Chapter 5
The next day, on March 27th, a meeting was planned to discuss the preparations for the summer memorial service. The official work for today is over. Now only the response to the invitation of the Ushio family to attend the party dedicated to the completion of the "Saikashin Island" was left, but certainly that was not everything because of Tatsuya's work. That work will most likely start today.
"Tatsuya-kun, what happened? Is not this the middle of the meeting about the memorial service?"
Suddenly coming to the meeting place with Kazamu, Tatsuya met Fujibayashi. Apparently, the attitude of Fujibayashi to Tatsuya has not changed since the New Year.
Even if the meeting was not scheduled, there was time for psychological preparation while he walked from the gate of the base to the room.
Tatsuya did not know whether the relationship had really changed. And he did not even think about forcing her to explain. Until now, Tatsuya did not even think about Fujibayashi, it did not matter. She is a valuable employee. The range of opportunities vary dramatically depending on whether the "Electron Sorceress" is involved in the operation or not.
Tatsuya thought that, if possible, it is necessary to maintain friendly relations with Fujibayashi. However, he was not going to take any special action for this. Simply put, if Fujibayashi pretends that everything is as before, then Tatsuya will simply enjoy this advantage.
"Help came from the main house, I trusted Miyuki to them."
Last night, from the main house in Okinawa came one of the subordinates of Hayama, the butler Shirakawa. In fact, he meant only assistance for the time of the meeting of the memorial service. But it was not about helping with discussions. However, Miyuki, who has never visited public places as Yotsuba's successor, will openly participate in the meeting with the title of the next head of the Yotsuba family.
There are those who harbored anger at the Yotsuba family and those who want to use the Yotsuba family. You never know when to expect all sorts of difficulties associated with them. Because of such anxiety, Tatsuya was also going to attend the meeting just in case.
However, with the presence of Shirakawa, the need for Tatsuya's presence had disappeared. Being an experienced subordinate of Hayama, Shirakawa possesses the necessary skills and will cope better than Tatsuya. Today's potential threat is neither magical power nor physical strength, and the power of language is the skill of negotiating.
Apparently thinking about this, Maya sent Shirakawa here. Tatsuya was just glad of such a favor. Despite the fact that it was simultaneously a depressing message "I sent help, so do your job properly."
"I see. Then, I wonder what kind of clue Tatsuya-kun brought us?"
Fujibayashi did not ask seriously. She did not think that Tatsuya could provide an opportunity to get in touch with the enemy. It was a kind of joke.
"I would like to ask for help in flooding the submarine saboteurs. Here are the coordinates of the supposed current position of the target submarine.”
To understand what Tatsuya said, Fujibayashi took some time.
"...I'll call the commander. Wait a little, please.” Fujibayashi switched her behavior from the attitude toward her younger friend to the attitude of a representative of one of the leading magician families, took a memory card from Tatsuya, and went to the next room.
The waiting time was unexpectedly long. However, after seeing the face of Fujibayashi, he understood the reason for waiting.
Officers of the Independent Magically Equipped Battalion: Kazama, Sanada and Yanagi. And also Chen Xiangshan and Lu Ganghu were with them. They sat around the tactical table.
Prior to this, Tatsuya and Lu Ganghu met face to face only once in the Hachioji Special Detention Center. This was when Lu Ganghu attacked the Special Detention Center to deal with Sekimoto Isao, who became the pawn of the Great Asian Alliance.
At that time, Lu Ganghu defeated Mayumi and Marie, and Tatsuya only stopped his attempt to attack Mayumi. Finally, the victor against (but not killed) Lu Ganghu was Marie. Later, during the Yokohama incident, Tatsuya did not participate in intercepting Lu Ganghu in front of the Yokohama Gulf Tower. Therefore, it could be said that there was no direct connection between Tatsuya and Lu Ganghu.
However, it was also true that a year and a half ago Chen Xiangshan and Lu Ganghu had done a lot of work in relation to Tatsuya and his entourage. At that time, Chen Xiangshan and Lu Ganghu were Tatsuya's clear enemies. And now he met them without any hostility (but without friendliness too). Lu Ganghu seemed to be puzzled by the unorganized attitude of Tatsuya.
