Chapter 186
Inside the compartment that should have been providing maintenance services for an entire armored cavalry squad, stood a solitary steel giant.
Tap, tap.
Vera leisurely picked up the steaming cup of black tea and took a sip.
She asked with a hint of smugness, "How was it?"
"Absolutely breathtaking."
A cold and sharp-looking woman stepped out from behind Vera.
The purple and gold-patterned round table cloak silently proclaimed her identity: the ninth seat of the Knights of the Round — Nonette Eliya Graham.
Vera's senior at the military academy, and a classmate of the Second Princess Cornelia. Her tough style caused Cornelia a lot of trouble in the past.
With blonde hair and grey eyes, she appeared to be around twenty-five years old. She wore the black and white knight's uniform of the Knights of the Round, which accentuated her graceful figure. A holster hung at her waist. My keen interest was written all over her resolute and beautiful face.
"[Excalibur] "
As Nonette muttered the codename Vera had given the mecha, he examined the silver-gray mecha that gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen.
Standing nearly 12 meters tall, almost the size of two and a half Sunderland, it stretches out its shoulders with overlapping bald plate shoulder armor, and its sturdy armor belt wraps around its entire body from head to tail. Its back is straight, and it does not have the hunchback cockpit structure common to armored cavalry, but the feet supporting the body exude a certain elegance.
The overall proportions are quite close to those of a human.
"This name... Your Highness Vera, you are quite ambitious."
"Perhaps."
Vera placed a gold-rimmed teacup on the tray carried by her attendant, smiled, brushed her slender fingers behind her ear to brush her hair, put one hand on her hip, and twirled the identification key on her fingertip with the other. She turned to the side and asked, "An EU armored combined arms brigade, not bad luck. How about a practice match?"
"Let's practice."
181
Chapter 181 The so-called higher, bigger, faster, harder, stronger, shinier, and brighter —.
The hangar's combat readiness warning lights are flashing.
The dispatching instructions were carried out in an orderly manner.
At this moment, on the movable covered bridge, seven or eight meters above the ground.
Vera took off her cape, revealing a pilot's uniform with red shoulders, white background, and gold trim, which accentuated her tall and slender figure.
The double-layered design with swallowtail details is the finishing touch, maintaining the function of anti-G clothing while slimming without being overly revealing or accentuating the figure.
Amid the respectful gazes of the maintenance and research personnel surrounding her, she walked unhurriedly into the open chest control compartment of the Excalibur armor belt.
Compared to the Knightmare armored cavalry's current popular design, which features an exposed square capsule-shaped cockpit that occupies the entire torso or the back, this design is different.
The over 12-meter-tall Excalibur control bay fills the center of the new machine's chest, encased in Knightmare's unique elastic metal shell, new electromagnetic armor belt, and special alloy frame structure, giving it a reassuringly robust feel.
It is far superior to smaller projects like Sunderland and Gloucester, which are designed to '4-5 meter' standards.
After all, there are limitations in the machine and energy.
With ample space, the layout of the driver's seat and various systems, integrated detectors, and sensor interfaces is not cramped or confined at all, but rather open in a semi-circular shape. Vera stepped into the driver's seat, placed her feet into the fixed pedal grooves, and adjusted her seating position for comfort. The custom-made aircraft has perfectly adjusted every detail to fit her body shape and driving habits, and the main control panel offers a very wide field of vision.
ID identification key inserted, beep beep beep—
The main system is powered on.
Immediately, the UI interface flashed, and the Britannia coat of arms, with the griffin and the green snake submitting and protecting the crown, quickly unfolded and covered the entire screen.
Inside the dimly lit cabin, multiple auxiliary displays glowed.
[Identifying objects...]
Key recognition successful.
Biometric identification passed —
[Identity identified as Vera vo Britannia]
[Establishment of Human-Computer Interface]
Laugh...
As the identity verification was completed, the hydraulic rod extended and retracted, and the thick main armor belt of the torso automatically and tightly closed with a 'click'. The screws turned, the buckles were fixed, and it was perfectly sealed.
The core of the machine, the seventh-generation composite Sakura Stone Engine, hummed softly.
The standby voltage reached the critical point, but the entire system passed the test in just two or three seconds.
Originally, Knightmare mech pilot data verification only included keys and serial numbers and did not include biometric identification.
However, due to the turmoil caused by the Shinjuku Incident in District 11: the assassination of the governor, the activities of Masked Man ZERO, the formation of the Black Knights, and the frequent occurrence of unidentified terrorists stealing the military's armored vehicle keys and then seizing the mobile suits to attack their own side, Vera added a targeted patch.
To prevent the potential 'plug-and-play' phenomenon that might occur after the armored cavalry were captured, the entire military and police system of European Britannia underwent an operating system upgrade under the impetus of a certain Third Princess.
More stringent protective measures have been implemented.
Perhaps it won't be a problem for those highly skilled hackers.
For example, ZERO, the rebellious leader of District 11.
Besides Vera's knowledge of the 'secrets', according to the intelligence department's speculation, the other party should be, or there should be a skilled hacker in his team, otherwise it is impossible to explain why he was able to seize the military's machine so quickly. It couldn't be that the pilot colluded with the enemy to give it to him, could it?
Even so, the fact that other low-ranking soldiers can plug in and start operating the Empire's standard armored cavalry clearly reveals the Empire's shortcomings in this area.
As for extending this to all war zones throughout Britannia?
In any case, Vera's opinion has already been submitted to Emperor Charles.
Buzz... Buzz...
