Chief.
I brought you the report from the third laboratory.
Chief?
You should turn the lights on; this isn't good for your eyes.
Ah.
What are you reading with so much fervor?
That's a special envelope used by military officers...
Let us continue our experiment...
...my sweet boy from 901...
Töten Sie: German for "Kill!"
Kill!
Töten Sie: German for "Kill!"
Kill!
Töten Sie: German for "Kill!"
Kill!!!
What are you doing, Corporal?
Let's go!
Time to do some war relief!
But man... it's been three years since the war already...
...and this country is still miserable...
Yeah...
We got no homes, no jobs...
At least we could eat and drink for free during the war,
and the bed was pretty warm, too...
It's so bad right now, I even want to go back to the army.
Oh, you up, my man?
What's wrong?
You had another nightmare or something?
You were mumbling something.
No, today's dream was actually a nice one.
Viscount Wolkins?
Who was that?
Huh? We almost got killed by him!
He made us tank targets.
Oh, yes, yes, I remember.
That abominable feudal lord.
Do you only remember women's names or something?
The problem right now is not the viscount,
but that tank of his.
What do you mean, Lieutenant Webner?
The automatic reloading device in the cannon section of the tank...
That device...
...even inside the Empire, is still technology in the developmental stage.
It's not something a rural viscount can obtain easily.
However, "someone" fully developed that technology.
I need you guys in the S.S.III to figure out where he got his hands on this.
Come on, you don't have to get us to do it.
Why not ask Wolkins himself?
That doesn't seem to be possible.
He's being treated in the military sanatorium.
I'm a noble...
I'm important...
I'm the most important noble in this world...
I don't think he's in any state to tell us anything meaningful.
And now...
Here's our call.
Dr. Colt?
And... who's that?
For Christ's sake...
Try to learn some names that don't belong to women already!
You should've learned this back in the academy, right?
Dr. Colt, nicknamed the "father of tanks",
was a very great man who helped contribute to the earliest stage of tank development.
Dr. Colt should know something about the tank in question.
What's wrong, Machs?
N-Nothing.
"What kind of person is the corporal?"
What kind? Well, he's just a nice guy.
Tanks are...
...the strongest weapons on the face of this earth.
A massive body of ten tons rolling on the ground...
...that can even run over a strong tochika.
Tochika: Russian for "pillbox"
Once helpless humans come into their range,
there's no way for them to have even a chance of survival.
Yet...
That corporal, just by himself...
...took care of the tank with just one gun, right?
He took one shot at the Klappe, the part as weak as a kitty's forehead,
Klappe: German for "shutter".
and another shot at the thinly armored tank hatch.
It's as if he caught on to the tank nicely and took his shot.
I'll ask you one more time.
What kind of person is Corporal Randel Oland, Machs?
Sergeant Major.
Sergeant Major!
Are you all right?
You don't look too good.
Hey!
Corporal, you're heavy!
Corporal!
Nah, it's nothing.
For a great man, he sure lives in a godforsaken place.
Shh.
Dr. Colt?
Are you there?
I am 2nd Lieutenant Alice L. Malvin from the State Section.
Must be a super pig-headed old man, I bet.
Well, I'm sorry for being pig-headed.
I'm Colt.
How may I help you?
My, it's such an honor to be able to talk to someone featured in textbooks!
No, really!
I mean, when you hear Dr. Colt, you think the "father of tanks", right?
Although our mission doesn't directly involve tanks,
in order to understand their prowess,
we need to fully appreciate your greatness, Dr. Colt! Yes, sirree!
It's a design that didn't even exist back when I was there.
Such a publication wasn't announced at the Alliance of Western Nations Technological Conference either.
I see.
This system is far superior, technologically, to what any country currently possesses.
What about its analysis?
Huh?
How far have you analyzed this tank?
We've just begun analyzing.
I see... just begun, eh?
Unfortunately, I'm unable to give you any more help with just this data.
Thank you for your help.
What? We're leaving?
LT? LT!
T-This gun is...
...the Corporal's...
No, wait, Dr. Colt, what is this?
That's a "door knocker".
"Door knocker"?
It's the name of this 13mm anti-tank gun.
There was an absurd project a long time ago.
It proposed to increase a foot soldier's firepower to the limit...
...and make them rival tanks in terms of power.
A human being... rivaling a tank?
Yes, absurd, don't you think?
But in response to the demands of the higher-ups in the military,
the technicians came up with a last resort idea.
That idea was to make a large-caliber gun for foot soldiers,
which is basically this 13mm anti-tank gun you are looking at right now.
13mm...
Its mass, firepower, recoil...
All the specs asked of this weapon...
...and the theoretical limits that humans could endure...
That was this 13mm-caliber the technicians came up with.
It is powerful,
but it's not strong enough to stand against the main battle tanks of today.