Chen Xiangshan, as expected, showed no misunderstanding.
"May I call you Shiba-dono?"
"I do not mind, colonel-dono."
The greeting of Tatsuya and Chen Xiangshan was limited to this.
"We were told that this is a tactical meeting about the attack on an enemy submarine, but is it clear that enemy agents are hiding on it?"
Chen Xiangshan spoke, immediately went to work. Tatsuya felt the irony when he heard "enemy agents" from him, but did not purposely spoil the atmosphere.
"There is no doubt that there is an Australian military magician on board, acting in concert with the deserters of your country."
"How do you know, I probably should not ask."
"I cannot tell you this."
Tatsuya did not give a clear answer.
"This submarine does not belong to either your country or our country.
We have contacted all countries that have diplomatic channels, but not one has recognized that this is the business of their country." To fill the silence, Kazama began the explanation.
"Have you contacted Australia, too?"
"Yes. Well, they could have been lying."
When asked by Chen Xiangshan, Kazama nodded in a bitter smile. Chen Xiangshan, after saying "Really", also smiled bitterly. And immediately they both returned to having serious looks.
"Despite the fact that they almost disappeared from observation, the current position of the enemy vessel is defined in the open sea. There they could be drowned without public attention."
Kazama looked at Tatsuya.
"How about flooding a long-range magic attack?" Tatsuya answered carelessly.
"The magic of Yotsuba?" Chen Xiangshan Asked Tatsuya.
"Exactly." This time he did not evade the answer.
"Thank you for the offer, but I would like to leave this as an insurance in case of unforeseen circumstances." Sanada said this to Kazama, his gaze forced him to continue.
"Based on the data of the sea map provided by Shiba-kun, we also understood the current position of the submarine."
When Sanada mentioned Shiba-kun, Chen Xiangshan looked at him with a face that expressed surprise. He openly showed it. With the Shiba-kun appeal reflected the special relationship between Tatsuya and the Japanese army, his behavior showed that he had noticed the remark.
However, there was no need to hide Tatsuya's connection with Kazama and Sanada, which arose during the incident 5 years ago. The secret was in Tatsuya's participation in repulsing the invasion force (or it's better to call it completly destroying), but simply showing close relationships would not clearly link these facts.
Those who have good logical thinking, must understand that this is too rapid of an assumption.
Sanada came up with the use of the Shiba-kun appeal. In this case, there should not be such a reaction.
"The enemy ship began to ascend. It seems they decided to refill their supplies." Ignoring Chen Xiangshan's gaze, Sanada continued the explanation.
"Are they coming to the surface?"
"No. Your compatriots will not be so stupid." To the question of Chen Xiangshan, Sanada shook his head with a smile. Although he did not say anything, his smile seemed to betray an evil man.
"They are no longer compatriots. They are deserters."
“Sorry about that. Returning to the topic, the submarine moored itself in a floating dock disguised as a medium-sized tanker."
In this era, the use of petroleum products as fuel is considered obsolete.
However, as an industrial raw material, there is still a great need for oil.
There is nothing special about a tanker floating on the East China Sea.
"It's unclear how long the replenishment will last, so if we want to capture a submarine, then we need to attack it now while it's in the dock."
"Will the captured deserters of our country be handed over to us?"
"Of course. We sincerely hope to cooperate in this operation and are ready to do this for your convenience." To the question of Chen Xiangshan, Kazama answered to his conditions.
"Thank you." Chen Xiangshan nodded to Kazama and gave a look to Lu Ganghu. He got up and left the room. He went to the detachment to join the attack.
"This operation is a game against time. Begin preparation for the performance immediately."
"We will be ready within 10 minutes." Yanagi cheerfully answered the order of Kazama. "Can Shiba-kun also come with us?"
"I got it."
With that response, Tatsuya rose from his chair.
Prepared by a faction of opponents of the reconciliation of the army of the Great Asian Alliance, the submarine was of the standard type. It was not possible to use an atomic submarine.
At present, the use of nuclear energy in armaments and military equipment is prohibited by international treaties, and the International Magic Association monitors the existence of such problems. The main application of atomic energy in the field of armament is for large ships, but as soon as such a ship with an atomic engine is discovered, the Association immediately begins the process of neutralizing it.
