Chapter 204

It was clear the nun was distressed about the weapon, so Medic let her leave with the terrifying circular saw. Afterwards Specter, still not satisfied, began to try to attack from various angles.

However, facing the all-around defense of the floating shields on all four sides, it is obviously very difficult to break through the automatic defense of the Tactical Unit.

Medic himself barely reacted; was simply sharing spells with Tactical Unit enough to put a warrior in a difficult situation?

That should be enough to demonstrate the tactical value of myself and this equipment...

Just as Medic was pondering this, it seemed that someone on the other end of the Specter headset was giving him advice. Medic could see that after the nun's three failed attempts, she suddenly stopped her fourth attempt. Then, the nun revealed a look of surprise and a slightly mischievous smile.

"Oh... Miss Medic~ Please be careful not to get hurt!"

Just when Medic thought Specter had some kind of special move, the opponent's reaction was still the same as before: a straight charge.

If the nun could execute a sharp-angle change of direction, Medic might be more nervous, but if she relied solely on brute force, the outcome would likely remain the same.

Just as Medic was waiting to prepare for the impact, the nun, with a cheerful smile, swung her circular saw and positioned herself to target Tactical Unit 01.

"The whole umbrella with nine fins is a base hit~"

It was another reckless swing, full of brute force, but the angle of the strike was extremely tricky.

Unlike Medic's defensive, rearward-buffered approach, this time Specter swung his circular saw and sent 01 Tactical Unit flying sideways. This sudden change did make Medic nod slightly, but even without 01, he still had three shields.

By sidestepping Specter's weapon throw, which could no longer be described as reckless, accompanied by the sonic boom that seemed to have shattered the Landship's partition, three Tactical Unit, under Medic's orders, carried the disappointed yet relieved nun back to a position a hundred meters away.

As Medic looked toward the command tower, Kal'tsit knew it was Medic asking if the matter could end.

For Kal'tsit, the fact that Medic can maintain a balance of power with the 'Hunter' under normal circumstances... even if it's an out-of-form Hunter, is something to be thankful for.

However, defense alone is clearly not enough to have a significant impact on the future that I am worried about, and there is no sign of the Non-Entropic Applications being activated so far... Obviously, the Specter alone cannot push the Medic equipped with Tactical Unit to their limits.

After a moment's thought, Kal'tsit snapped her fingers.

Amidst the gasps of the onlookers, a dark green monster descended from the sky with a sharp screech... Because it landed right next to the Specter, the nun was so frightened she almost swung her weapon at it.

Fortunately, Kal'tsit's voice came just in time. The dark green monster only let out a pitiful cry and shook its leg, which had almost been struck.

[Your next target is it... Don't worry, it's under my control, and I'll make it escape at full speed... Medic, your task is to kill it within the time limit, while others are hindering you.]

"Interference from others?"

[This is just a scenario simulation... However, for safety reasons, interference is limited to remote intervention. Operators present can use any ranged weapons they can find. As I need to observe the destructive effects of Medic activating the Tactical Unit's heavy weapons, please don't physically stand in the line of fire...]

"What kind of scenario would require me to kill a specific fleeing target while the army is besieging them?"

[... I really hope you won't encounter that kind of situation...]

As he said these intriguing words, Medic suddenly noticed that the expressions of his colleagues who had been watching had gradually become dangerous.

[Alright, let's begin.]

The moment Kal'tsit gave the order, Medic felt a chill run down his spine and ordered the four Tactical Unit to return to his side. Almost simultaneously, strange sounds and noises, such as clanging and banging, began to emanate from the surfaces of the four Tactical Unit.

Among the onlookers, there were operators like ACE who casually tossed a hammer with considerable force, but it wasn't aimed at their own half-hearted simulation.

There are also those like Amiya and Durin who simply fire a few spells at the metal floor, creating a few sparks to serve as atmosphere.

And in the atmosphere group, there's also an oddball like Jessica fires blanks at herself with her eyes closed...

But what Medic found truly difficult to deal with, what really put him in a challenging position, was the combination of cinnamon and Rosemary.

Especially Rosemary; the Little Cat even had its headphones on before launching the attack, as if it had heard someone's command... Without a doubt, it was Kal'tsit's request.

Huang Na was really throwing it at him, and the Growth Chainsaw that was in operation and radiating heat was not even mentioned. Rosemary's Tactical Unit, which was specifically designed to spread Aftershock, was a real piece of equipment for attacking strongholds.

