REIWA JIGOKUHEN - Chaotic Disturbance of Reiwa Era

Chapter 109 - Airborne Assault

Washington, D.C.: Sewer

The cause of the explosion inside the sewer system was directly due to the explosion of an anti-aircraft shell. However, if we trace its distant cause, it may lead to the bombing of the political and economic center. The US Army, which had learned from fragmentary combat experience that highly accurate surprise attacks were escalating, and that ammunition depots were the top priority targets, instructed that important items be moved underground in any case. Therefore, perhaps it was a temporary measure, but a temporary storage area was set up under the manhole cover, resulting in a situation where a considerable amount of explosives had been left unattended.

The uncontrollable situation may have been due to the fact that the command system was in disarray due to repeated precision bombings, and probably because the responsible personnel were killed in action, making some parts of it like acorns leftover from a squirrel's meal. Then it was discovered that a forgotten temporary storage area existed just on the other side of the wall where Major Kellerman's Army Special Forces had their base, and a significant amount of explosive materials had been left unattended and unmanaged, and somehow they triggered a natural explosion at the worst possible timing – a fact that was almost unbelievable but was revealed in subsequent investigations. Of course, those who had just been blown away had no way of knowing such circumstances.

"Major, be careful."

The whisper of the second-in-command, Captain Sutherland, echoed, and Kellerman managed to regain consciousness somehow.

At the same time, he felt a dizzying sensation of blood draining from his face. He had an intuition that something was broken somewhere and noticed that his legs had been given first aid. Sutherland didn't seem to be completely unscathed either, but judging from his gestures, he only had a scratch. Then he managed to move his head slightly, and the scenery was subtly different. They were surrounded by a nasty silence.

"Ah, sorry," Kellerman grunted. "What's the situation?"

"There was an explosion at a close range. Four men were incapacitated – Major, Davis, Chang, and Watt are seriously injured. It didn't seem to be an attack, but some kind of accident. We quickly moved to another location. We haven't been discovered yet."

"A wise decision, well done. But..."

He noticed the unreliable figure of Sergeant First-Class Gail, and asked, "What about the emergency contact with HQ?"

"That's the bad news. The satellite communication equipment is completely destroyed, including the backup. Also, after the explosion just now, the search in the sewer system has begun. We can't communicate with the friendly forces hiding nearby by radio from here."

"I see, it's worse than the worst situation."

Despite the overwhelming misfortune that made him feel like fainting, Kellerman managed to keep his cool. The heliborne unit must have already taken off, and they needed to enter the communication range as soon as possible. To find the optimal route, the tough laptop placed beside them was stared at, accompanied by bitter groans. The vibration meter they relied on was also rendered useless by the previous explosion. Meanwhile, there were only seven personnel currently considered as combatants. Although they were all formidable, their 21st-century equipment had been reduced by half. It was frustrating for them not to be able to move due to injuries.

'No, wait...'

His thought caught on something, and he hurriedly searched for its identity. There was a highly feasible idea ahead of them. With conviction, Kellerman smiled fearlessly and opened their mouth.

"Listen, everyone. I have an idea."

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Alaska Territory: over Mt. Saint Elias