Yamane

**Yamane** is a pilot of the AH-1S Cobras attack helicopter of the 1st Anti-tank Helicopter Battalion of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

## Chronology

### Rodenius War Arc

In the Pacification of Jin-Hark, the Royal Capital Defense Force poured out from eight gates to defend the capital. Mounted knights, infantrymen, archers, and even mages all poured out of the gates and dispersed to meet their foes. When the regimental commander saw them coming to attack the JGSDF 7th Division, he thought they're switching to a strategy of attaching to tanks and shooting them down individually. He sent a message to the JMSDF destroyer *Izumo* for air support.

At the direction of the regimental commander, Yamane began to take his AH-1S Cobras attack helicopter off the northern coast with other nine helicopters from the JMSDF destroyer *Izumo*.

In the Jin-Hark Wyvern Airfield, the comms officer reported to the on-duty commander that the flying objects, which belonged to Japan, were passing through the sky above the Jin-Hark's northern port. They were hardly described as living creatures something was heading towards the battlefield. The on-duty commander asked him for a description of iron dragons immediately. The comms officer believed that it seemed the observers panicked and had abandoned their posts; moreover, their squadron's wyverns were gone.

Thanakane, the only one survived dragon knight of the 2nd Wyvern Corps, responded to the comms officer and on-duty commander thru the magical communication device after he heard the transmission by the observer's report. He decided to fly with a wyvern and fight the JGSDF AH-1S Cobras attack helicopters.

When Thanakane saw them in the sky, his partner wyvern seemed to have conquered his fear, but his flight speed was slower than that of his previous enemies. He noticed that they were flying slower than his former foe, which might indicate that he knew he can win. When he gave the signal to the wyvern to fire, it opened its mouth wide and began to form a fireball in the air.

An AH-1S attack helicopter was focusing on strafing their enemies below them when a ball of fire flew into their sight. The back muscles of the pilot sitting in the rear froze as Yamane yanked his control stick to the left. The AH-1S attack helicopter banked left and slid sideways. The scene unfolding in front of them was dominated by a fireball flying towards them. From their perspective, time passed agonizingly slow.

A moment later, a fireball missed, simply leaving behind a "swoosh" sound as it passed to the right side of the helicopter. Looking at the direction from where the fireball came, they saw a single wyvern readying itself for a second shot. Yamane remembered glancing at the radar screen when an enemy reflected on it for a single moment. The gunner sitting in the front looked at the enemy that had fired a fireball on them. The eye link system matched the movement of his eyes, pointing the barrel of the 20mm autocannon mounted in front towards the enemy. Using his index finger, he pulled the trigger. The autocannon, boasting a rate of fire of over 650 rounds per minute, began to spit lead and flames. Within moments, the wyvern slid to the left, evading the burst of fire from the autocannon as tracers simply passed next to their right. Thanakane and his wyvern, believing that they’d score a hit with their surprise attack, were surprised that their enemy managed to avoid it.

After their first shot, he anticipated that the enemy would unleash its breath once more, taking evasive maneuvers as bullets of light passed through where they used to be. Despite being extra vigilant, they were lucky they avoided the enemy’s breath. Looking at the speed of the light bullets, his body shook knowing that they wouldn’t be given another chance.

Deciding the moment to launch their second shot, Thanakane gave the order to his partner to fire the magic flame bullet it had already prepared. The wyvern spit out its fireball. He strained his eyes with the anticipation of victory that this time, their trajectory was correct.

At the same time, the enemy unleashed its breath. The bullets of light went right through the magic flame bullet unscathed and landed hits on his wyvern, opening up big holes in its hide and splattering blood all over. Thanakane was lucky that he didn’t get directly hit but he understood that he could no longer save his partner. His wyvern’s speed dropped. As they fell, he turned his head upwards to see their magic flame bullet land a direct hit on the enemy’s nose. As they fell rapidly, the surface of the ground got closer. However his wyvern exhausted a bit more strength one last time, extending its wings and flapping them to at least not let Thanakane die. However, it didn’t have much strength left and it crashed bluntly and dramatically onto the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and Thanakane off the saddle. He looked up at the sky, only to see something that made him doubt his own eyes.

After that, the attack helicopters fired multiple arrows of light at the capital defense knights. Lourian knights and cavalries continued to close the distance towards the enemy despite being subject to the bullets of light unleashed from the front, the intense rain of meteors being pummeled on them included Sawken.

### Short Story: Fictional Hero

Japan sent him a letter asking him to come to Japan. Worried that his attack on the helicopter in the previous battle had caused the pilot, who he thought might be some noble or high-ranking officer, injured or killed, and the Japanese were wanting to execute him, Thanakane returned home to say goodbye to his parents one last time.

When Thanakane arrived in Japan, he was surprised that the Japanese turned out to invite him to a party for the purpose of strengthening the friendship between the two countries. They then led him to the front of an iron dragon (attack helicopter) he remembered well. He met Yamane and his co-pilot with cheerful expressions. Introductions were exchanged and Yamane reached his hand out. They should be the hated enemy that buried and killed his seniors and friends and yet no feelings of hatred welled up. These Japanese soldiers may have done nothing more than obeying the orders their country had given them. It was at this point that Thanakane understood that Japan was praised as being “brave”.

## Trivia

* Yamane only appears as a character in the light novel and manga, not the web novel.

## Gallery

Wyvern throws the fireball and JGSDF AH-1S Cobras helicopter fires the cannon on the same time.JGSDF AH-1S Cobras helicopter attacked the Lourian cavalries by cannon and missiles.