Codegease: Air and Land Warfare 1946

The noise outside was utter chaos; one after another, green eagles swooped overhead, and dazzling fireworks, laced with howls, swooped down like a meteor shower. All around, a scene of utter catastrophe unfolded before his eyes…

To the left, a green fighter jet, accompanied by the roar of its machine gun, swept overhead. Rockets, trailing bright fire, shot out from beneath its wings painted with a red five-pointed star. The massive aircraft streaked across the sky, followed immediately by an armored vehicle firing upwards, instantly engulfed in flames by the rockets.

Before they could even process what had happened, another plane of the same kind appeared behind them, dazzling sparks flashing from the muzzles of its wing cannons. Another volley of rockets launched from beneath its wings, striking precisely the Gloucester aircraft firing into the sky right in front of them!

Before it could even make out the scalding dandelions fluttering around, the giant maw of flames instantly devoured its upper body, turning it into dismembered parts in the blink of an eye. The broken metal limbs and the shell spewing molten iron disappeared into the surrounding dust.

The pilot was utterly terrified. Then, from somewhere else, a piercing whistling sound came, and two bombs the size of a door landed among the soldiers in front of Sunderland!

The thunderclap didn't reach his ears. Just as he was relieved, thinking it was a dud, a dazzling burst of fire, controlled by a delayed fuse, belatedly erupted from the earth. Human flesh torn apart and jagged rocks, along with a gray curtain of wolves, swept towards everything around them.

Immediately afterward, an invisible shockwave struck. Sunderland, having barely managed to maintain his balance after his extreme maneuver, was sent hurtling backward like a brick wall toppled by a bulldozer. Carrying the momentum of his high-speed flight, he rolled like a log, crashing through a corner of a warehouse. With a muffled rumble, he was forgotten in the shadows amidst the billowing smoke.

……

……

Nobody cares about Sunderland's life or death anymore...

"Turret 15 destroyed! Communication lost!"

"Energy Cube Warehouse B is under attack! The fire is out of control!"

Look around at the sky! Green falcons soared fearlessly, sweeping across the camp with bursts of fiery light. Looking down from the top of the sky, the threads of bullet belts intertwined, weaving a blazing spiderweb that bound the smoke-filled earth.

Gunfire roared like hail, blood and mud flew like dandelions, and the exploding sparks formed a boundless sea of ​​infernal flowers. Soldiers, vehicles, mechs, and fighter jets—without exception, were all enveloped in this vast net of flames and madness.

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

"You lot!" Faced with this horrific scene, the lieutenant colonel had an idea. He said to the officers in the command center, "Those enemy planes have flown far away now, but they'll definitely come back! Take this opportunity to get to your mechs and head to the temporary underground armory A in the north. There should be something we can still use there!"

"As long as I can draw one more card, I will never give up!"

"Yes, sir!"

Section 25, Chapter 13: Air-to-Ground and Air-to-Ground

The roar of the fighter jet propellers subsided temporarily, but the deep scars etched into the ground remained.

……

……

Just a few minutes ago, the camp was like a fairly peaceful little town, but now?

What is war? This is war! War that can tear apart all peace and tranquility!

Black smoke and flames rose into the air like a group of dolphins leaping from the ocean. The gunfire subsided slightly, but it was replaced by shouts, roars, cries, and the still-unquenched roars of the Flame Demon, making the place seem like a noisy station—a station where trains from heaven and hell stop. The coolness in the air had long since vanished.

Of course, most of them were soldiers who had witnessed death and bloodshed to some extent, so they hadn't reached the point of collapse yet. Moving the wounded back and forth, delivering ammunition and supplies, operating fire-fighting equipment—the soldiers continued to do what they could in an orderly manner, preventing this land from turning into a rout.

Not far to the north, the faint roar of an engine could be heard. A silver-white helicopter emerged from behind a dilapidated building and slowly turned west.

"Have those planes left?"

"Okay, let's try contacting the officers again as soon as possible. Hopefully they're alright..."

"Eagle Falcon calling command center: We are 200 meters north of the camp. The search mission in the northern urban area is complete. Please provide instructions!"

……

……

……

"Calling the Eurasian Hobby, please respond if you hear me."

"The...the Eurasian Falcon has been received..."

"I am Major Leffer, a subordinate of Lieutenant Colonel Caronville. How are your helicopters, soldiers?"

"Everything is normal, Your Excellency. What are your instructions?"

"Could you help us find out where those enemy planes that just attacked the camp are now?"

"Yes, sir!" Homer and his companion slowly raised and turned the helicopter. "Target confirmed. Those planes are about 2.2 kilometers west of the camp, turning back towards the camp in formation. They may be preparing to launch a second attack."

"Yes, soldiers. Now, lower your altitude and take cover as much as possible. Do not approach the camp without my orders! Communication over!"

The radio call was disconnected.

"Uh, Hommel..." His companion sounded completely bewildered. "What are these guys up to..."

"Park the plane at that intersection. We can't fight an air battle anyway, so being spectators won't hurt..."

