『 Date: July 7th, 2071
Location: Texas Military Base, Texas
Time: 18:23 CDT 』
Slaine was tasked with the daunting mission of decimating the Incarcecon Forces, armed with nothing but his one-man team and his mechanical behemoth - Thanatos.
"Alright."
He gripped the controllers tightly, his mech, Thanatos, moving like a black streak that evaded the enemy's grasp. The black mech moved with deadly precision, evading the frenzied attacks of the enemy with a grace that was almost poetic. The endless laser and missile fire did nothing to slow Thanatos down, a true testament to Slaine's Battle AI system.
"Deploying grapplers.."
From its shoulders, Thanatos released grappling hooks with unbelievable speed, which easily sliced through the chests of several Velznars and ripped through the heads of their pilots, leaving behind broken and desecrated corpses in their wake.
The hooks slammed into the metal bodies of two Siege-type Velznars, which Thanatos used to slingshot itself deeper into enemy lines. In a move that was both savage and brutal, Thanatos tore the mangled bodies of the once-living pilots out of the mechs, leaving behind an eerie silence amidst the chaos.
With a singular focus, Thanatos barreled through to the deepest enemy lines, slamming the head of one of the Velznars and the pilot's lifeless body crumpled on the ground.
[ Oracle Engine: Signs of life detected ]
Slaine gritted his teeth, his eyes glinting with dangerous purpose.
[ Thanatos (Slaine): I'll fix that ]
His thumb hit a button on the controller, and Thanatos released a supersonic blade from its right arm, which sliced through the pilot's head with ease. The result was gruesome, with blood spattering all over the armor of Thanatos.
"If this is what it takes, so be it," Slaine snarled, his cold and measured voice laced with a sinister undertone.
Thanatos stood alone in the middle of the battlefield amidst a pile of mangled corpses scattered about. The other Velznars backed away, their pilots feeling the weight of Slaine's bloodlust bearing down on their souls. The fear that they felt was more than just the fear of losing their lives - it was an all-encompassing dread. A true, chilling terror that told them that their end was near.
"I'll take care of you all," Slaine sneered.
The other pilots tried to take aim at Thanatos but their weapons were shaking. Their fear was palpable. "What the hell is he?" one of them whispered into the comms.
"Death," another replied. "That's what he is. Pure and unbridled."
Slaine lowered Thanatos' blade, intently watching them. "If you think this is the worst that could happen, you're wrong. It's just the beginning."
The other pilots wisely retreated, leaving Thanatos standing alone amidst the wreckage.
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From out of the dust and chaos, an Emperor-class Assault-type Velznar appeared and charged straight for the black mech, Thanatos. Its fast-moving supersonic blade glimmered in the light.
"Hm?"
Slaine's Spatial Analysis function alerted him to the impending attack, and he deftly maneuvered his controller to meet the Velznar's blade.
The resulting clash created a shower of sparks that illuminated the battlefield.
As Slaine locked blades with his opponent, Sovereign Destroyer, he quickly released grappling hooks from Thanatos' shoulders at point-blank range towards the golden Velznar.
"Nice try!" said Luke Greenwood, the pilot.
He quickly activated an electric field to create an energy wave that sent Thanatos flying backwards.
Slaine expertly moderated the thrusters on Thanatos, bringing it to a controlled landing.
"Finally, a challenge worthy of my kingly status." Luke spoke from his cockpit with the volume set to max.
Slaine let out a sigh. "And you are?" he asked.
"I am the one and only ki-"
Before Luke could finish his sentence, Slaine launched five missiles at Sovereign Destroyer.
Luke quickly activated his energy shields, but the missiles detonated before making impact.
A cloud of black smoke temporarily covered the Sovereign Destroyer, but it remained unharmed.
Luke chuckled, "How unfortunate, a weapon malfunction. Then again, such mishaps are expected from trash military like Nevaly."
Unbeknownst to Luke, Thanatos had appeared behind Sovereign Destroyer from the dark veil of smoke.
"What?! It was a diversion?!"
With two unfolded supersonic blades from Thanatos' arms, Slaine swiftly slashed at Sovereign Destroyer.
