“And the real deal is one of them... Not bad, Grevanas...”
In order to hide the transfer gate for their ultimate weapon, they had used spatial distortions as decoys. Not even Clan could figure out which one was the right one. It was a trick to keep it from being destroyed from orbit upon appearing.
“Their next step will almost definitely be a bombardment using the transported weapons,” Kiriha explained. “At this rate, we will die.”
With the Liberation Army having deployed so many weapons, the Imperial Army was sure to do the same, in which case, it would be difficult for Maxfern to target the girls. So rather than taking the time to pursue them, he would bombard them into pieces. The bombardment didn’t need to be accurate. Since it was clear that they were in the area, bombing everywhere around them would kill them. As a sign of that, none of the spatial distortions had been very close to them. They were spread out to surround the girls from afar. In other words, Maxfern had concluded that it was pointless to send more soldiers after them.
“What?!” Ruth’s face turned pale. “But they have allies here!”
More forces might not be coming for them, but soldiers that had pursued them were still nearby, including the ones trapped in the ravine. Maxfern was going to burn it all to the ground, allies included. To him, they were disposable. The only interest he had was in victory or defeat.
Kiriha’s assumption was right on the mark. The last thing Maxfern and Grevanas sent in was a large mobile weapon. It was made to contend against the Blue Knight, with plenty of spiritual energy technology and magic on it. It was also equipped with a strategic weapon of mass destruction.
“Fire, Grevanas,” Maxfern ordered.
“We still have soldiers deployed in that area, Maxfern-sama,” Grevanas replied.
His words weren’t out of compassion. If they killed their own men, even a few of them, the soldiers would start suspecting them. It was a dangerous situation that could shake the foundation of the Forthorthe Liberation Army.
“Did you not hear me?” Maxfern asked. “Fire, now! If we give them time, we might miss them! All of the losses will be for nothing!”
They had taken a lot of risks and losses to get to the current point. They’d lost spies gathering information and soldiers when hiding them in enemy territory. Since putting the assassination plan into motion, they’d lost quite a lot of men. If they didn’t bomb their targets now, it would be meaningless. Maxfern saw their losses as a bigger problem than the suspicions the soldiers might feel. The gains from the assassination were his biggest priority.
“Understood!” Grevanas nodded. “Firing at once!”
He input the order into his computer. When using strategic weapons, the authorization process was more complex than for normal weapons. It took around twelve seconds before the mobile weapon could attack.
“Launch code sent!” Grevanas said. “Rengan Strategic Missile is launching!”
They watched a holographic screen showing the mobile weapon in question. The back part deployed, revealing the missile. It was the same size as the ones used for attacks on the ground and had a booster like mobile weapons used to move around. Even if it was scorched a little by point defense lasers, it would accomplish its objective. With its powerful booster, it would reach terrifying speeds as it shot through the sky. Without some serious preparations, it would be impossible to stop the missile. What was even more terrifying was the warhead it had.
The Rengan Strategic Missile could be equipped with normal warheads as well as a wide-area incineration one. The special property of that warhead was that it detonated twice. The first dispersed combustible gas throughout a wide area, while the second burned it. The effective range was over a kilometer, and the second detonation would immolate anything within range. It wasn’t very effective against warships and the like, covered by powerful distortion fields as they were, but against humans or vehicles with little protection, the fire was lethal. There was also a shock wave that spread on detonation, which would rip people and light vehicles apart. And even if someone survived the shock wave, the fire and heat would finish them off. If by some miracle a person survived the shock wave and fire, they would die of asphyxiation due to the oxygen in the area burning up.
In other words, the wide-area incineration warhead was intended to wipe out infantry or mechanized units. Maxfern used it so that he could guarantee they’d kill Kiriha, Ruth, and Clan, with no care for his nearby allies. It was an insane decision that even Grevanas instinctively objected to.
Maxfern let out an insane laugh. “Go! Burn it all down!”
His smile was filled with hate, envy, joy, and all kinds of evil emotions. Having waited since the landing craft was shot down, the malice within him was immense. With the warhead being fired, all of that malice was finally released alongside his excitement hitting its climax.
“If you can save them, try it, savior!” Maxfern screamed in elation. “You can’t protect anything! You won’t even be able to see their corpses!”
The missile flew as they looked on. It was only traceable with the naked eye for a few seconds as it accelerated beyond view and flew toward the area where the three girls were expected to be.
“Three, two, one...impact,” Grevanas said.
There was a moment of silence. The first detonation spread combustible gas. Once it had spread far enough, the second detonation would light the gas on fire.
The sound of the second explosion cut off in the middle. The audio picked up by an onsite microphone clipped. There was a flash bright enough to burn the eyes, followed by what looked like the flames of hell burning the world.
“I did it! I did it! The women are dead!” Maxfern laughed. His face was lit up red by the fires. Seeing those flames, he knew he had won. The three girls were dead. The Blue Knight’s wings had been ripped off, and he would be greatly weakened. He would fall into despair. Having achieved revenge and a strategic victory, Maxfern’s joy was at its peak.
“I am sending a nearby unit to the area,” Grevanas calmly announced. Unlike Maxfern, he had some doubts about the attack.
“You are foolishly earnest, Grevanas! Nobody could survive those flames! And if they’re dead, there won’t be any corpses! It’s pointless to send troops!”
“I hope you are right...”
While listening to Maxfern’s joyful voice, Grevanas made sure the soldiers had the proper equipment and sent them to the site. Since the girls had given them a hard time, he wanted to make absolutely sure of their victory before celebrating.