In the past, Medic never went head-to-head with Rosemary in simulated battles... because they simply couldn't compete. The Little Cat's Aftershock spell was a devastating blow to any precision equipment, and if the intensity were increased, Landship would be smashed to a solid core.

Fortunately, Medic doesn't need to engage in Tactical Unit combat with Rosemary.

As the four Tactical Unit and Medic turned and leaped amidst the interference, the four Tactical Unit returned to the mechanical arm attachment points on Medic's back. As the Halo on the top of the Tactical Unit faded, Medic's own Halo expanded and increased in brightness. Unlike the 'Aftershock' transmission device of the Little Cat Tactical Unit, the four Tactical Unit with square vector nozzles exposed at the bottom spewed out ghostly blue magical flames, accompanied by a sharper roar from their turbine engines. Medic then launched directly into the direction in which the dark green monster had fled.

"Ah... Nana, wait for me!"

Although the start was slower due to the need to retrieve the Tactical Unit that had been thrown out, as a symbol of Rhodes Island's few air forces, the action team members at the edge of the ground training field all looked on with envy as they watched Little Cat, radiating a white star Halo, take off.

"... In fact, the mere fact that it can fly is enough to make Tactical Unit 'tactical' enough."

"Indeed... Plus, Medic is a master of both magic and Firearms Arts. Just imagining a Firearms Operator wielding a heavy weapon and unleashing a barrage of fire from an unassailable 'High Table' makes me feel sorry for the enemy."

Listening to the lively discussion, ACE and the other elites simply exchanged wry smiles and did not participate.

They understood what the ordinary operators were discussing... but equipment that could grant extremely strong tactical capabilities was now being used against Kal'tsit's almost deliberately difficult, almost meaningless, simulated pursuit scenario...

The Elite Operator couldn't help but start thinking about one thing.

Kal'tsit, what exactly is she worried about?

PS: Waaaaaaah!

PS: This seems a bit weak... Should I write another chapter?

6th Patriot's Gun: 222 Rosemary's Longing I

What management worries about and what the executives focus on... has never been relevant.

For Medic, since this is a scenario simulation, all he needs to do is try to complete it.

Despite never having set foot in the sky himself, once the Tactical Unit was also incorporated into the Halo, Medic's maneuverability, turning, maintaining flight attitude, and use of various braking components became second nature.

This déjà vu, a feeling that 'I could do better,' began to stir within Medic as he chased the monster resembling the 'Sacred Remains' out of the armored gates of the Rhodes Island training grounds. More and more of his 'instincts' started to make Medic instinctively uneasy...

When should the steam pressure be increased? When should the speed brakes of which Tactical Unit be activated? What posture is beneficial for flight attitude? What spell output should be used to balance the four Tactical Unit when the turning is unbalanced?

Even though it was all stuff I didn't understand, all sorts of professional knowledge kept flowing out of my mind whenever I wanted to do it. (Seven)

This feeling wasn't good. Medic wanted to finish the test quickly and then ask Kal'tsit what was going on.

"... Anyway, once we kill that 'Sacred Remains,' it'll all be over, right...?"

Just as Medic was pondering this, the feeling of being locked on from behind made her suddenly roll, and Rosemary's Tactical Unit grazed past Medic and crashed to the ground with a whooshing sound.

The snow-covered wilderness, as the white shockwave spread, revealed brownish-black earth. Then, as if struck by a heavy naval bombardment, the permafrost layer, about ten meters in diameter and at least five meters deep, was ripped into the air by the subsequent Aftershock.

Seeing the Little Cat trying so hard to catch up with him, Medic looked at Cole beside him, puzzled: 1

"... The Little Cat is unusually energetic today, Cole. Did you scold her because of what happened yesterday?"

[No, after all, Jessica herself doesn't seem to care much... It's just that Dr. Kal'tsit said that if Narcissa goes all out in this exercise, then she'll be allowed to take your old uniform and modify it into her own custom outfit...]

"You could have just told me directly... You're such a perceptive child."

[Who can argue with that?]

During the conversation, he once again dodged the Aftershock Tactical Unit that was hurtling towards him in a parabolic arc. Instinctively, the six o'clock position that the Little Cat was now chasing Medic was a dangerous thorn in his side... However, because the Aftershock Tactical Unit needed to be retrieved before it could be launched again after each throw, it was actually Medic's deliberate act to let Rosemary chase him in the six o'clock position.

