I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

In 2030, China and Russia's naval forces were shattered through multiple naval battles, one after another.

Even if they faced not one nation, but an alliance of nations, the U.S. Navy’s Third Fleet and Seventh Fleet, firepower projection machines capable of literally bending their opponents, were unbeatable, even if the second and third highest defense spending countries collaborated.

Although the Sixth Fleet and the British Navy alliance faced difficulties after clashing with Russia's Northern Fleet, and the control of the Norwegian Sea and air superiority evaporated, the naval forces lost by the alliance in Asia were still considerable.

However, this did not mean that their backbone was completely shattered. The Northern Fleet successfully opened the sea routes and, through this, was able to create 'transit points' all over the North Atlantic.

The method was simple.

"There is an Artemis branch on the Norwegian side, so there shouldn't be any major issues. Finland and Sweden opened the routes relatively easily, so we will go through Norway, then head to Iceland, and then Saint John's."

A simple notification to "borrow a path."

However, although Korea once raised its middle finger when Toyotomi Hideyoshi requested a borrowed path to attack the Ming Dynasty, Finland and Sweden, bordering Russia, could not replicate the Winter War.

The Omega Virus, which spread to Northern Europe, made people reluctant to gather in any sizable numbers, and the harsh January and February, along with March when the snow started to melt but the weather remained less than ideal, led many to abandon their air defense power.

During this period, the remaining air defense forces in the Nordic countries were forced to abandon many things, and surprisingly, the alliance forces quickly moved forward after gaining air superiority.

Once the only obstacle, the British Navy’s power, was cleared away, nothing stood in their way.

From March to July, numerous air forces crossed the Atlantic, and the Faroes Airport in the Faroe Islands, 500 km north of Scotland, and Reykjavik in Iceland became forward bases and transit points for the alliance forces.

In the process, the Northern Fleet, which was one of the few remaining naval forces of the alliance, moved several submarines to the northeastern United States and transferred vast quantities of supplies to the transit points.

This was because Eugene knew that the history of this world was completely different from the history he knew.

It was entirely because the U.S. had been embezzling separate funds for the development of Icarus Gear without Congressional approval.

"The U.S. government has been in turmoil for at least a decade. During that time, the alliance forces have sufficiently strengthened their power, so maybe it’s possible to try."

In the chaos of another country, it is a chance for your own.

It wasn’t intentional, but during the U.S.'s blunders, the two countries continued to grow their military power. Some losses occurred due to the Ukraine War in the middle, but strictly speaking, this happened in southern Russia.

When the decision was made to shift focus to the Nordic regions of northwestern Russia, the Baltic Fleet and the Northern Fleet opened the North Atlantic route wide.

Although the usual unfavorable Nordic weather and fuel issues became an obstacle, even so, around 100,000 troops completed preparations to cross the Atlantic.

To be precise, "ready for deployment" didn’t mean they were fully ready to fight at their best.

With significant shortages in equipment, supplies, and food, war was never about fully-equipped forces clashing head-on. Once the operational plans were set, they had to be followed, and the noise generated in the process was disregarded.

Still, some things were prepared.

And then—

"EMP! Damn it, protect the transformers!"

"Command, this is JFK Air Force Base! There's no major issue, but we need time for armament and refueling! All aircraft will take off within 10 minutes!"

In mid-September, later than everyone had expected, just as the leaves on the trees in Central Park were preparing to turn brown, a nuclear bomb detonated 30 km above the northeastern U.S. skies.

As the impact of the explosion that painted the sky red began to subside, at least 40 transport planes flew in.

From Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Providence, Hartford, New York, Virginia.

Short-range surface-to-air missile vehicles and handheld portable missile systems, along with Aegis Ashore systems, targeted dozens of transport planes descending.

Under the sky turned red like a sunset due to the ring of light from the nuclear explosion, the explosion of the airborne transport planes filled the sky beautifully.

This was the beginning of World War III.

"…A nuclear bomb went off above us, yet we're not rushing out immediately. I thought we'd be out there right away."

