Chapter 133: Take a Hit First
As the railgun and the black metal armor became more advanced, there was one question that the military enthusiasts of the world had.
—Can the black metal armor withstand the maximum output of the railgun?
In other words, it was a question of the spear and the shield.
The railgun projectile also used black metal.
The only country that possessed both was Korea, but recently more places had developed railguns.
Among them, the most active and successful place was, of course, the United States.
This huge country conducted experiments of shooting railguns at black metal armor under various conditions and environments, and summarized the results.
There was no way for ordinary people to check this information, but the major allies knew it, and it was a defeat for the shield.
That is, the black metal armor was not invincible.
It was somewhat surprising considering that it could withstand any explosion, but the US military researchers reported that a kind of transform phenomenon occurred when black metal came into contact with each other.
—For a very short moment, a transform phenomenon occurs and both the projectile and the armor plate lose their shape. However, the armor plate does not completely disintegrate, and a considerable output is required for the railgun.
The shield lost, but it showed enough performance to defend against anti-ship missiles, so black metal was essential for modern warships.
Here, people had another question.
—Would the same result occur if Korea’s railgun was shot at another country’s black metal armor?
First of all, Korea was almost the originator of black metal related technology, and the railgun also had aspects that surpassed other countries in terms of specifications.
It surpassed other railguns by far in terms of range, penetration, durability, etc., but it was suspected that it was hiding this.
It was certain that it was different in dimension since it could make a city with black metal, but Korea did not open its mouth so there was no way to know.
However, in November 2031, finally an opportunity came to find out.
More than 20 warships gathered in the narrow sea between China and the Korean Peninsula, and seven of them were railgun ships.
Korea had two ships, Kim Gu and Yeo Woon-hyung, which were dedicated ships built for railguns, and China modified its existing 055-class destroyers.
First of all, the 055-class did not lose in size at all and applied black metal armor plates generously to create a considerable intimidation.
Since there were six such ships, the Korean navy looked relatively inferior.
However, the Korean navy officers knew very well what would happen when the battle broke out.
“They’re in big trouble. They were happy to be discharged in a year.”
“What can we do? Those bastards won’t leave us alone.”
“We had to clash with them someday.”
It was just regrettable that it happened to be now when they were confronting the Chinese navy in the West Sea.
However, there was not a single casualty of Kim Gu-class destroyers in the Second Korean War, so they could rest assured in that regard.
Soon after, the captain looked at the panel and said.
“The battle is about to begin.”
At the same time, the entire ship switched to automatic combat mode.
When entering this mode, the crew had nothing to do except damage control.
“Everyone get ready for battle. There’s nothing else to do but hold on to something around you. This ship doesn’t care about human affairs.”
Then the mission computer delivered to the whole ship with a clear voice.
「According to operation order 31-15, I will take control of Kim Gu from now on.」
This was Lucia’s voice, which was very familiar to Koreans.
Originally, it displayed the current situation on the panel without voice, but it was updated with new features.
The ion thruster started and the railgun turret rotated quickly.
This was also true for Yeo Woon-hyung ship, and China noticed it too late.
「Limiter release, railgun 1 and 2 maximum output.」
「Cooling system no problem, change to rapid fire mode.」
「Start combat.」
At that moment, four railguns began to fire projectiles at an unbelievable speed.
As soon as the arc discharge disappeared and the projectile left the muzzle, the battery was already pushing power in.
The projectiles were fired so fast that it looked like a blue flash stuck to the muzzle.
Kukukukung!
That’s how four railguns fired hundreds of projectiles and finally began to rain over China’s fleet.
“Bridge! The Koreans fired their railguns!”
“Ship evasive maneuver!”
But it was too late.
The projectiles seemed to predict China’s fleet movements as they hit their hulls.
The black metal armor held on, but only for a moment. It soon disintegrated due to the transform phenomenon.
The first one to be disabled was the Nan Chang, a 055-class destroyer.
This ship was modified as a railgun ship experimentally, so it had many errors and the turret was not even properly installed.
It literally split in half when it was hit by dozens of projectiles.
