Ch.139139. Cadets of the Federation

When Kubelum and the Foxleafs encountered a Hive Commander for the first time, they felt an overwhelming pressure that was incomparable to other monsters believed to possess beast-level intelligence.

Standing about 2 meters 20 centimeters tall with an almost human-like physique, this bipedal monster wore carapace armor that, unlike the predominantly purple and black armor of other monsters, had gold-trimmed edges.

On its back was a magnificent pair of large wings reminiscent of a demon or dragon—covered with scale-like carapace on the outer membrane—and its face was not so much insect-like as it was intimidating, a mix of demonic and reptilian features.

In what appeared to be an ordinary hand, except for carapace-covered finger joints, it wielded an elaborate Western-style longsword made of the same material as its carapace, with well-refined bio-plasma crackling and sparking along the blade.

“…Ugh!”

Even the previously confident Kubelum warriors were momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer presence of this being.

“Hahahahaha—!!!!!”

Yet despite this environment, the Kubelum leader remained completely unintimidated, boldly standing before the approaching Hive Commander, laughing heartily as he began infusing his body with psychic energy.

In the strange atmosphere where combat on both sides had paused, the Hive Commander with its glowing blue plasma-emitting sword and the Kubelum warrior chief equipped with hammer and massive gauntlets proudly closed the distance between them—

“—Die!”

The first to attack was the Kubelum, charging forward with his hammer as if awakening his primal instincts.

With a body weight of at least one ton including the powered suit, the kinetic energy from his charge, and strength enhanced by both the powered suit and psychic power, he swung his hammer.

The Kubelum warrior chief wore a confident smile at what could be called the greatest strike of his twenty-year life—

—Slash!

With that confident smile still on his face, the Kubelum warrior chief was bisected by the Hive Commander’s bio-plasma sword and discarded to the ground with a thud like garbage.

The plasma sword, which struck down from the left shoulder, cleaved diagonally through the torso and exited through the right side, then quickly retracted to remove the head in what seemed like a confirmation kill.

The fact that it had sliced through the thick neck guard, the muscle-protected neck, and the powered suit in a single stroke… was enough to send the others into panic.

“C-Captain… with just one strike?”

“That psychic, what on earth is…”

The Kubelum warriors were shocked at the swift dismemberment of their idol and powerful leader, while the Foxleafs couldn’t hide their fear of the Hive Commander’s clean and precise psychic abilities.

The Hive Commander, making no effort to hide its clear superiority over all of them, looked at the murmuring Foxleafs and Kubelum warriors with what appeared to be a mocking expression—

KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAANG—!!!!

Immediately after, the monsters’ plasma blasters and laser blasters that had been charging in the rear unleashed their fire, and the battlefield once again descended into chaos.

However, there was one difference from before—

“D-damn it!”

Pshhh—FZZZZZZZT!!!

Unlike before the Hive Commander’s appearance, now the monsters clearly had the advantage.

With the Hive Commander in command, the battlefield naturally shifted toward ranged combat, and unlike before when they relied solely on close-combat monsters, now ranged and melee monsters were precisely organized, fighting in organic coordination.

Even though the Hive Commander hadn’t directly engaged after slicing the Kubelum warrior chief, merely providing command, the situation had deteriorated to the point where the Foxleafs had to draw their auxiliary plasma daggers for close combat.

Pirioner was no exception, as she was currently engaged in a desperate struggle with a close-combat monster that looked like a knockoff Xeno■orph.

This creature, characterized by purple carapace on its back and white carapace on its abdomen, moved swiftly between quadrupedal and bipedal locomotion, with sharp claws on its fingers capable of tearing through even metal with just a graze.

Additionally, its long, segmented tail, reminiscent of a scorpion’s, was adorned with corrosive venom-soaked spines on its sides and tip, moving as if it were a separate organism—making it unavoidable for Pirioner, who was more of an artillery specialist than a warrior, to engage it.

