27 – To the Limit

Nathaniel led several other pilots to run towards the fortress gate. He slashed at several monsters that blocking them.

"Get ready!" The warrior shouted. "Hit it with your shoulders!"

The pilots sped up, preparing to ram the entrance. But when they got close, the door shattered, and a force pushed them flying.

A huge beetle monster emerged from the door. With twice the height of other beetle monsters, its roar is also more thunderous.

The pilots became the targets of its wrath. The creature punched and slammed them with much greater force and quicker movements.

Nathaniel rose to his feet with the help of his giant sword. He passed out for a few seconds because he landed head first. Without his armor to lessen the impact, he could have lost his life.

Despite his pounding head and blurry vision, he knew it wasn't over.

The warrior ran, then jumped and swung his sword at the monster's shoulder.

Nathaniel made the attack harder, but it couldn't penetrate the monster's body.

"What the…." He felt like he had just hit a very hard rock. Before he could process what happened, the monster hit his body, sending him flying away again.

He landed rolling on the ground, feeling pain all over his body. His armor only dampened some effects of the attack.

Even so, he tried to get up as soon as possible. His ears caught the rapid footsteps of the monster approaching him.

And once he stood up, he blocked the monster's fist with his sword. His feet slid several meters back, but he still held on.

"Sir Lance has entrusted this sword to me!" The sharp part of the warrior's giant sword glowed red. "I won't let him down!"

Nathaniel pushed the monster with his sword, throwing it off balance. The warrior did not waste this opportunity. He slashed at his opponent.

The sword finally penetrated the monster's hard skin, although not deeply.

But Nathaniel didn't give up. He slashed the monster's body a second time before it did anything.

That giant humanoid beetle roared and tried to punch Nathaniel, but the warrior was able to dodge and attacked his opponent's side.

It continued. Nathaniel dodges or blocks his opponent's attacks, then provides counter attacks from various directions. Over time, the monster became helpless, and can only receive the attacks.

Sheila helped a pilot to stand up, and the friend next to her asked. "How can he move like that?"

"You don't know yet, huh?" Sheila replied. "They tuned his armor to have more agility and power. But only he can control such a large output."

"What about that giant ass sword?"

Sheila continued. "They made it with special materials and enchanted with magic. But they haven't even managed to activate it during testing. I heard it resonates with the state of your determination."

The monster fell with a loud crash. Nathaniel jumped so high while pointing his armor down. He dived hard and his weapon penetrated the monster's chest.

That creature flinched hard and then stopped moving.

Nathaniel was out of breath. He had never fought such an intense fight before.

His colleagues, both pilots and regular soldiers, cheered him on. But he felt he couldn't celebrate this victory yet. The warrior drew his sword, then approached his fellow pilots. "How are we doing?"

"Some of us were injured, but no one died." Sheila answered. "We can still continue, Nat."

The warrior turned his head to the destroyed gate, then to his commander.

The commander raised his sword. "To Celestenia!!! Advance!!!"

The soldiers cheered, and they entered the fortress with powered armor pilots in front of them.

The troops from Zashrend were waiting inside. Not many beetle monsters accompanied them.

"It's better to kill monsters than to kill humans." Nathaniel saw their faces painted with terror. "But this is my duty. I will give my best."

The warrior put his giant sword on his shoulder as he continued walking.

Zashrend's kingdom's soldiers screamed in desperation. Advancing forward, they held onto their nation's pride in their hearts.

Bullets from Celestenia's troops greeted them, knocking them to the ground. Even if some escaped, they became targets for the powered armor pilots' swords or spears.

In a short time, they spilled a lot of blood.

***

It didn't take long for the Celestenia Kingdom troops to achieve victory. Only a few Zashrend soldiers remained and they became prisoners.

Nathaniel walks away from his comrades and vomits like crazy. Meanwhile, Sheila rubbed his back. He had crossed his limit. He felt pain throughout his whole body. His stamina was drained, and he had not recovered his breath.

"Well, that was beyond my wildest dreams." Sheila said. "I can't wait to see what Sir Lance will say after hearing about this success."

"Yeah." Nathaniel even had difficulty forming a full smile with his mouth. Exhausted, he wished to rest.

Finally, almost twenty years on, his life had meaning.

"What do you guys want to do?" Sheila confronted several soldiers who came to her and Nathaniel.

"What is it?" Nathaniel straightened his body and recognized those people. His mind recalled the times they made his life so much more difficult.

They used to bully him, put dead rats on his bed, doused him with mop water, made him a target for throwing balls, and many other horrible things they did to him.

But they came at him with shaking legs and frightened expressions.

"What?" Nathaniel asked in a bitter tone.

One of them, with the largest body, stepped forward with his head lowered. "W-we are sorry for what we did to you. We were wrong, Nathaniel. We shouldn't do those horrible things to you."

Nathaniel has become an important person in the military because of his crazy abilities. Nobody would want to mess with him. If anyone touches it, they will face severe consequences from the higher ups.

Nathaniel looked at those people. Instead of saying anything, he smirked, then walked away with Sheila.

For the warrior, they are not worth his time anymore. He had become part of something much bigger.