Fenrir Translations
Thud!
In the pitch-black darkness, where even moonlight failed to penetrate, the dull sound of a tomahawk's blade cleaving through the air was followed by the eerie sight of a soldier's head flying through the air. The sheer strength, far beyond human limits, channeled through the weapon, struck the neck of a Russian soldier patrolling the hotel perimeter.
As the lifeless body crumpled to the ground without even a scream, SoySauceChicken, who had been silently creeping through the underbrush on the opposite side, initiated a quick-time event (QTE) assassination.
Crunch.
The combat knife dug deep into the enemy's throat, delivering a friendly greeting to the carotid artery, followed by the sickening sound of neck bones twisting and shattering. Within mere seconds, two enemies were eliminated, their disappearance undetectable to anyone but Yujin and SoySauceChicken due to the dim lighting around them.
-Please, just turn on the night vision!
-Something... something's happening...
-How is it even possible to assassinate without night vision, LOL?
-What was that sound?
-Definitely not a good one, LOL
<StalactiteDrip donated 1,000 won.>
-I’ve heard that sound before—when I fell down the stairs and broke my leg. What did you do, Teacher???
"Well, maybe this guy just slipped too."
Yujin made eye contact with Beta 2, SoySauceChicken. The look of bewilderment on their face was unmistakable, as if they were questioning what they had just witnessed. Yujin raised a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
The hotel wasn't particularly large, so the two quickly hid the three bodies in the bushes before Yujin placed her hand on the tall wall.
"Do you have a drone?"
"Uh... I’m not really specialized in drone operations, but will it be okay?"
"It’s fine; it won’t be a big issue."
With a swift motion, SoySauceChicken assembled a small drone, which began to hover in the air. Yujin attached an anchor and thick rope to the drone, taking control of it to guide it to the rooftop. After ensuring the rope was securely fastened to a sturdy pipe on the roof, she fired the anchor to the ground.
All Icarus operators were equipped with a variety of tools, including an ascender.
Click.
The rope slid into the ascender, and Yujin was ready to scale the wall.
"I'll go up first. Once I'm on the roof, pull the rope up. You can lower it again when we need to descend."
"…Got it."
After giving the rope a few tugs to ensure it was secure, Yujin pressed the ascender's button. She began to ascend rapidly, scaling the vertical wall. As she reached the top, the expansive view of the hotel rooftop and the surrounding area came into view. The sea of enemies, illuminated in bright yellow, looked like a golden galaxy spread across the ground.
Across the street, friendly forces, marked in green, moved on a lower rooftop. Even with her enhanced vision, Yujin could barely make out their subtle movements.
"There’s a sniper team on the roof, approaching the area where the rope is attached. I'll mark their location for you."
"Got it."
The hotel’s rooftop was a vertical wall without any slanted parts, and there were spaces resembling loopholes scattered across it. This was fortunate for Yujin, as it provided spots to brace her weapon.
Yellow triangles appeared over the approaching enemies' heads, soon morphing into symbols indicating their class. The distance was approximately 50 meters—too close for a precise shot.
"Any other enemies around?"
"Uh… there’s another sniper team on the opposite rooftop."
"Understood."
It would be better to draw them in closer before dealing with them. Yujin placed her rifle down and stepped onto the rooftop. She signaled SoySauceChicken to hold off on ascending, then patiently waited for the enemies to approach, seemingly strolling casually.
The smoke from their cigarettes blended with the cold winter night. It was time to demonstrate just how harmful smoking while walking could be. Yujin positioned her finger on the trigger, barely exposing herself from behind cover. At a mere 15 meters away, there was no chance of missing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three quick pulls of the trigger, and three bodies hit the ground. Ignoring the chat that erupted in awe at her simple actions, Yujin requested SoySauceChicken to mark the exact position of the remaining sniper team. The two moved in tandem, swiftly clearing the rooftop of any threats to ensure uninterrupted air support.
Clearing the hotel rooftop didn't take long.
While SoySauceChicken retrieved the rope dangling from the building, Yujin pulled out a grid reference guide from her multi-purpose pouch, setting it against the backdrop of the cleared hotel rooftop. She began inputting coordinates, following the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) procedures ingrained in her memory.
**- [ISO: You should accurately specify the bombing zone. Incorrect guidance could result in significant damage to friendly forces, buildings, and civilians.]
"Valkyrie 1-1, this is Beta 2-1. Requesting Type 2 CAS, 9-line ready."
- [ISO: Beta 2-1, this is Valkyrie 1-1. Ready.]
"Follow this line: lines 1, 2, 3, and 9 are N/A. Altitude is 60. Multiple infantry and BTR-90s. FI 154236. Using IR laser. South by 300 meters. Danger close. Await further instructions."
**- ????????????????????
- [ISO: Beta 2-1, confirmed additional details.]
"Use CBU-110. No anti-air threat."
- [ISO: FI 154236, CBU-110. Reaching IP. Pulse."
"Pulse, confirmed."
Pulse.
A method of guiding the aircraft to the target using an infrared designator attached to the weapon. Yujin pressed the button, causing the laser to pulse. This was a call for cluster bomb air support, where one mistake could mean the end for her two teammates. She breathed in, then out, watching the target area crowded with enemies.
