The Hungry Fortress Wants to Build a Battleship in Another World – World of Sandbox-Chapter 20Vol 3. : Night Raid in the Desert

"Vibration sensors triggered. No abnormalities detected on infrared.

Ringo, requesting assistance."

"Request acknowledged. Akane, presume an emergency situation."

"Proposal accepted. Drill plants and Oil Port to transition to Level One Combat Readiness. Requesting reinforcement orders from Fortress No. 2."

Night had fully fallen, and with it came the sharp drop in temperature.

It was during this cold, dark hour that the multi-sensor array picked up an anomaly.

Akane, stationed in the command room, immediately called for Ringo’s support.

There was no visual confirmation yet, but based on prior information, she judged it likely to be an approaching monster.

If combat were to break out, having Ringo’s backup could make a critical difference.

Ringo responded without hesitation, fully endorsing Akane’s quick decision.

Although the sensor data alone wasn’t enough to perfectly grasp the situation, Akane had correctly inferred a potential monster threat—and, most importantly, she immediately decided to escalate to a higher AI for assistance rather than stubbornly trying to handle it alone.

In principle, subordinate AIs are programmed with a bias toward solving problems themselves whenever possible.

This is because handing off irregularities to a higher AI burdens their processing resources.

Inexperienced AIs often hesitate or delay escalation even in critical moments—resulting in dangerous judgment failures.

Practically speaking, when inexperienced nodes are present in the AI network, upper-tier AIs must allocate resources to monitor and compensate for their likely mistakes—lowering overall system performance.

But if a network is full of autonomous, competent nodes, the need for constant oversight vanishes, and performance rises dramatically.

Akane had made the correct call, demonstrating appropriate judgment under irregular circumstances.

Ringo internally updated Akane’s evaluation: soon, she would be fully independent—no longer needing Ringo’s supervision.

"Transmitting wake-up signals to Utsugi, Erika, and Olive.

Ichigo will remain offline for another hour to avoid overloading.

Akane, deploy available forces to the designated point.

Local field command will be assigned to Utsugi and Erika, but if they don’t make it in time, you will take command."

"Understood."

Technically, Ringo could have handled this via simple digital transmission, but since Commander Eve had just burst into the control room in a panic, verbal briefing was faster.

"Ringo, status report!"

"The outer perimeter sensors at the drill plant have detected suspicious vibrations.

Patrol drones have been dispatched.

Based on current intel, we believe a threat creature is approaching."

"Already?!"

It was 20:00—still before Commander Eve’s designated bedtime.

Ringo refocused, determined to resolve the situation quickly, ideally before Eve’s scheduled rest.

Although a drowsy Commander Ma’am could be charming in her own way, it wasn’t ideal for operational health.

Aerial surveillance confirmed the incoming target via ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) night vision.

As expected, it was the same species as the giant scorpion discovered a few days ago.

The scorpion’s body temperature matched the surrounding desert ground almost perfectly, making it invisible to infrared sensors.

Subtle temperature fluctuations were present, however, and those would form the basis for future detection protocols.

This time, it was the slightest of ground tremors picked up by the vibration sensors that gave it away—so faint it might have been discarded as noise.

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Fortunately, the ultra-sensitive tuning, originally optimized for detecting Sand Worms, proved invaluable.

"Dispatching one multi-legged tank to intercept.

Other units are en route.

Transitioning to full rapid-response posture."

"It’s approaching way too confidently.

I wonder if it actually has some objective..."

The scorpion charged straight toward the drill plant—no hesitation, no detours.

There shouldn’t have been anything particularly appetizing there, which made its unwavering approach all the more troubling.

"Redirecting the multi-legged tank to intercept.

Commencing intimidation maneuver."

They could have simply opened fire immediately—but for now, the plan was to test its reactions.

The multi-legged tank extended its front legs, raising its forward body high into the air, its forelimbs sweeping upward.

To the incoming scorpion, it would have looked like a sheer wall rising up to block its path.

