Chapter 78.1

– Nameless Mercenary POV –

Damn it, what is going on here? I was told the pay would be good but those guys completely played me.

And it was true. I was surprised when they blindfolded me and took me to the South Pole. I’ve gotten a lot of money and food. But the money can only be spent in these underground facilities they have. What is the point? The higher-ups are getting help from the US and EU. Our equipment is too advanced for simple mercenaries.

(Mercenary) Well, whatever. The pay is good so I’ll fight for its worth.

(Officer) Hey, you idiot. If you have time to complain, go help at the front gate. They’re breaking through.

An officer brought from the EU is yelling at me. His face is completely pale. Well, of course. I’m a mercenary, but he’s an actual officer. If he gets caught here, it’s over for him.

(Mercenary) Buddy, if they catch us we’ll go to court too for war crimes. You know that, right?

(Mercenary #2) Eh? Do I look like I care? And who are you? We’re not “buddies”. Don’t make me mad or you’ll regret it.

The guy was running to the gate, but he stopped just to say that. He then kept running, but not without staring cold daggers at me. Come on man. The only buddies we’ll have now are those monsters we have to fight with.

Man, I’m jealous of those Noah guys.

New world is fighting with an illegal army while those guys are legally backed by the UN. Why are they different from us?

We’re even having dumb mercenaries using living weapons that they can’t comprehend.

(Mercenary) Yo buddy, doesn’t seem like the beam is doing a lot.

(Mercenary #2) What part of “I’m not your buddy” did you not understand. The water wave shut down the turret almost completely. And the ice wall we were using to protect ourselves disappeared.

(Mercenary) What? How?

(Mercenary #2) And how am I supposed to know? It just did. Now they’re free to advance. Apparently after the wall melted you could see a giant centipede and a spider lady in the distance.

(Mercenary) I’ve seen those giant centipedes in movies. About 5 meters long.

(Mercenary #2) Yeah. But as long as you can penetrate the armor with bullets it should be fine.

My buddy is optimistic. He thinks we can just pierce the armor and take out the centipede, but it’s not gonna be so easy. From the footage we’ve seen, the Noah guys are behind the centipede shielding it. Those powersuits sure are tough. And what’s with the spider lady? Man, Noah sure isn’t far from becoming a zoo. Especially with that flying dinosaur thing.

(Officer) Mercenaries! The centipede is at the gates! They’re breaking in!

The EU guy keeps yelling. Do these people have a sort of illness that prevents them from living if they don’t yell? Whatever. Guess it’s time to work. Release security device and-

(Officer) Here it is!

(Mercenary) Hey there!

I shot the first shot with a 20mm railgun while examining the centipede. Prepare the next shot and… Did it work?

(Mercenary) Yeah, like I thought. It did nothing. Hey buddy, you’re too far ahead.

He was trying to kill the centipede with a regular 7.62mm rifle. I managed to drag him back just in time. When I looked back to where he was standing, a mysterious liquid was on the floor emanating from smoke.

(Mercenary) Ahh, I see. That’s how they melted the ice wall. Also, that 20mm railgun direct shot did absolutely nothing.

(Mercenary #2) Thanks pal, you saved me.

(Mercenary) Don’t mention it. By the way, can you shoot that tank over there?

(Mercenary #2) Sure.

(Mercenary) Keep shooting it. It’s gonna explode.

I instructed my buddy to shoot at the tank of liquid nitrogen installed next to the gate. The tank exploded and the centipede’s outer skin froze. I fired my third shot, which leaves me with 2 bullets.

(Mercenary) Hm, it seems we would’ve managed to do damage to it, but… Was it prevented by a magic barrier?

(Mercenary #2) They can create personal barriers as well as ship barriers!?

(Mercenary) Seems like it. Actually, we shouldn’t be fighting this. Our squad is not equipped to deal with this situation.

(Mercenary #2) Do we run?

Man, I’d like to run but I need my salary. As if the centipede wasn’t enough, now they have a spider lady behind them. Wait- There’s something on the back of the spider!

(Mercenary #2) Hey, you said you saw movies about these insects. Is it normal for a spider to have a giant praying mantis on their back!?

(Mercenary) OF COURSE NOT! That’s probably one of Noah’s biological weapons! Wait, why is the mantis looking at us!?

(Mercenary #2) Come on, this is too much… Hey, that suit…

From the other side of the gate I could see Arakawa Kouki wearing the Type-0 suit. The range is approximately 1800 meters. That should be more than what the suit’s assisted movement could detect.

(Mercenary) I’m gonna shoot him. If I shoot twice, we’re running away as fast as we can.

(Mercenary #2) Got it.