Ch.210209. War Hero

About half a day after reinforcements arrived for the rebellion suppression forces, Seraphina made her decision.

She could no longer stand by and watch as the army’s morale gradually declined due to the aftermath of the first round, where defeat had seemed increasingly likely.

Instead of integrating the reinforcement troops into the existing military organization, she formed them into a separate unit and appointed a commander. This was to prevent confusion in the command structure that might occur if they were forcibly incorporated into units that already had established formations and combat experience.

Fortunately, Duchess Francisca, who led the reinforcements, was a war hero who had frequented battlefields in her youth. She was so dedicated to the Empire that had it not been for her position as the eldest child who would inherit the family name, she might have ended her life on the battlefield.

When the rebellion broke out, Duchess Francisca was the first to express her intention to participate, so Seraphina did not hesitate to appoint her as the commander of the reinforcement troops.

Prince Richard’s side also quickly integrated their additional reinforcements into their military formation and completed preparations to deploy at any time.

The soldiers’ morale was sky-high, as if they were already confident of victory.

The commanders, too, while outwardly disciplining their soldiers with stern warnings against rash actions, were already confident of victory in their hearts.

Once again, the winds of war began to swirl over the Selene Plains.

Although they hadn’t explicitly discussed it, Seraphina and Richard, as the leaders of the two groups, instinctively understood that now was the time to act.

Seraphina judged that delaying further would eliminate any chance of victory, while Prince Richard determined that prolonging the conflict might introduce unpredictable variables.

Their thoughts differed, but they reached the same conclusion:

This fight must not be drawn out into a protracted war.

With this tacit agreement, they completed their deployment preparations and delivered speeches.

Rhetoric designed to encourage the soldiers and somehow draw out their morale unfolded in that place.

The two, born with the overwhelming charisma of emperors inherited through royal blood, shouted simultaneously:

“Commence battle!”

With the sound of powerful mana engines from the massive god-machines, the curtain rose on the second round.

***

Although Freya was engaging in battle alongside Ian, her mind was filled with the conversations she had shared with Gilbert.

His stories about heroes and demon lords were too far-fetched for her, a devotee of magical engineering, to believe.

Though it was said that heroes and demon lords hadn’t appeared in the Holy Empire for several centuries, the reality was that even in earlier eras, things weren’t much different.

Even in the era when she was still human, heroes and demon lords were legendary beings found only in books.

If anyone other than Gilbert had told her this, Freya would have snorted and dismissed it.

But it was Gilbert who had said those words. Freya knew well that he wasn’t the type to speak nonsense, so she trusted his words completely.

How did I, who valued logic and reason, come to believe someone’s words without verification?

Freya smiled self-deprecatingly, but she didn’t feel particularly bad about it.

Considering her future with Gilbert, building a relationship of trust with him was very positive.

“This time for sure. I’ll show my true worth.”

Freya returned to reality at Ian’s murmur, having been lost in thoughts about Gilbert.

Although she hadn’t missed providing necessary support for the battle even while thinking, it was now time to focus all her attention on the fight.

Ian had performed better than expected, but that alone wasn’t enough.

The battle lines remained even only because the rebel side hadn’t yet deployed their new model god-machines; if they did, the situation from the first round might repeat itself.

Aware of this, Gilbert had been taking a cautious approach to the offensive.

This won’t do.

Freya coolly organized her thoughts.

If Gilbert didn’t step up, Prince Richard wouldn’t deploy the new model god-machines.

This wasn’t a guess or speculation but a certainty. She also had evidence to support it.

If Prince Richard had only a limited number of new model god-machines, he would save them specifically to deal with Gilbert.

One of Gilbert’s hypotheses before the round began—that they hadn’t secured many new model god-machines—was precisely the basis for this.

No matter how superior the performance of the new model god-machines, there was still a slight possibility that they could be destroyed by stray magical bullets or magical armaments in the large-scale engagement currently underway.

Having chosen the new model god-machines as a deterrent against the irregular factor that was Gilbert, they had to prevent them from being consumed meaninglessly. Therefore, Prince Richard’s chosen strategy was simple.

To wear down and kill the suppression forces.

That was it.

It was an efficient and stable method, which would have increasingly darkened the prospects for Seraphina’s suppression forces as time went on, but there was another irregular factor here.

[Five god-machines locked on at one o’clock! Evasive maneuvers to twelve o’clock, then fire multi-shot fireballs!]

Following Freya’s concise and quick briefing, Ian controlled his god-machine with fluid movements.

The multi-shot fireballs, fired as a surprise after the evasive maneuver, hit all five god-machines that had been pursuing Ian’s machine.

Though fired as a deterrent, the fireballs were not weak. Despite appropriately using mana barriers to reduce damage, the five god-machines hesitated to continue pursuing Ian.

[High-energy reaction at six o’clock. Long-range bombardment. Dive between the five machines ahead.]

“Got it!”

