episode_0393

Small arms factories and large military factories had assistant Violets stationed everywhere.

The equipment for the pioneering machines was not yet perfect, and there was still a long way to go until full automation. Therefore, manpower was needed to handle various small and large tasks.

Especially when the pioneering machines were damaged or collapsed due to monster attacks, the gaps had to be filled by our own bodies.

“Ugh! It’s heavy!”

“Hold it straight! Whoa! It’s leaning to the right!”

In place of one broken piece of equipment, our Violets swarmed together and lifted a heavy iron plate. The so-called Violet Lift. We filled the gaps and continued working with regular, uniform movements, like a single machine. For us Awakeners, this much was no problem.

A deep hum echoed!

Cargo rained down from above. Huge supplies and large quantities of resources, too much for even our multi-dimensional bags to handle, were secured through aerial resupply. Biplanes ceaselessly dropped supply crates that unfurled parachutes, dotting the sky, and an old airship landed at the hangar, offloading precious materials like superconductor ingots before disappearing back into the sky.

All of this was being accomplished by our own strength.

Thud! Thud!

While the front lines were filled with explosions and the sharp noise of magic, the mines and excavation sites in the rear bustled with the lively sounds of labor. The main island of the Karnak Archipelago had already been completely transformed by our hands.

“One two! One two!”

Shovels and pickaxes imbued with red magic ceaselessly dug into the earth and carved away rocks. Ancient legendary generals were said to move mountains and flatten hills with a single finger, and now, those mythical tales were becoming reality at the hands of our clones. Dense forests had vanished, and magnificent mountains had long been carved away by explosives and magic.

However, even for Awakeners, there was a limit to how much could be processed at once. That’s why we needed construction equipment. Crude, makeshift vehicles with skeletal frames ceaselessly transported minerals, and rough construction walkers, modeled after Federal fire support walkers, continued working in the open-pit mines.

“The problem is we have to build another factory because of that!”

“That can’t be helped…”

Violet Excavators and Violet Cement Mixers—construction Violets currently digging the ground and pouring super concrete—whispered as they took a brief breather. Even during lunch break, Hecatoncheir-made hoverbikes tirelessly patrolled the road network of the crumbling headquarters and the expanding forward operating base. This was because the malevolent Red Zone sent monster knights to constantly carry out sabotage.

Rumble! Rumble!

“Eek! Landslide!”

The earth groaned and trembled with ear-splitting screams. Instantly, the hillside collapsed. The Violets who were working instinctively dove away and fled. A tornado swept across the mineral transport road. At the forward base, the ground tore open as if ripped apart, and crimson fountains of blood gushed out like lava. The high-pressure blood shattered machines like toys, then instantly ignited, burning the surroundings and soaring high into the sky.

“Aargh! I’m getting fried!”

“The base is on fire!”

It was then. A nightmarish spectacle unfolded. The ground writhed like the back of a giant beast, and grotesquely distorted faces, like hellish demons, sprang out from the rising black smoke, spewing spine-chilling laughter and screams.

A cackling laugh erupted!

A fiercer earthquake awaited the Violets who had rushed to put out the fire. While the ground swayed like a drunken person, sharp rock spikes shot up from beneath the surface like arrows of death. Using my quick reflexes, I barely dodged with time acceleration. Rocky spikes, rising from where my afterimage lingered, radiated a chilling killing intent.

Just then, a red warning light also illuminated on the Violet tactical map. Numerous hostile signatures had been detected on the outskirts.

A chilling giggle filled the air!

Now even the ground is causing trouble. This is our land, after all.

From the burning blood fountain, an ear-piercing noise continued. It was insolent, like immature teenagers causing a ruckus in someone else’s front yard.

“Quiet!”

Unable to tolerate it any longer, the Violets simultaneously drew their staffs. At the tips of their staffs, Aether surged like a storm.

“You insolent ground! You’re ours! Listen to us!”

The next moment, lightning whips fiercely struck the rebellious earth.

