The sky was blue, and the wind was gradually becoming hotter. Izumo looked up at the sky, daydreaming. He was sitting on a half-destroyed tank, which had been abandoned and left unrecovered. But this wasn’t the only tank in such a state, so it would likely remain that way for a while.

Metal warriors lay scattered throughout the town as wreckage, no longer fit to return to the battlefield.

“Lieutenant, what are you brooding over? We’re still on duty.”

Izumo grimaced slightly and sighed at his subordinate’s reprimanding voice.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a battlefield this bad. I hadn’t lost any subordinates lately, so this hit me hard.” (Izumo)

The Sanadamaru Corps had 200 members. 32 had been killed and 11 injured in the battle two days ago. The fact that there were more deaths than injuries showed just how ruthless and thorough the enemy had been.

“You’ve lost subordinates in dungeon raids before, haven’t you?”

Izumo didn’t get angry at the indirect comment about being used to losing subordinates. Instead, he exhaled quietly as if dismissing the thought. Losing subordinates was an everyday occurrence. The monsters were strong, and if humans let their guard down, the human domain would easily collapse. Soldiers walked the battlefields to prevent that from happening. But it was a pipe dream to think no one would ever die.

Even Izumo, who led 200 men, had to get through the experience of losing subordinates. However, after fighting in easier battles for evaluations recently, that sense of loss had dulled.

“Losing subordinates is sad, but what’s worse is that the area we seized was immediately retaken. That’s what really kills the soldiers’ morale.” (Izumo)

They had advanced 5 kilometers, but during the confusion of the retreat, the area they had seized was swiftly retaken by the enemy. Now, the defense line was back to where it had been two days ago. The soldiers who died -everything they fought for- had amounted to nothing.

“We got careless… I should have gathered more intel. But I went into battle with rose-tinted glasses on.” (Izumo)

Izumo scratched his head as regret crept into his mind. His subordinate, with a sorrowful sigh, acknowledged the shared sense of frustration. They had been careless, and worse, it was a trap.

“In any case, we don’t have the right to refuse orders from above. It couldn’t be helped.”

“When you’re the commander, it’s not so easy to just give up. If I’d even said a word to the Tank Corps commander, we might have noticed something off… No, forget it. That was a thoughtless remark. Regretting is of no use now.” (Izumo)

Izumo forced a smirk to maintain his composure, and his subordinate let out a relieved sigh. Soldiers didn’t need a commander who moped about the deaths of subordinates. It might sound cold, but in the battlefield, a cool-headed commander who could keep his troops in check was far more reliable.

“Now that you’re feeling better, there’s a new order.”

“Huh? Are we charging again? Just tell them the Sanadamaru Corps are sitting this one out; we’ve got maintenance scheduled.” (Izumo)

Ahead of them was a grassland with a forest in the distance. It looked like a peaceful, pastoral scene, but Izumo had already tasted the horror hidden within. If they were going to charge again, they would need a hundred times the current number of troops.

“No, it seems the commander has changed from the Deputy Head Yoroizuka to General Aegis. We’ve received orders from General Aegis: the armored vehicle of the Underground District will break through, so we are to follow.”

“The Underground District? If they had that kind of connection… I see. This was supposed to be an Underground District operation, but they forced it into a Surface District matter! That’s why the General was in such a panic!” (Izumo)

It was unheard of for the Underground District military to be deployed against lesser monsters. Izumo had never even heard of such an operation at the very least. The fact that the Underground District military was so easily coming to assist meant that this plan had already been in place. Izumo groaned after realizing the underlying context.

“You’re sharp, Captain. It seems the dangerous ancient monsters were originally going to be wiped out by the Underground District, but the national army insisted that Surface District problems be dealt with by Surface District forces.”

“It was an issue of pride and politics? Don’t joke around! What a headache!” (Izumo)

“Recently, there haven’t been any powerful monsters attacking the Surface District, so people have grown complacent.”

“Or maybe power struggles are more important to them than their own lives.” (Izumo)

Izumo slammed his fist into the tank wreckage, sending an ominous sound through the air as his anger mounted. His subordinate, used to this reaction, merely sighed lightly in response.

“Save your outburst for the tavern. Besides, the Underground District’s armored vehicles are on their way. Should we be hopeful?”

“Who knows? I can’t imagine there’s that much of a technological gap between the Surface and Underground Districts, but can a few armored vehicles really take down this plant fortress?” (Izumo)

Having fought against the magical plants, Izumo knew how formidable they were. The weaker monsters were sent out first, lulling their opponents into a false sense of security before counterattacking with a well thought out plan. Their intelligence and adaptability were frighteningly high. If they were to truly eradicate them, the entire national army might need to be deployed, is what Izumo suspected.

“Hmm? What’s up?” (Izumo)

Izumo was feeling the gravity of the situation and pondered their next steps, but he noticed his subordinate staring blankly at the sky with his mouth agape.

“C-Captain… I think the so-called Underground District’s armored vehicles have arrived.”

“Where are you looking while saying t—” (Izumo)

Izumo followed his gaze upward, and his words caught in his throat.

