relentless barrage.
Boom!
Kwakakakang!!!
A series of explosions erupted in succession.
Amidst the chaos, I squeezed the trigger of my NO-13 grenade launcher as well.
["Master! Above!"]
A few of the aerial beasts had set their sights on me.
Grade-8 flying beasts.
Individually, their rank wasn't particularly high, but considering their aerial capabilities, they were still a considerable threat.
'Not that it matters.'
They might be dangerous to the other Red Line soldiers, but to me? They weren't even a post-meal snack.
Even their famed agility meant nothing to me—I could see right through their movements.
'Left, then right again. Now down.'
I fired.
It was as if I had predicted their movements perfectly.
The A-985 explosive rounds flew straight into the incoming beasts, as if they were throwing themselves into the bullets.
[KIEEEEEK!]
But where the beast fell was the real problem.
It was plummeting directly toward an Ark soldier.
The soldier froze in panic as the massive body came crashing down.
"H-hngh…!"
At this rate, he'd be crushed to death.
'Esther!'
["Yeah, yeah, I got it!"]
She grumbled but didn't hesitate.
[Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull. Pull…]
[Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it. Slow it…]
The ether split into two tasks—one to yank the soldier away, and the other to slow the beast's descent.
"Argh!"
The soldier was dragged back just in time, barely escaping from the impact zone.
If I had been a second slower, the beast—easily weighing several hundred kilograms—would have flattened him like tofu.
['Pacifism' has been activated.]
[Lives saved so far: 74.]
Now that he was safe, I took a closer look at his face.
"U-ugh…"
She was trembling uncontrollably—not at all what you'd expect from a brave Ark soldier.
But to me, that look of sheer terror was all too familiar.
'Cowardly Belle.'
A rookie from the generation right above the playable characters, and one of Ark's most promising recruits.
However, she was also infamous for dying at the slightest mistake, earning her the nickname "Glass Cannon Belle."
'Never thought I'd run into her here…'
As far as I knew, she was supposed to be stationed at a different gate… Seems like there had been some unit reorganization I wasn't aware of.
'Well, this works out.'
I would've been a little annoyed if she had died off-screen, but seeing her alive put my mind at ease.
"Get up."
"W-what? Huh?"
Cowardly as she was, Belle had talent.
So much talent, in fact, that it paralyzed her with fear.
But if she ever learned to wield that potential properly, she could become as strong as Kalakin.
"There's no need to look at things you don't need to see."
"H-huh? What do you mean…?"
"Just focus on what's right in front of you."
If I had more time, I would've explained her abilities to her.
But for now, this was all I could say.
Still, I knew.
With her talent, even these few words would be enough.
"So don't die."
"W-wait a second—!"
I left Cowardly Belle behind and turned my attention back to the battlefield.
Before I knew it, the ground forces had returned—the beasts were once again swarming up the walls.
'Not on my watch.'
I gripped my CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher and aimed at the creatures daring to climb the fortress.
Of course, the CRN-842 had enough firepower to damage Ark's walls as well.
But for me, controlling the blast radius was child's play.
'Somewhere around… there.'
Aim.
Fire.
A simple process.
The CRN-842 roared as rockets shot out in a deadly scatter.
Boom—!
KWA-AAAAAAANG───!!
A thick cloud of explosions erupted, filling the air with smoke and debris.
For a brief moment, time seemed to pause.
But then, through the dissipating haze, the beasts emerged once more, climbing the fortress walls.
I glanced around.
No soldiers seemed to be paying particular attention to me—yet.
'If I stand out too much, someone's bound to get suspicious.'
As much as I wanted to wipe out the incoming horde with my CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher, I was being held back by the presence of Ark's soldiers.
Sure, at some point, Ark might figure out what I'm truly capable of, but there was no reason for that to happen right now.
'This is why I wanted to fight outside Ark's walls… but oh well.'
It was frustrating, but that didn't mean I could afford to slack off.
I gripped my Ark-15 Automatic Conversion Rifle and aimed at the beasts scaling the fortress walls.
"Eat this."
TATATATANG!!!
Each round fired was an armor-piercing bullet, perfect for putting holes in their skulls without damaging Ark's walls.
[Kehak!]
[Kaaaaak!]
With heads blown apart, beasts plummeted from the walls in quick succession.
But not all of them.
THUD!
THUMP!
Several beasts—ones my Ark-15 alone couldn't penetrate—kept climbing.
At minimum, they were Grade-4 or higher.
If even a few of them made it onto the fortress walls, the resulting destruction would be catastrophic.
'Esther.'
["What's the plan?"]
'Knock them off the wall, just for a moment.'
["…They're too far away. If you want me to do this properly, you'll have to get closer. You sure?"]
'Doesn't matter.'
With that, I moved—toward the edge of the fortress wall.
"What the—?!"
"Wait! Hold your fire!"
The soldiers, caught off guard by my reckless maneuver, hesitated and ceased their attacks.
Not that it mattered.
Thanks to Janus and the Sky Whale Cloak, I could easily withstand small-arms fire.
'Let's finish this quickly.'
I discreetly extended Janus's bone tendrils into spikes beneath my feet.
Then, with Esther's assistance, I ran down the fortress wall—upside-down.
For an elite Ether adept, this level of acrobatics wasn't unheard of, so it wouldn't draw too much suspicion.
"You—you're insane!"
Ignoring the shouts from above, I steadied the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher on my shoulder.
"Get lost, you bastards."
At my signal, Ether surged through Esther.
[Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost. Get lost.]
A whirlwind of pure Ether erupted, engulfing the climbing beasts in flames.
One of the abilities I'd gained recently—Ignition.
[KAAAAAAGH!!]
Screaming, the beasts lost their grip and plummeted from the wall.
And I was waiting for them.
I aimed my CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher.
"See you never."
FWOOSH────!!!!
The rocket screamed toward the falling creatures.
KWA-AAAAAAAAAANG!!!!
But I didn't stop there.
I kept pulling the trigger—rockets rained down in rapid succession, as if I were conducting an aerial bombardment.
"Ugh."
With the horde below dealt with, I rushed back up the fortress wall.
But as I reached the top, I saw that more beasts had already climbed up elsewhere—and they were slaughtering Ark's soldiers.
"GAHHH!!"
"Fire! Shoot them down!"
The battlefield was filled with screams, gunfire, and chaos.
Then I noticed something.
The CCTV's blind spot.
And in this bedlam, no one was paying attention to me.
'Well… this is an opportunity, isn't it?'
With my current firepower, I couldn't hold off the next wave.
So, I needed something bigger.
I slowly reached up toward the air above me.
Focusing my mind—
['Rift Space' has been activated.]
A weapon materialized in the battlefield.
The NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun MK.II.