The Latarnia government explained the situation to its citizens with a thick stack of documents.
To summarize: “There is no other way besides bombardment. Sorry, but our hands are tied.”
Implementing a planetary or even regional-level insecticide was practically impossible.
It was also unclear if such a thing would even be effective.
For the time being, we had been testing various insecticides on our end, but we discovered the targets had developed resistance.
Since they were biological, we tried pyrethrum. Yeah, that was a no-go.
We also tried bacterial agents. Did everyone’s favorite Bacillus subtilis have some effect? Maybe mold would work too? In that case, we should get some local fungi… but we couldn’t exactly go out to fetch them!
As another option involving Chronos, we collected fungi from the soil of the planet where the rebellion had occurred. Hmm, it was mediocre. It worked, but… it was just kind of mediocre. To give you an idea of how mediocre, it was about as effective as the mushroom fungi used for preventing powdery mildew. Furthermore, we found out that producing a substantial amount would take quite a long time.
As a last resort, we prepared a toxin designed for Ghouls. We tried experimenting with it. The effect was low. Well, I suppose that made sense. Insecticides can be hit-or-miss based on even a slight difference in family…
However, we discovered that their aggression decreased. Wait, what?
So, we started the dissections we had been performing repeatedly, this time narrowing the focus to parasites. “They're Ghouls…” I trembled when I saw the results. It seriously sent a shiver down my spine.
Tiny Ghouls were parasitizing the brains. Specifically, the area known as the mushroom body. There was no way we could have known. An insect's brain is micro-sized!
Since this wasn't my field, I didn't understand the finer details, but when they put a sample in a device and stained the nerves, they found a foreign substance. The diagnostic AI couldn't detect it, but a human found it by comparing the samples manually. I didn't even know what to say!
The horror of the Ghouls who did this made my skin crawl, but I also thought the scholar who found it was an inhuman-level genius. For now, he was unofficially selected for the Imperial Science Award that Wifey hosts once a year.
As a result, we consulted with Latarnia and moved to execute the operation. First, we would use the chemicals.
There wasn't enough stock to spray it from the sky, so we would use it as a fumigant while Tatiana deployed her barrier. It was an incredibly reckless plan: release a massive smoke screen and deploy the Saint Barrier in the middle of it.
Of course, we would also provide cover with Bolt Throwers. Who was it? Who called the Bolt Thrower a defective weapon?! …Oh, right. It was me. They really do scorch everything when you use them.
First, the Taikyoku Nation and our team descended to the surface. Latarnia, whose forces were built for aerial combat, was useless in this fight. We would have them focus on the rescue efforts instead.
Shiyun stood before the soldiers. “Everyone! Our mission is a rescue operation! It is an honor! Show the power of the proud Taikyoku Nation elites!” “Ooooooooooooooooooooooh!!!”
In fact, thanks partly to our propaganda, Shiyun was incredibly popular in the Taikyoku Nation. Well, you see, a pitiable princess whose foster father was killed by the state was now fighting hard to save the Taikyoku Nation—the very object of what should have been her hatred. We even broadcasted the parts where she was doing her proper soldier training!
At one point, there were Taikyoku Nation citizens who were flying into a rage, saying, “What the hell are you doing to our princess! I'll kill you!” but the atmosphere changed once they learned she was undergoing serious pilot training. From night flights using only instruments to combat simulations, we made her do it all. We even made her take the exam for a provisional license. “Ah, the Next Emperor is seriously trying to rebuild the nation.” That was the impression they got. They understood that she wasn't just a puppet of the Galactic Empire. We were educating her quite seriously, after all.
In reality, she herself was reluctant to become the Next Emperor and was putting it on hold, so I was wondering what to do about that. For that reason, Shiyun's popularity was tremendous. Actually, she was already performing some administrative duties, which were being perceived as good governance. I really didn't know what to do…
And so, this was Shiyun's operation. The soldiers' morale was high. Moreover, the chaos in Chronos was the work of the Ghouls, the very things that had driven the Taikyoku Nation to the brink of ruin. The resolve of the Taikyoku Nation people was firm.
In that regard, our team was the same as always. Because of the economic boom, they could earn high salaries, so they were full of motivation. Imperial soldiers had also become popular lately. In short, they were hot stuff. After all, they were my and Wifey’s subordinates. It was a daily occurrence for officers to be told by nobles, “Please take my daughter as your wife!” When they went out into the city, they were treated like idols. The boys were pampered, but the girls were pampered even more. They were truly treated like celebrities.
Therefore, we had nothing but motivation. Hahaha! Praise us more!
Anyway, since transport aircraft would just get destroyed, we descended directly in Humanoid Fighters. By the way, this direct descent was apparently classified as a difficult technique in other countries. That was why the Taikyoku Nation forces were all ace pilots. As for us… Piggett hammered it into us to the point where it was basically “do it or die.”
While carrying that emotional baggage, we landed on the surface. It was so full of locusts that we couldn't see anything. However, we judged the situation based on location data and sensor readings and began attacking with Bolt Throwers. Having our main cameras destroyed was such a common occurrence that it wasn't a hindrance at all.
First, a cleanup! “Bolt Thrower, fire!”
Lightning scorched the locusts with a flash. If you passed electricity through them directly, the Ghouls died. Though it was only a drop in the bucket!
“Leo! Deploy the fumigation drones! Protect them!” I tracked the positions of the allied machines with my sensors. If these were destroyed, we would be stuck.
“Spraying fumigant!”
With a pouf sound, we were enveloped in smoke. The momentum of the locusts that had been slamming into the machines until now lessened. It was working!
“Effect confirmed! Deploying more drones!”
The range of the smoke expanded further. And then, the main star appeared! “Dropping the Saint!”
Now then, today's protagonist was Tatiana's exclusive machine, the Saint of Endurance. Tatiana hated the code name with a passion, so she had named it “Lovely Cat.” Among the female members, starting with Rikochi, there were many girls who hated their code names.
“The Saint of Endur—” When the operator began to speak, Tatiana got angry. “Lovely Cat!”
It had an idol-like design with cat ears attached. If I said it looked like a Zeng with cat ears, I’d get punched, so I’d better be careful. No, it was quite different, but the vibe was there! Humans are creatures who can find a Zeng even in the character for “Sever.” Just give up.
“…Dropping Lovely Cat.”
The ridiculous appearance of Lovely Cat wasn't just for show. It was a barrier-deploying, rear-support Humanoid Fighter. I had given permission because Tatiana had obtained her license and passed our unit's internal testing. It was the newest Humanoid Fighter, and its catalog specs were the strongest. The biggest difference from current machines was probably that it was a flight type; it had thrusters built into the skirt section.
“This is Tatiana! Deploying floating batteries!”
Floating batteries—in short, it was that thing. Batteries controlled by ESP. I found out later that Tatiana was a support-type ESP. While I leaned toward close-quarters combat, Alyssa was an attack-type ESP. Edge was the same. The results of the inspection showed Tatiana was a support type. Moreover, it turned out she was good at things like moving objects. When I half-jokingly suggested floating batteries and had her try them, they were a perfect fit.
By the way, I wasn't chosen for floating batteries because my movements were too crude. Apparently, if your thoughts are like, “Ah, yeah, just spin that a bit more tightly,” instead of having a clear action in mind, it won't work. How sad…
Tatiana descended while attacking with her floating batteries. “Activating barrier device!”
Tatiana's machine deployed a staff designed like something from a magical girl anime. And this was the essence of Lovely Cat. Yes, this staff was the barrier device!
“Let's goooooooo!”
The descending Lovely Cat stabbed the staff into the ground.