WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

Chapter 66

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Seventh California (3)

The closer they got to the destination, the worse visibility became. Smoke like clouds blotted out the sun.

The fires were not limited to one or two spots. Several hills in the distance were burning end to end. Was it careless bombing, or 「Trickster」? Gyeoul thought it was the latter. There was also a chance the group that attacked Camp Roberts had linked up here. Or that their experience had been transmitted.

Either way, it was a bad environment for air support.

By the roadside, they passed a crashed helicopter. It had probably descended too aggressively to secure visibility, then got caught by an EMP or 「Grumble」's Throwing pattern. There were likely no survivors. It was already burning, and ignited ammunition was still cooking off.

Overlapping rotor noise drew closer. Covering fire rained down from above the convoy's flank.

Buuuuuuuk- Buuuuuk-

It was a Minigun. Six rotating barrels firing four thousand rounds per minute, so the sound was less like gunfire and more like a broken brass instrument. The two transport helicopters looked like they had brought only ammunition instead of passengers. Even with that absurd consumption rate, they kept up heavy fire for a long stretch.

A thermal image overlooking the battlefield appeared on the tracker monitor. It was being transmitted by a Battlefield Control Aircraft. The frame rate was low and choppy, and much of the view was hidden by heat and smoke from the fires, but it was enough to judge the situation.

Thanks to that, the tank and Humvee gunners could breathe a little easier. The number of mutants approaching from the front and both flanks was no joke.

Gyeoul fired too, bracing one arm on the window frame and resting his rifle on top.

When the helicopters pulled away, the company's advance slowed. Even at lower density, breaking through mutants closing in from all sides was never easy.

「They're targeting the rear! Defend the supply vehicles first!」

The company commander's shout came over the radio. The assault really was concentrating on the back of the column. Only two Humvees were guarding that side. If the ammunition trucks and fuel tankers were hit, the rescue mission would suffer major disruption.

That settled it. The mutants were acting strategically. They understood human combat methods and weak points, then built their attack plans around them.

They had also hidden stronger units among weaker ones. Ghouls were mixed in here and there among regular mutants. These enhanced mutants were too agile to let close. Gyeoul hunted them first.

Whoosh-

From far to the right, an uprooted tree came flying in a near-direct arc. It dropped toward an ammunition transport vehicle and missed by barely five meters.

「Jesus!」

A scream cut across the radio. The vehicle jerked hard left, tipped to one side, then barely recovered. It almost rolled over.

It had to be 「Grumble」, but only its outline was visible through the smoke.

Then a tank moved.

Wiiiiiiing-

With a furious gas turbine roar, a sixty-ton block of steel swung out to the flank and zigzagged forward, mercilessly crushing the mutants rushing in. Anything dragged into the gap between track and ground had little chance of surviving.

Another tree flew in. The tank accelerated and cut in front of the transport vehicle. Perfect timing. The driver's skill was remarkable. The tree slammed into the tank. The whole vehicle lurched hard.

「Meerkat 3 hit!」

Gyeoul flinched for a moment. That call sign did not suit it at all.

Meerkat 3 kept moving without issue. It rotated its turret and aimed at 「Grumble」. With a tank main gun, there was no need to target a weak point. Just aim center mass on the silhouette and fire.

Flash. Boom! Muzzle flame burst out, and the smoke around the barrel twisted and scattered.

Kyaaaargh-!

The giant monster that took the direct hit let out a painful scream. At that moment, a lucky gust cleared the smoke. The target's right arm had been torn off at the shoulder. Meerkat 1 and 2 fired almost at the same time. Shells striking from different angles tore 「Grumble」 apart from top and bottom.

Lieutenant Durant came over the radio.

「Grumble down. Good work. From now on, Car 1 will be the leaders. Car 2 to the rear. Cars 3 and 4 take flank defense.」

With 「Grumble」 no longer a threat, tank commanders climbed up and took their machine guns. Bravo Company, the tank platoon, and the supply column finally punched through the mutant assault.

Gunfire and explosions from the now-near destination rang together like a duet. Gyeoul judged distance by the gap between flashes and blast sounds.

'About three minutes ahead.'

They would likely enter the main battlefield within three minutes.

