“Ugh….”
“Need a plastic bag?”
“No…. That’s not quite it…. No…”
Looking at what was on the screen, I definitely wasn’t feeling too good.
No matter how you slice it, what I saw on the screen… was definitely not good for my eyes or stomach.
There were a ton of bugs, after all!
“Aren’t the bugs a bit too big?”
“Maybe they’re contaminated.”
“That’s true, but they’re so big it’s hard to look at…. Ugh….”
I could understand Midori’s reaction.
Honestly, I wasn’t feeling great looking at the screen either.
The already ugly bugs were growing in size, so of course, it would be hard to keep my stomach in check.
If I had been out there, I would have been throwing up for real.
“Anyway, the squad members have finished preparing below.”
“It’s better to handle this before it gets dark, so we should start as quickly as possible.”
“Yes.”
When the sun sets, the bugs won’t be visible.
Since we were floating in the air over the field, the bugs were very clearly visible, which made me even more aware of the situation.
Now they were visible, but when evening comes, it would be impossible to see them.
“Let’s bring out the lure.”
“Okay!”
Midori casually replied to the commander, pressed her earpiece, and began relaying the information.
Even though there was a mic, Midori preferred the earpiece and just went with it.
As long as the sound quality was only a bit different, there was really no problem.
Besides, there was no need to use the main mic the commander was using.
Just relaying the words was enough; there was no reason to complicate things.
Anyway, after Midori relayed the message, the 1st squad members below began preparing the bait.
Since there were so many bugs, and they were one of our targets, it was crucial to catch as many bugs as possible and destroy the contaminated core.
“Is everything ready so the bugs won’t get on the ship?”
“Yes, I’ve already turned off the lights facing outside the ship, and even if contaminated creatures show up, dealing with them won’t be a problem at all.”
“Then let’s start the operation. 1st squad.”
The commander said into the mic, and soon the voices of the 1st squad members could be heard.
They were ready, and it was clear they could start now.
Of course, we couldn’t delay this work too long.
It wasn’t even noon yet, but getting the operation started quickly and finishing it swiftly was the best option.
“Then let’s start the baiting and begin the operation.”
– Understood.
“The 1st squad will start immediately, and the personnel in the command room will stick to their initial roles.”
Each responded to the commander’s words, and the operation began.
The bugs that had been wandering in the air and grass began rushing towards the agents.
The bugs, about half the size of a person, rushed in, making for a rather unpleasant sight, but it wasn’t a problem.
After all, we had a radar!
Of course, the radar was annoying with too many green lights on the screen, but still.
– Throw the Molotov!
– Got it!
– Just in case, don’t head towards the grass!
– Understood!
The sight of the 1st squad as shown on the screen and through the speakers wasn’t bad.
First off, Agni was doing an excellent job catching bugs.
Plus, they were throwing the prepared Molotovs into the air to hit the bugs and shooting at them, taking them down efficiently.
“Definitely glad we prepared those Molotovs.”
“The bugs seem to go down quickly because they’re bugs; thank goodness.”
“Yep.”
“They’ve grown a bit larger due to contamination, but it’s no problem killing them.”
Right, I’m just glad they’re doing well.
The issue was the sheer number of bugs.
“Honestly, at this rate, the 2nd squad should get ready as well.”
“There are just too many of them.”
“Yeah, 1st squad is doing a good job, but stamina is a thing.”
No matter how capable the agents were, they were still human.
If they kept fighting for hours, they would certainly wear down.
And since this fight might drag on for some hours, we needed to be prepared.
“Of course, for the time being, they could probably last a few more hours.”
“Agni is definitely destructive, so the stamina burden might actually be lower than we expect.”
Agni was indeed good at catching bugs.
With each swing of his flame-encased sword, bugs would drop like flies.
Plus, the flames spread further, making it easier to eliminate the bugs in the air, truly making him an essential agent for this operation.
Though I worried about the lack of fire elements in the 2nd squad.
