Ch.6666. Academy Attack

As soon as the inauguration ceremony ended and the academy came under attack, Gilbert led his black horse and quickly headed toward the hangar.

The black horse, smarter than expected, seemed to understand Gilbert’s urgency, galloping steadily according to its rider’s intentions despite the sudden bombardment.

There were several dangerous moments on the way to the hangar, but by fully utilizing his riding skill that had evolved into a proper Skill, he was able to arrive safely.

Gilbert retrieved the CT-777 core he had prepared in advance and boarded one of the general-purpose god-machines standing in a corner of the hangar. As soon as he installed the core in the artificial spirit slot of the CT-777 that had been in standby mode, the god-machine activated, and CT-777 awoke.

[CT-777 standby mode deactivated.]

[Checking god-machine status.]

[God-machine status check complete.]

[God-machine activation complete.]

[Knight. I require an accurate briefing on the current situation.]

In response to CT-777’s immediate activation, Gilbert grabbed the control stick and channeled his mana. He planned to explain the details once they left the hangar.

“Demeia Academy is currently under attack by intruders. Our ultimate goal is to protect the academy cadets and ensure the safety of the citizens who came to the academy.”

[Processing current status based on input information.]

[Analysis complete.]

[Setting final mission objective.]

[Final objective set: Protection of academy cadets and citizens’ safety. Secondary objective set: Complete elimination of Demeia Academy attackers.]

[Is this correct, Knight?]

Although Gilbert hadn’t specified a secondary objective, the superior CT-777 had derived its own goal using the situational information. This was precisely why a high-grade artificial spirit was necessary.

“That’s correct. I need information on the attackers now.”

[Total number of god-machines attacking Demeia Academy: 120 units. Insufficient data on their specifications makes assessment difficult, but they appear to be superior to the general-purpose god-machines stationed at the academy.]

“As I thought… What about Master Briana’s location?”

[Briana Tepeo Malkirab. Tracking. Tracking complete. Target is currently engaged in combat with the attackers.]

CT-777 instantly infiltrated Demeia Academy’s information system to assess Briana’s situation. All of this was possible thanks to Gilbert’s 6th-rank knight status.

Of course, under normal circumstances, even a 6th-rank knight like Gilbert wouldn’t have access to the academy’s information system. This was to prevent academy information from being leaked externally.

The reason Gilbert now had access was simple. The special circumstances of the academy attack made it possible.

Demeia Academy had a special provision allowing knights to gain information access rights during emergencies. The provision wasn’t created specifically for academy attacks but was designed with the possibility of knights coming to assist in emergencies.

However, there were detailed conditions within this special provision. The identity of the requesting knight was one of the key conditions. If a spy planted by an enemy country gained unauthorized access to Demeia Academy’s information system, it could cause greater damage.

But Gilbert was exempt from these detailed conditions.

Was he just an ordinary 6th-rank knight?

He was Professor Briana’s former disciple and the only mentor to Princess Seraphina, who was closest to the imperial succession.

Moreover, as the eldest son of House Hart, one of the empire’s three count families, the complex conditions within the special provision meant nothing to Gilbert. No one’s identity was more certain than Gilbert Lyon Hart’s.

But even with access to the information system, analyzing information this quickly would be impossible for an ordinary artificial spirit. Processing such vast amounts of data exceeded the performance range of general-purpose artificial spirits.

However, for CT-777, developed as a next-generation artificial spirit, this was an easy task.

“To achieve our final goal, joining Master Briana is the top priority. I need the shortest route displayed.”

[Setting top priority objective: Rendezvous with Briana Tepeo Malkirab.]

[Top priority objective setting complete.]

As Gilbert intended, CT-777 displayed the shortest route to Briana in the upper right corner of the screen.

[Knight. Multiple enemy god-machines detected between our current position and the target location.]

“How many?”

[Exactly thirteen. I also detect signals from academy cadets and citizens who failed to evacuate.]

While he needed to quickly join Professor Briana for her survival, Gilbert couldn’t ignore the academy cadets and citizens who had attended the commemorative event. After a brief moment of consideration, he drew his iron sword and deployed his mana boosters to protect the cadets and citizens who couldn’t evacuate.

Shortly after deploying the boosters, he arrived at the location where enemy god-machines were carrying out their destructive operations. He could see cadets and citizens fleeing in panic, trying to avoid debris from buildings collapsing under indiscriminate bombardment.

“Let’s go, CT.”

[Don’t worry, Knight.]

With those words, the spectacular battle of the Gilbert and CT-777 duo began.

The attackers, engrossed in their destructive work, were surprised by their sudden appearance but responded quickly. Making good use of their numerical advantage, they immediately surrounded Gilbert. At first glance, he seemed completely encircled by enemy god-machines with no way out, but that was only true in ordinary circumstances.

Gilbert, already second to none in god-machine piloting skills, began deflecting all incoming magical weapon fire with just a single iron sword or performing miraculous evasive maneuvers with paper-thin margins.

The attackers, astounded by his god-machine control that existed only in theory, tried desperately to find his blind spots. They judged that they couldn’t penetrate his defense and evasive maneuvers in a frontal assault.

Unfortunately for them, such efforts were completely ineffective against Gilbert. Even in his original world, he had possessed world-class spatial awareness.

Moreover, wasn’t he now receiving limited backup from the game system?

The stats displayed on his status window weren’t merely a quantification of his abilities. While providing objective indicators, the system was also supporting him with assistance commensurate with those numerical values.

The reason Gilbert had been able to perform acrobatic piloting maneuvers that seemed possible only in games was partly due to his innate piloting talent and experienced gamer knowledge, but also because his high stats received system backup.

