3

I catch the descending sword and reach out with my free hand to the enemy's shoulder.

The hand was brushed aside—and in return, magic flared from point-blank range.

Leon shifted the machine’s path just enough to dodge it, then moved his arm, guiding the sword’s strike aside.

Spun on my right foot, I swung the blade straight for the enemy’s arm.

It’s blocked by the enemy’s shield.

Not bad for a skill. Good rider. But!

The enemy machine suddenly pulls back—just a flick of the left shield, as if drawing something out.

Leon tightened his guard and stepped forward to press the pursuit. Right after, with a sharp bang of gunpowder igniting, the shoulder armor of his machine was torn wide open.

“Wha—!?”

I don’t much care for the tech your lot’s got—but then, it’s war, ain’t it?

The enemy machine held a harmonica pistol. But look closer—its intricate details were off. Not a product of the Fatal Kingdom.

“Siphoned data from the captured unit?”

“Just delivered yesterday. This one’s useful, all right.”

The enemy fired the harmonica pistol in rapid succession.

Leon twisted his joints and cameras instinctively, bracing the shots with his armor.

The impact rocked the machine hard—but he gritted his teeth and held on.

Then, after a few more bursts, the firing stopped.

Seizing the moment, Leon lunged forward again.

“Huh. So that’s how you play.”

The enemy calmly tucked the harmonica pistol away like a shield, then drew its blade to block Leon’s next strike.

"Guess you learn how to block an enemy’s weapon fastest by asking the enemy themselves."

"So what?"

Leon kept parrying, eyes scanning for an opening.

The enemy’s movements looked polished—almost too smooth—from Leon’s view. The voice coming through the comms suggested a veteran pilot at the controls, no doubt.

That’s why every one of Leon’s attacks was anticipated.

No matter how skilled the handling, battlefield strength always comes down to time and experience. That gap was holding him back.

"Damn."

"Ha… still too soft."

A calm voice rang out—then the blade pierced Leon’s side unit. For a split second, the machine froze. Then it was drenched in spellfire, one after another.

Just barely missed the cockpit—still, his limbs were worn down to the bone, and the readout on the monitor showed nothing good.

But Leon wasn’t just taking hits.

He grabbed the arm that had stabbed him, pinning the enemy machine in place, then tossed the sword aside and drew his harmonica pistol from behind his waist.

A bullet fired at point-blank range tore through the enemy’s leg and flank.

“Damage for damage.”

“Tch. That’s why kids these days—”

The enemy machine wobbled, but somehow managed to keep moving under its own power.

Leon’s own machine, though badly damaged on top, had taken little harm to its legs—still in fighting shape.

“Now it’s my turn.”

He cracked a whip over the sparking joints and swung his sword.

The enemy machine froze completely, all defense now. Thanks to that, attacks—slow at first, but growing—began to land.

“There!“

"Not yet!"

In that split second Leon saw an opening, he thrust his sword sharp as a needle. But it was a feint—deliberately left by the opponent. In a mock fight, he’d have seen through it. But the real tension of battle had stirred unease in him, just enough to cloud his judgment.

Just before the tip reached the enemy machine, the opponent’s raised leg snapped the sword clean out of his hand, sending it flying. The force of the impact twisted his right elbow completely out of joint.

Leon stared at his limp, dangling arm. A small click of his tongue.

“Well now. Let’s see how far you can fight with just one arm.”

“True. Fighting with only one arm. That’s a challenge.”

Leon’s reply carried that easy kind of confidence. The enemy knight frowned.

But at a glance, there was nothing about the enemy machine that looked hidden. Surrounded as it was by abnomyle, reinforcements couldn’t possibly reach here all at once.

And the knight took Leon’s words as a taunt.

“End it now.”

The knight repositioned, summoning magic as he inched forward with his battered legs.

Then—Leon’s machine vanished from the knight’s sight.

And in the next instant, a jolt shot through the machine, flinging it backward.

“What—!?”

Startled, the knight still half-reacted, regaining balance, scanning for Leon’s machine. But there was nothing—nowhere.

“Where’s he—!?”

“Captain! Above!”

A voice from one of the Abnomyle units. I glance up at the camera, and there—Leon’s machine, sword raised, coming down right on top of me.