Nevertheless, the International Magic Association does not have the opportunity to test all the weapons of the world. The borders of many countries are still closed. For all these reasons, it was difficult to test for any and all atomic submarines, even practically unrealistic.
However, the activity of the International Magical Association is an extreme argument. If it is necessary to prevent the use of nuclear weapons, regardless of nationality, the association would be permitted to use any means necessary. According to the "Charter of the International Magical Association", all countries, fearful of nuclear weapons, are obliged to follow these rules for their magicians.
But even if the government does not fear nuclear war, ordinary people are afraid of it. Those governments that ignore the views of their citizens, have the risk of making the magicians of the world their enemies.
Since the "prevention of the use of nuclear weapons" includes a ban on the use of military equipment with nuclear engines, influential countries cannot own nuclear submarines openly. Therefore, the possession of such submarines carefully concealed, and their use in active operations extremely limited.
Hardly anyone can easily obtain evidence of the existence of an atomic submarine in such conditions. Therefore, for such a small fraction of escaped detachment of deserters, it was impossible to get an atomic submarine.
Although the submarine involved in the detachment of deserters was of a standard type, it had a modern power supply based on tidal fuel cells, and also an air-independent propulsion system (AIP). Because of the progress in fuel cell technology, it has become possible to use AIP-engines not only as auxiliary power, but also as the main, supplementing the "fuel" of fuel cells with hydrogen and oxygen, if necessary. But for a small-sized vessel, besides fuel, there is a need for other frequent replenishments of resources.
For example, the replenishment of the torpedoes used in yesterday's operation. Therefore, the hidden entrance to the dock the day before the main events was simply necessary.
...With an understanding of all this, Johnson could not hide his disappointment. Yesterday's operation was completely meaningless. By the morning of the next day, this thought was becoming stronger and stronger.
Because as a result of the failure of this useless operation, they had to make this unplanned replenishment, which in fact was like surfacing in the backyard of the enemy. The advantage of the submarine was lost with this failure.
His discontent was somewhat transferred to many of the deserters on board and a heavy atmosphere arose between them. It cannot be said that this was the reason, but Johnson had to temporarily split up with the main forces of the detachment of deserters. Therefore, he was waiting for the arrival of the contact boat.
"Captain-dono, the contact boat has arrived."
“I got it. I am on my way.”
The boat he was waiting for was moored to the hidden dock, which was made inside the tanker. He already noticed her and knew where to go.
In the improvised dock a small long and narrow two-seater mini-submarine surfaced. In fact, it was a modified and disguised underwater motorcycle, its speed and concealment were good enough.
Johnson has already changed into a wetsuit for landing on a sightseeing boat. In order to not turn this into a confrontation with friendly troops, he decided to move forward as quickly as possible.
Tatsuya noticed the movements of the Australian agent five minutes later, but he did not say anything about this to Kazama.
The location of the submarine was found. There was no reason to doubt the words of Sanada. They boarded a military amphibious aircraft disguised as a civilian jet, and headed toward the submarine, or rather toward the disguised dock in which it was hidden.
The submarine has a higher priority. And the location of James J.
Johnson is constantly monitored. Excessive information now will only introduce confusion.
"Five minutes before arrival."
"Prepare for the landing."
In response to the report from Sanada, Kazama ordered airborne to be ready at any time. To Chen Xiangshan and Lu Ganghu, he did not issue any special orders. These two have already mastered this type of operation. This was evident from their behavior.
Sanada remained to fly the plane. Tatsuya, of course, went to storm the submarine. From the side of the Separate Magically-equipped battalion, this time, not only Yanagi, but also Kazama joined the detachment.
Kazama went into battle for the first time in a long time, and Tatsuya remembered the experience of the jump before the army invading the battle 5 years ago, so they did not experience any discomfort.
At the speed of a jet plane, they quickly got to the location.
"I see the goal."
"Descend!"
Yanagi, his seven subordinates, Lu Ganghu, Chen Xiangshan, his eight subordinates, Tatsuya, and then Kazama - all went down in that sequence.
A detachment of deserters from the Great Asian Alliance could not respond to the sudden appearance of the joint detachment of Japan and the Great Asian Alliance that landed without any parachutes on the deck.