But the scorpion showed no fear, charging onward at full speed.

"Velocity unchanged.

Contact in... eight seconds."

"Ugh!"

"Initiating support fire."

Another multi-legged tank, arriving from a different direction, fired its main cannon.

An armor-piercing round, launched at a muzzle velocity of 1,000 meters per second, burst from the upper turret.

In just 0.3 seconds, the shell struck the scorpion’s body.

"Hit confirmed."

In the pitch-black desert night, the impact produced a distinct, visible ripple of light.

It spread outward from the point of contact—an unmistakable defensive energy shield.

"Of course it has a defense membrane!!"

Fortunately, the tank’s tactical AI had anticipated this possibility.

The moment the defense membrane was detected, it issued follow-up commands with zero delay.

From the lower turret, the Gatling gun—already pre-aimed—roared to life, unleashing a blizzard of metal.

The defense membrane resisted the first few rounds—but it couldn’t hold for even a full second.

Pushed downward by the earlier shell’s kinetic energy, the scorpion’s body was pinned in place as a torrent of full-metal jacket rounds rained down from above.

With the membrane gone, the bullets struck the scorpion’s shell.

The armored surface deflected most of the impacts, the rounds sliding off its curved carapace without penetrating.

But that had never been the primary objective.

From another multi-legged tank, a heavy penetrator round was launched—traveling at over 2,000 meters per second.

When it collided with the carapace, the projectile underwent plastic deformation, turning semi-liquid to better transmit shock.

Under the crushing pressure, the scorpion’s shell buckled and shattered—and the round burrowed deep into its body.

The scorpion’s torso exploded in a violent blast of flesh and shattered chitin.

But even before the smoke cleared, two more giant scorpions burst from the sand—

an ambush, perfectly coordinated.

However, the tactical AI remained utterly calm.

Vibration sensors had already detected the hidden attackers.

The instant the first scorpion lunged forward with its claws, the multi-legged tank’s manipulator arm counterattacked.

The tank’s heavy-duty forearm, reinforced for close-quarters striking, slammed downward, hammering into the monster’s head with bone-crushing force—using gravity itself to amplify the blow.

The defensive membrane shimmered briefly with light—then vanished.

Robbed of their momentum, the two additional scorpions were slammed hard into the ground by the downward force of the manipulator arms.

In their confusion, the creatures flailed their legs wildly, struggling.

One of them managed to clamp its pincer around the arm pinning it down.

And then, from above, it struck—

the scorpion’s tail, arched high over its back, drove its venomous stinger downward in a brutal stab.

The venomous stinger easily pierced the multi-layered composite armor of the multi-legged tank.

Venom was injected from the tip—a killing blow, designed to finish prey instantly.

But the target was no mere biological creature.

It was a front-line military unit, built to survive direct hits from tank shells.

A small puncture in the armor and a trickle of toxic fluid were far from sufficient to compromise its combat performance.

In response, the upper turret pivoted and immediately locked onto the scorpion’s torso.

A high-velocity shell, accelerated to 2,000 meters per second within the railgun, fired straight downward—

impaling the creature’s body from above.

The second scorpion met the same fate.

A single railgun shot ripped through its carapace, shredding its internal organs.

The battlefield fell silent.

The multi-legged tank held its position, motionless, maintaining combat readiness.

A full minute passed.

Nothing moved.

Only then did the tank slowly, cautiously return to its standard posture.

"Multi-legged tank at target point has completed combat operations.

Transitioning to patrol mode.

Damage report: minimal.

Some sensor systems are unresponsive, likely due to corrosive damage from the venom."

Hearing Ringo’s calm report, Eve exhaled heavily and slumped back into her chair.

"Well... We managed somehow.

I didn’t expect them to have defense membranes, but at least we know how to deal with it now."

"Yes-affirmative, Commander Ma’am.

We've gathered sufficient data for analysis.

Additionally, we should be able to recover valuable biological samples."

Thus, the night raid in the desert came to a successful end.