Chapter 40 Ophelia’s Trump Card—The Hunters Bonus Chapter

“This is the 705th Armored Battalion.

Enemy armor is entering our defensive sector.” Hidden among the brush, a KF60 Panther main battle tank belonging to the 705th Armored Battalion had already detected the rapidly approaching Chaos Insurgency armored force several kilometers away through thermal imaging.

The gunner reported, “Main gun loaded.

Fire-control computer has corrected the firing solution.” The tank commander answered, “Permission to fire.

Engage Target Two.” “Fire!” BOOM!

The 130mm smoothbore cannon erupted with a flash of fire.

The shell streaked across the battlefield and slammed into a fast-moving enemy tank.

The commander immediately called out, “Good hit!” “Penetration confirmed.

Target destroyed.” “Shift to the next target.” “Main gun loaded!” “Firing solution updated!” “Fire!” On the Chaos Insurgency side, an entire heavy armored battalion was being torn apart.

Twenty-six tanks and twelve infantry fighting vehicles were caught under devastating fire.

“What the hell is happening?!” “I can’t see anything!” “Thermals aren’t detecting enemy units!” “Switching observation systems!” Then one crew finally spotted them.

“Damn it!

Visual contact!” “Southeast!” “Range, 1.8 kilometers!” He had barely finished speaking when— BOOM!

The tank’s ammunition detonated catastrophically.

Its turret was blown dozens of meters into the air.

“Return fire!” “RETURN FIRE!” But in the next moment, the crews of the advanced main battle tanks discovered something horrifying.

Their rounds couldn’t penetrate the Foundation tanks’ frontal armor.

Only the accompanying infantry fighting vehicles, firing TOW anti-tank missiles, posed even a limited threat.

Twelve TOW missiles streaked toward the Foundation armored formation.

Then— The missiles suddenly lost control.

Some veered away.

Others spiraled wildly off course.

One finally managed to strike a KF60 Panther.

A ball of fire erupted.

The Chaos Insurgency soldiers stared hopefully.

Then the smoke cleared.

The Panther was completely unharmed.

“Active protection system…” Their expressions collapsed.

Less than ten minutes later, the battlefield was littered with burning wreckage.

The surviving Chaos Insurgency personnel looked around in terror.

Whatever willingness they had possessed to continue resisting had already disappeared.

“This is the 705th Heavy Armored Combat Battalion.” “Enemy forces in our defensive sector have been destroyed.” “This is the 702nd Combat Battalion.” “Hostile forces eliminated.” “703rd Combat Battalion reporting.” “Enemy force neutralized.” Colonel Hans nodded in satisfaction.

He walked over to Ethan and reported, “Supreme Commander, Hammer Down has completely destroyed the Chaos Insurgency forces attacking our perimeter.” Ethan glanced over the report and casually put it aside.

He seemed thoughtful.

“Are the Chaos Insurgency’s conventional forces really this weak?” “They couldn’t even penetrate the task force’s defensive line.” Hans answered proudly, “Sir, even though we’re only using the Foundation’s basic military technology, our equipment is still at least thirty years ahead of what the major powers of this world currently possess.” “With a technological gap that large, it’s only natural that they can’t defeat us.” “Our equipment advantage is simply too great.” Then— Ethan suddenly stood up.

It was as though he had sensed something.

His expression sharpened.

“They’re here.” Hans looked confused.

“They’re here?” “Who’s here?” At that exact moment, gunfire erupted near the farm.

The 701st Special Operations Battalion suddenly came under attack.

A frantic transmission sounded over the radio.

“Report!” “We’ve made contact with unknown hostiles!” “Damn it!” “They’re not human!” Gunfire instantly intensified.

“Protect the Supreme Commander!” Hans moved immediately to Ethan’s side.

The nearby MTF operators formed a tight defensive ring around him.

“Supreme Commander, you need to evacuate immediately!” “It’s too dangerous here!” Before Hans could continue— Ethan suddenly drew the Service Pistol.

He aimed toward an apparently empty direction.

Energy gathered.

Then he pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

A creature that had been hiding nearby, waiting for a chance to strike, was blasted cleanly in half.

Ethan looked at the corpse with interest.

Then realization appeared in his eyes.

“So that’s it.” “Biotechnology.” “A B.O.W.?” At that moment, a cool female voice sounded from nearby.

“Commander Ethan.” “Surrender.” “You no longer have any chance of victory.” Everyone finally noticed what had surrounded them.

All around the farm stood powerful humanoid monsters moving on four limbs.

Each possessed thick, muscular claws and stood roughly three to four and a half meters tall.

Ethan looked toward the group led by Ophelia.

They were dressed in tight infiltration gear.

Around them were at least several hundred monsters.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Interesting.” “These things slipped past the outer defensive perimeter without triggering an alarm and reached the command post directly.” Modern command posts generally didn’t place enormous numbers of troops directly around headquarters.

Doing so would only make the command center a more obvious target.

Most security forces were deployed on the outer perimeter to provide early warning and delay enemy forces.

At the moment, only two platoons were actually stationed around the farm itself.

From the enemy’s point of view— Ethan was already trapped.

Yet even with hostile forces right at their doorstep, Ethan remained completely calm.

The MTF operators around him were on full alert.

Colonel Hans already looked prepared to fight to the death if necessary to cover Ethan’s retreat.

But Ethan himself looked as though everything was still proceeding exactly according to plan.

Ophelia, who had originally believed victory was already secured, suddenly felt less certain.

The Chaos Insurgency had sacrificed large numbers of forces on the outer perimeter just to create this one opportunity to strike directly at the command post.

Their objective was naturally to capture Ethan alive.

Otherwise, all that planning would’ve been meaningless.

But…

Why wasn’t he nervous?

With the forces immediately available to him, victory should’ve been impossible.

Ophelia called out again, “Surrender, Commander Ethan.” “You’ll be treated with the highest respect.” “There’s no need for any more meaningless sacrifices.” Ethan suddenly smiled.

“You’re the Chaos Insurgency commander who planned this attack, aren’t you?” “An impressive operation.” “Unfortunately…” He glanced at the forces surrounding the farm.

“This amount of combat power doesn’t seem like nearly enough.” Then Ethan spoke calmly.

“2B.” “Time for your performance.” Ophelia frowned.

The next second— Her pupils contracted sharply.

“Watch out!” A figure dropped from the sky.

A flash of cold steel swept through the battlefield.

SHING!

One of the expensive B.O.W.

creatures was sliced cleanly in half with a single strike.