After the battle ended, during their evening chat, Lena learned about the relationship between Kei and Lynn.
"I really didn't expect that they would use such a way to say goodbye," Lena sighed.
"Perhaps, for her, this was also the best way," Shin hesitated for a moment before saying in a calm and gentle tone, "Back when Lynn died, Kei couldn't see him one last time. The enemy's sniper machine pierced Lynn's cockpit in a single shot.
It was just like a shooting star suddenly falling from the sky.
After that, Lynn and his machine were swallowed up by The Legion."
"So, this time can also be considered a good farewell, right?" Lena asked in a pleading tone.
Shin thought for a moment and smiled, "Yes."
"I see." Hearing Shin's voice, Lena felt a little comforted in her heart.
The two talked for a while, and Lena asked about Shin's name.
"It's not that I meant to ask, but the surname Nouzen is actually quite special."
Bang! From the other end of the synchronization, there was a sound of a chair or some heavy object falling to the ground.
Shin seemed to have stood up abruptly.
"You wouldn't happen to know someone named Shourei Nouzen, would you! His personal callsign is Headless Knight, and his emblem is the pattern of a headless skeleton knight...!"
Hearing her say this, Shin also slightly widened his eyes.
[Chapter 24, Rei Nouzen]
The game switched from their warm conversation back to the combat map.
However, this time the combat map was particularly strange, because there wasn't a single machine that Yamada Masaharu was familiar with.
The entire game border was shrouded in a strange filter, looking misty as if in a dream.
However, only the border part was like this; the main part in the center of the game was still very clear.
Looking at the calendar in the top left corner, he realized that this was Lena's memory from six years ago.
The sound of a helicopter rang out in the sky, hovering incessantly.
"Let's go to the battlefield and take a look, Lena. Let's see what exactly happened there and see it all clearly."
Lena's father, Republic Army Colonel Václav Milizé, took his ten-year-old only daughter, Lena, and flew to the front lines on a reconnaissance plane.
Václav was one of the few white-haired race who possessed a strong sense of justice and compassion, feeling indignant for the 86s who were driven to the front lines to fight, while simultaneously holding great sympathy for them.
Moreover, the Colonel was a very formidable commander in the Republic.
While the two were talking, a row of The Legion's machines appeared on the ground.
Anti-Aircraft Self-Propelled Artillery type.
They were deployed across the entire Republic territory at the start of the war, destroying air combat capabilities. Hiding within swarms of electromagnetic interference butterflies, they were a type of "The Legion" machine that still sat in control of the entire region like a mountain of swords.
Their sudden appearance inevitably caused the pilot to panic.
Before he could adjust the direction to prepare to return,
he saw a large row of red flames shooting out from the barrels of the anti-aircraft self-propelled artillery on the ground.
Fire-red lights danced across the sky.
On the battlefield lacking lights, a deafening explosion suddenly rang out in the pitch-black night sky, and a ball of red fire burst open.
The rotor on the left wing was hit. The reconnaissance plane trailed flames as it fell, getting closer and closer to the ground.
...
This entire segment was presented through 2D animation, so when Yamada Masaharu saw this, his heart couldn't help but ache.
However, thinking that the Lena of the future could still serve as a commander, he breathed a sigh of relief.
That's right; if Lena had died here, there wouldn't be any subsequent plot.
The plane crashed to the ground and began to burn violently.
The Colonel died on the spot, and everyone else except Lena died.
Only Lena was left on the plane.
However, on the battlefield, Lena had already been discovered by The Legion's Scout-type robots; those guys were crawling toward her like strange spiders.
[Mission Start: Eliminate all enemies. Lena must survive.]
??? Yamada Masaharu was full of question marks. What kind of crazy mission is this?
In her current state, what kind of combat ability could Lena possibly have?
Don't forget, the Lena in this memory is only 10 years old.
Fortunately, his worry was unnecessary, because a machine appeared in the middle of the map.
Yamada Masaharu recognized it at a glance; it was Shin's machine, the Destroyer.
On the side of the machine, there was a large Headless Knight emblem.
But when the pilot's avatar appeared, he realized it wasn't Shin.
It was a guy with red hair wearing a combat suit.
His name was also displayed above: Rei Nouzen.
Huh?
"...Hey, that was a reconnaissance plane just now, right?"
"Huh? Oh, whatever, forget about it, Headless Knight. In any case, it must be some idiot pig who wanted to take a plane for a sightseeing trip. Isn't it a good thing for us 86s if a few more white pigs die?"
The squadron leader ignored him, closed the cockpit canopy, and started his machine. He had blood-red hair, and beneath his glasses were a pair of pitch-black eyes.
"Hey, Headless Knight..."
"I'm going to conduct a rescue... You guys continue patrolling."
In this battle, Yamada Masaharu used Rei to fight, eliminated all enemies, and rescued Lena.
Taking a look at the attribute panel, Rei's overall stats were terrifyingly high.
Yamada Masaharu couldn't help but gasp. This guy's stats were much more exaggerated than Shin's, and his abilities in every aspect were terrifying, almost at max configuration.
Overall, he was more inclined toward reaction-type.
