Chapter 138 ~ Cornered
<span style="font-weight:400">“My princess! We’ve lost contact with Frederich’s Squad! The east nk is exposed!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tch…! Guilford, we’ll be going there now! Have udio and his squad take our ce here!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, my princess!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The dark clouds that came from the eastern side of the Tokyo Settlement area and loomed over the massive battlefield where Darlton’s army and the JLFs shed, had finally arrived on the western part of the settlement, covering the entire Tokyo Settlement in dark stormy clouds.
<span style="font-weight:400">A few hours after the JLFunched the attack on the southeastern side of the Tokyo Settlement and was met by Darlton’s army, another army numbering in the hundreds appeared on the west side, forcing her and her army to go and defend it.
<span style="font-weight:400">There was no rain yet for the moment, and the visibility was still as good as they would be during dusk and posed no problem for her and her soldiers.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Push the attack!!! Show them that we are not ones they could mess with easily!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia’s invigorating encouragement was met with a resounding affirmative from all of her subordinates as they rushed to the eastern nk of her army.
<span style="font-weight:400">Everything was going quite well. Unlike the southeastern front where Darlton’s army was suffering from extremely heavy pressure and was slowly being pushed back by Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords, they were able to hold their ground here.
<span style="font-weight:400">Guildford, two other ston knights, and herself were still here to defend the viceroy pce and the center of Britannia’s government and final hold on thisnd.
<span style="font-weight:400">At this rate, she knew she could win in time. But she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. The reason being…
<i><span style="font-weight:400">Where’s that jet ck knightmare…? There’s not even a report about the crimson one or Zero yet…</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">In addition to holding off the ck Knights and the JLF’s troops on multiple fronts, Cornelia had been trying to ascertain all of their location.
<span style="font-weight:400">She and Guilford, along with her squad, had been reinforcing points where their forces were being pushed back to try and regain their position. In addition, they also came to see if the jet-ck knightmare or the crimson one was present. After all, the points, where her army was broken through, had the highest chance of them being there.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Not here too… Just where are they…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia looked around the battlefield as she stepped on a Gekka with hernce still pierced through its chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">With her, Guilford, and her squad, they were still able topletely have the upperhand against these new fifth generation knightmare frames belonging to the Japanese. Even against the Akatsuki, which seemed to be a seventh generation knightmare based on what she saw from the footage of Darlton’s army, she was still confident that she could stand her ground against them.
<span style="font-weight:400">But against the jet-ck and crimson knightmare frames that even the Lancelot couldn’t stand a chance against… It would be extremely difficult.
<span style="font-weight:400">That is why she wanted to quickly find them and neutralize them with numbers.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Guilford, have you heard reports about their positions…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“No. Unfortunately not, my princess…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Just then, a blinding sh of lightning followed by a deafening crash of thunder echoed throughout thend, and the two looked up to the sky at the same time from within their knightmare frame.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It’s about to rain… What a day…”
<span style="font-weight:400">A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and shook her head, exhausted.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My princess, perhaps after this, you should-”
<span style="font-weight:400">Another blinding sh of lightning and a crash of thunder filled the area.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm? What did you say, Guilford?”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“....What was that?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia turned towards Guilford, who seemed to still be looking at the sky with narrowed eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is it, Guilford?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“No, I seemed to have been imaginin- My princess! Look to the sky!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia quickly turned her attention to the sky. And there she saw, breaking through the dark storm cloud, a massive flying structure ship with two protruding front “legs” withrge cannons on top of it, and various other arsenals all over its body.
<span style="font-weight:400">A flying fortress… no, a flying ship. But a ship unlike any other they’ve ever seen in their lives.
<span style="font-weight:400">This size, and the few armaments that they could see from this distance… even the Avalon, Britannia’s most advanced airship and first of its kind, couldn’t bepared with this…
<span style="font-weight:400">“What in the world is that…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Just then, she saw a rocket fired from one of the suthends in the distance, heading towards the bottom side of the ship.
<span style="font-weight:400">And when it reached a distance of around a few tens of meters from the ship, the rocket impacted with a crimson wall that apparate out of thin air, and exploded.
<span style="font-weight:400">Soon, several more rockets followed, but no matter how much was shot at it, the result stayed the same.
<span style="font-weight:400">“A crimson shield… It even has such an advanced defense system.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Guilford said in disbelief.
<span style="font-weight:400">For it to have such a powerful defensive system while flying at such a height… there was no hope for anynd units to be able to even harm that flying ship.
<span style="font-weight:400">“He must be there… This must be that man’s secret weapon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia was assured. This must be the ck Knight’s secret weapon. And Zero, must be there.
