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nThe sky became a battlefield.

nI spouted abusive language while inside Arroganz’s cockpit.

n“These guys!”

nGathering knights surrounded me in all directions and started attacking with long distance attacks. When I showed my back to them, they would assault me with a blade.

nIf I tried to shorten the distance, they would spread out and flee.

nIt seems they’ve trained quite a bit.

nMy armor repelled their bullets, and they couldn’t even scratch me in close combat.

nThere was no damage, but the problem was that it took time to beat them.

n“Why aren’t they retreating?!”

nWe’re indeed dealing enough damage to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if they were to flee. I have tapped into their communications, and it seems that there’s some reason for them not to retreat.

nAccording to Luxon, there seemed to be many soldiers who had suggested retreat.

nThe commander rejected the idea.

n“Hurry and retreat!”

nI would be troubled if they didn’t retreat.

nI accelerated Arroganz and pierced an opponent’s armor in the air with a blade. I stabbed in a spot where the knight inside wouldn’t get hurt.

nPulling out the blade, I kicked the enemy to the deck of one of their airships.

n“Resistance is futile!”

nWhile losing my cool over the thought of why they weren’t retreating, Luxon reported the state of affairs.

nPartner will begin the rescue operation.

nPartner got into position to protect the waning luxury liner, and began handing out lifeboats for rescue.

n“I suppose the luxury liner’s a lost cause.”

nBlack smoke rose from all over, and its hull was already distorted.

n“Let’s withdraw once everyone’s on Partner. How long can we keep this up?”

n──! Master, a new troop has gathered. Their exteriors are colored black. I believe these opponents are an elite force.

nBad memories resurged the moment I heard that they were black.

nIn my previous life──the strongest foe to appear in that otome game was the “Black Knight”. He was formidable, and I got many game overs having to fight him. The Black Knight was a broken character who was stronger than Chris in close combat, and Jilk was no match for him in long distance fighting either.

nJust how hard was he? This guy was the main cause for the difficulty curve skyrocketing.

n“Could it be the Black Knight?!”

nLuxon emphasized caution.

nThey have been avoiding Partner’s bombarding. They’ve also been destroying the drones. At this rate, they’re going to be a hindrance to our rescue attempt.

n“He’s top-notch. I’ll be his opponent!”

nI was currently on Arroganz.

nNow I had Luxon, something even higher than a cheat, so I had nothing to fear!

nI’ll throw down the Black Knight!

nI saw an image of the Black Knight and his colleagues heading my way.

nThereupon, their black exteriors──h, hold on. There were five of them?

nWasn’t that a little too many?

n◇

nAnjie moved into one of Partner’s rooms with Livia and Hertrude, meaning that there were three people inside.

nAmidst the chaos within the airship, Anjie couldn’t say for sure that nobody would try to attack Hertrude, so she stood beside her while watching over.

nThe scenery of the battlefield outside the window had calmed down a bit, but hadn’t ended.

nAnjie was irritated at the principality.

n“Why aren’t they retreating? They’ve already lost.”

nThe restrained Hertrude seemed quite calm.

n“I’m sure that I’ve said it already. The principality will not cease. They will not fall back with just this much.”

nLivia prayed for Leon’s safety.

n“Leon will be safe, right?”

nAnjie replied while looking outside.

n“I don’t think it’ll be easy for him to lose. However, you never know what will happen on the battlefield.”

nLooking across the window, she could see Leon charging forward with Arroganz──and black units of armor chasing him.

nSeeing that, Hertrude was suddenly surprised.

n“Bandel! Why──”

nAnjie was shocked upon hearing Bandel’s name.

n“The Black Knight? Could it be that he really appeared?”

nLivia was confused at how the two reacted.

n“U, um, who is this Black Knight?”

nAnjie gave Livia an explanation.

n“Before we were born, there had been an active knight of the principality. He alone had sunken several tens of the kingdom’s airships. Perhaps even a hundred. His armor had slaughtered many.”

nAnjie briefly glanced at Hertrude, but her mouth was closed and she cast her eyes downward.

nShe looked sorrowful. Very different compared to just a while ago.

n“His name hadn’t been brought up recently. The kingdom thought that he hadn’t appeared on the battleground anymore due to his old age.”

nLivia began to feel concerned after hearing that such a strong knight was now aiming after Leon.

n“Can Leon win against such a powerful knight?”

n“I anticipate──”

nAnjie was interrupted by Hertrude.

n“Bandel will not lose! The principality’s strongest knight would never lose to a despicable knight from the kingdom!”

nLivia took offense when she called him despicable.

n“Leon is not despicable!”

n“You make me laugh. Did you forget what you did to the principality twenty years ago? Or perhaps you people were taught that you weren’t in the wrong?”

nLivia looked at Anjie after Hertrude said that.

nHer face seemed to say that they were in the wrong, but Anjie replied while looking downward.

n“It happened before we were born. The kingdom invaded the principality. It wasn’t just once or twice. They invaded many times, and they drove the principality into a corner. Each time, the principality drove back the kingdom.”

