Chapter 146
"Strange, is the radio malfunctioning?"
"Let me see, damn it, my radio's malfunctioning too."
"Tsk, you stay here and keep watch, I'll go in and report."
"Um."
The soldier at the entrance checked his protective suit once more before quickly walking into the fuel compartment.
As he ventured deeper, he found the surroundings growing increasingly dark.
And...
"Thud."
The sound of hard-soled boots hitting the metal floor began to echo throughout the cabin.
What happened?
The silence was somewhat inexplicable.
Just a few minutes ago, I saw a lot of engineers rushing into the cabin.
Now, there's not even a light to troubleshoot the problem, let alone any body light.
Where did that group of people go?
Gone?
The soldier was somewhat puzzled. Looking at the increasingly dark cabin ahead, he raised the flashlight at his waist, its faint light barely illuminating a path for him to move forward.
He took a step and followed the route he had noted down, making his way to the main fuel tank.
Until--
Splat
The wet, sticky sensation under his feet quickly drew his gaze away from the surrounding walls.
He suddenly looked down, simultaneously holding up a flashlight to illuminate his feet.
"* Ursus swear words*, what is this?"
Underfoot, dark red, viscous lumps covered the floor like rampant plants, making a disgusting "smack" sound when shoes stepped on them.
"Damn it, and I remember this area should be the main fuel storage area, right? Where's the Originium storage facility again?"
The soldier muttered to himself, avoiding the disgusting object beneath his feet, and began shining his flashlight around.
Until...
"Thump."
"?!"
A strange sound came from beside him, and he turned his head sharply, raising his flashlight at the same time.
"Thump!"
A massive, scarlet mass of flesh, covered by a crystalline, transparent membrane, was attached to the enormous, jar-like structure beside them!
"This is... an egg?"
The soldier stood frozen in place, staring at the magnificent life form before him, at the egg-like structure that was pulsating and making a heart-like thumping sound.
"* Ursus profanity*... what... what is this??!"
"Ah--"
[Due to this situation, our ship is temporarily unable to maintain its original speed.]
"The situation is understood. Our ship will maintain its original speed and continue the mission."
At that moment, on the bridge of the warship, which was maintaining its original speed, the captain cut off communications and rubbed his forehead, looking somewhat troubled.
"Damn it, I have this bad feeling about this..."
"Captain, we are about to enter... a strange terrain!"
"Huh? Strange terrain, soldier. Watch your words. The Empire's basic textbooks include knowledge on how to identify terrain. Don't tell me you've forgotten it all."
"But, sir! The area ahead seems to be made up of crimson swamps!"
Chapter 104, The Crimson Land
Thirty-five minutes after the maintenance issue was addressed to the high-speed warships belonging to the Ursus Army Group.
Meanwhile, another army group is piloting high-speed warships at the same speed.
Inside the bridge, the captain and other military commanders ordered the ship to slow down, while simultaneously dispatching reconnaissance troops to investigate the strange, crimson-covered "landscape" before them.
"How's the situation?"
[Reporting, sir. According to the instrument's detection, no traces of Originium contamination have been detected... No, rather, since we set foot in this area, almost no levels of Originium dust have been detected. The values displayed on the instruments have all dropped to... 0%.]
"How is that possible? How could there be a place in the wild with zero Originium dust? At most, the Originium content might be below the infection threshold. Are you sure you didn't misread it?"
The commander standing nearby asked incredulously.
[Report: We replaced four or five detection devices, and all the results indicated that there were absolutely no Originium contamination levels in the vicinity.]
"How is that possible... Such a situation would only occur in a specially designed cleanroom. How could the same dust purity be achieved in the wild, where Catastrophes are frequent and the activity level of pollutants is extremely unstable?"
The legion commander stared, utterly bewildered, at the crimson swampy area outside the porthole.
"Wait, could it be because of that strange terrain?"
"Reconnaissance team, I need you to take some photos of this red terrain beneath our feet."
[Clear.]
Under the short-range communication waves, the reconnaissance team's camera equipment quickly transmitted detailed photos back to the center of the bridge.
"This is... a red fungal growth? No, it looks more like the secretions produced when a large number of some kind of insects gather together."
