Beam weapons, in reality, should be divided into two categories.
The first was particle-beam weapons. The second was laser-beam weapons.
The former used high-speed particles to smash through everything. One could describe it as a kinetic attack carried out by countless microscopic warheads.
The latter used high-energy, focused laser attacks to melt, vaporize, and evaporate targets through terrifying heat.
The beams fired by the BETA's Laser-class types belonged to the latter category. They destroyed targets through high-energy irradiation.
When the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II's main cannon was first being designed, there had been debate over which kind of beam weapon it should use.
In the end, they had chosen a particle-beam weapon: a charged particle cannon.
That was because nuclear weapons had little destructive effect on BETA Hives. Considering how intense the heat produced by a nuclear explosion was, the fact that even that could not melt a BETA Hive made it clear how resistant those Hives were to heat.
With a charged particle cannon, particles would be accelerated to nearly the speed of light. Countless particles would bombard the target at lightspeed, producing destructive power that would absolutely surpass the effects of laser irradiation.
However, particle-beam weapons also had a drawback compared to laser-beam weapons. The mutual repulsion among the particles in the charged particle cluster would cause the cluster to rapidly disperse, reducing range and spreading out its power.
Put simply, its range was short.
However, the Rutherford Field generated by the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II's Moorcock-Lechte anti-gravity system further compressed and focused the beam, giving the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II's charged particle cannon a considerable increase in range.
As for why they had to land on Sado Island and advance to a certain distance before firing, instead of attacking directly from long range and avoiding this risk altogether, the reason was naturally that the ground was not flat. The Earth was round.
Assuming the Earth was a perfect sphere, at a height of one hundred meters, the farthest visible distance would be approximately 35.7 kilometers.
Although the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II could fly thanks to its anti-gravity system, it could not rise very high. It hovered only a few dozen meters above the ground. Adding the machine's own height, the muzzle of the charged particle cannon would only be raised to roughly one hundred meters.
In other words, if they wanted to hit the BETA Hive, they theoretically had to get within at least about thirty-five kilometers.
Now, as the one who had modified and upgraded the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II, Kouzuki Yuuko clenched her palm tightly.
Although all the machine's feedback data showed no problems, and in theory it could fire, the charged particle cannon's theoretical power was simply too great. There had been no test site suitable for trial firing.
Furthermore, they had not had time to conduct a firing test after upgrading its systems, installing its electronic chips, and completing the other modifications.
That meant this shot would be the first cannon discharge since the machine had been built, and that left her deeply tense, uncertain whether something might go wrong.
So the moment Marimo pulled the trigger, Yuuko's heart leapt into her throat.
Through the external cameras, she observed the chest-mounted firing system crackling with electrical discharge as light gathered around it.
The images transmitted from the Valkyries' TSFs gave an even clearer view of the energy building at the muzzle.
The instant the flashing electricity turned the cameras into a field of white glare, nearly blotting out the XG-70b Susano-O Mark II itself, the world seemed to fall silent.
Inside the cockpit, Yuuko felt as if she heard nothing at all. But she did feel recoil.
It was the recoil produced by the cannon fire.
At that moment, every surveillance image was swallowed by white light. But the heart Yuuko had been holding in suspense finally eased.
At that moment, excitement surged through her.
The screens could not show the exact firing situation, but the fluctuating data allowed her to understand what had happened.
The charged particle cannon's output was almost identical to its theoretical design value. With that level of power, it could absolutely destroy the portion of the BETA Hive protruding a hundred meters above the surface.
As the light weakened and the camera feeds gradually returned to normal, the scene before her eyes made the corners of Yuuko's mouth rise.
"Target Hive H21's aboveground structure has been pulverized!"
Jinguuji Marimo, the one who had pulled the trigger and fired that shot, broadcast the report across all channels in a voice that could not suppress its excitement.
"The Hive was... pulverized."
"Humanity's first successful counterattack."
"With this..."
"We can finally hit them back!"
Countless excited voices rang out across the channel one after another.
Some were crying with excitement. Some were choked with emotion. Some were roaring with fury and joy.
That colossal alien structure, which humanity's nuclear weapons had been unable to destroy aside from G-Bombs, had finally been pulverized in a single shot by a new weapon.
The Hive had not withstood that cannon blast for even a single second. The residual force continued blasting through the distant horizon, piercing the atmosphere and reaching outer space.
The power of that shot had also torn a shocking wound through the ground.
It had not been caused by the charged particle cannon grazing the surface, but by the violent current it produced ripping the earth apart.
It was like a fighter jet flying at supersonic speed, where the intense airflow it generated would blast everything around it away.
"Now is not the time to celebrate. All Valkyrie units, focus on escort duty. Save the celebration until after the underground Hive is completely annihilated!"
Yuuko's voice interrupted the Valkyries, who were still caught up in their excitement.
"XG-70b beginning preparations for the second charge. The firing port still requires over one hundred seconds to cool to a stable firing temperature!"
Marimo, the pilot, gave the next report.
At the same time, the XG-70b continued moving. To destroy the underground Hive, it had to advance a little farther.
However, it did not need to approach right in front of the Hive and point the muzzle straight into it. Based on the power of the shot just fired, they could calculate the distance required. Once it reached that point, firing at a slightly downward angle and splitting the ground open to bombard the bottom of the Hive would be sufficient.
Yuuko's gaze moved again to one of the camera windows.
It showed the sky in the direction Mr. Kain had flown.
How was he doing?
He was-
Her pupils widened.
She saw an enormous beam tearing through the cloud layer and striking a black speck.
"That's..."
"A Super Heavy Laser?"
"Instructor Kain is all right, isn't he?"
"He has to be."
Valkyrie Team 1 saw the scene as well, and every one of them felt their hearts clench.
The enormous beam continued irradiating its target. Because the target had not been destroyed, the light kept pressing forward, causing a silver sun to swell in that place.
When the irradiation finally ended, the swelling silver sun came to a stop. Then it burst like an overinflated glowing soap bubble, spreading outward into a dazzling aurora.
At the same time, the cloud layer in the sky was blown apart by a web of auroral light.
The black speck that had been hit was captured by the camera again.
It did not fall.
Instead, it sped away, moving farther and farther until it vanished completely from sight.
He was heading into space to destroy that Super Heavy Laser-class.
(End of Chapter)
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