+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

  Nomosian Countryside

  The first salvos of the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment’s light artillery batteries opened up on the fields. Hans and the Viceroy were still on a hard retreat when suddenly, sixteen canister shots flew in the direction of the “demons”. It was a new development based on Hans’ recommendations on the IYC’s weapons producers.

  Each canister had a fuze—and when they detonated, a shower of lead balls sprang out on the Nomosian countryside. In just seconds, nearly the entire horde of the demon’s copies were wiped out. Hans turned his mech’s hull around as he grinned.

  Thank god for the IYC’s engineers!

  The demon roared briefly after being struck by the cannons. Then, it looked straight into the positions of the artillery pieces. They were mounted right on the two artificial elevations. Captain Strobel must have pre-emptively constructed them hours ago. When the crewmen noticed the demon turning to them, they acted immediately.

  “I’ve drilled them enough. They should be the best buggers in the field.”

  Those words from Captain Strobel appeared in Hans' mind again. In a split second, the crewmen pulled their guns off from their exposed position. It would be difficult for them to push the cannons back to open fire again. But when the beam attack from the two demon’s heads struck, it uselessly sliced through the dirt.

  “Screw it up!” Hans shouted with his speakers, alerting all units on the battlefield. “Full volleys at once!”

  Hans drove his mech rapidly, as the musketeers appeared from their dispersed positions. Hundreds of them stood up, aimed their muskets, and opened fire in the direction of the demon. The shots all peppered the monster, causing it to groan painfully.

  Hans was almost struck by the volley himself. But it seemed that most shots were well-aimed. It was a testament to the veteran’s precision that the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment had. And as drilled on every soldier, they immediately rushed away from their positions after firing their guns. There was no need for any lengthy engagement.

  This wasn’t a fight between two armies. This was a fight between humans and demons. And thus, having fired their opening volleys, it was time to retreat and disperse. As Hans had directed.

  Thus, when the demon’s response attack came, it barely struck anyone. Hans did watch a few dozen unfortunate souls disintegrate and collapse into an inferno, but otherwise, most escaped unscathed.

  Heh, now, it’s weakened.

  “I’m going to do the honors,” the Viceroy started, charging in the demon’s direction. Hans himself circled and flanked the monster on the right. And on the left, from the treeline, another mech appeared. It was Adelyn’s Wanderadler at last. And her first order of business—was opening fire.

  The demon dashed away to dodge it, releasing more copies of itself. It started partially confusing the Viceroy and Adelyn. Both of them attacked the wrong ones, wasting their magic or munitions. But Hans was tracking the real one as best as he could. It seemed like it wanted to truly hide using its decoys.

  But he was starting to slowly pick up the way it moved. It was faster. Less aggressive. Again, it wanted to hide using the pack of copies to distract them. And its heads…it moved more erratically. Almost as if it was constantly scanning which target to attack.

  I see. It makes sense. The real one is the only thing that can attack. So it must be taking its time to search for the perfect target that would be too distracted to react. An absolute sneaky bastard.

  Hans pulled his mech into a hard break. Behind him, the members of Captain Weibel’s battlemages dashed close to him. They aimed their staffs and wands straight at the horde of demons. And as Hans instructed, they began firing their basic attack spells. Fireballs and such. All of which whittled the amount of copies that ran around.

  But Hans already had his eyes set on the real one. And he was sure of it. Readying his MPAT round, his gloved hands pushed the fire button. The battlefield fell silent for a second after his shot slammed into the beast. The powerful thud of it soon caused a pained roar that reverberated everywhere.

  Then, the screams of his mech’s overused legs. Hans dashed like hell on the fields as his magical machinegun rounds peppered the downed demon. Out of nowhere, as if it were a calibrated strike, another shot slammed into the area that the creature was in. It was straight from Adelyn.

  A powerful blue inferno appeared. But the demon managed to rush out of it half-burning. It immediately charged straight into the direction of the Viceroy. Hans watched as she readied herself. She raised her staff to the sky, and she floated a bit as it glowed purple.

  The demon itself was encased in a purplish-colored glow. But it simply growled and continued into its charge. The Viceroy’s frown grew until a powerful flash of light came from her staff. Sharp, thin slices of light struck the body of the demon from all directions. It created so much perforations, that the creature stumbled. It was unable to move.

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  The Viceroy dropped back on the ground. She was now visibly tired. To Hans, that meant that their most powerful member was now close to depleted. Meanwhile, the demon itself started to recover. A testament again to the ability of demons to resist even their most powerful attacks on a sustained basis.

  I’m not losing the war of attrition today. Hans charged on. Eat this!

  Suddenly, out of nowhere—a sharp mass of vines sliced high up above him. Hans pulled his mech hard down to avoid it. His mech took a hard break, causing plumes of dust to rise in all directions.

  He wasn’t able to fire another shot.

