192. Full Assault Launched

The face of Rhok Wagner, leader of the Umbral Dunkelheit, illuminated the massive screens across the fleet, his broadband signal transmitted to every channel. Formally, the Platinum Knight was delivering the final speech in a briefing, his tone steady, fearless, and confident.

“Now that the Lunarius mage is defeated, we will commence the full-scale attack!” Rhok announced firmly. His sleek, dark helmet was a solid presence in the command centre, reflecting the soft glow of console lights on its visor.

Rhok shifted closer to the screen. “Dunkelheit Knights onboard the Santose V and Vanguard Alpha!” he rasped, his voice deep with authority. “Let us be remembered in history. Let our names be invoked for our bravery. The Vanguard Bravo battlecruiser will not have fallen in vain. We will carry their sacrifice with us. We must finish what we started.”

A private message from Admiral Quin appeared. “Vanguard Alpha is in position and ready for your command, Platinum Knight.” She reported. In response, Rhok grinned in satisfaction.

“It’s time to drop and destroy our enemies! Commence the operation! For glory! For Umbral!” he bellowed.

“For glory! For Umbral!” The echoing shout erupted through the hangar chambers.

Rows of titanic machinery lined up near the drop points as the hydraulically actuated port doors began to lift upwards. Thrusters flared blue and red, and hundreds of Armatus mobile suits deployed simultaneously. The horizon brimmed with their silhouettes, a swarm of death unleashed from the flanks of the Santose V. The deafening roar rumbled across the sky as the Armatus fleet flew south like hungry locusts.

An alarm blared in the heart of the Zeigerlich battlecruiser.

“Admiral Sandria! Multiple Arcanite signatures detected!” one of the operators reported, her eyes wide.

Sandria’s gaze darted toward the massive holographic map. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of red markers materialised as they entered radar range, their numbers growing at a terrifying rate. It was clear the first battlecruiser had been a mere probe of their strength. Now, their objective was to wipe out the Zeigerlich and strip the nation of Thylin bare.

After confirming the data herself, Sandria flicked through the combat channel — the Knights' and Armatus pilots' channel. “Deploy everything now!” she ordered, her tone heavy with urgency.

A priority call from the Yamamoto battlecruiser flashed across her command console. The connection opened instantly, revealing Admiral Lume Ember Lorne and the High Magnus of Thylin on the main screen, their expressions tinged with concern.

“Admiral Sandria, report…” Lume began, pausing to clear his throat.

“Admiral Lume, High Magnus Rye. The enemy has launched its frontal assault. We’ve deployed a counter, but…” she trailed off, her eyes fixed on an enemy count that was three times her ship's capacity. Her face turned pale.

“What is your ETA, Admiral?!” Sandria demanded, her expression darkened.

“This is quite unfortunate. We’re still a couple of hours away,” Admiral Lume said, shaking his head. “I fear the Zeigerlich will have to abandon its station if need be.”

“Admiral Lume!?” Rye gasped. “Are you saying the Zeigerlich should flee? To save its own hide? What about my country?” she hissed, disgruntled.

“Only momentarily, Lady Rye,” Lume replied calmly. “Remember, help is only a couple of hours away.”

"But people on the border will be the casualties of war!" Rye argued, voice hostile.

Lume remained steadfast, ignoring Rye as he turned to Sandria. “Any sort of soldier is better than a dead soldier,” he quoted with a slight nod.

“Admiral Lume, High Magnus Rye, we’ll do our best to defend this position until your arrival,” Sandria responded, exhaling deeply.

“Godspeed, Admiral,” Lume replied, moving his finger toward the switch. A faint voice of Rye's complaint rang out before the channel disconnected.

Sandria slumped into her command chair, the back of her hand resting on her forehead. Her mind raced, formulating a plan. The clock was ticking, and the constant pings of the tactical display did little to help her concentration.

“If the objective is to stall, then this is more a game of cat and mouse than a battle to be won,” she mumbled to herself, recalling the classic aerial strategies she had studied. She never thought they would be so relevant in modern Armatus warfare, not until today.

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“Connect me to all Armatus pilots. I have an idea,” Sandria commanded, her voice suddenly crystal clear with newfound resolution.

***

The swarming formation of Armatus mobile suits began to shift. What first appeared as chaotic insectoid buzzing resolved into disciplined lines, reshaping into three distinct layers of defence.

Sandria carefully studied the trackers on the map. “Silver Knight Eric, move your Armatus units and drones into position. Your goal is to act as an early screen. Employ long-range missiles only, using a Loose Deuce formation. I repeat, do not engage in close-quarters combat,” she ordered firmly.

