Chapter 97: Kazuma, Unrivaled
Having descended onto the battlefield, Kazuma immediately grasped the situation.
The Ameno-torifune was already incapable of continuing combat and would be unusable for a while.
And the spherical small crafts lacked a decisive blow.
In other words, there was no fighting power other than himself.
But, there was no problem.
If he and this robot were here, overturning the tide of battle would be a simple matter.
Kazuma had that much conviction.
“From here on, I’m your opponent!”
Pushing the control stick forward, Kazuma charged towards the grand fleet.
From the bridge of the Ameno-torifune, Ema and the others watched Kazuma’s heroic figure.
“A Pile Bunker in the right hand! A drill in the left! This is all a man needs for equipment, I say!”
Despite its grand appearance, its armaments were only two.
Only the Pile Bunker in its right hand and the drill in its left.
It was an armament one could only call foolish, but it was simpler than being pointlessly loaded with weapons and seemed suited for Kazuma.
Besides, the robot Kazuma was piloting emphasized mobility, making it suited for close-quarters combat.
“Gahahahahaha! I am the strongest!”
Accelerating with wing-like boosters, Kazuma became a silver meteor, darting around space.
Countless barrages were fired from the grand fleet, but Kazuma’s robot was far swifter than imagined and couldn’t be hit.
Small crafts chased Kazuma, but they couldn’t keep up with his speed and were instead shot down like moths drawn to a flame.
“Haahhahhahhahha! Slow, slow, slow! Too slow!”
Kazuma, flying freely across the battlefield, must have seemed like a veritable demon to his opponents.
His overwhelming mobility was one thing, but more than anything, if he got close, their lives were forfeit.
The Pile Bunker in his right hand easily pierced armor, and the drill in his left could bore holes through even battleships as if they were paper screens.
Even if they laid down a barrage of fire to prevent him from approaching, Kazuma’s robot would slip through the curtain of fire as if threading a needle.
This was beyond the skill of an ace pilot.
Indeed, to his enemies, he could only be described as a demon.
“What is that?! What in the world is that thing?!”
“I-I don’t know! It appears to be a bipedal weapon, but…”
“I can see that much just by looking! What I’m asking about is its absurd mobility and Combat Power!”
“It can only be described as something beyond our comprehension…”
“On a remote planet like this… and despite their civilization level being far lower, they surpass us?”
“Kakka… Let us accept reality.”
“Guu…! At the very least, its energy can’t be infinite! Eventually, it will run out of power and become a mere target. Fire homing missiles and force it to consume energy! We must endure until the enemy stops moving!”
The order was given, and each ship fired homing missiles, switching tactics to try and force Kazuma to run out of energy.
The small crafts also stopped overextending themselves, focusing on harassment and deciding to pester Kazuma until his energy depleted.
Seeing the enemy fleet suddenly change its movements, Kazuma immediately discerned their intent – they were likely waiting for him to run out of energy.
“Fuhahahahaha! Fools! This thing’s power source is my magical power in addition to a nuclear engine! As if it would ever run out of energy! I’ll show you despair!”
Triumphantly, Kazuma gripped the control stick tighter and put on a grand display against the large fleet.
“Uwaaaaaaaah! It’s stuck to my tail! Someone help me!”
“It’s useless to run! My mobility is overwhelmingly superior! And! This Pile Bunker is a special model built with everyone! The stakes can be infinitely replicated with earth magic, so there’s no worry about running out of ammo! In other words, I’m invincible—!”
Having latched onto the enemy’s small craft from behind, Kazuma fired the Pile Bunker.
The alien, who had been screaming and fleeing, became space dust after the impact from behind.
“I’ll shoot down every last one of them…!”
Kazuma glared at the enemy fleet displayed on the cockpit monitor as if they were his parents’ murderers, though he held no particular grudge.
However, while he had no grudge, he intended to eradicate them to leave no seeds of future trouble.
If he showed mercy and let them escape, it would be problematic if they returned to invade Earth leading even greater forces.
By then, Earth could also prepare its forces, but since the enemy was superior in both military strength and technology, he couldn’t afford to give them time.
“I’ll make you regret ever coming to Earth!”
After that, Kazuma chased down the small crafts, shooting them down one after another, eventually destroying all of them.
Having shot down all the small crafts, Kazuma charged towards the enemy fleet.
He pierced through the fleet with his drill, shooting them down one by one, but his triumphant advance didn’t last long.
“Fire anchors! Restrain the enemy unit!”
“Ngh?! To think I’d be bound by chains!”
