Chapter 349 - Explosion

The legend of Mana Calamity is quite mysterious and one couldn't really tell what kind of disaster will happen with it.

However, as far as they know, it would result in massive destruction of land or surroundings… It would also create strange phenomena that couldn't be explained just like the Illusion of the Venarian Town.

Lewis and the other Mech Knights were unsure how Wallace is planning to trigger the calamity but they can sense the strange vortex of mana happening…

"We have to retreat now!"

Their mission to freeze the fleet and cast Mana Spell to try to invade their internal structure can be considered a success already.

If they try to force themselves to further damage the gigantic spacesh.i.p.s in front of them, they would be in extreme danger.

Even right now, they can feel that the Imperial Flagship is still exuding a threatening aura even after being covered by the black ice.

"We haven't destroyed all their sensor craft yet!"

"Tsk… Avalon… Where are the other sensors?"

[ Six More Sensor Spacecraft remaining… ] 

Beep!

Avalon quickly showed the coordinates of the remaining sensors. They were a bit far and even if their cannons or bullets can reach them, it will just be nullified by its energy barrier…

"Frostbite Seal…"

"Frostbite Seal…"

Lewis cast a Grade 2 Mana Spell that is not meant to destroy the spacecraft but to block or hinder its sensors instead. After all, these spacecraft doesn't seem to have the capability of defending themselves from external attack, and at most, they could perhaps dodge projectiles…

However, dodging a Mana Spell would not be easy if the target doesn't have its own Mana Spell.

'That should be enough…'

Lewis didn't stop moving after casting those spells. He has to quickly leave the place and gather at the rally point that was designated to them…

As he wonders about the current situation of Wallace's trick to destroy the Invader Spaceship, he felt a force of mana pulling him in from the vortex that the young man has created…

'This is going is crazy…'

"Activate your full thrusters, everyone…"

He doesn't have time to explain but he wanted his team to move faster. Perhaps, even Wallace is not that clear about the devastation that the Mana Calamity can do… However, he hoped that no one from their side would be implicated by this.

***

Ace watched the Invaders destroy all the projectiles they sent to them using their turrets and other CIWS.

They did not hesitate at all and this is what he expected as well. They have been throwing unknown spells to them that could hardly be defended so they have to be careful not to let any of their projectiles get hit their spaceship again or something weird might happen as well.

His Excellence stopped moving continued firing at the enemy after he threw out the Sealed Mana Artifact.

Of course, the five Invaders that were chasing him became cautious and fired their Hadron Cannon followed by their missiles and beams…

Boom! Boom!

[ Shield Integrity: 58%... 57%... ] 

[ Mana Reserves: 71% ] 

The shield's power is steadily decreasing and it is not a good sign for them.

However, Ace felt the vortex of mana acc.u.mulating amid the Invaders…

It is a similar situation with Providence on the other side.

"Good… We just have to hold on for a bit more …"

Ace knows that the Empire's A.I. would have a hard time detecting the Mana since even Avalon took quite a long time to get used to it.

Their A.I. would also have trouble analyzing Mana since they were being mixed by their Advanced Tech as well… Unless they have a larger sample, they wouldn't discover this immediately…

[ Shield Integrity: 29%... 27%... ] 

As soon as their mana reserves reached the 50 percent mark, Ace noticed that the vortex of mana created by the destruction of the Sealed Mana Artifact has taken effect…

"Avalon… We need to retreat… Now!"

Ace gave his command as he understands their situation clearly… The Mana Calamity that he wanted to trigger would most like affect 10 to 15 kilometers in radius…

And this information came from Wallace himself who had made a connection with Aeolia…

"How about the survivors of Omen IV?"

[ The rescuing Mech Knights were still dealing with the Mech Frames. They are not trying to kill the Magicians but to capture them alive with their equipment… ] 

Avalon replied. 

Ace had a grim face at this as he remembers the Empire's aim based on the information they've gathered…

It is to create the perfect gene optimization fluid and it requires the blood of the Magicians from their planet…

"Tsk… Steer in their direction… We have to save them…"

If the Empire has captured even a single Magician, it would completely destroy his other plans… He couldn't let that happen.

Boom! Boom!

Ace was interrupted by an explosion from afar. He immediately takes a look at it and found the source of the disturbance.

The Invaders tried to fire missiles at the retreating Excellence but it somehow deviated on its path and hit the nearby spaceship instead.

The Mana Calamity seems to be stopping them from getting away from the vortex and also making them incapable of sending out projectiles… 

'Mhmm… I guess this is fine as well.'

It wasn't as destructive as Ace expected but he was still satisfied after seeing that they are slowly being crushed by the vortex…

He's unsure how long this would last but it should be enough for them to save the survivors…

***

As soon as the Mech Frame got into a certain range, it activated a device that seemed to pull them while restricting their movements…

"Tsk! Guys, use it now!" 

He couldn't wait any longer and gave a command. The restriction on their bodies might get stronger so they have to act now. Dealing with an unknown is a terrifying thing. Even Avalon could quickly process what was pulling them.

"Shadow Embrace!"

A forbidden Mana Spell that is supposedly capable of restricting a Sage for 10 minutes is being used against the Mech Frames… 

They would be happy if it could stop the Mech Frames for 30 seconds as it would be enough for the Mech Knights from the Excellence to arrive.

These Mech Knights were very reliable and stable in terms of combat power…

If they acted in unison, they should be able to deal with the Mech Frames in front of them.

Tetsuo noticed that the Embrace was quite effective so he continued pouring mana into his artifact…

His space combat suit may not be the best armor as it heavily relies on their mana reserves, but it is very balanced that he could easily use his Mana Artifacts installed on them…

Electric Torrent!

This is the Specialized Mana Spell of his Artifact. 

An attack made of electricity may not effectively work against the Mech Frame itself but it is very effective against the people using them. No matter how much gene optimization they have in their bodies, Tetsuo is confident that his spell would still sting them and paralyze them if he's lucky…

Zap!

The range was quite far so he can not guarantee that his spell hit the pilot in full force.

Electric Torrent!

He cast the spell continuously as the other Mech Frames were trying to remove the bind on their Mech… 

Unfortunately for him, he can only cast the spell on a single target. 

Bang! Bang!

The three of the eight Warrior Mech Frames suddenly fired using their mini guns installed on their lower body…

They have expected them to fire in trade but what surprised them is their unique bullets…

'Tsk… They're really here to capture us…'

The bullets weren't meant to kill them but to spread some restrictive net to them…

'Hmph! Dream on!'

Tetsuo and the others increased the intensity of their Mana Spells until the Mech Knights from the Excellence arrived to help them…

His team got extremely busy dealing with the eight Dragon's Warrior Mech. 

They know that it would be their end once they're captured… Wallace had already told them about this possibility and they know that being captured wouldn't just disrupt their plans but will ultimately destroy their planet's chance to fight against the Empire…

Boom!

The enemy took 40 seconds to remove the Adept's Shadow Embrace. This exhausted the magicians but the Mech Knights found an opportunity because of this.

Tetsuo finally felt satisfied after seeing the Mech Knights destroy the Warrior Mechs one by one… However, a deafening blast threw them off…

Whoosh!

A huge explosion occurred and he suddenly had a bad feeling about this…

He immediately looks in the direction of the explosion and found the Excellence was shattered into pieces… 

"W-what happened?! Avalon, How's Wallace?!" 

Tetsuo hastily asked the A.I. in hopes of hearing positive news.