Wow, if only this guy could stay in the team forever.
...
This battle was probably the most satisfying battle Yamada Masaharu had ever fought.
Rei's stats were off the charts, and operating the Destroyer made him a monster. His stats were a significant step above Shin's, and he could almost take out an enemy machine with one shot.
The only thing that needed attention was preventing enemy machines from getting close to Lena.
Because Lena was just a little kid on the battlefield, with only 1 HP; if she got hit once, she would definitely be done for.
This invisibly added quite a bit of difficulty to the mission.
Fortunately, Rei's stats were high enough.
Boom!
As the last enemy machine was destroyed.
The mission was completed quickly, and Yamada Masaharu still felt unsatisfied.
Connecting to the cutscene again:
Upon waking up, Lena only saw a sea of fire.
After using her hands to prop up her upper body and sit up, Lena hurriedly looked around.
Looking around, everything was burning.
Even her father was lying in the flames, motionless. Moreover, everything above his chest had disappeared.
She heard calls coming from outside, along with some kind of huge sound, so she crawled out of the hatch.
Then she saw a monster so huge that she had to look up to see it clearly, its silver body reflecting the colors of the flames.
Its glowing red glass eyes. The general-purpose machine gun on its shoulder was a gloomy iron-gray.
It walked like an insect, its rapidly moving legs not affecting the stability of its body, as if it were gliding; it felt somewhat nauseating.
At this moment, the Scout-type's compound sensor device suddenly turned toward Lena.
The machine gun muzzle aimed at Lena.
Just as Lena helplessly curled up her body.
"——If there is anyone alive, cover your ears and lie down!"
A roar filled with static suddenly rang out from a loudspeaker. Then, a four-legged spider was seen breaking through the swaying curtain of flames, leaping out against the backdrop of the pitch-black night sky and bright red flames.
The headless skeleton knight emblem painted on the side of the machine was deeply imprinted in Lena's eyes.
The heavy machine guns on the combat mechanical arms on both sides fired toward the Scout-type. The heavy machine guns let out a deafening roar.
Compared to this, infantry assault rifles were like toys; the heavy machine gun bullets, which could easily turn concrete barriers and armored vehicles into debris, attacked the Scout-type that was preparing to turn around like a violent storm.
The thinly armored Scout-type was torn into scrap metal in the blink of an eye and fell to the ground.
The spider walked with heavy, clanking footsteps to the front of Lena, who was frightened out of her wits by the deafening roar of the heavy machine guns and was timidly looking up.
"Are you okay?"
Hearing a human voice, Lena became even more afraid and silently curled into a ball.
At this moment, the spider's cockpit suddenly split open and flipped backward, and a figure stood up from inside.
It was a young man with blood-red hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with an intellectual temperament, a slim build, and around twenty years old.
The big brother who saved her said his name was Shourei Nouzen.
...
Rei was a very gentle big brother, and he told Lena that he also had a younger brother about her age.
He was currently fighting in the future to protect the country and protect his family.
Lena blinked, looking a bit dazed.
Fighting.
To protect.
To prove.
But, having to fight something so huge, something like a monster...
"Aren't you afraid...?"
"Of course I'm afraid. But if I don't fight, there's no way to go on living."
Rei shrugged and smiled, then suddenly looked up at the stars filling the sky.
He gazed at the starlight that filled the pitch-black night sky, appearing as if it were chiming yet silently twinkling, and at the deep, vast, and boundless dark void hidden between the stars.
The smile that had been on his face until just a moment ago disappeared.
In a tone as sincere as a vow, Rei spoke his thoughts.
"I won't die, and I can't die. I must survive, I must return to my brother's side."
...
The screen went white, a flashback.
Time returned to the present, where Lena was talking to Shin.
By now, Lena had a certain guess in her heart.
Shin said slowly, "Rei Nouzen... is my brother."
"Brother... Then..."
The person whom Rei had talked about missing for so long, and whom he had vowed to return to—this person was his brother.
"He once told me that he missed you very much and would definitely return to find you... So, how is your brother doing now?"
Listening to Lena's voice, trembling with nostalgia and a complex mix of emotions, Shin, who had already regained his composure, said in a cold tone: "He passed away. Five years ago, on the Eastern Front."
Ah.
"... I'm sorry."
"It's nothing."
He replied very briefly.
His voice sounded like he truly didn't care.
Compared to the fervor with which Rei spoke of his brother, the sheer gap between the two left Lena feeling puzzled.
She felt that this wasn't quite the indifference of someone accustomed to life and death, but rather a cold, icy silence.
Just as Lena was thinking about what she should say, she heard Shin speak calmly: "You asked me before what I wanted to do after retiring, right?"
"Ah... yes."
"I still can't think of anything special I want to do after retiring. However, there is one thing I must accomplish... I have been searching for my brother's whereabouts, and I have been looking for the past five years."
Lena tilted her head and thought about it.
Since he already knew Rei had passed away, that meant— "Are you looking for... his remains?"
Lena felt as if Shin had smiled.
No, that wasn't a smile.
It felt closer to self-mockery, and even colder.
That desolate and resolute emotion seized Lena's attention.