After scanning the instrument panel, Vera gripped the control lever Excalibur. With a soft hum, the angular, hawk-blade-shaped head of Excalibur, along with the 'V'-shaped vision sensor and corresponding vision transmission control system, lit up with a pale blue light.
The engine core injects surging energy into the hydraulic system and neuromuscular components via power pipes, much like the human heart pumps blood throughout the body.
At the same time, inside the cockpit, the hemispherical cabin dome, which was originally silver-gray in frame and composed of layers of milky-white polygonal planar structures, rapidly and gradually lit up.
Like a startup video interface, it becomes semi-transparent, with color changes and rendering, transforming into a huge, integrated holographic screen.
A 180-degree, high-tech data stream was projected onto the holographic screen in front of Vera.
Advanced detection systems, Fire Control systems, scanning systems, early warning systems, intelligent control auxiliary systems, and so on are all integrated into the control panel interface. The hangar of the G-1 land carrier is clearly visible from Vera's high vantage point.
She moved the scanning frame gently.
The captured target is automatically zoomed in, the built-in intelligent processor indexes the database, and displays the target's identity information or threat assessment in the form of an attachment box.
Then.
Clang!
The iron hand of "Excalibur" suddenly opened as the lever was pulled, and clasped its fists together in front of its chest.
Vera nodded in satisfaction as she experienced the smooth operation of the drive system.
While it still falls short of her envisioned cybernetic brain-computer interface, neural bridging, or holographic simulation control, it is far more agile than fifth- or sixth-generation fighters in terms of the operating system's feedback range. As for the seventh-generation fighter, which integrates hand-based controls, one can only say that there are limits; not everyone is an ace pilot or Knights of the Round.
You have to eat one bite at a time.
Turning her gaze away, Vera activated the intelligence analysis and central command system to monitor the surrounding battle situation in real time. She then turned on her voice amplification and ordered, "Second, Fourth, and Seventh Imperial Guard, the ground attack forces, immediately proceed to the Third Departure Point and prepare to attack."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Just then.
Beep, beep beep.
Communication has been established with the [Excalibur] communication system.
It is the Ninth Knight.
"Nonette".
Vera slightly raised her chin.
The blonde, gray-eyed female knight, a fighter, had already removed her cloak and was soaring through the sky in her custom-made aircraft.
Naturally, her private jet was equipped with the FLOAT FLOAT SYSTEM, featuring blue-purple wings similar to those of a fighter jet.
As Knights of the Round, Britannia is a symbol of military power. Even top-secret, experimental technologies are available to the Knights of the Round, who can choose whatever they want, at their own risk.
Nonette laughed heartily, "Come on!"
"Vera, if you keep dawdling, I'm going to run ahead!"
"The loser has to wear a pink dress!"
Because they had known each other since childhood and were both graduates of the same military academy, Nonette and Vera actually had a pretty good relationship.
The reason he contacted the emperor less was simply because he was promoted to Knights of the Round and became the emperor's personal guard, and he had to avoid having too much contact with the princes and princesses.
She was different from Mao Qiqing and Luo Enqing, the latter two being genuine Hohenzollern vassals.
If it weren't for the Blood Emblem rebellion that led to the extinction of the previous generation of Knights of the Round, and the fact that the Hohenzollern family had indeed chosen the right side and made every effort to support Emperor Charles, even to the point that the then Duke of Hohenzollern was wounded in the suppression of the rebellion, the emperor would not have appointed them to the post.
"Wow."
Upon hearing this, Vera raised an eyebrow, grinned, and her smile deepened.
"It's just you and me here, there's no Cornelia to back you up. Tell me, what kind of pink dress do you want to wear? Lace or lace?"
"I don't want to."
"So I decided to jump the gun," Nonette said calmly.
Then, whoosh!
The Ninth Knight's Bedivere Club swept over the G-1 land carrier with a serpentine maneuver at a considerable angle, speeding southwest and leaving two long, white streaks in the sky.
Vera: "..."
"Your Highness?"
Rear Admiral Model, commander of the Imperial Princess Royal Guard Antimatter Legion and also the overall commander coordinating the multiple layers of protection within the G-1 command carrier, Major General Moder to ease the awkwardness and cautiously asked, "You and the Ninth..."
But at that very moment, Excalibur stepped forward.
The entire standby launch bay was trembling slightly as the silver-gray giant stood firm on the specially enlarged, heightened, and structurally reinforced electromagnetic catapult deck.
"Imperial Guard, follow me into battle."
As soon as she finished speaking, Vera pulled the joystick sharply upwards.
Zoom—!!
Now.
G-1 land-based carrier command group to the southwest.
Rumble—
Having just had the maintenance team replace the energy pack, Suzaku Kururugi, who had been taking a break in the cockpit of the Lancelot, opened his eyes.
"Suzaku- kun, if you want to achieve your ideal, please take the Knights of the Round as your role models and work hard to make a name for yourself."
Cecile's gentle voice came through the communicator at just the right moment.
Interspersed in the background was Doctor Lloyd's uncontrollable wailing and muttering of various incomprehensible academic terms.
On the display screen was a large outer ring sentry force that had been sent to the area in advance, under the command of the G-1 mothership.
The Area 11 Special Task Force and a portion of the Britannian Army that was carrying out infiltration and division operations along the way were also mobilized and turned directly.
But the most eye-catching of all is undoubtedly the non-mass-produced aircraft that are high in the sky, breaking the sound barrier and chasing each other in a thrilling chase.
One of them is the Knights of the Round.
The second was the Third Princess.
"Wow... it's so big."
This is Suzaku Kururugi's most direct feeling.
In his mind, the Knights of the Round's personal machine could never be weaker than the 'Special Envoy' Lancelot.