……

"Are you all ready?"

Inside the pitch-black warehouse, several steel giants, each over four meters tall, were secretly plotting something.

"Um……"

"Lieutenant Colonel, this is Lefaire, we are ready."

"action!"

……

"Hey! Hommel! You'd better take a look at this!"

"Wha...what's going on?!"

On the north side of the camp, a large gate embedded in the ground slowly opened, and several purple KMFs flashed into view from inside the pitch-black belly. They seemed to have many bottles and jars hanging on their bodies.

Soon, a grayish-white aura bloomed around them, like a steamer basket boiling in a bun shop. Several human-shaped steamers spewed out billowing steam and began to run wildly around the perimeter of the camp.

"Are these guys... insane...?"

The helicopter, its gray nose peeking out, hovered quietly above an inconspicuous intersection. Inside, Hormel and his partner sat like audience members in an opera house, in the tiny seats. But unlike the captivating atmosphere of a stage play, their faces, eyes, and mouths seemed to be slowly filling with air, expanding with surprise and disbelief.

In the blink of an eye, the steamers seemed to have pre-arranged a route, calmly moving through the inside and outside of the camp. The shattered stage was like being submerged by the waves of a white stream; buildings, soldiers, ruins, and flames were all embraced in its snow-white arms.

The mottled earth instantly transformed into a paradise bathed in clouds.

"Hey, bring the plane back a bit, enemy planes are coming!"

A green falcon flashed past the reversing helicopter and plunged into the white cotton candy-like landscape. Immediately afterward, the deafening roar of gunfire echoed once more...

Hommel and his companion were like disabled fans sitting in the stands, their hearts filled with worry, anxiety, and perhaps even anger and boiling passion. But after all, it was a helicopter, a bird that couldn't hunt down birds in the sky, and the two men were disabled veterans of years of aerial combat; there was nothing they could do.

……

……

……

……

……

"Calling the Eurasian Hobby, please respond if you hear me."

"Eagle Falcon received! Order?"

"Command center calling to confirm the enemy aircraft's location."

"Yes, sir... The enemy planes are now 3.1 kilometers east of the camp, flying in formation in a straight line due east. It seems they have decided to abandon the next wave of attacks."

"Very good, thanks for the reconnaissance. Call over..."

"Lieutenant Colonel!" Before the radio call was even disconnected, the other end erupted in a frenzy. "Lieutenant Arugel is calling. He has confirmed the approximate location of enemy artillery positions in the eastern suburbs of the city. What's your opinion?"

“Now is not the time to gamble!” Caronville replied calmly. “Immediately call District 11 City Hall and tell them to open the portal and send reinforcements to fill the gap in the defenses!”

"Um, is this Lieutenant Colonel Caronville?" Hommel called out over the radio, a hint of trepidation in his voice. "And could you tell me what kind of supplies the reinforcements arriving soon will have?"

"Hey! Who do you think you are! How dare you talk to the commander like that! You..."

"Yes, soldier!" the lieutenant colonel's voice cut in decisively. "I'll send you the list of reinforcements now. If you think you have any ideas that can impress me, I'll let you go ahead and do them!"

"No... Sir! Are you kidding me?!" Suddenly, the command center on the other end of the radio was filled with doubts and admonitions.

"If you had a better way, you would have given it to me already, right..."

"That's not what I meant... I meant, how could you just hand over something like this to a helicopter crew you've only known for one night?"

"Because he survived." The lieutenant colonel's steady words came out, and the radio waves instantly returned to silence.

"Sir, a falcon is calling." Hommel's voice came through the radio from the command center. "Can we establish communication with the 8th Helicopter Patrol Squadron, which is waiting on the other side of the portal? I have an idea."

……

After a long time.

"Sir! The landing area has been cleared, and the portal is ready to open at any time!"

"Excellent! Calling District 11 City Hall, landing zone established, please deploy reinforcements immediately, over!"

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

……

"Command Center is calling for the Falcon: Do not approach the camp before the portal opens!"

"understand!"

The two people in the helicopter sat calmly, looking at the giant cotton candy that was still covered by the campsite. They were a little nervous, but also wanted to laugh.

They couldn't remember what kind of mess had happened here the night before when they went through that strangely shaped door, so they wanted to look around and imagine what had happened—well, that sounded interesting.

Have you ever observed what it looks like when a soap bubble floating in the air suddenly bursts?

……

……

……

What happened next was just like this. The enormous cloud instantly expanded several times its original size, transforming into a white sphere that covered the sky, swallowing up the entire neighborhood surrounding the camp. Most of Berlin looked as if it had been washed by a white torrent of water, everything becoming somewhat transparent and luminous, with wisps of smoke, like tadpoles, trailing behind the clouds.

At the camp, a colossal gate formed of beams of light stood on the ground, looking almost identical to the artwork at the 11th District City Hall parade ground when we visited before, even in similar size. Trains of light streaked across it, like a blazing wooden frame, showering dazzling stars into everyone's eyes.

"So, the helicopter transport vehicle that came with us back then also came from here?"