195: War (Part Two)

The sky was torn apart; the earth groaned in agony.

On the Angus Plains, shrouded in smoke and plasma fire, a duel across civilizational levels was unfolding. This was not merely a fight between two warriors, but a collision of two eras and two ideologies.

"Roar!"

The Red Dragon Klaus Difan let out a roar of desperate resolve. It tucked its wings, resembling a scaled red meteorite as it dove at supersonic speeds. On its broad back, Gareth was enveloped in a shroud of azure energy Radiance. The Dawnbreaker greatsword in his hand hummed, its high-frequency particle stream ionizing the surrounding air into visible shockwaves.

The Custom-type Titan Mecha on the ground did not dodge. Inside the cockpit, Colonel Treuger watched the rapidly expanding red dot on the screen with great interest, a playful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"A very creative way to commit suicide."

Treuger's fingers danced lightly across the control panel, inputting a string of complex commands.

"Engine output 60%, mobile evasion mode deactivated, close-quarters combat auxiliary system online."

"Let me see just how much weight you indigenous warriors actually carry."

Boom!

The dragon and the mecha collided violently mid-air.

A split second before impact, Klaus Difan snapped its wings open, using the immense drag to perform an incredible emergency stop and change of direction. Its thick dragon tail, carrying the force of a thousand tons, lashed out fiercely toward the mecha's head sensors.

Simultaneously, Gareth used the momentum to catapult himself off the dragon's back.

"Sunder!"

He let out a furious roar, gripping his sword with both hands. Utilizing the gravitational potential energy of his descent, Dawnbreaker transformed into a brilliant silver lightning bolt, striking directly for the mecha's cockpit canopy.

Clang!!!

A metallic impact loud enough to shatter an ordinary person's eardrums echoed across the battlefield.

At the critical moment, the mecha controlled by Treuger raised its left-arm thermal axe. The handle blocked the blow, forcefully parrying Gareth's slash.

Sparks flew as energy surged.

Gareth felt an irresistible, massive force transmit through the blade, causing the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to split, yet he did not retreat. The Embrace of the Stars battle armor he wore deployed a personal shield, while the micro-thrusters on his back spat blue tail-flames to stubbornly counteract the reactionary force.

"Oh? You actually blocked it?"

Inside the cockpit, a flash of surprise crossed Treuger's eyes.

The sensors indicated that the edge of the opponent's sword hadn't chipped; instead, it was cutting through the thermal axe's handle at a staggering frequency. That specific alloy material was actually able to withstand the high temperatures of Federation military-grade weapons.

"This is definitely not a weapon indigenous people could build... Could there be a more advanced civilization on this planet?"

Doubt and suspicion flickered in Treuger's heart, but it only served to ignite his fighting spirit.

"Then I'll play with you for a bit!"

The mecha's right arm swung violently. Although the large-caliber plasma cannon couldn't fire at close range, the thick barrel itself was a terrifying blunt instrument. It swept toward the hovering Gareth with the whistling sound of rushing wind.

Gareth's reactions were lightning-fast. He used his thrusters to perform a mid-air fold-dodge that defied human joint structure, narrowly avoiding the strike. Simultaneously, he delivered a backhand slash, leaving a charred cut several inches deep on the mecha's shoulder plating.

"Interesting."

The two parties passed each other in the air.

The first round ended in a draw.

This not only surprised Treuger but also caused the surviving Mana Star soldiers on the battlefield to erupt into a mountain-shaking cheer.

"He blocked it! His Majesty blocked that monster!"

"The Dragon Brave is invincible!"

In this moment of despair, Gareth's figure was like an unyielding banner, supporting the crumbling faith of everyone present.

However, Gareth himself was suffering in silence.

Only he knew that the previous strike had nearly exhausted his long-accumulated battle qi, while that steel monster didn't even seem to be warmed up yet.

"Klaus Difan! Coordinate with me!"

Gareth shouted.

Though the Red Dragon was scared to death, it could only fight for its life now. It circled to the rear of the mecha and exhaled a blast of scorching dragon breath, attempting to interfere with the mecha's thermal imaging sensors.

Gareth took advantage of his small size, flitting around the massive mecha like a nimble flea, his greatsword specifically targeting weak points like joints and cooling vents.

For a time, the man and dragon actually managed to tie down the Federation's most advanced command mecha.

Every attack from the mecha was narrowly avoided by Gareth, while every counter-attack from Gareth left a mark on the mecha's surface.

Personal shields could only deflect the kinetic energy or pure energy of projectiles; they were useless against melee weapons.

"Warning: Left knee joint hydraulic system damaged."

"Warning: Rear cooling grilles melted by high temperature."

Listening to the damage reports continuously issued by the system, Treuger's expression gradually darkened.

"I've played enough."

He glanced at the time. Not much was left before the scheduled end of the general offensive, and he didn't want to waste too much time on a native.

"Since you like jumping around so much, I'll show you what true speed and power look like."

Treuger pressed down hard on a red button.

"Limiters released."

"Engine Overload Mode activated! Output 100%!"

Hum—

In that instant, everyone on the battlefield seemed to hear a roar from hell.

The custom mecha suddenly erupted with blinding red light—a sign that the cooling system was fully open and excess heat was being forcibly discharged. The main thrusters on its back spat out blue flames dozens of meters long, and the surrounding air was instantly distorted by the high temperature.

"What?!"

Gareth, who was preparing a flank attack, suddenly felt a hair-raising sense of crisis.

Before he could react, the mecha that had been slightly clumsy suddenly disappeared.

Yes, it disappeared.

Leaving only an afterimage on Gareth's retinas.