“Kk…”

The knight jerks the controls, stepping back just in time. Right after, the sword plunges into the spot where I’d been standing. Barely a hair’s breadth.

But Leon’s machine doesn’t stop there.

Using the full strength of its intact leg, it heaves itself up, wrenching the sword from the ground with a grating scrape.

The blade tears a deep gash in the enemy’s armor.

Not fatal, though. A few monitors in the cockpit are cracked from the shock, but the controls still work fine.

“What kind of move is that…? Nothing like before.”

“Full manual control. With one arm, this kind of thing actually works.”

Leon was doing the same kind of piloting as Eld.

Having decided that gripping the right arm’s lever was unnecessary after losing one arm, Leon had copied Eld’s method.

Back in academy days, he’d practiced this piloting style briefly before finishing the half-manual controls—so it came in handy now.

“That’s what they mean by the one-armed Armunale’s moves, huh?”

“Still, his version’s way worse, right?”

A faint smile touched Leon’s lips as he thought of his friend, probably tearing up the Abnomule right about now.

“Now then, finishing touch.”

He drove the slash deeper, mixing in magic at intervals, piling on the attacks.

The enemy machine, slow on its feet, couldn’t possibly block it all.

As it was slowly cornered, the surrounding Abnomules stirred into motion.

“Captain, we’re covering you!”

“We’re in too!”

A few units darted between Leon and the knight, trying to shield the knight’s machine. But in front of Leon, who was using full manual control, they were no more than wooden dummies.

One swift step—cut through the ones blocking him, all at once—and he leapt forward, past the knight.

“That’s it!”

He thrust the sword toward the Armunale’s cockpit.

The enemy machine jolted its sparking legs, tilting its body just slightly. The blade passed clean through, just beside the cockpit.

Close enough to twist—Leon decided. He cranked the lever hard. Instantly, sparks flew from the machine’s elbow joint, then exploded.

The damaged machine couldn’t hold out under full manual control.

“Tch… not now…”

“Huh. Looks like we’re cornered, huh.”

“The arm’s still on!”

Even though the Leon unit had gone still, the right arm dangled loose.

Leon twisted the frame, using centrifugal force alone to swing the dangling limb—straight at the sword still lodged in the machine.

The arm pierced through the sword’s scabbard, snapped the blade inside the body, and sent the broken tip flying through the air. It smashed into the cockpit.

The light faded from Armunale’s eyes. Its limbs went limp, collapsing onto the ground.

Leon confirmed the sight, then slowly righted the unit, turning his gaze toward the dozens of Abnomule units encircling him.

At least thirty of them. After this kind of damage, they’re done. Can’t fight anymore.

“Good thing magic still works. This calls for a retreat.”

The Abnomule unit, leader down and shaken—now useless.

Leon let loose a merciless spell at the closest machine within the circle.

That was the trigger. The halted Abnomules surged forward in unison, all at once swarming Leon’s machine.

Leon surged forward, stomping the shattered face of an Abnomule into the dirt, then leaping straight into the air.

He cleared the ring and bolted toward the western gate.

I’d been unstoppable against the Abnomules—then I saw Leon’s machine. My eyes popped wide. Both arms gone. Surrounded by a horde of Abnomules. Honestly, looked like a joke. Maybe to them it was serious, but to me? Pure comedy.

Ange seemed to agree—she was stifling laughter behind the cockpit, her muffled chuckles sneaking out now and then. Must’ve hit her funny bone just right.

Oh well, reckon I’d better lend a hand, then.

Activate the Fire Lance—blast the soldier barracks right beside Leon.

That’ll scatter rubble across the path just after he passes, slow down Abnomule’s lot.

In the meantime, I close in on Leon, call out to him.

“Leon, how’s the fuel tank?”

“Armunale was guarding it—took it down. But we took more damage than expected.”

“S’pose you were being chased, then. Looked quite the sight. I’ll show you later.”

Armunale’s got a temporary recording function built in. I’ll have Ritz pull it out later—show it to you.

“Don’t reckon I’d wanna see that. Anyway, what about you?”

The cleanup of the weaklings was mostly done—though you went and added more, didn’t you? Still, the enemy commander’s not moved yet, huh.

