"Hmph..."

Minami sniffled and squinted at the sea level.

The coastal air was humid and salty, and the whole person instantly woke up, as if he had returned to the bay town where he was born in Japan.

The weather is clear, cloudless, and the line between the sea and the sky is so clear.

"It doesn't taste right."

Nan muttered something in a low voice, which landed in Nelson's ear.

"How?"

"It's not the taste of the war."

There are no impurities in the air, no stinging pain of dust and gunpowder attached to the nasal cavity. There is no smell of plastic, metal, oil mixed with burnt human tissue・・・・・・

"Of course." Nelson took off his glasses and wiped them. "The barrels of our guns are cold."

Minami turned to look at the occupied port.

Under the gantry crane in the cargo area, the members of the Knights are busy installing small Sakurashi explosives on the hanging legs. On the runway of the airport not far away, dozens of people lined up in a row in groups of three, drilling holes every thirty meters to plant explosives and **. While the airfield cannot be completely destroyed, at least it will prevent planes from taking off and landing, which means that it will be more difficult for the Empire to rebuild and resupply in the next month. The underground oil pipeline leading to the port has been torn apart by several moons. At the farthest chemical facility, the installation of detonation facilities is underway at the same time. There is a shortage of manpower, time is tight, and everyone is busy against time.

Although it was a surprise attack, although the other party was not prepared, and although it was not a heavily guarded military base, this was not an ordinary civilian dock after all, but a semi-militarized port related to the supply of imperial resources.

After only a few rounds of greeting fire, the opposing side abandoned their positions, and the casualties of the Black Knights remained in the single digits, and judging from the number of prisoners, the combat effectiveness of the opposing side was far lower than their own expectations.

"It smells like vacation." Minami frowned.

"Isn't it good?"

Nan thought for a moment and shook her head slowly.

"We're being targeted."

"You think it's a trap?" Nelson held his chin and followed his train of thought. "Use a harbor to lure our 400-strong Black Knights branch into the trap?"

The man who came up with the plan was either a madman or an angel -- of course, on their side.

"I don't know... If the deputy commander is there・・・・・・"

Minami sighed.

He didn't have that kind of talent, he knew that for a long time.

The ability to see through the fog in an instant, find the core of the problem, and conform to the opponent's plan to rebel against the army.

Maybe he has been around ZERO and the deputy commander for a long time, and sometimes he even takes this immortal talent and the miracle it causes for granted. This frustration is all the more evident when it happens to oneself, especially when one can smell the intrigue in the air but can't taste it.

"I'll set up the defensive line, and the ground personnel will be coordinated by you." Nan opened the door of the captured jeep and jumped into the driver's seat. "We may not have much time to make the destruction of factories our first priority."

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Hadi Reza, after the life-threatening standoff that day, is now planting explosives in the desalination center with his men.

After breaking into the center alone, disappointed to find that there was no swimming pool as the locals had said it was, Reza swept a shuttle into the plumbing roof in order to vent his anger, and accidentally triggered the fire extinguishing system.

The bearded man was stunned, for him, "rain" was not a familiar concept. He was very unfamiliar with this state of water descending in the form of countless particles. After a brief moment of shock, a certain emotion that had been suppressed all his life, which even he did not know, exploded, ripped off his shirt, knelt in a puddle on the ground, spread his arms, and laughed madly.

Water.

So much water, not in a dirty clay pot, not the kind of cloudy precious liquid that can only moisten the lips at a time. The water here is so clear that it pours endlessly, and it rightfully laps on the face.

Bending down, his face clearly imprinted on the ground!!...

"Come out!"

Reza suddenly picked up his gun and yelled at the control of the audience beside him.

He had just seen the blind spot of the previous search in the reflection in the water, and there was a guy hiding under the control platform not far away.

Reza pulled the bolt of the gun, and the figure was startled by the sound of the bullet loading, hesitated for a moment, first reached out with both hands to show that he was unarmed, and then slowly crawled out.

It was a young Britannian in his early thirties in overalls.

・・・Britannians...

Reza swept around with the corner of his eye.

The guys who get in the way are not there.

"Rats are really everywhere."

Reza grinned, licked her lips, and walked up slowly.

The young man took a step back, leaning on the control platform with no way out. He could see from the other party's eyes that this hideous-looking guy didn't want a captive.

"Please, please don't kill me, I'm not a soldier! I'm just a staff member here, the director of the desalination center...

"Oops, still the Director." Reza shrieked and twisted his neck to make a horrible noise.

"Really! My documents are in my pocket! Not!!! ”

Before he finished speaking, Reza had already smashed the butt of a gun into the other party's face, and the young man fell to the ground in pain.

