46 – A Discovery

Nathaniel used maximum speed and swung his sword. But Zach could catch the weapon.

"What?" The captain gasped hard.

Zach scratched Nathaniel's body again. This time, the captain was too late to dodge, causing his waist to bleed.

Pain gripped that part of Nathaniel's body. While running away from his opponent, he grimaced, knowing that his blood was flowing a lot.

But Nathaniel refused to give up.

And he knew he had not brought out the full power of his sword. That weapon uses a special magic stone. Its power related to the state of the user's heart. But before this, no one had made good use of it. Lance and Eve's genius allowed them to create the sword.

With difficulty, Nathaniel blocked and avoided his opponent's attacks. The captain's movements were not as agile and sharp as before.

In theory, he could use the light feature of his sword more than this. But what should he do? He already has a very strong determination to win. He should have been able to defeat his opponent.

Zach made clawing movements from top to bottom, hitting Nathaniel's body. The attack was so hard that the captain's body flew high into the air.

Nathaniel knew that if he didn't do something now, he would die. He didn't want that to happen. He still had many possibilities with this newfound ability.

"Arrrggghhh!!!" Nathaniel somersaulted backwards in the air, then landed on the ground.

But Zach was already running to the captain.

"I won't lose!!!" Nathaniel shouted, and his sword flashed brighter.

Several parts of the sword opened, and its blade flew at high speed like a rocket. It hit Zach's body, taking him a long way, and finally hit something in the distance, causing a powerful explosion.

The captain dropped his sword hilt, then fell. His views and consciousness are dwindling down. The pain in his body was getting crazier.

"Medics!!!" Sheila shouted as she continued to lead the battle. "Help our captain!!!"

Nathaniel's mind held only one question. Has he won yet?

The sound of screams, weapons clashing, and explosions continued to fill the air. Nathaniel wanted to help his troops, but his eyes closed automatically.

"I won't let you die, Nat!!!" Sheila's scream appeared among the voices.

Various memories flashed through the captain's mind.

***

Celestenia claims another victory, though with significant casualties.

While supporting Nathaniel, Sheila sighed. "You should rest, Cap."

"I have to see my opponent's condition." Nathaniel answered. He felt like he had lost a lot of energy and had no strength. "It's okay. They have healed my wounds."

"But that doesn't mean you're completely cured." The vice-captain continued her protest. "Look, your face is so pale."

"I'll rest after talking to him."

They arrived at a giant, destroyed rock, the location where Zach crashed. The man was lying with his helmet off, and parts of his armor cracked. Several Celestenia soldiers–both wearing armored armor and not–stood around him on guard, and a healer was taking care of him.

"Why should we help him?" One of Celestenia's soldiers snorted. "He is our enemy."

"Because he is a high-ranking individual and may have important information." Nathaniel said.

The soldiers saluted Nathaniel, then moved to allow the captain to pass.

Zach extended his hand to Nathaniel. The Zashrend soldier's mouth moved, but no voice came out.

"He wants to speak to you, sir." The healer informed the captain.

Nathaniel kneeled near Zach, then put his ear close to the man's mouth.

"Save my family, please…. They are in danger…. I don't want to do this…. But if I don't do it, the king will punish my family..." Zach whispered with the last of his strength. "Forgive me…. And please…. Our king is evil…."

Zach breathed his last breath, and Nathaniel helped to close his opponent's eyes.

The captain had mixed feelings after hearing that revelation. This is more complex than just two nations at war.

***

Trish runs back and forth in a bunker. Because she was still wearing her powered armor, creaking sounds continued to echo from the room.

"If you want, you can go to help your brother," Lance suggested.

The female warrior stopped. "No, your ass is more important than his avocado butt, boss. Besides, it might hurt his pride."

Lance smiled. "I'm glad you understand."

The sound of trumpets blared from outside. This time, they used notes of different lengths.

"We won again." Lance got up from the bench and widened his smile.

"Good." Trish ran up the stairs to get out of the special bunker. Lance just followed her.

The female warrior searched for Nathaniel among the returning soldiers. As soon as she found her little brother, she ran again, stretching out her arms, looking like she was going to hug him.

"What the fuck are you doing, Trish!?" The captain ran away. "You want to crush my bones!?"

Lance chuckled at the sight. But then several pilots caught Lance's attention as they dragged a powered armor with chains.

"Please, stop, soldier!" The engineer raised his hand. And as soon as those people followed his orders, he kneeled down near the gold-trimmed powered armor. "Thanks."

After escaping from his sister, Nathaniel went to the engineer. "This is Zach Woulfe's, sir. When fighting him, I felt his movements were different."

"He's different, indeed." Lance tapped the metal of the armor. He wasn't a metal expert, but he felt something unusual. Maybe he should confirm that with Cecil.

Apart from that, he discovered something new in the joints of the war equipment. They used small gears, despite those things are not being in Lance's blueprints. He always utilizes magic spells to move his armor.

An engineer uses some other technologies to modify Lance's blueprints, going beyond minor adjustments.

"This is interesting." Lance rose to his feet. "I will examine this right away. Can you arrange a place where I can do that with no interruptions, Cap?"

"Of course, sir," Nathaniel responded. "I will ask my subordinates to prepare it immediately."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Lance's narrowed eyes remained glued to the armor's joints.