The method of descent by using slowing magic at the last moment of the fall was not new. During the Third World War such a method had not yet been applied, it was accepted into practical use approximately 20
years ago by the armies of the USNA, the New Soviet Union, the Indo-Persian Union and Japan. Five years ago, this tactic was also used to repel the invasion of Okinawa. But even knowing all this, it is difficult to cope with such speed. This time, using the camouflage of the aircraft, the Japanese army, with its skills in this tactic, was able to catch the enemy by surprise.
In this operation, not only Tatsuya, but Yanagi and the others did not wear mobile suits. Of course, it was not okay to disclose this to the army of the Great Asian Alliance. Nevertheless, the military clothing they now wore, although it looked like ordinary fabric, had protective properties on the level of a bulletproof vest.
The helmet's protection also possessed enough strength capable of stopping a bullet from a sniper rifle while being completely transparent.
Naturally, against an attack from a large-caliber machine gun it will not help, and even a shot from an anti-magic rifle of increased power also leaves no prospects. However, other types of small arms couldn't penetrate.
The troops of the Great Asian Alliance, led by Chen Xiangshan, were also clothed in their bullet-proof suits. Lu Ganghu this time was not in the armor of the White Tiger, but in the same combat clothing as the rest, but his "Steel Qigong" would be able to stop even a rifle of increased power.
As if rivaling each other, Yanagi and Lu Ganghu descended from the deck to the lower level. Tatsuya, along with Kazama, watched what was happening from the rear. According to him, this was not the place where one should climb into the thick of events. Instead, Tatsuya focused on supporting Yanagi's unit, destroying interception systems.
Using the new information retrieval ability of looking at the picture in perspective, he first found and located one by one all the anti-personnel radars. Then he destroyed the inner chambers of the ship. Although all this was not used as a weapon, but during the invasion of the inside of the hidden dock, he destroyed various systems of this ship when they came across his "eye."
When the control room of the dock, disguised as a tanker, discovered Yanagi and the others, it was already too late for the detachment of the deserters of the Great Asian Alliance.
"There is no response from the remote fire point!" The officer responsible for the ship's defensive systems shouted.
"Use the gas!" Major Daniel Liu, who crossed from submarine to dock, shouted in a usual orderly tone.
"But then our allies will fall as well!"
"Never mind that. Stopping the invaders is more important!”
"Hey, what are you waiting for!? Close the partitions! By any means, we must delay the invasion!"
"The partitions... they wont move!"
"What going on here!" At Liu's cry, none of the people present had an answer.
In the rear, Tatsuya released his magic.
...The remotely controlled turret in the path of Yanagi and Lu Ganghu was destroyed. Tatsuya freed his magic.
...The electrical installation of the gas outlet was cut.
Tatsuya's magic was free.
...The power line of the electric motors of the partitions was cut off.
Maybe not as spectacular as the cracking of Fujibayashi or Sanada, but theirs did not work at the hardware level, which gave possibility of recovery.
He did not destroy the hull of the ship directly, but "decomposed" all the insides of the hidden mobile dock.
"Thats enough." From Kazama, walking next to Tatsuya, came the call to stop. "It seems Yanagi and Colonel Chen have reached their destination. There is no longer any need to risk showing your magic."
"Understood." Tatsuya nodded at the words of Kazama, and the last
"decomposition" broke the assembly of the propeller and the shaft of the submarine.
Yanagi and Lu Ganghu invaded the dock at the same time. After that, they looked at each other in the eye for a moment. Lu Ganghu jumped to the submarine, and Yanagi ran further along the aisle dock.
From the other entrance to the dock appeared enemy soldiers though there were not many of them. Probably because the deserters had a limited number of people, and left the majority on land.
They also had insufficient weapons. In the Yokohama incident, not only the main forces, but also the penetration unit possessed high-power rifles, and the soldiers who appeared here, except for conventional rifles with bayonets, had nothing else.
In this case, the battle should be simplified by the bulletproof properties of clothing, but Yanagi had no intention of indulging the enemy. He rushed into contact with the enemy ahead of his subordinates. The enemy was not even given time to pull the trigger.