Thermal overhead footage of the battle appeared on the Tracker monitor. It was being transmitted by the frontline controller. The frame rate was low and choppy, and heat and smoke from the fires obscured much of it, but it was enough to read the situation.

Allied forces were clustered at a winery on a low vineyard hill. There were more trucks than combat vehicles, so refugees or civilians were likely there too. Mutants were charging at them from every direction.

「Break, Break! Company commander speaking! All vehicles brace for impact! Air Force says they're clearing the smoke with Fuel-Air Bombs!」

"Oh, shit!"

The turret gunner panicked and climbed back into the vehicle.

Fuel-air bombs created a storm through thermal expansion. The Air Force versions were huge. Inside the effective radius, people were ripped apart or pulped, vehicles were torn apart, and even tanks could flip.

Not now, though. Whoever proposed it wanted to detonate outside the kill zone and clear sightlines. It sounded insane and brilliant at the same time.

'Isn't that too dangerous?'

Gyeoul worried about friendly-fire bombing. They had to detonate at a razor-thin boundary, far enough not to hurt allies, yet close enough to blow away the smoke. That was no easy task.

'Maybe that just proves how urgent this is.'

It might even have been a direct request from those trapped in the winery.

The bombs went off.

From the eleven o'clock direction, smoke swept in like a wave. Clunk! The vehicle shook violently, as if it had slammed into something. "Goddamn!" the driver cursed. He sounded like he had hit something hard.

Mutants that had been closing in through the firepower gap toppled over in confusion. They looked like they were being beaten senseless by an invisible hammer.

It did not end with one bomb. A strike-fighter formation kept coming and dropped dozens in succession. It looked like they were trying to suppress nearby forest fires too. Even then, it would only die down briefly around the drop points before embers reignited. But the U.S. military needed that brief window.

"Destination in sight!"

After the bombardment, the gunner who had crawled back onto the turret shouted. Gyeoul saw it too. Once the smoke cleared, it was closer than expected. If they accelerated, they would reach it quickly.

Before that, the defensive line around the winery was on the verge of collapse. Some sectors were already in close combat. Gyeoul immediately leaned out the window and aimed his rifle.

Tatang! Bang! Tatatang!

A soldier who had raised an entrenching tool lost his target and staggered as four nearby mutants dropped in quick succession. The same thing repeated across the line. Soldiers who had been despairing over empty ammo cheered when they spotted them.

Part of the defensive line was a wall made by linking vehicles. Defending soldiers and climbing mutants were locked in point-blank struggle. Then one tank, for reasons unknown, charged that sector. It rammed and crushed mutants all the way in, then pressed its hull tight and started grinding.

Mutants trapped between the wall and the tank suffered ruptured organs and broken spines.

Wiiiiiing-

By repeating forward and reverse, pushing, trampling, and crushing, the tank wiped out dozens of mutants in moments. A Humvee could never pull that off. The tank driver's distance control was exceptional too.

Once the supply vehicles reached the line, the battle shifted sharply.

Of course, some people never got the benefit of that.

One soldier was swinging two entrenching tools and smashing mutants aside. He was frighteningly brave. Every full swing killed a mutant. Carrying a duffel bag packed with magazines, Gyeoul came up behind him and cleanly shot down the nearby mutants.

The man was out of breath, shoulders heaving. Even while his comrades scrambled for magazines, he stood there as if nailed to the ground. Battle fatigue? Gyeoul called out to him.

"You, come get ammo!"

The soldier turned slowly, and he was crying. Gyeoul saw bite marks on him.

"Damn..."

Not one or two. It had not been bravery, but desperation. Enough time had passed after the bites that discolored skin and veins had spread up beneath his jaw.

Bang!

A small red hole popped open in the forehead of the soldier holding the entrenching tools.

Gyeoul turned toward the shot. The soldier who fired had gone pale. It looked like he fired on reflex before he could even think.

"U, u, uaaaaaaah!"

He went into a fit. Shaking and screaming. No, no, no! Please save me! I miss you, Mom! I want to go home! He looked dangerously unstable. Extreme fear and stress had triggered a panic attack, shell shock symptoms.

The problem was that he was still holding his gun. He had just changed magazines and fired only one round, and his automatic weapon still had plenty left.

「Survival Instinct」 rang sharply.

"Get down!"

