"Wh... what!?" Yurika Mitotsudaira shot to her feet upon hearing Xiao Ran through the communication screen, pointing at him on the display as she shouted, "You want us to surrender!? And you're using Nigal Heavy Industries to threaten me?"
That gesture should have conveyed anger, a willingness to fight to the bitter end. Yet when Yurika Mitotsudaira made it and it appeared on Xiao Ran's screen, it somehow looked strangely Low Guts, utterly exposing the way she was forcing herself to stand firm despite lacking confidence.
"If it were you, would you just stand by and watch something that could become a problem join the enemy?" Xiao Ran chuckled. "Thirty minutes. I'll give you only thirty minutes."
With that, Xiao Ran cut off the communication. His image vanished from the Nadeshiko's main screen, which went completely black. Yurika Mitotsudaira stared wide-eyed at the darkened display in disbelief, then dropped back into her captain's chair and muttered, "Was he really using Nigal Heavy Industries to threaten us just now?"
Ruri Hoshino gave Yurika Mitotsudaira an indifferent look and softly uttered two words. "Idiot."
"Little Ruri..." Yurika Mitotsudaira looked at Ruri Hoshino, frowning slightly. "What I mean is, why can that man use Nigal Heavy Industries, which is under the Moon People's control, to threaten us?"
Ruri Hoshino glanced at Yurika Mitotsudaira and calmly said, "His unit has withdrawn from the battle."
Yurika Mitotsudaira nodded. She quickly brought everyone currently deployed into communication with the bridge. As they appeared on the screen, none of them looked pleased, and every face bore some degree of exhaustion.
During their brief clash with the Apocalypse Unit's MS Unit, the two sides had been roughly equal in numbers. However, the Apocalypse Unit's MS displayed strength that steadily surpassed theirs. Though their machines differed in style, they