126. Battlecruiser Chasing I

As Zetius drew closer, his visor automatically zoomed in on the enemy units, which were currently tearing through the defence lines with effortless precision. Their formation resembled a spear, led by a golden unit at the front.

"I knew it! Drones are no match against real Knights. Rhok mentioned they were only practising with drones in the simulation," he analysed inwardly.

Microbombs exploded nearby, black smoke spurring out in all directions.

Zetius narrowed his sharp eyes. "What the—" He frowned, a mixture of surprise and confusion clouding his expression. The enemy unit looked nothing like a standard Armatus.

A hunched back, a protruding face, and a long visage with two red eyes instead of a single V-shaped visor. Its arms were elongated, ionised blades running the length of them. Four long Vernier thrusters extended down from its insect-like wings, providing exceptional aerial control. The armour was sleek and curved, resembling an exoskeleton rather than the usual box-like frame.

The whole thing looked like a bug-like alien dominating the skies. Most were painted in a dull, ugly silver.

He wrinkled his nose at the sight, recalling his own sleek silver Armatus bearing the Hoffmann emblem. She was far more aesthetically beautiful and elegant than this swarm of hideous insect-like machines.

Zetius tightened his focus, letting his body act on instinct. The green Armatus surged toward the enemy units, which immediately scattered in all directions.

"I knew it!" Zetius roared, easily evading a destructive beam. Turbulence swirled in the air around him, slightly shaking his hull.

Then a realisation struck. "It isn't just my enhanced reflexes… It's the Armatus's response time, too."

"Correct! No load on the barrier means faster processing from the pilot's input," Cubie confirmed.

When the Armatus engine wasn't burdened by the shield protocol, its flight systems responded slightly faster. In aerial close-quarters combat, even fractions of a second mattered.

A risky technique, but Zetius concluded he could definitely capitalise on it as he flew closer to the enemy lines.

The golden insectoid Armatus loomed ahead, flanked closely by six other units.

"Ah! I know this one!" a proximity voice rang out, jamming his comms.

"Zetius, Cubie can't override this comm hijack!" Cubie warned, her voice cutting off.

He nodded solemnly. "It's fine, Cubie. Stand down for now. Help me with combat. As for the comms, I'm actually well-versed in shit-talking," he smirked confidently, fearless even when surrounded.

The golden Armatus pointed at him, and the image of a man in his fifties beamed onto his HUD. His face was weathered and heavily scarred, the most notable being a long arc from his right eye down to his lip. His long, grey hair was tied into a man-bun. His dark eyes were hollow, like those of a sociopath.

Clearly a veteran. A gold rank, perhaps? Zetius speculated internally.

"No helmet? Not even a suit? Confident, I see," The prideful commander muttered. His aura was different from Rhok's. Rhok would simply kill without a word. This man... he wanted to toy with his prey before tearing them apart.

"So do you, scarred face," Zetius retorted with a smirk.

The commander laughed heartily, then stared at him intensely. "Very funny, Jack Squire," he paused dramatically, "or should I say... Zetius?" His smile was smug, looking down his nose.

The air grew heavier.

"Hells… he knows me. That's why he challenged me to aerial combat. Damn it all..." Zetius thought, grinding his teeth.

Raising a fist proudly, the man declared, "No matter! I, Haoxiang, the Gold Knight, shall be the one to send you to hell!" His words and gestures were almost ritualistic.

"Good talk," Zetius sneered sarcastically as the comms cut off.

Without delay, the golden Armatus units drifted towards him, thrusters boosting and their long blades simmering a hot red.

Zetius swiftly fired his cannon, his aim precise.

Three plasma rounds hurtled toward the enemy.

They surged forward, extending their blades to cleave the rounds apart.

"They can do that?" Zetius gasped, then smiled, feeling challenged.

Three units now gave chase. He fired again while keeping his distance.

But the enemies sliced through the shots effortlessly. His Armatus accelerated rapidly across the battlefield.

"Tsk! Fine, Cubie! I'm going in now!" he warned, abruptly shifting his vernier thrusters.

His mobile suit recoiled sharply and spun back toward the pursuing units.

The Armatus's sword gleamed with killing intent.

