"Captain! Has the departure clearance arrived?" Karl asked, leaning against the door. "Wait...wait...why is it crashing again...wait, Karl!" The captain, supporting the computer in front of him, slammed his phone down, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and slammed it on! "The ship's computer is broken, call up and get it fixed!" Kolossova's head popped out from the cluttered boxes behind the bridge. "Mr. Hermann?" She reached out and touched Karl's back. "Hmm, what's wrong?" "Last time when I piloted the Blazing Thunder in combat, I don't know why, the Blazing Thunder was a bit unruly...it..." She picked at her nails. "Hmm...didn't they teach you how to pilot an MPU during induction training? I only learned how to fly it...I didn't teach you how to fly it properly...sorry..." "Captain, let me and Kolossova fly the MPU out for a bit..." "Uh...no...isn't this a simulation training..." "No, some things you only understand after actual combat." "Okay...okay!" "Captain...is that alright?" "Go ahead, having more combat power is always good..." "Okay...okay!" "Captain! Something's flying over, wait, it's an MPU, enemy attack! It's an enemy attack! Quickly get Karl and the others out, I'll be right back!" "Karl! Forget about training, sortie now!" "Get Kolossova to the Thunderclap, if I can't hold on, at least have some armor to hold me up!" "Yes, sir!" In the blue sky, the gray-scaled MPU sliced through the clouds, tearing as it flew by. "Human, pilot the Gray Cloak, go to the Leningrad signaling station and retrieve the spear." "Tch, talking nonsense to me again!" The Gray Cloak landed quietly on the ground, its optical camouflage concealing it in the wind and snow. "Anta, can you find it over there? It's not over there." "No...I don't know why." "I just saw it, it can't be..." Florence stood in the vast expanse of white snow, turning her head to look around, her grip on the rifle in her hand tightening, making a clicking sound. "Be careful... breaking your life-saving equipment can kill you..." "Wait, I heard a noise!" Barbatos stepped in front of Florence, moving the gun behind him! Gray Cloak emerged from the snowstorm, thrusting forward with a short sword. Barbatos drew his beam saber from his waist and charged, but Gray Cloak dodged and slid past Barbatos, using the turn to swing his sword! Barbatos's thrusters erupted with flames, propelling it forward with tremendous force.
Gray Cloak stopped between Barbatos and Florence. "You two are still standing here! Daydreaming on the battlefield can kill you!" "What the hell..." "Barbatos... is he really nothing special!" "Another traitor? Tch, so annoying..." "Anta, go back. I'll handle this. I'll leave the rest to you!" Florence retreated, remaining silent until its figure disappeared into the vast white snow. "You and I are actually the same. We can only find a sliver of peace by killing on the battlefield. Aren't we the same? Aren't we all the same!" Gray Cloak raised its sword and slashed, but Barbatos dodged it all. "The battlefield is no good place. I didn't want to come here..." "Heh, you only say you don't want to fight when you're not doing anything, but you're quite decisive when it comes to killing." "I didn't want to kill, but what's done is done. I can't let the dead down without giving them a quick death!" Barbatos kicked away Gray Cloak, sheathed his Guangdong Military Saber, and drew his Pulse Sword. Azure lightning leaped from the splattering pulses, illuminating them like torches. "Ha, dream on!" Gray Mist fired, beams of light passing within fingertip range of Barbatos. A silver-white figure flew past Gray Cloak, followed by the sound of a gun barrel hitting the ground, accompanied by a white mist and a hissing, boiling noise; a distant booming sound followed. "Wow, really strong! Too bad that girl's coming to ride! Ahahahaha!" She took a step back, and then a dark blue mecha, whipping with wind, rushed over. "Auroraf?" Barbatos retreated and fired a few shots. Auroraf turned its head, its thrusters blazing. "Herman—" It charged forward, sweeping the beams, and slapped down. "Wow, you're still alive?" Gray Cloak took a step forward. "If you don't make your move, you'll die!" Auroraf looked around, then charged at Barbatos again, slashing down with its claw. Barbatos blocked the sharp claw with its rifle, the gun slightly bending and making a creaking sound. "Ugh... Ahhh—Get out of the way!" Auroraf kicked it, and an explosion erupted from the nozzle. Thud! Crack crack crack... It slammed its paw on Barbatos's head, lifting it up! "I'll kill you... I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" "Enough!" Sparks erupted from the thruster, shoving Barbatos up and pushing Orolaf aside. "Restriction—Release!!!" It