"Sinon, aim for the rear of the bus. You know the spot."
The two of them raised their rifles, aiming at the object hanging from the back of the bus.
"Wait… can they really hit that from so far away?" Mii asked, stunned.
"Those are anti-materiel rifles," Hachiman explained. "They can strike targets from over a kilometer away."
"Seriously? Even Shino?"
"No way…"
"You guys might not know this," Daru said with a smirk, "but those two are the strongest snipers in all of GGO."
"Duke Shana and Duke Sinon-nyan!" Faris added.
"Uh, yeah. Something like that."
Two shots rang out simultaneously. Both bullets struck the mark perfectly. In an instant, the bus vanished in a blinding white flash.
"What the—?!"
"What was that?!"
"That," Daru explained, "was a Plasma Grenade. The most destructive weapon in this game."
"Whoa…"
"The fortress is being ripped apart from the center… and the cars around it are exploding too!"
This was why Shana had ordered them to target the fuel tanks. A chain reaction swept through the Taira lines, stripping their defenses bare.
"Classic Shana. Flashy as always. I don't hate it!" Shizuka laughed over the comms.
"Wait, the Kiso Yoshinaka story… was that the one where they tied torches to the horns of oxen and charged them into the enemy?"
"That's the one," Shana replied. "Though whether it actually happened in history is up for debate."
"So, what's next?"
Shana's voice was cold and resolute. "Annihilation. Don't stop moving. Keep looping through their lines. All units—Charge!"
Under his command, the nine Humvees became a whirlwind of steel, weaving in and out of the broken fortress, systematically eliminating the remaining Taira forces.
"Incredible. It's a total victory…"
"And they were so outnumbered…"
"Hachiman-san really knows how to put on a show!"
"Uooooo! That was legendary-da o!"
"As expected of my main body," Hachiman muttered.
"Is that Ginrou guy the MVP-nyan?"
On screen, the 'Black' Humvee had come to a halt while the team waited for Ginrou to heal.
"How are you feeling, Ginrou?"
"I'm good, sir! I can move now!"
"Good. Let's go claim some glory of our own then."
Shana smiled, and Ginrou beamed back. "Yes, sir! I'll follow you for the rest of my life!"
"For life? Just how old do you plan on being while playing games, Ginrou-san?" Sinon asked with a sigh.
Ginrou's expression was radiant. "Until I die, obviously!"
"Hahaha! Why not, Sinon? You and I are much the same, aren't we?" Shana laughed.
"Sensei… yeah, I guess you're right."
"Then let's move out, everyone!"
On that day, despite facing a 300-man force that had meticulously planned their defense, the Taira Army lost 20% of its total strength in a single engagement. The Minamoto Army suffered a few losses, but the kill ratio was a staggering 100-to-1. In terms of total squadrons, the score stood at Minamoto: 8, Taira: 150.
The players back in the city watched the Taira's numbers plummet in real-time, erupting in cheers when the footage of the battle was finally broadcast.
"Our first casualties of the war today…" Shana mused.
"Don't sweat it, Shana. I bet those guys are back in the city right now with huge grins on their faces."
"I hope so… wait."
"What is it?"
"The squadron gauge… it just moved."
"Huh? You're right. It dropped by three."
The enemy count had shifted. The display now read 8 vs 147.
"Phew. Today's quota is done. I'm finally getting the hang of this."
A lone player stood amidst the digital remains of an entire squadron he had just wiped out single-handedly. He nodded in satisfaction, a tablet-like device gripped in his hand.
"Lieutenant, confirmed destruction of enemy forces."
"Roger. And I told you, don't call me by my rank. We're in a game."
The player looked like he really didn't want to say the next words, but he forced them out.
"Right. Sorry… Captain Comiket."
"That's more like it. Sorry for dragging you along, Tommy."
"Not at all. It's good practice."
Captain Comiket turned to Tommy. "Where's the Furry?"
"Right here, Captain!"
A player emerged from the brush.
"Sorry for dragging you out here too, Kemoner."
"You'd better be! If we were in ALO, there'd be cat-eared girls everywhere!"
"That's what you're worried about…?"
Kemoner looked at the latest updates on his HUD and grinned. "Looks like our army had a massive win today too."
"Ho? Shana, was it? He's pretty good."
"No kidding. He wiped out forty squadrons with almost zero casualties. I can't wait for the stream tonight."
"Seriously? Shana is a beast…"
"Well, shall we head back?"
"Yeah. Let's go introduce ourselves to Shana sometime soon. Though, it's a shame we won't be able to join the final battle."
Chatting casually, the three players began the trek back to the city. It seemed the remaining two squadrons of the Minamoto Army were composed of some very eccentric individuals.
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