"Everything's under control, right? You're not actually going to let it escape? Who knows how many important people are watching this exercise. If that happens, we'll both be in trouble!"
Watching the red-furred bear monster disappear deep into the forest through his binoculars, Muto Shōho grew a little anxious.
"Rest assured, Muto Shōho. We implanted a tracking chip in this Type A long ago. Wherever it runs, we'll know exactly where it is."
Section Chief Mori said confidently:
"And even if something does go wrong, we've placed a dissolving capsule in its stomach. The shell will dissolve before three this afternoon, releasing over 1,000 mg of potassium cyanide. Even a Type A will die without a doubt."
"Then let's proceed with the exercise as planned."
A thunderous thudding came from the sky as three attack helicopters carrying heavy weapons, dispatched from the North Fuji Training Area, flew over their heads.
At Muto Shōho's command, the Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicles started their engines one after another and advanced in the designated direction.
The Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle was a size smaller than a typical main battle tank. It had eight pairs of wheels, with the front four wheels used for steering, giving it considerable maneuverability and improved mobility over soft ground. It was particularly suited to a country like the Island Nation, with its many mountains and rivers.
Half an hour later, three helicopters from the Ground Self-Defense Forces' Air Cavalry Combat Group, participating in combat to support the ground forces, had reached a forest on the western side of the Okuchichibu Mountains.
"Understood. Don't kill the target outright. Drive it to the designated coordinates!"
Putting down his communicator, the Air Cavalry Combat Group's lead pilot issued orders to the other helicopters over the aviation channel.
"The target is in the woods below. Drop incendiary bombs on the eastern side first. Use the fire to flush it out!"
Thud-thud-thud!
Two helicopters circled toward the eastern side of the forest, dropping incendiary bombs and accelerants.
The incendiary bombs rained down from the sky and exploded violently on impact. The accelerants linked the burning patches into an impassable wall of fire.
Flames rose into the sky along the trees. Driven by the wind, the raging forest fire swept unstoppably from east to west, like hellfire intent on burning and devouring everything.
Countless small animals fled the forest, scrambling to escape westward.
The lead pilot kept his eyes fixed on the ground below, but the target still failed to appear. He began to grow anxious.
Could it have burned to death in the first wave of incendiary bombs?
He was just about to pick up his communicator and contact command to check whether the target was moving when he spotted a conspicuous red monster bursting out of the woods in a frantic scramble.
"Good, target spotted! Activate the door guns and start driving it back. Remember, we're herding it, not killing it!"
"Understood!"
Somewhat excited, the gunner swung his door-mounted machine gun around and angled its muzzle downward.
The door-mounted machine gun was the least powerful weapon aboard this attack helicopter. Even so, it could fire a hundred rounds in an instant, making it an effective weapon for suppressing ground troops and mowing down rank-and-file soldiers.
The gunner's face shone with excitement. He had never imagined he would get to fight a monster.
Although this monster wasn't particularly large, it was still a monster, wasn't it?
Rat-tat-tat!
The hail of bullets swept across the ground a few meters from the red-furred bear monster, kicking up cloud after cloud of dust. Some trees caught in the machine-gun fire snapped on the spot.
The gunner worked hard to keep his muzzle from hitting the red-furred monster. These were machine-gun rounds, after all. Even if a whale suddenly appeared on land covered in scales, the door gun could turn it into a mangled heap of flesh.
Monsters that could take sustained gunfire or even missile hits without a scratch existed only in special-effects shows.
The other two attack helicopters caught up as well, opened fire with their door guns, and joined in driving the red-furred bear monster westward.
Whenever the red-furred bear monster showed any sign of straying out of their control, a burst of gunfire immediately swept toward it, forcing it to change direction.
A dozen or so minutes later, the red-furred bear monster had been driven near a barren hill. An abandoned wooden villa stood beside it.
"Command center, come in! The target has been driven to the designated coordinates!"
The lead pilot picked up his communicator and reported to command. Then, as though avoiding getting caught in what came next, he held his helicopter in a hover rather than advancing. The machine gun outside the cabin continued firing at full force, preventing the red-furred bear monster from retreating.
Seeing that the three steel monsters in the sky had finally stopped pursuing it so relentlessly, the red-furred bear monster found a moment to slow down, catching its breath as it alternated between walking and jogging.
Just then, the red-furred bear monster saw several tiny black dots suddenly appear in the sky. They raced closer and landed beside it in the blink of an eye.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Deafening explosions rang out one after another.
The first artillery barrage was not the end. Another volley roared out, and flashes and smoke erupted across the ground. Explosions blasted earth into the sky, and gray-white gunsmoke filled the air.
Two kilometers away, a row of Type 16 Maneuver Combat Vehicles stood side by side. Their 105 mm rifled guns continued spitting flame, firing shell after shell.
Rumble!
Watching the entire little hill get plowed over, with the wooden villa blown away in the first barrage, Muto Shōho could not help smiling in satisfaction.
He turned toward Section Chief Mori and asked:
"Is the tracking chip on that monster still working?"
"The signal disappeared completely after it was driven to the designated coordinates." Section Chief Mori's face was also full of smiles. Those barrages had already reduced the Type A to ashes, leaving not even its bones behind.
"The important people upstairs should be satisfied with this military exercise. Even a monster can't withstand the Self-Defense Forces' steel guns!"
Looking at the little hill, which had almost been leveled, Section Chief Mori's face brimmed with intense pride and confidence!
This artillery strike did not amount to even the tip of the iceberg of humanity's military might. It represented only a small part of the Self-Defense Forces' armed strength.
Besides, Japan did not have only the Self-Defense Forces. It also had U.S. Military Bases. Behind every Japanese citizen stood not only a powerful motherland, but an even more powerful daddy nation.
That was also what gave Section Chief Mori the confidence to advocate a hard line against Superhumans. So what if they could cut bullets in half or breathe fire? Such powers were utterly insignificant in the face of humanity's military arsenal.
This was the twenty-first century, long past that old age of savagery and ignorance. The light of human technology shone across the globe. In the mere hundred years just past, humanity had accomplished feats surpassing those of the preceding two thousand years!
Great steel ships that conquered the four oceans, vast railways connecting one country after another, fighter jets faster than even the divine chariots of myth... Humanity had already conquered land, sea, and sky, and had turned its gaze toward the more distant ocean of stars.
As for the so-called Supernatural Beings that had suddenly emerged in this era, whether monsters, evil spirits, or Superhumans, they were nothing but posturing clowns.
He, Section Chief Mori, did not care whether Superhumans were sewer rats that had stayed hidden since ancient times or mutants that had suddenly awakened supernatural powers. Before the machinery of the state, they had to bow their heads and obediently follow orders. Otherwise, they had to be crushed, crushed, and crushed again, until those freaks submitted completely.