Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Yanaka's prototype MAU was, when you got down to it, nothing more than a massive bipedal tank.  

Clank, clunk.  

A freshly reloaded autocannon emerged from the prototype’s forearm, while the single-shot turret mounted on its back moved with precision, locking onto the approaching Legion.  

"Is that all the armament you have? Just an autocannon and a turret?"  

-This is enough.  

"You already unloaded those weapons on them! They're not the kind to get hit by the same attack twice, you idiot!"  

-I switched to high-powered rounds. I'm going to saturate the entire area with fire and wipe them out. There's no need to worry about collateral damage here.  

Damn it, this fool had no idea. And she didn't seem interested in understanding, either.  

‘Yanaka's insight is shallow.’  

She had little grasp of how transcendent combat machines and superhumans actually fought.  

‘They don’t fall for the same attack or tactic twice. They’ll find a way to counter it and exploit their enemy’s weaknesses.’  

A sigh escaped me. I could already see Yanaka getting torn apart by the Legion.  

The Legion pursuing us entered the open lot. They holstered their firearms and drew their melee weapons instead. They must have decided that their standard firearms wouldn’t be able to penetrate the prototype’s armor.  

-Stay behind me for a moment. I’m going in.  

Yanaka declared boldly.  

Whirr.  

The prototype stepped forward, extending its autocannon-equipped arm.  

Kiiiiririririk!  

A different kind of mechanical noise rang out. A turbulent sound rumbled from within the autocannon.  

-If you monsters are out there, then I’ll be your monster hunter!!  

Yanaka roared.  

And then, an actual barrage was unleashed.  

KWA-AAAAANG! BOOM!  

Each fireball erupting from the autocannon detonated like a lightning strike.  

Kwa-AAAAANG!  

Even the Legion flinched. The firepower was beyond normal.  

‘This isn’t just high-powered weaponry.’  

These were ultra-high-yield special rounds. Every explosion was a burst of concentrated force, sending fiery pillars flashing into the sky.  

‘Money is melting away.’  

It was firepower with no regard for cost-efficiency. The reason no one else used such high-yield compression rounds wasn’t because they couldn’t make them—it was because they were absurdly expensive.  

KWA-AANG! BOOM! BOOM!  

Even I was shocked by the sheer firepower. The entire lot was turning into a wasteland. The successive explosions were so deafening that I thought my eardrums might burst.  

If ever there was a moment to say "the earth trembled," it was now.  

-Hah, hahaha! Hahahaha!  

Yanaka didn’t let up, pouring firepower into them until she ran out of ammunition. The prototype’s single-shot turret tracked the Legion through the smoke and flames before lining up a precise shot.  

Ti-iing!

Each time the single-shot turret fired, the sound of the Legion staggering echoed from within the dust cloud.  

‘Even they’re shocked by this unexpected level of firepower.’  

Now I understood why Yanaka and Deputy Minister Ismael had stepped forward with such confidence. Unleashing this kind of firepower in such a short time was enough to overwhelm most enemies.  

One of the Federation's requirements for the MAU was that it had to possess combat power capable of overwhelming the Legion.  

The Federation had likely studied the Imperial Guard’s Legion extensively. They would have a thorough understanding of their combat capabilities and specifications.  

‘…But these things aren’t ordinary Legion.’  

They were nothing more than war machines, stripped of all humanity and obeying only orders. Soldiers whose human brains had been repurposed as machine components—so-called "Wraith Soldiers."  

Drrrrr…  

The autocannon's rotation slowed. The barrage was coming to an end.  

-Mo… moving?  

Yanaka’s startled voice rang out.  

Kiiiing.  

Two pairs of glowing eyes pierced through the smoke. The Legion were still standing, still moving despite staggering under the force of the attack.  

Ssshh…  

They emerged from the swirling dust, shaking off the smoke that clung to them. Their outer armor was a complete mess, yet none of the damage was fatal.  

‘They dodged what they could and took the hits they had to.’  

The damage was evenly distributed across their bodies.  

-How…?  

