C1 Codename Killing God(1)

Lucas believed today was the most fortunate day of his entire life.

As the leader of the "One-Eyed Pirate Crew," he was acutely aware that Princess Eliza of the Siron Royal Family was just through the door, in the cockpit a mere stone's throw away.

The starship was overrun, swarming with pirates, leaving her with no escape.

He had waited three long years for this moment.

Half of the interstellar pirates from the Siron Galaxy had been summoned by him, their small ships densely packed behind the asteroid belt.

General Chung Banhu of the Siron Empire had been cleverly decoyed away by Lucas and wouldn't be able to return anytime soon.

The traitors he had paid off on the starship had already secured the frigate and the mechas, triggering the self-destruct systems on most of them. The resistance they encountered was so feeble, it was almost comical.

Now, the only holdout was the cockpit before him.

But resistance was futile.

He knew the people left had no fight in them. Princess Eliza was trapped, with no way out.

The scent of victory was intoxicating.

With a sinister grin in the cockpit, he lifted his hand, and with a swift motion, launched two High Explosive Mines from his elbow.

He could almost see Princess Eliza's face and the immeasurable wealth that awaited him like towering piles of treasure.

Boom!

The door to the cockpit burst apart like a brittle wafer under the force of the mines. Amidst the lingering flames, a sword tip, clear as ice, thrust through the wreckage.

"Capture her!" Lucas's heart seemed to miss a half-beat.

Yes, that was her! That was the mecha!

The Ice Queen, a rare diamond-level mecha coveted across the Siron Galaxy.

After years as a pirate, his own vessel was merely Gold Level, outfitted at best with a few platinum-grade weapons.

To him, a diamond-level mecha was nothing short of a fairy tale. In fact, to any mechanist, such machines were the stuff of legends—mythical as the super-mechanists themselves.

Stronger armor, more agile movement, a more powerful engine, invincible weaponry... the diamond-level mecha was the ultimate dream of every mechanist.

But what of it? Even the finest mecha was nothing but scrap in the hands of an inept pilot.

He had just clashed with Eliza and knew exactly what she was capable of.

He was absolutely certain that Eliza wouldn't escape today.

"Capture her!" Instead of evading the ice crystal sword's blade, he charged head-on.

A swarm of pirate mechas of various types surged forward.

Her Z-shaped evasive maneuvers made it difficult for her to move right, ensuring a direct hit!

He thrust the trident in his hand straight toward the Ice Queen's cockpit.

But just then, his vision blurred, and with a resounding clang, his trident was struck by an overwhelming force.

The engines on his Gold Level mech whirred frantically, yet failed to grasp the weapon, sending the trident soaring into the air.

Inside the cockpit, Lucas, his head fitted with a neural controller, felt a bone-shattering pain in his right hand.

Impossible!

His eyes widened in disbelief, catching only a glimpse of silver.

"Chi..."

How could this be?

How could Eliza be so formidable?

No, it couldn't be Eliza!

In his final moments, Lucas strained his eyes and saw a fleeting trace of a chain inside the Ice Queen's cockpit.

A chain?

What would a chain be doing in the cockpit?

Lucas's consciousness faded for the last time.

The Gold Level mech was cleaved in two, bisected at the cockpit.

Its upper half glided down silently, and before it could touch the ground, it was engulfed in a fiery blast.

Like a plague of locusts, countless mechs swarmed out from behind the Ice Queen.

They fled frantically down a designated path.

Behind the Ice Queen, Princess Eliza's heart was a maelstrom of shock and awe.

She recognized Lucas's mech – he was the one who had earlier shattered two guard mechs and repelled her.

She was merely a C Class pilot, yet those mechs had been manned by B Class pilots.

Lucas's strength was undeniable, tearing through two mechs amidst an onslaught of fifteen.

But this individual had dispatched Lucas with such ease that he couldn't even hold onto his weapon.

How fearsome was he?

"Charge!" The communicator relayed a young man's composed command.

The Ice Queen leapt forward, her dazzling form cutting through the flames.

Inside the Ice Queen's cockpit, the radar system blared a frantic warning as a swarm of red dots converged upon them.

Leap left, sidestep, thrust!

The Ice Queen was the epitome of composure, cool as a block of ice itself.

Her actions were deliberate, efficient, and so meticulously executed they could have been measured with a ruler.

The pirates' exclamations of shock echoed in a tumultuous chorus.

"Who is this? It can't be Princess Eliza; she's never been this formidable!"

"Could it be Chung Banhu? Or is there an A-class mechanist lurking among us?"

The Ice Queen sliced through both the astonished cries and the opposing mechs.

"Be careful!" came a sudden warning through the communicator.

A fleeting glance was all it took for her to spot a High Explosive Mine combined with an electromagnetic bomb directly in her path.

The mine packed a massive punch, while the electromagnetic bomb was designed to cripple a mech's electronic systems.

Together, they could instantly incapacitate a mech's mobility.

The bomber was a master, choosing an angle so tricky, the drop point was precisely in the Ice Queen's intended direction.

In a normal battle, there might be time to divert, but in this race against the clock, trapped in a narrow corridor, evasion was no longer an option.

Fear gripped everyone, hearts turning to ice.

In the span of a millisecond, the Ice Queen deployed her energy barrier to shield against the initial blast of the High Explosive Mine. Then, in the very next breath, she deactivated the barrier and shut down all of the Ice Queen's electronic systems.

The electromagnetic bomb burst into a brilliant blue, its flames engulfing the Ice Queen without igniting a single electrical spark.

Like the exhale of a primordial titan, the Ice Queen's main engine roared to life just as the bomb's force dissipated.

Her Ice Crystal Sword lunged, severing a Silver Level Mech in a single strike.

She surged ahead, unfazed, the only toll taken were additional scratches on the Ice Queen's exterior armor.

The entire ordeal unfolded in the blink of an eye, leaving the pirates dumbfounded, their anticipation of the Ice Queen's defeat shattered as they witnessed the diamond-like mech, gleaming radiantly, charging into the fray once more.

"Who is it? Who is piloting this Mech?"

"It's a demon, a demon!"

"Oh my god, let me out. I need to get out. Please, don't kill me."

The alloy cockpit trembled violently, as laser swords sporadically jabbed from either side, while the energy barrier rippled intensely under a relentless barrage of laser rifle fire.

The Ice Queen's three main engines and twenty auxiliary engines whirred at breakneck speeds, emitting a weary roar.

A swarm of pirate mechas surged through the corridor.

Like a specter, the Ice Queen charged forth, her ice crystal sword erupting in a dazzling display of light.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" In a mere moment, all that remained was a thick carpet of mecha parts.

"Left."

"Straight ahead."

Eliza's voice steered the Ice Queen's course, her eyes fixed on the mecha with an intensity that belied her familiarity with it since childhood.

Why did it seem so different under her command?

It dashed ahead like a swift breeze, leaving everyone in awed silence.

The pirate mechas, some of high caliber, crumpled like paper before it.

Logically, even though high-level mechas were inferior to diamond-level ones, the gap shouldn't be this vast.

Yet, under the Ice Queen's pilot, no adversary stood a chance.

"Turn right—no, wait, there's a large enemy contingent to the right." Eliza's radar lit up with a swarm of red dots, prompting her to call out urgently.