And then holes were punched in the engine room, and it completely lost its propulsion.
It was only a minute after the battle started that one ship was disabled.
The other ships finally stopped their evasive maneuvers and rotated their turrets, but they were surprisingly slow.
They only cared about installing railguns, so they did not even connect with the mission computer, and the firing data input was manual.
It was literally made to the level of being able to fire railguns and deployed, but that turned out to be a fatal mistake in real combat.
“Firing data input complete!”
An instructor shouted with a hoarse voice, and Jun Yi’s captain was about to order firing.
But he and everyone else had a desperate look on their faces.
Hundreds of dots appeared on the laser screen.
In that short moment when the screen was updated, the dots had moved a considerable distance.
A question arose in everyone’s mind: what kind of railgun is that, that it can fire without cooling?
It was absurd considering that the railgun developed by China had to forcibly cool the turret after a few shots.
“What the hell did they make…”
Before the captain’s words were finished, a projectile flying at 7km per second hit Jun Yi.
The sturdy black metal armor disintegrated in an instant, and holes appeared in the bridge.
And then the holes went down and hit the VLS and the ammunition depot, causing a huge explosion.
Jun Yi exploded and split into two pieces, and the nearby ships had to dodge projectiles and debris that came from 100km away at the same time.
Although it was a surprise attack that started the battle, the outcome seemed clear.
Only then did the other railgun ships start firing, but they were much slower than Korea’s and hardly hit any targets.
A few shots barely hit, but they could not penetrate the strong black metal armor and lost their shape.
Kim Gu and Yeo Woon-hyung maneuvered quickly and faced the entire Chinese fleet in Yeonpyeong Island.
In a short time of less than a few minutes, five ships sank and the rest chose to flee instead of responding.
They seemed to have forgotten for a moment that the range of the railgun covered the entire sea area.
Black metal projectiles rained down over their heads like rain.
***
At that moment when Yu Ji-ha suddenly declared war on both countries.
A joint exercise of Japan, Britain, and France was taking place in the sea south of Tsushima.
First of all, they announced externally that they were conducting training out of concern for a possible situation on the Korean Peninsula, but their fundamental purpose was elsewhere.
This fleet was supposed to act as bait to lure Earth Fleet into war.
Britain and France had bad relations with Korea, but not enough to go to war.
While Earth Fleet kept confronting the training fleet, China would launch a surprise attack and occupy Yeonpyeong Island. That was their plan.
Of course, Earth Fleet could submerge and head straight to Yeonpyeong Island instead of chasing the training fleet.
But in that case, the training fleet would be disbanded and an escort fleet would be formed to attack Tsushima.
It was a simple deception operation, but since they had to defend both Yeonpyeong Island and Tsushima from their perspective, they had no choice but to be dragged around here and there.
But such a plan turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking of both countries.
Yu Ji-ha stabbed them with defiance by declaring war without flinching despite their pressure.
While both countries’ leaders were flustered by the sudden declaration of war, China’s fleet in the West Sea was literally smashed.
They were supposed to launch a surprise attack, but they were attacked instead.
The entire fleet was destroyed too quickly for any news to be delivered.
So the joint fleet command in Tsushima was unable to hide their satisfaction when Earth Fleet surfaced suddenly.
“As expected, according to plan.”
“Let’s just keep our distance and deter them. It’s a success if we keep Earth Fleet here.”
They were only training ships, so they did not have proper weapons or command systems.
The British and French destroyers took turns commanding because of this situation.
It would be a very profitable deal if they could hold Earth Fleet with such half-ships.
The only thing that worried them was Japan’s government’s erratic behavior.
Izuchi Saburo admiral thought that Japan’s government, especially Matsuda prime minister, was not a trustworthy person at all.
His specialty was passing the buck and hiding, and he would not have been a great soldier even if he had served as a self-defense officer.
It was a shame for Japan that he became the prime minister as a key figure of the Restoration Association.
‘But it can’t be helped.’
Someone had to be in the prime minister’s position in that chaotic time.
Although he was a coward and could not properly control the front-line units, he was still the prime minister.
