Vandel’s sword slammed into the side of Arroganz’s chest and sent a shock wave through the cockpit. Sparks flew upon impact as steel bit into steel.
“Hey, Luxion, want to explain to me how this old man’s managing to chop through my plating?!”
Luxion had crafted Arroganz’s outer plating from a special, sturdy material that no normal weapon could pierce. It was lightweight but still perfectly durable—bulletproof, even. It was hard to believe that the Black Knight had made a dent in it, especially while piloting a subpar suit.
“Since he’s flying that garbage, I thought I’d have no problem beating him,” I complained.
I tried to pull back and put some distance between us, but the moment I did, something jerked my entire Armor.
“What the…?” My eyes landed on my left arm. “He’s got a wire wrapped around me?!”
In the few precious seconds when I’d let myself get distracted, the Black Knight had jammed his sword against Arroganz’s cockpit hatch. Fortunately, he hadn’t pierced it. Still, I sure didn’t want to repeat this experience, that was certain.
“If you think you can run from me, you’re sorely mistaken,” said the knight. He was tugging the other end of the wire.
No wonder I couldn’t get away. “You’re crazy, old man.”
With me lashed to him, the Black Knight continued jabbing his sword at me skillfully, denting and scraping Arroganz’s outer plating. His managing to damage my Armor at all was one issue, but the last thing I wanted was for him to target the same spot repeatedly. If he kept chipping away at the plating, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t cause permanent damage.
“Why, you…!” Air hissed beneath my teeth. I managed to parry one blow with my axe, but I was too slow to catch the next one. “Guess this is the difference between our skills as pilots.”
I was loath to admit it, but he was clearly superior. Arroganz was far more powerful than the piece of junk the knight was using, but his piloting skills surpassed mine by the same margin—or perhaps a bigger one.
“I can hear a Holfortian accent in your voice,” said Vandel. That little tidbit gave him even more motivation to take me down. His attacks became faster and more ferocious.
“Geh…”
“What did you do to our princess?” Vandel demanded. “Answer me, you Holfortian scum!”
He was so intimidating that I almost recoiled, unable to defend myself or put up any real resistance. I was becoming a complete sandbag. Each blow that landed jostled me in my seat. Static began to appear on the screen in front of me, obscuring the once-clear image. Apparently, he’d even damaged the outside cameras.
An alarm blared in the cockpit, indicating abnormalities in multiple sections of the suit. Further damage to Arroganz could put me in true danger.
“Fine. I can’t do anything to match your piloting skills. That just means I’ve got to take advantage of my superior suit and overpower you!” I readjusted my grip on the control sticks and slammed my foot against the accelerator. Arroganz’s engine rumbled in response.
“It’s futile!” Vandel cried.
Despite his claim, I realized I was on to something. What would the Black Knight hate more than anything else? Being bested not by superior might but by a superior Armor. He’d talked big, but I wasn’t the only one panicking in this fight. It definitely rattled him that, however much he sliced and slashed, Arroganz took no substantial damage.
That’s it. The reason he kept talking like that was to get in my head and psych me out.
“I’m the kind of guy who prefers only to fight the battles I can win. So let’s switch things up and make this a battle of Armor superiority, not pilot skill!”
“You pigheaded greenhorn!”
“Yeah, I am a greenhorn. That’s why I’m going to play it smart and press my advantage. You know I’m still an amateur, so you ought to play nicer, old man!”
Flames shot out of Arroganz’s thrusters, accelerating my Armor well past a point that the Black Knight could combat through skill alone. The wire still linked us together, and I whipped him through the air like a ragdoll.
“Holfortian scum!” he howled at me.
“Try not to die on me, okay?”
The sheer velocity put so much strain on Vandel’s Armor that its limbs began to rip off. Ultimately, not much more than his Armor’s torso remained; it hurtled through the air and slammed to the ground below.
“He’s not dead, is he?” I murmured to myself. When I saw his Armor move, a wave of relief washed over me.
By this point, the other Armors from the castle’s security forces had finally reached me.
“There’s only one enemy! Surround him and take him down!” shouted their leader.
I stowed my battle axe in Arroganz’s rear container again, then threw my arms open wide. “This won’t be so lethal it’ll kill you. But it’s still gonna hurt, so I hope you’re ready.”
A hatch on Arroganz’s rear container opened, unleashing missiles in rapid succession. Those projectiles sped toward their targets, which were quick to dodge out of their immediate path.
“Wait!” one man cried. “Are these things following us?!”
They tried to outmaneuver my missiles, but the weapons’ homing capabilities ensured that they eventually found their mark, exploding upon impact. The ensuing blast damaged each enemy suit enough that they plummeted to the ground. Since the Armors were still mostly intact, I was pretty sure all the pilots were safe. The missiles’ firepower was at least low enough not to blow them to smithereens, I knew that much. Some of the Armors stayed airborne even after taking a direct hit.
“This thing’s eerie!” one yelled.
“Why’re these guys treating me like I’m inhuman or something?” I grumbled to myself. “Ah, well. I guess that makes things easier on me.”
Insofar as there was no discernible indication as to what country Arroganz was affiliated with, it was essentially an unidentified flying object. That was convenient for me. Once the Principality discovered that we’d stolen both their flutes, they’d have no choice but to lie low—for a while at least.
“With that out of the way,” I said, “I guess it’s time to make a run for it!”
“D-don’t let him get away!” some armor cried. “After him!”
“Ha! As if you could ever catch me, morons!”
Despite the notable damage to Arroganz’s exterior, I managed to shake them off fairly easily, speeding away.