Chapter 250: Breaching Arasaka Tower
However, the Arasaka army was, after all, a well-trained regular military force.
After the initial chaos, the battlefield command system rapidly completed a tactical reassessment.
Cold directives were transmitted to every combat unit via data link—since wide-area coverage was ineffective, they would concentrate all power to strike at a single point.
The electromagnetic turrets of over twenty Main Battle Tanks adjusted simultaneously, their muzzles pointing uniformly at a single Armiger mech on the flank of the formation.
There was no roar of a volley. Instead, a more deadly rhythm of sustained strikes took its place—high-velocity armor-piercing rounds bombarded the same area of the Armiger's shield in succession with precise frequency.
Almost simultaneously, the threat from above intensified abruptly.
A "Hachiman" class armed aerodyne forced its way forward. The multi-barrel pulse laser turrets on its belly no longer fired probing bursts, but continuous beams of energy, pressing against the surface of the pale blue shield like scorching welding torches.
Even more lethal was an entire swarm of suicide drones. Ignoring interception fire, they dove in suicidal trajectories, crashing one after another onto the same shield node, triggering a series of violent energy explosions.
Faced with this unprecedented, highly coordinated saturation strike, the Armiger's shield system finally showed its limits.
The originally stable, flowing pale blue light screen began to flicker violently between bright and dim. Energy ripples in the sustained impact zone became wild and irregular, even sparking ominous electric arcs.
The sharp whine of the shield generator overloading penetrated the external battlefield noise, reaching the pilot's perception.
"Warning, Armiger-04 shield overload! Structural integrity dropping!" Maria noticed the anomaly immediately.
As her voice fell, the shield of the focused Armiger, after enduring seconds of frenzied strikes, shattered abruptly like broken glass.
The following armor-piercing rounds and rockets struck its body directly!
The continuous saturation strike finally exceeded the shield system's instantaneous load limit.
Accompanied by a blinding energy flash and sharp overload beep, the Armiger's pale gold shield dissipated like shattered glaze.
Armor-piercing rounds and pulse laser beams smashed ruthlessly onto the mech's main body, but failed to cause structural destruction.
After the firelight of the explosions faded, only several deep melted dents and charred impact marks were left on its heavy shoulder armor plating. The surface paint peeled off under high temperatures, revealing the raw metal color beneath, with fine electric sparks jumping briefly in the damaged area.
The immense impact force caused the mech to stagger backward violently. The movement of one arm showed a slight lag, but its weapon systems continued to operate stably, spewing firepower.
Almost at the same time, another Armiger suffered a similar focused strike, its shield collapsing.
Several precise hits left obvious dents and scratches on its leg armor, but the joint structure remained intact; only its mobility was temporarily slightly affected by the impact.
This was the first time since the battle began that the Arasaka army's offensive had truly touched the main bodies of these otherworldly creations.
However, this all-out strike merely left some inconsequential scars on their indestructible armor.
Receiving orders, the two damaged Armigers immediately retreated, adjusting their fire to precise intermittent bursts to preserve structural integrity.
The melt marks and craters on their armor were particularly conspicuous under the artillery fire, but core functions remained stable.
Almost at the same moment the Armigers retreated, all firepower of the Arasaka army—railgun bombardments, aerodyne pulse lasers, and drone swarm impacts—poured even more madly toward the two main Knight suits, especially Margaret charging at the front, as if attracted by a magnet.
However, a fundamental gap existed between Knight suits and Armigers.
Against the dense attacks targeting the "Lancer"—whether railgun shells capable of tearing through the front of a main battle tank or continuous scorching pulse lasers—all were steadily deflected and absorbed by the Ion Shield at optimal angles under Margaret's exquisite control.
She could even instantly switch the energy output mode of her Shock Lance while maintaining shield stability. A fan-shaped ion torrent swept across, turning a tank platoon attempting to reload on the flank, along with its position, into charred iron and slag.
Maria's "Punisher" held the line steady. The Punisher Bolter Cannon let out continuous roars, suppressing the distant aerodynes and armored clusters attempting to advance, trapping them in a sea of explosive fire.
Occasionally, a few missiles or suicide drones that slipped through the net hit her shield, only stirring up rapidly calming energy ripples, utterly unable to shake it.
The Arasaka army realized in despair that even with their utmost effort, they had only left a few scratches on the "smaller" mechs.
And against these two true steel colossi, despite exhausting all means, they couldn't even cause that seemingly thin blue light screen to show a hint of weakening.
Their shields seemed eternal, their armor insurmountable, and their weapons represented pure destruction.
The technological gap transformed at this moment into a suffocating, uncrossable wall of despair.
Margaret and Maria, like deities walking among mortals, bathed in a rain of bullets without their pace faltering in the slightest.
They crushed the burning wreckage of tanks, trampled over fleeing soldiers, and advanced unwaveringly toward the tower symbolizing Arasaka's ultimate power—Arasaka Tower.
The street behind them had turned into a road of death paved with steel debris, solidified molten metal, and charred corpses, silently recounting the cruelty of this asymmetrical war. The night sky of Tokyo was illuminated blood-red by this sea of fire.
Crushing through the fragmented defense lines of Arasaka's regular army, Margaret and Maria finally arrived beneath Arasaka Tower.
This sky-piercing tower stood like a pitch-black scepter thrusting into the clouds, the ultimate embodiment of the Arasaka Empire's will to rule.
At this moment, the defensive systems at the base of the tower were fully activated: automated turrets rose from concealed positions, high-frequency laser fences hummed in the air, and the final organized unit of "Onimusha" power armor troops stood ready at the entrance.
Even more alarming was that the anti-aircraft array at the top of the tower, disregarding friendly forces still engaging below, began firing at a downward angle toward the approaching steel giants. The dense barrage completely covered the area around the tower.
"Clear peripheral defenses. Establish a secure zone." Margaret's voice rang in the encrypted channel, steady as usual.
The "Lancer's" left arm raised slightly, the ion shield precisely deflecting several particle beams shot from high altitude.
"Leave these trash mobs to me!" Maria responded immediately.
The "Punisher's" bolter cannon emitted deafening booms. Dense bolter rounds rained down on the weapon platforms in the middle section of the tower, tearing apart automated turrets and missile arrays one by one.
Her fire did not cease. The ground-level fortifications disintegrated under continuous explosions, swallowed by flames along with the defenders inside.
Although the four Armigers had armor covered in scorch marks and dents, they still provided stable fire support from the rear.
They used precise shots to clear enemy forces attempting to approach from the flanks, ensuring the rear security of the main Knights.
Margaret piloted the "Lancer" in a steady advance. Every precise shot from her Shock Lance silenced a firing point; every sweep turned a squad of "Onimusha" into scrap metal. Her every movement was concise and efficient, without any wasted motion, existing purely to achieve tactical objectives.
Arasaka Tower's defense system could indeed be called an impenetrable fortress, enough to deter the world's most elite special forces.
But before the Knight suits, all of this appeared so fragile.
The heavy alloy gates twisted and melted under the ion blast of the Shock Lance. Before the internal security personnel could organize effective resistance, they were thoroughly drowned by the subsequent bolter and energy attacks.
"Entrance breached. Target: Data Center." Margaret declared calmly, stepping first into the grand hall of Arasaka Tower, now reduced to ruins.
(End of Chapter)