It was something like a battlefield video camera… just like the black box of a car.
However, its capturing capability extended to 360 º. There was no blind spot at all.
No doubt about it, it was a video. In between the scenes showed were some dialogues as well. The words exchanged were likely conversations regarding the battle between the mech pilot and his comrades-in-arms.
The video was not very long. It lasted for only about three minutes.
However, the contents of the video caused Roddy, Nagase Komi and Han Bi to fall into shock!
…
A triangle-shaped fighter aircraft shot through the sky as it flew up and down. Its pair of wings automatically spread out and contracted as it flew. At the same time, it fired what seemed like an energy beam forward.
The mech raised its arm that was wielding a shield to block the incoming beam. Next, the video shook for a bit, likely due to the mech’s movement. It had taken a few steps backward.
Then, the mech and the video charged forward. A beam blade appeared in the mech’s other arm and it hacked down vertically, cleaving the triangle-shaped fighter aircraft into two!
Orange coloured flames burst out!
Next, a row of silhouettes appeared on the street of the town some distance away.
Watching the video, Roddy’s face turned ugly to behold.
Those were… a convoy of Thunderstorm Tanks, a whole convoy!
The tanks spread out in a row and their turret muzzles turned over, aiming right at the mech… following several flashes of light, several beams appeared…
This was a bombardment!
A hasty voice could be heard coming from the video.
Roddy was unable to understand a single word spoken by the voice – it was not a language that he knew of.
Suddenly, a little figure appeared before the mech.
It was a warrior!
The warrior wore a sophisticated system armour while holding a sword in hand.
The little warrior’s figure stood before the mech. At the same time, the warrior also… halted the Thunderstorm Tanks’ bombardment!
The warrior thrust his long sword into the ground and a curtain of light enveloped the whole street.
The Thunderstorm Tanks’ bombardment struck the surface of the curtain. In but an instant the video was filled with dazzling fireworks, rendering everything visible into whiteness.
At the same time, the violent shockwaves caused the video screen to shake with intensity.
The white screen lasted for a full 10 seconds. When the brightness had somewhat lessened, Roddy stared at the video and saw the warrior raising his sword. His body…
Flew out!
What followed was the scene of the warrior hacking the tanks apart!
The warrior, armed with just the one sword, split one of the tanks before moving to the second, the third…
The sounds of explosions kept reverberating out from the video screen.
Next, the video screen turned. It would appear that the mech had been turned to another side.
Two mechs could be seen on another end of the street… judging by their model and shape, they appeared completely similar to this one – they were probably this mech pilot’s comrades.
The two mechs were besieging an enemy.
To Roddy’s surprise…
What he saw there was a…
“That is… Floater?”
Roddy exclaimed.
He could not be blamed for coming to that conclusion. The siege target of the two mechs in the video simply looked too similar to a Floater!
A metallic body with huge wings sprouting out from behind!
The humanoid shaped body stood there haughtily.
Horrifyingly, there were eight Floater Cannons floating behind its body. The cannons seemed to have a life of its own as they circled around it. They acted like fighter jets defending a mother ship, moving up and down while their muzzles flashed with light.
The two mechs were clearly at a disadvantage. The two mechs rushed the Floater from the left and right. They were armed with beam blades and shields; and they attacked the huge Floater while defending against the blasts shooting out from the Floater Cannons. They moved about, seeking an opportunity to attack the Floater.
The Floater… its body size was much bigger than Nicole’s!
The owner of the video screen joined in the battle. He joined his two comrades to surround the huge Floater and attacked it.
However, the result… did not appear to be good.
The mech ally on the left hand side had to take on several consecutive blasts from the Floater Cannons and its shield was destroyed as a result. Before the mech could stab forward with its beam blade, two of the Floater Cannons suddenly fused together in mid-air.
The metal body flowed like a stream while rotating and instantly transformed into a long metal blade. Next, the metal blade shot into the neck area of the mech… going all the way in!
A tearing sound could be heard as the slash pierced through the neck area before proceeding to descend into the waist area!
Roddy judged that the mech pilot must have been directly killed off from the blow!
That much was evident from the roars of fury coming out from the video.
The owner of the video screen cried out in a very mournful voice and the screen shook as the mech pummelled toward the Floater.
However, several of the Floater Cannons fired at the mech, quickly forced him to back down.
As the video continued, the other surviving mech was also defeated by the Floater – the Floater had suddenly floated toward the surviving mech. Clacking sounds rang out as the Floater’s body parts moved in a way that defied the rules of physics like that of the Transformers. It quickly transformed into a shuttle shaped metal body before charging toward the surviving mech…
It pierced through the body of the mech!
The mech exploded into fragments!
Once again, the roar of grief could be heard coming from the video screen.
Although Roddy could not understand the words being said, he could sense the rage within the voice.
The owner of the mech reinitiated his suicidal attack – Roddy’s mind had naturally come to evaluate the attack as a ‘suicidal attack’.