Putting aside the fact that the new Tactical Unit with four independent Originium Engine is superior in terms of power compared to the Little Cat's equipment, the two sides are worlds apart in terms of acceleration performance alone.

But if Medic were to completely abandon Rosemary based on performance alone, who knows what kind of tantrum the Little Cat might throw when it got back. So Medic maintained a stable flight posture that allowed Rosemary to catch up... but that was only temporary. After all, with the dark green monster accelerating, Medic couldn't keep trailing behind and worrying about Rosemary's mood forever.

As the Tactical Unit's turbofan gradually falls behind the supersonic, dark green crystalline monster, Nana will switch her flight propulsion from the economical mode of the turbofan blades to the jet mode of burning high-pressure Originium Steam at any time... At that time, even Little Cat, whose eyes are barely open from the strong winds, will not be able to catch up with the people and things in front of it, even if it flies with 'psychic power'.

As the distance between them gradually widened, Rosemary began to feel uneasy about falling behind.

She knew she had to take action.

The two are now in perfect sync, with Rosemary positioned directly behind Nana. If Rosemary wants to launch an attack on Nana, she will have to consider the relative speed of the two.

The original attack pattern for the Aftershock Tactical Unit involved using telekinesis to launch it from above or directly above the target, leveraging gravitational potential energy. However, if the Tactical Unit were still launched diagonally downwards towards Medic as before, it would be fine initially before the speed was fully increased. But now, Medic and the target she was chasing could enter supersonic speeds at any moment... Even if the attack height was actively increased to accumulate potential energy, the overall acceleration of the launched Aftershock Tactical Unit would inevitably decrease...

Such an attack simply couldn't catch up with Nana! Rosemary's little brain instantly came to a conclusion: her only chance now was to launch a straight attack on Nana from the shortest distance!

But what the Little Cat didn't know was that her conclusion was also induced by Medic.

"Meow... Never mind... Attack!"

The Medic launched four Tactical Unit in a perfectly straight line – this was the attack they had been waiting for... As the Medic dove close to the ground, the four Aftershock Tactical Unit flew straight over the Medic and went far away.

As mentioned before, while Rosemary's attacks are powerful, each attack requires the Tactical Unit to be retrieved before another attack can be launched.

As the Little Cat directed the attacks on her 'father,' 'sister,' and 'two brothers,' Rosemary, without the support of her family, experienced a rapid decrease in her flight speed, and could barely maintain a floating state off the ground.

However, the terrain in the wasteland was uneven, and there might be stones or other debris under the snow. Medic was worried that the Little Cat might slip and fall and get injured while descending.

While Cole was immediately sent to look after the Little Cat, Medic dispatched a Tactical Unit to catch the Little Cat, which was unable to maintain its altitude. Under Cole's guidance, the Little Cat was safely brought to the ground.

For Medic, switching from four engines to three is simply a matter of changing its flight attitude to continue the mission.

But for Rosemary, watching the three contrails disappear into the distance, the bright exhaust flames and Mach rings of the new Tactical Unit switching jet mode, was like a spark in the darkness, illuminating the girl's eyes against the backdrop of the gloomy sky.

As the three trails of flame lengthened and filled the Mach rings, two thunderous roars came one after another from afar.

In just a few minutes while waiting for the Aftershock Tactical Unit to return, Rosemary saw Medic, who hadn't even used his weapon, catch up to the target and then use his free robotic arm to grab and lift the dark green target.

The way he strolled around the courtyard with such ease and confidence not only made the Little Cat watching on-site, but even the members of the action team watching the broadcast on Rhodes Island couldn't help but applaud.

As Medic began its return journey, the Kitty Killer looked at the 'Sacred Remains' with its tail between its legs, whimpering at him, with a heart full of doubt... While Medic curiously touched and tapped it as if confirming something, the Little Cat sitting in the new Tactical Unit, nestled in its mother's arms, looked at Nana with sparkling eyes.

Cats, who have always thought that the most wonderful things in the world are eating, drinking, and sleeping, seem to have a whole new pursuit now.

Rosemary, who received Nana's old uniform as a reward for her hard work in the exercise, asked Kal'tsit, "I want Nana's Tactical Unit." Kal'tsit, pondering the Originium Steam consumption bill for this operation, replied without hesitation:

"No."

"Why?!"

"Rhodes Island currently lacks sufficient funds to support a second quad-turbocharged Originium Engine Tactical Unit..."

