M-Slash Comet ‘s slender wings tore through the morning breeze, and there was no one else inside the cockpit. The crystal bone, seamlessly integrated into the control screen, extended all the way to the wrist, with distinct joints outside the cockpit, which was the wrist of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
When the thunderous sound reached the sky, Garcia’s stern face showed no expression.
He didn’t look at the cheering people on the street, but focused on the dilapidated ruins of the church with corpses strewn on the ground.
The enemy is there.
Then, Jiang Jianming must be there as well.
Clearing out the enemy and leveling the battlefield, he could take Jiang Jianming away from this bloody and dirty place.
Just like the victor having the right to claim his spoils, it was a simple principle… the prince thought to himself.
As for other things, it seemed that they were no longer important.
When Slash Comet turned around a silver-gray tall building, the sunlight suddenly intensified as it reflected off its surface.
At this moment, an air vehicle rose up in front of it, brushed against the diagonally falling mecha, and rose to a high altitude within a tenth of a second.
Garcia’s eyes twitched, and an inexplicable palpitation in his heart compelled him to look up.
The dazzling white light blurred the outline of the air vehicle. A figure leaned out and shouted in a clear voice, “Your Highness!”
The strong wind and inertia instantly rolled the man’s body outward. Jiang Jianming let go of his hand holding the edge of the air vehicle, and the airflow immediately messed up his black hair, revealing his calm and bright eyes.
He fell toward the surface, but Garcia’s crystal bones caught him faster than he could fall.
“What are you doing here!?”
Jiang Jianming’s vision was spinning for a while, and then Garcia’s arms wrapped around his waist, and his feet stepped on the wings of Slash Comet.
Garcia glared at him, “Why are you injured again?”
The sound of wind blew away the cold question. The poor air vehicle lost its pilot and fell helplessly in the wind, quickly turning into an indistinct tiny black dot.
“What is that?”
“Who is that?”
Among the people who were looking up, voices of discussion gradually came out.
Some children raised their hands in surprise, “Look, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hugged that person!”
In the gorgeous sunshine, Jiang Jianming didn’t say much. He rubbed Garcia’s chin with his bandaged forehead, and then curled his eyes at the prince.
“…You.” Garcia’s lips tightened suddenly.
Whenever Jiang Jianming said something, he could ridicule him with the sharpest words, but this man was actually acting coquettishly at such a time.
He hadn’t won yet, but his spoils of war had willingly jumped into his arms.
Taking advantage of Garcia’s momentary hesitation, Jiang Jianming ducked into the cockpit of Slash Comet and fastened his seat belt.
“The current situation is a bit complicated. There are high-level crystal bone users among the enemies, and a mastermind that has also caused the Crystal Chaos.” He said as he switched the control mode to manual and patted the crystal bone on the control screen in front of him. “Can you?”
The strand of crystal bone patted his cheek lightly before retracting, as if to say “Destroy the enemy first and settle accounts with you later.”
Garcia snorted contemptuously, “What, still asking me such questions?”
“That’s great.” Jiang Jianming’s bright eyes had a serious look and hooked his lips, as he held the lever with one hand. Slash Comet maintained its diving posture and accelerated once again!
At the same time, the church roof exploded.
Fire shot up into the sky, and most of the collapsed bricks and tiles fell down with a crackling sound. A medium-sized blue-gray mecha with a shape that had never been seen before was rising into the sky amidst the smoke and dust.
“Death” or Bishop Margaret stood on the fuselage. Like Garcia, she stretched her crystal bones like white bayonets.
“They’ve come to intercept you.” Jiang Jianming whispered and glanced at His Royal Highness, “There’s no point in fighting her. I’m more worried about the church over there.”
Garcia just lightly said, “Drop the baffle armor, crystal bones are about to collide.”
Above the sky, the wind and clouds were surging. As expected, the crystal bones collided before the mechas did. The pure white crystal bones, like giant snakes, grazed the buildings along the way, blowing away the glass of the tall buildings.
The explosion continued until the red-gold crystal bones rose like the rising sun, and twisted tightly the white crystal bones with a ka-chak!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of crystal bones from both sides engaged in a mid-air battle.
Sharp as spears, broad as shields, under the control of high-level crystal particle manipulation abilities, the crystal bone forms were ever-changing, and every collision produced a harsh metallic crisp sound.
The Golden Sun Wheel troops on the ground were still standing outside the church. Zheng Yue asked anxiously, “Lieutenant General, what else can we do?”
Luther sighed, shook his head and said, “That is no longer a battle that new humans at our level can participate in.”
The old lieutenant general also lamented that fortunately the Golden Sun Wheel had evacuated the people in advance. Otherwise, the aftermath of such a fierce battle would have caused who knows how many casualties.