<span style="font-weight:400">But even if she knew that… there was nothing she could do.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Guilford, order the jets to sortie…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes, my princess.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Knowing allnd units would be useless in face of such monstrosity, Cornelia correctly judged that they’d need to fight it using fighter jets.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, just then, her eyes widened when they saw a shadow appearing from within the massive airship.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What is that…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The shadow began to grow increasinglyrger, and finally, they both realized what it was.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My princess! That’s-!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“So it finally appears…!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia immediately ordered all of her s <span style="font-weight:400">quad members to gather as she watched the figure of the crimson red knightmare frame descend from the skies.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Open fire!!!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Immediately, all units within her squad opened fire with their rifles and bazookas, targeting the falling crimson knightmare frame.
<span style="font-weight:400">But something, Cornelia realized, seemed to be different as she could see the crimson knightmare clearer and clearer.
<span style="font-weight:400">Its right arm seemed to grow and becamerger than it was before. But the most obvious change was the x-shaped device on its back.
<span style="font-weight:400">And in the next moment… she realized what that device was.
<span style="font-weight:400">The moment they opened fire, and their bullets and rockets near the crimson knightmare, it evaded everything.
<span style="font-weight:400">The crimson knightmare dodged to the side, evading every single bullet they shot. And it continued to dodge their bullets in mid air, dancing through the hail of bullets as it continued descending.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s… a float system?!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia couldn’t believe her eyes… She couldn’t believe that the ck Knights could possess such technology.
<span style="font-weight:400">The float system was an advanced technology currently being developed by Earl Lloyd Asplund. It was first installed on the prototype knightmare frame, Gawain, which belonged to her brother. Andter, it was nned on being installed on the Lancelot as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">However… such technology was still under testing. It had not been used for actualbat purposes.
<span style="font-weight:400">But this agility in the sky, the ridiculous evasion it disyed in mid air… There was no doubt. This was a true float system technology, or at least, the version that the Elevens somehow managed to create. And judging by its performance right now… they’ve surpassed Britannia’s current progress with the float system.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Guren danced through the sky as it descended at rapid speed. And when she came into range, she reached her right hand forward and opened it.
<span style="font-weight:400">Six cylinder-shaped devices shot out from its forearms, and crimson lightning began to crackle.
<span style="font-weight:400">In the next moment, Cornelia, Guilford, and every single knightmare frame in their squad were bathed in crimson red light as a deafening boom echoed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What the-?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“What was that light?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I-I can’t move!”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">All of their knightmare frames shut down as red light filled their cockpit. And before they realize it, every single one of them, aside from Cornelia and Guilford, were struck down by the Flight-enabled version of the Guren named Guren Kashoushiki.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Kuh…! You dare…?! I will not let you harm my princess!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The moment Guilford could finally move his knightmare, he immediately aimed his rifle at the Guren just as it had just finished thest member of his princess’s elite guards, and shot.
<span style="font-weight:400">But to his shock, with an uncanny reaction speed, the Guren noticed his attack and jumped back, evading it, before taking to the sky once more.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I won’t let you run!”
<span style="font-weight:400">He aimed his rifle up towards Guren as it flew to the air. But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a dark shadow streaked down before him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“What the… When did you appear…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Before him, the jet-ck knightmarended on the ground with his crimson swords in hand. On its back was a simr x-shaped device which he recognized as being the same float system as the one on the Guren.
<span style="font-weight:400">His rifle split into two, and fell to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just as he was about to strike with his goldennce, the ck knightmare rushed towards him and disappeared.
<span style="font-weight:400">In a blink of an eye, he noticed that hisnce had been cut in two, his arms and legs had separated from his torso, and his sh harkens pierced and broken.
<span style="font-weight:400">Dread filled his heart as he watched the figure of the ck knightmare stood before her princess…
<span style="font-weight:400">“My princess! Run!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Against an enemy that could take to the skies… You know it’s useless to run, my knight… But I appreciate the thought.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Cornelia took a stance with hernce as she faced the jet-ck knightmare frame that managed to take out her knight in a blink of an eye.
<span style="font-weight:400">She knew she could not possibly win… And she could not run. But it did not matter.
<span style="font-weight:400">She was Cornelia li Britannia. The Chief General of the Imperial Army, the second princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, and a knight.
<span style="font-weight:400">She would rather die inbat than die upon running away.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Come at it, ace of the ck Knights. While I might not be able to defeat you, don’t think I would run and surrender to you. I will fight to myst breath, and I will make sure to thoroughly damage your knightmare to the point of disrepair.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Excalibur stood in silence, unmoving.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just then, a familiar voice resounded from above.
<span style="font-weight:400">“As reckless and stubborn as ever, I see. Princess Cornelia.”
<span style="font-weight:400">She looked up, and to her shock, another knightmare frame of ck and silver with a float system slowly descended from the skies.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Well then… Shall we talk?”