15: Since we can't fly, let's pull the sky down!

[Deduction in progress: 03 minutes 45 seconds]

[Script: Shattered Floating Island]

The wind howled.

At an altitude of ten thousand meters, the thin air mixed with sharp ice crystals lashed frantically against the rough Ceramite surface of the Mk I power armor, creating a dense, crisp clattering.

Arik Taranis crouched low behind a floating rock like a spider cast in gray iron.

Red warning lights flickered on his retina. To evade thermal imaging scans, he had forcibly closed the rear heat dissipation grilles. Frost formed on the armor's surface, while the interior was as sweltering as a steel furnace. Sweat evaporated into salt crystals, stinging his skin.

He remained motionless.

Above him, dozens of black dots circled like vultures.

Those were the opponent's Storm Knights.

They wore streamlined anti-gravity battle armor, their rear ion thrusters trailing blue exhaust flames.

Zzt! Zzt!

The high-energy laser rifles in their hands fired continuously, pouring down lethal beams like a torrential rain, plowing through the ground over and over again.

Several laser beams struck the rock Arik was hiding behind, exploding into clouds of scorching stone powder.

The high temperature instantly vaporized the ice on the rock's surface, sending up a plume of white mist.

"You're hiding quite deep, you rat."

Sky Wing's jeering came through the public channel. "Air superiority is everything. You iron cans are just sitting ducks. I'll cut your oxygen tubes and watch you suffocate."

Arik ignored him.

His scarlet monocle stared fixedly through his visor at a spot ten meters ahead.

There lay a thick, rusted gravity chain. It was as thick as two men's embrace, with one end anchored to the small peripheral islet beneath his feet and the other connected to the central main island.

It was their support, but naturally, it was also their weakness.

"First Company, prepare."

Arik's voice was low and suppressed, like the low growl of a beast.

Thirty Thunder Warriors moved in unison. They did not raise guns, nor did they brandish swords.

They unhooked pneumatic rock spike launchers from their waists.

"Target: chain anchor point. Fire!"

Thump! Thump!

Dull pneumatic sounds rang out.

Thirty barbed alloy rock spikes trailing industrial cables whistled out, precisely nailing into the links of the gravity chain. The barbs deployed, biting firmly into the metal.

Immediately after, they activated the diamond-tipped gripping claws at the bottom of their power boots.

Click!

Steel claws pierced into the hard rock. The thirty giants turned themselves into rivets.

"Trying to climb over along the chain?"

Sky Wing froze for a moment, then mocked, "Naïve! You'll be sitting ducks in mid-air! Concentrate fire on the chain! Knock them down!"

The Storm Knights turned their muzzles, pouring out energy beams.

But at that very moment.

In the Preparation Hall, Li Cang pressed down on a card flashing with red light. His gaze was like a gambler going all-in.

[Tactical Card: Overload Output]

Cost: 2 Authority Points.

Effect: Forcibly removes mechanical limits, significantly increasing power output at the cost of severe wear and structural collapse.

"Pull for me... NOW!"

Arik's roar drowned out the wind.

Vrrr—!!!

The servo motors of thirty Mk I power armor units screeched in overload simultaneously. Black smoke and sparks spewed from the rear reactors.

Terrifying torque erupted.

The cables snapped taut instantly, letting out tooth-aching creaks.

The Thunder Warriors' muscles bulged, making the Ceramite groan. Veins throbbed as Pain Conversion took effect, turning intense pain into berserk strength.

They weren't climbing the chain.

It was a tug-of-war.

The opponent of this tug-of-war: this floating island, and the entire gravity balance system.

Creeeeak—

A hair-raising screech echoed from deep underground.

Under the brute force pulling, the rock at the connection point of the gravity chain linking to the main island began to crumble!

But it wasn't enough.

Arik looked at the cracks, the red light in his eyes flaring as white steam snorted from his nostrils.

"Again! Drag it... DOWN!"

