In an one-on-one engagement, this move of his would have given the European a massive opportunity to deal horrendous damage to the out-of-position heavy mecha. A simple thrust of his sword to any of the exposed weak points of the could very possibly end the heavy mecha’s involvement in the battle, if not the pilot’s life.

But unfortunately for him, it was not a one-on-one engagement.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Three other Chinese mechas smashed into him and ripped him to pieces.

The scene repeated itself all over the battlefield.

Outnumbered four to one, and against heavy lancers, the European line held out very impressively for a few minutes.

The soldiers stationed in the European Embassy in Shanghai counted many veterans among their number. They had long learnt through endless study and experience that the Chinese Heavy Lancers cannot be faced head on. Like the first European Swordsman, some among them were able to take advantage of their greater skill to deflect the initial lance charge and find the occasional rare opening for the well-thrust blade.

But not many managed to do so, and those that did, found that it was the only thing they managed to do before they were completely gang banged by their victim’s comrades.

Much greater numbers, and powerful lances coupled with near-impenetrable armor rendered the Europeans’ greater skill moot.

Within a single minute of intense fighting, the initial line of European Mechas were nothing but a memory.

However, whatever could be said about the Europeans, cowardice was definitely not one of them. They were ferocious fighters who had, as a collective continent, once almost ruled the world in its entirety.

Even after the initial line of defenders collapsed, more mechas continued to pour out of the keep and the barracks as pilots scrambled to power up their mechas and took off to meet their enemies in battle as soon as they could.

Caught completely out of position and out numbered during the brief moment of their appearance, the European Mechas were fallen upon by the Chinese Mechas and died almost as soon as they appeared.

In that way, due to a single man’s arrogance in not mobilizing the five battalions when he had the chance to do so, three thousand European Mechas - three full battalions, died tragically, one little group at a time, without inflicting a single casualty on their attackers.

The only thing they managed to do was to buy time for the remaining two thousand mechas to be mobilized and make their last stand in the keep.

Still, their own final stand against the old man’s mechas, though incredibly short, were absolutely glorious and spoke volumes about their courage, skill and sheer ferocity in battle.

After the final European Mecha had collapsed beyond the keep’s walls, there was a brief moment of ceasefire as both factions prepared for the final battle.

“10-Wedge Formation!” Ajax barked.

The old man’s mechas formed up into 10 100-mecha wedge formations arrayed all around the keep.

With their heavy laser cannons pointing at the keep and thrusters at the ready, it would only take a single word for the keep to fall.

At that moment, the Chinese government finally got online with the old man.

Ring!

My heightened sense of hearing heard a soft ring from somewhere behind the old man’s ear. It was his communication device.

Whoever called must be of extremely high rank, considering that he or she had a direct line to the Defence Minister.

“RUSSEL WHITEFROST!” An enraged female voice exploded from the old man’s earpiece. “WHAT THE F*** ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Secretary Jessica Wang. How are you today?” The old man greeted his caller mildly and politely.

“I’M KNEE DEEP IN S**T OF YOUR MAKING, THAT’S HOW I AM TODAY YOU BLITHERING OLD NINCOM! THE EUROPEAN EMPIRE’S G** D*** FREAKING EMPEROR IS CURRENTLY SPEAKING TO THE PRESIDENT! THE VICE PRESIDENT IS FREAKING OUT! THE MEDIA IS REPORTING THE START OF FREAKING WORLD WAR FOUR! I NEED ANSWERS G** D*** IT!”

“The Europeans were behind Emma’s kidnapping. The secret is probably out.” The old man replied tersely.

There was a stunned silence for a few moments before the woman’s voice sounded again. It was, however, strangely calm. “Are you sure?”

The old man merely chuckled. He was extremely amused by the Secretary’s question.

“I need to hear it.” The woman said.

“I have a confession from Isabella.” The old man said coolly. “Plus you already have all the evidence I’ve compiled.”

The woman sighed deeply and went silent for a few moments to digest the enormity of what she had heard. “Make sure you wipe them out completely. I’ll talk to you again later. We have an Emperor to yell at. AND GIVE US A FREAKING HEADS UP FIRST NEXT TIME A*****E!!”

Click.

“A secret within Emma?” My mind, with all its enhanced processing power, began to whirr at full speed.

There were four major clues which I had bookmarked earlier.

Emma was hyper intelligent. She had ingested a “Gene Cleansing Pill”. She had an extremely powerful vitality. Isabella didn’t consider her as her niece, claiming that her ‘niece’ is dead.

All of that pointed to one possibility. Enhanced cloning. But enhanced cloning is hardly a secret exclusive to the Chinese Federation. And if the Europeans truly wanted the best of enhanced cloning, they should probably kidnap a Russian princess or something, considering that the Russians were probably miles away from the rest of the world in that field.

“No. There must be a deeper secret.” I finally concluded.

I glanced at Emma and accidentally caught her looking at me. She blushed slightly and quickly turned to look at the screen.

On screen, Ajax was waiting for the old man’s final command. Once they charged into the keep and killed the European Empire’s High Ambassador, World War 4 would probably erupt. Ajax, even though he was a battle hardened warrior with thousands of kills under his belt, still felt the weight of the action which he was about to do very keenly.

The old man understood his hesitation and pulled the trigger for him.

“Go.” The old man said heavily. “Bring me William Leon’s head.”