The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox-Chapter 24Vol 3. : Communication
“Are they alright...?”
Commander Eve, clearly shaken by the shocking event, couldn’t help but worry about the Five Sisters.
“There is no problem. During this operation, we did not base our tactics on predicting the opponent’s behavior. We have prepared several contingency plans, but we also allocated a considerable buffer to allow for unexpected scenarios. The core tactic remains to respond to the opponent’s actions. We are not trained to panic just because something unexpected occurs.”
“O-Oh... That’s reassuring...”
In fact, when the scorpion was hurled into the air, several multi-legged tanks had already adjusted their targeting to track it.
Technically, every single multi-legged tank had been assigned specific targeting areas, and they continued to track and aim at any potential threats within their assigned sectors.
If anything occurred, they were ready to fire immediately.
“The scorpion... has landed.”
The scorpion that had been thrown into the air, naturally incapable of maintaining its position mid-flight, was pulled down by gravity and crashed into the ground.
However, thanks to its protective membrane, it showed no signs of injury. It quickly got up, swayed slightly, and remained in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ place.
Most likely, it was waiting for Tefen to arrive.
Ringo continued her observations.
The Five Sisters and the local strategic AI were fully occupied managing the current engagement, leaving no resources for additional analysis.
This was anticipated from the start, and Ringo was the one tasked with handling all analytical operations.
In the future, additional AI with sufficient processing power would be needed at Fortress No. 2 and Oil Port. But for now, Ringo managed everything.
Tefen and its swarm of scorpions were now only 2 km away from the <The Tree> combat units.
On the map, it was a mere stone’s throw.
However, in practical terms, 2 km was still a considerable distance.
For instance, a humanoid machine communicator would find it difficult to observe the precise details of a multi-legged tank stationed 2 km away, given the limitations of visual sensory capabilities.
But Tefen was enormous. Not only was its body massive, but its eyes were also correspondingly large.
Similarly, the 7-meter-long scorpions, despite being smaller than Tefen, also had proportionally large eyes, resulting in superior vision.
Whether or not they possessed the neural capacity to process visual data effectively was another matter, but it would be foolish to optimistically assume they couldn’t see anything.
Thus, the analysis proceeded under the premise that they could see just fine.
Tefen continued its steady, measured march. It moved at a constant speed, skillfully maneuvering its eight legs.
Its massive head remained completely level, unaffected by the terrain’s bumps and dips.
(It’s highly likely that they’re observing us.)
This was Ringo’s conclusion.
From the dissection of the scorpions previously transported to <The Tree>, it was confirmed that their nervous systems were highly developed.
Whether this neural complexity was necessary to support such a massive body or indicative of intelligence remained unclear.
However, compared to the ordinary scorpions stored in <The Tree>’s biological library, these creatures were clearly not just larger versions of normal scorpions.
In other words, just as Ringo was observing Tefen’s movements, Tefen might very well be observing <The Tree>.
Earlier, when the scorpion was flung into the air—
As the scorpion spun through the sky, the multi-legged tanks continued to track it, adjusting their gunsights accordingly.
The scorpion, however, soon stabilized its posture and aimed its head toward the ground.
For the majority of its airborne trajectory, it was physically unable to see the ground.
Yet, upon landing, the scorpion immediately oriented itself toward the multi-legged tanks, locking its gaze on the specific tank that had targeted it.
(It’s sharing information with Tefen in some way.)
With this hypothesis in mind, Ringo replayed the recorded data and reanalyzed the movement patterns of the entire swarm.
(Several scorpions frequently altered their course, swerving and zigzagging. It almost looks as if they’re probing the multi-legged tanks for reactions. Or they’re observing how the tanks respond to certain maneuvers.)
Clearly, the swarm wasn’t merely moving toward a predetermined objective.
However, not every scorpion was acting strategically. Some continued straight toward their destination without deviation.
Ringo continued her observations.
Tefen kept advancing, and the multi-legged tanks remained aimed and ready.
Reconnaissance drones circled above, carefully maintaining distance.
Then, when Tefen and its swarm closed to within 1 km, they stopped.
“They stopped!”
Commander Eve couldn’t hide her surprise.
All the monsters they’d encountered thus far had been overwhelmingly aggressive.
<The Rain Croin> had launched a preemptive strike and charged straight at them.
The worms attacked on sight, and the hyena-like monsters had also initiated attacks without provocation.
Even the initial three scorpions had charged straight at them without hesitation.
So for Tefen to suddenly stop was genuinely unexpected.
“No major movements detected.”
Both sides were now locked in a tense standoff.
Occasionally, some of Tefen’s scorpions twitched or swayed, but overall, none of them advanced.
The standoff continued for several more minutes.
Had it been Commander Eve directly leading the operation, she might have lost patience and taken some action.
However, the tactical command was now under the local strategic AI, with the Five Sisters making decisions.
For them, waiting was not a source of frustration.
The first to break the silence was the Tefen faction.
One scorpion, the same one that had landed far ahead of the main swarm after being hurled through the air, began to move forward.
It stepped past the line <The Tree> had designated as the defense boundary.
“We will commence warning shots.”
This was one of the more restrained options among the prepared tactics.
A multi-legged tank raised its railgun and fired.
The shell, traveling at 800 km/h, impacted right in front of the scorpion.
The full-metal jacket round blasted the ground, sending sand flying into the scorpion’s body.
“......”
The scorpion flinched, then shook off the sand, lowered its tail, spread its pincers horizontally, and continued walking forward.
Originally, this would have been the trigger for a full-scale attack.
However, at this point, Ringo intervened, halting the attack.
Given the increasing likelihood that the Tefen swarm possessed some degree of intelligence, the objective was adjusted from extermination to deterrence.
With the objective now altered, Ringo relayed new instructions to the Five Sisters.
She minimized her direct involvement, instead focusing on supporting the sisters in implementing the revised strategy.
The local strategic AI immediately initiated the new protocol.
The multi-legged tank that had fired the warning shot advanced.
It deliberately aimed its upper and lower turrets away from the scorpion, spreading its manipulator arms wide to mimic the scorpion’s stance.
The intention was to convey that they had no hostile intent.
Of course, it was also possible that the scorpions had an entirely different interpretation, but that couldn’t be helped.
Both sides advanced cautiously, eventually closing the gap to just 5 meters.
And then, they both stopped.
The standoff continued, neither side making a move.
Suddenly, the multi-legged tank leaped backward.
“The local AI has entered lockdown mode. Emergency situation.”
“What!? What’s happening!?”
On the map, all friendly markers suddenly turned gray, indicating offline status.
Live footage cut off, and the feed switched to long-range reconnaissance images.
In the footage, a massive sandstorm was being kicked up around Tefen.
“The multi-legged tanks are firing their railguns.
All shots are warning shots.
All units are in full retreat.
Reconnaissance and bomber units are also initiating withdrawal.
The strategic AI at Oil Port has requested reinforcements.
Fortress No. 2 has launched a fuel-air explosive missile.
Situation remains unclear. Data is still being analyzed.”
“There haven’t been any casualties, right!?”
“No confirmed damage based on the last received data and video analysis.
Current movement patterns suggest a tactical withdrawal to the secondary defense line.
Estimated time to complete the withdrawal is 12 minutes.
The fuel-air explosive missile will impact in 5 minutes.”