Near the center of the enemy fleet, Kazuma was ensnared by countless anchors fired from the enemy ships.
With this, he couldn’t utilize his vaunted mobility and had become a perfect target.
“Alright! Turn it into space dust with a simultaneous volley!”
“Barrier, deploy!”
Kazuma defended against the enemy fleet’s simultaneous volley by deploying a Barrier.
This prevented him from being shot down, but the current situation was not good.
He tried to remove the chains wrapped around the robot, but they were wound quite sturdily and didn’t seem like they would come off.
He fired the boosters at maximum output, attempting to forcibly tear them off, but that too failed, and he was completely trapped.
“Damn it…! If it’s come to this, it’s time for the last resort!!!”
Kazuma stared at a red button in the cockpit, bordered by tiger-striped tape.
It was a button he originally had no intention of using.
He had been repeatedly warned never to press it.
However, to break through this situation, he had no choice but to press it.
“I’m sorry… Partner!!!”
Kazuma slammed the red button as if striking it.
The next moment, an alarm blared throughout the cockpit, which began to flash red.
Then, a mechanical voice announced, “Self-destruct in 30 seconds,” and Kazuma, equipping his Powered Suit, escaped from the cockpit.
“U-ugh! Partner! Partner!! Partner!!!”
He lamented, but this was, in the first place, the result of Kazuma’s overconfidence.
The robot, his partner, caused a massive explosion, taking multiple enemy ships with it, and turned into space dust.
“Wha…!”
Kakka stared, mouth agape, at the sight of the robot causing a huge explosion, taking several allied ships with it and turning them into space dust.
Just when he thought the troublesome enemy had exploded, it had taken his allies with it.
It was no wonder Kakka was at a loss for words.
“D-don’t mess with me! Don’t screw around! Damn it! What kind of nerves do these Earthlings have!”
Just when he thought they’d brought out an irrational weapon like a bipedal robot, it causes such an outrageous explosion.
He could only think they were insane.
However, a scan of the surroundings showed no further reinforcements.
There were no reinforcements heading this way from Earth’s sphere.
And the troublesome Ameno-torifune also showed no signs of launching an attack.
Its energy probably hadn’t recovered sufficiently.
“Phew… After we shoot down that ship, we’ll inva—”
A beeping warning sound echoed inside the bridge, and Kakka, flustered, asked his subordinate.
“What is it this time?!”
“An intruder! Someone has infiltrated this ship!”
“Impossible!? We should have a barrier field up! How did they get in?!”
“Confirming intrusion route! Please wait a moment!”
The crew hurriedly pinpointed the intruder’s location.
And what was displayed on the monitor was the Crimson Knight.
“The point of intrusion is Block Three.”
“Seal off the passages in Block Three immediately. Combat personnel are to eliminate the intruder! Hurry!”
“The intruder is that Crimson Knight! What are your orders?”
“Disperse poison gas in Block Three. Don’t be picky about the means!”
“There are still crew members remaining there, are you sure?”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures…”
“Understood…”
The Crimson Knight’s Combat Power registered low on the instruments, but its actual strength far exceeded expectations.
Given that it had single-handedly overwhelmed a reconnaissance unit composed of elites, non-combatant crew members would stand no chance against it.
In that case, they couldn’t afford to be picky about their methods.
Sealing off Block Three, where the Crimson Knight was, and killing it with poison gas was likely the most rational approach.
He felt sorry for the crew left behind, but it was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.
“Poison gas dispersal complete…”
“Report on its progress.”
The Crimson Knight walked calmly through Block Three, now filled with poison gas.
The crew members monitoring it on screen watched the Crimson Knight’s condition for several seconds, then tens of seconds.
However, there was no change whatsoever; the Crimson Knight continued to walk around Block Three nonchalantly.
“N-no change…”
“Don’t tell me the poison isn’t working…?”
“Th-that can’t be…”
“Is that armor neutralizing the poison gas?”
“We don’t know. Scans only show a biological signature, nothing particularly out of the ordinary…”
“…An urgent dispatch to the home world. The invasion of Earth has been deemed impossible. Therefore… we shall now proceed with Earth’s destruction.”
“Are you certain, Kakka?”
“I had thought it would be a valuable prize, but it cannot be helped. Not when an anomaly of that level exists. Even I am unsure if I could win…”
“Understood. Transmitting urgent dispatch to the home world—”
While Kazuma was running around the Third Block, completely lost, Kakka made a momentous decision.
He decided to abandon the invasion of Earth and, instead, to destroy it.
And so, he sent an urgent dispatch to their mother planet, requesting the deployment of their ultimate weapon.