pushed it down, and Barbatos headed straight for Gray Cloak. "Ah—Die!" Gray Cloak drew its pulse sword, and also leaned back, raising and opening the harpoon on its back. Two missiles, trailing flames, shot straight at Barbatos. "Boom!...Thump—" Barbatos grabbed Gray Cloak tightly, stomped on her chest, and snapped her arm in two. "Ouch! Ouch—it hurts so much!" "Go to hell!" Aurora leaped up, but Barbatos swung his hand, and Gray Cloak's arm lashed out at Aurora, tearing off her chest armor. "You...you...bastard...so noisy! Shut up, you're so noisy—" she kicked Barbatos away. Just as Toss was about to change his posture and land, "Click...click, thud!" Then thick smoke spewed from the exhaust vents and nozzles. "Warning! Reactor inoperability, please evacuate immediately!!" "Tch!" Karl opened the plastic cover of the button in the center of the dashboard, reached out his hand but couldn't press it. "There are still some particles in the limbs...Got it!" The nozzles spewed flames again, but accompanied by a series of sharp, mournful cries, the flames vanished in an instant, replaced by a series of hollow echoes. "So fast! My hand..." "Again... Here we go!" Gray Cloak threw darts from afar. Barbatos raised his arm to block, then swung it down heavily, causing the machine to fall. A dart grazed its cheek. "That's all I can do!" He quickly slammed the button, and the machine emitted a series of creaking and clicking sounds. "Reaction thrust in progress... Warning, output too low," the sound from the loudspeaker cut off, and almost all the lights went out, leaving only the display emitting a cold white glow. Did it still want to resist? "Fool~ You've reached the end of your life!" "That's not necessarily true." Barbatos raised his hand, the beam saber slicing across his palm, searing sparks burning from his hand all the way to his chest. "Reactor in operation. Warning, vent pipe damaged. Warning, output too high, reactor unstable, please shut down the reactor immediately." The loudspeaker's announcement came again in the cramped cockpit, another piece of bad news. Barbatos reached out his right hand, grabbed Gray Cloak's neck, and slowly, very slowly, pulled its head off its body. After a brief struggle, it stopped. "Is it in so much pain that you're going into shock...?" Barbatos knelt quietly on the ground, the armor on its left hand twisted, broken, and bulging like blisters. The silver-white armor was blackened by smoke, and its calves were covered in mud and scratches. Its right hand was still tightly gripping the head of the attacking machine. The gray elephant was still pinned down by Barbatos, and its left hand was also pressing down on the cockpit canopy. Karl stood on Barbatos's shoulder, snowflakes falling on its head. The hot armor plates melted the snowflakes, and water flowed down its face, as if the machine also had a soul and was silently crying. He looked into the distance, at the ever-shrinking silhouette of Orolaf. "Sigh... she got away. Oh well, we can't catch her anyway." "Karl-I," the landship slowly approached. "Impressive. Such a perfectly good mech ruined again. The maintenance crew is going to be cursing." "Mr. Herman, I'll carry you up. Mr. Anta, I'll leave the prisoner retrieval to you." "Alright, I'll do it." Chains were attached to the two mechs, pulling them up and gently lowering them.
"Look at me." "We can't win..." "If you can't win, run. You can deactivate the restrictions if you want, but restarting might kill people!" "Alright, alright, Oleg, if you can't escape even with one attack and two escapes, then don't talk about it. Saving the mech and coming back alive is a miracle. Let him go..." "Karl sat on a box, took out his water bottle and took a few sips. "Anta—come here!" Sesse called out to them from a distance. "Ah, come here!" Anta quickly ran over, his footsteps making a dripping sound on the ground. "Come and check on me. I opened the hatch... Roll it up—" Gas sprayed out, first the armor, then the cannon. Anta climbed in and carried out a girl. "Do the Calamities all like to use children as pilots?" "I don't know... but she doesn't look like a child... around fourteen or fifteen years old..." "Kolossova, she still has a flat and a protective case. Let's see her condition." "Okay! Let's take a look... she should just be unconscious from pain. Take her to the medical room." Anta put her on a stretcher, and he and Sesse carried her into the elevator one after the other. "Quickly, quickly, remove the arm. The air duct is beyond repair. Replace it quickly!" "Horse control—return to base!" "Hurry! Hurry!!" "Captain! Miss Europa is looking for us. She said we need to drop off the prisoners of war and then go retrieve the Fire Tree and other equipment." "Okay!"