In the next second, a massive force like an overturning mountain slammed into his side.

Bang!

Gareth didn't even see how the opponent had moved before he was kicked away like a cannonball.

He crashed through three abandoned stone houses in mid-air before finally smashing into a small hill, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the inside of his faceplate.

"Warning! Multiple rib fractures! Internal organ trauma! Battle armor shield energy at 15%!"

The warning voice of the helmet's built-in system screamed frantically in his ears.

Too fast... too strong... Is this its true power?

"Awooo!"

A scream of pain came from Klaus Difan on the other side.

Treuger's mecha didn't pursue Gareth; instead, it reached out and grabbed the tail of the Red Dragon as it tried to flee.

The twelve-meter-tall steel giant swung the dozens-of-tons dragon like a whip, slamming it fiercely into the ground.

Boom!

The earth cracked.

Klaus Difan was slammed so hard it was disoriented, lacking even the strength to crawl back up.

"Is he the strongest among you?"

Treuger piloted the mecha slowly toward the ruins where Gareth had fallen, his voice broadcasting across the field via loudspeaker.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender. Any resistance is pale and insignificant before the power of the Human Federation."

Gareth crawled out from the pile of rubble with difficulty.

His battle armor was battered and broken, revealing his bloodied body beneath. The light of the Dawnbreaker in his hand had grown dim, as if it might extinguish at any moment.

Yet, he still stood up.

He looked at the approaching steel reaper, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with the finality of a dying flash.

He thought of Ilya.

He thought of the teacher who always liked to eat snacks and spoke cold words, yet gave him the chance to see the world clearly.

"Teacher... you said the gap between civilizations is insurmountable."

Gareth whispered to himself. The battle qi within him began to burn frantically—he was overdrawing his life force, squeezing energy out of every single cell.

"But you also said that the hymn of life is the hymn of courage."

"Even if it's like a moth to a flame, one must bloom with their own light in the final moment!"

"You are not brave; the (Mana) humans are the brave ones!"

Boom—

The previously dim Dawnbreaker suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, blinding light.

It wasn't a normal energy overload; it was a critical state produced by Gareth forcibly fusing all his battle qi, his life force, and the unstable fusion battery in the sword's core together.

The space around the blade began to show signs of inward curvature—a tiny distortion caused by excessive energy density.

"Oh? Still able to move?"

Treuger stopped in his tracks. The energy readings of that native on his sensors were skyrocketing geometrically, already breaking through the mecha shield's warning line.

"A cornered beast's struggle?"

Treuger snorted coldly. The mecha's arms crossed as the frontal shield was activated at full power, forming a thick wall of blue light.

"Then come!"

"This strike... is named..."

Gareth slowly raised the greatsword. His figure became blurred within the light, as if he were merging with the blade.

"God! Slaying! Slash!"

Accompanied by a soul-tearing roar, Gareth transformed into a beam of aurora that pierced through heaven and earth, instantly crossing the distance of several hundred meters.

In this moment, he surpassed the speed of sound, surpassed his limits, and in a sense, touched the edge of the laws of reality.

BOOM————!!!

The aurora slammed violently into the mecha's shield.

Sound seemed to vanish from the world, replaced by a vast expanse of white light that covered everything.

Immediately following was a crisp sound of shattering.

Crack!

The deflection shield Treuger was so proud of—one capable of withstanding the bombardment of a warship's anti-aircraft guns—actually shattered into countless points of light like glass under the edge of this sword!

"What?!"

Inside the cockpit, Treuger showed an expression of horror for the first time.

The light sword's momentum did not decrease as it slashed heavily into the mecha's chest armor.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

The composite armor, forged from the Human Federation's top-tier materials, melted and disintegrated like candle wax under the dual erosion of high-frequency vibrating particles and battle qi.

The massive impact pushed the hundred-ton mecha backward for over a hundred meters, plowing two deep trenches into the ground.

Alarms blared frantically inside the cockpit.

"Warning! Shield generator overloaded and burned out!"

"Warning! Chest main armor damage at 70%!"

"Warning! Cockpit life support system damaged! Backup power initiated!"

When the light dissipated...

Treuger gasped for breath. The massive wound in front of him, which had nearly sliced through the mecha's cockpit shell, left his back drenched in cold sweat.

It was only by a hair.

If the sword's energy had been just a fraction higher, or the opponent's strength a bit greater, this mecha and he inside it might have truly been split open by that single slash.

"Truly... an awe-inspiring strike."

Treuger looked ahead.

There, Gareth still held the posture of having finished his downward slash.

But he could no longer move.

The Dawnbreaker in his hand had completely shattered, leaving only a charred hilt.

The battle armor on his body was completely scrapped, and his body was like a scorched husk. The flame of his life had weakened to the absolute limit.

He had lost.

He had exhausted everything he had to leave a single scar on this invincible giant.

But that was already the limit of a mortal.

Though Treuger's mecha was severely damaged, with armor peeling, wires exposed, and sparks flying, it still stood tall, still possessing the ability to act.

The mechanical arm slowly raised. It didn't use a weapon but instead opened its massive palm and grabbed the now-unconscious hero.

"You have earned my respect, native."

Treuger's voice came through the loudspeaker, with a bit less arrogance and a bit more of a soldier's respect for the strong.

"But the war... we have won."

He turned around and looked at the completely stunned Mana Star army.

"Your hero has fallen."

"Surrender, or die."

As his words fell, countless Human Federation warships in the sky slowly lowered their altitude, blotting out the entire sky. The light of the star could no longer reach the ground.

Clang.

Someone was the first to drop their weapon.

Following that, the sound of weapons hitting the ground piece by piece echoed across the plains.