Navy Line.
The frontline was in sight.
Normally, they should have been on high alert in preparation for the next Wave, but instead, the troops were busy with repairs—leaving the area completely exposed.
It was a perfect opportunity for me and the Turncoat Knight to wreak some havoc.
"Let's go."
["Al… right."]
I unfurled the Wings of Ankelenth.
The Turncoat Knight responded in kind, spreading his bony wings and following my lead.
I would've liked to use the Z-74 jetpack as well, but it was out of commission—broken.
I'd considered getting it fixed by Maybell Pilgrim, but with her condition being what it was, I hadn't pressed the issue.
Not that it mattered.
Even if it were working, most of my weapons were off-limits during this op—I needed to hide my identity.
That meant I could only rely on Janus… and myself.
But that was more than enough.
Even in a recovering state, the Navy Line couldn't stand against us right now.
["…Are you really doing this?"]
'I am.'
["Sigh… Just don't die, okay?"]
'I won't.'
The collapsed outer wall of the Navy Line drew ever closer.
Soon, I could make out the soldiers working along the crumbled sections.
["…Master, seriously—can we not just turn back now? This is too much…"]
'Too late for that.'
["Wait, what—"]
Just like that, we reached the wall.
This was the Navy Line—one of the forward lines, with enemies that didn't appear in the game until the mid-to-late stages.
No room for carelessness.
"One last reminder: don't kill anyone. Wounding them is fine, but no fatalities."
["Un… derstood."]
The Turncoat Knight still seemed puzzled by the command, but he didn't resist it.
["Ughhh..."]
We were nearly within range.
And then it began—
The Turncoat Knight made the first move.
Crack, crack—
A massive bone spear emerged from his right arm and shot toward the wall without hesitation.
Fwoooooosh────!
'That trajectory... It won't hit any soldiers directly.'
Just in case, I was ready to intercept it—but it flew true.
KAAAA-BOOOOM────!
The spear slammed into a segment of the wall, shaking it violently.
Debris rained down as a portion of the fortification crumbled.
A solid throw.
"──!"
The base was thrown into chaos.
Red lights blinked to life—Ark's signature silent alarms.
'Here we go.'
Now that the battle had truly begun, I didn't sit still either.
I drew a bone spear from my right hand and hurled it with all my strength.
FWOOSH────!
Faster and more vicious than the Knight's throw, my spear streaked toward the wall's defenders.
KRAAANG────!
A cloud of dirt and debris exploded outward.
Without hesitation, I tucked in my wings and dove.
["W-wait! You're insane!"]
Esther shrieked as I fell headfirst toward the Navy Line.
By now, the defenders had rallied.
Bullets filled the air from the ramparts.
RATATATATAT──!
I couldn't dodge them all—so I reinforced Janus' bone tentacles around me for protection.
Ping!
Clang!
Just as I thought.
Not a single round pierced through.
Janus, at its current level, could tank small-arms fire like it was nothing.
["You're going to crash!"]
'I know.'
["Whaaaaaat?!"]
With Esther's scream trailing off behind me, I crashed into the wall.
BOOOOOOOM──!
With Janus absorbing most of the impact and gravity doing the rest, the landing doubled as an attack.
Dust billowed.
Soldiers were sent scrambling.
"Ugh…"
"Regroup!"
"It's a raid!"
Of course, I wasn't completely unaffected, but Janus' cushioning let me recover quickly.
'Let's begin.'
'Janus.'
Skree!
No further commands were needed.
Skshhh, skshhskk────!
Hundreds of bone tentacles erupted outward toward the soldiers.
Thud!
Sssksssh!
"They're coming!"
"Open fire!"
Bullets flew again—far heavier fire than earlier.
Ping!
Clank!
Though none pierced my armor, the cumulative force was wearing me down.
I couldn't just stand and take it.
The tentacles surged forward.
Ssssrrrrrkk────!
They didn't stab—they bound.
Gripping weapons, wrapping legs—subduing rather than killing.
"Argh!"
"My leg!"
The gunfire ceased momentarily.
They were hesitating.
Shooting now meant hitting their own.
'If this were wartime, they'd have fired anyway… but it's peacetime now.'
Well, who knows how meaningful such classifications really are in this damn world.
In any case, the brief standoff didn't last long.
