Rev It Up

"What? Wiped out to the last man?"

Cornelia had always been confident in her army. Although the enemy could be considered regular troops, how could the lingering undead of Japan possibly compare to her forces?

Even with Knightmare Frames, they should have been suppressed in an instant.

"They deployed electromagnetic weapons specifically for this kind of passage."

The staff officer played the final footage transmitted back. At the end of the corridor stood a weapon. With a single shot, its bursting shell scattered dense metal pellets that tore through the entire passage in a terrifying blast of air, flooding toward them in a dense wave.

Inside such a straight passage, there was virtually nowhere to hide. It was complete coverage.

They had been annihilated almost instantly.

The armor on the RPI-13 Sunderlands was like papier-mâché. Every Knightmare Frame had been blasted to pieces.

Yet at that moment, Zero appeared with the predecessors of the Black Knights and declared that they could bring the hostages out.

With Euphemia held by Lelouch, Cornelia had been seized by the throat. Though furious, she did not stop them and allowed them to enter the hotel.

The resistance group inside the hotel also welcomed Zero, Lelouch’s alter ego, as one of their own.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Xu Yue approached Cornelia again and said in an indignant tone,

"Governor! Are we really going to compromise with those terrorists? Let me try. I saw the footage just now too, and I’m fairly confident."

Xu Yue’s sudden appearance and abrupt words left Cornelia somewhat stunned. She had been at her wits’ end and was already preparing to compromise with the Special Administration Bureau and ask them to deploy the experimental unit.

Cornelia’s personal guards, however, could not tolerate Xu Yue’s disrespect at all.

"How presumptuous!"

"Outrageous!"

"What shameless boasting!"

"How dare you insult Her Highness? Your crime deserves death!"

Gilbert, captain of Cornelia’s guard and bearer of the title "Spear of the Empire," especially flushed red with anger. He was practically ready to throw down a glove and demand a duel.

"Do you even know what you’re saying? You still think you can evade that attack in such an environment? What a joke!"

Even he believed that entering there meant certain death, yet this newly appeared fellow was actually boasting so brazenly.

Cornelia, however, raised a hand to stop her guards from tearing Xu Yue apart. She looked at him solemnly and said,

"Are you truly confident? This is no joke. Failure means certain death."

"Absolutely!"

Xu Yue answered without hesitation.

"Good! I’ll personally find you a unit."

Cornelia rose and led Xu Yue directly toward the Special Administration Bureau.

There was the mad scientist who had developed the new Knightmare Frame, Lancelot. He had seized Suzaku as a Knightmare test pilot, and Suzaku had then driven that overwhelmingly powerful test unit through enemy ranks, beating Lelouch senseless.

"Well, well, isn’t this Governor Cornelia?"

Earl Lloyd wore a cheerful smile, completely lacking any sense of urgency despite being on the front lines. He also seemed utterly unconcerned that hostages had been taken. As a member of the Special Administration Bureau, he did not need to obey the Governor of Area 11.

Suzaku, whom Lloyd had always treated as a Knightmare test pilot, was somewhat surprised to see Xu Yue.

Suzaku remembered Xu Yue very clearly. The man’s combat ability and reflexes were both exceptional. Although Suzaku had always been confident in his own skills, he had no confidence at all when facing this fellow.

More importantly, Xu Yue had a good relationship with Euphemia and had even saved her. That naturally made Suzaku more favorably disposed toward him.

Was he here to join the rescue?

Did he want to save Euphemia?

Having been thoroughly brainwashed by Euphemia, Suzaku’s whole way of thinking had changed by now.

While Xu Yue and Suzaku stared at each other, the negotiations between the other two failed.

Cornelia wanted to obtain the powerful experimental unit for Xu Yue to make the breakthrough, but Earl Lloyd, who knew nothing of Xu Yue’s capabilities, refused outright.

This thing was extremely valuable. Was he supposed to believe some stranger just because the man claimed he could do it? As if!

"I’ll go! I’ll pilot Lancelot and make the breakthrough!"

Suzaku stepped forward at just the right moment. Princess Euphemia, whom he admired, was inside. Even if it cost him his life, he had to succeed.

This was not a question of whether he could do it.