Jiang Jianming in the cockpit also felt the sudden increase in pressure. He just spoke and called out to his intelligence, “Seth, suppress…”
But he suddenly stopped. Through the screen, Jiang Jianming saw that nearly all of Garcia’s lower back had crystallized, and the red gold crystal bone was rapidly spreading…
In just a second or two, the entire mecha was wrapped in crystal bones, isolating all the rioting crystal particles from the outside world!
“Your Highness!”
No one had ever seen such a fighting method, and even Jiang Jianming was surprised.
In such a fierce battle, Garcia was still able to protect him from the interference of violent crystal particles…
“Concentrate on manipulating.” Garcia said coldly without even looking back at him, “Speak only if you can’t hold on anymore.”
Inside the blue-gray mecha of the Crystal Cult, red and blue dim lights flickered, and two clergy members were piloting the mecha.
Bishop “Destruction”‘s low voice came from the communication, “Margaret, don’t fight the prince head-on, blow up his mecha.”
“…No.” The white-haired girl on the mecha had pure eyes. She raised her hands, bit her lip and said seriously, “Death is meant to bring death to everyone.”
More crystal bones rose from her back, stabbing Garcia from different weird angles.
“Bringing death……with just you?” The prince’s long hair was fluttering wildly, and his eyes were cold. He stepped into the air, and the light reflected by the strong wind and crystal bones instantly enveloped him.
He used the crystal bone that was still tightening Margaret’s, to borrow strength and throw his body up in an arc!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Jiang Jianming swiftly descended the mecha, and Margaret’s crystal bone scraped past the top of it’s head, leaving a scratch on Slash Comet’s outer shell in an extremely thrilling way——
As if the two of them had a tacit understanding, Slash Comet quickly spun around and fired its main cannon at an angle; while Garcia, who was falling in the air, struck down at the same position with his crystal bones.
“Ah!” Margaret’s pretty face showed pain.
Ka-chak...Crystal bones cracked, splintering into countless white crystalline shards that gleamed as they fell to the vast ground of the Star City.
Taking advantage of this flaw, the prince fell back into the mecha. Slash Comet descended and drew a diagonal arc at the entrance of the Glorious Cathedral.
Garcia curled his five fingers slightly with force, and his emerald eyes became deep. The crystal particles that had become chaotic and manic due to the release of the real crystal ore were forcefully condensed into real crystals…
A miraculous scene happened, red-gold crystal clusters grew one after another. They grow between overturned floor tiles and on collapsed pillars, like a thorny path following wherever the mecha passes.
Surrounded by Golden Sun Wheel soldiers, Emperor Lin Ge pressed her long knife and smiled. “Beautiful.”
“The Crystal Chaos has been suppressed!” Lieutenant General Luther shouted in surprise and waved his hand, “Quickly, control the traitors and recover the real crystal ore!!”
Golden Sun Wheel soldiers also roared wildly, their uneasiness about the unknown enemy and fear of the Crystal Chaos were suppressed by the boiling heat brought by the arrival of the Crown Prince.
“Charge!!” They practically screamed their throats hoarse. “Charge together!!”
“Avenge our brothers! Get them!”
Combat boots splashed through puddles of blood, making a squelching sound. The soldier’s figure passed through the twisted and tragic corpses of their comrades, their firearms once again spitting fire at the culprits!
Deep inside the church, more large folding mechas were unfolded. The clergy dressed as friars and nuns got on the mechas and were about to evacuate.
“Destruction” or Bishop Su destroyed the last intelligent robot into scrap metal. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Golden Sun Wheel soldiers rushing in and gritted his teeth in annoyance.
A sergeant major raised his gun, and roared with a flushed face, “Don’t let them escape!!”
“Pay attention to the crystal bones, don’t let their crystal bones come into contact with the real crystal ores!!”
The sound of artillery fire dissipated in the distance, and the morning light reflected faintly on the dilapidated streets. The snow on the dead branches was melted by the heat of the explosion, and was dripping down slowly.
Slash Comet nimbly skimmed the streets and took off again. Its fuselage was covered with crystal bones, and behind the mecha was a long path of real crystals.
In the dazzling red gold luster, its presence was sacred and majestic, as if it had turned into a real comet.
Jiang Jianming chuckled softly.
Garcia finally found time to glance behind him and gasped, “Why are you laughing?”
“Just in a pleasant mood,” Jiang Jianming’s fingers traced across the console, “Fighting with you is always so imposing.”
As he spoke, he cast his gaze downward towards the cathedral and noticed that the situation was taking an unexpected turn.