As the standoff dragged on, the Navy Line no longer felt like playing along with what had become a hostage situation.
Bang!
Tat-tat-tat-tat!────
As bullets began to rain down again, I had no choice but to release the soldiers I had restrained.
It would've been a problem if they got shot while I had them tied up.
'Let's start by disarming them.'
Since I had no patience for getting peppered with bullets, I extended my bone tendrils below the wall.
From that point on, this place was all but mine.
['Needle Spike' has been activated.]
A flower made of bone bloomed in full.
"U-ugh…"
"What… is this…?"
With the massive bone flower blooming atop the wall, the Navy Line's rampart turned into a scene of utter chaos.
But none of the soldiers sustained life-threatening injuries from the flower.
That was because I'd deliberately adjusted its damage radius.
Thud─!
With the wall effectively neutralized, the Turncoat Knight—who had been waiting in the sky—also joined the battlefield.
["Same… kin."]
"Follow me."
Now came the part where we caused some believable damage to the Navy Line.
With the Turncoat Knight at my side, I broke straight through the rampart.
"Let's go."
Reinforcements from the Navy Line rushed up from below the wall to intercept us.
But since they were already exposed, it wasn't hard for me to suppress them.
"Aaaagh!"
"Call for backup! We need backup!"
The moment we started rampaging in earnest, not even the seasoned Navy Line soldiers could stand against us.
Which was only natural.
With both me and the Turncoat Knight covered in armor strong enough to withstand bullets, and me striking first before they could bring out heavier weapons, there wasn't much they could do.
In a situation like this, it wasn't numbers they needed—it was quality.
'Not that I plan on giving them time to regroup.'
Sure, the Navy Line had troops capable of taking us on.
But I wasn't about to stand around wrestling with grunts until those guys showed up.
"Let's move."
I pushed deeper into the Navy Line alongside the Turncoat Knight.
If I wanted this incident to be big enough to bring down Ivan Belov, wiping out a bit of the outer wall wasn't going to cut it.
'For example, allowing an attack to reach the very heart of the Navy Line during this raid.'
If a raid starting from the frontline managed to reach that far in, even with Anton Belov's protection, Ivan wouldn't be able to avoid being ousted.
'Well then…'
I turned my gaze with the Turncoat Knight in tow.
It was time to raise hell.
* * *
Ivan Belov furrowed his brow at the sudden report.
"…A raid?"
The Navy Line was already in a sensitive state, still in the middle of repairs after the massive Wave.
And now, a raid?
"Yes, sir. It appears your direct command will be necessary. The situation is serious."
"Explain in detail."
The report from his adjutant was hard to believe, even as he heard it firsthand.
Not only had two monsters infiltrated the Navy Line, they were running rampant?
Even if the walls were under repair, considering the symbolic weight of the Navy Line, this was unthinkable.
"Have the identities and classifications of the monsters been confirmed?"
"Judging by their appearance and attack patterns… they appear to be Turncoats."
"Turncoats?"
Ivan Belov couldn't hide his shock.
Turncoats.
They were designated threats by Ark, standing among the elite class of Skull Turncoats—extremely dangerous monsters.
Normally, they were only ever spotted outside Ark's boundaries, rarely launching attacks like this.
But now, Turncoats were raiding the Navy Line?
"What about the Special Assault Unit? Have they been deployed?"
"Yes, sir. But there's concern the Turncoats might push into the city itself. If they go into hiding, we'll have to initiate a massive sweep."
"Go into hiding? Monsters? You worry too much."
Ivan dismissed the concern with a scoff.
He couldn't imagine mere monsters being capable of such tactics.
"But we can't let Turncoats run loose. I'll lead the team myself."
"Wait—personally, sir?"
"Yes."
As Ivan rose from his seat, the adjutant tried to hide his anxious expression.
But he didn't voice it aloud.
"Shouldn't we request cooperation from the other lines?"
"Are you insane? Asking for backup over two monsters? Ridiculous."
"But they're Turncoats. They're not your average monster. If we go in half-cocked, we're bound to take serious losses."
"Tch. Two measly Turncoats? I can handle them myself."
Sure, Turncoats were dangerous.
But the fact that there were only two of them was enough to bolster Ivan's ego.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Get ready."
"…Understood."
Resigned, the adjutant followed orders—silently praying nothing would go wrong.