The blades of grass brushed softly against his clothes as Lunarius Willhelm Mae Arden relaxed on a grassy patch, his dark brown hair fluttering in the gentle wind. The humid air of Thylin caused him to sweat more than usual. Fortunately, the temperature was not so hot at this time of year.

Further away, black and white rams grazed on the grass, bleating as they went about their days. The scent of the earth, of nature, and of life soothed his mind.

A distant buzzing was ignored. It was not that Willhelm did not care, but he had been waiting for the right moment. I arrived early, didn't I? he composed himself.

A flash of light, followed by its explosive roar, shattered the tranquillity of the rural grassland. Microbombs erupted in the evening sky, and his monolid eyes snapped open. The serenity was broken. Trees and scrub rattled, and the herds scrambled and screamed with fright.

As Willhelm summoned and secured his wide-brimmed hat, he sat up straight and yawned. "Is it time already?" he mused, his lips pulling up into a smirk.

Gradually, he rubbed his eyes after he rose to his feet, flicking his palm upward to summon his sceptre. This was not the staff he occasionally bore at most events. This was a real weapon of mass destruction. Out of all the heirlooms in the Mae Arden family, this became his favourite since he had first laid eyes on it. The ornate gold sceptre bore the effigy of a legendary beast at its tip — the Phoenix, the symbol of immortal fire.

“Hehehe, it feels great to dance with you again,” he spoke to his weapon, admiring its craftsmanship and intricate design. The Arc weapon whirred with arcane energy, causing a tempest of wind to swirl around him. His Arc coat, crimson-red like blood, flapped about.

Willhelm glanced skyward, studying the full-scale battles of steel and fire as the explosions continued. His eyes were wide with anticipation, and the thrill surged through him. Hundreds of Armatus mobile suits fought in the chaotic brawl with missiles flying, cannons blasting, barriers activating, and ionised blades clashing.

Yet, Willhelm did not move.

Not until—

Bzzzzzzzt—WHACK!

A massive beam of amber light arched across the horizon, and the flash of an Umbral Dunkelheit vessel appeared to the northwest.

A wide, satisfying grin painted his face. That was what he had been seeking.

Immediately, the elven Lunarius raised his sceptre overhead. A ring of runes and glyphs materialised, and the immense radiation it emitted scorched everything within a 10-metre radius.

“Flight!” he muttered, his knees coiling.

With a massive flame that whirled and erupted with a shockwave, the Lunarius mage turned into a fireball, arching toward the battlefield.

***

“Deploy four-finger formations!” Sandria commanded sharply, her voice raised above the background noise.

The fleet of Armatus suits expanded across the battlefield into a common yet effective formation. By mimicking the four tips of the fingers, the fleet could employ both offensive and defensive tactics. This also mitigated the risk of over-clustering, which would allow a Lancer to eliminate them in one concise strike.

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“Four-finger formations engaged,” Madison reported, nodding to the Admiral.

She folded her arms, a finger lightly tapping on her armrest. Her eyes were fixated on the holographic map at the centre, which displayed a satellite image integrated with a high-precision, low-latency feed. On the bottom left, the Zeigerlich’s major statistics were displayed, such as energy consumption, Arcanite engine health, barrier integrity, damage reports, and Armatus arsenals. On the opposite side, marked in red, were the updated statistics for the enemy’s vessel. This sophisticated dashboard was tailored to give her a complete, scalable view of the battlefield.

“One of the enemy’s battlecruisers has reached the effective zone. The Lancer beam is hot!” one of the operators shouted frantically.

“Request to engage evasive maneuver!” the operator yelled.

“Request denied.” Admiral Sandria rejected the plea decisively. “We’re still deploying the Armatus units.” She groaned, irritated. “If we stop the supply line, our frontline will crumble,” she analysed inwardly.

Her finger pressed the speed dial to the Chief Engineer, and it beeped a second later.

“Admiral,” the old man spoke up, wiping sweat from his face.

“Re-route the secondary engine to the barrier, Chief Engineer Ito,” she asked, spotting his video feed in her peripheral vision.

“On it! Ramping up the secondary A.E.G.I.S.!” he relayed the command with haste. “Ready to test this?”

“I hate this…” she grumbled, watching the feed.

“Oh! Have some faith, please!” Ito smirked, wagging his index finger playfully.

The Lancer beam arced across the sky, and the Armatus suits of both sides scrambled away, evading.

“BRACE! BRACE! BRACE!” The Zeigerlich’s crew tucked their necks, and hands clung to their seat belts. The alarm blared.

The light travelled, and a mere second later, it collided with the Zeigerlich battlecruiser. The energy was dissipated and distributed across the spherical barrier. Violent quakes erupted for a full minute.

“Nnnnnnn!” Sandria groaned as she forced her eyes open. The power meter depleted at a terrifying rate.

Then, deafening silence.

“Report!” Sandria yelled as people returned to their stations.

“No damage, no hull breached!”

Chief Engineer Ito was overjoyed, punching the air. “Woooo~hoooo!” he cheered, before crying out, “Ah, my back!”

“Don’t overexert yourself, Chief.” Sandria found herself smiling. This technology was proving to be more reliable than she thought.

“Alright, I’ll prepare for the next charge. The secondary engine Alpha is fired, Admiral,” Ito reported calmly.

“Appreciate it, Chief,” she responded promptly as he disconnected.

Then, something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. The live feed of a strange meteor headed skyward to the front line. Her eyes widened with surprise. “What the bloody hell is that?!” she gasped.

Lunarius Willhelm flew past the white Armatus suits, winking at the allied pilots.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the enemy’s frontlines, his sceptre clenched in his grasp.

“Fifty Armatus suits. Hardly a challenge,” Lunarius Willhelm muttered, disappointed.

“Who’s this clown?” A silver knight lurched forward, motioning his three Armatus to attack, their blades glowing with heat.

Majestically, the crimson Lunarius raised his palm forward. “Evil begone!” he demanded.

As the Armatus entered his radiation range, its thrusters were muffled to a dim hum. The barrier flickered off, and the composite shell deformed with intense heat. The knight desperately kicked his hatch open and abandoned his mobile suit mid-air, only to be met with an agonising inferno that turned his body to falling ash.

“Kill the wizard! Shoot him!” the enemy roared angrily.

A ferocious barrage of missiles and energy blasts lit up the sky, converging on a singular point.

On the bridge, Sandria blinked. “That mage… Lunarius Willhelm!” she shouted. “Help has arrived!” she realised, and a renewed hope and spirit returned to the control room.

Her finger hit the comm. “Armatus Pilots, provide rear support for the Lunarius. Ensure a safe distance!” she bellowed. Predictably, and without a flicker of hesitation, the squadrons banked to comply.