"Then you're going to die even more... Britannian mongrel...

There's so much water that you can't use up...

That day, he knelt in front of his daughter's corpse and pressed the mutilated foot to his face, his heart aching as if it were about to burst, and the blood was tumbling all over his body. But... no matter how much you howl, self-punishing to gouge that ruin is worth ten fingers・・・・・・

Not a single tear can be shed・・・・・・

When people are extremely dehydrated, there is no surplus of tears.

Just because of these foreign devils, they took away his country, his life, his relatives, and in the end, he was even deprived of his right to cry for his daughter.

Reza looked at the man's face.

Pain, panic, fear, pleading... innocent, as if he were the victim.

He had no idea how much suffering his existence had brought to the people here.

He had no idea how many people had died behind every drop of resources he had squeezed out of the land.

While eating the flesh and blood of others, I live with peace of mind.

"Sue me..." Reza crouched down in front of him, rifle hanging behind him, pistol against his head. "Do you have nightmares when you sleep?"

"No... cough, cough, please don't..."

"I think so, you don't feel anything at all."

"Please..."

"I may be a bad person, no, I'm a bad person. But you... you are pure... evil. ”

Shots rang out, and Reza turned.

There is no thrill of revenge, just dazed.

Looking at the pendant on the neckline, there is a photo of him and his daughter, the little girl hangs around his neck, and the two of them are smiling so brightly.

"Nashin... I'll be with you right away."

Reza kissed the picture and muttered.

"...

The girl's timid voice sounded from behind her.

Reza instantly froze in place, unable to move.

"Daddy?"

That's not an illusion!!

Reza turned her head tremblingly.

A girl of about ten years old was kneeling beside the parent, shaking his father's body at a loss.

As if in the depths of a dream, Reza slowly turned around and stared at this qiē with a blank gaze.

The girl's sobbing voice gradually stopped, and she finally accepted the fact that her father was dead. Raising his head and looking at the murderer in front of him, the look in his eyes was eager to break the other party to pieces.

It was the eyes that lingered in his dreams, like karmic fire, tormenting him to this day.

Reza looked down at the gun in his hand.

What did I do?

Is this retribution?

"What's your name?"

Reza knelt down on one knee and asked softly in her suffocated English.

“・・・・・・”

"I don't know, that's you..."

“・・・・・・”

"Hey, I..."

The shrill siren interrupted Reza, and the entire hall was instantly dyed red with warning lights.

[Twenty-one flying units detected in the northeast direction, speed 300, not a regular combat unit of the Empire, estimated arrival time, fifteen minutes.] All units stepped up their operations, and after fifteen minutes, no matter what the operation situation was, they immediately detonated.

Nelson's voice pulled Reza back into reality, and he paused for a moment, holding down the headset as if he suddenly realized something.

"No to it! Cancel the detonation! Repeat! Cancel the detonation! ”

【Reza? I don't have time to listen to you...

"There are civilians here! Repeat! There's a kid here! ”

[No.] 】

"Listen! Nelson! Here, there's one, kid!! ”

[All units stepped up their operations, 14 minutes and 20 seconds. 】

"Die, you !!"

Reza ripped off his headphones and threw them on the ground, crushing them with his boots.

"Hey, it's going to explode here." Reza held out her hand to the girl, her eyes pleading. "We're running out of time."

The girl still didn't speak, her blue eyes were full of tears, and they were red-hot blades that wanted to gouge out the other person's heart.

"You're too young to die in a place like this..."

“・・・・・・”

"Please・・・・・・ live..."

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Bradley looked at the screen in the cockpit, his eyes full of disappointment.

There were only about sixty of them, and for a warrior of his level, it was barely enough to warm up, not to mention that they were all passing bodies that could only crawl on the ground.

They have flown into the range of the opponent's maximum firepower, and the harbor is full of fire, trying to build a fire network to stop them. It is a pity that ground firepower is almost zero deterrent to KMF flying units, which are known for their three-dimensional combat and dexterity. What's more, at this distance, the bullet can fly for almost ten seconds, and it has the effect of gravity, as long as it is not a nap in the air, then it is impossible to be shot anyway.

As a Knight of the Round Table, the body he pilots is certainly not ordinary.

Percival is also a unique heretical mech, tailored for pilots, and belongs to the assault mecha. The right wrist is equipped with a hook that can be used as a drill bit, a missile launcher on the shield, two hadron cannons on the legs, and a hook for sneak attacks on the head.

Compared to the other configurations, Pavarhi's long claws on his hands were redundant, and they were more like Brandley's amusement. After all, it's better to enjoy the other party's screams than to blow them up with one shot, and then slowly drill into them with a drill, right?