And there was one more thing that gave wings to his abilities:

[High mana reaction detected at 12 o’clock. Judged to be a Wind Cannon magical armament.]

It was the presence of CT-777, supporting his combat in real-time. Created based on the data of the final artificial spirit of Tactical Combat, CT-777 began providing even more perfect support as it accumulated Gilbert’s combat data, which far exceeded the specs of ordinary knights.

Although the god-machine Gilbert piloted was just an academy general-purpose model, CT-777 factored this into its calculations and briefed Gilbert only on what he needed, helping him in battle.

As time passed, CT-777 became more precise, and Gilbert realized his god-machine piloting skills were becoming more refined with each moment of synchronization with CT-777.

At a certain point, when CT-777’s and Gilbert’s judgments aligned, they began to break through the spec limitations of the general-purpose god-machine. The inferior specs compared to the attackers’ machines were being compensated for by CT-777’s combat predictions and Gilbert’s spatial awareness.

After parrying a Wind Cannon shot aimed at his back with a single thrust, Gilbert manipulated the control stick to use reverse boosters to approach the god-machine that had attacked him.

Despite not looking behind him, Gilbert accurately pinpointed his opponent’s position and, gripping his iron sword reverse-handed with golden mana swirling around it, precisely stabbed the enemy god-machine’s cockpit.

With a single strike, he tore through the mana barrier and eliminated the attacker inside. Then, tracking the positions of cadets displayed in real-time on his screen, he moved to ensure the battle’s effects wouldn’t reach them, methodically eliminating the attackers’ god-machines.

[This guy’s a monster…! Request backup immediately!]

[I-impossible! Teams 2 and 3 have all gone to support the effort against Briana! And Team 4 is busy holding off other academy professors with no capacity to assist!]

The attackers were shocked to see Gilbert handling the god-machine as if it were his own body. Hazard, the leader of the Resistance attack Team 1, realizing they couldn’t handle Gilbert alone, ordered backup from other teams, but received reports that no attack team was available to support them.

Finally understanding that they had to face Gilbert with just the personnel present, Hazard swallowed his fear and gritted his teeth. Showing fear would undermine the noble cause that brought them here.

Even if afraid, they had to overcome it to usher in a new era.

Hazard quickly racked his brain, seeking the only way they could counter Gilbert. But the answer was obvious.

The best approach when overwhelming with numbers: a war of attrition.

[No matter how exceptional he is, a god-machine’s operation time is limited! Judging by his movements, his mana battery won’t last much longer!]

[Understood!]

It was an accurate assessment. Gilbert was pushing his output beyond normal to end the battle quickly. The operation time of a general-purpose god-machine, not an elite Imperial Brigade model, wasn’t very long.

It was only holding up at this output because it was a Demeia Academy training god-machine; a machine from a minor nation would have already overheated and shut down.

In that sense, Hazard’s judgment was appropriate. No matter how exceptional a god-machine pilot was, there was nothing they could do if the machine itself was neutralized.

Of course, rumors suggested that high-ranking knights could handle a god-machine barehanded, but such stories were generally dismissed as exaggerations.

Even if such feats were possible, it was unlikely anyone at the academy could perform them. More precisely, Briana, the only one with that potential, was held up by another attack team, making the possibility approach zero.

Following Hazard’s quick judgment, his team members adapted swiftly. Instead of blindly rushing in with numbers, they maintained distance and switched to bombardment-focused tactics against Gilbert.

Their bombardment using magical armaments and mana guns was indeed effective. Gilbert, having to consider collateral damage, couldn’t move freely.

He had to avoid causing civilian casualties from stray magical attacks.

Consequently, deploying mana barriers and minimizing movement led to accumulated damage to his god-machine. Using unnecessary mana barriers accelerated the approach of his operational time limit.

[Knight. 3 minutes and 20 seconds until god-machine shutdown.]

“Seems this is the limit with a general-purpose god-machine.”

[I recommend using emergency escape magic immediately. I’ll buy time until then.]

CT-777 suggested the most reasonable option to protect its contractor, following one of the core principles of artificial spirits. Typically, artificial spirits had several behavioral principles programmed from design.

The first was to complete the assigned mission, the second was to follow the contractor’s orders without violating the first rule, and the third was to protect the contractor’s safety.

The current situation, in CT-777’s assessment, violated both the first and third principles. Continuing the mission in the god-machine had virtually zero chance of success. The most rational decision was to evacuate Gilbert and then continue the mission.

“I won’t use escape magic. I have a plan.”

[3 minutes until god-machine shutdown. Time is running out. This is your last chance while the god-machine is still operational.]

CT-777 advised Gilbert once more and immediately prepared emergency escape magic, intending to follow its behavioral principles regardless of his opinion.

But Gilbert moved faster, opening the cockpit hatch and leaping outside. Caught off guard by Gilbert’s impulsive action, CT-777 tried to grab him, but even CT-777 couldn’t catch Gilbert, who had begun to transcend human limitations.

After jumping out elegantly, Gilbert launched himself toward one of the attackers’ god-machines that had been disabled by emergency evacuation. He had deliberately induced the enemy’s emergency escape magic after realizing his operational limit was approaching.

For ordinary god-machine pilots, following CT-777’s advice would be the orthodox approach. Even the most skilled knight-class pilot would be reckless to face god-machines barehanded.

But Gilbert was unlike ordinary god-machine pilots. He had one method to overcome this situation:

[Characteristic Skill “Your Mech Is Awesome” is activating.]

The system message appeared as soon as he boarded the attackers’ god-machine.

For the first time since opening his eyes in this world, Gilbert could genuinely appreciate his characteristic skill.