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Second Semester Competition (2): Urban Battle!

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“Huff, huff!” (Maria)

Maria finally reached the sandbag-fortified position at the northernmost end of the main road and bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Running this distance had been a bit tough.

The referee instructor who had run alongside her seemed completely unfazed, which likely meant Maria’s stamina was still insufficient.

“Suu… haa…” (Maria)

Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with air and steadied her breathing, then informed the referee instructor.

“Ready.” (Maria)

“…Are you really sure about this?” (Instructor)

The instructor asked for confirmation again, and Maria answered curtly.

“Yes.” (Maria)

The instructor raised a slightly larger-caliber gun toward the sky and pulled the trigger. A loud “Boom!” echoed heavily.

As Maria heard the sound, she leaned back against the sandbags and sat down. The referee instructor, who had been silently watching her, suddenly shifted his gaze far away and spoke.

“Referee instructors are forbidden from conversing with students during matches unless it pertains to the rules. So, this is merely a monologue.” (Instructor)

Maria looked up at the instructor’s face.

“Your team… is interesting.” (Instructor)

Maria smiled at the instructor, who, despite them being the only two at this location, refused to look directly at her to strictly adhere to the rules.

 

—

 

A few days before the competition began.

“What does this rule even mean?” (Lite)

We had been racking our brains over the upcoming competition. These were the words of Lite, who was looking at a document summarizing the rules for urban areas.

To prepare for the city area battles, we had gathered information from senior members of the respective battalion divisions. Given our experience with interviewing people for the school newspaper, we were surprisingly efficient at gathering information. While we couldn’t delve into their strategic approaches due to their own team interests, we were able to gather detailed insights about the rules and some helpful tips. We were now using this information to draft our strategy, spreading the summarized notes on the table for discussion.

“What do you mean?” (Lux)

“This part: ‘The starting area is within the eastern or western third of the designated area’.” (Lite)

“There doesn’t seem to be anything odd about it, does there?” (Lux)

“Really? Then let me ask you this. Are members disqualified if they aren’t in this area when the match starts? Or is there no penalty at all?” (Lite)

“…Hmm, not sure.” (Lux)

“And during the initial phase, is it okay for members to be anywhere within the area? Or do they need to gather at a specific base?” (Lite)

“…Not sure about that either.” (Lux)

“See? There’s so much we don’t know.” (Lite)

Leitz smugly concluded his argument, leaving us unable to retort.

“You’re right.” (Lux)

I admitted honestly, which seemed to satisfy Leitz.

“…That might actually be interesting.” (Maria)

Maria, who had been listening to our conversation, joined in.

“Right?” (Lite)

Lite nodded eagerly in agreement.

“…So, it means we could stage an ambush?” (Lux)

I asked, and both of them nodded.

The three of us then rechecked the gathered information. However, there still wasn’t any clarification on these specific points. In general, the recommended approach was for teams to regroup initially, secure a building or fortify a sandbagged position near the road, and proceed cautiously from there.

This approach was considered the best because, unlike the practical area, the urban area had numerous obstructions, making it harder to locate enemies but easier to defend positions such as buildings, where concentrated firepower was difficult to achieve. The common tactic was to maintain defense and wait for news from the attacking unit. As such, splitting up mid-match wasn’t typically seen in standard strategies.

As the three of us were searching around, another member who had been considering a different idea started to join in the conversation.

“If midway separation is allowed, we might be able to gain the initiative.” (Heinz)

Hearing the conversation, Heinz seemed on board with the idea.

“Alright, I’ll go confirm this with Fol-sensei real quick,”

Leitz said, taking Rat and Frank along as he left the room.

 

—

 

(TLN: POV switch to Sonia’s)

“That’s all for now. Disperse! Head to your starting points!” (Instructor)

At the instructor’s signal, both teams began sprinting. Among them, I exchanged a glance with Hana, and we slowed our pace slightly as we ran. Using a hidden hand mirror, I checked behind us. None of the Rackers team members were looking our way. They were all running with their backs turned. After confirming this, Hana and I quickly slipped into a nearby alley.

“Looks like it worked, degozaru.” (Hana)

Hana said with a grin. I nodded in response, and we began running west, the direction the Rackers had taken. Our goal was, of course, to scout them and execute the second part of our plan. The Rackers’ speed was likely adjusted to match their Heavy Troopers (Armor), so if we hurried, we might even overtake them.

I run silently alongside Hana, keeping a watchful eye on the main road. There was always the possibility the Rackers could move off the road and head toward us, so we had to avoid an encounter at all costs.

Still, our team had truly come up with an interesting strategy. As it turned out, we didn’t all need to be in the starting area when the match began. In fact, as long as the Knight (Ritter) was in the area, there were no rule violations.

By now, our team members had likely maintained distance from the Rackers, leaving Maria and Frank at the starting point. Soon, Frank would split off as well, leaving Maria to secure the base alone. Frank was probably setting simple traps as a last line of defense in case the Rackers attempted a similar ambush. Maria and Frank, who didn’t contribute much to our combat power, were primarily focused on delaying the enemy if necessary.

Meanwhile, the rest of our team was gearing up for a full-scale ambush. Whether we succeeded or not depended on our actions. We couldn’t afford to mess this up.

I tightened my grip on the short gun in my right hand.

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