The Red Reaper
"Which bastard touched my woman?! Was it you?!"
Die! Every last one of you, just die!
Until now, Jincheon had been fighting half for the sport of it, and Calsira had been matching his pace from behind. The moment Heliane's desperate call for support reached them, both of them shed every scrap of leisure. They began to butcher the enemies around them like a pair of reapers turned loose in a slaughterhouse.
H-Holy shit…
Are those two even the same species as us…?
The surviving friendly pilots could only stare in stunned silence. Jincheon and Calsira dodged incoming fire from every direction as if they had eyes growing out of the backs of their heads, then answered each attack with perfect, lethal counterstrikes.
"Calsira!"
Yes!
After roughly clearing the enemies in their immediate vicinity and buying Heliane enough time to fall back, the two of them rocketed toward the land battleship.
They had no idea where the enemy ace was, but they figured that if they simply killed everything that looked important, the ace would be somewhere in the pile.
"Fire! Fire everything! Build a wall of flak! Launch every interceptor missile we've got!"
"Captain! There are still friendly units out there—!"
"I said fire, damn you!"
The captain of the land battleship that had become their target ordered a full defensive barrage the instant he saw them coming. He had already watched their earlier performance, and the reports of the northern fleet being annihilated by the same two machines had left him half-paralyzed with terror.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud! Whoosh! Boom!
Anti-air guns laid down a curtain of shells. Interceptor missiles streaked out on guided tracks. Land mechs perched on the battleship's deck opened up with the gun batteries on their backs and the machine guns mounted on both arms, weaving a dense web of fire.
W-Wait! We're still—Aaaagh!
Aaaah!
Because the rebel mechs had been flying toward the battleship while still engaged with the loyalists, the defensive barrage centered on the ship tore through their own machines and sent them tumbling from the sky in flames.
Kiiiiing! Ratatatatatat!
Jincheon and Calsira answered with head-mounted vulcans and gatling shields, swatting the incoming interceptor missiles out of the air as they charged straight at the battleship. An ordinary pilot would have been blinded and shot down by the sheer volume of flak and land-mech fire alone. Compared to the hellscapes these two had already walked through, this was nothing more than a stroll with their eyes closed.
"Hah!"
With a sharp shout, Jincheon zigzagged at blinding speed to dazzle the land mechs on the deck, then drove a lance charge straight into the cockpit section. A clean, metallic piking! rang out. He followed up with several laser shots into the now-defenseless torso, then shoulder-checked the machine off the deck. It tumbled down the battleship's hull and detonated below.
KRA-KOOM! Krrrrrrrr—
"Guh! Damage report!"
"Forward secondary batteries destroyed! Partial armor breach!"
"Damn it! Why can't we hit those bastards?! Not a single shot has landed!"
Inside the CIC, the captain felt cold fear crawl up his spine as every one of their attacks failed to leave so much as a scratch.
"Retreat! Fall back! No—you lot stay and fight! Prepare the escape pods!"
The weight of imminent death crushed whatever composure he had left. Babbling, he declared he would flee by escape pod and bolted out of the CIC.
"…So that was the man we served."
The deputy captain left behind was a retainer who had served the captain's house for years. Watching a noble abandon all dignity and run produced only a bitter smile.
"But it's already too late."
KRA-ZZZZZT!
Calsira's Anti-Ship Sword ripped through the battleship's armor. The moment the hull split open, both Jincheon and Calsira poured rail-cannon fire into the wound.
KRA-KRA-KOOM!
The CIC was the most heavily protected compartment on the ship, but it was never designed to shrug off a direct mech-scale rail-cannon strike. Everyone inside was swallowed by the firestorm and snuffed out.
Moments later the entire battleship erupted. The noble who had just boarded an escape pod and was reaching for the emergency launch switch was caught in the blast and vanished.
M-Monsters!
How the hell are we supposed to beat that?!
