Chapter 312: Send The Counterattack

Kalli thought about it for a second, and then shook her head.

"They’re underpowered. If we add that much more drag to them, they’re going to slow down the mission. I can give you deployable rocket pods the you can carry in the utility speeders and set up like mortars.

But that’s not really compatible with the mission today.

If you want some for the light assault speeders, I can do that. They’ve got the same propulsion system as the heavy speeders do, but they’re a quarter the size."

"That works. A barrage of rockets as we arrive will get things started on the right note, and do some property damage to remind the Giants that they shouldn’t have messed with the people of Marimgar."

Kalli purchased the rocket pods and had them appear outside the door, then gathered a dozen ammunition crates from the back room.

They were spares from the end of the battle, no need to buy more, and they hadn’t been assigned yet, so they could be used to create more rockets.

One reload per speeder, but the primary weapon was the Pulse Cannon.

A flying machine gun platform was basically what the light assault speeders were, and it was all that they needed to be. Hit the enemy with rockets, let the Heavy Speeders deal property damage while the light speeders aimed for groups of Giants out in the open.

They could ransack a city in minutes, and then fly back home.

"Just remember not to linger. If the Frost Giants have time to build some sort of defensive magical array, or call back their warriors, you’ll be in a bad spot.

Hit them hard and fast, then retreat into the mountains before they can respond," Kalli reminded them.

"Got it boss. We won’t let you down."

The teams rushed out, quickly loading everything that they thought they would need, including thermoses of tuber soup, into their vehicles.

The flight was going to be a solid four hours, possibly five, if they had to dodge through mountain valleys. The speeders could hold an impressive height, but they could not fly at the altitude of an airliner, or even many helicopters.

It was something built into their design, or their programming, but Kalli didn’t know how to alter it, and neither did anyone else.

So, they would fly a thousand metres above the ground, and hope that the mountain elevation didn’t give them too many issues while trying to navigate the passes to get to the Frost Giants. They did at least have maps, but they couldn’t be sure that they were accurate anymore.

Some things could have changed, with mountains added or deleted, and perhaps some of the routes changed.

That was a problem for later, Sanchez decided. They would skirt the coastline on their way, flying as fast as they could, near the safety of shore, in case there were sea monsters lurking. That would get them very close to the mountains that enclosed the Frost Giants, and hopefully avoid as many hostile groups as possible.

No need for delays or added aggression on their way back.

The speeders raced out into the dark, using the moonlight, and the rapidly approaching dawn, to guide them. Now, all that the people of Marimgar could do was wait.

"Alright, everyone back on schedule. We will have news for you in the afternoon. We just need to wait and see if they manage to get a clean message through."

That was unlikely, but the speeders did have the same advanced communication technology that the smart devices the store sold did. If it was the same as Kalli’s last life, they should have the range to reach each other.

Or, she might have to fly out herself to serve as a relay station.

If someone was waiting halfway, their radios could bounce the message all the way home. And while everyone would be willing, they all had things to do, and a schedule to keep. She had a robotic assistant, and her quests were already updated for the morning.

Besides, a nice flight would show her a bit more of the world. She could take a utility speeder and tour the region.

Once the group began to disperse, Kalli did exactly that.

Heading up to maximum altitude, she headed south down the coast, lagging behind the speeders, and the morning patrols, who were watching for the Giants to double back.

Then, the System flashed a message in front of her eyes.

{Movement Restricted} Administrators may not leave their assigned region. 5 kilometres to boundary. Administrator will be returned to their home location in 2 minutes if still outside of the assigned region.

Kalli frowned at the message as she turned her speeder around.

They had patrols further out than she was right now, but she was nearing the hundred kilometre point. However, without any way to argue her case, she simply turned the speeder around and hovered, waiting and listening to the messages from the assault squad and the patrol groups.

This was definitely not optimal.

However, she could have her patrol groups help her with the relay, as they were further from the city, and there were some near the shoreline, keeping out of visual range of the Giants, while using their sensors to keep track of the movement.

Being as far up as she was, Kalli would be easy to spot, but the Giants would take it as a message that Marimgar was watching them, not a direct assault.

One utility vehicle was not worth turning to attack.

"{ Patrol groups, extend southeast. Keep out of range of the retreating Frost Giants. Maintaining communication with the strike team is the goal, but expect to lose them when they go into the mountains. }"

Kalli’s instructions changed the flight patterns, and for a moment she lamented the loss of the satellites. That solar storm had knocked out the electronics in basically everything up there, as far as she could tell.

Certainly, any humans that had been there had not survived.