Chapter 294: Fortress
’You know, I thought this looked silly through a monitor, but seeing it in person...it’s actually kind of cool...’ thought Vahn, hovering in the sky over a cartoonish-looking mobile fortress fashioned to resemble a giant green turtle with a three-lane adjustable aircraft catapult on its back. Its length was more than 300m, and though it walked on four colossal legs, it could also hover using massive anti-gravitational boosters.
pewaa
pewaa pewaa
As Vahn watched the fortress slowly trudge forward, it abruptly opened fire at a group of Goblin-like monsters that had spawned nearby, striking them with a series of explosive laserbeams. Immediately after, a series of nine UFO-like drones left the fortress, flew over to the craters created by the laser’s explosions, and looted the items that had been dropped before promptly returning.
Noticing Enhancement Crystals among the items looted, Vahn frowned and thought, ’That’s odd...Enhancement Crystals shouldn’t drop unless the monsters are slain directly...’
(The lasers are powered by Atlas, who is interfaced with the fortress’s main systems) revealed Sis, musing (*It’s not very sporting, but it’s an ingenious solution.*)
’As expected from a Vegapunk...’ thought Vahn, exhaling exasperatedly from his nose, briefly closing his eyes, and shaking his head. He couldn’t fault Vegapunk and his Satellites for discovering a loophole to the failsafe they had implemented to dissuade the callous slaughter of monsters, but he could never understand the impulse of scientists to regard everything, be it people, animals, monsters, or the environments they called home, as resources to advance their research.
pshaaaaaaa
Hearing the compressive hum of a flight unit accelerating, Vahn turned his attention to a group of five Sisters speeding toward him in long-sleeved crimson flight jackets with fluffy white collars and futuristic-looking visors with six tiny green lenses. Each was equipped with similarly crimson flight units that adorned their waists and conformed to their legs like thigh-high greaves rigged with tiny thrusters at their hips, lower outer thighs, knees, all along their calves, and at the base of their feet. In their hands were an array of magic staffs fashioned to resemble modern firearms, and, as was the trend, they wore white sukumizu without pants.
Coming to an abrupt stop a few meters from Vahn, the Sister at the head of the pack unequipped her SMG-like staff, stood at attention, and gave a flawless military salute as she greeted, "Flight Lieutenant Gemma, 1st Biri-Biri Air Division greets the Dragon God! Welcome to Mobile Fortress Atlas-004, codenamed Aspidochelone Green!"
"It’s good to see you, Gemma..." said Vahn, offering a slight nod before shifting his gaze to each Sister in turn, smiling as he added, "And you as well, Fumiko, Erika, Maki, and Aina. I like what each of you has done with your hair. Variety is the spice of life."