The surviving rebel knights broke and ran. Friendly knights who saw the rout opened fire from behind and managed to detonate a few of the fleeing machines.
Sister! Are you all right?!
I'm fine. Stop fretting so much.
Once the fighting in the immediate area died down, Calsira dropped to the ground and inspected Heliane's battered Gareld, crumpled in several places.
Where was that ace pilot who was giving you so much trouble? None of the ones we just killed looked particularly impressive.
He flew off toward you two a little while ago.
"Huh? That guy just now?"
…Wait… that was the ace…?
Jincheon, who had been too busy to bother with the mech that had briefly blocked his path, and Calsira, who had casually swatted it aside, both tilted their heads in mild confusion.
Haaah. I thought I'd grown stronger, but looking at you two, I still have a long way to go.
N-No, Sister! You just had rotten luck! I mean… ah! Those guys! Those guys fought so poorly it was basically thirty-to-one!
Seeing Heliane look so dejected, Calsira insisted the knights under Heliane's command had simply been incompetent, doing everything she could to cheer her up.
Pfft.
The gap between the adorable girl desperately taking her side right now and the Horned Empress who had dominated the battlefield moments earlier was so vast that Heliane couldn't help a short laugh.
My machine's in no condition to do anything but get in the way. I'll return to base on my own. You two should hurry to the next fight.
"You sure you'll be all right?"
I don't want to be protected like a baby.
She might have become Jincheon's woman, but Heliane had no intention of turning into a mindless doll who existed only for his amusement. The firmness in her voice left no room for argument. Jincheon and Calsira began preparing to move to another sector.
"Hey. You. And you."
Y-Yes!
Please give your orders!
Jincheon pointed at the mechs whose condition was still borderline. The knights, who had already been knocked senseless by a single blow from him and had just witnessed his monstrous skill with their own eyes, answered with crisp speed. They were certain that if he felt like it, the credit for this entire battle alone would place him far above them.
"You lot return to base with Heliane."
If anything happens to my sister… I'll feed your bodies into a meat grinder starting from the toes.
The raw murderous intent that came through the speakers made the knights shudder involuntarily.
"Anyone else who can still keep up, follow us. I'll show you what it feels like to dominate a battlefield."
He issued no hard order—only an invitation—then lifted his machine into the air.
"Let's go."
Yes!
KRAAAAAA!
In an instant the two Garelds streaked toward the next hot zone where friend and foe were still locked in combat.
…I'm going after them.
M-Me too!
We might be riding alongside a new legend.
Just two machines had produced results that defied belief. And they still weren't satisfied—they intended to rule the entire battlefield. Among the knights who had tasted, even briefly, what it felt like to fight beside people who dominated a war, those whose machines were still in decent shape began to follow.
"Hah!"
Pachi-chi-chi-ching!
The instant Beatrix sensed the laser streaking toward her, she raised her shield and caught it cleanly.
Piking!
An enemy mech tried to exploit the opening with a lance charge. She simply fired her laser rifle and shot it down without ceremony.
Boom! KRA-KOOM!
The Imperial Guard under her command carried a few minor scratches, but not a single machine had taken damage serious enough to hinder combat. From the start they had been trained to fight under any conditions; even after dropping straight from orbit into a ground battle they were each performing the work of three ordinary pilots. Every one of them had undergone bio-enhancement procedures, so calling each individual a near-ace was no exaggeration.
Energy concentration detected on target land battleship! Caution advised!
"All units, scatter! Flash defense!"
The moment the enemy land battleship prepared to fire its main gun, Beatrix ordered dispersal and watched the beam lance out toward the Rastold Silverion.
KRA-CHI-CHI-CHI-CHI-CHING!
Fortunately the Rastold Silverion's shields held, but the instant their own main gun began to charge, enemy mechs swarmed in like hornets. Once a main-gun duel began, the Rastold Silverion held every advantage in range and position; the rebels were determined to disrupt that advantage.
Outnumbered several times over from the beginning, Beatrix and the Imperial Guard were fully occupied thinning the enemy mechs.
