The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1348: The Price of Power

For several tense moments, the pirates were too busy avoiding incoming attacks to continue their conversation.

And when they finally managed to put some distance between themselves and their opponents, one of them couldn’t help glancing at the mecha suits still moving effortlessly through the battlefield.

"Tch. Apparently, they weren’t kidding about those videos if even having a hard time."

The pirate clicked his tongue as he watched one of the mechas change direction in midair, avoiding an incoming attack before immediately counterattacking.

"But it’s the gap between mechas, so what can we do? If we were piloting those instead, then for sure..."

"Wait."

"...?"

The pirate who’d been cursing at his comrades just moments ago suddenly went quiet, as though something had finally occurred to him.

"Ha! Right! Why can’t we just take those for ourselves?!"

"...Huh?"

"We’ve always been given the spoils, haven’t we?!"

The others fell silent.

"Take them? You think we can actually take those?"

"What? You can’t?!"

The pirate sounded genuinely offended by the question.

"With all those sticks you still have, you’re saying all of us can’t even take one down?!"

"..."

"Even if we only sell an arm or a leg of that mecha, we’d be set for life, you fool!"

The suggestion would’ve sounded ridiculous just a few days ago.

After all, those were luxury custom mechas!

Who knew how much even a single component might fetch?

But now?

As they looked at their remaining Apex Black allocations, the possibility didn’t seem quite so far-fetched anymore.

...If only they could hold on to themselves and their dreams a little longer, because what followed was certainly nothing they’d signed up for.

__

Another attempt at reviewing the scan findings only confirmed that the little system hadn’t been mistaken.

And considering what those readings were showing, D-29 figured it was probably time to contact the right people.

"See? We suddenly have values where there were none! Worse, the readings... they’re all rising!"

"No, wait! D-29, is it really corruption? And you’re detecting it from those guys?"

Luca, who’d been running alongside everyone else toward the illegal facility, almost skidded to a stop upon hearing the little system’s report.

Corruption?!

There?!

It wasn’t that he couldn’t believe such a thing existed, but the whole reason they’d gone down there instead of remaining inside their mechas was to deal with the corruption and prevent any possible contamination. And now they were being told that corruption had suddenly started appearing among the enemies they’d left behind?!

"Yes, Host! We didn’t have anything earlier, but suddenly..."

D-29 stopped mid-sentence.

Because just as it was about to explain its findings, Jax had finally managed to subdue one of the pirate mechas and forcibly remove its cockpit door.

And what greeted the redhead was...

"..."

A human.

Well, supposedly.

The pirate was still strapped into his seat, screaming obscenities at whoever had dared open his cockpit, but several streaks of black had begun spreading across his exposed skin.

Worse, they were... moving.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!"

"..."

Jax stared at the dark streaks crawling up the man’s neck.

Then, after a moment’s consideration, he reached for the cockpit door he’d just removed with his mecha’s hand.

He carefully returned it to its original position, shutting it as tight as he possibly could.

"Yep. Contaminated, all right. Better leave this one riiiiight where he belongs..."

But just as the redhead was preparing to step away, the supposedly subdued mecha suddenly moved.

"...!"

One enormous hand shot upward and clamped around the crimson machine’s shoulder.

Then the other followed.

The reinforced armor began groaning beneath the pressure as the pirate mecha tightened its grip with strength it clearly hadn’t possessed moments ago.

A chill ran down Jax’s back. If he’d been using a regular mecha, what then?

"Ah, shit."

Meanwhile, D-29 had apparently decided that its Host deserved a slightly more urgent update.

"Oh! Pardon, Host. I shall explain further later. For now, it seems the enemies are in the middle of mutating!"

"...!"

Luca nearly missed a step.

"What do you mean, mutating?!"

Before the little system could answer, another metallic groan came through the shared communication channel.

And considering that Jax was still out there with the others, Luca was already thinking about turning around and heading straight back to their mechas.

"Jax, I’m coming back!"

"Don’t!"

"...!"

"Finish what you need to do there!" Jax immediately replied, his voice sounding calm despite the situation. "If it’s handling a few people versus dealing with a whole facility, I think we’d have better chances with this smaller group!"

"Jax..."

"We just need to keep these guys engaged for a bit, right? I think we can do that..."

Technically speaking, the heir to House Taylor didn’t quite have a plan just yet.

But if all they needed was to buy some time...

Well!

Who better to handle something like that than an ever-loving tank?!

Inside the cockpit, Jax clicked his tongue as another warning flashed across his display.

[EXTERNAL PRESSURE INCREASING]

"..."

Seriously?

Did this guy really think he could just squeeze him to death?!

The pirate mecha’s fingers tightened again, but despite the mounting pressure, Luca’s craftsmanship held firm.

For a moment, Jax simply watched the readings climb.

Then his expression changed.

"Alright."

His hands settled firmly over the controls.

"Guess we can try something like this..."

The crimson mecha’s propulsion system flared, its massive frame shifting against the pirate’s grip.

The enemy machine immediately responded by tightening its hold, clearly intending to prevent its opponent from escaping.

Unfortunately...

Something that had been momentarily put away unfolded from the crimson mecha’s forearms.

Then another.

Two tower shields extended into position, their broad reinforced surfaces locking firmly into place as Jax adjusted his stance.

"...?"

The pirate pilot barely had time to register the sudden change before the crimson mecha stopped struggling altogether.

For one brief moment, it remained perfectly still.

Then Jax moved.

The two tower shields slammed together.

And the impact was anything but ordinary.

A powerful directional shockwave erupted from the point of collision, releasing the force the shields had accumulated from the punishment they’d endured earlier.

The pirate mecha’s grip broke apart almost instantly.

Its enormous arms were thrown outward as the shockwave struck its frame, sending the entire machine hurtling backward before its pilot could understand what had happened.

"...!"

For a moment, the surrounding pirates could only watch as their supposedly empowered comrade was sent flying by a mecha that had appeared to be completely trapped just seconds ago.

And there, in the middle of the battlefield, the crimson machine remained hovering with its two enormous shields raised.

Jax rolled his shoulders inside the cockpit, glancing at the readings displayed across his interface.

Not bad.

At least all those hits he’d taken earlier hadn’t gone to waste!

Then, as though he’d finally made up his mind about something, the redhead opened the shared communication channel.

"Hey, Sid? D-29? D-64?"

Jax looked toward the scattered pirate mechas, several of which were already beginning to recover from their earlier setbacks.

Then he grinned.

"How would you guys feel about trapping them in?"

"Huh?"