YM778.TV Chapter 85: Prohiden (4)
The Kaiju legion\'s advance halted under the power of the main cannons forming a fire net.
Thud- Thud- Thud-
Missiles poured from the battleships, tracing arcs as they launched forward, and flight squadrons deployed from each battleship, densely filling the battlefield.
[Spare silo charging complete. Second bombardment ready.]
[No abnormalities in the Cooling Reactor.]
[One minute until effective firing range.]
[Implement responsive maneuvers, and authorize free fire upon reaching effective range.]
[Grade 4 Ether Concentration detected at marked coordinates.][Prepare for impact.]
[Ether Shield activation at 40%.]
Communications came in one after another.
The Kaiju couldn\'t put up much resistance. They were swept away in droves, turning into cosmic dust. They looked as if their bodies were frozen, unable to even properly maintain balance.
Of course, that was because of…
Gooo-
The Imperial Ship at the very front.
The Kaiju couldn\'t keep up with the golden wavelength emitted from the Imperial Ship.
A ship said to be operable only by Karlstein Babylon, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.
On the bridge of the Imperial Ship, Karlstein was infusing Ether into the Ether Amplification Device in real-time, projecting a faint golden wavelength across the entire battlefield.
It was a wavelength with such a heavy presence that even allied soldiers felt their knees weaken.
Some might scoff at being intimidated by mere presence, but…
He was different.
After experiencing the Single Number Subjugation Campaign, He had changed somehow.
It wasn\'t just psychological pressure, but a truly overwhelming aura that made one\'s legs tremble.
Ordinary people without considerable courage couldn\'t even face Him. Moreover, now He was amplifying the Ether wavelength while raising His presence to the fullest.
It couldn\'t be anything but a disaster for the Kaiju side.
And that wasn\'t all.
Countless space battleships densely filled the cosmos.
An endless wave of ships was advancing, easily chewing through the Kaiju. The Kaiju forces weren\'t even allowed to retreat. They were just being one-sidedly beaten.
"It\'s been a long time since we\'ve seen His Majesty so angry."
"It\'s natural for him to be this angry, given the rumors that Grand Duchess Camilla was injured."
"Hoo.... Have I grown old? Just keeping up with His Majesty is exhausting now."
"Well, His Majesty\'s Ether is special after all."
"Let\'s hang in there a bit more. It\'s tough for us, but it must be hell for those Kaiju bastards."
"Haha. Let\'s go kill them."
Although the golden wavelength couldn\'t help but affect allies too, it was still bearable. This was because Ether Wave Neutralization Devices were installed on all the space battleships mobilized this time.
"But we don\'t see many Named Entities."
"If Grand Duchess Camilla was injured, there should be quite a few, right?"
"He might have dealt with them first."
"Is that so?"
Like their thoughts, Karlstein also felt something was off, making him feel complicated.
What was he missing?
How to put it… It almost felt like something essential was missing.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to him.
Come to think of it, although they had succeeded in invading the Barrier, they didn\'t enter the interior. Was it really because of the Galactic Empire\'s defense facilities?
No.
This Kaiju attack clearly had a purpose. Setting aside what exactly that was, wasn’t it strange that after managing to capture the area near the Barrier, they didn\'t take any follow-up measures and just waited quietly?
There weren\'t many Plant Mother Types that contaminated entire planets either.
It also didn\'t quite add up that they attacked the rear to check the Galactic Empire\'s second advance.
If that were the case, the frontline outside the Barrier should have been shaken simultaneously with Prohiden\'s invasion, but it was progressing smoothly without any problems.
"That’s right. It feels like it’s something like..."
A separate unit...?
"Hmm..."
How to put it… Kaiju had always acted like a single collective, but this time it felt like Prohiden\'s own separate unit, so to speak?
[Recapture of Sector B-8129 complete.]
[No reactions of Kaiju appearances at current location C-5644.]
[Beginning recapture of Sector B-6672.]
Looking at the incoming reports, he started to get a sense of something.
It seemed Aria had noticed the same thing.
[They\'re buying time.]
"Using one legion as bait?"
[Well, who knows? Kaiju have rarely shown this kind of behavior pattern.]
"..."
Prohiden wasn\'t visible, but the others were being steadily incinerated. The Galactic Empire was quickly recovering the area near the Barrier.
"We\'re not seeing as many Named Entities as expected either."
If that was the case…
This won\'t do.
"Aria, prepare the fastest speedboat."
[...Are you thinking of infiltrating alone?]
"If they\'re buying time, we just need to do the opposite."
Infiltrating deep into enemy territory alone was nothing short of madness, but...
[I shall have the necessary devices installed.]
Karlstein was different. He hadn\'t volunteered to take the position of a tank for nothing.
"Prepare Weapon No. 0 and No. 6 too."
[Yes, understood.]
No. 6 was a balanced armament combination of a spear and shield that Karlstein used when taking the front lines personally.