And here I’ve beaten him senseless—no sign yet of the commander coming out of the facility. I’d even asked Ange to keep an eye on the monitors, just in case. Shouldn’t have missed a thing.

Still got some fight left in that Armunale, I suppose?

Then I guess I gotta knock that one down, huh.

Then I’ll have Eld come out to the edge of the base for now.

“Huh? Why’s that? If we don’t finish them all at once, they’ll just hole up again.”

Only two machines—wounded ones, and the infamous troublesome kind. You really think they’d stay holed up facing such odds?

No way. If it were me, I’d chase after ’em with everything I’ve got—no ifs, ands, or buts. Can’t have another mess like that happening, not if I can help it.

“That’s right. And outside’s turned into quite the spectacle, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Spectacle? You mean that?”

I finally got what Leon was up to.

And just like that, I started pulling back, following his lead.

Sure enough, the Abnomyle forces came barreling after us. And by some fluke—maybe the enemy commander saw his chance—hey, they even sent out an Armunale.

Now we’ve got two Armunales in front, and a whole swarm of Abnomyle units behind. The Armunales leading the charge, blasting away with magic—makes it easy to keep track. A real lifesaver.

“We’re clearing the gate now.”

“Yeah, watch your step.”

“Don’t tell me the obvious.”

“Huh? What? What do you mean?”

Left behind, confused, Ange stayed behind as we all shot out past the gate in one swift leap.

We stopped after walking for a while and turned back.

There it was—rows of toppled Abnomyle and Armunale struggling to move, their feet tangled in the mud.

Guess the knight selection wasn’t a fluke. Even when the ground suddenly turned from paved road to slippery swamp, they managed not to fall. Just standing there looked like a chore, though.

Rain’s been pouring nonstop for days. The plains are slick as ice. What happens when Armunale and Abnomyle stamp through it all at once?

Naturally, the ground gives way, grabs their legs. That’s how we ended up with this mess.

The Armunale’s auto-balancer can’t keep up with the shifting ground. We’re the ones moving fine—because we’ve been walking this way for ages.

But it’s tough on you lot, ain’t it? You’ve only ever walked on proper, paved bases.

I pull the Perfilizzi from the Artifigoj and raise it.

At this range, I can punch through armor easy enough.

“Then let’s finish it off.”

One shot at a time, I fire at the two pitiful Armunales—no real defense to speak of.

Two days after we’d reclaimed the Kailen base. Finally, our side shows up.

They came slow and cautious, like they were scared to death, but nothing’s attacked us in all this time… so why’d it take two whole days?

I hide my disbelief behind a polite smile, greeting the high-up.

“Been waiting for you.”

“Apologies for the wait. We’ve been running around like headless chickens.”

It was Commander Won, who’d been leading the Second Defense Line.

Since my rank is nearly the same as his, I don’t have to play the formal game—thank the stars for that.

“Got word from Lady Ines, but I never thought you’d actually take back the Kailen base with just two ships. And the fuel tanks came through intact, too.”

“Everything just… fell into place. A little help from above, I suppose.”

That rain did us a world of good, didn’t it?

The men behind me nod along, murmuring yes, yes.

“Huh. Still, that’s quite the feat. I’m already looking forward to hearing what kind of medal you’ll get—like it’s someone else’s problem.”

“Though I suspect I’ll be buried under paperwork before that happens.”

Ah… just thinking about it makes my stomach sink. How many damn reports am I supposed to write, anyway?

“That’s part of being a knight, though. Ah—right, I almost forgot something important.”

“What is it?”

Wong Commander cleared his throat, his voice now serious, different from just a moment ago.

“New orders from Lady Ines. The Guard Knight Corps and Leon are to complete the handover at the Kailen base, then return to the capital without delay.”

“Understood.”

I snapped a crisp salute and replied.

Then I blinked, surprised by the change in the princess’s command.

When we left Jakarta, she’d said to push all the way south and seize everything in our path. Now, just Kailen base? What kind of wind’s shifted now? Or did something happen behind the scenes?

“A return order?”

“That’s right. Lady Ines is waiting in the capital.”

“So the princess has returned to the capital, too.”

Ah. So she’s finally been called back by the king. That’s why we’re being sent home.

Looks like our part in this war’s wrapped up for good. Guess we’ll hand the rest over to the other Armunale squads now.