Chapter 15
Hmm, it looked like he really did have some skills.
The shield-bearing soldiers of the Magitech Corps immediately moved to the front. Their shields were equipped with Magitech energy field generators that created energy barriers. They were new weapons; I had seen them on the TV news, and apparently they cost a fortune.
Just then, two mechs charged out from the Federation Corps. The two mech pilots caught my eye. As I had said, although I wasn't good at using them, I had nothing against technological creations, especially since many products of Magitech really were impressive. The red mech was incredibly cool, and besides a hand cannon, it carried a greatsword. That alone wouldn't have amazed me; I wasn't a mech fanatic, after all. What surprised me was the blazing fire on the sword. Common sense said that metal couldn't burn endlessly like that. It was magic!
That mech could cast magic! I guessed its circuitry wasn't just circuitry. It probably imitated a construct and had magic circuits built in, so if the operator knew magic, the mech could amplify its effects. That meant not only did the mech engineer who built it have to understand magic arrays, but the pilot had to know magic too! People who cultivated both magic and martial arts had been extremely, extremely rare even in the Age of Legends, although we generally believed that dividing one's attention meant mastering neither martial arts nor magic.
But things were different now. We had mechs, and a warrior who cultivated both magic and martial arts could multiply their combat power hundreds and hundreds of times by piloting a Magitech mech. We mages no longer accused those who cultivated both of neglecting their proper pursuits, as ancient mages had. For all the convenience technology brought to modern society, operating a mech still required a great deal of advanced knowledge, so it wasn't something just anyone could do. And knowledge had no hierarchy; engineering and technological knowledge were valuable assets too. Thus, cultivating both magic and martial arts wasn't neglecting one's proper pursuits. Only a truly learned person could do it.
"Corps Commander Masha and the warden are here!"
I heard the Federation soldiers cheer, their morale soaring at once.
The other mech was cool too. Its design was so novel that I couldn't help admiring the mech designer's imagination. It had a pair of steel wings on its back and was entirely black. Its humanoid section was light and streamlined, designed much like light exoskeleton armor. I could even tell from its body's curves that its pilot was also a woman. The broad metal wings looked as though they had grown out of her back, making her look tremendously imposing.
She was the first to fly toward the giant mech, her black wings sweeping lightly through the air. The woman seemed as skilled at flying as a real bird. Her turn was smooth and graceful, reminding me of the ravens circling the mages' tower. She doubled back in midair. The giant mech was naturally less nimble than she was, and this time, after a series of sharp cracks, half a cannon barrel was sliced off.
The corps commander who cultivated both magic and martial arts swung her longsword, swiftly cutting down row after row of cyborgs charging at her. Several enemy mech pilots rushed in to intercept her, but the woman was like a valkyrie from myth. Flame magic burned around her, and nothing could stand in her way.
"Seeing that kind of fighting strength, the Federation can still be saved." Mel nodded. "We've almost finished clearing out the cyborgs inside the building too. I think we can go back and get a good night's sleep."
I was about to agree when I suddenly heard the captain of the Shield of the New Star roar, "Warden, look out! It's going to self-destruct!!!"
I immediately turned around, and Mel hurriedly stopped teleporting us. All three enemy troop carriers had crashed, and more than half the mechs and cyborgs on the ground had been killed or wounded. The giant mech, the only one still capable of fighting, charged recklessly at the prison building despite the warden's attacks, its engine letting out a terrifying roar.
Typical fiend behavior! Even with the battle clearly lost, it still had to cause some destruction before it died! If a hole were blown in the Federation capital's prison, it would be major international news, and it would definitely embolden the evil faction!
"Xipei!" Mel shouted.
"Mel, quick!"
We spoke at the same time.
Chapter 15
Despite the dire situation, we calmly made a thorough assessment of the mech-
The mech was big, so it needed a sufficiently large energy source to power it. An ordinary mech's battery couldn't support a giant mech like this; it could only be using Magitech energy. Although I wasn't a technology specialist, as a mage, I couldn't afford to shut myself off from new ideas. I had properly attended an elective course on basic Magitech science at the academy... Though I didn't know why, even after studying the theory, I still had a natural difficulty using electronic products in practice. Moli said her cousin in kindergarten could type faster than I could.
So, at a glance, the giant mech's energy core was obvious. Even the magic crystals inside it, along with the magic circuits and electrical circuits connected to them, were perfectly clear. But if you asked me how it worked, that was rather more profound, and I couldn't understand it either. The electrical circuitry in particular was far more complicated than the magic arrays, and I hadn't fully grasped it when I sat in on the course back then. I thought the main difficulty was that electrical circuits couldn't be simplified. Science was sometimes too mechanical and formulaic: the more advanced a circuit design, the more intricate and complex it became, and it couldn't be altered at will. Magic arrays, on the other hand, could be created and simplified according to a mage's own judgment, and were controlled by the mage at every moment...
But electrical circuits were easy to break!
I really wasn't very good at using modern electronics, but I was great at breaking them. I had once blown up the phones in an entire venue. Moli had called me "the bane of electronics" and "the customer every major appliance brand's stores least wanted to serve."
"Mel!" I called out to him. "I've found the key energy node!"
"All right, let's do it!" Mel answered confidently. I locked onto the node with my spiritual power, and Mel quickly locked onto the location I had pinpointed. A miniature Absolute Protection opened at that point.
At the same time, I noticed that the Magitech Corps on the ground was trying to intercept the giant mech. But each of them only came up to its calf, a living illustration of a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They didn't dare attack the mech directly with high-powered heavy weapons, since that would only help the enemy self-destruct. As for individual strength... that cool corps commander was still tied down by cyborgs, so the ordinary soldiers immediately found themselves in a desperate situation. But there was too little time, and we already had our hands full.
Just then, the captain of the Shield of the New Star gave a great shout, threw aside his Magitech cannon, and gripped his sword in both hands. As he roared, a light formed something in front of him that looked very much like a transparent eggshell-
"Dou Qi Shield!"
Our side's morale surged again. Yes, that was indeed worth cheering about! The shimmering Dou Qi shield was extremely sturdy. I hadn't noticed before, but the captain of the Shield of the New Star was a knight. Knights were a profession almost as old as mages, and during the "Lightless Years," they too had fallen into decline for a time, much like us mages. Dou Qi was an ancient art passed down alongside the spirit of knighthood. To produce Dou Qi so powerful and stable, this knight had to be of a very high level. Even in the Age of Legends, he wouldn't have been a nobody. That power was almost on par with the paladins of the modern Temple of Light.
The giant mech slammed into his Dou Qi with a terrifying crash. I even saw the captain's feet dig two pits into the ground, sending fragments of stone and dust flying. He gritted his teeth and roared, using his own body to forcibly slow the mech's forward charge.
"Destroy the engine, quickly!" the warden with wings on her back ordered from the sky.
Right, we had to hurry!
The captain of the Shield of the New Star wouldn't retreat easily. As a knight, he would dare to stand his ground against not just a mech, but even a giant dragon. The trouble was, even if the giant mech didn't hit the wall, it might still self-destruct on the spot. Neither Mel nor I could guarantee that our Absolute Protection could contain an explosion on that scale. Even if it could, the fact that we were wandering around instead of staying put in prison would be exposed.
I wasted no more time. Mel's shield was ready, so I immediately held my breath and focused my spiritual power to its utmost. The clamor around me faded into the distance in an instant, and I could even see the shadows of magical elements. Before my eyes, there was no longer just steel and concrete, mechs and cyborgs. Countless free-floating elements filled the air, active everywhere, crystal-clear and pure, dancing at the direction of my will-