"Kurumi and Eriri, go to Ashford Academy."
Fang Zheng stepped out from the rubble and wreckage, then swiftly issued his orders.
"That's Britannia's aristocratic school. All of Britannia's noble sons and daughters attend there. I'll assign a squad to you. Your job is to completely secure the academy, don't let those young masters and ladies run out and get themselves killed. They'll also serve as our hostages."
"Understood!"
Eriri saluted, then turned and left with Kurumi. Black Cat and Asuna stood behind Fang Zheng, watching him.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, what do we do next?"
"We're the vanguard!"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng raised his greatsword and pointed it ahead.
"Now, follow me. We'll carve out a path for the troops behind us!"
"Yes!"
At that moment, Britannia's Nightmare Mechs swiftly appeared ahead of them and launched an attack on the three.
Unlike Area 11's security forces, these Mechs were Cornelia's elite, genuine battle-hardened warriors. Yet before Fang Zheng and the other two, that meant absolutely nothing.
"Boom boom boom!!"
The leading black Mech unleashed a barrage of grenades. Amid violent explosions, Fang Zheng and the others were instantly swallowed by flames. Yet in the blink of an eye, the flames scattered, and a silver-white Knight howled out from the inferno. His greatsword carved an arc through the air, splitting the black Mech before him in two.
At the same time, amid intense gunfire, another Nightmare Mech drifted around the wreckage of the Mech that had completely lost its mobility. It raised its machine gun, preparing to attack again. But at that very moment, Black Cat suddenly descended from above. Her right hand gripped a curved blade, and the petite girl spun through the air as she landed, casually slicing the weapon in the black Mech's hand, along with its wrist,