A Complete Victory in the First Duel

Despite the Sacred Maintainer' best efforts, the Shield of Daxos still missed the last train to suppress the beast tide uprising.

After losing the rating for repair speed, Saul remained silent for a moment before realizing that Gabriel was a powerful technical master and an opponent that was difficult to defeat.

The Sacred Maintainer decided to add a logical element to the victory, so he used Communicator to contact Bowen, the knight Apprentice of the House Delisha.

"Bowen, the House Delisha are loyal servants of Vixatrix, and among the most honorable of the many families loyal to the Knight King."

"You are the most outstanding of all the knight Apprentice, so I have decided that you will pilot the sacred Shield of Daxos to win the duel and uphold the honor of knights."

Knights and mechs are a unified whole; a skilled knight will delight the ghosts within the Mechanical Throne and perfectly unleash the mech's power.

"My lord, I am at your service."

Bowen said firmly, "I will pilot the Shield of Daxos to victory for you and for Vixatrix."

The following day, the remaining forty-two knights, piloting their mechs, arrived at the knight training grounds on the western side of the mountain where the House Vicstrix resided. They watched intently as the two new knights, who had just completed their investiture ceremony, were given their titles.

The knight training grounds are built in a valley.

The Knight King stood between the Shield of Daxos and the Sacred Mars. He glanced at Nimrod and his men, his gaze lingering for a moment on the black-armored Warrior with outstretched servo arms, before settling on the two standing knights.

"Your responsibility today is to verify the repair effectiveness of your mechs on the training field."

"You must do your utmost in accordance with the code of chivalry."

"Yes, sir."

After the two knights performed the master-servant salute, they climbed into the cockpit, coupled with the neural interface, activated the power transmission system, and took control of their mechs, each standing inside one of the two red circles illuminated with detection runes.

Campbell looked at Nimrod, "If you have nothing to say, let's begin."

"Certainly."

The Knight King immediately issued the order, "Start the test program."

The mechanical tentacles of the Sacred Maintainer tapped on the control panel.

A moment later, with a rumbling sound, two test targets made of mountain stone rose up. They were sixteen meters thick and five meters long and wide.

Campbell pointed to the two test targets and explained them to Nimrod.

"These two test targets are made of the strongest turquoise from Daxos Alpha."

"Only the Knight Mech's thermal cannon can destroy the test target."

Seeing Nimrod nod, he gave orders to the two knights.

"Shooting!"

Alvarez quickly obeyed orders. Bowen had always been the best among the Knights' Apprentice, and he didn't feel the pressure, but the Knights' pride made him strive to do his best.

As power was input, the thermal cannon on the right arm of the Sacred Mars was activated, and the earth trembled beneath his feet. Data from the test target two hundred meters away filled his mind.

A flash of light ripped through the valley, and the intense heat of the superheated energy instantly engulfed the test target, melting it.

At the same moment, the thermal cannon of the Shield of Daxos also destroyed the turquoise test target.

"Second test, get ready."

"Third test, get ready."

The thermal cannons of both Knight Mech successfully completed the tests three times in a row.

It seemed like the two sides were evenly matched, with both mechs in good condition, but Nimrod had a confident smile on his face.

The Primarch's superhuman senses have keenly detected that the Shield of Daxos's propulsion system is overheating and its weakness has been revealed.

"Proceed to the next test, Reaper Chainsword."

The Reaper Chainsword on the left arms of the two mechs roared to life, and they began to run.

In an instant, they rushed to the first turquoise test target, swung their swords, and shredded the huge stone.

The two Knight Mech continued their charge towards the next test target without stopping.

The Shield of Daxos had only taken two steps when Bowen suddenly noticed a red light on the power system control panel in front of him.

[Overheating.]

[Cooling system failure.]

[...]

Saul hesitated; he should stop immediately and let the Sacred Maintainer perform the repairs.

But he knew the consequences of doing so. His father, the patriarch of the House Delisha, had spoken to him before the battle, instructing him to achieve victory and defend the glory of Daxos.

Saul also heard the roar of the Ancestral Spirits ringing in his ears.

"Derishia son, don't be afraid, it's stronger than you think."

"..."

The cacophony of ghostly voices spurred the young knight to make his decision; with a single charge, he cleaved the second test target in two.

Only one left.

Just as Saul was thinking this, the red light on the control panel started flashing rapidly.

"No!"

The young knight shouted in frustration, and the power system of the Shield of Daxos failed, causing the running Knight Mech to crash heavily to the ground.

The deafening roar also struck the hearts of the many knights and squires; they had never expected that the Sacred Maintainer, would fail.

The Sacred Maintainer was stunned for a moment before he realized the reality, and he quickly ran towards the Shield of Daxos.

Campbell's eyes darkened, and he stepped forward to Nimrod, speaking to him.

"You have won the first duel."

In his most familiar field, the Sacred Maintainer was utterly defeated by the "Savant".

He completed the repairs ten stellar hours later than the Tech Sergeant, and the repaired weapon systems were less stable, while the mechs had a much shorter operating time.

Nimrod turned around and looked at Gabriel with admiration.

"Well done."

Gabriel smiled as he received praise from the Primarch.

"Father, I have not failed you."

Nimrod then turned around and looked at the Knight King.

"How do you want to compete in the second round?"

Campbell paused for a moment, then revised his assessment of the black-armored Warrior's strength, presented a new plan, and spoke.

"I propose a team-based contest: the knight of the House Hitler and his two squires will face your offspring."

"In Daxos, we usually act in coordination with knights and squires."

Despite discovering the formidable strength of Astartes, the Knight King were still no match for the Knight Mech in one-on-one combat.

To ensure fairness, he had initially planned to have a knight lead ten squires to fight, but after witnessing Astartes's prowess, he decided to limit the number to three.

The difference in combat strength between three and ten attendants is not significant. The core of the combat power is the Knight Mech, while the attendants only play a supporting role such as covering the flanks.

However, based on the tactical reports he received, an assessment revealed a significant difference between the three Astartes and the ten.

Nimrod glanced at the number of Knight Mech and understood that the reason they hadn't used mech formations but instead used a mixed formation of Knight Mech and attendants was because the number was too small.

"Alright," he turned to Bukayo, "You'll fight, and you can choose two more people."

"Yes, Father."

"Nightmare" bowed and answered.