Like a cold and dangerous ice blade.
Like falling into madness.
"— No."
...
[Chapter 25: Shepherd]
Among the Black Sheep, there exist some 86s with [intact skulls] that have been modified into mechs.
Among these 86s, there are some who possessed extremely strong combat capabilities during their lifetimes, with exceptionally sharp and developed minds.
After they die and are modified into mechs, they become the most terrifying existences within the Imperial Legion.
They are both commanders of The Legion and the ones possessing the strongest combat power among them.
Such special Black Sheep are called [Shepherds].
In Level 25, the small squad sent out to the front lines for support and search-and-rescue encountered a Shepherd.
Due to personnel deployment, Shin was not the one carrying out the mission here; instead, it was Kei, codenamed [Sakura], and several other partners.
The entire line was handed over to Lena for command, so the enemy's presence could be detected via the light dots on the mini-map panel.
Yamada Masaharu quickly took care of a few White Sheep ahead following the mission requirements.
Just then, a strange sound came from the screen.
It sounded like a human member, but it wasn't certain, so Lena ordered one of the members to go over and check.
Just as the team advanced into the valley to the east, they indeed encountered a besieged friendly member scattered within—a young boy from the Eastern Front, 5th Unit.
"Quick, run!" the boy shouted, "Shepherd!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a shell struck him.
He was instantly blown to pieces.
Just then, Yamada Masaharu saw a huge mech appear above the valley.
This mech was two to three times larger than the average Destroyer and, overall, taller than a heavy-type machine.
It looked like a large metal spider crouching on the ground, with four cannon barrels on its back, and at the same time, several mechanical arms sprouted from its front, looking imposing.
Is this a Shepherd?
Yamada Masaharu thought.
The Shepherd had a large range of movement and was exceptionally agile.
Seeing this thing, Yamada Masaharu's first reaction wasn't to run, but to think about going up to hit it and see if it would drop any good items.
However, when he pulled a heavy-type machine, specifically used for defense and acting as a shield in the front line, to prepare to defeat this Shepherd with a traditional triangular formation, the opponent lunged directly over and swung its mechanical arm forcefully at it.
Swish!
The entire armor was wiped out instantly.
It took one hit and couldn't hold.
This mech exploded instantly.
What terrifying combat power.
After enduring for 5 rounds, Lena made her judgment and issued the command: "Full retreat!"
...
[Chapter 26: Sakura]
Lena was commanding the battle, but she had never expected to be ambushed here, and even less expected to encounter a Shepherd.
That was also the first time she and Yamada Masaharu felt the terror of a Shepherd.
That thing, it was almost invincible, right?
Yamada Masaharu thought.
The level difference was too great.
Even if Shin, whom he had cultivated to be the highest level and highest stat unit in the team, were here, he probably wouldn't be a match.
In this level, everyone just needed to escape along the original valley line, all the way to the escape point at the bottom left corner of the map.
However, in this level, the enemy's presence, specifically the Shepherd, put a lot of pressure on Yamada Masaharu.
That sense of oppression was truly terrifying, like a shadow following them.
Although the Shepherd's activation turn was quite late, it wasn't difficult for it to catch up.
Besides that, they also had to clear the enemy units blocking the road along the way.
It could be said that the mission was extremely arduous.
...
The few people finally managed to escape successfully.
Entering the cutscene:
"...! It's actually... a wetland...?"
Kei, codenamed Sakura, was piloting her mech but accidentally got stuck in a quagmire.
Kei shook her hair and groaned.
Through the image on the screen, one could see that more than half of the mech's two front legs were sunk into the ground.
What looked like a small meadow in the dim primeval forest was actually a wetland.
This was soft terrain that the "Destroyer," with its extremely high ground pressure, was not good at handling.
If she retreated, she should be able to get out.
After making the judgment, she gripped the joysticks on both sides again—
"Sakura, get out of there quickly!"
She looked up upon hearing Lena's warning, and the optical sensors of "Sakura" moved up along with her gaze.
The Shepherd was right in front of her.
"... Ah."
The distance between the two was less than the minimum detonation distance for tank shells, so the Shepherd chose to swing its front leg to attack.
Cold and cruel, just like heartless gears, regardless of how the person caught in between cried out, it crushed them without mercy.
"Don't..."
This voice was so powerless, like a child about to cry.
"I don't want to die..."
Accompanied by a low mechanical whirring sound, the huge leg rapidly propelled the 50-ton weight, leaping high from the ground, and then pressed down onto Kei's fragile cockpit.
Only a snapping sound was heard.
The sound of the mech being crushed.
This scene reminded Yamada Masaharu of the friendly troops who died in the first level of the game.
The speechlessness lasted only a moment before roars and grief mingled in the communication network.
"Sakura? — Damn it!"
Yamada Masaharu was stunned by the scene unfolding before him.
The way Kei died was more cruel than any he had seen before.
...
This, is she dead?
Kei died just like that?
That black-haired girl, a rather cute girl, actually died in this way?
Yamada Masaharu felt a wave of dizziness.
On the television, Lena had a similar expression.
What should she say?
Furuhara Tsubaki, west!
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