Report from Jincheon's unit! Northern and northwestern enemy forces annihilated! They are now moving south to support us!
"What? Already?!"
Beatrix had expected Jincheon's group—together with roughly twenty friendly mechs—to do no more than delay the enemy advance. Yet they had already cleaned out both sectors and were coming to reinforce?
Does he really have talent for ground combat the way my sister claimed?
She already knew Jincheon was gifted in space combat, but she had never expected that gift to extend to surface warfare. As someone once put it, even if both are ball games, the talent for soccer and the talent for basketball are completely different things. Jincheon, it seemed, was the kind of all-around genius who excelled at both.
Damn it…! Why does it have to be a bastard like him…!
She was an ace pilot herself, yet if she tried to fight the way Jincheon did she would be shot down inside five minutes. Had she been the sort to envy stronger pilots, she never would have become captain of the Imperial Guard in the first place. What she truly hated was Jincheon's crude character.
No—she simply hated the very existence of Jincheon.
Her sister, who always conducted herself with perfect fairness, only ever softened her expression and tone when the conversation turned to him. For reasons she could not name, watching her sister change the moment Jincheon's name was mentioned made rage boil up inside her.
Hahahaha! Look at this swarm of flies!
Moments later, Jincheon's Gareld appeared, moving at terrifying speed even inside a gravity well.
Piking! Boom-boom-boom! Ratatatatat!
Lance gun, rail cannon, and gatling shield all fired in simultaneous bursts, each shot landing with surgical precision on enemy mechs alone.
KRA-KOOM! KRA-KRA-KOOM!
Every explosion that lit the night sky belonged to the enemy. With each new detonation the red blips on the radar vanished at an alarming rate.
A-Amazing… The enemy numbers are dropping so fast…!
So this is the Red Gareld…
It's even more incredible than the rumors.
The moment Jincheon entered the fray, the enemy mechs began to melt away before their eyes.
Hyatchaaah!
KRA-KOOM!
Calsira arrived right behind him, firing her rail cannon and sending enemies tumbling one after another.
Hey, Calsira! That's my battle cry! Stop copying me!
Why not?! It's fun! If it bothers you so much, go file a patent!
Jincheon and Calsira traded banter with zero tension while swatting enemies out of the sky like flies that had blundered into insecticide.
We're going too!
Woooooo!
The knights who had followed them poured on a fierce assault of their own, attacking the already-shattered enemy ranks and fighting like ordinary soldiers riding the coattails of legendary generals.
KRA-KOOOOOM!
In the end, when Jincheon and Calsira traded the Anti-Ship Sword back and forth and destroyed yet another land battleship, the enemy—terrified of their combat power—began to withdraw. It was not a panicked rout; they formed ranks, retreated slowly, and laid down covering fire like a moving wall of flak. Pursuit would have been difficult.
Even so, the breathing room allowed the Rastold Silverion to finish charging its main gun and destroy one more land battleship. The rebels were forced to fall back with heavy losses.
We won! We actually won!
Woooooo!
Even with the defensive installations and the Rastold Silverion on their side, repelling such a numerical disparity sent the pilots into wild cheers.
The Red Reaper! The Red Reaper has descended!
Someone shouted the name at Jincheon's crimson Gareld, and soon the entire force was roaring "Red Reaper" in celebration. Their first meeting with him had not been pleasant, but after witnessing overwhelming strength the knights discarded every lingering grudge and cheered the new epithet.
Jincheon himself, of course, only grumbled,
"Red Reaper? Give me a break. Sounds like a cheap knock-off of the White Reaper and the Red Comet mixed together."
Still, he looked rather pleased despite the complaint.
…We won again because of that bastard's performance.
Meanwhile Beatrix, who had once more been forced to accept victory thanks to Jincheon's help, could only swallow her resentment. Already predisposed to dislike him, she bit her lip and swore that next time she would seize victory with her own strength alone.