Chapter Fifteen: Returning to Dust, Returning to Earth, Returning Home
"Captain! Have we received departure clearance?" Karl asked, leaning against the door. "Wait...wait...why is it crashing again...wait, Karl!" The captain, supporting the computer in front of him, slammed the main unit down, picked up the intercom, and said, "The ship's computer is broken, come aboard and fix it!" Kolossova's head popped out from the cluttered boxes behind the bridge. "Mr. Hermann?" She reached out and touched Karl's back. "Hmm, what's wrong?" "What happened?" "Last time... the last time I piloted the Blazing Thunder in battle, for some reason, it was a bit unruly... it..." She picked at her nails and said, "Hmm... didn't they teach me how to pilot an MPU during my induction training? I only learned how to drive it... they didn't teach me how to drive it properly... I'm sorry..." "Captain, let me and Kolossova take the MPU out for a bit..." "Uh... no... isn't this supposed to be simulation training...?" "No, some things you only understand after actual combat." "Okay... okay!" "Okay...okay!" "Captain! Something's flying over, wait, it's an MPU, enemy attack! Enemy attack! Quickly call Karl and the others out, I'll be right back!" "Karl! Forget training, attack now!" "Get Kolossova to the Thunderclap, I can't hold on, but at least have some armor to hold on!" "Yes, sir!" In the blue sky, the MPU cut through the clouds, howling as it flew by. "Human, pilot the Gray Cloak, go to the Leningrad signaling station and retrieve the spear." "Tch, talking nonsense to me again!" The Gray Cloak landed quietly on the ground, its optical camouflage concealing it in the wind and snow. "Anta, you won't find it unless you're there." "I didn't look for it." "I just saw that, it can't be..." Florence stood in the vast expanse of white snow, turning his head to look around. His rifle was gripped tightly, making a clicking sound. "Be careful... breaking your life-saving weapon can kill you..." "Wait, did you hear that, Florence?" Barbatos stepped in front of Florence, moving the gun behind him! Gray Cloak emerged from the snowstorm, thrusting with a short sword. Barbatos drew a beam sword from his waist and charged forward. The next second, Gray Cloak spun around, sliding past Barbatos with his back to the ground, then swung his sword! Barbatos unleashed a torrent of demonic energy from his breath.
The gray-clad figure stopped between Barbatos and Florence. "You two, still standing here! Daydreaming on the battlefield can kill you!" "What the hell..." "Bartos... he's nothing special!" "Another traitor? Tch, so annoying..." "Anta, go back. I'll handle this. I'll leave the rest to you!" Florence retreated, remaining silent until its figure disappeared into the vast white snow. "You and I are actually the same. We can only find a sliver of peace by killing on the battlefield. Aren't we the same? Aren't we all the same!" The gray-clad figure raised its sword and slashed... Barbatos dodged them all. "The battlefield isn't a good place, I didn't want to come here..." "Heh, you only say you don't want to fight when you're free, but you're quick to kill when it comes to it~" "I didn't want to kill, but what's done is done. I can't let the dead down without giving them a quick death!" Barbatos kicked away Gray Cloak, sheathed his beam saber, and drew his pulse sword. Azure lightning leaped from the splashing pulses, shining like torches. "Heh, dream on!" Gray Cloak raised his gun and fired, beams of light passing within an inch of Barbatos. A silver-white figure flew past Gray Cloak, followed by the sound of a gun barrel hitting the ground, accompanied by a white mist and a hissing, boiling noise; a booming sound rang out in the distance, "Wow~ really strong! Too bad that little girl is coming! Ahahahaha!" She took a step back, and then a dark blue machine wrapped in wind rushed over, "Auroraf?" Barbatos retreated and fired a few shots. Auroraf turned its head, its thrusters bursting with light, "Hermann—" It charged forward, sweeping through the beams, and slapped her down, "Wow~ you're still alive~" Gray Cloak stepped forward. "Take a step forward, or you'll die!" Aurora looked around, then charged at Barbatos, slashing down with her claws. Barbatos blocked the sharp claws with her rifle, the gun slightly creaking. "Ugh... Ahhh—Get away!" Aurora kicked it, an explosion erupting from the thruster. Thud! Crack! She slapped Barbatos on the head, lifting it up! "I'll kill you... I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" "Enough!" Sparks