Book 10: Chapter 10: Fake
They were in the process of destroying a fleet led by Cleo's SS.
On the bridge, an operator shouts in confusion.
"Two mobile knights are exiting the atmosphere! This is..."
The general staff officer yelled at the bewildered operator.
"Report back to me as soon as possible."
"We have confirmed Avid's reaction!"
"What?"
All eyes on the bridge are on me.
I let out a small breath and stood up.
"Calvin stole this mass-production aircraft. I'll go get it back."
As I stand tall, Elysia, who was by my side, tries to stop me.
"Wait, wait!! You don't have to go all the way out there, Liam-sama."
"Don't be ridiculous. That thing is mine!"
Avid's mass-produced machines, made of orichalcum, adamantite, mithril, and various other rare metals, are no match for ordinary opponents.
However, it is extremely difficult to operate such an Avid.
It has a problem with maintainability, but if it were effective, the military would have adopted it long ago.
There are good reasons why the military would not adopt it.
"But don't you think Calvin is being awfully clever about it?"
"What?"
Elysia looks at me with surprise when I praise Calvin, but I recognize him as an enemy.
After all, he is the only one who has made me suffer.
I feel a little sad when I think that this conflict with Calvin will be over.
"Get Avid ready to go out. I'm going to check the specs of the mass-produced machine in actual combat."
Around the main planet of Baron Glynn's family, the Cleo faction had begun to fight among themselves.
Marie, who has borrowed a fleet from Liam, is attacking the fleet commanded by the SS - of 20,000 ships.
Marie, commanding from the bridge, attacked the fleeing SS mercilessly.
"Destroy them all, Liam-sama wants them all destroyed. We must not let a single ship escape."
She sits in the commander's seat, legs crossed, watching the monitor.
The SS were in a state of confusion.
Against the cohesive Banfield family, the SS were being destroyed one by one with only sporadic counterattacks.
"Count Banfield! We are on your side. We are the SS of His Highness Cleo. Please call off your attack immediately!"
The commander on the monitor tells repeatedly that they are on the same side.
Marie, however, heard this and laughed at the corners of her mouth.
"That's too bad. If--if you're going to hold a grudge, hold it against your own masters."
"What are you--?"
Noise was generated on the monitor, and soon the screen went black.
The flagship seems to have been destroyed, and the SS becomes even more confused.
The adjutant at Marie's side sees this and asks in a light tone, "What happened to the flagship?"
"We can't go back now, can we?"
"There is no need to be. It was they who defied Master Liam.
If Cleo's SS is destroyed, regardless of the reason, there will be a big gap between Liam and Cleo.
The deputy asks Marie.
He is a knight petrified along with Marie, a man who also resents the empire.
"Maybe they will give the Banfield family the cold shoulder this time, as they did two thousand years ago."
"If that happens, I hope this time I can give them some breathing room. But I don't think that will be possible this time. The Banfield family will now be the most powerful noble family in the empire."
The greatest economic and military power in the empire.
And now, Rosetta's family, the Claudia family, will be taken over by the Banfield as a new dukedom from Rosetta's family.
Liam would then have both status and honor.
Because of his ability, he had a hand in the existence that even the emperor could not ignore in the empire.
Marie crossed her fingers.
"The rest depends on how Liam-sama feels about it."
Marie, who had been showing a relaxed attitude - that what she does with Cleo is also up to Liam.
She sits up when she hears the operator's news. "Liam has left for Avid. He has ordered all troops to stay out of the way as he goes to take down the imposters."
The operator is confused, but so is Marie - even more so.
"The escort unit?
"That's what they said, that one aircraft was enough."
"--Why is it happening all the time? Surely, it's all right. It will be okay, right?
The general-in-chief himself is going out - in other words, Marie and her team have sent Liam out on his own.
The leeway she had earlier disappeared, and Marie stood up and gave the order.
"If this happens, we'll hit the enemy as fast as we can and rush to Liam-sama's side. All vessels, prepare to charge!"
Marie decided to quickly destroy the enemies in front of her so that she could always be ready to come to Liam's rescue.
Avid's cockpit.
The controls are activated and a monitor shows the surroundings.
The engine roars to life.
But it is not as fierce as usual.
I felt rather curious.
"Are you curious too?"
Avid, who growls in reply, seems to be concerned about the fake - or rather, sibling - machine that is coming toward us.
"Let's get on with the meet-and-greet."
Avid moves almost automatically through the hangar to the catapult.
It is constructed to shoot out using magnetic force and magic, and is ejected when permission is given to launch.
When a small window appears in the air, the face of Elysia, who is in charge of the operator, appears.
"It's not normal for the general himself to go out on a sortie."
I felt the need to make Elysia aware that I was right when she complained.
"Are you nuts? This is not war. It's just for fun. Two Avids can't destroy a fleet of hundreds of thousands."
My Avid with a machine heart is one thing, but a weapon cannot continue to fight without replenishment and maintenance.
No matter how much rare metals are used, there will eventually be a limit.
This is nothing but a Calvinist's misguided attempt.
"Just start shooting. Avid is making too much noise."