"How could we go out when we don’t even know where the enemy landed, where the command center is, how much equipment is being offloaded, what the main attack points and offensive endpoints are, or what the supply routes are?"

"Well… you have a point there."

Three hours after the EMP attack, at Central Park HQ, 8 PM.

Normally, people would be finishing their dinner, showering, or taking care of various tasks at this time, but the base had only faint lights on in certain areas.

It felt strange that there was a brief moment of lighting in a place that would usually have thick curtains at every window, and lights rarely turned on after the sun dipped below the horizon. But it was necessary.

To calm down the confused personnel, distribute firearms, ammunition, and bulletproof gear, and prepare for any unforeseen situations.

Despite some military satellites being destroyed in the nuclear explosion, preparations had been made in advance, changing some satellite orbits to ensure that there would be no problems assessing what was happening on the mainland.

But on the other hand, this meant that the operations officers were extremely busy collecting intelligence related to the event in the northeastern U.S., and Rapland had also resumed her main duties. It seemed almost finished now.

Although it was somewhat unclear whether it was her main or side job – especially since the gear she needed would arrive soon – in the end, it was hard to make a big deal of it.

With chronic manpower shortages, there was no time to worry about such details.

"The inevitable has arrived."

"Military guys, what exactly is going on outside? Has the war finally begun?"

"At least 40 enemy transport planes have appeared in the northeastern U.S., and an unknown scale of troops and weapons have been air-dropped. A large number of reconnaissance planes are flying in the area, and we’re about to locate the enemy. Don't worry."

"Unbelievable. I never imagined I'd be facing something like this in my lifetime…"

It wasn’t about supplies or food, but now they were distributing rifles… No, maybe that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t as if this had suddenly happened, but one had to at least prepare for such situations. Even if I hadn’t been thoroughly trained, that was the whole point of why I had been learning until now.

It was just a bit unfamiliar.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on those thoughts. I was carrying something heavy.

To be exact, what I was doing wasn’t about handing everyone a rifle, but moving a large armory filled with guns near the civilian dorms to a nearby storage facility.

If the time came when everyone needed to be armed, the soldiers on duty would sound the alarm, and people would pick up their rifles and ammunition, heading to designated locations for their assigned duties.

This was just the preparation for that.

"If we had moved this earlier, it wouldn’t be an issue, but... of course, that wouldn't have happened."

"If we could have, we would have done it earlier. But since it couldn’t be done, this is the situation we're in now. It’s just like last time in Chinatown, when those who passed away had to find their firearms from outside."

"True."

In essence, the reason they hadn't done it earlier was for security.

If something strange had been asked of a trusted soldier, and the keys to the armory and the ammunition storage had been handed over to anti-government civilians at a critical moment, what would happen? They had even gone through the trouble of screening civilians for situations like this.

For that reason, despite the inconvenience and difficulty, they had opted for this solution, and the result was the current situation – the mutants were now diligently moving the entire armory.

It wasn’t that heavy. Maybe around 150 kg. But because it was large, it was difficult to move without some kind of handle, which made it somewhat inconvenient.

Still, it wasn’t a major problem.

"Ugh."

"…I should have gotten used to this after Brooklyn, but it's still tough. Watch your back, kid."

"This is nothing."

"Even deadlifts with 60 kg can ruin your back if you do them carelessly, you idiot."

"Guess you’re right."

Anyway, it was better to listen to this type of advice. I decided to be more careful moving forward, even though it wasn’t like anything would change dramatically.

But still… it wasn’t the weight that bothered me, it was the size. I couldn’t just grab and move it without considering the posture.

Yet, the task had to be done, and the moving was almost complete, so I focused on my main job. With the help of Laurentina, Logan, and Olivia, it didn’t take long.

Mutants didn’t have their own heavy equipment.

Some might wonder why Rapland wasn’t involved, but she, unfortunately, hadn’t worn her gear yet, so she was lacking in strength and stamina.

And speaking of that—

"...Ugh, that looks ridiculously heavy. Aren’t you struggling?"

