Chapter 80: 077, Titan-kun? On the good way, a big drop is good! (c)
[Screeches, echoing like birdsong, ring from all around you.]
[A dozen hulking, green-skinned Kroot flesh-eaters with dense black feathers sprouting from the backs of their heads charge forward, wielding crude double-bladed scythes.]
[You face them without fear.]
[Your Akatran assault shotgun erupts with deafening blasts.]
[The Kroot flesh-eaters and hounds who can't dodge in time are torn to pieces by your rounds.]
[In moments, you've single-handedly pinned down the enemy's ambush.]
[The rest of your squad alternates between firing laser rifles and swiftly setting up a mortar.]
[They begin bombarding the thick walls of the target structure in an unrelenting assault.]
[The walls shudder and crack, and soon, after all the mortar rounds are spent, a human-sized breach opens up.]
["Grenades to clear the way! Flamethrowers! Everyone, charge!" You raise your shotgun with one hand, issuing the command.]
[You reload quickly, the chamber empty.]
[At that moment, a Kroot flesh-eater missing only one arm lets out a shriek and lunges at you.]
[With a mighty swing, its jagged scythe hurtles down toward you with a whistling rush.]
[No time to fire—you swing your shotgun at its beak.]
[The creature cries out in pain.]
[Using the armor shell on your shoulder, you absorb the blunt force of its weapon.]
[Then you aim the barrel of your shotgun at its head and pull the trigger.]
[Hot, fetid blood sprays across your shell armor and helmet.]
[You scan your surroundings, then turn toward the breach in the target building.]
[Meanwhile, as your squad storms inside, explosions ripple through the complex.]
[The feigned attack on the front line intensifies, turning into a long-held ferocious assault.]
[On the third day, your platoon secures the target building completely.]
[The entire Dawnwater Plant falls under the paratroopers' control.]
[Only sporadic gunfire remains in isolated pockets.]
[One of your arms is wrapped in white bandages as you rest in the platoon's camp.]
[Your ten-person squad is down to five.]
[Three have fallen, two are critically wounded.]
[For the results of the assault, this is a cost worth bearing.]
[Your bravery earns high praise from the platoon leader.]
[You decline the field promotion he offers.]
[Instead, he gives you a cherished power sword and promises to divide the honors evenly with your squad.]
[On the fourth day, while the paratroopers rest, bad news arrives.]
[Your capture of the Dawnwater Plant has drawn the attention of the T'au Empire's main force.]
[A swift, fierce counterattack is imminent.]
[The Imperial Navy can provide no support due to the enemy's air force.]
[The 23rd Elysian Drop Troop Regiment, your unit, must hold alone.]
[You go straight to the platoon leader.]
[Given the current firepower, you tell him, holding back the T'au Empire's forces is nearly impossible.]
[The platoon leader, still sour over your seizing of the power sword, grows even more agitated under the looming pressure.]
[He tugs at the few remaining hairs on his head and berates you furiously.]
[Unbothered, you propose a modest idea.]
[Have the entire regiment dig trench fortifications and underground passageways.]
[Using Elysian mobility tactics, you suggest that they wage a guerrilla warfare campaign throughout the industrial zone against the T'au.]
[Besides, if Dawnwater Plant matters to the T'au, they'll hesitate to destroy it carelessly.]
[The platoon leader calms as he hears your suggestion.]
[After considering it, he agrees to report it immediately.]
[The platoon leader takes you to meet General Saekawa, the paratroopers' commander.]
[Once more, you outline your proposal for General Saekawa.]
[Your suggestion earns high commendation from him.]
[On the fifth day, a feverish digging campaign sweeps through the Dawnwater Plant.]
[You and your squad run between platoons, sharing concise instructions on how to dig the trenches.]
[Yet with the Elysians' poor digging skills and lack of proper tools, progress is slow.]
[Frustration gnaws at you too.]
[Before long, with help from "Big Head," you discover the plant's water pipes.]
[These massive pipes, big enough for a person to crouch through, spark an idea.]
[You order soldiers to dismantle the pipes and bury them underground as tunnels.]
[Meanwhile, some of the trench work continues smoothly.]
[After a week, only a third of your trench plan has been completed before the attack halts it.]
[T'au reinforcements arrive at the outskirts of Dawnwater Plant.]
[Devilfish armored transports crafted by Earth Caste engineers advance in a vicious assault, flanked by battlesuit squads.]
[All paratroopers dig into the trenches while the few Tauros assault vehicles weave through factory structures.]
[They try to bait the T'au vanguard into an ambush.]
[But Pathfinders on Vespid bikes swarm the Tauros, using superior speed to encircle and divide them, pulsing energy bolts cutting off escape routes.]
[The chance for an ideal strike slips by.]
[With General Saekawa's command, mortars whistle from the trenches, raining down on the Devilfish transports.]
[They land in clusters above the transports.]
[Battlesuits quickly raise pulse rifles, and drones shoot down unexploded rounds.]
[Yet a few Devilfish transports explode, shredding the Fire Warriors inside.]
[Before more mortars can be fired, the remaining Devilfish transports abruptly retreat.]
[Blasts of laser fire streak from the trenches and buildings, taking down many retreating Vespid bikes.]
[Crouched in the trench, you scan the battlefield, frowning slightly but exhaling a sigh of relief.]
[Your tactics have managed to achieve an element of surprise.]
[With trenches and tunnels, you think you may hold out until Imperial Navy support arrives.]
[But suddenly, twenty T'au Barracuda fighters swoop over Dawnwater Plant.]
[Their rapid-firing pulse guns and drones incinerate the Tauros vehicles in fiery blasts.]
[Then heavily armed Hammerhead gunships close in on the plant.]
[Their terrifying plasma firepower suppresses your defensive positions.]
[For the paratroopers, nearly weaponless against heavy firepower, this is a disaster beyond survival.]
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