Just as the legion commander was about to ask something, he was interrupted by the captain beside him.
"Alright, Commander. You're no longer some scholar engrossed in research, but a soldier of the Empire, a reconnaissance unit. Is the inspection regarding whether the area is suitable for high-speed warships to pass through finished?"
[Reporting, sir, based on our preliminary survey, the soil conditions in this terrain are ideal for passage. We estimate that it would allow Imperial warships to pass through at a constant speed!]
"Very good, let's conduct the research on the return trip, Commander. Next, notify all departments—"
"Report! Radar has detected a large object approaching at high speed!"
The captain's instructions were interrupted by a shout from the operator beside him.
"What? How big?!"
"Report! Initial assessment indicates it's at least the size of a high-speed warship... it's... it's approaching our ship at a speed of 50 knots!!"
"What?! Fifty knots?"
The surrounding military personnel were so surprised that they even stood up from their chairs.
"Fifty knots? What's the limit of speed that warships built by the nations of Terra can achieve?"
I remember it was
... Thirty-five knots? That record was set by a specially designed high-speed warship built by Columbia, but that was achieved at the limit by sacrificing some armor and firepower.
Another officer stroked his chin, recalling the event.
"But fifty sections is just too much! How did they manage that?!"
"Alright, gentlemen, there's no point in discussing this. At this rate, the enemy will collide with us in a few minutes. Main guns, get in position! Prepare for engagement!"
"Don't worry. Although we don't know where that warship came from, the fact that it can accelerate to this extent means that its armor is definitely not enough to withstand the onslaught of our main guns!"
The captain raised his hand, ending the officers' discussion. However, after issuing the order, he stroked his beard, seemingly deep in thought.
"Strange, that direction... that's the direction of the army group that stopped for maintenance. Did this thing bypass them directly? Otherwise, we should have received no news at all."
However, almost the next second, the captain's doubts were interrupted by the messenger beside him.
"Report! That unidentified warship moving at high speed has... it has the identification signal of the Ursus Army Group on board!!"
"Huh?! That fleet ship that stopped for maintenance? How is that possible? Imperial warships can only reach a maximum speed of 33 knots! And... they're sending communications! What are they doing?!"
"Communication in progress... Is the call connected?"
"Connect the communication. What's going on with those guys?"
The captain rested his hands on the table, looking at the communication that had been connected on the large screen in front of him.
Pitch black...
However... faintly, a faint sound could be heard coming from the loudspeaker.
[Run... faster...]
[Don't... go near... red...]
Click! Communication lost.
"Damn it, what did they say?"
The captain stood up, his brow furrowed.
"Then... Captain... should we prepare the main guns?"
The messenger beside him hesitated and asked.
"... Continue calibrating the main gun's trajectory, loading initiation."
The captain squinted, a vague sense of unease creeping in.
"Yes!"
"Report—The enemy is approaching! Expected contact with our ship in 170 seconds... Target enters line of sight!"
Thump.
Thump.
Rumble rumble rumble----
Rumble rumble rumble----
"?"
The people on the bridge watched as the floor swayed slightly, causing the water glasses on the table to spill liquid.
The earth... is shaking?
"This commotion doesn't sound like something that could be moving at high speed from a warship; it sounds more like... something crawling?"
The commander felt the floor shaking and keenly noticed it.
"Report! Target can be directly observed from the port window!"
The communications officer pointed to the porthole on the left and shouted, looking at the large amount of dust rising in the distance.
Upon hearing this, the captain stood up, picked up his binoculars, and peered through the dust, trying to see what was rushing through the air!
That's definitely not an imperial warship!
As the line of sight drew closer, and the enemy approached at high speed, the captain could perceive things more and more clearly.
The outline beneath the smoke and dust grew larger and larger until he saw it—
"Leg?"
He rubbed his eyes, then looked at the scene outside the ship's side.
A gigantic creature with four long, thin, spider-like legs was stomping towards them!
At a speed of 50 knots.
Even the earth trembled as a result!
"Damn it! Main guns, prepare to fire!!!"
Without hesitation, the captain raised his hand and shouted.
As soon as he gave the order, the area outside the ship's portholes was instantly engulfed in roar and flames.