A normal enhanced exoskeleton, no matter how reinforced, wouldn’t have survived. But these things weren’t just wearing armor—they were armor. As long as their brains remained intact, they were built to withstand even the most hellish battlefields.  

“There’s no need to panic. It’s common for even the most carefully planned attacks to fail in real combat. What matters is coming up with the next move and pushing forward.”  

-If I couldn’t take them down with firepower, then what other option…  

Yanaka's plan was falling apart.  

“Don’t be stupid. The fight isn’t over. Use that head of yours and think. I’ll take the one-eyed bastard—you handle the other one.”  

Despite my words, I didn’t expect anything from her. Yanaka’s prototype would be torn apart by the Legion.  

‘A Legion with the brain of a battle-hardened warrior.’  

They’d rip her cockpit open and snap her neck like it was nothing. If they closed the distance, it would all be over in an instant.  

‘Damn it…’  

If she fought, she was going to die here. This was exactly why I hated dealing with stubborn kids.  

“Listen, brat, run. They’re after me, not you. They won’t bother chasing you.”  

-What?  

“Are your ears clogged? I don’t want to die protecting you.”  

Before Yanaka could even process my words, the Legion moved. They had recovered from the shock of the barrage.  

-Lu…kaus… Custoria.

However, instead of attacking, the Legion extended its index finger toward me and spoke.  

-…His Majesty is waiting for you. Fulfill your duty as a citizen of the Empire.  

With those words, the Legion withdrew.  

I looked up. A swarm of airborne vehicles belonging to the Federation was closing in.  

Chzzzt.  

Deputy Minister Ismael's voice came through the comms. I already knew the matter was settled before he even spoke.  

-As of this moment, Lukaus Custoria is under the protection of the Bellato Federation.  

…A dramatic resolution.  

I liked Ismael. How many people had handled matters faster than I expected? It had been a while since my worst-case scenario was proven wrong.  

*         *         *  

Riding in the hand of the prototype MAU, I headed to Sonsu Industries with Yanaka.  

The moment we arrived, I kept my promise—I knocked out Yanaka’s front tooth.  

Kwa-jik!  

My fist crashed into her face. I made sure to hold back just enough; if I shattered her jaw, she’d be eating porridge for months.  

“Urgh… kuh… ugh.”  

Yanaka, still in her pilot suit, staggered. Behind her, the prototype that had just seen real combat was being serviced by the engineers of Sonsu Industries.  

“If the paperwork hadn’t been processed faster than expected, you’d be dead, and I’d be in serious trouble.”  

“I know that. I regret it. But you’re not my superior. I acted based on my own judgment. Tch. Ah, damn it.”  

Yanaka spat out pieces of her broken tooth onto the floor, scowling. She didn’t try to dodge my punishment—she knew she had made a serious mistake.  

“I may not be your superior, but I have more experience than you. In a high-stakes situation, you should’ve followed my lead. This time, you just got lucky. Remember that—if you keep acting like this, you won’t last long.”  

“…I don’t plan on living long, but I’ll keep that in mind.”  

Her attitude was seriously getting on my nerves.  

I slapped her across the face.  

Slap!  

Her cheek split open, and one of her molars popped out of place.  

“That one was for being a disrespectful brat.”  

Come to think of it, did I even have the right to discipline someone just for being rude?  

Well, whatever. It wasn’t like Yanaka knew my past. I might as well be shameless about it.  

“I don’t mind getting hit. But I do have one question. Why did you tell me to run at the end?”  

“Because an inexperienced brat would just get in the way.”

I spoke indifferently as I wiped the blood off my hand.  

“No matter what you say, having me there should’ve been an advantage. Were you trying to save me? Even though we’ve barely met?”  

I scoffed.  

“Don’t flatter yourself. I just figured I’d be better off moving alone than dealing with you getting in my way.”  

“That’s ridiculous…”  

“Believe what you want. I just hope I never have to share a battlefield with you again. It was a miserable experience.”  

Suddenly, I found myself missing the Empire. Back there, as long as I made a rational decision, people followed it, whether they liked it or not. Superior or subordinate, it didn’t matter. There were no childish brats acting up.  

