Chapter 172: Preparations for the First Battle
The Free States Alliance is mainly composed of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, Nevada, and Northern California—though this does not include all of the Free States.
Washington, Oregon, and Iowa have remained neutral, having reached certain agreements with New United States that kept them out of this Metal War.
Southern California, on the other hand, has thrown itself into New United States’ camp. The current map of North America is now roughly divided: most of the eastern regions belong to New United States, while the western regions fall under the Free States Alliance.
In Roland’s view, the three Free States that chose neutrality believed themselves to be far removed from the conflict. They maintained cooperative relations with the other side, had few direct conflicts of interest, and were developing steadily. As a result, they assumed there was no reason for the other side to target them.
The reality, however, was that New United States was funneling troops to the battlefield through Southern California while launching frontal attacks at the same time, engaging in multi-threaded warfare. Their deep reserves were what gave them the confidence to fight this way.
The Elor that Roland selected lay at the junction of Northern Southern California and Nevada. If he took control of it, then barring surprises, New United States would likely request passage through the area.
As for why Elor didn’t seek aid from the Northern California government to deal with PROJECT…
They believed it would be meaningless. The Northern California government would certainly refuse, as it was already facing direct pressure from Southern California and New United States.
On top of that, Night City’s special circumstances meant the Northern California government didn’t command much authority there to begin with, largely thanks to Night Corp.
PROJECT’s existence would actively obstruct New United States’ actions and help relieve pressure on Northern California. No matter how one looked at it, going after PROJECT Corporation would be a losing deal.
And besides… it would be your city taking the losses. What does that have to do with us?
As a section of ground within Agas City slowly opened, a massive platform rose upward. Countless mechanical soldiers stood neatly arranged upon it. Chris gazed calmly at the scene below, then turned to his adjutant.
“Are the preparations basically complete?”
“Yes. Once the Jellyfish System is in place, we’ll be ready to move out.”
Chris’s adjutant was a locally recruited individual who had undergone modification and conditioning. He possessed considerable knowledge of PROJECT’s secrets and solid command ability, making him the most suitable choice among them.
The Jellyfish System they referred to was a stealth device developed by Samuel. Using technology from the PROJECT world, it could perfectly evade detection from satellites, radar, and similar systems, turning the unit into a true Ghost Force. Even optical camouflage, which could still be discovered under certain conditions, couldn’t compare.
In the cyberpunk world, this stealth system was almost unsolvable. Its only drawback was that it couldn’t attack while cloaked—but… once you’re already right in the enemy’s face, if you can’t attack while invisible, then just reveal yourself and strike.
If you still managed to lose after jumping straight onto the enemy’s face, Roland would start suspecting everyone of being an internal mole.
Soon enough, this force departed from Agas City, heading straight for Elor.
...
“About how many troops do you think PROJECT has?”
The Nevada commander, who had arrived in Elor, asked his adjutant with some curiosity.
“Hard to say, but it could easily be a force of ten thousand. The intelligence we gathered back at Agas City already showed a massive number of robot units.”
“If they’re all robots, that actually makes things easier.”
The commander couldn’t help but laugh. Against that kind of force, graphite bombs and EMPs would do the job. Even if the enemy had countermeasures, they wouldn’t get through without losses.
“Sir, you don’t seem very concerned about this corp?”
The adjutant glanced at him curiously.
“Of course I’m not. They’re just idiots being used as a gun by Militech. What’s there to worry about? Besides, the Rhino armored vehicles sent down from above aren’t a joke. Looks like the higher-ups are taking this pretty seriously—though I don’t really know why.”
The commander sneered and shrugged.
The real reason Nevada was taking this so seriously came from Higashiyama Ryoichi’s warning. After cooperating with PROJECT Corporation for so long, Arasaka had gained some understanding of PROJECT’s capabilities.
PROJECT possessed extremely advanced hacking technology, materials science, and highly mature electromagnetic weapon systems. This made Arasaka suspect that PROJECT might have terrifying electromagnetic weapons, prompting them to urge the Nevada government to pay closer attention.
At the same time, Arasaka declined to send security forces, citing insufficient manpower as an excuse. They had no desire to personally test the lethality of high-output electromagnetic weapons.
Even if it was only a possibility, the potential losses would be enormous if such weapons were actually deployed.
Especially at this critical stage, it was better to wait. Once their supercarrier and escort fleet arrived, everything could be addressed then.
And just as Arasaka had anticipated, three of PROJECT Corporation’s top-tier war machines were indeed moving toward Elor along with the rest of the forces.
The Nightmare Electromagnetic War Chariot was powered by a micro-reactor and equipped with a small electromagnetic cannon, cluster missiles, anti-EMP systems, energy shields, and micro anti-gravity units. Its primary construction material was Titanium-Platinum Alloy, which surpassed titanium alloys in hardness while also offering excellent ductility and toughness.
Each vehicle was fitted with two independent operating systems and backup power units. When facing netrunner attacks that could not be resisted, one system could be deliberately abandoned and used as a trap to counterattack the enemy netrunner.
Roland had paid an exorbitant price for the blueprints, enough to make his heart ache for quite some time, and at present only three units had been produced.
Even so, a single such war chariot was enough to influence the outcome of a small-scale battlefield.
Roland didn’t believe Elor had any especially outrageous heavy firepower. Even missiles, if not deployed in sufficient numbers, wouldn’t be able to break through the Nightmare’s energy shield defenses.
And besides… the Spirit of Seduction’s abilities were no joke. Combined with the Umbrella System developed under Samuel’s leadership, it was more than enough to mislead incoming long-range missile strikes.
If that still wasn’t enough… then they could resort to aerial interception. After all, the enemy wasn’t going to fire strategic weapons like nuclear missiles at him. Using those on him instead of New United States—were they insane?
Tch… though on second thought, they probably couldn’t use them on New United States either. Otherwise, New United States would simply nuke them flat in return…
Still, Roland wasn’t particularly worried. With the help of the system, he had already produced a “Great Shock,” currently sealed deep underground. That thing… was best left unused if possible—it tended to provoke extreme reactions.
It was a miniature annihilation bomb.
Roland’s current plan was to keep it as his final lifesaving measure, never to be used unless absolutely necessary.
Author's Note
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