The soldiers could fight with peace of mind if there was a politician who would take responsibility.
Of course, they should not fight here.
He grabbed the key of the microphone and said.
“I announce to you all. Earth Fleet, the subject of rumors, has finally appeared before our eyes. They can’t attack us. Because we have British and French destroyers by our side.”
No matter how reckless Yu Ji-ha was, he would not dare to attack the ships of the two countries.
They all looked at Earth Fleet’s ships with a bit of tension.
Some said it was darker than they thought, and some said they wanted to try it once.
It was because there was a railgun ship in the training fleet.
“So our fleet is…”
It was when Admiral Izuchi was about to say something more.
Suddenly, the turret of the Earth Fleet’s lead ship rotated and aimed at the flagship.
The distance was so close that they could see the hole of the dark barrel.
A dry gulp sounded in the bridge of the training fleet’s flagship.
“Surely not…”
“Don’t worry. They can’t shoot us. It’s just a simple threat.”
He is the president of Korea, the owner of that fleet.
Giving an attack order meant going to war with both countries.
Would Korea, with its weight, face China and Japan at the same time?
There was a variable called the Human Alliance, but it was still burdensome.
So the staff under Admiral Izuchi were a bit surprised, but they didn’t show it.
Rather, they argued that they should act confidently to save face in front of the British and French destroyers.
“I see. Our fleet will conduct a maneuver training from now on. Slowly circle around that fleet.”
This was no different from provoking a beast trapped in a cage.
If the cage was sturdy, it would be fine, but the beast could break out and come out at any time if it wanted.
Anyway, when the Japanese training fleet moved, the four British and French destroyers also followed obediently.
They seemed to want to observe the Earth Fleet’s combat ships in detail on this occasion.
“Is that a firepower ship without a turret? If it gets hit by a missile, it’ll be blown to pieces.”
“It didn’t even flinch at the anti-ship missile baptism. Do you think that’ll happen? The only answer to neutralize that is a nuclear warhead.”
“We’re also researching Hafnium 2. We’ll see results soon.”
“By the way, that ship has no weapons at all…”
“It’s a drone carrier. The one that shot down Iran’s F-14 came from there.”
“I wonder what would happen if our fleet… no, our air force’s F-3 fought against it.”
“No matter what, how can you compare it to a stealth fighter? A drone is just a drone.”
F-3 had not yet been mass-produced, but thanks to its concept of fighting with its following drones, it attracted a lot of popularity.
Some in Japan claimed that if F-3 was mass-produced, it could overwhelm the Human Alliance’s Caliber drones.
Of course, they quietly hid the fact that they had to successfully localize the ion thruster and transplant it to F-3 without any problems.
Anyway, the Japanese military was confident after receiving a lot of attention from the government’s announcement of a massive increase in defense spending.
That atmosphere reached the training fleet and led them to wander around leisurely while being exposed to the Earth Fleet’s railgun.
“Don’t be nervous! That artificial intelligence can never attack us!”
It was when Admiral Izuchi’s confident voice was heard by the fleet.
A lieutenant who had deciphered the communication from headquarters screamed as if he was torn apart.
“Admiral! Korea has declared war!”
“What? On whom?”
It was a stupid question.
Who else could Korea declare war on besides China and Japan?
He just didn’t believe that it would actually happen, so he asked such a foolish question.
“The Republic of Korea announces that it has entered into war with China and Japan, over.”
Admiral Izuchi unknowingly clenched his hand on the console handle.
Was it a total war if they declared war?
But he hadn’t heard anything about waging a total war from his superiors.
Japan’s goal was only Tsushima, and they planned to have only a limited naval battle.
“Impossible… It can’t be.”
“They’re waging a two-front war? They’re completely crazy!”
Amidst the astonished reactions, Admiral Izuchi felt something ominous.
A blue discharge occurred from the barrel aimed at his flagship.
When he looked straight at the barrel, his consciousness had already flown away.
The three railgun combat ships of the Earth Fleet began firing in earnest.
The destroyers that were wandering around leisurely were turned upside down in an instant.
***
At that moment when both fleets were blown up.