“Acknowledged!” the Silver Knight responded, directing his units to the front line. Two fleets flew parallel in a loose, two-row formation. He flicked a switch, opening the ports for the beyond-visual-range missile launchers. Now, he just had to wait for the enemy to enter his kill zone.

“Middle section, Bronze Knights and Combat Air Patrol, employ the combat spread!” Sandria relayed through her operators.

“Commands relayed!” the operators confirmed. The Armatus units in the mid-range, called 'Combat Air Patrol', began to pair up and spread out.

“Finally, the escort fleet employs close defence. Your primary objective is to protect the battlecruiser while providing suppressing fire!”

All of her machines, both piloted and drone, moved to their designated positions with a directive pattern.

“All units in position, Admiral,” Madison reported.

“This has to work…” Sandria muttered as the markers of enemies surged closer and closer on her central screen.

“The enemy has entered the combat zone!” the Silver Knight reported, his targeting system beeping frantically as lock icons populated his screen.

“Fire!” he commanded.

The air vibrated as smoke erupted from the launchers. Thousands of missiles were unleashed, their wriggling trails of exhaust painting the evening sky like a den of vipers. The Umbral Armatus units retaliated, their cannons spitting energy to intercept the incoming ordnance. Micro-explosions blossomed across the void as the battle raged.

“So far, so good. The missiles should buy us time,” Sandria bit her lip. The suspension rose high in the air, but none refused to give up.

Suddenly, a streak of light flared on the flank. A group of enemy suits was trying to break her formation.

“Silver Knight!” Sandria warned.

“I see them! The bastards!” the knight groaned, driving his machine. His two rows of fighters moved to sandwich the Umbral force, chasing them down with cannon fire. The enemy Armatus pilots barrel-rolled, expertly evading the blasts.

“Silver Knight, break off! Leave them to the Combat Air Patrol!” Sandria ordered.

Visibly frustrated, the knight disengaged and redirected his squadrons to the front line, only to see the true scale of the approaching force.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Eric mumbled, sweat beads formed on his forehead. The sheer number of enemy suits darkened the sky. A stray missile locked onto him. He twisted his machine into a reverse flight path and intercepted it with a precise cannon shot, the warhead detonating in a cloud of black smoke.

“One minute of continuous fire! Fire everything you have!” Silver Knight Eric bellowed in retaliation

Light flashed and smoke smouldered. A thunderous boom rolled across the battlefield as the sky erupted in flames from the all-out assault.

“Requesting permission to retreat!” Eric yelled, firing his last missile. Only hot exhaust vented from the empty launcher. He discarded the pod and switched to his cannon, but the enemy advanced relentlessly, their numbers barely diminished.

“Permission granted! Retreat to the combat air patrol line!” Sandria commanded, her voice solemn. “That only bought us fifteen minutes…” She grumbled under her breath, exasperated.

The battlefield now drew perilously close to the Zeigerlich. The grand, terrible spectacle of the battle was visible through the main viewports. On the decks below, maintenance personnel and P.N.I. bots moved frantically, repairing damaged components and reloading missile racks for the escorting Armatus.

An energy blast slammed into Zeigerlich's defensive barrier, and the entire hull shuddered from the impact. Then another, and another. The defensive lines were breaking. The situation was looking more dire.

“Start up the secondary A.E.G.I.S.!” Sandria bellowed, gripping the trembling dashboard.

“We can’t, Admiral! The Arcanie engines are fried!” the chief engineer yelled back over the internal comm.

“The barrier is depleting at an alarming rate!” an operator reported, his voice strained.

“Retreat! Full thrusters, now!” Sandria commanded decisively.

Tension peaked. The battlecruiser began to drift away, its main engines accelerating it south. The enemy followed fiercely, unloading a continuous barrage of fire.

Suddenly, a blinding beam of energy shot out from the east. The destructive blast cleaved through a cluster of Umbral Armatus. A chain reaction of micro-explosions erupted in its wake, forcing the enemy line to disperse.

“Admiral Sandria, leave this to us!” Zetius’s voice rang out from the comms.

The dark, angular form of the X-12 QuiHST pierced the sky, ever so majestic. The true cavalry had arrived at the scene.

“Zetius!?” Sandria gasped, swallowing hard.

“Armatus Celer, are you ready for dislodgement?” Astrid’s voice crackled through Zetius's cockpit speakers. Zetius exchanged a confident nod with Cubie and smiled.

“Armatus Celer is ready. Engage dislodgement protocol!” He flicked a switch. Mechanical joints unlatched, and seams in the X-12's metallic hull widened. A pair of thrusters on its dorsal side lifted upwards, ejecting a smaller, sleeker craft from its housing. Two separate aircraft now flew abreast, accelerating towards the battlefield with immense speed.

The tide of war was about to shift.