Assault

Assault is the twenty-seventh offline mission and the twenty-eighth online mission in Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair. This is also the first mission that doesn't appear in ''Earth Defense Force 2025. ''It's also the first to introduce Erginus.

Objective
The enemy transport ships are gathering over a residential area. Command headquartes believes it'll be too hard to fight against them with only ground troops, so they've made a support request to the combat aircraft Midnight. It'll attack the transport ships with armor-piercing Grind Buster missiles while the infantry units will focus on eliminating the giant insects and attacking the ships from the ground.

Storyline
Storm Team and two Ranger teams arrive at a small town from the bridge over a nearby river with five transport ships flying overhead. One of the Rangers tells that Midnight is on its way and soon three of the ships gets destroyed by a Grind Buster from the bomber according to the Tactics Officer. Unfortunately the soldiers cheer too soon since apparently there aren't any more bombs left and HQ will order the ground troops to destroy the remaining ships.

As the teams are fighting against the giant insects already deployed, a Fencer team will radio in and HQ will tell the Rangers to help them. Two more ships will join the fray, but fortunately Midnight will suddenly remember that he forgot to drop his last bomb. After he sinks the last ship, HQ orders him to go home.

As the fight continues the Tactics Officer will inform the ground units that an unknown creature broke through some defense line. She warns that, it's coming this way to which one of the Rangers says that it doesn't matter what it is, they just have to shoot it. Unfortunately shooting it doesn't work. Ohara, baffled as always, ask for every data EDF has on the monster. The Tactics Officer reports that a seismic activity was noticed to be coming to the city and EDF built a defense line to stop it but was completely destroyed. She also tells that the it's armor is too thick to penetrate, to which Ohara says that is impossible even though they have already met enemies that's barely hurt by weapon fire or not at all. As the soldier are keep shooting at it Ohara keeps his unnecessary commentary about how he doesn't believe the monster exists. Soon the creature gets bored and walks away. The Tactics Officer, probably wanting to be the one who gives stupid names this time, names it Erginus, while probably everybody glares at her for not naming it Godzilla. Soon the mission ends and everyone can go home.

Strategy
Until Erginus spawns, the mission is fairly standard the usual gear and tactics against transport ships and giant insects can be used

You don't have to concern yourself with any of the transport ships since either Midnight will destroy it or they will open later. Kill the giant insects. Once you did that the ship on the right (from where you are facing at the spawn) will start spewing more spiders. Shoot it down then the other ship will start spawning black ants aided with a wave of red ants.

Then Erginus will spawn. It can't be killed during this mission but it will have to take some damage for it to leave. Make sure you don't stand too close or in front of it. Let it attack the NPCs while you shoot it from a safe distance.