Unexpected Windfall

Amber had planned to kill the enemy commander, throw the Empire force into chaos, and deal its morale a crushing blow.

What he hadn't expected was such a strong reaction after he sniped the Empire commander.

Instead of continuing their retreat, they moved to surround him. Apparently, they wanted him to die alongside their commander.

"Looks like he meant a lot to his soldiers."

Amber felt a little helpless, but this wouldn't affect his battle plan.

In fact, it gave him a perfect opportunity.

The Holy Spirit Multi-legged Combat Vehicle turned to fire too hastily, leaving an opening in the weapon that posed the greatest threat to armored units.

At Amber's order, the assault and support teams immediately advanced in their three Mongoose 4 Armored Vehicles.

At the same time, once the shelling ended, the Federation soldiers in the village quickly got another Mongoose 4 Armored Vehicle moving.

Four 40 mm Chain Guns locked onto the Holy Spirit light Multi-legged Combat Vehicle from three directions.

Four orange-red streams of fire wrapped around the Holy Spirit like fiery snakes.

Under the concentrated barrage, several 40 mm Armor-Piercing Incendiary Rounds detonated the 120 mm shells in its rear turret.

The last remaining Holy Spirit Multi-legged Combat Vehicle was blown apart almost instantly.

On the Tactical Map, Amber saw a red X appear over the purple-marked Holy Spirit.

Amber finally let out a breath.

With the two most dangerous Multi-legged Combat Vehicles destroyed, the remaining Orbital Paratroopers were trapped in farmland with almost no cover. Under attack by infantry and Wheeled Armored Vehicles from several directions, they could barely fight back.

"Don't stop! Keep up the pressure and wipe out the rest!"

Once the Multi-legged Combat Vehicle was destroyed, Amber ordered his troops to keep attacking. He sprang up and circled toward the Empire force's ambush position to the west.

The Mobile Infantry behind the smoke immediately followed the Mongoose 4 Armored Vehicles through it and opened fire on the remaining Empire Orbital Paratroopers.

Under fire from the four vehicles' 12 mm coaxial machine guns and the Mobile Infantry, the remaining Empire troops fell like wheat before a scythe.

Following Amber's prebattle instructions, the Mobile Infantry didn't rush forward. Instead, they kept firing 40 mm grenades and throwing Plasma Grenades to suppress the Empire soldiers wherever they gathered.

Explosion after explosion tore through the farmland, leaving blackened patches across it.

Great swaths of crops were destroyed in the fighting, some of them catching fire.

The heat from the burning fields forced the air filtration and temperature control systems in the Mobile Infantry's Exoskeletons and combat suits to run at full capacity.

But the Mobile Infantry couldn't worry about that. All they knew was that they had to finish off the Empire soldiers ahead of them.

They couldn't give a cornered enemy time to recover and counterattack.

Driven by that resolve, the Empire soldiers never managed a final counterattack.

Even so, the Mobile Infantry lost three killed and five wounded to varying degrees.

By the time the last Empire soldier fell, the farmland that had served as the main battlefield was almost entirely charred.

The Mobile Infantry stood on the scorched ground, dazed. They hadn't expected victory to come so quickly.

When the first person cheered, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. Everyone raised their hands and shouted in excitement.

Then that familiar voice came over the communications channel:

"All right, all right, you've cheered enough. Assault team, support team, clear the battlefield. Finish off anyone who needs it, and don't let a single one slip away."

"The vehicles in the staging area can enter the village. Vehicle Four, stay alert and keep watch on the battlefield."

"Oh, and send a vehicle to my coordinates to pick me up. Thanks~"

When a Mongoose 4 Armored Vehicle arrived at the former Empire ambush position to pick up Amber,

its crew found ten Empire Orbital Paratroopers lying sprawled across the position.

Four of them were missing their heads.

As for their commander and Psychic Agent, Warrant Officer Amber,

he sat atop a mound of earth, waving to the approaching Armored Vehicle.

Beside him lay a Portable Squad-Level Electromagnetic Cannon and its external power supply.

The crew felt the legend of the Terrifying Headhunter become a little more real. At the same time, they felt an inexplicable flicker of relief.

They were glad he was on their side, not the enemy's.

Before long, the Armored Vehicle carried Amber back to the village.

Aside from the Federation troops originally stationed there, the rest of Amber's Mobile Infantry and vehicles had also withdrawn into the village, leaving only two observation posts on the perimeter.

The two groups of Federation soldiers greeted each other and celebrated having survived.

"Everyone, listen up! Rest for twenty minutes, then get ready to move out!"

Those were Amber's first words as he jumped down from the Armored Vehicle.

The lively mood among the gathered Federation soldiers died at once.

Seeing the fatigue on their faces and remembering that they'd lost three comrades, Amber added:

"I'll give you ten more minutes. I know you need rest, but remember, we're running for our lives, not on vacation!"

It was only ten extra minutes, but the soldiers knew this wasn't the time to bargain.

As they settled down to rest in small groups, Amber headed straight for the parked transport vehicles to inspect what they'd gained from the battle.

There were three Mongoose 4 Armored Vehicles, but only one could still move.

Of the other two, one had several tires blown out, while the other's turret had been destroyed.

Because of the data link's transmission limits, Amber had known only how many units were in the village, not their exact condition.

The five Kodo Beast military transport trucks had been parked between two buildings, allowing them to escape the Empire attackers' shelling.

The supplies loaded on the trucks were intact. On one truck, however, Amber spotted a crate that wasn't on the supply manifest.

It was a standard Federation Military supply crate, but its special lock required Psionics to open.

As far as Amber knew, crates like this were usually meant for Psions in the military.

Its absence from the manifest meant its contents were probably classified.

Taken together, those clues made the answer obvious.

Amber was almost certain it held equipment for a Psychic Agent.

He immediately used his personal terminal's access credentials to activate the crate's emergency-use mode, then placed his hand on the lock and channeled a trace of Psionics into it.

A succession of latches clicked open, and the Psychic Agent supply crate unlocked.

A medium Exoskeleton, completely different from the one Amber wore, appeared before him.

"Is this... from the Formation Breaker series?"