Behind Zetius, Haoxiang’s units cautiously followed his trail, lying in wait.
In front of him, another Armatus drone cleaved in half and exploded. He grimaced as he flew past.
"Cubie, how many drones remain?" Zetius asked.
"12... 11 units now," she reported. The source of thɪs content is NoveI(F)ire.net
"Hades’s hell! I can’t possibly take 'em all, can I? There must be way over hundreds of them."
He contemplated grimly, monitoring the Arcanite gauge — 93% remaining.
By a quick mental calculation, his Armatus wouldn’t last through a prolonged battle.
A lancer’s beam cut through the sky, hitting even their own Armatus and Zeigerlich’s drones. Zetius instinctively rolled to the side, evading the beam—
"Watch out!" Cubie roared, her voice alarmed.
Zetius pulled up his blade instinctively. "Ugh!" He grunted, parrying the blow. The impact rocked his hull.
The red glowing eyes stared at him. His awareness blared, Haoxiang was piloting this golden insectoid. He was certain of it.
The enemy spun, staggering Zetius, and immediately arched his other blade toward his head.
Zetius throttled backwards in full, narrowly evading the killing blow.
After a breakout, Zetius surged forward at Haoxiang, but the golden pilot had already flown further away.
"Coward!" he roared through gritted teeth, but three golden Armatus units blocked his pursuit.
"He’s trying to starve my Arcanite energy. What a nasty strategy," Zetius muttered, agonising over the realisation that it might just work.
Haoxiang commanded his units from a safe distance, orchestrating three-on-one aerial brawls against the green Armatus.
The combat broke into a prolonged clash, employing a hit-and-run tactic for a good 15 minutes, until his silver and bronze knights completely destroyed all drones.
Once the last drone fell, its ashes scattered into the ocean below.
"Fool! One Armatus could not win the war... I hope you bring this lesson to hell!" Haoxiang’s voice rang out as Zetius blocked the enemy's slash and thrust his blade tip forward, missing the mark.
Sweat broke out on his forehead, his mind exhausted, but Zetius's resolve remained unyielding.
"Not if you're going down first, old timer!" he rebutted over the comm, smirking.
"Insolent!" Haoxiang roared, dashing in with his piloted mech.
Three golden units reached Zetius first.
Time seemed to slow as his mind entered a state of overflow. His Armatus collided into them.
Zetius tapped the first enemy's blade on the left, twisted and redirected it, before driving his blade tip-first into another golden unit on the right.
The third unit approached, blades arching horizontally.
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Zetius switched into a hanging stance, parrying the dual blades before capitalising on the momentum and circling his blade into its torso.
The cleave tore through its hull, golden sparks bursting out.
Haoxiang drifted across, crossing his blades into an X.
Zetius brought his sword up and swung it down, slamming on both weapons. A thunderous clank rang out.
"Zetius! Behind!" Cubie warned sharply.
The first enemy, having recovered, now cleaved at him.
He spun to evade, but an electric pulse jolted his fingers. His eyes widened as his cannon arm was severed, accompanied by Cubie’s cry of pain.
Zetius grimaced and returned a blind swing, severing the enemy at the waist.
"Die! Insect!" he roared.
Quickly spinning back towards Haoxiang, he saw the golden knight lifting his blade for a decisive blow.
Zetius’s eyes widened, his heart dropped, and he couldn’t possibly block it in time.
A plasma round slammed into Haoxiang’s arm, staggering him mid-swing and allowing Zetius to pull back to safety.
Unexpectedly, the plasma rounds had hurled from the north.
"Zetius! Hang in there! The second wave of drones has arrived at your location!" Sandria’s voice rang out, saving him in the nick of time.
"Sandria!" he exclaimed in relief, his heart still pounding from the near-death experience.
Both sides clashed amidst erratic bombardment. Smoke and explosions filled the battlefield.
Soon, Haoxiang slipped into the chaos and disappeared.
"Zetius, Solis Aeternum’s aerial defence will arrive soon! We'll outgun them there. Please come back!" Sandria reported, her voice filled with urgency.
Aurelia and Friederich huddled close to the comm, their faces full of worry, especially Aurelia.
“But…” Zetius was uncertain, watching the clash of mobile suits from a distance.
"You did what you could. You stalled them, giving us safe distance," Sandria said, her voice softer now, less mechanical and more human.
A warm feeling bloomed in his chest. Zetius found himself smiling.
"Got it! I’ll retreat now! It seems the Gold Knight also ran away," he gave in and chuckled triumphantly.
With that, he motioned his one-armed Armatus northward, away from the raging battlefield.
After a good 15 minutes of direct flight, Zetius spotted Zeigerlich hovering over the ocean, its reflection shimmering on the rippling water.
The sky had shifted into a purple hue as the sun crossed the horizon. Evening had arrived.
Zetius checked his radar.
The drones still maintained a defensive line, despite their dwindling numbers.
Sacrificial pieces, as Sandria said.
At first, he thought it was somewhat wasteful, but he couldn't argue. Human lives were worth far more.
They could mass-produce Armatus units, but not knights. Zetius’s mind wandered as he matched the speed of the colossal vessel.
"How many drones do you have left, Sandria?" Zetius asked, curious.
After a beat, she turned towards the camera, facing him. "Umm... about six, I think," she replied, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.
He chuckled. She was actually adorable when she blushed like that. "You would've sent them all out to save me if they were fully armed, eh?" he teased.
Sandria folded her arms, "I hate that you're right," she muttered, averting her gaze in mock irritation.
Aurelia poked her face into view. "Zeta! Quit babbling and return to the hangar!" she ordered, frowning.
"Yes, your highness." he begrudgingly obeyed the worrywart princess.
Zetius gently manoeuvred his damaged Armatus into the hangar floor.
An irregular Rubik-shaped device emerged from the console into his palms, warmer than before.
"Cubie, thank you for helping me," Zetius muttered softly, petting it.
"Hmmmmm... I don't want you to get hurt!" she confessed, her voice dragging slightly but no longer robotic.
"Thank you so much, Cubie. I really mean it," Zetius repeated, touching his forehead to her.
"It’s~It’s~It’s alright!" she stammered, flashing bright blue in flustered embarrassment.
Caught off guard, the hull rumbled violently, knocking Zetius to the side.
He swept his eyes around for the source but spotted no visible damage.
Simultaneously, the Arcanite engines below deck strained, trying to maintain shield integrity.
"Again!?" he cried out, not even a minute's break.