The transport ship that came under attack by the Dahlia Mercenary Corps was the one Patrice was on.

Patrice watched the mercenaries attack as the captain and crew shouted in anger.

He frowned at the sight of the Mobile Knights on the monitor.

"Of all the mercenary corps, it had to be the Dahlia," she muttered.

The captain, who was listening to Patrice, agreed.

"They're a well-known mercenary corps. They're more troublesome than the rebel forces who attacked us."

While the rebel forces, trained during the Unified Government era, were troublesome, Patrice and the others understood that the well-known mercenary corps, who had been wreaking havoc across the land, were even more formidable.

The escort Mobile Knights were buying time, but they were being defeated one after another by the Gold Raccoon.

It was a troublesome Mobile Knight that could create illusions in space and deceive even radar.

From its silhouette, it looked like a heavy armored machine, but the performance of the next-generation machine developed by the Seventh Weapons Factory was not to be underestimated.

In addition, the Gold Raccoon was manufactured as a spare for Liam.

Unlike the other mass-produced machines, it had been modified, so its performance was likely 20-30% better.

As Patrice watched the escort ships being destroyed one after another, she was growing increasingly anxious when the bridge operator announced with a slightly upbeat voice.

"A light carrier from the escort fleet is approaching!"

Patrice let out a sigh of relief as she visually confirmed the approaching light carrier.

"That will buy us some time."

However, at the same time, she thought.

(Just one light carrier. It won't be enough against the Dahlia Mercenary Corps. Hopefully, the main force will come to our rescue while they're buying time.)

As a merchant, Patrice calmly analyzed the situation in her mind, concluding that the power of a single light carrier would not be enough to hold back the Dahlia Mercenary Corps.

◇

Doug, who had been dispatched to rescue the transport ship, was panicking in his cockpit.

"These guys are veterans!"

The enemy Mobile Knights, which had their legs removed and classified as small, seemed inferior to the Raccoons they were piloting.

However, the pilots' skills were different.

Experienced enemy pilots.

Among them were some who had the skills of a Knight.

Doug, fighting with his Raccoon equipped with a beam gatling gun, was struggling to catch the enemy machines as they darted around.

(It's not about machine performance. It's my lack of skill.)

Doug had also used an education capsule and had the Raccoon's operating method ingrained in his mind.

His body had also been enhanced during that process, but his daily indolent life had ruined it.

The effects of the education capsule were great, but unused knowledge is forgotten, and the body deteriorates without training.

As a result, he was unable to fully utilize the Raccoon's potential.

It wasn't just Doug.

'It's not hitting! Molly, aren't your settings off!'

Larry, piloting a Raccoon armed with a rifle, was complaining to Molly, who was operating it.

Molly retorted.

'It's because Larry's slacking off on the adjustments! In the first place, there's hardly any operating time!'

Mobile Knights have a feature that supports the pilot.

They collect data on the pilot's performance and make adjustments.

The longer you ride, the better the compatibility between the pilot and the machine.

However, the Melea pilots, who had slacked off on training and adjustments, were now struggling to operate their machines.

If they were facing inferior opponents, they could have overwhelmed them with their performance, but their opponents were the experienced Dahlia Mercenary Corps.

All seven of the seven small squads that had been dispatched were unable to fully utilize the Raccoon's potential.

They were pilots who had been riding Mobile Knights and fighting for years.

They all knew what the problem was.

Doug was one of them.

(Have my skills become this rusty?)

He had a certain amount of confidence.

He believed that his experience as a pilot for hundreds of years would still be there, but when he opened the lid, there was nothing there.

His hard work and experience had been ruined by the time he had spent rotting.

He thought he heard Emma's voice in his head.

(If you neglect your daily training, your skills will deteriorate! – Well, I thought what a little girl had to say, but she was right.)

He could blame the machine in the past, but now that he was riding a state-of-the-art machine like the Raccoon, he was forced to understand.

Then, a golden machine approached Doug's Raccoon.

"Is this the one that was stolen?"

The gatling gun was knocked away by the Gold Raccoon's incongruously left arm, and the communication line opened due to the contact.

Apparently, he had been asked about the stolen machine.

'Maybe you were on that battlefield?'

"Tch!"

Doug tried to shake off the enemy, but the machine performance was different.

The enemy pilot was a beautiful woman, but her eyes were cold.

'Is the Atalante pilot there too? Won't you tell me? Or will it come out if you kill me?'

Doug remembered Emma, who had told them they were useless and wouldn't let them go out, and spat out the words.

"It's pointless to kill me."

(She looks down on us common soldiers. Just like the old superiors and upper management. She's not going to come and save us.)

Emma, who had abandoned them, would not come to their rescue.

Sirena remained silent and raised the Gold Raccoon's left arm, aiming to pierce the cockpit.

Doug watched the scene unfold.

(Is this the end? It's all my fault for being stubborn...)

He regretted being stubborn and remembering the past, but he felt a sense of relief.

(—But maybe it wasn't so bad. Young lady—I'm sorry for the trouble.)

He remembered the justice-obsessed captain who was a pain to deal with.

Then, he heard the captain's voice.

'I won't let anyone kill my comrades!'

◇

Emma, who had been scheduled to return to Melea, rushed to the rescue when she learned of the situation.

When she found the Gold Raccoon fighting Doug's machine, she kicked it away with the Atalante.

The line opened during the impact, and Sirena kept the communication line open.

'It's been a while. I wanted to see you.'

"It was you all along."

As the Atalante pointed its two pistols, the Gold Raccoon swung its left arm to attack.

The accelerating Gold Raccoon swung its left arm.

