NoveLight ™
"Enemy oil transport ship is urgently departing. The nearest operator should respond quickly."
"Operators Harmony and Dice…! We’re currently closest to the passage! I've checked the harbor cranes and will set explosives to block the waterway!"
"Understood. Mobilize all available resources and block the exit as quickly as possible."
Vroom!
Harmony and Dice jumped onto an ATV just large enough for the two of them and dodged bullets raining down from behind. They quickly slowed down near the waterway lined with container unloading cranes and swiftly maneuvered into hiding.
With a screeching sound, a black mine rolled across the floor. As soon as it hit the ground, it blinked red and began a rapid reverse, rolling under the following GAZ Tiger before exploding and flipping the vehicle upside down.
However, there was no time to rest. The ATV came to a violent stop, nearly causing Dice to tumble off. Using the vehicle as cover, they began firing wildly. High-caliber rounds shattered the bulletproof glass, turning the driver’s head into a mess of ketchup.
"Go set the explosives! I'll hold them off here!"
"Do you think you can hold out for a while? Are you okay?"
"I'll only be dead if I’m not okay, right? Let’s cut the bad luck talk and hurry!"
—What are they even saying? lololololololol —Are they filming a movie? lololololololol —Honestly, this is about 300 times better than those lame movies that came out recently. —This is romance! lololololololol —What is this, The Expendables? lololololololol
With a slightly wobbly movement, Harmony carried about 30 kg of state-of-the-art explosives on his back. He scanned the massive crane lifts three at a time with a pulse, assessing where to blow things up to block the waterway for the passing ships.
As block-shaped explosives were affixed and stacked everywhere, bullets continued to fly in.
To understand why they found themselves in this situation, we had to rewind a few minutes.
"Um… are we still going in pairs of two?"
"The operational area is excessively large, so we have no choice. The important thing is to adapt to the changing tactical situations as they arise. You’ll need to find means of transportation that allow for movement at any time."
Normally, Harmony might have thought, "Hey, I’ve been with Eugene before," and felt confident, but the sensors of both him and Dice quickly detected that this person was setting down such firm rules for a reason.
Thus, the two of them attacked a transportation vehicle storage area and found the most mobile ATV while engaging in combat with nearby enemies.
However, only a few minutes after this, they had to hear the support request echo through the intercom.
But there was no time for contemplation. In the distance, a massive ship's bow came into view. As the memories of the past that had been floating in front of them vanished in an instant, Harmony's heart began to race, and his movements naturally quickened.
At the same time, the conversation they had shared with Laurentina and Eugene before the mission replayed like a broken radio in their ears.
At this point, the two of them deeply understood the meaning behind those words.
In a proper operation—meaning one where the number of personnel was severely lacking and the enemy forces were stacked high—one operator had to accomplish more than their fair share to ensure the mission ran smoothly.
If they had known it would be like this, they should have called all the people who passed the third level, Harmony thought, but he wasn’t entirely confident they could handle such overwhelming pressure.
Yet, even in the chaos that felt like their bodies and minds were separating, Harmony played his role, and when the gap to the ship’s bow had narrowed to mere hundreds of meters, he was ready to detonate.
"Explosives are set!"
"Good. Detonate on my signal."
It didn’t really matter who had commanded it.
It didn’t take long for him to join Dice, who was still in the thick of battle. Now, it was Harmony’s turn to relieve her. In the darkened 20-square-kilometer area, the flashes of gunfire continued as the enemy coalition lost one soldier after another.
At the same time, a tremendous noise erupted from across the harbor. With a loud boom, the bridge of the tanker exploded. It was impossible to tell what kind of magic had caused it, but while the control tower may have vanished, some inertia remained.
The explosives ripped through the crane's leg along with the detonation signal filling the intercom and his ears.
—Boom!
Splash!
Three massive steel blocks weighing thousands of tons plunged into the waterway, creating an ominous grinding noise as they collided with the bottom of the tanker.
Wondering if this would lead to an oil spill, Harmony thought it might be better than causing the ship to run aground in the waters off Seattle and turn the area into a pool of crude oil.
While some oil was seeping out, it wasn’t a massive amount, and with the exit's waterway being blocked—indicated by the sirens in the distance—there shouldn't be too much trouble.