“For now, we’ll keep watching. There’s no immediate task for us, so it’s best to stay idle for now.”
I said this because, to be honest, there wasn’t much for us to do at the moment.
The 1st squad was valiantly battling below, but we didn’t want to draw aggro to the ship unnecessarily, plus the bugs were concentrating beneath us.
*
“Commander! Should we drop supplies below?”
“Make it energy bars. There’s nothing they can eat for long because of the bugs.”
“Okay!”
“Oh, and some water too.”
“Yes!”
It was slightly past noon, and three hours had passed since we started the operation below.
We couldn’t skip lunch, so we scarfed down cup ramen and refocused on the operation.
So far, things were going smoothly below with no issues.
Of course, it still didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon.
But at least there were no injuries, and there were plenty of bug corpses piling up around.
– Supplies are here!!!
– I want some too!?
– I’ll toss it to you!
It was a bit hard to eat while bugs were charging at us, but everyone managed to do just fine.
I felt a little guilty, but hey, we had to make the most of things while we could.
Plus, the 2nd squad wasn’t yet in a position to fight effectively, so that was another factor.
This operation was going well thanks to Agni, and the 2nd squad found it somewhat tough to deal with so many opponents.
While holding the line was okay, they couldn’t gain many kills against such a horde.
“Have the 2nd squad gear up properly.”
“Excuse me?”
“This operation is more contaminated than last time. It’s best to proceed as safely as possible.”
“Then are you going to bring back the 1st squad to the ship?”
I was a bit surprised by the sudden command and answered.
Just a moment ago, they were just standing by.
I had assumed the plan was to keep moving forward with the 1st squad and that the 2nd squad would mop up afterward, so this sudden order regarding the 2nd squad caught me off guard.
“It’ll be tougher for the 2nd squad compared to the 1st squad in battle….”
“But still, they’ll fare better without the 1st squad fighting without a proper rest. Besides, the 2nd squad is in a better state stamina-wise and good at holding the line, aren’t they?”
“That’s true, but….”
“So, let’s pull back the 1st squad to recover stamina, then send them back out.”
“…….”
Originally, the plan was to finish quickly.
Now, suddenly, there was a modification to the plan.
Originally, we intended to handle things quickly with the 1st squad and then have the 2nd squad finish anything left over.
But the plan wasn’t unreasonable.
The number of bugs in the sky seemed to decrease compared to before, and the stamina of the 1st squad was a concern.
Even if they still had stamina left, they would eventually wear out, and it wouldn’t be wise to exhaust the more effective 1st squad easily.
“So how about we send down the 2nd squad first and then pull back the 1st squad?”
“That sounds good. If we send up the 1st squad first, there will be a gap below, so the contaminated creatures will surely go after the 1st squad coming back.”
“Yes, that’s why I suggested it.”
“Then we’ll do it your way.”
I grasped the commander’s intention well enough, so I started suggesting detailed methods.
Calling them down without a plan was its own problem, after all.
We obviously couldn’t send the 2nd squad down instantly, so I had to notify them, and of course, it would take a little time.
Though the 2nd squad had been preparing for this to some extent.
“2nd squad, can you get ready to deploy to the operation within ten minutes?”
Ten minutes it was.
Five would be way too short, and I needed to give them enough time.
Of course, giving them more time wouldn’t be a problem, but the commander’s main priority was to recover the 1st squad and let them rest.
I reached out to the 2nd squad like that, but their responses were surprisingly shocked.
Our original plan was to push forward with the 1st squad, so naturally enough they were surprised.
“The commander wants to send down the 2nd squad and take a short break for the 1st squad.”
Well, to be fair, the good-looking commander usually had agents listening intently to him.
Once I mentioned it, they’d probably jump at the chance to be sent into action.
At first, the sudden plan change from the commander had caught me off guard, but it was my job to adapt to these things.
Moreover, it wasn’t particularly hard, and a rational decision was being made, so I’d say the commander was actually doing well this time.
I’m just glad he’s getting better at this.
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