"So, ladies, you're in charge of the armored unit, and I'm going to have some fun."

"Yes!"

After giving the order, Blandley kicked the pedal that was originally loosely stepped on to the ground, and the speed of the machine increased dramatically. The gray body plunged headlong into the opponent's firepower network, and after a dazzling dodge action, it magically crossed the opponent's defense line, and the destination was directed at the airport, without the slightest intention of slowing down, and smashed into the center of the airport with a falling-like posture.

The ground forces that were planting explosive devices did not even have time to react, and some of the closer ones were directly killed by the shock wave, and those in the distance were torn to pieces by bullet-like rubble. The ground beneath the mech's feet burst into cracks in cobwebs, and blood splattered in all directions, looking down from above, as if a rose bloomed out of thin air.

Not to mention that as a Knight of the Round Table, even if it is an ordinary driver, this kind of slaughter of infantry by relying on the superiority of mecha is despicable.

But Brandley didn't care, no, I should say he enjoyed it more because of that.

Pavarhi raised his arms and looked at the sky in gratitude.

Behind them, the Valkyries belatedly fought with the Black Knights' defenses, and finally, with the vibration of the explosion, the first mech turned into a ball of fire.

"Huh?"

Brandley looked at the LOST logo on the screen and scratched his head in confusion.

"Pamela plane, down!"

Hey, hey, what's going on? Is this a joke? FIRSTBLOOD WAS ACTUALLY HANDED OVER BY HIS OWN SIDE?

"Jacqueline, down! My lord! These two are different from the others! ”

The girl's voice on the airwaves looked panicked.

Those two "different" bodies are the moonlight piloted by Minami and Asakura Ken'er.

Although the Black Knights still do not have the ability to replace the floating airframe on a large scale due to technical limitations, after the battle of Mt. Fuji and the painful lesson of almost being wiped out by a flying airframe, how could it be possible not to study the corresponding tactics with the wisdom of ZERO and the deputy commander?

After battling Gawain, Ilan realizes that the mech itself is not as scary as it felt at the time. Its weakness is very obvious, except that the driver's GEASS perfectly compensates for the shortcomings of the airframe.

One-on-one, it is no match for Lancelot at all.

The most important formation to deal with air units is to fight with firepower groups and form a local battle with more and less, rather than letting the opponent break each one.

As long as you can form a team of more than three people, pull away from the battlefield, keep moving, disperse the body in all directions and focus the fire to the center, then there will always be a moment when your own people will get into the enemy's blind spot.

The display can monitor 360 degrees, but the driver, no matter who it is, only has two eyes. Taking advantage of the moment when the enemy's shooting position is relatively fixed, firing from this blind spot will have a high chance of hitting the opponent.

This plan was theoretically feasible, but there was one problem -- the pilot who confronted the enemy head-on was almost certain to die. This life-for-life tactic would be crazy elsewhere, but in the Black Knights, it's the everyday.

They were already aware before they joined, they had already "died" countless times in the simulator, during the exercises, and they were constantly instilled in their daily lives with the dedication of their minds, and it was the best destination for them to die with the enemy.

Nan and Jian'er, they have a realm that is completely different from others. They can entangle the enemy alone without relying on their companions, and their ghostly actions make it almost impossible for the enemy to predict the opponent's position in the next second, and the unexpected cold gun makes the enemy in the air in a state of extreme tension all the time.

"Healthy!"

The airframe ran out of magazines, and the hook lock was fired south in order to gain a reload gap.

Tsukishita drew his saber and slashed the hook lock, released the trigger, the serrations on the blade stopped turning, and he held the hilt of the sword with both hands behind his back, and used the full weight of the body to nail the opponent's cable into the ground.

The athlete realized, drove the body out of the south and rushed towards the enemy, grasping the cable. Fierce friction, sparks burst out from the palms, the sword was held horizontally in front of him, and he slid forward with the cable, and the moment the enemy was dragged back to the ground, the flames flickered, and the Valkyrie was split in two from her chest.

The third.

The war situation is not optimistic.

In the time that the two of them had worked together to take out three mechs, they had already lost fifteen of them.

None of the rest of the crowd crashed into the account.

This was the first time they had engaged a floating airframe, and no matter how much simulation practice they had gone through before, they would inevitably be in a hurry when they actually ran into it.

The other party is by no means an ordinary person, in terms of driving skills, they are all elite-level, and the body is not the mass production type of the empire, and the performance is significantly higher than that of its peers.

No matter how hard the two tried, the battle damage ratio was irreversibly and rapidly expanding.

And the fast and unreasonable mech just now hasn't joined yet.