Rune Troopers: Self-Defense Forces Adventure - Chapter 3: Shots Fired (Part 5)
“What was that sound?” Kuze’s face paled as he saw the devastation in the courtyard.
The crashed helicopter and the helicopter squad that had left them behind. It did not take him long to understand what had happened there. And then…
“That’s him!” Kuze stared at the Black Dragon, whose silhouette could be seen only through the cloud of dust behind the wreckage of the helicopter.
The Black Dragon did not seem to move. But as long as he was in that place, they could not approach to rescue the pilot of the downed helicopter. His men also seem to be unable to get close because of it.
“Third Lieutenant Kuze! Are you all right?”
Sergeant Yaegashi and his men of the Third Team rushed up to him as if they had found a ray of light in the return of Kuze and the First and Second Teams. Kuze gave them a big nod and then, without a moment’s pause, raised his voice.
“After me, Sergeant Yaegashi!”
“Huh? Yes, sir.”
Kuze removed his equipment from the way and shouted to his assembled Platoon.
“Yaegashi and I will board the crashed helicopter. The rest of you stay here and cover us! If the Dragon moves, fire!” Kuze was about to run out with his Type 89 rifle on his back.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Third Lieutenant Kuze?” Yaegashi stopped him. The rest of his men felt the same way.
Kuze looked around at his men and explained the situation.
“We can’t rescue the helicopter pilot at this point,” he said. “And no other helicopter can land here! As long as it’s here!” Kuze stared out into the courtyard. His men gasped at the look on his face.
“No way…!”
“Are you going to take it down?”
Kuze nodded at their words and said to Yaegashi out of a sense of responsibility, “Sorry, Yaegashi, originally it should be you, but if you shoot, it could be your responsibility.”
After he said this, he ran toward the helicopter that had crashed about a hundred meters away. Yaegashi followed. The remaining men spread out and readied their guns, ready to fire a warning shot if the Dragon approached Kuze and his men.
When Kuze reached the crashed helicopter, he forced open the side door. It took a lot of force, probably because it had been deformed by the impact. He was worried that the Dragon might come this way while he was opening the door, but for some reason there was no sign of movement from earlier.
Kuze and Yaegashi finally entered the cabin. The cabin was literally turned upside down. Luggage was scattered everywhere, and there was no place to step.
“Ku, is that you, Third Lieutenant Kuze…?”
“Captain, are you all right?”
Kuze walked up to the pilot in the cockpit. The captain and co-pilot had blood all over their faces, probably from cuts from the broken windshield.
“The altitude wasn’t too high, so I didn’t die, but I did get some fractured ribs, and my legs are probably broken too. Ugh…”
“J-Me too…”
Kuze had no choice but to make a hard decision.
“It looks like we’re going to have to postpone the rescue. I’m sorry, but please bear with me.”
“I understand…” The two replied stoutly.
But these two, like the girl, must be brought to the transport ship as soon as possible. The shock of the crash might have damaged their internal organs. And…
“Third Lieutenant Kuze, there it is!”
Yaegashi found something among the overturned supplies. It was the one Kuze had ordered him to look for while they were running.
“All right. Take the spare ammunition and get out.”
Kuze picked it up, carried it on his shoulder, and exited the plane. It was heavy, digging into his shoulder.
『Don’t do it, Third Lieutenant Kuze! It’s moving that way!』
The radio echoed with the screams of his men. The sound of Type 89 rifles firing could be heard continuously. His subordinates were firing to keep the Dragon away from us.
However, the sound of the bullets hitting the ground made Kuze shudder. A high-pitched metallic sound echoed. The bullet did not penetrate the Dragon’s scales. Not even a scratch.
Kuze looked back near the wreckage of the helicopter and saw a huge shadow rising there. The cloud of dust finally cleared.
“This guy…” Kuze’s eyes widened.
The Black Dragon must have been there. However, it was injured as it was dripping blood on the ground.
“Was it hit by the helicopter’s rotor blades?”
Kuze was convinced when he saw the gaping wound on the black dragon’s belly. This black dragon had never heard of a helicopter. Perhaps it did not see the rotor blades spinning at high speed, or perhaps it was unaware that they were dangerous. So the Black Dragon made contact with the rotor blades and was injured.
“You’re so dumb…” Yaegashi frankly commented.
Encouraged by this, Kuze kneeled down on the spot and turned the thing mounted on his shoulder towards the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon was slowly approaching Kuze and the others one step at a time while they were doing so.
It was as if to say that it would never forgive those who had hurt it. Even though it was wounded, its eyes were filled with an insane fighting spirit. It was as if winning was the raison d’être of the dragon’s existence.
“Roar!!!”
The Dragon’s roar echoed throughout the castle. Kuze was almost overwhelmed by the sheer power behind the Dragon’s roar. But he was not intimidated.
“Sergeant Yaegashi! Loading!” He had no intention of losing to someone who would get caught in the helicopter’s rotor blades and hurt himself.
The hand holding the 84 mm anti-tank recoilless launcher on his shoulder was naturally straining as well.
The 84 mm anti-tank recoilless launcher was a heavy weapon that had been permitted to be permanently stationed at SDF camps to stop suicide bomber vehicles since the deployment to Iraq. The SDF was allowed to carry only one of these weapons on this reconnaissance mission.
“Anti-tank explosive, loading!”
Yaegashi took a round from the OD-colored cylindrical fiber case, opened the rear closure of the recoilless gun, and pushed it into the barrel.
“Confirming gun tail closure, loaded, yes! Rear safety confirmed. Ready to fire!”
Yaegashi shouted and lightly tapped Kuze on the back of the head to ensure that he knew the firing preparation was complete. Kuze felt Yaegashi hug his waist in preparation for the impact of the firing.
At the same time, he saw the Black Dragon inhale. It didn’t take long for him to intuit that it was preparing to release that fire breath toward them.
Kuze’s mind flashed back to the scene he had seen on the terrace, where the castle guards were being burned to death. If they did not shoot, they too would die in the fires of hell like that.
“Why do I have to play this kind of role…?” Kuze blurted out in the extreme situation.
The firing on hostile forces and the unauthorized use of heavy weapons. It was the biggest blunder since the beginning of the Self-Defense Forces. It might be hopeless to get a decent promotion now.
The Black Dragon opened its mouth wide.
“Take responsibility!”
At that moment, Kuze pulled the firing lever of the 84 mm anti-tank recoilless launcher. A flash of light flashed across the gun’s muzzle, and a fierce backfire trailed behind Kuze and his men. Then, the anti-tank grenade fired at close range flew into the dragon’s mouth, spun at high speed by the rifling on the barrel.
The shell, which had the power to penetrate the tank’s armor with a single blow, fired its fuse when it reached the Dragon’s throat, which was unprotected because it was spitting fire breath – and exploded.
As the anti-tank shell exploded inside its body, the fire breath also flowed back and turned the Black Dragon’s body into pieces.
A tremendous blast hit Kuze and the others, and they were both knocked over.