The 7th Army Corps of Korea gathered near Shinju City started their engines at once.
“Move quickly!”
“Leave within 30 minutes! Load everything you need on your car!”
“Leave the drones alone! They’ll fly by themselves when you start your car!”
Corporal Kwon Jun-ho felt like swearing as he ran around here and there.
He was supposed to be discharged in a month, but war!
“I want to go home! Oh damn!”
He wished this whole situation was a training exercise, but seeing the brigade commander running around, he was sure the war had started.
He loaded his luggage on the vehicle and stuffed the ration box, when the platoon leader who boarded late tapped his shoulder.
“Cheer up. What are you going to die for?”
“Don’t you know, sir. There are Chinese bastards up north, and I have a headache thinking about going in there.”
“We’re also dumbfounded. How can a war break out so easily?”
The atmosphere surrounding East Asia was harsh, but no one expected a real war to break out.
Did the politicians these days forget about things like negotiations or dialogues under the water?
Corporal Kwon turned on the car.
Unlike before, there was no loud noise and the vibration was very faint.
“Well, at least we won’t die in here.”
“Do you know that? In the last war, less than 100 people died in our 7th Army Corps.”
“The probability is low, but if it’s me, it’s 100 percent.”
The platoon leader couldn’t argue back because it was true.
He admits it.
The combat power of this tank is unparalleled.
Not only its offensive power, but also its defensive and maneuvering capabilities were different from other tanks.
It was at a level where it could smash all of the K2 tanks, which were one of the powerful tanks in existence, with one shot.
But he couldn’t help being disgusted by the war itself.
Once they left the assembly point, they had to follow all kinds of orders from their superiors and the radio.
As winter approached, it was so cold outside that even the urine stream would freeze, and the days of not sleeping well due to the tension of the war would continue.
Above all, what made his teeth chatter was the horror of war itself.
The deafening roar, the screams from all directions, and the death of his comrades were something that those who only gave orders from above would never know.
“But what can we do? It’s our fate as soldiers to be scolded if we’re scolded.”
At least President Yu understood the hardships of the troops well enough to airlift them food when they were short of it.
But since the opponent was who they were, there was a very high chance that they wouldn’t even have that luxury.
The platoon leader listened carefully to the radio that suddenly came in.
“They’re broadcasting instructions directly from the corps these days?”
After listening for a while, the platoon leader tapped Corporal Kwon’s shoulder.
“Hey, Jun-ho. You said you wanted to buy Lucia, right?”
“I want to buy her, but I don’t have money and I think I’ll get her 10 years later even if I make a reservation now.”
The goal of young men these days was not a house or a car, but an android purchase.
They could buy their own lover with money, so it was natural in a way.
But there was a phenomenon where the supply couldn’t keep up with the demand.
It was crazy that if you reserved in your early 20s, you would almost get it when you were thirty.
Corporal Kwon also wanted to find a job near Megacity after he was discharged and reserve an android.
He wanted to live with Lucia, one of whom he bought, since dating was out of the question anyway.
But the platoon leader said something unexpected.
“They say they’ll give one Lucia to whoever wants it after this war is over. And right away.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You can retire right after the war is over regardless of your service period and they’ll send Lucia to your home. If you don’t need Lucia, there are other benefits too.”
“Wow, that’s unbelievable.”
“The president must be going to abolish conscription.”
Compared to the platoon leader who was bitter, Corporal Kwon was burning with tremendous motivation.
They would give him that hard-to-get android right away!
And for free!
This was an irresistible temptation.
The platoon leader continued to list the benefits given to the soldiers for a long time, but Corporal Kwon didn’t hear them.
“Where do we have to go?”
“You look like you’ve straightened your shoulders from getting a baby Lucia. Just wait a minute. This is not from the corps but from higher up… Huh?”
“…?”
After listening to the radio for a while, the platoon leader finally took his finger off the key.
A shocking word came out of his mouth along with a groan.
“They say we’re going to Beijing. They say we should ignore the Chinese army and advance to Beijing?”
“Huh?”
Corporal Kwon’s eyes widened.
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