"Huh?" Haoxiang reacted instantly, but—

The cleave was swift, slicing through the air like lightning.

One unit fell, plunging into the abyss below.

"Heheh!" Zetius chuckled, drifting ahead and reclaiming ground. With deft left and right swings, he eliminated two more bronze units in close proximity.

Haoxiang repositioned his remaining gold units, surrounding Zetius with three, now far more cautious.

The same trick wouldn't work twice. He thought to himself.

"Three in proximity. Your six is clear," Cubie reported. Zetius swept his eyes across his surroundings.

The middle Gold Armatus dashed forward, swinging its long blade. Zetius parried, sparks flaring out from the clash.

Suddenly, a second blade lunged at him. Zetius pulled away, narrowly avoiding the blow.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Your left!" Cubie warned urgently. His peripheral vision caught a surging enemy.

The opponent swept both blades down. Zetius blocked, the clash ringing loud in his ears.

Before the enemy could retract for another strike, Zetius immediately fired his cannon.

The plasma tore through the unit's torso, shredding its chest armour and revealing an empty pit inside.

"Zetius, behind you!" Cubie shouted. He dropped his Armatus vertically, evading a blade swipe by mere inches.

Glancing upward, he retaliated with a quick plasma shot.

The plasma struck a spherical shield around the enemy, sparking a flare against its defences.

"Let's reposition," Zetius muttered, spinning downward toward the ground to break free of the encirclement.

"Understood! Zetius, the golden Armatus units are stalking us in a few hundred metres." Cubie shared her observation, providing eyes on his back.

"What is he up to now?" Zetius grimaced. He drifted southward through the chaotic battlefield, still firing at the insectoid Armatus units.

A few enemies attempted to cheaply slash at Zetius, but he anticipated it from a kilometre away, evaded, and returned a killing blow. The enemy Armatus exploded into ashes.

127. Battlecruiser Chasing II

Behind Zetius, Haoxiang's units cautiously followed his trail, lying in wait.

In front of him, another Armatus drone cleaved in half and exploded. He grimaced as he flew past.

"Cubie, how many drones remain?" Zetius asked.

"12... 11 units now," she reported.

"Hades's hell! I can't possibly take 'em all, can I? There must be way over hundreds of them."

He contemplated grimly, monitoring the Arcanite gauge — 93% remaining.

By a quick mental calculation, his Armatus wouldn't last through a prolonged battle.

A lancer's beam cut through the sky, hitting even their own Armatus and Zeigerlich's drones. Zetius instinctively rolled to the side, evading the beam—

"Watch out!" Cubie roared, her voice alarmed.

Zetius pulled up his blade instinctively. "Ugh!" He grunted, parrying the blow. The impact rocked his hull.

The red glowing eyes stared at him. His awareness blared, Haoxiang was piloting this golden insectoid. He was certain of it.

The enemy spun, staggering Zetius, and immediately arched his other blade toward his head.

Zetius throttled backwards in full, narrowly evading the killing blow.

After a breakout, Zetius surged forward at Haoxiang, but the golden pilot had already flown further away.

"Coward!" he roared through gritted teeth, but three golden Armatus units blocked his pursuit.

"He's trying to starve my Arcanite energy. What a nasty strategy," Zetius muttered, agonising over the realisation that it might just work.

Haoxiang commanded his units from a safe distance, orchestrating three-on-one aerial brawls against the green Armatus.

The combat broke into a prolonged clash, employing a hit-and-run tactic for a good 15 minutes, until his silver and bronze knights completely destroyed all drones.

Once the last drone fell, its ashes scattered into the ocean below.

"Fool! One Armatus could not win the war... I hope you bring this lesson to hell!" Haoxiang's voice rang out as Zetius blocked the enemy's slash and thrust his blade tip forward, missing the mark.

Sweat broke out on his forehead, his mind exhausted, but Zetius's resolve remained unyielding.

"Not if you're going down first, old timer!" he rebutted over the comm, smirking.

"Insolent!" Haoxiang roared, dashing in with his piloted mech.

Three golden units reached Zetius first.

Time seemed to slow as his mind entered a state of overflow. His Armatus collided into them.