nLivia was astonished.

n“T, that. I never heard anything about the kingdom invading──”

nHertrude gave Livia a cold stare.

n“It seems you know nothing. Nothing about how much we had been tormented by the kingdom. Anjelica, why don’t you explain?”

nAnjie didn’t speak.

nLivia had presumed many things based on Anjie’s attitude, and felt down.

nAnjie was deep in thought.

n(There’s no point in saying anything to Hertrude right now.)

n◇

nI readied my rifle and pulled the trigger in front of the approaching Black Knight──err, black knights before me.

nHowever, perhaps being skilled, they all avoided the shots when they saw the muzzle.

n“These guys are all broken characters!”

nFlying backwards in the sky, I was overwhelmed by the vigor of the approaching black knights.

n──Their armor is performing better than any other I’ve seen so far. It seems that the principality has a higher level of technology than the kingdom. Their airships, armor, and organizational structure all surpass the kingdom’s.

n“A technological superpower? That doesn’t bode well.”

nI believe that they’re harboring hostility.

nLuxon didn’t have to say that out loud for me to realize it. They seemed compelled to kill me.

nEven when I shortened the distance with one them and tried to attack with a blade, they would stop the blow.

n“Fiend from the kingdom! I’ll have your head!”

nAfter Arroganz’s power was repelled, I readied the rifle once more──but they immediately spread out.

nLuxon spoke.

n“It seems they resent you.”

n“Even if they’re digging up grudges from the past, that has nothing to do with me!”

nThey bore a grudge since the kingdom had invaded them in the past.

nI wanted to question why that otome game used such a serious setting. However, since I knew the circumstances, from my perspective, it was annoying how they were playing the victim.

nAnyways, if this was an otome game, then it should’ve had a lighter setting!

n“Luxon, store away the rifle and blade.”

nWhat are you going to use next?

n“I’m fighting bare handed.”

nWhen I emptied both of my hands, I could tell that the black knights were furious.

nHowever, what bothered me was that a unit of armor, seeming to be the commanding officer, didn’t make any moves against me. He was obviously stronger than the others, but didn’t engage in battle with me.

nI grabbed the hand of an opponent that Arroganz had shortened the distance with.

nI was going to use the attack I had done to Julian──pulverization through giving the enemy a large impact. Arroganz had that kind of function built into its arm.

nWhen I was squeezing with my might──

n“How careless. Lie down!”

nThe opponent was pummeled by the impact, and the pilot inside the armor fainted.

nOnce Arroganz let go, the opponent’s armor plummeted towards the sea.

n“You better hurry and follow your companion──”

nOne of the enemies broke off in order to help their falling teammate, reducing their numbers. I had hoped that they would feel disadvantaged and retreat, though.

nMaster, behind you!

nTurning around, I saw a unit of armor swinging a sword down. Ignoring the attacks from the deployed drones, it had its sights on me while getting battered.

n“──Tsk!”

nOnce I guarded with my left arm, the opponent’s sword broke.

nI heard a voice when we clashed.

n“Disappear, monster from the kingdom.”

nImmediately following, Luxon alerted me.

n──! Master!

nWhen Arroganz turned back, I saw the other three units of armor were charging at me. Right in front, I saw the commanding offer, the Black Knight, rushing towards me with a long sword──and as my monitors turned black, the tip of that long sword broke through and approached me.

n◇

nChris knocked down one of the principality’s knights and searched for Leon.

n“Their numbers have drastically decreased. Where is Baltfault?”

nPopping out in front of Chris’ eyes was the sight of the Black Knight piercing a long sword into Arroganz.

n“The Black Knight appeared!”

nChris’ household emphasized swordsmanship, and his father possessed the title of a master swordsman. However, even his father wouldn’t be a match for the Black Knight.

nSeeing the principality’s strongest knight pierce through Arroganz, Chris clenched his teeth and hung his head, but immediately lifted it back up.

nThe evacuation into Partner had already been completed.

nIf worst came to worst, he could buy some time so that everyone would survive and return home.

nIf the Black Knight was left alone, he would hunt down Partner.

nChris resolved himself.

n“Marie, sorry. It seems that this will be my final stop.”

nWhen he readied his sword and was about to head towards Leon, the black knights suddenly acted strange.

nArroganz grabbed an opponent’s armor with both hands despite a sword being stuck in it.

nImmediately following, its hands glowed, and with the outburst of an impact, the black unit of armor stopped moving fell towards the sea.

nArroganz attempted to reach its hand out towards the Black Knight, but he extracted the large sword and took a distance.

nWhen a tattered unit of black armor intervened in order to assist the Black Knight, Arroganz grabbed it, sent another shock wave, and hurled it away after being left unable to fight.

n“He’s alive?!”

nChris was delighted to see that Leon was alive.

n“Go, Baltfault! If it’s you──if it’s you, you can oppose the Black Knight!”

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