‘No, if anything, I was the biggest brat there.’  

A bitter smirk crossed my lips.  

Before long, Deputy Minister Ismael and a group of Federation soldiers approached me.  

“Yes, yes, I understand. We’ve secured him for now. The Foreign Affairs Department… Ah, it would be best not to nitpick at this point. We still need to assess how useful he is.”  

Even as he walked toward me, Ismael was constantly on the comms. His voice was slightly hoarse—he must have had a long day. Likely, he hadn’t had a single moment to rest.  

“…Ah, Mr. Lukaus. I’m relieved you’re safe. I was quite on edge myself.”  

Ismael finally ended his call as he stopped in front of me.  

“That was a close one. Thanks to that brat.”  

“Yanaka is still a trainee. Don’t be too harsh on her. The fault is partly mine. I believed the prototype’s firepower would be enough to suppress the Legion. But something felt off about them.”  

Ismael pointed that out sharply. He was the deputy minister of the Strategic Weapons Research Department. His judgment would have been based on the Legion’s usual combat capabilities.  

“They weren’t the standard type.”  

I left it at that and bit back the rest. Any information I had would serve as a bargaining chip in negotiations—I couldn’t afford to waste it, even as a gesture of goodwill.  

‘I’m not a defector yet. This is just temporary protection for my asylum review.’  

Ismael had assured me my asylum application would go through smoothly. Even if that were true, spilling classified information too soon could leave me discarded the moment I outlived my usefulness.  

“In any case, this incident will likely cause some diplomatic friction. It’s been a while since the Empire launched a military operation in Border City so openly.”  

“You mentioned earlier that Border City is under a three-nation agreement.”

“That’s classified… but there’s no need to hide it from you. The operation of Border City involves the agreement and financial investment of all three nations. Nowhere else in the Empire—or even the Federation—has such a dense mix of alien species. No nation wants to flood its own cities with non-citizen aliens. Even the Federation, despite branding itself as a multi-species state, is no exception.”  

“So Border City is one giant experiment and a garbage dump. Not just for the Federation, but for every nation involved.”  

I had expected as much. Border City’s identity was too peculiar to belong solely to Bellato.  

It was a containment zone where the three nations had herded alien species together.  

‘They want contact with these aliens, to extract their technology and knowledge… but they don’t want to deal with the risks of full integration.’  

Ismael continued.  

“The continued existence of Border City benefits all three nations. Any potential source of instability that they don’t want within their borders can be sent here. That’s why, in Border City, nations often turn a blind eye to espionage and minor military activities that would be unacceptable elsewhere. The city is a powder keg—if any one nation decided to pull the strings too hard, it could collapse overnight.”  

So that was why Border City had managed to survive. Everyone wanted it to stay intact.  

If the garbage dump exploded, its stench would spread across the entire planet of Novus. But as long as the waste was discarded within designated limits, the rest of the world remained relatively clean.  

“I want to check on the safety of my benefactor, Jafa.”  

“That won’t be possible for now. Temporary protection or not, we have officially secured your identity. Whether for good or bad, you’re under our custody. Until you pass your asylum review, you have no freedom.”  

I narrowed my eyes. I had expected this. Requesting protection was just another way of willingly putting a leash around my own neck.  

“…Even if I pass, I doubt I’ll be free.”  

From this point on, I had to prepare to keep that leash loose. If necessary, I had to be ready to snap it and escape.  

Ismael maintained a calm expression in response to my words.  

“When Jafa regains consciousness, I’ll personally ensure you can at least communicate with her. This is a personal promise from me. You seem to have a rather… ‘special relationship’ with her.”  

I swallowed back the curse that had risen to my throat. Holding it in for so long, I could almost taste blood welling up in my mouth.  

Endure it, Luka. As frustrating as this damn misunderstanding is, letting it slide benefits me. At the very least, it guarantees me a chance to speak with Jafa.  

The taste of patience—metallic, bitter—lingered in my mouth.

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