"I'm back. Do you need help?"
"Yeah, I'm completely out of strength in my legs…."
In the meantime, Dice, who had finished self-repair, returned, while the enemies pursuing them received their failing grades from the field battle course courtesy of Students 1 and 2 as they boarded the express train to the underworld.
However, the two of them weren’t in great condition either. While they weren't injured, the effects of having pushed their bodies and minds to their limits in just a few minutes were starting to weigh heavily on them.
That was when the hundreds of thousands of viewers, who had been holding their breath, finally began to relax.
"Who’s currently available?"
"Harmony and Dice can move, but…."
"Heavy machinery is headed for the broken gate. We’ve marked the coordinates; just get to a high point and guide the cruise missile to the target."
"Yes, heading there…!"
—Wow, work is piling up! lololololololol —So that’s why level 3 is so tough; if you can’t keep up with the tempo, you can’t hang! lololololololol —Third level passers (minimum requirement). —I’m giving up on the title, damn it! lololololololol —Mobile Strike Team Specialty: Crazy Tough.
Boom!
The two of them jumped back into the vehicle, their faces half-dazed, as they sped down the road. Meanwhile, sabotage was occurring throughout the facility, and the anti-air missiles and flak guns positioned everywhere were quickly hacked to fire at the coalition forces.
Navigating through the chaos was a battered ATV. The two immediately dismounted and began climbing the nearest crane. One scanned the surroundings, aiming the laser attached to the gun, while Harmony secured a fast-rope escape by tightly connecting a cable to the fence.
Just then, an urgent support request came through the intercom.
"We're trapped near the KW International Corporation warehouse. We need fire support."
"Looks tight from here; I’ll try to guide a cruise missile…!"
Like a cat, Harmony climbed the crane precariously and pulled out binoculars to survey the location of the support request. Three tanks were rolling down the road, firing their main guns.
Amidst this, the UI displayed the cruise missile launch indication. It was set to arrive within three minutes.
"ETA 3 minutes, hang in there!"
"It’s going to be a terrible three minutes!"
Target locked.
The distance was about 1.3 km. It was a considerable range for a sniper shot, but not impossible. Harmony switched to a prayer meta, unfolded the bipod, and began shooting quickly.
Despite severe issues hitting the enemy due to the sea breeze and noise suppressor drop, she managed to use 20 rounds to send three coalition soldiers on a one-way trip to Styx. However, just as there were about 10 seconds left until the bombing, enemy fire began pouring toward the crane.
"RPG—!"
Boom!
One side of the crane’s leg became battered as gunfire erupted from the lined-up enemies below. Still, the two gritted their teeth and guided the cruise missile with the laser pointer.
Of course, a couple of rounds managed to land just a few dozen meters away to clear out the enemies clustering near the crane where Dice and Harmony were positioned.
Danger Close.
—Creeeak…!
"Hold on tight!"
"Whoa, we’re falling—!"
Splash!
Diving into the black waterway, the two held their breath, narrowly avoiding the concrete debris pouring down and, with the help of Icarus gear, submerged more than 200 meters before finally surfacing.
As they rode the choppy waves, the two managed to communicate into the intercom, exhaustion evident on their faces.
"…We’ve lost our vehicle. Mobility completely gone. Including missing equipment checks, we’ll probably be out of the fight for about three minutes."
"Thanks for your hard work, you two."
"We’ll get re-equipped and head out as fast as we can."
"It’s okay; we can take it a little easy now."
Before they could even question, "What do you mean?", the two, now drenched, stared blankly at the sky.
At that moment, a dozen transport planes roared into the sky, releasing flares with might, and dozens of black dots began falling from the heavens. It was a scene reminiscent of something they’d seen before. It didn’t take long for smiles to appear on their faces.
As if to embody that situation, Eugene sent the newly updated map to them.
"We’ve certainly cleaned up all the anti-air missiles while going around."
Dozens of unmanned tanks equipped with advanced chemical guns fell from the sky. And thousands of users were approaching to turn the chaotic port situation in their favor and drive the final nail in the coffin.
With the engines of the transport planes echoing in the background, Harmony and Dice took deep breaths and added:
"So this is how the Dagger Team operates."
The burden placed on one person was immense, but conversely, when they succeeded, their operations wielded the power to turn the tide of battle across the entire engagement zone.
