As the battle continued across the Capital, Tyler slowly started feeling bored.

Every direction he looked, the Embers were already handling things perfectly fine.

Tansy kept shooting down drones and military units from the sky before Tyler could even reach them. Rose was happily smashing robot squads apart using her giant magnetic shield while the Ember combatants pushed deeper into the city streets.

Tyler barely got a chance to fight properly.

So instead of joining the chaos, his mech casually walked toward a damaged building near the roadside.

It was a fried chicken shop.

Half the glass walls were already shattered from earlier explosions, but surprisingly the place was still functioning. Several service robots inside continued cooking food normally as if the city wasn’t currently under attack.

One robot even politely greeted the giant mech standing outside.

"Welcome customer—"

Its voice abruptly stopped after Tyler’s mech transformed one of its fingers into a gun-like nozzle. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

A beam of light shot inside the shop and carefully lifted several trays of fried chicken into the air.

The chicken floated out of the destroyed restaurant and moved toward Tyler’s mech like invisible hands were carrying them.

Tyler placed everything into a large bucket container before sealing it tightly.

Then a small drone emerged from behind his mech.

The drone hovered quietly in front of him.

Tyler placed the bucket onto it.

A second later, the drone activated stealth mode and disappeared into the battlefield entirely.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Ariel soared through the sky on her hoverboard, weaving between blasts of plasma fire and missile trails with sharp, practiced movements. Just as she aimed her rifle at an advancing robot, a parked flying car nearby exploded into pieces.

Behind the burning wreckage, several small children were huddled together, trembling in fear.

Looks like some kids had secretly snuck out and ended up caught in the middle of the war.

"STOP!" Ariel shouted.

The Ember soldiers chasing behind her on hoverboards immediately halted.

"Take them to safety," she ordered firmly. "And scan the surrounding area for any other civilians."

The soldiers quickly obeyed. Some rushed toward the frightened children while others activated scanners and spread through the nearby streets.

The kids were stunned to see rebels protecting them. They had sneaked out because they were obsessed with mecha battles and wanted to witness a real one up close. After all, the Capital had never experienced war before. Most civilians here had survival instincts worse than a waffle.

During the search, the soldiers also discovered several media journalists secretly recording footage nearby. They escorted them to safety as well.

Even after capturing clear footage of the rebels saving civilians, the media still didn’t dare broadcast it fearing the Capital.

There are rules in capital where no one is allowed to talk bad about the Captial and it’s government.

Suddenly, the sound of engines roared above the battlefield.

A massive military aircraft descended between the skyscrapers of the Capital while fires and smoke filled the streets below. Its lower hatch slowly opened midair, and a giant mech dropped directly into the city square.

BOOM.

The impact cracked the roads beneath it and sent debris flying across nearby buildings.

The mech that landed was clearly different from the normal military units the Embers had fought until now.

Its entire body was covered in metallic golden armor. Bright energy lines glowed beneath the surface like flowing lava, spreading across its limbs and chest. Even its size was larger than standard Capital mechs.

Several other military mechs landed nearby afterward and quickly formed a defensive perimeter around it.

The golden mech slowly straightened its posture before activating external speakers.

"How dare you attack the Capital, you Rebels!"

Its voice echoed through the streets loudly enough for civilians hiding inside nearby buildings to hear clearly.

"Cease fire immediately and surrender!"

Unlike him, the other military units didn’t waste time talking.

Their weapons immediately locked onto the Ember combatants flying through the streets.

Missiles shot across the battlefield.

Several Ember soldiers barely escaped before explosions swallowed entire sections of the road.

The Ember mechs quickly moved forward and blocked the attacks using shields and heavy armor while hoverboard combatants retreated behind cover.

Ariel’s voice rang through the communication channel immediately.

"Combatants pull back from the frontline!"

The Ember soldiers quickly retreated deeper into the streets while the giant mechs remained standing in the center of the battlefield facing the Capital military head-on.

The golden mech pointed toward the Embers arrogantly.