Rumble—

The peripheral islet shook violently, and rubble tumbled into the abyss.

Losing the chain's tether and subjected to hundreds of tons of terrifying pulling force, the floating island, weighing thousands of tons, began to tilt.

It accelerated and crashed towards the central main island!

"What?!"

Sky Wing's smile froze.

He watched helplessly as the islet, like a flung meteor hammer carrying unrivaled kinetic energy, was forcibly dragged toward their position.

It defied common sense. It was a madman's tactic.

"Evade! Evade quickly!"

He shouted in terror.

Too late.

A massive shadow loomed over the sky.

The Storm Knights were like mosquitoes facing a tsunami. The airflow disturbance before the impact of the two massive objects formed shockwaves, destroying their flight stability. Anti-gravity engines wailed warnings in the turbulent gravity field.

Thud!

One Storm Knight, unable to dodge in time, was smashed into pulp by the edge of the incoming islet.

Then a second, then a third.

This wasn't a battle. It was a natural disaster.

Boom—!!!

The peripheral islet slammed heavily into the flank of the central main island.

Like two planets colliding, the shockwave swept through everything. Rocks disintegrated, and dust filled the air. The central position collapsed, and light mechs and defense towers were hurled into the abyss.

Amidst the sky-filling dust and rubble.

A group of gray figures performed an action that defied instinct a second before the impact.

They didn't look for cover.

They activated their rear emergency braking thrusters and jumped out against the airwaves.

Though they couldn't fly, the thrusters provided a brief buffer.

Using the inertia of the impact, they crashed heavily onto the main island's surface like descending meteorites.

Boom!

Arik landed, rolled to dissipate the force, and plowed a deep furrow into the ground.

He stood up and brushed the dust off his pauldrons.

At this moment, the distance between them and the panic-stricken Storm Knights was less than ten meters.

The so-called "air superiority" and "kiting" had become a joke.

The Storm Knights looked in horror at these monsters. Their power armor was battered and sparking with electricity, but their eyes held only a thirst for slaughter.

Arik drew his Chainsword.

Vrrr—!

The serrated teeth spun with a hungry roar. Sparks illuminated his scarred and blood-stained face.

Looking at the enemies trying to take off again, his mouth curled into a cruel arc.

"Now... we are at the same height."

"Kill!"

The thirty Thunder Warriors pounced on the fragile flyers like tigers out of a cage.

"Ah—!"

A Storm Knight had just started his jump pack when his ankle was seized by a power fist.

Snap!

He was dragged back to the ground and smashed, his sternum crushed by a combat boot.

One-sided slaughter.

The sound of Chainswords cutting through armor, the sound of bones shattering, and screams echoed through the skies... [Era League · Judicial Panel 103's Livestream Room]

Dead silence.

The audience sat with mouths agape, forgetting to send bullet comments.

They had seen artillery saturation and magical bombardments. They had never seen someone simply tear the map apart.

"Does this follow the laws of physics?"

Tactical analyst Karen's voice trembled.

"It does."

Isabelle pushed up her glasses, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"The output of a Mk I is twenty times that of an ordinary exoskeleton. Thirty overloaded units generate hundreds of tons of pulling force. Combined with leverage and gravitational potential energy..."

"But this isn't just about strength. It's about imagination."

"The Commander doesn't care about rules or advantages. If the environment isn't suitable for battle..."

"Then he destroys the environment."

Isabelle took a deep breath.

"This is... the ultimate dominance."

On the screen.

With one swing of his sword, Arik cleaved a fleeing Storm Knight in half, armor and all. Blood splattered onto his faceplate, trickling down the breathing grilles and making him look even more hideous, like an Asura crawling out of hell.

He didn't stop.

Treading over corpses, he walked toward the central Storm Beacon.

Behind him was a path paved with blood, wreckage, and broken wings.

[System Notification: Enemy aerial superiority has been lost.]

[Current Situation: Close-quarters melee.]

[Win Rate Prediction: Imperium of Man 98%.]