Zetius tapped the first enemy's blade on the left, twisted and redirected it, before driving his blade tip-first into another golden unit on the right.

The third unit approached, blades arching horizontally.

Zetius switched into a hanging stance, parrying the dual blades before capitalising on the momentum and circling his blade into its torso.

The cleave tore through its hull, golden sparks bursting out.

Haoxiang drifted across, crossing his blades into an X.

Zetius brought his sword up and swung it down, slamming on both weapons. A thunderous clank rang out.

"Zetius! Behind!" Cubie warned sharply.

The first enemy, having recovered, now cleaved at him.

He spun to evade, but an electric pulse jolted his fingers. His eyes widened as his cannon arm was severed, accompanied by Cubie's cry of pain.

Zetius grimaced and returned a blind swing, severing the enemy at the waist.

"Die! Insect!" he roared.

Quickly spinning back towards Haoxiang, he saw the golden knight lifting his blade for a decisive blow.

Zetius's eyes widened, his heart dropped, and he couldn't possibly block it in time.

Boom!

A plasma round slammed into Haoxiang's arm, staggering him mid-swing and allowing Zetius to pull back to safety.

Unexpectedly, the plasma rounds had hurled from the north.

"Zetius! Hang in there! The second wave of drones has arrived at your location!" Sandria's voice rang out, saving him in the nick of time.

"Sandria!" he exclaimed in relief, his heart still pounding from the near-death experience.

Both sides clashed amidst erratic bombardment. Smoke and explosions filled the battlefield.

Soon, Haoxiang slipped into the chaos and disappeared.

"Zetius, Solis Aeternum's aerial defence will arrive soon! We'll outgun them there. Please come back!" Sandria reported, her voice filled with urgency.

Aurelia and Friederich huddled close to the comm, their faces full of worry, especially Aurelia's.

"But…" Zetius was uncertain, watching the clash of mobile suits from a distance.

"You did what you could. You stalled them, giving us a safe distance," Sandria said, her voice softer now, less mechanical and more human.

A warm feeling bloomed in his chest. Zetius found himself smiling.

"Got it! I'll retreat now! It seems the Gold Knight also ran away," he gave in and chuckled triumphantly.

With that, he motioned his one-armed Armatus northward, away from the raging battlefield.

***

After a good 15 minutes of direct flight, Zetius spotted Zeigerlich hovering over the ocean, its reflection shimmering on the rippling water.

The sky had shifted into a purple hue as the sun crossed the horizon. Evening had arrived.

Zetius checked his radar.

The drones still maintained a defensive line, despite their dwindling numbers.

Sacrificial pieces, as Sandria said.

At first, he thought it was somewhat wasteful, but he couldn't argue. Human lives were worth far more.

They could mass-produce Armatus units, but not knights. Zetius's mind wandered as he matched the speed of the colossal vessel.

"How many drones do you have left, Sandria?" Zetius asked, curious.

After a beat, she turned towards the camera, facing him. "Umm... about six, I think," she replied, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

He chuckled. She was actually adorable when she blushed like that. "You would've sent them all out to save me if they were fully armed, eh?" he teased.

Sandria folded her arms, "I hate that you're right," she muttered, averting her gaze in mock irritation.

Aurelia poked her face into view. "Zeta! Quit babbling and return to the hangar!" she ordered, frowning.

"Yes, your highness," he begrudgingly obeyed the worrywart princess.

Zetius gently manoeuvred his damaged Armatus into the hangar floor.

An irregular Rubik-shaped device emerged from the console into his palms, warmer than before.

"Cubie, thank you for helping me," Zetius muttered softly, petting it.

"Hmmmmm... I don't want you to get hurt!" she confessed, her voice dragging slightly but no longer robotic.

"Thank you so much, Cubie. I really mean it," Zetius repeated, touching his forehead to her.

"It's~It's~It's alright!" she stammered, flashing bright blue in flustered embarrassment.

WHACK!

Caught off guard, the hull rumbled violently, knocking Zetius to the side.

He swept his eyes around for the source but spotted no visible damage.

Simultaneously, the Arcanite engines below deck strained, trying to maintain shield integrity.

"Again!?" he cried out, not even a minute's break.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.