Part 34: Mission #32: Filler

I'm pretty sure that 'Wulong' means five dragons, because there are five members of that team, we just haven't met the other two yet.

Mission #32: Filler



: What's going on? I don't see any Hua Lian.
: Maybe the RRF destroyed them.
: I wouldn't worry. I think we've got our share coming to us.



I still think the RiflesForever looks cool...it just happens to be armed with two of the least accurate weapon types in the game.
: We've got enemies here, too. Tell HQ the operation's a failure. Bring the retreat!



And it's fight time. Ryogo, Liu, Miho and Pham get the call.



On this map, your on an island connected to the rest of the terrain by two bridges, the enemy will tend to come after you, so there's not a whole point to burning a lot of AP by moving. The enemies as Reksons and Grapples with Fists.



I'll admit, this game could have used a bit more diversity in the forces you face.



Ouch. Now, unlike last time where Miho got killed due to poor luck, this is just the danger of letting a melee wanzer get too close. Fists are supposed to be able to do things like this on a regular basis.



That's why I always try to kill the Grapples first.



But, alas, I am not always fast enough. Two straight shots to the body and Pham goes down despite having taken exactly 0 damage to any other part. That's bad luck, but, then again, there's a 1-in-8 chance of this sequence happening, so it's not completely unforeseeable.



Ryogo takes vengeance. I've noticed that I don't really show off the GenericBuild often. It has a shield, so it doesn't usually die, but it usually doesn't do anything so spectacular that I really feel compelled to show off. It's just a solid wanzer.



The Girl in Blue, on the other hand, can do things like this. Miho is about to pump a shotgun blast and a flamethrower burst into a poor Rekson.



It surrenders that next turn, which turns out to be a key to this mission.



Ryogo blast the last remaining wanzer of the top side of the map, leaving us to deal with one last Grapple and Rekson on the other side.



And I blast those last two wanzers with Liu's grenade launcher. Oh, it's not particularly effective, but it looks cool, and I feel obligated to use it at least once.



And the AI just shorted itself. You see, the surrendered Rekson blocks off that square to the Grapple, meaning he can't get in melee range of my wanzers. It does not, however, prevent me from shooting him to death from range. Now, if the AI were a bit better, it would destroy the surrendered Rekson, since, after all, it's going to me after the battle anyway, and then start to work on Miho. Even worse, there's no way around the blockage, a legged wanzer can't enter the water. If the AI were really good, it would realize that since I can only win by killing all of the enemy wanzers, he could retreat a bit and force me to give chase, but he won't, and will just sit there impotently as a whittle him down.



And Liu finishes off the last wanzer.



Solid. Miho gets MVP.



: Hey, Kazuki...



Well, if it isn't Madame Massacre herself...
: We didn't do it for you.
Actually, I'm not clear on why we did this mission at all...
: Kazuki...
: I don't care what you do as long as you're not in the way.
: Forget it, you don't stand a chance.
: The kid's right. The key to survival is knowing your opponent.
: Yeah, Kazuki, listen to the old lady. Respect your elders.
Actually, I'm not quite sure how old Lan is supposed to be. I also don't particularly care.
: Ryogo, stop it! You're not helping!
: ...I feel stupid for having a conversation with you. Okay, Real Number, we're going to strike the Hua Lian base. Don't fall behind!
: Sure, we're under orders to work with you.
: ...Why do we have to work with them? I don't like it.
Come on, it's not like they're going to massacre a village in front of us again.

Next Time: They massacre a village in front of us! Again!