“Ignite!”

FWOOOOSH!!!

This specimen also had excellent resistance to psychic attacks, so even when she engulfed its entire body in flames, it only resulted in slightly reddening the outer surface of its carapace. Pirioner had no choice but to face the monster with only her psychically enhanced body and a dagger equipped with a plasma cutter blade.

“HAAAA—!!!”

THWACK!!!

Her psychic auxiliary staff wasn’t originally designed as a close-combat weapon and couldn’t penetrate the carapace. She was barely managing to hold her own thanks to the fencing classes she had taken as an elective at the academy.

But even this was reaching its limits.

The plasma dagger was too short—attempting to inflict a fatal wound would likely result in her being counterattacked. And she couldn’t use her psychic abilities offensively since all her capacity was invested in defense and reflex enhancement.

Just as she was barely holding on in this seemingly endless battle—

“Fire!”

PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW-PEEEW—!!!!

At the command of a human male, dozens of heavily armed human infantry appeared and began unleashing laser machine gun fire.

They were reliable reinforcements sent from another sector where they had just finished dealing with monsters, coming to aid those in peril.

Even monsters that initially seemed to withstand the lasers melted away before the literally overwhelming numbers and firepower, and the monster that had been cornering her—Pirioner—was no exception.

CRACK!

Despite its excellent psychic resistance, when the laser repeatedly hit the thinly armored joint areas, its arm fell off. Seizing the moment, Pirioner channeled psychic-generated flames into the wound, burning the creature to nothing but an empty carapace.

“Thanks, Foxleaf friend!”

“No, we should be thanking you!”

Afterward, she exchanged greetings with a soldier in gray powered armor who approached from behind, then put away her plasma dagger and raised her staff to return to her original role—

Not long after, the human-Foxleaf-Kubelum alliance finally managed to eliminate all the remaining monster survivors that had invaded this fortified planet.

…Except, of course, for the Hive Commander, who had vanished at some point.

※ ※ ※

The Human Federation Army is classified into five major ranks.

General officers, field officers, company officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted personnel—a rank system familiar to any South Korean man.

However, there is a special rank here that clearly distinguishes it from reality: the elite human warriors who are classified as officers while fighting directly on the front lines.

First, the enlisted personnel are exactly what we imagine as space marines.

Infantry equipped with lightweight powered suits that don’t restrict movement, laser assault rifles, grenades, and simple auxiliary weapons, or those who provide support with various heavy weapons and operate armored vehicles—a typical “army.”

Non-commissioned officers are equivalent to about Grade 7 mercenaries in the Mercenary Guild, veterans who can easily hunt dozens of low-level monsters alone. Unlike some ancient Earth nation, soldiers here fight while administrative work is handled by personnel with completely separate organizations.

On the other hand, commissioned officers, starting from company officers (second lieutenant to captain), are fundamentally separated into fighters and commanders, which could be compared to the difference between a pilot and an army platoon leader in modern terms.

Of course, second lieutenants and first lieutenants—field commanders who must work alongside soldiers on the front lines in emergencies—both command and fight directly. The two fields begin to separate properly from the rank of captain.

Typically, officers who graduate from military academies with Grade 7 mercenary-level specs and are commissioned as second lieutenants often reach intermediate level by the time they become captains, at which point they can choose whether to continue fighting in the field or withdraw to become commanders.

Conversely, first lieutenants who fail to reach intermediate level may still be promoted to captain but must continue fighting on the front lines, and if they ultimately fail to reach intermediate level, they face mandatory discharge.

One might think that most captains of intermediate level would prefer to withdraw from dangerous field operations, but surprisingly, the majority of these battle-hardened captains desire to continue fighting.

Those who crave combat become elites treated as a separate military force entirely, despite only holding the rank of captain… but that’s not relevant right now.

Because currently, at this Federation Army Military Academy, they are teaching the most basic knowledge about monster types to rookies who enrolled just a month ago.