"Just prepare the fleet to open the way, and I\'ll depart immediately."
[...Understood.]
Of course, Aria wouldn\'t be pleased with Karlstein entering enemy territory alone.
It was inevitable that a slightly pouty tone leaked through.
[Your stubbornness is unstoppable, Master.]
"Look like I can finally use my body for the first time in a while."
***Somewhere near the Barrier.
A Kaiju with a starlight mane was sitting on the back of an ultra-large Kaiju, intently observing something.
Zzzrr- Zzzrr-
A platinum-colored egg emitting a strange wavelength.
Thump- Thump-
The platinum-colored egg was pulsating, contracting and relaxing slightly as if it were alive.
Prohiden had been watching the egg carefully enshrined in the nest for a while.
Then.
Thud. Thud.
As careful footsteps were heard, someone approached.
A Higher Order Kaiju covered in red carapace knelt before him and bowed its head.
Swoosh-
Prohiden, a purple light in its eyes, quietly listened to the red Kaiju\'s report.
Nod.
At Prohiden\'s slow reaction, the red Kaiju rose.
The platinum-colored egg briefly entered the red Kaiju\'s field of vision.
Pause.
The red Kaiju\'s eyes trembled for a moment before regaining stability.
Soon, the red-carapaced Kaiju began to retreat.
But at that moment…
Puhaaak-
The starlight mane pierced through the red Kaiju\'s heart.
As the red Kaiju turned its head with a creaking sound, The flickering purple light of Prohiden’s gaze was the last thing reflected in its eyes.
Thud-
The fallen red Kaiju never opened its eyes again.
Prohiden looked down at the red Kaiju.
How impudent. To dare harbor greed.
As Prohiden waved its hand, the red Kaiju\'s corpse turned to dust and scattered.
Prohiden returned to the egg\'s side and began to gaze at it again.
There\'s no time.
It\'s dangerous.
He is coming.
Bait is just bait.
It might buy some time, but it won\'t be able to stop Him.
The purple eyes gazing at the egg flickered dimly.
It must be protected at all costs.
Even fellow Kaiju can\'t be trusted.
It can\'t be hidden any longer either.
To do that, it needed to use that passage that was currently blocked to escape.
As purple-eyed Prohiden twitched its finger, dark red flesh rose from the floor and carefully covered the platinum-colored egg.
Just a little longer.
***"Hmm."
[Yong-hi! Isn\'t it about time you stopped teasing?]
[Dragon\'s pride, my foot. I\'ll acknowledge it if you can say the same thing in front of the Oradge.]
[I worked hard today too. It actually felt like hell.]
[Oh oh. A million Point donation if I interview that person passing by?]
[Wait a moment.]
Zzzt-
[Did you call for me?]
The screen showed a martial artist wearing martial attire and carrying all sorts of mechanical devices.
[Could we perhaps do an interview?]
[A-An interview? What\'s that?]
[Well, you see....]
YongYong on the screen glanced sideways at someone. At a woman in red armor sitting cross-legged in meditation.
[Um... The Blu-, no. I mean. Do you perhaps know anything about your Cult Leader-]
Karlstein chuckled and ended the broadcast.
The community was abuzz with all sorts of speculative posts about the Oradge and stories about World, where YongYong was.
He\'s doing well, huh.
Karlstein closed the Integrated Dimensional Community.
When he first opened his eyes after the body he possessed dissipated, the signal seemed unstable, but now it was connecting again.
Hmm.
He had only checked because he had a moment of free time.
After all, right now, it was a wartime situation.
Naturally, it was right to focus on the current matter.
"What\'s our current location?"
[Two hours until the target point.]
"Hmm..."
The target point was the middle of an area estimated to be where the Kaiju were gathered.
Karlstein\'s head tilted slightly as he examined the 3D map marked in red.
"This place is..."
[Do you have any ideas as to what it is?]
A point at the edge of the map, not marked in red, caught his eye.
"Isn\'t this where those Sephiroth bastards came before? Though it\'s quite far."
[It is not exact, but it is nearby.]
"Hmm..."
Karlstein was silent for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Right. We shouldn\'t just consider Kaiju and the Galactic Empire in the same way we did before."
[What do you mean?]
"Let\'s modify our route. We need to stop by that place first."
[Understood. Modifying the route. Estimated time to arrival is 7 hours 48 minutes 12 seconds.]
"Can\'t be helped even if we take a bit of a detour."
Only then did Karlstein nod and lie down comfortably.
"Aria."
[What is it?]
"From what I could see from YongYong, he seemed to be earning surprisingly well. Should I start streaming too?"
[....]
"I could replenish some of the Ether I used this time too."
Karlstein scratched his chin.
"If I do some donation reactions, couldn\'t I make a big score? Haha."
[Do as you please.]
"Hahaha."
Though it was unbelievable for someone infiltrating enemy territory alone, they were still as peaceful as ever.