He had to do it!

"I’ll go too. Just give me an ordinary Knightmare Frame."

Xu Yue had actually wanted to try Lancelot as well. If he could complete the mission and bring the reward back, it would certainly sell for a great deal of money.

But evidently, the Space would not leave him that many loopholes to exploit. Same old formula, same old bullshit.

Triggered Mission: Breakthrough. Pilot an RPI-13 Sunderland through the armed militants' defenses. Reward upon completion: RPI-13 Sunderland (Space Universal Version) ×1

With Xu Yue’s current abilities, ordinary Knightmare Frames were not particularly useful unless they were something like EVA, with mythic qualities or special functions.

Still, a Knightmare Frame was an excellent means for Xu Yue to conceal his identity.

He knew Medical Ninjutsu, possessed a ninja’s physical abilities, and could pilot a Knightmare Frame into high-difficulty maneuvers.

Having just completed his Promotion Mission and immediately acquired his own unit would draw the attention and a certain degree of importance from the corps without seeming excessive. Wasn’t that perfect…

In the end, Xu Yue still convinced Cornelia and was arranged to enter alongside Suzaku’s Lancelot.

Though he had failed to obtain the special unit, he still secured two newly developed weapons: MVS Laser Vibration Swords.

"Sunderland armor cannot withstand that kind of attack, so you must rely on Lancelot’s shield. Understood?"

As a data fanatic, Lloyd kept drilling this into Xu Yue.

Suzaku also stated that he would support Xu Yue.

Then the two Knightmare Frames were lowered by cranes into the underground passage…

Watching the two Knightmare Frames enter the passage on the monitors, everyone focused intently.

Lloyd in particular was eager to collect firsthand experimental data on Lancelot.

"Wait, look at that Sunderland. Don’t its movements seem a little stiff?"

One of the guards, also a Knightmare pilot, noticed something unusual about the Sunderland Xu Yue was piloting and hurriedly pointed it out.

Those who could enter the personal guard were all exceptionally skilled pilots. They understood every movement of a Knightmare Frame inside and out.

But in their eyes, some of the Sunderland’s maneuvers were clearly somewhat rigid.

He knew how to pilot it, that was true, but there was still a vast difference between a novice and a veteran.

Even with an ordinary car, one could hear the difference from the engine by how smoothly the clutch and gears were handled, much less a far more complicated Knightmare Frame.

Tiny movements alone could reveal whether the pilot inside was a rookie or a veteran, and that was crucial on the battlefield.

And that Sunderland clearly belonged in the rookie category!

"Quick, pull him back up! Is this some kind of joke?"

Cornelia herself was an ace pilot, and she too saw the problem immediately.

Was this a joke?

Are you fucking kidding me?

Three elite pilots had gone down in Sunderlands and never returned, yet a rookie thought he could win on sheer determination?

But Xu Yue, having already arrived at the scene, clearly had no intention of listening. He climbed down from the crane and moved around slightly to familiarize himself with the machine.

Even with the Space’s instruction, the Knightmare piloting skill he had just acquired was only at the beginner level. He could operate it proficiently, nothing more.

But piloting skill was only one aspect.

Physical ability and personal reaction speed were just as important!

Otherwise, how did Suzaku manage to slaughter his way through everything?

The Knightmare bent down, bracing one arm against the ground. The auxiliary wheels beneath its feet deployed, and the Sunderland shot toward the depths of the tunnel like a racing car, completely ignoring the initial plan of hiding behind Lancelot.

Suzaku, who had been left somewhat bewildered after hearing Cornelia’s order, froze for only a moment before all he could see was the taillights of the veteran driver ahead…

First update. There will still only be two updates today. Sigh, I’ve had things going on recently, so to avoid missing updates, it’ll be two updates a day for the next few days. Today, I’ve already used up one of the chapters I had saved for emergencies. I still have to head out later too, even though my knees and ass still haven’t recovered…

PS: The Knightmare Frames in the Lelouch world have fairly low technical requirements for piloting. Neither Suzaku nor Kallen received much relevant training, yet they immediately performed explosively. What matters more is physical talent, so beginner-level piloting skill is enough to handle one and go racing…