“Take this!”

Crackle!

Each time the lightning-like whips struck the ground, rocks shattered, and soil melted like lava, solidifying into glass. As we furiously kicked and shattered the vitrified ground several times, we suddenly noticed something strange.

“Huh…? The earthquake stopped!”

The surprised Violets blinked their eyes. Chaos still reigned around them, but strangely, only this spot was quiet.

It was then. A sudden realization, like an electrical signal, spread through the collective consciousness network.

“That’s it! It only listens when it’s hit!”

I finally realized the truth. The nature of this Red Zone was so deeply imbued with imperialistic ideology. That must be why it had rejected the abundance and freedom of civilization that the Violets offered until now. In that case, this land deserved to be liberated.

“Let’s liberate nature from imperialism!”

This land needed a People’s Liberation Army!

I firmly gripped my mace and sword. The sensation of magic surging through my palms was conveyed. Through both weapons, magic flowed like a waterfall with fierce momentum.

There was no hesitation. The Violets began to assault nature.

Thud! Thump!

Gathered in platoon to company-sized formations, we confronted the frenzied anomalies from our respective positions.

“Die!”

Thwack! Thud!

Strange sparks flew from the tips of our swords as we swung them in a fit of rage. With amplified senses, we detected delicate, thread-like strands floating in the air snapping.

“Huh…?”

The moment doubt flashed, all of us instinctively realized. That we had just severed something connected to the Red Zone.

This was it. We couldn’t understand it with our minds, but every cell in our bodies was screaming it.

“Attack!”

I hurled a Vision Blade towards the ferocious vortex.

An eye for an eye, fire for fire. The Violets unleashed melting beams towards the burning blood spring. We dug into the ground with spears and swords pushed to their magical limits and mercilessly battered the anomalies.

After fighting with no small sacrifices, the anomalies began to be suppressed one by one. The bizarre phenomena that had tormented us vanished without a trace, like illusions.

“W-we did it!”

Although we still didn’t know the exact principle, we had a vague grasp of it. It was clear that we had severed the Red Zone’s influence with our power.

Thus, we succeeded in beating the rebellious land and wind into submission.

“You’re next!”

Putting aside our fleeting sense of victory, we refocused on the battle against the monster horde surging towards the forward base like a tide.

**

Analyses of the fundamental impact our Violets had were released sooner than expected. When I, stationed at the Violet Research Institute (provisional name), posed a question, an answer returned.

“Isn’t your prediction correct? Your magic, especially the magic with that unique wavelength you acquired after absorbing the Apostle, must have severed the medium or the Aetheric connection that caused the Red Zone’s strange phenomena in that area.”

Though little has been revealed about the Red Zone, Professor Albert’s interpretation seemed the most convincing. It would mean that our divine strike drove out the evil energy of the land.

Just then, Dr. Yurik rubbed his chin, lost in deep thought. He seemed to have found a clue.

“In that case… Madam Violet, I have a question. Do the same phenomena recur at the points where you attacked and neutralized those strange phenomena?”

“No, so far there haven’t been any problems… Ah.”

The brilliant collective consciousness network instantly grasped the old man’s intention.

“Aha! We might have purified the land!”

“Purification… Hahaha…”

Professor Albert smiled lightly. That must mean he’s proud of his student’s achievement!

“Humanity hasn’t even understood half of what the Red Zone is yet. Yet, to have found a clue to purification so quickly…”

Purification… It’s still a fragmentary discovery, but after our intervention, no more anomalies occurred there. What scientific mechanism was actually at work is a problem we must unravel in the future.

As the Professor said, humanity knows very little about the Red Zone. The same goes for us. Complacency is forbidden. We still don’t even have a grasp on whether the Red Zone is a single sentient being, or simply a space that reacts to our stimuli.

“Right! Where exactly is the core of this Red Zone?”

“What is the principle behind the Red Zone’s erosion zones?”

If this polluted land could be purified by simply hitting it repeatedly, other clans or the Federation would have tried it long ago. As it stands, this seems to be something only we can do.

