Chapter 619: Cronies
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Sixty minutes was all that was left for the messy day to come to an end, but at the twenty-third hour of the day, Emperor Baiyi gave the order to attack.
The command quickly pa.s.sed to the world that Shensha Empire was in. An hour before that, HMS Luminati and HMS Gloria — the Empire’s two best battlecruisers — activated their cutting-edge cloaking technology, entered the enemy’s territory, and stood on their respective attack positions. Three Hope-level destroyers and two Rohlserl-level frigates flanked the two battlecruisers, and under their two mother s.h.i.+ps’ cloaking protection, the entire fleet was invisible. The captain of HMS Luminati and ex-Kitty Cat Maid, Attie, shouted sternly, “On His Majesty’s order, execute our battle plan now!”
The girl found her calling in the military and quit her job as Baiyi’s Kitty Cat Maid two years ago. Through her talent and hard work, she rose in ranks so swiftly that she had become the captain of the latest battlecruiser by now.
One of the media in the Empire once ran a story naming Attie as Baiyi’s secret lover, and thus had risen to her current prestige faster than anyone else because the Emperor had secretly aided her. It was further elaborated into a wholesale accusation of the Emperor’s questionable actions indicative of nepotism.
The story was so hot that Baiyi had to come forward to deny the allegations by hammering how he was known for being fair, just, and transparent. Then, on the very next day, every employee and the editors in this media company were captured while it was subsequently annexed into another leading media head in the Empire. There was some evidence that the second Empress Consort might be behind the bought-out.
Regardless, the Kitty Cat Maid had grown up to become Kitty Cat-ptain. To reinforce her superiority as the Captain, she had discarded her little girl form. Instead, now Attie a.s.sumed the form of an Amazonian beauty, a tall, lean stature in a clean, clear-cut military uniform completed with a skirt and white silk socks beaming brightly against her gorgeous tanned skin. She looked absolutely gallant and heroic.
Aside from a well-known area that was similar to Mia’s, Attie had transformed into a new look. Even her favorite cat-eared hairband was absent; she made sure that she would never accidentally bring it to the s.h.i.+p.
Regardless, Attie still felt the need to prove herself. Was it because she looked so young and her beauty looked pristine and unroughened? Was it because a particular part of her never seemed to jiggle in accordance when the battlecruiser rocked and careened? Or was it because she could not perform a karate-chop in midair? Nonetheless, Attie needed a victory to prove her skills, and this was just the right opportunity.
For this purpose, she had been prepared. Not only had she devoted herself personally into battle strategizing, but also her War G.o.d’s Sword was tucked in a safe place within her skirt. If any accident were to happen, the girl would unsheath her blade and single-handedly decimate her enemies; with Baiyi’s nigh-unlimited support, Attie and her sword could make a Musou game out of any battle.
On Attie’s command, HMS Luminati blared its battle signal. Every sorcerer standing by in the hangar responded by putting on their mobile suits. Once activated, the suits covered the sorcerers completely until they had all transformed into two-meters tall Gundam. Every weapon packed into the Gundam extended out from their arms and backs automatically, until lastly, a mask boring an (-_-) expression slid and covered the sorcerers’ faces. The em-dashes that symbolized their eyes then grew red.
“Alpha Team, prepare to be launched. Repeat, Alpha Team, prepare to be launched!” Under the command, a pale-golden mobile suit raised his right hand high as though he was flexing the image of a rose on his arm.
“Roses, on my lead!” He boomed, picking up a weapon that looked like a halberd crossed with a sorcerer’s staff before walking toward the drop zone. Behind him, five pale-blue mobile suits followed his lead and picked up their weapons.
One of them seemed slightly less accustomed to his mobile suit, evident in how he stumbled and clambered through his steps.
The pale-golden one switched into their intra-team channel and scoffed, “Give the crony a hand to steady his walk, Scar.”
“Sorry, Captain, I’m fine. I’m just a little bit unfamiliar with the latest mobile suit. It’s a bit more nimble than I expected,” the stumbling man said. “Besides, I’m sorry, but I’m not a crony. My name is Andy, and I joined Roses through my own hard work. You see, I have this technique called ‘Phantasmal Claymore Style: The Pl —’”
“Yes yes yes, I heard ya, punk. We know you’re definitely-absolutely not a crony; you just happened to be the student of a Soul Armature who was His Majesty’s best friend! The right word for you is ‘royalty’; pardon our language!” Scar cut off his protest snappishly just as he impatiently grabbed Andy’s arm and towed him toward the drop zone.