These assault rifles were apparently created for use inside a vessel or building, using a pull-and-pop system to reduce the total length of the handle and with an inner grip for the left hand to eliminate the deflection of the barrel direction.
Yanagi struck his hand under the chin of the nearest enemy, flinging him into the air. The height to which he took off would never be possible when struck by physical force alone. Activated at the moment of contact, Speed Magic acted not only on the chin, but on the whole body, throwing him.
From two different sides, bayonets rushed towards Yanagi. It seems they did not shoot for the fear of hitting their own. This decision, in principle, was not a mistake. However, looking at the result, this was the wrong choice.
Yanagi approached the right enemy and, grabbing the assault rifle of the enemy by the handle, sharply pulled. Leaning forward toward an enemy soldier Yanagi grabbed his collar, shoving the soldier behind him into another. As a result, the soldiers bayonets hit each other. Yanagi, adding speed, struck the enemy in the back. A cutting scream was heard after which they dropped their assault rifles with bloodstained bayonets a moment later, the two men then fell to the floor.
The enemy became extremely confused. Yanagi was right in the middle of them. If you shoot at him, the bullet is likely to hit an ally. However, if they choose to battle with bayonets, they saw what kind of future awaits them, shown by their killed comrades.
They were in a narrow corridor of the hidden dock. There's nowhere to go either. The soldier detachment of the deserters of the Great Asian Alliance, sent to intercept, were mistaken in their tactics by crowding together in one place. It was natural to think that you should take advantage of superior numbers, but that was until you had to stop because the enemy had engaged in close combat. In addition, Yanagi was followed by his subordinates.
Suddenly Yanagi crouched down. From a short distance, two of Yanagi’s subordinates opened fire from short submachine guns.
Since the enemies were also in bulletproof vests, this did not lead to their complete destruction. However, dealing with the damage received by shots from a distance of only three meters was not easy. Thanks to this, Yanagi and his subordinates coordinated the final attack and completely suppressed the enemy soldiers. More shots came from the exit of the corridor from the side of the submarine.
"Three, follow me. The rest, cover behind, and get busy with these guys." Without waiting for the answer of his subordinates, Yanagi moved on down the aisle. Three of his subordinates followed him, and of the remaining four, one remained on Yanagi's orders to bind the recently defeated enemies, and the three began the covering fire.
The detachment of the Great Asian Alliance, which jumped on the submarine, was divided into two parts. Chen Xiangshan, surrounded by four people, remained on the upper deck, and the remaining five, including Lu Ganghu, penetrated inside. With his physique, Lu Ganghu often had to bend over not to bang his head against the ceiling, but he did not look cramped with his movements, chasing and defeating the deserters one by one. The other four fighters did not have the skills of Lu Ganghu, but they were much superior to their former comrades in combat. In a small submarine, firearms cannot be used freely. But "Steel Qigong" can reflect even bullets of highpower rifles, not to mention ordinary rifles.
Lu Ganghu went to the rear of the entrance hatch alone, while the four others moved to the nose of the submarine.
"The takeover of the ship is under control."
"Is Daniel Liu caught?" Chen Xiangshan answered the question with Lu Ganghu who came to the connection.
"No, he was not on board. Bradley Zhang was also not found."
"Leave the detainees to the others, Captain, return to us immediately."
"Understood."
It is very likely that Bradley Zhang acted separately from the very beginning. On the other hand, Chen Xiangshan was convinced that Daniel Liu is here. If not on a submarine, then he is in the mobile docks command room.
(The Japanese must have already reached that place...) Reflecting on this, Chen Xiangshan was not at all nervous. The main instigator of the sabotage, Daniel Liu, and commander of the advanced lines, Bradley Zhang if caught would cause all the plans of the opponents of reconciliation to collapse. However, Chen Xiangshan did not care to catch Liu with his own hands. After all, it did not matter when the main goals were achieved, namely stopping the diversion and catching a detachment of deserters. Only that it was done.
Kazama and Tatsuya headed for the bridge of the ship disguised as a tanker. Initially, they planned to go to the dock where the submarine was placed, but after receiving a message from Yanagi that the opponents were less than expected, they decided to take control of the mobile dock.
Kazama changed direction, and Tatsuya followed him without asking anything.