“Hey, can those Underground District armored vehicles fly?” (Izumo)

“…Captain, armored vehicles don’t fly.”

“Then, what the hell is that?” (Izumo)

“That’s not an armored vehicle… It’s probably what we’d call a spaceship.”

A battleship appeared right above Izumo and the others -no, it had flown in from the sky, casting a shadow over them. It resembled a spaceship from a science fiction movie. Although it looked like a rabbit with a mane like a lion, the gun turrets attached to it made it clear at a glance that it was for combat.

The surrounding area erupted in confusion as well at the sudden appearance of the spaceship. People pointed at the sky, their eyes wide with shock as they shouted in amazement.

“What…What is that?”

“It’s a ship! It’s a ship, isn’t it?”

“Where did something like that come from? What family’s weapon is that?”

“That’s not a weapon from the Surface District. It’s from the Underground District. It must be one of their battleships!”

The soldiers were in a state of chaos, but then…

[Ahem, testing, testing. This is Tsurugi Touka, the alien. I’ve officially become an alien— Ah, don’t take the mic from me! I wanted to make first contact myself!]

The familiar voice of a girl could be heard, quickly followed by another person’s voice.

[This is Lanpeach Kouza of the Lion Rabbit. Following the request from the Surface District, we are now commencing weed removal. The military is advised not to interfere since you would get in the way.]

The voice of a man, sounding arrogant and speaking from a position of superiority, echoed from above. Then, countless missiles fired from the Lion Rabbit, leaving trails of smoke as they flew through the air and fell toward the ground. They scattered something that sparkled like snow as they exploded in mid-air.

Before anyone could voice their confusion about what had just happened, the snow-like substance began to fall onto the ground, causing the magical plants to wither.

Blade Flowers, Claymore Sunflowers, Tuning Fork Grass, and even the lawn -touched by the snow-like substance- convulsed as if scorched by fire, rapidly turning into dead brown husks.

The towering giant trees could no longer bear their own weight and broke halfway up their trunks, while the anti-air tulips wilted, scattering their petals.

“Is that…a chemical!? The people from the Underground District brought herbicides with them?!” (Izumo)

“It seems so. Moreover, it looks like it’s a custom product specifically designed to target those magical creatures.”

“Hah! While we foolishly tried to engage them in an honest battle, the Underground District just went ahead and mowed them down with herbicide. Did the general know this and still forced us into an impossible fight?” (Izumo)

“The general is definitely going to be dismissed after this. This isn’t even a question of a disparity in strength. With that herbicide, even a child could have defeated them. But…it looks like not all of the monsters are dead.”

Just when it seemed that everything had withered, a small number of creatures, though weakened, had survived. The Anti-air Tulips fired off light bullets in an attempt to shoot down the Lion Rabbit, while the Blade Treants began moving directly beneath it.

Even though the number was small compared to the overall mass, there were still thousands of them left.

However, even when the anti-air light bullets -which had easily shot down helicopters- hit the spaceship, they were effortlessly blocked by a powerful spirit barrier and couldn’t even reach the armor.

Then, the tips of the Lion Rabbit’s fur made out of crystals glowed, and beams of light shot out into the sky. The thin beams bent at a right angle in mid-air before falling to the ground like rain, sweeping away the monsters.

The beams contained what must have been an overwhelming amount of energy. They sliced through both monsters and buildings as if cutting through butter, causing explosions that turned the scene into a world of roaring flames.

Then, soldiers began jumping out of the Lion Rabbit— Soldiers?

“Hyahaaa! Burn the weeds to ash-usa!”

“Not a single seed will be left behind-usa yo!”

“We aliens!”

Rabbits carrying flamethrowers descended, flapping the butterfly-like wings on their backs. One person, however, wasn’t a rabbit, but Izumo recognized her immediately.

“Uh, Touka-chan, is that you?” (Izumo)

Izumo called out to the familiar figure, who was mingling with the rabbits, burning the Blade Treants that for some reason weren’t using Resist Fire like they had before.

“All your base are belong to u—ah, Izumo-ojisan, hello!” (Touka)

It was Tsurugi Touka-chan, the eccentric granddaughter of his mentor. She turned to face Izumo with a bright smile while pulling the trigger of her flamethrower, continuing to incinerate the enemy.

“What are you doing?” (Izumo)

“Well, I…sold my soul to the aliens. Now, I’m the alien’s vanguard!” (Touka)

“Oh… I see… Well, good for you…” (Izumo) 

“Anyway, time to press on with the invasion! We alieeeens!” (Touka)

Touka-chan charged forward while laughing loudly…

“Captain, it’s a good thing that equipment wasn’t assigned to us, huh…”

“No kidding.” (Izumo)

It was probably designed specifically for exterminating magical plants, but fighting with butterfly wings on your back wasn’t something a middle-aged man could handle. It was clearly meant for girls and rabbits.

“Still, this is our chance to go on the offensive. Let’s launch our counterattack!” (Izumo)

“Yes, sir!”

With the tide of battle turning, Izumo and the national army joined in on the annihilation.

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