Looking at the bill for new equipment that had burned through one-thousandth of Rhodes Island's Originium Reactor's Originium in just one training session, Kal'tsit, though prepared, still felt a pang of heartache when she actually saw it.

After all, the efficiency of Rhodes Island's large reactors far exceeds that of personal equipment when it is in operation... The same amount of Originium, if its efficiency is '1' when used on Medic equipment, can produce '1.3'... or even '1.8' in Rhodes Island's reactor.

Although Kal'tsit can also make Medic avoid high-energy-consuming afterburners or jet flight as much as possible, since the Originium Engine can achieve a semi-perpetual motion machine effect similar to continuous operation for several years as long as it is not afterburned and is kept running at idle speed without external damage.

But this would contradict Kal'tsit's original intention in using this equipment.

Moreover, even if Medic didn't use afterburner this time, the Originium weapon system built into the Tactical Unit would always be activated during actual combat in order to suppress the 'targets' it anticipated.

Whether it's the Twin-Mounted Six-Barrel Originium Beam Gatling that every Tactical Unit has, or the Originium Beam Magnum that requires an external medium, once these things are activated, none of them will fail to burn Originium.

When Kal'tsit first saw this weapons list, she wondered if it would be possible to reduce costs by switching the ammunition from Originium to solid Etch Rounds... Then Kal'tsit covered her face, unable to bear looking at her own idea, because it sounded as if she could afford to use Etch Rounds.

Looking at Kal'tsit, who appeared expressionless but was actually deep in thought... the Little Cat whimpered for a while, pleading, but received no response. Recalling the eye contact she'd exchanged with Medic before he sped away not long ago, Rosemary gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and with a 'thud,' braced herself on Kal'tsit's desk with her hand.

"Then! I'll earn the money! Teacher Kal'tsit, get me one of those too! I'll raise it myself!"

Although she knew the Little Cat had some issues with money management, hearing the Little Cat's seemingly genuine desire, Kal'tsit raised an eyebrow, put down the bill, and asked:

Are you sure?

"I'm sure!"

"... Why don't you go talk to Medic and find out what that equipment is all about before you come back to me?"

"No, I'm twelve years old now, I can make my own decisions. I want that, and I want to fly higher!"

Kal'tsit, of course, couldn't see the Little Cat family's 'Are you trying to cause trouble?' comments, but Kal'tsit felt it wouldn't be good to completely dismiss the Little Cat's sudden enthusiasm, which had previously shown little interest in anything.

After a moment's thought, Kal'tsit said this:

"... Alright, I'll get a quote for your equipment modifications from Closure as soon as possible. But because this is your strong personal request, Rhodes Island won't cover the costs of purchasing and modifying the equipment, or any expenses related to your adaptive surgery... You'll have to save up that money yourself... Is that alright?"

Seeing the Little Cat nodding vigorously with its lips pursed, Kal'tsit also slightly pursed her lips, it was hard to tell whether she felt pity or was smiling.

On the second day, which was the last day of December 1094, apart from those who were actually on holiday, the members of the action team were either busy with assessments or, like Medic, preparing for training.

Hearing the Little Cat's sudden declaration of working and making money, including Amiya who came to keep the Little Cat, as well as Little Peach and Little Green who simply came to play, Nana, Huang, Su Sulo, and Liskarm and planned to stay a little longer to keep Nana Jessica... everyone who knew the Little Cat was shocked.

In other words, FrostNova and Nagisa, who have a biased view of Little Cat, looked at everyone else with completely bewildered expressions.

"It's just a kid saying he wants to make money, why is everyone so surprised?"

Before anyone else could answer FrostNova's question, Nagisa, with her overwhelming charm, approached the Little Cat:

Is there anything you'd like to buy, Rosemary?

As the Little Cat nodded "mmm," Amiya, who was helping Nana fill out the training supplies application form, couldn't even hold her stylus steady. With a crisp sound, the rabbit looked at Little Peach Little Green with a questioning expression:

"Oh my god, Rosemary actually said she wants to make money... Is today the end of Terra?"

"Perhaps. How about we go back to Kazdel? I remember a few cellars that other people dug; we could use them as a base..."

"Let's do it this way!"

Seeing that her colleagues were showing her no respect, Rosemary shook the Terminal in her hand with dissatisfaction. The page displayed on it was familiar to everyone present... after all, it was the interface for field staff to select their assignments.

"Hey! Don't underestimate me, I'm serious!"