Although the mech was able to use its thrusters to evade the first strike, it couldn't avoid the second slash, causing the Emperor-class Velznar's right leg to be cut off.
Luke was undone. "What the–" he exclaimed.
Slaine merely spoke with a cold and measured voice, "That settles it."
---
Sergeant Jackson soared through the air, scanning the damage analysis report on Sovereign Destroyer with a sharp eye. After considering the situation at hand, he concluded that it was best for their squadron to withdraw their attack and regroup. With a frustrated sigh, he pounded his fist against the control column, cursing the black mech that had caused them so much trouble.
"Bollocks!"
Jackson had always believed that the Iron Devil was little more than a myth, a psychological tactic formulated by the Nevaly military.
But now, as the Velznar suffered serious damage and their only advantage, Luke's esper abilities, was completely lost, he knew it was time to skedaddle.
"Yes, that's our only choice... still, HQ won't be happy about this."
Switching to comms, Jackson ordered the air and ground squads to retreat, and the Incarcecon soldiers cheered in agreement.
The bombers in the air were feeling a little cheeky, and they dumped all their bombs onto the battlefield as they flew away, leaving a trail of explosions in their wake.
This was also a means to lighten their aircrafts and make departure easier.
[ Spectre (Katherine): The enemy forces... they're retreating ]
Geese let out a boisterous woo-hoo over comms, his joy palpable.
[ Rapacer (Mankapon): Ha! This was a piece of cake! Drinks are on me! ]
[ Melforce (Dexter): You liar, you always say that after every battle... ]
[ Linehart (Geese): True, and then after drinks, he then remembers that he left his wallet back at the base. It's an endless cycle of scams ]
[ Rapacer (Mankapon): Hey! ]
[ White Wolf (Elena): (~shrugs) it's not Iike it's a lie, and in the end Slaine has to pay for our drinks ]
[ Rapacer (Mankapon): But he's the captain, muhahaha! He has to pay! ]
[ Storm Knight (Velice): (~face palms) honestly Mankapon, you're scum ]
[ Razenoid (Raizel): Okay guys, let's fan out and search for any remaining Incarcecon military scum who might have some information to share with us ]
All squad members acknowledged his words.
Meanwhile, Luke and Slaine maintained a tense standoff, but when Luke heard of their retreat, a feeling of relief washed over him.
"(As much as retreating isn't befitting of a king, I don't suppose I have a choice...)" (Luke)
Sovereign Destroyer turned to Thanatos, "I must say, the Iron Devil plays dirty... but you won't be so lucky next time."
Luke's thumb deftly flicked open the case on his controller, and he pressed the button, activating the Sovereign Destroyer's split-wing rocket thrusters and leg-mounted rocketbeam-level thrusters.
In mere seconds, he had ascended to a height of 6,500 meters, leaving the Velznars struggling to catch up as they could hardly cover 4000 meters.
Emperor-class Velznars and Dractors could reach a height of even 12,000 meters.
Inside the cockpit of Thanatos, Slaine wore an indifferent expression.
"Next time he says.."
With a feeling of cold resolve, he gave the order to SYSTEM to initiate the Spatial Analysis function and coalesce it with the target systems.
A holographic scope then appeared before his right eye.
"Perfect."
Shooting it directly would be futile.
As he fixed his target three meters before Sovereign Destroyer, he calculated the angle of impact and locked onto the fast-moving mech.
Then, he deployed the plasma missile from Thanatos' shoulder cannon.
The missile flew towards the point of intersection with lightning speed, while Luke, in Sovereign Destroyer, watched in horror as the missile drew closer and closer.
"Fuck this!"
There was no way to dodge it, and so he hit the ejector button and watched the Emperor-class Velznar and the missile collide in midair, leading to a deafening explosion that shook the skies.
"How could trash like him get the best of me." As Luke cursed his luck, he was carried away by a retreating Velznar.
Slaine calmly observed their retreat from Thanatos.
The battlefield was now deserted, save for the broken and abandoned mechs that dotted the landscape, a testament to the brutal conflict that had just taken place.