Most likely, it was simply a way for Hunlahan and the 2nd Division to save face. To act like they’d given it a decent shot and that points had been scored on both sides. The fact he’d brought a custom model to the fight was a gaffe, to be sure, but one that could be pinned on Hunluhan’s own boisterous nature and not brought against his men.
“But are you sure you’ve thought this through, Major General?” asked Ras, a touch of concern in his voice. “If you lose this fight, it’ll make for quite the story back at Central Command.”
Hunlahan fell silent for a few moments. When he realized his opponent was being dead serious, he erupted into loud laughter.
“Am I to take that as a sign of your acceptance, then?”
“Sure, why not. I’m the one with nothing to lose. I hope you’ll give me a sporting chance, Major General.”
Ras’s unit drew its sword. That was all the answer Hunlahan needed.
“Very good.”
His unit, the Ahajia, raised its greatsword high, and the blade appeared to burst into flames. With the crimson aurons billowing like fire, the bronze-plated Chasseur let out a ferocious howl.
“He’s bringing a custom into a duel against a standard-issue Chasseur?!”
Up in the watchtower, Kanalayka shook her head and stared, like she couldn’t believe her eyes. Hunlahan’s bronze-plated unit had just taken its first swing against Ras’s Gent.
The Ahajia boasted what looked like a quad-core auron engine. The Gent was a single-core model, which meant Hunlahan was producing aurons at least four times faster than Ras. Particle-production rate had a direct effect on a Chasseur’s strength. With Ras’s ceremonial sword, he had no chance of even attempting to block Hunlahan’s swing, and he could only take evasive action. It was like an adult fighting against a child.
“What are those two thinking?! Ras has only just finished fighting the 2nd Division!”
“Maybe so, but Ras can still win this,” came Izai’s calm deduction. “He chose the right unit.”
“What do you mean, the right unit?”
“The Gent-23 was once piloted by a gold-rank cavalryman. It’s never been seriously damaged, and the parts have grown in sync with each other. Even after that battle, it’s only operating a hair below peak performance. Ras’s techniques may look flashy, but they’re shockingly efficient. He hasn’t taxed the unit any more than he’s needed to.”
“But how did Ras know that? He’d never seen those Gents before.”
Puzzled, Kanalayka thought back to when Ras first entered the 2nd Division’s hangar. After browsing rows of identical units, he’d settled on the Gent-23. There was no way he could have known the Chasseurs’ individual quirks.
“Ras is sensitive to that kind of thing; he always has been. He said it’s like he can hear their voices.”
“Their voices?”
“Enough about that,” said Izai, looking back out over the battlefield. “The real problem here is the major general’s unit. The Ahajia is a bad matchup for Ras’s skills.”
Out on the maneuvering grounds, Ras’s Chasseur was performing magnificently, despite the wide difference in combat potential. He was dodging the major general’s sword swings, and he was even managing to fire off a few aura attacks in return.
However, none of those techniques made a dent in the Ahajia’s armor plating. The whole unit was shrouded in a crimson glow that nullified any low-level aura attacks on impact. To make matters worse, Ras was only armed with his ceremonial rapier. If he attacked with it, there was a very real chance the weapon would not survive.
“What’s he doing?!”
Kanalayka’s eyes flew wide. Ras’s sword was suddenly enveloped in a fire-like glow, and its range extended. He was calling upon the Aura Edge once more. No doubt Ras had also realized the ceramic blade would not withstand a single blow in its natural state.
Seizing the brief opening after Hunlahan’s attack ended, Ras thrust with his energized rapier. Despite the Ahajia calling upon its overwhelming horsepower to evade, Ras’s attack was too swift. He drove his auron blade at the unit’s shoulder, where the armor plating was the thinnest. Just as the attack was about to connect, an invisible barrier deflected the blow, throwing off a cascade of crimson sparks.
“I’d heard the rumors, but I’d never seen it in action…,” said Kanalayka.
“Yes. That’s the Ahajia’s unique armament, the Bergfried,” Izai explained. “An invisible wall conjured and maintained automatically by the Chasseur itself. That unbreakable defense is why they call it the Impregnable.”
As a Tuner of Central Command, Izai was more than familiar with the major general’s Chasseur to elucidate its abilities. As a result, no one understood the danger Ras faced better than him.
The only way Ras could hope to defeat an opponent like Hunlahan was to catch the unit off guard or attack from behind. But the Ahajia’s Bergfried made that impossible.
“That barrier activates automatically,” lamented Kanalayka, “and even an Aura Edge can’t pierce it!”
“Unfortunately, that’s as far as a humble Gent can go. Even at full power, it can’t hope to break the barrier. The defense was developed to stand up to attacks from another custom model, after all.”
“That’s not fair…”
Kanalayka unconsciously nibbled her lip. Izai watched her in mild amusement. Just a few days ago, she had been the top knight in the Imperial Guard, and here she was looking out for Ras, a complete newcomer. Watching the pretty, straitlaced legate show a softer side, Izai couldn’t help but imagine the palace gossips would have much to say if they could see it, too.
Izai, meanwhile, was not really concerned with such things. The more pressing issue on his mind was the Chasseur battle unfolding before him.
“Ras recognized the major general’s unit,” he said, “and he knew about its nickname. That must mean he knows what the Bergfried is capable of.”
Running a hand through his disheveled hair, Izai looked out across the arena and smiled.
“There must be a reason he decided to take on the Ahajia regardless. Why don’t you show us what that is, Ras?”
The young Tuner’s words were inaudible over the din of clashing metal titans. By his side, Kanalayka clasped her hands in desperate prayer.