"Daring to launch a sneak attack? This isn't an ordinary enemy anymore. We have to hit them with everything we've got."
Waaaagh!!! Decepticons, transform! I'm just a Kamen Rider passing by."
Scenes like this were unfolding everywhere. After clearing the first layer of Consciousness Space, Blackwatch had followed the spire to the second layer.
Compared with the first layer, the enemies on the second had some rudimentary intelligence. They were no longer the useless lot upstairs, who could only line up like zombies to get shot. But they weren't much better: they still lined up to be executed.
Hogg classified the first three layers as the shallows of Consciousness Space. Aside from the severe contamination, they were fairly normal. With Akama's help as their guide, Blackwatch quickly cleared out all the contamination. Hogg had acquired two more little Cat-folk, much to Roland's envy.
Roland had his eye on them, but the little Cat-folk wouldn't give him the time of day. Even so, he looked after them devotedly like a lovesick puppy.
Perhaps because the contamination had weakened, Sera's Consciousness Space had become more stable. Hogg secretly modified Blackwatch's simulation data, raising every new recruit's combat strength to that of a veteran shield-bearer.
That got everyone excited. Once they saw their father could modify the data, they all started clamoring for new outfits. Freedom Gundam, Dreadnoughts—those were still within the realm of normal.
Some went even further and turned into excavators. Along with a few similarly deranged buddies, they started racing around, swinging their mechanical arms. They were the ones who'd just shouted about hitting the enemy with everything they had.
One or two would have been manageable, but everyone wanted to use cheats. In the end, Hogg was so fed up that he had to drag Guilliman in to act