Among the clergy of the Crystal Cult, those who did not ride on the mechas were decisively abandoned. They engaged in battle with the Golden Sun Wheel troops in a suicidal rearguard action, covering the mechas that the bishop and others were riding in as they took off one by one.
So crazy, sure enough, it is a cult-like style.
Garcia suddenly asked thoughtfully, “Why are these people not suffering from Crystal Chaos? Are they the same as you?”
He didn’t have time to hear Jiang Jianming’s answer, because the blue-gray mecha carrying Margaret had already caught up.
Garcia had no choice but to change the topic, and frowned as he spoke carefully, “How was your, Chen, and the emperor’s discussion last night? …Those few mechas in the church?”
“Don’t worry, just small fries.” Jiang Jianming controlled Slash Comet to spin and climb up, narrowly dodging several incoming white crystal bones. “No need to trouble Your Highness.”
On the opposing mecha, Margaret wore a sorrowful expression. “Destruction, I seem to be…unable to kill the prince for the time being, what to do?”
Su: “Withdraw, it won’t be difficult for you.”
Margaret was still sorrowful. “Very few people killed. His Excellency the Archbishop will be disappointed.”
Su took a deep breath. “…Death, stop making trouble. At least we haven’t suffered any losses, and many imperial soldiers have returned to the embrace of the Crystal Particles.” (TL: same as “died and returned to the Creator”)
But before his words fell, at the other end of a building complex, countless shadows rose up against the light.
At this moment, the mecha army of the Golden Sun Wheel arrived, bearing the uniform military emblem on their fuselage; it was an imposing sight.
They formed an encirclement, and all aimed their guns at several large mechas of the Crystal Cult!
Inside the flagship mecha, was the general sitting upright leading this time. And on the general’s screen was the communication window of Old Marshal Chen.
The old man ordered with a calm face. “Fire.”
At the same time, inside Slash Comet’s cockpit.
“It’s coming, Your Highness.” Jiang Jianming whispered. Whether the plan would become successful or not, depends on the next few seconds.
In the next second, Margaret glanced across the street at the besieged mechas, pursed her lips and dropped a small instrument.
Its shell was an unknown black color, it was the interference wave transmitter that had appeared several times in the Far Interstellar Space.
As a result, the mecha group came to a standstill.
Golden Sun Wheel’s mechas began to lose control and fell one after another.
The mechas of the Crystal Cult turned around and opened fire, bombarding them vigorously before leaving in a swaggering manner.
Whether it was the old Lieutenant General Luther and other senior officers on the front line, or the people watching from a distance, there were expressions of shock and anger on the originally complacent faces.
The taste of failure on the verge of success weighed on almost everyone’s chest like a dark cloud.
However, Jiang Jianming smiled reassuringly.
The Slash Comet also fell out of control from an altitude of several thousand meters, and the strong wind roared over its paralyzed wings.
But he was not afraid. He endured the dizziness and said to the prince who turned around outside the mecha. “They are so stupid.”
Garcia smashed open the cockpit door, jumped in and hugged him tightly, saying in a hoarse voice, “You are the smartest.”
Crystal bones covered him layer by layer, wrapping the disabled human being like petals, tightly, “It’s about to land, you endure….endure it.”
Behind the two of them, next to Slash Comet’s malfunctioning screen, a small instrument flickered brightly.
From the very beginning, when the mecha came out of the starship, it had been placed there.
****
“Successful?” The female emperor, who sat back on the royal air vehicle, was slowly twisting her neck and looking up at the falling Slash Comet. “Can Zhen return home now?”
“Successful.”
At the military headquarters, the old marshal in charge closed several windows.
He touched the short white stubble on his chin and asked the secretary standing beside him, “Has there been any news about His Excellency the Prime Minister?”
****
On the starship of the Black Shark Base, dozens of base members were rapidly performing various operations in the large computing room.
Someone was closely monitoring the data on the screen. When the originally straight lines suddenly jumped violently, the air boiled.
“Chief, the frequency of the interference wave has been captured.”
One member shouted excitedly. “The range was close enough, the data is clear and complete!”
“Successful——!!”
Suddenly, a burst of cheers broke out from this group of people who were known as the smartest people in the empire. Several people in white coats threw away paper documents with tears in their eyes.
“The anti-interference system that Silver Big Dipper has been urging can be built!”
“There is also hope for upgrading the base technology!”
“After months of tossing and turning, finally…”
“Long live science, long live Chief! Hahahahaha…”
The leader with a black mask and long robes sat upright in a high position and nodded without moving.
The electronic sound isolated her emotions, and she calmly said, “Very good, let’s start analyzing the data. Forget celebrating the New Year, everyone will work overtime tonight.”