But for now, there is one definite answer we’ve obtained.

The answer, in any case, was a good beating.

“We’ll beat this land into submission!”

“To its true master!”

In that case, the bigger and more numerous the ‘sticks’, the better, naturally.

And so, in mid-September, just as the first semester for Aegis Academy’s second-year students was passionately heating up, the glorious first light tank made its majestic appearance at the front-line military factory.

Rumble!

“It’s No. 2! No. 2 has been resurrected!”

The newly born replica of a Federal light tank finally revealed its imposing grandeur. Its armor was thin compared to main battle tanks or super-heavy tanks, but it could move as swiftly as the wind and boasted considerable firepower. It was the result of gathering every available scrap: the remains of tanks lost in the erosion zones, various blueprints circulating in the black market, and even information on obsolete tanks used by some clans, then instructing them to try and build something.

“Hmm… If only our facilities were more extensive, we wouldn’t need these barbaric tracks. It would have hover engines.”

Kale seemed dissatisfied, but he didn’t understand the true beauty of weaponry. At least outwardly, it was perfect. The sleek, gray-gleaming tank looked even more powerful and intimidating than the light tank it was originally modeled after. What about its internal performance?

“We’ll find that out little by little, Tank! Deploy!”

The first prototype light tank left the factory and headed for the front lines. Along the front lines where pioneering work was underway, the collective consciousness of the Violets scanned the endless land. Through the eyes of Violets on hoverbikes and V-animals soaring through the sky, we monitored the territory 24 hours a day.

While inspecting the surroundings on the map, the early warning system emitted a sharp alarm.

“Monsters! Monsters!”

“Kill them quickly!”

The first discovery was made by the small Violets half-hidden in the front-line surveillance posts. Hidden, we detected enemies caught by thermal imaging equipment and spoke in excited voices. Simultaneously, rats and crows detected the movement of the approaching monster legion. The enemy force was estimated to be around 2,000.

“They were approaching quite stealthily!”

They were secretly approaching by circumventing the northern mountain range. Judging by their direction, our No. 2 forward operating base seemed to be their target. The way they approached without making a sound, whether beast-type or humanoid, hinted at a meticulous plan.

“But there is no place on this land for the enemies of Clone Democracy to hide!”

Birds see by day, and rats see by night. The surveillance network built with small Violets and V-animals perfectly pinpointed the enemy. I immediately ordered a decisive strike.

With a light click of a finger on the red dots on the map, the artillery batteries in the rear instantly completed their deployment.

“Coordinates adjusted! Artillery ready to fire!”

“Time on Target fire! Prepare! Fire!”

Whoosh!

The Violets’ enemies were met with a rain of fire from the sky. A baptism of massive rockets pouring down, trailing long, snake-like plumes of smoke. Beginning with the proud V-4 surface-to-ground missiles, a continuous barrage of various artillery shells poured down.

“First shot hit! Effective fire! Wipe them all out!”

Some of the monster knights frantically drew something in the air with their hands. Strange magic circles appeared, and instantly thick smoke billowed up. Some of the enemies turned translucent and scattered in all directions.

Did they notice our observation?

“Oh! They’re not showing up on the machines!”

The thermal imaging equipment’s vision turned completely black.

But it was meaningless. Because our missiles are sensitive, and clever!

“Squeak! They’re flying! Hooray! For glory!”

Missiles equipped with V-Mouse guidance fuses pierced through their concealment and camouflage more precisely than any other guidance system. As the missile and artillery barrages poured down, the monsters were thrown into utter disarray.

They were confused as if they had been drenched in water while sleeping. Nevertheless, they were truly elite. Within minutes, they regained their composure, fanned out in all directions, and rapidly approached the base. They must have calculated that we wouldn’t be able to shoot once they were close.

We needed to tie them down.

Whoosh!

While the artillery recalculated new firing solutions to match the moving enemies, a squadron of hoverbikes launched with lightning-fast, fierce momentum.