erupted from the thruster, propelling Barbatos up and shoving Aurora aside. "Restriction—Release!" "!!" Barbatos pushed it down and went straight for Gray Cloak. "Ah-- Die!" Drawing her Pulse Sword, Gray Cloak also leaned back, raising and opening the harpoon on her back. Two missiles, trailing flames, rushed straight towards Barbatos. "Boom!...Thump—" Barbatos grabbed Gray Cloak tightly, stomping on her chest and breaking her arm. "Ouch! Ouch—it hurts so much!" "You die!" Aurora leaped up, and Barbatos swung her hand, causing Gray Cloak's arm to strike Aurora, knocking off her chest armor. "You...you...bastard...so noisy! Shut up, so noisy—" It kicked Barbatos away. Just as Tos was about to change his posture and land, "Click...click, thud!" Then thick smoke billowed from the exhaust and nozzles. "Warning! Reactor incapacitated, please evacuate immediately!!" "Tch!" Karl opened the plastic cover of the button in the center of the dashboard, reached out but couldn't press it. "There are still some particles in the limbs...I've got it!" Flames spewed out from the nozzles again, but accompanied by a sharp, mournful cry, the flames vanished in an instant, replaced by a hand gesture! Darts were thrown from afar. Barbatos raised his arm to block them, then swung it down heavily, causing the machine to fall. A dart grazed its cheek. "That's the only way!" He quickly pressed the button, and the machine made a series of creaking and clicking sounds. "Reaction boost." "Idiot~ You're done for!" "That's not necessarily true." Barbatos raised his hand, the beam saber slicing across his palm, scorching sparks burning from his hand all the way to his chest. "Reactor in operation." Warning, gas pipe damaged. Warning, output too high, reactor unstable, please shut down the reactor immediately. "Small boat on the loudspeaker." Barbatos stretched out his right hand, grabbed the gray-cloaked creature by the neck, and slowly, slowly pulled its head off its body. After a brief struggle, he stopped. "Are you in so much pain you've gone into shock...?" Barbatos knelt quietly on the ground, his left hand armor twisted, broken, and bulging like blisters; the silver armor was blackened by soot. His calves were covered in mud and scratches, while his right hand remained firmly planted.
Grabbing the gray-clad man's head, still pinned beneath Barbatos, his left hand gripping the cockpit canopy tightly, Karl stood on Barbatos's shoulder, gazing into the distance. Snowflakes fell on its head, melting in the scorching heat of its armor. Water streamed down its cheeks, as if the machine possessed a soul, silently weeping. Karl looked at Aurora's ever-shrinking figure in the distance. "Sigh... let her run." "Fine, forget it... we can't catch up anyway." "Karl—" The landship slowly approached him. "Impressive. You've ruined a perfectly good machine like this again, the maintenance crew is going to curse you out." "Mr. Herman, I'll carry you up. Mr. Anta, I'll leave the prisoner retrieval to you." "Alright, I'll do it." Chains connected the two machines, pulling them up and gently setting them down.
"Watch me." "We can't win..." "If you can't win, run. You can delude yourself by releasing the restrictions, but restarting might kill people!" "Alright, alright, Oleg, if you can't escape even with one attack and two escapes, then don't talk about it. Saving the machine and coming back alive is a miracle, let him go..." "Karl sat on a box, took out his water bottle and took a few sips. "Anta—come here!" Sesse called out to them from afar. Anta quickly ran over, his boots making a clattering sound on the ground. "Come on... keep an eye on things for me, I'm going to open the hatch..." "Okay..." "Yay—" Gas sprayed out, first the armor plates, then the hatch opened, Anta climbed in, and then carried out a girl. "Isn't it... do the Calamities like to use children as pilots?" "I don't know... but she doesn't seem like it." "A child... around fourteen or fifteen years old..." "Kolossova, she's still breathing—" "Okay! Let me see... she should just be in shock from pain, take her to the medical room." Anta placed her on a stretcher, and he and Sesse entered the elevator one after the other.
"Quickly, quickly, remove the arm! The airway is beyond repair, replace it immediately!" "Horse control—return to port!" "Hurry! Hurry!!"
"Captain! Miss Europa is looking for us, saying we should drop off the prisoners and then go retrieve the Fire Tree Silver Flower and other equipment." "Okay!"