"You say that like it's alive. At least treat me a little, too, pretty please.'
"No, Avid is prettier--"
"I'm ejecting."
"Aah, you!"
Before I could finish saying that Avid was prettier, I was shot out.
Immediately, as the landscape around us changes to space, Avid spurts out his thrusters and heads toward the fake.
He's in a lot of hurry, but so am I.
"Now, who's the pilot?"
The Avid is characterized by a high degree of difficulty when it comes to maneuvering, but the enemy may employ assist functions.
Nevertheless, it is a sibling of Avid, which has a performance that is considered to be a joke.
Unless they have some superior piloting skills, they will not be able to move it properly.
While hoping for a strong pilot to emerge, I looked for the enemy - and it seems that they noticed me.
Two white Avids were chasing my fleet, which was running away.
They look like they are on the side of justice. Let's get you on the line.
I called out to the enemy to try to have a conversation with him, but there was no response.
On the contrary, two planes were coming toward me at great speed.
"What is it?"
Wrinkling his brow in some discomfort, Avid deploys a magic circle behind him.
At first, it seems that he intends to attack from a distance, perhaps to see how good he is.
When a number of missiles were released from the magic circle, the white Avid and the others - the white ones - also deployed their magic circle.
However, the two aircraft began to intercept Avid's missiles back to back as if they were one and the same.
I have heard that skilled pilots who have been paired with each other for a long time show acrobatic movements.
But the white guys in front of me were different.
If Avid tried to close the distance with his laser blade, the two aircraft also had blades that resembled swords.
I quickly seized the control stick to take the initiative, and I made Avid retreat.
Then, I saw the slightest sign that a slash had been fired.
"Did you imitate One-Flash?"
I took the controls from Avid and flew backward as it was, observing the movement of the two aircraft.
I notice the two aircraft have no sign of the pilots.
"Ha ha ha! Well Calvin, ain't I gonna hate you!"
Three tails of light were intricately entwined on the battlefield.
One fleeing, two chasing, and three lights flying around the battlefield.
The Banfield family fleet was watching the scene - and the guide was also watching, as if riding on one of the ships.
Outside the ship, in outer space, he is swinging his fist.
"There, go! Assault Liam!"
Two white Avids approach Liam's Avid.
Although there is a difference in performance, they are the best aircraft currently available.
In answer to the guide's prayer for at least a hand injury, the white Avids slide their armor plates and begin to dissipate heat.
This is a trump card that explosively improves performance, but at the same time places a heavy load on the aircraft.
A double-edged sword.
It seems that Calvin did not think he could win by simply preparing Avid, and he had prepared various trump cards.
The white aircraft approached Avid while emitting a bluish-white flame-like light.
"Just blow yourself up!"
Two white Avids equipped with artificial intelligence launch an attack with everything they have.
As the Avid's surroundings were enveloped in light generated by the battle, the guide exclaimed.
"Hahahaha! No amount of you will ever make it out of there unscathed!"
Behind the guide, who was pleased that he had damaged Liam - was a translucent dog.
It was dressed in a low, snarling posture, a sign of its anger toward the guide.
Resisting the urge to leap at him and bite him, the dog turns his attention to Liam, who is fighting.
The master who once adored him.
A man whose life has been distorted by an unfortunate guide who spotted him.
Originally, this dog was supposed to pick up Liam when he lost his life in a previous life.
It was the guide who interrupted him.
"All right! All right!!! Now we can do a little damage--what?"
But - something happens that exceeds the dog's expectations.
Avid is caught in the explosion, but a light giant appears on his back.
Even larger than Avid, this figure is the embodiment of Liam's power.
The guide - and the dog - can hear Liam laughing in the cockpit.
"I love it! It's a perfect souvenir for my junior sisters. I am your master from this day forward! Avid, discipline your brothers."
At Liam's command, Avid's twin eyes glow red and he grabs the white aircraft with one hand each.
The two aircraft went on a rampage, but were unable to escape due to Avid's power.
"What the hell are you doing!"
The guide shouts, and the light giant turns to face him.
"Hiiiiii-!?"
The guide held his hat in his hand and ran away straight away, as he would be forced with gratitude by Liam if he was found.
The dog makes a petting and spitting gesture, showing his disgust for the guide.
Then, he turns the tip of his nose toward Liam - and makes an indescribable face.
A line of light floated from both of his hands as Avid gripped the two aircraft, and a line of light floated from his hands to the armor.
The light invades the two aircraft.
Liam is in a good mood.
"Calvin, you are a man of vision. I commend you for relying on artificial intelligence. But you weren't strong enough to defeat me."
The artificial intelligence stopped resisting as the machine hearts on the Avid took control of the two machines.
He thanked Calvin in front of the two machines, which stopped moving and drifted away.
"Thank you, Calvin, I'll take it as a wedding gift!'
The Dog thought.
Sending a captured mobile knight to his younger Junior sisters is fine, but can it really be called a wedding gift?
The dog was a bit suspicious of his master's sensibilities because Rosetta was not involved.
"Well, time for some fun postwar processing."
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