"Do you want to join us, Rapland?"

"I still can’t. Ah, I told you not to pat me on the head in places like this."

"Really…"

...Ugh, that was something I didn’t expect.

I wasn’t sure if it was because of my expression or if they felt awkward about it, but both of them seemed to want to say something after looking at my face. But, well, what could I do? They were already holding hands.

I almost spoke up about that, but I had a feeling I’d be scolded, so I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I opened it in a different direction.

"How's the Military Police doing?"

"Not yet. The real issue will be in the future. Many of our soldiers are being dispatched due to command duties. It’s not just officers or noncommissioned officers; we’re short on everyone."

"Then…"

"I heard HQ has its eye on West Point. They plan to train soldiers with at least minimal military knowledge using the materials and facilities there…"

"...Isn't it a bit late for that timing?"

"To be precise, they just found the resources to do it, Eugene."

...Hmm.

That was quite an unexpected statement. But I thought maybe it made sense, considering how much I had adapted to this apocalypse.

Then Captain Fawcett continued his explanation, specifically about events from a hundred years ago… It wasn’t a long explanation, but that’s what made it even more disorienting.

The word combination was something like this:

"A 30-day officer training course."@@novelbin@@

"...An officer in 30 days?"

"More precisely, they outsourced officer courses to civilians and gave officer certificates to those who completed them."

"...Please don’t tell me they did that up on the West Coast?"

"They didn’t go that far, but if they hadn’t come up with such a drastic measure, it would have been really difficult. No matter how free the U.S. is with guns, surprisingly, many people live their whole lives without ever holding one."

"..."

"Especially in places where only saints live."

...Well, Captain Fawcett, being in the National Guard, was living in New York City, right?

Of course, I didn’t say anything because I felt like I’d get a smack on the head for it. And, honestly, it wasn’t the kind of atmosphere to make that kind of joke... since, well, war had just started.

But still, the surface-to-air missiles that had been deployed were doing their job. Although some were damaged due to the early EMP attack, thanks to ample preparation, at least 70% of them survived.

As a result, at least half of the enemy forces in the northeastern U.S. were shot down. Although it seemed like many of the supplies and troops had been dropped before that...

Well, that’s enough for now.

The conversation continued.

"World War I lasted 4 years, World War II lasted 6 years. I wonder how long this one will last."

"Who knows?"

"In the second world war, two nuclear bombs ended the war, but this one started with dozens of nuclear warheads crossing the globe… Are we really going to have to fight with stones and axes next?"

"Maybe fighting with stones and axes would be more peaceful than this."

"That’s a funny thing to say."

...Maybe it wouldn’t be such a ridiculous idea.

In the meantime, I wondered if Rapland and Captain Fawcett had really become that close, but I guess that wasn’t for me to worry about. If they were happy, good for them.

If Rapland continued to wear the gear and this relationship lasted… well, I guess that would be good too? I heard that in times like this, there should be efforts to increase the population.

And then, the conversation continued.

"Looks like the kid will be firing a lot from now on."

"I think so. I’ve also heard some unsavory rumors… Not sure, but it looks like we might be going further."

"Really? Are you doing a reconnaissance mission in the northeastern U.S.?"

"No. But maybe… it’s something worse. It’s one of the news we got after the Dagger Team’s operator level and mission team level increased."

"I didn’t expect there to be something worse than the enemy forces dropping in the northeastern U.S."

"Neither did we."

And at that moment, the silence fell. And then, both of them seemed to understand what I was saying.

I briefly thought about whether I should say this, but considering it would eventually come out, hiding it would cause even more damage. It could even lead to a catastrophe.

And technically, I was part of the Dagger Team, so I had the clearance to share information, and if I judged it appropriate, I could reveal it.

So, when I spoke again, their faces turned pale.

"Some of the Icarus Operators active in Florida have left their assigned areas. Higher-ups are anticipating the worst."

Just like in the great wars.

The worst moment for something to erupt had arrived.

The Dagger Team’s efforts were just beginning.