Unmatched God of War—Baldr.
Bearing the name of Shu’s Embryo—War God Ship, Baldr—this was the Superior Embryo’s ultimate skill, which turned Baldr into a giant humanoid robot—a metallic god standing a hundred metels tall.
This “Full Offense Mode” was the true ace up Shu’s sleeve.
Its stats were based on Shu’s own STR—an immense number that surpassed 180,000.
Once converted from that, the robot had over 18,000,000 HP, over 360,000 STR, over 180,000 END, and over 90,000 AGI, putting it far above Mythical tier.
Shu had used it against the SUBM that had attacked Altar, and ultimately felled the fiendish dragon.
However, it wasn’t the stats that were important in this battle.
Immense as they were, they still did not allow Baldr to keep up with New Yamato. The robot’s AGI was more than enough to allow for supersonic speed, but it couldn’t fully realize that potential out here at sea. Swimming wasn’t an option either.
Simply using this ult wouldn’t have granted him victory.
That was why Shu had put on a little act.
He’d detonated his missiles in order to feign his own defeat.
Timing it with New Yamato’s second firing, Shu had destroyed his own weapons. He’d intended to avoid the shell entirely and just pretend that it had hit, but Satomi’s aim was so good it had slightly grazed Baldr regardless, which Shu hadn’t predicted. Regardless, Shu had preemptively set the missiles to B-type—“B” standing for “Bluff.” While the smoke and flames seemed very real and obscured vision, they actually didn’t do much damage.
And once the show was in full swing, Shu had simply deactivated Baldr’s hovering.
That was when Riella, wearing her aquatic and defensive accessories, had leaped out of Baldr and rose to the surface. Given Satomi’s goals, it was highly likely that he would slowly approach and stop to pick her up.
That was when Shu had commanded Baldr to transform and used its immense stats to kick off the seabed and jump onto New Yamato.
Basically, he had used Riella as bait to both bring New Yamato close and render it incapable of doing anything.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Y-You... You used the commander as bait?! Abandoned her in the open sea just so I would be unable to make a move...?!”
“Yeah.”
“Are you insane?! She was defenseless! One wrong move and she would’ve died!” Satori was right—that had been entirely in the realm of possibility.
If Satomi had continued firing, or if he’d moved the ship in response to Baldr’s ascent, Riella would have been a goner.
Knowing Satomi’s goals, Shu had guessed he wouldn’t do that—but a guess was no guarantee.
King of Building called this insane, to which Shu replied, “I’m no less sane than you.”
As he spoke, Shu slowly moved the metallic giant perched on top of New Yamato.
“You had a goal, and didn’t care about the means, risks, and costs. You spent a huge fortune makin’ this ship, put your mission aside to test the Adventure II, and spat on the adventure fleet just to rile up Riella.”
Shu named all the things Satomi had done...
“And you know what? I’m just like ya.”
...and poured power into the robotic body that was now directly linked to his.
“When I know I gotta win at all costs, I’ll do anything I can. That’s why I used all I could—even Riella—and seized that possibility.”
He wasn’t talking about his approach to combat or anything like that. He was simply a man who did anything to fulfill his goals, no matter what they were.
That was how Shu lived—how Shuichi Mukudori operated.
“Ngh...!”
“Also, weren’t ya listenin’?” Shu turned Baldr’s sensor-camera to look at Riella.
“She staked her life on this before she even boarded Baldr.”
“Ya gotta bet my life on this.”
That had been no exaggeration.
When Shu had told her his plan, Riella had immediately agreed to take part. Her resolve was true, and Shu had woven that into his own strategy.
“Anyway, your comparison test... Looks like it ain’t happenin’. Robots and warships aren’t really in the same genre.” Shu chuckled as he gathered power into his right leg. “Though, if there’s somethin’ we can compare here and decide on a winner and loser...”
He then raised up, as if to pierce the sky.
“Then it’s your resolve that lost against Riella’s.”
And with that declaration, he performed a mighty axe kick that split the ship in half, bridge and all.
Shu’s attack utterly destroyed this massive replica of a legendary battleship.
And Riella, still in the water, watched it happen with a satisfied smile on her face.