Maki's warning came out just as Green was about to attack.
She saw through it!? As expected of Navy!! Even though she's brainwashed, the indigo magical girl is still present!!
Green clicked her tongue in her mind, as she carried out her attack on Koutarou and the others. While she had been seen through, she didn't have the choice to not attack once Crimson had been spotted.
“Go, you guys!”
Green's attack was an ambush using the automated weapons group. Green had hidden the weapons in the forest before hand and lured Koutarou and the others into the optimal place to ambush. While they were distracted with Crimson, she would attack. During this time, she had to use her spell to conceal the weapons, and because of that she was some distance away from Crimson acting as decoy. In other words, Maki was pretty much spot on.
“Lots of energy reactions! The enemies are all around us!”
By the time the automated weapons began their attack, Green undid her spell and Koutarou and the others noticed that they were surrounded. Their numbers were over 30 in total. Surprised by the number, Ruth's voice unintentionally trembled.
“Mass Protection!”
The first one to act was surprisingly Yurika. She had begun moving the moment Maki warned them, so her spell was activated right after the automated weapons appeared.
The automated weapons fired off their machine guns with a loud ratatat, but they bounced off of Yurika's defensive spell. With this many enemies however, the barrier would only last for a few seconds. Though those few seconds allowed Koutarou and the others to rally.
“Everyone, focus on protecting yourselves! Don't force yourselves!”
Koutarou attacked the humanoid weapons as he instructed the girls not to force themselves.
The automated weapons were both from Forthorthe and the underground, and on top of that they had also been enhanced with magic. With more than 30 of them, each person had to defeat three each. On their own, they weren't all that dangerous, but they were extremely dangerous when attacking all together. While Koutarou and the others might be thinking of fighting three each, the automated weapons weren't necessarily going to let them.
“Such lavish hospitality, automated weapons and all!”
Theia attacked the automated weapons with the assault rifle equipped on her right arm while complaining. The current Combat Dress she was using was Command Green and it came equipped with an assault rifle, a grenade launcher, standard throwing grenades and a heat knife for close combat. They were weapons focused on versatility. Because of she had less attack power than with Assault Red and had to aim for weakspots to defeat her enemies. Her accuracy improved with her equipment focused on information gathering, but Theia's personality didn't match up with those kinds of weak attacks. As a result, Theia grew quite frustrated.
“You're wrong, Theiamillis-san! Take a closer look at the enemies!”
”What do you mean!?”
”These enemies are all prototypes and test models, or things that have received emergency repair! They've gathered the ones that can be used as sacrificial pawn!”
The automated weapons that had surprised attack were rich in variety. They were experimental prototypes, made to examine production, or weapons that had been damaged in the previous battle and repaired. These weapons were irregular and difficult to use in a real battle.
In other words, losing these automated weapons wouldn't hurt Darkness Rainbow at all. In fact, losing them to avoid pursuit was the best possible use for them.
“In other words, the enemy is planning to escape during this opening! Hurry, Ruth!”
“Yes, Kiriha-sama!”
Despite the ambush, neither Green nor Crimson were attacking. The enemy consisted of irregulars useful only as sacrificial pawns. Kiriha could read the enemy's intentions from their actions. That was when Crimson who had linked up with Green some distance away let out a proud laugh.
“Bingo! But you're too late!”
Having outsmarted Kiriha after being on the receiving end of her intellect, Crimson was in great mood.
“Crimson, quit playing, let's go!”
But the careful Green scolded Crimson, and left the area with a couple of automated weapons as guards. Playing around would only increase the danger. Green was also happy to have outsmarted Kiriha but she still couldn't let her guard down.