Veda's network around the world is quite scary… Maybe this is one of the perks of existing for a very long time.

If he was not mistaken, Veda's terminal was only being provided to selected people of each country…

However, it appears that the super A.I. has decided to extend its network to various organizations as well…

He wouldn't even be surprised if Veda is already cooperating with the various terrorists around the world aside from the Z-Company.

"Experiment Soldier, huh… They are different from those Adept Mage with Cryptic Link, right?"

[ Correct. These soldiers were solely Veda's Project. ]

"What are your thoughts—I mean, analysis about them?"

It feels weird to ask what an A.I. thinks so he changed his words.

[ Veda focused on altering and enhancing these people's genes, a common practice of the Empire. They are physically strong Magicians with the natural power to fight even against Mana Spells with just their bodies alone. They will be decent cannon fodder. ]

"Is that so?"

Wallace smiled wryly. He can only hope that he can arrive with all his weapons in time.

He knows that casualties are unavoidable but he's hoping he could still give them some help while the Empire hasn't stabilized their power here…

[ Yes. These soldiers have those 12 powerful individuals that played the Alien Invasion game… ]

"Twelve powerful gamers?"

Wallace squinted his eyes as he tries to recall them…

Luckily, before Avalon reminded him, he already remembered what the A.I. was talking about.

"You're referring to those people you reported as capable of practicing the Fyoran Race's Martial Arts."**

[ Correct ]

Wallace and Avalon decided to put real rewards by playing the virtual game… There are potions, Mana Artifacts, Magic Structures, blueprints of advanced technology, different types of engines, and many other competitive awards.

It includes Martial Arts from his previous life and most of them belong to the Galactic Federation and two of them were from the Fyoran Race, a minor race allied with the Federation.

Their strength is unimaginable as a one-year-old Fyoran can turn a stone into dust just by grasping them tightly.

This means that the Martial Arts they're practicing is one of the hardest things to practice due to the weaker physique of humans.

"If that's the case, they might be really helpful… But I don't think they can still win against a Mech Frame, right?"

[ Yes. Although theoretically, three of Veda's Experimental Soldier should be capable of fighting a single Mech Frame. ]

"Eh? Isn't that impressive? Why would you call them cannon fodder?

[ Because the Empire seems to be prepared. All the Mech Frames they've sent out are the Wolf's Sledger. They have already seen our Magicians and they will most likely use the Mech's Psionic Pulse Tech to deal with them. As long as the Psionic Pulse is not used, they can win against Mech Frames. ]

"Mhmm… Let's just hope that Veda has plans for this… Oh, you've already shared all the data we gathered with Veda, right?"

[ Correct. ]

"That's good… Let's see what happens… However, in case I decided to use my Void Phase to meddle with the fight, just go ahead and continue with our operation."

[ Affirmative. ]

Avalon answered dutifully as Wallace stayed silent on his seat watching the current battles happening in the State of Kazan.

***

Vedran ran far away from the town but decided to take a rest after finding large trees around.

He climbs up the tree and glanced back at the town where he came from. He can still see the place from above and was quite happy that nothing is happening yet. It means that there would be a lot more people who would have a chance to escape…

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As he was trying to recover his mana, he heard the sound of tearing winds from afar… It appears that the scouts of the aliens were targeting the small town…

He can see two humanoid machines and eight small flying vehicles behind it…

"Only them? I guess they are really here just to scout first…"

Vedran believes that their town is capable of defending against Steel Knights or Iron Knights… They have Barriers and skilled Magicians ready to fight them, after all.

Perhaps if they were ambushed, they would have a chance of getting defeated. But now, they were all waiting for these aliens to arrive and they should've prepared their Grade 3 Mana Spells already.

Boom! Boom!

The humanoid mech fired a missile to their barrier but nothing happened. It wasn't even shaken by that force.

The two Mech Frames continued firing for 20 seconds but it was still not destroyed…

"Oh... They're holding… They might really buy time until the Seiji's Army arrives…"

Vedran felt glad that the barrier was quite dependable…

However, before he could celebrate, a beam of light hit the Town and the barrier was unable to block any of it as the beam passed through the town's houses and many other structures…

Boom! Boom!

It was followed by several explosions…

"This—"

Vedran saw everything… The floating city far away from the town sent another aircraft… It was similar to the Dorssian Empire's Destroyer Spacecraft within the game.

These Destroyers have plenty of flaws with their defensive abilities but they are extremely strong when their task is to destroy things…

'Help!'

'Someone! Help us!'

'Everyone! Use your Magic!'

'Do not falter!'

Vedran could somehow hear the people from the town with his enhanced senses. The soldiers were visibly shaken but the commander behind them was shouting orders as they slowly regain their senses…

No one knows the exact time that the reinforcements would arrive… So it was a bit difficult to increase their morale… There wasn't even a single Sage on their ranks and the strongest of them were just recently advanced Adept Mages with powerful Mana Artifacts sponsored by their country.

It means that it was still questionable whether they can accurately use the Artifacts to their limits.

Soon, Vedran saw the Mech Frames launch their attack against the soldiers of the town… The Destroyer above, on the other hand, remained watching and no longer fired any shots at the town.

'Tsk… This is terrible…' Vedran clenched his fist as he saw the town getting burned as the magicians were trying their best to protect the civilians and defend the place.

Then, he saw a group of town's people running away as the Marauder Gears started firing bullets on them…

"Primal Eagle's Eye!"

Vedran used his Mana Artifact to further enhance his vision… He felt that something was amiss with those shots from the Marauder Gears…

As expected, they seem to be paralyzing them instead of killing them on the spot!

'What are they thinking? Wait, they want to capture them?'

Then, he saw a group of old men with their Mana Artifacts rushing towards the two Mech Frames…

He can feel the undulations of Mana that are happening while these men charge towards the aliens…

"Instrument Reversal!"

It is a specialized Grade 3 Mana Spell that was cast!

A beam of light hit one of the Mech Frames perfectly!

After a couple of seconds, the machine started crumbling!

"Whoa!"

"We did it! We can do this!"

"Loyal Soldiers of Kazan! Buy us some time to cast that magic again! Do not lose hope!"

The group of old men appears to be the town mayor's entourage. The people of the town were visibly happy as the Mech Frame was destroyed… The small unit of Marauder Gears was also being overwhelmed by the numbers of Grade 1 and Grade 2 Mana Spells being thrown to them by the magicians…

They just have to restrict the other Mech Frame with bulky armor and they would turn things around…

Of course, the others were still doing their best to flee from the town to avoid being a casualty in the battle.

However, as everyone was delighted at the scene, Vedran had a serious look on his face…

Since he was quite far away, he can easily see things from his perspective…

Just now, the Conqueror Starship of the Empire added a few more Mech Frames that are dealing with this small town…

Thirty more Mech Frames were hurrying on their site!

'Tsk! You guys have to escape now! We can't win this war like this! We have to join the elite forces!'

This is what Vedran is thinking. As long as they gather their strength, they would have a higher chance of fighting against the Empire…

Boom! Boom!

Just like what he expected, the town was immediately cleaned up after the appearance of the Mech Frames. It doesn't matter whether they can cast Grade 3 Mana Spells… It wouldn't change the tide of battle if only one of them can use it…

'Tsk! They're even chasing the people who are escaping! Heartless!'

Vedran saw the Marauder Gears chasing the cars that were fleeing away from the town…

He realized that he's also in a dangerous spot so he decided to quickly run away deeper within the woods.

Woom~

However, before he could hide further within the forest, he saw an unfamiliar aircraft with the flag of another country…

Finally! It's the reinforcement from Seiji!