- [ISO: Valkyrie 1-1, contact pulse. Approaching from the east.]
"This is Beta 2-1, confirmed. Valkyrie 1-1, you are cleared to engage."
In the distant night sky, a single cluster bomb fell, slicing through the stars like a razor.
For a brief moment, the sky turned into a glittering cascade of light before the explosion engulfed the entire field in front of Yujin.
BOOM!
The stadium-sized area was covered in thousands of explosions. The deafening noise and overwhelming shockwave left chaos in its wake, with soldiers scattering in panic. Even those who had narrowly escaped the blast zone were left stunned, unable to process what had just happened.
But Yujin wasn’t about to let them off easy.
"Heptic, Omega. Do you hear me? Eliminate all the remaining enemies before they can retreat into the buildings. Don’t worry about giving away your position—just clean them up."
**- [Heptic: Uh… understood. Engaging.]
It was time for Yujin to move as well. After confirming that the airstrike had dealt sufficient damage, she ordered Valkyrie to retreat and regrouped with SoySauceChicken, who was waiting below.
Now it was time to clear out the hotel.
**- [ISO: You’ve hit them hard in the heart of the enemy’s concentration. I’d love to show you how they’re scrambling right now, but you know we don’t have time to dawdle.]
Humans naturally love explosions, and I was no exception. The mission's ultimate goal was to significantly reduce the enemy's threat level, as more enemies meant the surviving allied forces would struggle to hold out. Thus, reducing the enemy's threat level also meant reducing their numbers. We decided to eliminate the enemy rather than rescue the allies right away.
Clearing out the site of the first bombing didn’t take long.
The ground zero of the strike, swept by hundreds of submunitions capable of easily destroying infantry fighting vehicles, left nothing alive. Any enemies who had been lucky enough to be elsewhere were hunted down by our team. In less than ten minutes, two airborne brigades had been wiped out.
Of course, there were still other regular forces to deal with.
Nonetheless, annihilating the enemy to support allied forces was a kind of dream—a brutal, straightforward logic that resonated deeply. We moved northwest toward the next hub.
**- [ISO: Beta 2-1, splash. Confirmed multiple target kills.]
"This is Beta 2-1, target neutralized. Requesting another Type 2 strike. Are you ready for a 9-line?"
Close air support could solve so many problems, as always.
Unfortunately, the enemy hub to the northwest was less concentrated than before, as they had scattered in chaos. The second cluster bomb strike was less effective, and we had to use other weapons, like the detachable Hellfire missiles, to deal with the enemies.
For this, Yujin detached the IR laser from her weapon and attached it to a drone, guiding the strike from above.
It worked better than expected.
**<HamDroneIronFist donated 10,000 won.>
"Thank you for the donation, HamDroneIronFist... Isn’t this how everyone does it?"
**- LOL, WTF
"I guess not."
"No one does it this way, Teacher…."
"Oh, really?"
As Yujin continued to relay brief additional details to ISO, the team explained why others didn’t attempt this method.
In short, it was because the mission was ridiculously tough.
Timing the elimination of enemies and infiltrating stealthily was easier said than done. The AI grew more sensitive to gunfire as the difficulty increased, making silent assassinations nearly impossible.
Mistakes during an assassination attempt could cause the enemy to shout or shoot wildly, drawing all the attention, and making stealth nearly impossible.
Fortunately, that wasn’t an issue now.
BOOM!
**- [ISO: Beta 2-1, splash. Sprut-SD light tanks and following infantry neutralized.]
"This is Beta 2-1, confirmed target neutralization. Requesting another Type 2 strike. Make sure it counts."
Yujin called in another strike, and within seconds, the sky rained fire. This is why soldiers need to know how to call in close air support. A well-trained JTAC can single-handedly decimate a brigade if they’re lucky.
Of course, this was an exceptionally rare case.
From there, it was a matter of mopping up the remaining enemies. Without the need for sniper support, the four-man team moved through the devastated enemy positions like a knife.
The primary threat of this mission had been the overwhelming number of enemies, but once that was neutralized, the only thing left was to clear up the spoils.
The path to the heart of the West Point Military Academy was now clear.
"…Wow."
"Is this the result of the strike Yujin Teacher called in earlier?"
"Yes, it went even better than expected."
The path leading to the academy campus was littered with the remains of five Sprut-SD light tanks and what was left of the Russian forces that had been trailing them. These vehicles, designed with light armor for airborne deployment, had been utterly decimated by cluster munitions and 1400mm armor-piercing missiles.
No need to offer condolences.
Leaving behind the smoldering wreckage, the team advanced toward the now-quiet campus, only about 200 meters away.
Targets began to appear.
**- [ISO: Looks like you’re close enough to the objective. I’ll mark the positions where friendly forces are holding out. Key locations include the dormitory, coffee shop, academy library, Washington Hall, and post office—basically scattered across the entire campus.]
Dozens of markers appeared across the campus, signaling the beginning of a full-scale urban battle. Yujin divided the four-man team into two pairs due to time constraints.
"Alright, let’s go."
The final hurdle was in sight.
nice