Optical camouflage comes in many forms.
Some utilize mirrors to blend into the surroundings. Others project live footage onto the fabric of a cloak. There are even versions that absorb light entirely, turning the wearer into a void of pure shadow.
Only a Zork can truly achieve perfect transparency.
Since we were launching our raid at night, we were using cloaks that featured a two-way system: they could switch between image projection and total light absorption. These were far superior to the basic functions built into our combat suits.
A built-in AI automatically toggled between the two modes, making them incredibly convenient. Furthermore, they blocked the heat emitted by the human body, rendering us invisible to thermal cameras.
Their one weakness was that a seasoned veteran might still see through the deception. There was a certain inconsistency that was hard to shake—an unnatural distortion that appeared whenever you moved.
It was the kind of subtle intuition a hunter might use to sense a wild animal in the distance.
I suspected that a state-of-the-art automatic battery—a turret—would likely spot us if we got too close. Regardless, this gear alone made us significantly harder to detect.
We headed for the block under the Lieutenant Colonel's military control on our snow bikes.
I’d been worried the bikes wouldn't get a turn after we went through all the trouble of atmospheric entry, but they turned out to be incredibly useful. The destination was dozens of kilometers away, after all.
As we rode, the snow began to fall in earnest.
"It's freezing! Everyone, switch to full-face mode!"
I lowered the face shield of my combat suit’s helmet. Since it formed a complete mask, the biting cold could no longer reach me.
Meanwhile, the blizzard grew steadily more intense.
"Thank goodness for these combat suits..."
If we were out here in our raw bodies, we would have frozen to death. The snow was falling diagonally, whipped up by the wind and lashing against us from all sides.
I was going to die. If I stopped moving for even a second, I felt like I’d turn into a snowman.
But thanks to the weather, the roar of our snow bikes was drowned out by the howling wind. We were lucky. Probably.
"L-Let's go!"
Once we reached a point where the base was visible, we began to climb. It was a bald mountain, completely devoid of trees. We parked on the slope and observed the facility through our binoculars.
The base was manned by soldiers, but they weren't wearing combat suits. They seemed to be in standard winter clothing.
"Their training level is low..." I muttered involuntarily.
Melissa laughed beside me. "Well, you can't compare a regional army to the Imperial Officer Academy. We were future elite cadets, after all."
"Before we knew it... everyone became a captain..."
"Aha! And a lord, to boot! Everyone's grateful to you, even if they don't say it out loud. You've climbed higher than any of our older brothers or sisters."
"Well then, shall we go save One-oh-one?"
"I'm coming too."
"Yeah, I guess it's the usual members."
And so, my squad formed a harem party consisting of Melissa, Ren, and Claire. The boys would join us as well to help beat the enemy to a pulp.
These boys were a bit different this time. They weren't just miserable creatures reeking of virginity. Setting aside their 'Hunter of Love' personas, these were men who had come to save a precious junior sister.
Their usual stupid looks were nowhere to be found. The look in their eyes was completely different.
"Alright, I'm heading in first."
From here on, we were on foot. My feet sank into the deep snow with a heavy crunch, but the sound was instantly swallowed by the blizzard.
We arrived at the side of the base. It was just a standard wall, so we cut through the barbed wire and slipped inside.
Sentries were patrolling, but their numbers were few. No one wanted to work outside in this kind of weather; they were likely taking turns slacking off.
"Lord Groom, they're having a drinking party."
Soldiers were huddled around a fire in a drum can, drinking alcohol. They were all female-type Zorks. Just as I thought, their appearances varied wildly, likely due to their original soldier types.
"I'll lace their drinks with a sleeping agent via nanomachines."
Ren was truly showing no mercy.
We moved away from that spot and spotted a lone security guard. I covered her mouth and quickly neutralized her with an injection of nanomachine anesthetic. The package was a resin container about the size of a fingertip. It was fast-acting; once it pierced the skin, the nanomachines delivered the agent directly, causing her to lose consciousness in an instant.
I left the female-type Zork where she lay and swiped her ID card. According to RPG logic, this should have been our ticket inside the building.
...Or so I thought.
"We don't actually need the card..." Ren said, sounding exasperated. Melissa let out a stifled, pained laugh, trying to stay quiet.
The building's door was secured with a normal, physical lock.
"I'll have this open in a heartbeat."
I had the lock picked in no time.
"Lord Groom... where on earth did you learn such a skill?"
"A part-time job as a locksmith..."
"Captain, you were supposed to be at the same school as us this whole time, yet you occasionally display these mysterious past lives."
"I really wonder why!" Even I didn't have an answer for that.
I made quick work of the lock and we intruded. There were no sentries inside. We found ourselves in a dining hall. I peered inside using a camera and a fiberscope.
Groups of beautiful girls were watching an incredibly old movie in the darkened hall. I see—since they're cut off from the network, they have very few forms of entertainment.
Feeling a pang of sympathy, I rolled a gas grenade into the room.
"Huh? ...What's that? G-Grenade!!!"
But it was too late. The gas sprayed out, and everyone in the room succumbed to sleep.
Fuhahahaha! You may have forgotten, but we are Imperial Officer Academy students! The theories of anti-personnel combat have been hammered into our brains! It's on the final exams, after all!
Infiltration missions, in particular, are our absolute specialty. Our practical skills were drilled into us by Captain Piggett and Huma-sensei until we could do them in our sleep! I wasn't about to give them any room to sound the alarm.
The boys were doing the same. They entered through other access points and began suppressing the base section by section.
This time, we encountered male soldiers. I prepared to neutralize them with a swift neck chop.
WHAM!
"Gack!"
Maybe that was a bit too much force. But whatever. I didn't think I'd been noticed...
"What was that? Did you trip—? Urgh!"
I knocked out the soldier who came to investigate with a single, standard punch.
...Yeah, I feel like I've leveled up too much. I'm losing the ability to hold back. Melissa choked out a soldier who approached from behind, and Ren grabbed another by the face and slammed him headfirst into the floor.
"Honestly, they're weaker than our people back home."
"Well, you can't really compare them to the samurai at Melissa's place."
Come to think of it, even when they were on the verge of losing, those guys were able to hold their own against high-level Zorks. They really are a bunch of monsters. I suppose the Duke Territory is just built different.
We continued to neutralize the soldiers one by one, but our luck couldn't last forever.
"Leo, we've encountered a tentacle-type! They're going to sound the alarm!"
It was unavoidable. Even for Ren or me, a tentacle-type was an opponent we couldn't handle without drawing our weapons.
A gunshot echoed through the hall. Simultaneously, the alarm blared.
My mind raced to the hostages. Just then, good news came over the comms.
"Hostages located! We've liberated them!"
Alright. Let's make some noise.
Time for annihilation.