They were both students of Yakumo, but their relationship was not like that of close friends. It's not that they achieved any kind of harmony, but it seemed, under the influence of one master, they had a similar mindset, so that one could understand the intentions of the other without words.
Internal cameras and other surveillance equipment were destroyed blinding those on the bridge. Even if the enemy commander wanted to escape, the natural procedure for him would be to send people to find out what was going on.
Tatsuya and Kazama have already met two groups of two people, four scouts in total. The enemy soldiers coming in front did not notice Tatsuya and Kazama. Tatsuya was sure that he was also somehow invisible. Bypassing the opponents one by one, he did not remember knowing the technique with which one could escape detection by others.
(This is one of the 'Technician Tengu,' developed by Kiichi Hogen,
'Cloak of invisibility?' This technique is somewhat reminiscent of the
'Hiding Mantle,' ancient magic from Europe.)
Kiichi Hogen was a famous exorcist from legends who stole knowledge of Minamoto-no Yoshitsune's military art, and was also known as a kenjutsu master, the founder of the ancient style of the sword Kyohatiryu. ["The style of the eight capitals"]
However, with the recognition of the real existence of magic, another list has been added to the list of legends about Kiichi Hogen. In his relations with Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Kiichi Hogen from ancient times was identified with Kurama Tengu.
[ed: Tengu is a mythological ugly being with a red face and a long nose, something like a goblin, Kurama is a mountain, i.e. verbatim Goblin from Mount Kurama]
The art of kenjutsu Yoshitsune taught Kurama Tengu, and martial arts: Kiichi Hogen. If you look from the point of view of Yoshitsune, then it will be natural to consider these two as one person.
But why was Kurama "Tengu"? Kurama is understandable. The monk from Mount Kurama taught Minamoto the art of the sword, which later became the beginning of the Kyohati-ryu style. But none of this leads to the notion of "Tengu".
According to the theory put forward by the researchers of the history of magic, Kiichi Hoheng was called Tengu, because he systematized the art of exorcism for use against people, he invented the
"Tengu-jutsu" [Tengu Techniques], later presented as "Ninjutsu".
This thesis received many supporters and is now accepted as an established theory.
Kazama practiced these techniques even before he became a disciple of Yakumo. From this ancient magic came the nickname of Kazama
"Daitengu" [Big Tengu]. Despite the fact that he learned many techniques of ninjutsu from Yakumo, the main weapon and strength of Kazama is still "Tengu-jutsu".
The magic that prevents detection, "Cloak of invisibility" is one of the characteristic magics from "Tengu-jutsu". It looked like an innate magic (BS-magic).
Do not see the visible, do not hear the audible, avoid seeing, and do not notice that someone escaped.
Instead of changing light or sound waves, it invades the consciousness and makes the enemy think that you are not there.
This power of concealing ones presence is inferior to Ono Haruka's similar inborn ability. However, "Cloak of invisibility" of "Tengu-jutsu"
cannot be uesd by any of his current companions, including Tatsuya himself. The coverage of this magic depends on the skill of the operator.
Kazama could hide up to four people, including himself.
Tatsuya was not seen by the scouts of the enemy precisely because of the "Cloak of Invisibility" of Kazama.
They approached the entrance to the bridge, containing only the control room, not the steering room. Even though looking like a tanker, the internal structure of this ship resembled the structure of warships.
Kazama opened the door to the control room. The head of the detachment of the deserters of the Great Asian Alliance, who was inside, turned to the sound, but when he saw Kazama, he turned away, as if losing interest.
"Report the situation! Hey, hey! ...It's useless, major-dono. It looks like the intercept unit has been destroyed."
"Those who remain on the submarine are also not answering. I think we need to run by ourselves."
Three people remained in the control room. The others were sent to the dock or to scout. Unfortunately, Tatsuya did not know what they were talking about, but Kazama understood Chinese. The view of Kazama gave Tatsuya a sign that he was sure that these three were the leaders of the detachment plotting the diversion.
With "Decomposition," Tatsuya made holes in their bodies. Both shoulders, both hips, 4 points for each person. Summoning magic at the same time for 12 targets, Tatsuya instantly neutralized the enemy leaders.
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