“Alright, we’re all set. Give them a victory sign!” Captain Jegan said, raising his right hand to form a thumbs-up.
This gesture started as a signal to the commands that everything was set, but its meaning later morphed to mean victory. Now, it was customary for teammates to give each other a thumbs-up before operations as a promise to prevail.
“Alpha Team is ready. Commence drop in tee-minus five, four…”
“Glory to the Emperor!” The Captain shouted.
“Glory to the Emperor!” The teammates echoed.
“Three… Two…”
This would be Andy’s first battle in his life; his nerves were jolting his every sense even though he remembered that he was protected by his powerful mobile suit. He was s.h.i.+vering in equal part nervousness and excitement.
‘Just you wait for my good news, Teacher! I’ll show them the Phantasmal Claymore Style just as you’ve taught me; I’ll wow the warzone!’ Andy said to his teacher and Baiyi’s old colleague, Mr.Sorry, in his mind.
The moment had arrived. Andy felt his body being ejected like a bullet and plummeting to the depth below. Despite his extensive “Ejection Training”, the sudden burst of momentum almost knocked him out, though for now, all he was suffering from was the persistent humming in his ears.
The so-called “Ejection” was to fire off sorcerers at the ground as though they were bullets. Their mobile suits would automatically begin reducing the momentum when it sensed they were nearing the ground, therefore allowing the airborne troops to reach the ground in a speed as high as two Mach.
An average human would not be able to withstand such a speed. Still, Andy was a warrior with a healthy physique no weaker than any of these sorcerers, so he recovered from the fall soon enough to hear the excited roars and cries from his teammates. To these Imperial Sorcerers, what could have been a novel suicide was just an adrenaline-pumping sport. One of them even started to tease, saying, “Calling newbie, you there, or out already?’
“Oh, I’m fine!” Andy answered as quickly as he could.
“Oh ho ho, not too flimsy for a half-qualified sorcerer, eh? Well, congratulation for getting past Level One. Just hope you don’t wet your pants later!”
The teammate’s voice barely left Andy’s ears when the latter suddenly felt his mobile suit turning a somersault on its own; the landing procedure had started. The process was a little too abrupt, however, and Andy almost vomited from the ensuing G-force. Instead, he fell to his knees and descended into a coughing fit.
“F***! Do you people f**king remember where we are now? You could have gotten us killed!” Scar cursed and dragged Andy to a side and slapped on a b.u.t.ton on the latter’s suit. A sharp sting cracked through Andy’s neck — as though something had been injected into him — and his condition alleviated.
“S***, shouldn’t have tinkered with his mobile suit on our own. Now he looks like s***!” Another teammate holding a sorcerer’s staff that resembled a sniper rifle chimed in. He raised his “gun” and scanned the surrounding through its hunting lens and said, “We’re in luck. No one saw us coming.
Only a highly-experienced veteran would know to use optical devices to examine his surroundings when he was in enemy territory instead of instinctively releasing his psychic energy. In a universe where anti-spying technology was booming, only a soldier who wanted to announce their arrival would release their psychic power when in the enemy’s turf.
“At least you weren’t stupid enough to remove his suppressant,” Scar commented with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt.
As an elite team of seasoned veterans, Roses were allergic to aids provided for newbies such as suppressants. They even held an unfounded and false belief that using it would hinder their intelligence and their body’s reflexes. Hence, they were vehemently against them to the point of surrept.i.tiously altering their mobile suits, which was why Andy’s suppressant did not kick in automatically.
“That’s enough chitchat; now get to work! Scar, vanguard. One-Eye, sentry. Fatboy, Pipsqueak; prepare the fires. Crony, you’re with me,” the Captain ordered.
Scar split his staff into halves and turned them into a pair of dual-blades. The one with a weapon that looked like a polearm agilely ascended one of the highest vantage points in the vicinity like a monkey. The pair, known as Fatboy and Pipsqueak, produced two heaps of what looked like explosives from their suits before disappearing into the night.
A small team consisting of only six members against an enemy camp filled with two million hostile units. Even if the team had backup fire from above, the dangers they were about to face still could not be understated.
On the other hand, Baiyi was having a little trouble answering Mr.Sorry’s call. “Uh-huh, oh yes… No, no, no! You should place more trust in your friend! Yes, that’s right… Oh, but it’s really that Owl kid’s own choice, you know, just like your kid! He put his name into the Mobile Suit Sorcerer Corp by himself — oh no, you can rest knowing that he joined the Empire’s most elite team. Oh yes, consisted of only the very best soldiers! …Oh, surely you must also trust the Empire’s technology and the power of the latest mobile suits, right? Come on…”