Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided
Chapter 126. Battlecruiser Chasing I

As Zetius drew closer, his visor automatically zoomed in on the enemy units, which were currently tearing through the defence lines with effortless precision. Their formation resembled a spear, led by a golden unit at the front.

"I knew it! Drones are no match against real Knights. Rhok mentioned they were only practising with drones in the simulation," he analysed inwardly.

Microbombs exploded nearby, black smoke spurring out in all directions.

Zetius narrowed his sharp eyes. "What the—" He frowned, a mixture of surprise and confusion clouding his expression. The enemy unit looked nothing like a standard Armatus.

A hunched back, a protruding face, and a long visage with two red eyes instead of a single V-shaped visor. Its arms were elongated, ionised blades running the length of them. Four long Vernier thrusters extended down from its insect-like wings, providing exceptional aerial control. The armour was sleek and curved, resembling an exoskeleton rather than the usual box-like frame.

The whole thing looked like a bug-like alien dominating the skies. Most were painted in a dull, ugly silver.

He wrinkled his nose at the sight, recalling his own sleek silver Armatus bearing the Hoffmann emblem. She was far more aesthetically beautiful and elegant than this swarm of hideous insect-like machines.

Zetius tightened his focus, letting his body act on instinct. The green Armatus surged toward the enemy units, which immediately scattered in all directions.

"I knew it!" Zetius roared, easily evading a destructive beam. Turbulence swirled in the air around him, slightly shaking his hull.

Then a realisation struck. "It isn’t just my enhanced reflexes… It’s the Armatus’s response time, too."

"Correct! No load on the barrier means faster processing from the pilot’s input," Cubie confirmed.

When the Armatus engine wasn't burdened by the shield protocol, its flight systems responded slightly faster. In aerial close-quarters combat, even fractions of a second mattered.

A risky technique, but Zetius concluded he could definitely capitalise on it as he flew closer to the enemy lines.

The golden insectoid Armatus loomed ahead, flanked closely by six other units.

"Ah! I know this one!" a proximity voice rang out, jamming his comms.

"Zetius, Cubie can’t override this comm hijack!" Cubie warned, her voice cutting off.

He nodded solemnly. "It’s fine, Cubie. Stand down for now. Help me with combat. As for the comms, I'm actually well-versed in shit-talking," he smirked confidently, fearless even when surrounded.

The golden Armatus pointed at him, and the image of a man in his fifties beamed onto his HUD. His face was weathered and heavily scarred, the most notable being a long arc from his right eye down to his lip. His long, grey hair was tied into a man-bun. His dark eyes were hollow, like those of a sociopath.

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Clearly a veteran. A gold rank, perhaps? Zetius speculated internally.

"No helmet? Not even a suit? Confident, I see," The prideful commander muttered. His aura was different from Rhok’s. Rhok would simply kill without a word. This man... he wanted to toy with his prey before tearing them apart.

"So do you, scarred face," Zetius retorted with a smirk.

The commander laughed heartily, then stared at him intensely. "Very funny, Jack Squire," he paused dramatically, "or should I say... Zetius?" His smile was smug, looking down his nose.

The air grew heavier.

"Hells… he knows me. That’s why he challenged me to aerial combat. Damn it all..." Zetius thought, grinding his teeth.

Raising a fist proudly, the man declared, "No matter! I, Haoxiang, the Gold Knight, shall be the one to send you to hell!" His words and gestures were almost ritualistic.

"Good talk," Zetius sneered sarcastically as the comms cut off.

Without delay, the golden Armatus units drifted towards him, thrusters boosting and their long blades simmering a hot red.

Zetius swiftly fired his cannon, his aim precise.

Three plasma rounds hurtled toward the enemy.

They surged forward, extending their blades to cleave the rounds apart.

"They can do that?" Zetius gasped, then smiled, feeling challenged.

Three units now gave chase. He fired again while keeping his distance.

But the enemies sliced through the shots effortlessly. His Armatus accelerated rapidly across the battlefield.

"Tsk! Fine, Cubie! I'm going in now!" he warned, abruptly shifting his vernier thrusters.

His mobile suit recoiled sharply and spun back toward the pursuing units.

The Armatus’s sword gleamed with killing intent.

"Huh?" Haoxiang reacted instantly, but—

The cleave was swift, slicing through the air like lightning.

One unit fell, plunging into the abyss below.

"Heheh!" Zetius chuckled, drifting ahead and reclaiming ground. With deft left and right swings, he eliminated two more bronze units in close proximity.

Haoxiang repositioned his remaining gold units, surrounding Zetius with three, now far more cautious.

The same trick wouldn’t work twice. He thought to himself.

"Three in proximity. Your six is clear," Cubie reported. Zetius swept his eyes across his surroundings.

The middle Gold Armatus dashed forward, swinging its long blade. Zetius parried, sparks flaring out from the clash.

Suddenly, a second blade lunged at him. Zetius pulled away, narrowly avoiding the blow.

"Your left!" Cubie warned urgently. His peripheral vision caught a surging enemy.

The opponent swept both blades down. Zetius blocked, the clash ringing loud in his ears.

Before the enemy could retract for another strike, Zetius immediately fired his cannon.

The plasma tore through the unit’s torso, shredding its chest armour and revealing an empty pit inside.

"Zetius, behind you!" Cubie shouted. He dropped his Armatus vertically, evading a blade swipe by mere inches.

Glancing upward, he retaliated with a quick plasma shot.

The plasma struck a spherical shield around the enemy, sparking a flare against its defences.

"Let’s reposition," Zetius muttered, spinning downward toward the ground to break free of the encirclement.

“Understood! Zetius, the golden Armatus units are stalking us in a few hundred metres.” Cubie shared her observation, providing eyes on his back.

“What is he up to now?” Zetius grimaced. He drifted southward through the chaotic battlefield, still firing at the insectoid Armatus units.

A few enemies attempted to cheaply slash at Zetius, but he anticipated it from a kilometre away, evaded, and returned a killing blow. The enemy Armatus exploded into ashes.