From the previous confrontation, it was obvious that this model of mech was no match for this fellow who looked like a huge Floater.
After his two comrades were killed, this mech pilot chose to launch an attack once more… while his courage was commendable, it was not a wise move.
The Floater quickly transformed into a humanoid shape once more and a pair of wings appeared behind it. It rapidly turned.
The wings were as sharp as blades…
Both of the mech’s legs were immediately cut apart and they fell off…
The video screen shook fiercely once more. Then, it stopped.
Observing the angle and the scene shown on the video, Roddy was able to guess… the mech had fallen into the house – its final resting place.
The Floater slowly moved toward the mech.
In the video screen, the mech raised its arm, arming the energy beam cannon on its arm and shooting futilely at the Floater.
Sizzling sounds could be heard as several beams shot forward. The Floater’s wings enveloped it and they casually deflected the energy beams.
The mech owner could do nothing but watch as this powerful enemy drew closer.
Suddenly, a figure descended from the sky! It was the warrior who had used the one sword to hack down an entire convoy of Thunderstorm Tanks!
The warrior appeared before the screen, blocking the view of the camera.
Voices rang out once more as a conversation erupted. The two people having the conversation talked quickly and decisiveness could be heard from their voices. They were both arguing fiercely about something…
Next, the warrior raised his sword and charged toward the Floater…
It was at this moment that the screen suddenly went black and disappeared.
…
“…”
“… … …”
“… … … … …”
The three of them watched as the video screen went offline. For the longest time, none of them were able to say anything.
Especially Roddy.
As a genuine mech pilot, his mind replayed the melee battle that he had just witnessed in the video earlier.
The thing that looked like a Floater… clearly, it was far, far more powerful compared to Nicole’s Floater!
It was not just a difference in size.
It could easily deflect energy-tier weapons.
It could freely change its form.
Even the number of Floater Cannons that it could produce was superior to Nicole’s Floater.
Not only that, the Floater Cannons themselves could freely change their forms!
Roddy secretly thought about it.
Each of the three mech pilots that were surrounding the Floater was definitely not weak!
From the way the mechs moved, the combat manoeuvres, the precision of the piloting… there was no doubt that those people were all experts!
Roddy wondered. If he was the one piloting the mech, could he be able to operate the mech to such an excellent degree?
Then there was the weaponry. Those mechs itself were certainly not weak either.
They possessed shields that could withstand beam attacks and possessed beam blades, allowing it to engage in a melee battle. Also, judging from the energy beams used earlier, it would appear that the power behind those attacks were in no way inferior.
Other than the fact that their mechs were much smaller… Roddy estimated that even if he were to use his Mech to do battle, anyone of these mech pilots would likely be able to best him!
Not to mention, his Mech had a time limit!
However, those three had ganged up on the one Floater only to be wiped out!
In the end, the warrior appeared. But the outcome of the warrior’s battle with the Floater was something Roddy could not know.
The warrior had easily taken care of a convoy of Thunderstorm Tanks. He had effortlessly blocked off the Thunderstorm Tanks’ bombardment – that fellow was definitely a master!
“Do you have nothing to say?” Roddy felt bitterness inside his mouth. He then looked at Nagase Komi.
The bald girl’s face was pale and she hesitated a moment before replying, “Very strong… the difference is too big.”
“… … it is indeed very big,” Roddy expressed his agreement and nodded his head.
He turned his head around to check their surroundings and said, “This place should be the remnants of a battlefield. However… judging by the battle waged between the two parties inside this video, it seems the two parties are very strong. I don’t understand… what is this about?
“This can’t possibly be this instance dungeon’s storyline, can it?”
“Storyline?” Nagase Komi thought about it solemnly before replying, “I think something terrifying could be lurking behind this matter. I fear that it is not that simple.”
Roddy was about to say something when his eyes suddenly flickered.
“Someone’s coming!”
In their personal radar, a clump of green dots was quickly making their way toward their location!
Clearly, this group of people was in the middle of a battle. They had engaged in a withdrawal operation, fighting back even as they withdrew into this little town. Additionally, the speed of their approach was very fast!
Naturally, Nagase Komi had also noticed those green dots in her radar.
“Let’s hide first, then… understand the situation. We’ll check to see if there is any opportunity to take action,” said Nagase Komi as she exhaled.
Roddy nodded his head and glanced at the mech lying before him. He said, “I’ll hide in here… you fellows go find some place to hide. Remember, don’t recklessly take action.”
After saying that, Roddy tossed a walkie-talkie to Nagase Komi. She accepted the walkie-talkie and pulled Han Bi together with her as she moved.
Han Bi who was carrying Culkin followed Nagase Komi across the open space and into a small building.
Roddy’s eyes darted about and he looked at the mech. He suddenly had an idea. Pulling open the cockpit, he moved inside and closed the cockpit…