With a sense of new vitality surging from within, the two emerged from the waterway and set their feet back on solid ground.
"All gear intact. Ready for operation. Feel free to use it as you see fit."
"Then let's join Laurentina and get started. We need to start smashing those large enemy forces."
Of course, there was no refusal.
Even though it was midnight, it felt as if dawn was about to break any moment.
"Is anyone injured?"
"No."
"Good. Let’s take a breather."
At 6:20 AM, about 3 km from the Tacoma Refinery.
The skirmishes breaking out from several kilometers away were escalating. Once the upper command was confident the operation at the refinery was proceeding well, they gathered all available resources and deployed every unmanned vehicle they could muster, begging the shadows for support for the refinery—effectively betting everything on this operation.
What resulted from that was the current scene.
Tank main guns roared to life, and the mini-guns mounted above churned, obliterating everything in the vicinity. At least 24 unmanned vehicles roamed the 20-square-kilometer harbor, slicing through the remaining coalition forces like a well-sharpened knife through cake.
"It’s magnificent."
"Are we about halfway there?"
"A little less than that."
Though they said that, one could tell from everyone’s expressions.
Dawn was breaking. It was the story of the sun currently rising over the horizon, but in the context of the Dagger Team, it had a slightly different meaning. There were only a few steps left. The chilly wind blowing through the shattered windows was uncomfortable but not bothersome enough to worry about.
Owens, having stubbed out a nearly burnt-out cigarette, glanced toward the opposite side. The hazy outline of Seattle appeared in the distance. Tacoma was always choked with polluted air due to the concentration of major factories, but that wasn’t the case now that six out of seven people walking around America had left for the great beyond.
The sleeping city of Seattle awaited them.
"Wouldn’t it be quite a sight if we slammed the US military over there?"
"Unless Henry grows a mustache above his lip, I doubt it’ll happen. When you think about it, if the youngest hadn’t been here, the West Coast of the US could have been completely overrun."
"It’s far more important to preserve the lives of the few remaining voters than to see materialism utterly crushed."
A truly cynical joke fell like bombs.
Moreover, the sharper the words were, the more it was often an adaptation of the truth. In reality, everything they said was true.
There were enough coalition troops piled in the western United States to make several battalions. Without the shadows, the US might have had to negotiate a rather boring strengthening treaty and send the invading army back home unscathed. Or, the map of America could have reverted to pre-1846.
In short, the entire West Coast could have fallen into enemy hands.
That couldn’t happen.
After all the hell I went through here, how could I end WW3 with such a terrible ending?
"What’s left now?"
"Rear sabotage, Vancouver reconnaissance, neutralizing ballistic missiles, I suppose. Even that’s gradually diminishing."
"That sounds about right."
A moment of silence.
Then came the next words.
"When everything in Vancouver is wrapped up, what will we be doing?"
"We’ll be resting. For a very long time."
"I hope so."
Then someone spoke up.
"The intensity of battle is like a drug; it’s so addictive that you can’t escape… well, at this point, I don’t feel that way anymore."
"Even if you keep eating delicious food, there comes a point where you feel full. Right now, I feel like I could do anything but fight."
They chuckled.
As I watched them, I patted their shoulders, and they all began moving slowly toward the rooftop. When they broke down the rooftop door and entered, a Black Hawk was waiting for us.
I opened my mouth as I saw it.
"Let’s head back and rest. We’ll have more constructive conversations after that. Get on quickly."
"Looks like the only one we can trust is the youngest."
"Stop saying weird things and hurry up, seriously."
After sending all nine onto the helicopter, I checked the messages that had come through Icarus gear.
—[Harmony: Is today’s schedule finally over? Please say it’s over! T_T]
—[Harmony: I feel like I’m going to die! Huhuhu]
Harmony seemed particularly whiny today.
I sent a message to Laurentina about granting her 30 minutes of cheek-pinch privileges and, while watching the Black Hawk gradually fade into the distance, I initiated a logout. Upon logging back in, surprisingly, I could instantly return to the Lewis-McChord Joint Base.
At the same time, a title floated above my head.
<Dagger Team>
"Phew."
Thus, I became part of the Dagger Team for the second time.
It was now time to enter the city.