The Ninth Generation marked a qualitative transformation, with a dramatic leap in performance.
With Monica's skill, instantly killing a Knight of the Round had required only fifty percent of her machine's power.
After all, this was the world's only Ninth Generation Knightmare.
Even sixty or seventy percent of its power was enough to dominate the battlefield.
Dorothea's pupils trembled involuntarily. She could not tear her eyes away from the images on her monitor.
The gap in their machines' performance was too great!
As fellow Knights of the Round, their skills were not far apart, but the machine's capabilities alone were enough to crush her.
There was no chance of winning!
Perhaps even Lord Bismarck would...
Dorothea's resolve wavered.
Only the sound of a heavy landing pulled her thoughts back to reality.
It was an old acquaintance.
"Anya? Don't tell me you too..."
"Will you surrender? Or..."
The soft voice contrasted sharply with the Mordred's massive frame, yet at that moment, it only made her seem more menacing.
Anya raised her hand. The two wings on the machine's back joined together in front of its chest to form an enormous cannon muzzle, aimed at Dorothea.
The Hadron Cannon's dark red glow flickered inside the muzzle.
By sacrificing some mobility for destructive power, the machine had gained the ability to utterly destroy the opposing Knightmare with this single shot.
Dorothea remained silent, offering no immediate answer.
Under the threat of death, her outstretched right hand hovered directly above the cockpit release button.
Yet her loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor, and her honor as a Knight of the Round, would not allow her to press it.
Nonette opened her cockpit and stood on her Mecha, trying to persuade her friend:
"Think of your family, Dorothea. The Britannia Empire is destined to change