The monsters maneuvering beyond the bushes and small trees came into view. Immediately, they raised their grenade launchers and delivered a shock with a volley of fire. Right before them, grenade fragments were futilely blocked by a glowing energy field. Was it a high-speed movement nullification field?

In that case, we would decide it with close-quarters combat. We drew our swords and spears and charged.

“Grrrroaar!”

“Taste my blade!”

“Kyaa-ok!”

The hoverbikes swept past the enemies’ flanks like the wind. A monster knight’s insect-like head rolled across the ground like an empty tin can.

We plunged a lightning spear into the head of a truck-sized monster that had been shooting small bolts of lightning. After disrupting their formation with hit-and-run tactics, we quickly disengaged before a counterattack could pour down. We didn’t forget to scatter bombs behind us as we fled.

Boom!

Explosion, explosion again. Some Violets were deployed into areas with high enemy density. A dismounted squad quickly approached and threw grenades. And then, drawing their staffs. Three flash storms swept across the ground. Artillery shells rained down once more upon the monsters that had been paralyzed or burned to death by the lightning. Taking advantage of that opening, the hoverbike squadron struck and withdrew again.

“Enemy forces over 70% annihilated, confirmed!”

Now for the finish. We had to crush them so they couldn’t even resist. To complete the operation, the Violet infantry entered a phase of encirclement and annihilation.

“Uwoh–”

“These guys, they still haven’t lost their spirit.”

They were truly tenacious foes. Human forces usually scatter in utter disarray after taking a beating like this, but these guys never fled unless it was truly the bitter end.

Well, thanks to that, it was easier to wipe them out completely.

Clank!

A solid mass of iron appeared before the thoroughly battered monsters. The proud V-Light Tank had finally made its debut in the world. The target was a large monster snorting fiercely. Its human-shaped upper body, mounted on a six-legged frame, swiveled towards them and glared. Charred from the shelling, it looked well-done, like a steak.

“It’s Cheolkwon’s junior’s turn to taste blood! Gunner, prepare! 12 o’clock, fire!”

An accelerated heavy metal shell tore through the air from the barrel.

Boom!

First shot hit again. The shell cleanly tore a basketball-sized hole in the monster’s chest.

With the large target eliminated, the turret turned towards easier prey, as if seeking out more game. The ammunition type was shrapnel shells. Fired two, then three times. Under the ruthless assault, as if from a massive electromagnetic shotgun, the monsters were torn to shreds.

“Alright, let’s charge now! I want to cut that with my sword!”

“Let’s tear the invaders apart!”

With a shout, they charged, and everything was over.

“Huh, they’re all dead…?”

A clean victory can sometimes feel too hollow. Modern warfare, perhaps, was more akin to the cold, rigid, and tedious routine of an office than a blood-soaked battlefield filled with cries of victory. Such was the nature of ruthless and efficient combat.

“Well, we won easily, so that’s good!”

As we were gathering usable monster corpses and preparing to return, a bizarre noise echoed from far away on the main island.

Woooooaaah!

A spine-chilling sound, like a scream mixed with a howl. Above the sky, which had somehow turned violet, a wind slowly began to rage.

We focused our magic into our eyes and meticulously surveyed the surroundings.

What we saw was Aether flowing through the land and sky. Violent currents of magic converging beyond the island were clearly visible.

It seemed something big was about to happen on this island.

“It seems the Red Zone is even angrier now.”

It seemed the time had come to prepare thoroughly.

“Let’s prepare something big.”

**

That evening, orders were issued to Cheolkwon of Ruzilin, who was waiting in the hangar.

“Cheolkwon of Ruzilin. You have a job to do!”

Cheolkwon of Ruzilin thought. It was time to return to her true self. For the tank girl, who had begun to question herself after growing accustomed to luxurious tea parties and girlish chatter, it was an opportunity as refreshing as a gust of wind.

“…Leave it to me.”

The gigantic war machine boarded the airship.