The moment Gyeoul shouted, the panicked soldier sprayed fire in every direction. Soldiers who had already been on guard barely dodged, like Gyeoul did. Those farther away were different. Many were too busy firing at the mutants pressing in again and never heard the warning.

Casualties started piling up.

"Gilliard! Stop!"

Two soldiers who had narrowly avoided getting hit rushed their crazed comrade.

"Don't come! You monsters! Stay back!"

His hand was groping for a grenade. Gyeoul switched weapons in an instant and fired his pistol at the back of the man's hand. He pulled the trigger five times. His aim was rushed, and he had to stop him for sure.

The rounds that pierced the back of his hand were stopped by his body armor. At this distance, a rifle round would have punched through.

The two comrades restraining the broken soldier, Gilliard, panted and gave Gyeoul a quick nod.

Medics rushed over and began treating the wounded.

Even after that incident, the situation kept improving. Gyeoul noticed the interference had disappeared from the radio. At least in this area, it meant 「Trickster」 had decided to pull back. Once U.S. firepower recovered, it must have judged there was no chance to win.

That did not mean they were in a position to chase. The ammunition they had brought was not limitless, and the civilians sheltering inside the winery were still an issue.

Fresh reinforcements arrived from the north. The scale of vehicles and troops pushing through the smoke was larger than a single company. Their momentum while clearing remnants was formidable.

Gyeoul moved along the defensive line, checking for any threats that might still remain.

"Enemy to the front!"

At one soldier's shout, he turned and saw mutants loitering near the smoking forest.

It was an awkward distance. Their behavior was strange. They were neither attacking nor fleeing. It was odd, then one guess came to mind.

'Discarded bait?'

A tail group left behind to split U.S. attention. Sacrificial pieces so larger numbers could escape safely. For 「Trickster」's cunning, it was entirely plausible.

Either way, there was no reason to leave them alive. A Humvee stopped in front of Gyeoul. The driver inside gestured to him.

"Get in, Ensign. Orders are to eliminate nearby enemies."

"Orders? From the company commander?"

"No, sir. You haven't heard yet. We're now attached to 1st Battalion until the rescue operation is over."

"1st Battalion?"

"Yes, sir. Most of the forces here are 1st Battalion, 160th Regiment. There are units from elsewhere mixed in too. The force that just arrived is 1st Company, 2nd Battalion from Fort Hunter Liggett."

From what he heard, reinforcements had not come only from Camp Roberts. One company had also been dispatched from the 2nd Battalion at Fort Hunter Liggett farther north.

By coincidence, detachments sent from each battalion of 「Seventh California」 had gathered in one place.

============================ Author's Afterword ============================

1. KakaoTalk chat between the author and friends, afternoon of July 20

Author: Ah, I miss Overwatch. I finally bought it, and I still haven't played for a week.

Office worker friend: You don't have to miss it that much.

Author: No. I miss it.

Author: But when I think about in-game chat, I miss it less.

Cartoonist friend: LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

2.

Q. thecrazy: @A lifestyle where you wake at night and sleep in the day is really great for your body.

A. That may be true, but I hope my readers are not healthy. I hear sleeping at night is very harmful.

Q. RGZ95: @For The Little Prince in the Ossuary, cutting sleep is fine @[email protected]

A. As the author, I don't want to cut sleep for The Little Prince in the Ossuary. What should I do?

Q. hotroad: Other than when listing American drinks and engine specs in gallons, I've almost never seen liters used. Does the military use liters?

A. No, not always. But this one was closer to a spec sheet.

Q. OldPlatypus: @I recommend the Souls series over Darkest Dungeon for restoring childlike innocence.

A. Dark Souls is too hard. The author only has ten toes, so he plays games with his feet.

And I write novels with my feet too, so every line smells like feet... no, no, it doesn't.

Maybe I should transplant fingers onto my feet.

Q. PotatoPeel: Author-nim, do you have any other novels? I didn't see them on Joara. Are you on Dal-dongne or CoffeePage?

A. The only public one is the parody Halkeginia Seal Breaker... but it's not very fun.

Q. Dohwawon: @A game full of childlike innocence, 60 Seconds.

A. Ah, that really does feel like a game full of childlike innocence. I plan to buy it someday.

I already have over 100 games I bought and still can't play... sigh...

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