If it were to stand against them, there's only one method,
and that is to press the muzzle of the gun closely to the tank...
...and shoot at absolute point-blank range.
Point-blank range?
Door knocker...
Well, the project came to a dead end.
This gun never went into production.
This is just a mock-up for us to see.
Besides, in the face of a massive monster like a tank,
do you think there are any foot soldiers... any humans willing to pull a suicidal tactic like this?
Machs, you're late!
I-I'm sorry!
Who in the world are you, Corporal Randel Oland?
Is that lantern from your former unit?
Ah, what was its name?
901... Anti-Tank Trooper...
901?
9...
Machs.
Stop daydreaming.
We need to head to the development laboratory next.
Stop wasting time.
Yes, sir.
Yes, that's right.
It's that tank indeed.
Yes, carry out your job in its entirety.
Yeah?
So, no clues in the end?
Sorry for having you come all the way down here to report.
No, this is part of our mission.
That means we have no choice but to dismantle it.
Hey, get the bar and burner ready!
We're going to strip off the armor!
All right!!!
Okay!
You seem to be having fun.
Dismantle it and rebuild it.
Then, dismantle and rebuild it again.
That's the real fun in being a technician.
You make it sound like playing a game.
Stop saying unnecessary things!
Sorry... hmm?
Anesan... what's that tough-looking vehicle there?
Ahh, that.
That's a new-model armored car that will be used by Section I.
Hmm, aren't Section I people lucky?
I mean, compared to us Section III people...
What are you talking about?
We gave you a new train last time!
That was just a big drill, man!
Hey, the cannon's...
Is someone test driving it?
What... the... hell...
Sound the alarms!
Contact HQ!
We have a C-34 here!
Smoke discharger?!
Chief!
What's going on?!
Damn it! Tear-gas grenades?
What are they trying to do?
Who are they?
Wait... are they trying to destroy the tank?
Chief!
I know!
I don't know who they are,
but their target is that tank!
We can't take them on by ourselves.
Call for reinforcements right now!
Sorry, the gas is making my eyes...
Fool!
This gas will disperse right away!
Calm down!
Don't worsen the situation with your confusion!
It's coming out?
What's it trying to do?
Those are blitz-purpose Hedgerow Cutters!
They're planning to completely destroy it?
Machs!
Get up! Run away!
Machs! Run!
Corporal...
Huh, that's weird...
Why aren't I thinking "thank you"...
...or "are you okay"...
...but "you monster" instead...
I see...
This is...
This is... point-blank...
This is the killzone...
...the world the corporal lives in...
I can't breathe!
My stomach's turning inside out...
I'm scared... I'm scared...
I'm scared...
but the thing I'm scared of the most is...
Töten Sie...
Kill...
Töten Sie...
Kill...
Töten Sie...
Kill...
Kill... Kill... Kill... Kill...
All three suspects that stole the armored car are dead.
They were all pronounced dead on the spot.
Additionally, there were no belongings that could indicate their identities.
Their objective was the preservation of the tank's secret, eh?
Yes, technical recovery is no longer feasible.
And the corporal?
He suffered injuries,
but fortunately, none were to the bone.
He can be discharged from the hospital in one month.
I see.
Thanks for the report.
Your injuries weren't light either, right?
Go to the hospital and visit the corporal-
Captain Hunks!
What exactly is 901 Anti-Tank Trooper?
What are you asking all of a sudden?
That's the unit the corporal belonged in a long time ago.
I should've noticed this earlier.
September 9th is the day the first Emperor died on the battlefield.
It was treated as a taboo number afterwards,
and it's an unwritten rule never to use the number 9 in the army, right?
That's a very old convention, though.
It's being used a lot lately.
Even so, I don't think it's ever been used in front of a unit name!
This is the complete book that contains all the military units during the Imperial years.
There is not a single record of any unit having the 900 series as their unit designation!
A unit known as 901-ATT in our army does not exist!
Non-existent, eh?
Very well put.
That's why they were called...
..."Invisible 9"...
Invisible... 9...
Th-That's...
Captain Hunks!
Something happened!
What?
Well...
Viscount Wolkins committed suicide inside the sanatorium!
That's...
No way...
To keep his mouth shut about the tank, huh?
I don't know which organization did this,
but they're doing a thorough job all right.
In this world, there is information that could get you killed just for "knowing".
Invisible 9 might be that type of information, too...
Do you want to stick your head into it even so?
Sergeant Major Machs!
Yes, sir.
Corporal...
Here...
I got some hospital food today.
Looks tasty, right?
What's the matter?
You guys always come over and gobble it up...
I see...
...it's because I've got the smell of blood on me...
Mer-kun,
it's kind of lonely now that the corporal is in the hospital.
The scenery of Section III looks all different now.
By the way, who's this nurse?
Next time, "The Shallow-Brained Men".
Come get us if you're not scared!