While it was true that Ian’s piloting skills were inferior to Gilbert’s, that was only because the standard was Gilbert himself. Objectively, Ian’s piloting skills had already reached a certain level due to his innate talent and characteristic skill.

He had long surpassed the level of an academy cadet and could now hold his own against high-ranking god-machine knights of 3-star grade or higher.

With the extraordinary artificial spirit Freya providing full support, Ian was now demonstrating performance comparable to Gilbert’s.

“First and second platoons, back up Ian!”

The company commander of Ian’s unit opened a communication channel and assigned two platoons to support Ian, creating more opportunities for him to excel. Even with his god-like piloting skills, Ian couldn’t overcome the absolute numerical disadvantage alone.

The same was true for Gilbert. War wasn’t fought by one exceptional individual. A battle’s tide might change due to one outstanding person, but that couldn’t be the absolute indicator of victory.

The commander, having judged this well, appropriately assigned troops to Ian, bringing vitality to the front line. This was something all soldiers fighting in this round could feel.

Gradually, the tide of battle began to turn in favor of Seraphina’s forces.

Freya quickly and clearly recognized this point but didn’t let her guard down. She believed Prince Richard wouldn’t simply accept defeat without a fight.

And her prediction was accurate.

Freya detected five god-machines beginning to surround Ian’s machine from a certain distance.

***

[Ian. The new model god-machines that fought Gilbert are starting to surround us.]

“Understood.”

Ian tensed his eyes at Freya’s words but responded while trying to suppress his rising emotions.

In the past, he would have rushed forward, unable to control his competitive spirit, but his failures and Freya’s advice had taught him to control himself.

Ian’s characteristic skill, which had stagnated when he was consumed by arrogance and considered himself the protagonist of the world, had stopped growing at some point.

Heaven had given Ian innate talent but simultaneously took away his drive to work hard. For someone who could advance one step—no, ten steps—ahead of others with the same amount of effort, hard work seemed unnecessary.

However, after entering the academy and encountering the wall that was Gilbert, he experienced frustration and trials, learning the ugly but forward-moving way.

He trained to the point of bleeding, worked hard, and got back up even when he fell.

Ian looked at Freya’s artificial spirit core, which was flashing and providing briefings without pause.

All of this began when he met her. Overcoming his terrible inferiority complex was possible because she was by his side.

Despite the tension on the battlefield, Ian’s heart was incredibly calm. He was confident that as long as Freya was by his side, he could handle whatever came his way.

This emotional change was the beginning of development, which in turn affected his characteristic skill.

His previously stagnant characteristic skill began to grow explosively.

60%, 70%

The synchronization rate gradually began to rise.

Freya also noticed Ian’s rapidly increasing god-machine synchronization rate.

But without wavering, she began briefing to match Ian’s growth. And at that moment, the new model god-machine and Ian’s god-machine collided.

The performance of the new model god-machine was certainly superior. Just as Gilbert had struggled against five new model god-machines, Ian also gritted his teeth as he faced them.

However, Ian’s characteristic skill used even this as fuel to gradually increase his synchronization rate.

80%, 90%

The moment it showed 100% synchronization, Ian surpassed the machine’s performance limitations and cut down a new model god-machine.

“I did it!”

Ian, and no one else, had accomplished what even Gilbert couldn’t do. Unable to contain his joy, he let out a roar and accelerated toward the next victim by pulling the control lever.

Now no one could stop him.

Now he was the best.

However.

[Ian! Stop!]

At Freya’s urgent cry, Ian broke free from his elation and sharply changed direction.

Although the unification showed 100% synchronization, it didn’t help reduce the tremendous acceleration caused by the sudden direction change.

In the violently shaking cockpit, Ian somehow managed to stabilize the god-machine and gulped dryly at the high-energy mana bombardment falling right in front of him.

If he hadn’t achieved 100% synchronization with his unification skill, he would have failed to stop in time and left no trace after that bombardment.

“Th-thanks.”

[Focus. These guys were hiding their true strength.]

Freya clicked her tongue, realizing her hypothesis was wrong.

After checking the origin point of the mana bombardment, she now understood that the five god-machines that had shot down Gilbert earlier were not the same five that Ian had just faced.

“This won’t be easy.”

[We need to retreat from here. Facing nine machines is reckless.]

“I’d like to, but that’s not so simple, is it?”

Despite the critical situation, Ian didn’t panic but rather smiled. It wasn’t that he failed to recognize the severity of the situation.

It was because he had faith that with Freya, they could somehow manage, so he remained unshaken.

“But with you here, Freya, we can somehow make it. You’re the best partner.”

Ian grinned as he gripped the control lever.

With a soulmate who shared his heart, he was confident he could accomplish anything.

[Fall back and regroup with the platoon forces. That’s the priority.]

“Understood.”

Ian, who had expected some kind of retort, felt awkward as he pulled his god-machine back according to Freya’s instructions.

Given the situation, he thought Freya’s nerves had just become sharper.

***

[Finally, all conditions have been met.]

In a dark, pitch-black space without a single ray of light, a single voice softly echoed.