  All of them turned to one of the standing destroyed buildings near the outskirts of the destroyed city. On top of it was a singular, smiling figure. Her skin was pale, and her eyes were golden. She also had two horns, perhaps a former Vanus as well. The only thing slightly normal to the young-looking woman was her messy, long green hair.

  “Oi, you bastards!” the woman shouted as she smiled even more. “Who permitted any of you to touch my friend’s little attack dog so recklessly?”

  +++

  “What in the goddess’ name is that?” Adelyn panickedly asked. “Is that a damned Calamity?!”

  “Shit,” was all Hans could say. He panickedly pressed the button for his speakers. “All units, disperse at once. Don’t get wiped out in one swoop. We have a double event!”

  At once, all platoons responded to Hans’ orders. Soldiers broke away from surrounding the “wolf” demon. Artillerymen limbered their cannons and began pulling out. Cavalrymen retreated straight into the woods, distancing themselves from any attack path. The battlemages also dispersed.

  It was a controlled reaction, a part of Hans’ doctrine of prioritizing risk management. The drills and new tactical moves that the 1st Anti-Demon Unit was based on this doctrine. Demons after all were beyond superior, lethal, and nigh unstoppable. Hence, all normal conventional forces should act appropriately.

  To disperse, deny, and retreat. That was the three main purposes of the 1st Anti-Demon Unit. Hans and Adelyn followed that as well. Both of them retreated to create distance and dispersion. In just a few seconds, the battlefield became almost silent. By the time they retreated and dispersed, however, individual platoons created “control areas”.

  By having overlapping fields of fire, they essentially locked down most of the battlefield temporarily. Of course, should the demon charge at them and press any attack, they would fold. But with Hans and Adelyn at the centerpiece, the area denial part would somewhat work.

  Any demon after all would not be able to afford to take too much damage from the “thorns” presented by individual musketeer platoons. Not when Hans and Adelyn’s mech would be actively pursuing and attacking them. The downside was that it was purely defensive. They were too far away from the demon or from each other to mass their volleys for an effective attack.

  But Hans didn’t need that yet. Risk management was his priority for now.

  Alright…

  Hans breathed in.

  Let’s see how this new bastard reacts.

  “Fascinating,” the demon shouted. She jumped high in the sky, landing on the green fields near the injured demon. The two-headed creature ran straight behind her. On the other hand, Hans watched as the newcomer summoned what appeared to be a brown staff covered in vines. “You all seem to be quite patient. Normally, armies prefer to charge at me like fools. It almost restores one’s respect for mankind.”

  “It’s the Calamity of Recklessness,” the Viceroy shouted. She jumped to the right of Hans. “She’s with the Calamity of Injustice. That might mean he’s nearby.”

  “Crap,” Hans felt himself sweat. He was not prepared for a double event. What more if three demons appeared? He pressed his speakers to communicate with her. “Alright, go organize Captain Weibel and Captain Strobel. Tell them to assign a few units to guard our rear and flanks.”

  “Alright,” the Viceroy softly replied, as she flew off. Hans on the other hand linked with Adelyn. “Captain, she seems to be specialized in plant-based stuff. Load an ADI MPAT at once. That should be a direct counter if need be.”

  “I know,” Adelyn said. “But I’m not sure if we can deplete her well enough.”

  “I doubt she’d even allow that,” Hans groaned. “We don’t even know what bullcrap tricks she’ll pull on us.”

  “I’ll try my best. I think we can still do this.”

  “Still, mankind has truly grown into an unruly sapling,” her eyes turned even more hollow. “Such reckless cretins need to be trimmed.”

  She raised her staff, and immediately, massive sharp snake-like vines shot up from the ground. Hans felt his breathing hitch up, as one of the vines charged at him. He opened fire at it, attempting to deflect it. When he realized it was getting close to fast, however, he elected to dash away. But it sliced off two of his legs.

  Eyes wide, Hans felt his mech tumble straight into the embrace of the ground. He almost bashed his head on his displays too. His turret immediately turned back in the direction of the demon. Adelyn had already fully retreated, her main gun creating infernos that burned some of the vines.

  That only annoyed the demon further. Hans on the other hand loaded a fresh MPAT round and aimed it at the Calamity of Desire. Then, he pushed the fire button. An explosion occurred prematurely. One of the vines blocked his attack.

  The strange woman stared at him, aghast at his audacity. Hans however gritted his teeth. He pulled the trigger for his machine guns as he tried to move his mech. But it was hopeless. He wasn’t running anymore. He was crawling.

  I lost. Again!

  He’d take note of this. He wouldn’t give up just yet. There would be a chance for the next one.

  The first demon had rejoined the battle fully. And it charged at Hans’ mech. Isolated, immobilized, and unsupported, its claws dug deep into Hans’ crew compartment. Before he knew it, the demon had already torn it open, and he felt its sharp digits dig through his vest. But Hans already learned. He wouldn’t let himself be mauled and chewed like some toy.

  He already had his Ruger in his mouth. And all he needed to do was one thing.

  He pulled the trigger.

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