It looked like a crude attack, but a single hit would damage the Atalante.

Emma blocked the attack with her two pistols, but she was blown away by the impact.

Emma broke out in a cold sweat inside the cockpit.

(She's strong. And my energy reserves are low. I only have a few bullets left. Plus, I can't use Overdrive anymore.)

The Atalante had been overloaded and was in its cooldown period.

If she forced it into overdrive, it would break from the inside.

(I pushed it too hard when I broke through the encirclement.)

Fighting without a trump card, Emma understood that Sirena was a formidable opponent.

It seemed that Sirena felt the same.

'Oh dear? Not using your trump card? Or perhaps you can't? You seem to have pushed yourself too hard.'

Seeing the Atalante's appearance, Sirena realized that it had just been through a fierce battle.

She realized that it had not been properly supplied or maintained, and the Gold Raccoon attacked.

'It's a shame. I wanted to defeat you after you used your trump card.'

"!"

◇

The Atalante and the Gold Raccoon were fighting.

Larry, watching the scene, shouted to Emma.

"Why don't you use your trump card?"

Molly, who was operating the squad, answered his question.

"Don't say something stupid! It's not a feature you can use over and over again. Besides, we haven't even gotten proper supplies or maintenance."

For a moment, Larry thought, 'She should have done that much', but he quickly realized.

"—Is it for us? Why is she here in that condition!?"

The arrogant knight who looked down on them—now she was fighting the enemy, pushing herself to the limit to save them.

As Larry was confused, a machine approached his Raccoon.

It was Nevan, piloted by Youm.

"Are you suicidal for stopping on the battlefield? If so, I'll take your rifle and remaining ammo."

Nevan took the Raccoon's weapon, and the lock was immediately released because they were both machines made by the Vanfield family.

Then, Youm's Nevan, which had not received supplies or maintenance, began to destroy enemy machines.

(He's, he's strong. But more importantly, who are these guys? Why are they even helping us!?)

Youm wasn't the only one there.

There was also Russell.

He received the weapons from the disabled Raccoon and immediately fought against the Dahlia Mercenary Corps' small Mobile Knights.

'Youm, prioritize rescuing our allies! Charmel! This is the situation. Fight without regard for special allowances!'

Russell said, and Charmel, though reluctant, followed the order.

'Yes, yes. I'll fight even if you don't tell me. Besides, my rating will go down if we lose the transport ship, right?'

Charmel was facing the Mobile Knight that a Knight was supposedly piloting.

She was attacking the enemy with the battleaxe she had received from the Raccoon.

Russell, on the other hand, was giving orders to the two of them while directing the battle and fighting.

"Damaged machines, fall back!"

As ordered, Larry headed to collect Doug's machine.

"Doug! If you don't have a weapon, let's get out of here together!"

"—A, ah"

Larry was relieved to hear Doug's bewildered voice, confirming that he was safe.

Then, as he left the battlefield, he watched the fight between the Atalante and the Gold Raccoon.

"Is she going to fight the enemy's ace all by herself?"

He thought it was reckless.

He also thought that they should return to Melea soon, get weapons, and then go to the rescue.

But the Atalante was fighting the Gold Raccoon on equal footing.

◇

(What is this little girl!?)

Inside the cockpit of the Gold Raccoon—Chimera, Sirena was feeling a sense of urgency.

In the past, she had fought the Atalante with the Chimera, which was still underperforming.

But now, the adjustments were complete.

She had used it in combat several times, and the Chimera moved as if it were her own limbs.

And yet, she couldn't defeat the Atalante, which wasn't using Overdrive.

She pointed the assault rifle in her right arm at the Atalante, which reacted instantly.

(Did its movements change?)

Seeing its movements, which were filled with confidence, Sirena realized that 'the enemy is gaining experience' and she shifted her focus.

(I wasn't playing around, but I was looking down on her somehow.)

Concentrating on the Atalante, the Chimera created an illusion.

The Chimera, which disappeared from sight and radar for a moment, thrust its left arm like a spear toward the Atalante.

The Atalante couldn't dodge it, but it only managed to scratch the breastplate.

For a moment, Sirena thought of continuing to chip away at it, but.

"Just torture her to death—I messed up!?"

It was too late when she realized.

The Atalante, which had scratched the breastplate, stabbed the blade of its pistol into the Chimera's approaching left arm and pulled the trigger.

The Chimera, with its left arm destroyed at the elbow, forced itself back.

But the Atalante wouldn't let go.

It moved forward the amount the Chimera had retreated and slashed at it with its two pistols.

"Tch!"

She stepped forward and blocked the attack with the Chimera's thick breastplate.

The Atalante was caught off guard, but its pistol, which was a makeshift weapon, had its blade's fasteners broken.

This rendered one of her pistols unusable.

Sirena broke out in a cold sweat.

(I can beat her. I can beat her, but—it's taking too long.)

If this continued, she wouldn't be able to capture or destroy the transport ship.

As she thought about retreating, she received a communication from her allies.

It was Migela.

'What are you doing! Quickly come and rescue me!'

Sirena was momentarily tempted to shout at the voice, which was full of despair.

The communication was broadcast without regard for the enemy or allies in the vicinity.

It was like giving away the location of the flagship.

"You've been a fool all this time!"

She spat out the words, and one of her subordinates panicked.

'I, it's terrible! Our ships are being destroyed one after another!'

"What!?"

Sirena frantically checked the radar, and the colors of the friendly ships—rebel ships—were disappearing one after another.

Then, the enemy started talking to everyone, regardless of friend or foe.

'I agree that you should hurry and rescue her. Otherwise—this Marie Marian will behead the Grand Marshal.'