"Do you Rebels understand your situation now?"

"We already wiped out your sectors with nuclear weapons."

Several Capital soldiers nearby laughed after hearing that.

The golden mech continued speaking.

"Your people are already dead."

Then he raised one arm toward the Ember forces.

"Whoever your leader is, tell him to step forward."

Inside the hidden Ember control base, Rose looked sideways toward Tyler.

"Tyler," she said casually, "he’s calling you."

Tyler was currently sitting inside his control sphere eating fried chicken from the bucket.

"Hm?"

He looked toward the battlefield feed while chewing.

"Oh."

Then he quickly placed the chicken aside, wiped his hands, and put the visor back on.

Inside the battlefield, Tyler’s mech, which had been standing still for a while, slowly started moving again.

"Oh, is it finally my time to shine?" Tyler asked excitedly through the communication channel.

"You were eating during a war... without giving me." Rose muttered.

Tyler ignored her completely.

Tansy answered calmly from inside her own mech.

"Nope. He wants us to surrender."

Tyler sounded genuinely confused.

"Where did he get the confidence to ask that?"

Then after a brief pause, he added,

"Is he strong?"

The golden mech pilot heard the communication and laughed mockingly.

"We have nuclear weapons."

"But can you use them here?" Tyler immediately asked. "Inside your own Capital?"

The battlefield suddenly became quiet.

Even the Capital soldiers stopped talking for a moment.

That was one of the biggest reasons the Embers dared invade the floating Capital directly.

The Capital couldn’t simply erase the battlefield using nukes anymore.

Not unless they were willing to destroy the city itself.

The golden mech pilot quickly became irritated.

"Hmph."

"Enough talking."

Tyler suddenly pointed his spear forward.

"Let’s fight one on one."

The golden mech pilot immediately sneered.

"Why would I fight alone when I already have an army?"

At that exact moment—

A giant electric arrow pierced through one of the military mechs standing beside him.

BOOM.

The mech exploded instantly.

Tansy casually lowered her giant bow from the sky.

The golden mech pilot paused briefly.

"...Alright," he said quickly. "One on one."

Several nearby Embers immediately laughed through the communication channels.

Tyler finally pulled the giant spear from his mech’s back.

The massive Carbonyx crystal embedded within the weapon glowed brightly while blue energy spread across the shaft.

Then Tyler pointed the spear directly toward the golden mech.

The golden mech suddenly transformed both arms into rotating gun barrels.

A second later, countless energy rounds blasted toward Tyler.

Tyler’s mech jumped sideways immediately.

The attacks tore through nearby buildings and exploded across the roads behind him.

Most nearby mechs moved away from the battlefield area and began spectating instead.

Even the Ember combatants on hoverboards retreated farther back.

They clearly wanted to watch this fight properly.

Tyler tightened his grip on the spear and prepared to attack.

But just as he moved, the golden mech’s armor suddenly shifted colors. The bright metallic gold faded rapidly, turning darker and darker until the entire machine blended into the surroundings of the city.

Then it disappeared completely.

Tyler stopped moving for a second.

"Huh?"

Warning alerts immediately filled his visor.

He switched through every sensor available inside the mech.

Thermal scan.

Motion tracking.

Energy detection.

Nothing showed up.

It was as if the enemy mech had vanished entirely.

"What kind of stealth tech is this..."

Before he could think further, an explosion slammed into his mech from behind.

The entire machine shook violently.

Tyler looked down just in time to see his right arm flying away across the street along with the spear still clutched in its hand.

The broken arm crashed into a building and brought part of it down with it.

Tyler immediately turned the mech around, trying to locate where the attack came from.

Still nothing.

The streets were full of smoke, sparks, burning vehicles, and damaged drones, but the golden mech itself was nowhere to be seen.

Even the Ember soldiers watching nearby started getting nervous.

"Tyler!"

"Watch your back!"

Tansy tried scanning the area from above with her mech, but even she couldn’t lock onto the enemy properly.

Then another blast hit.

A heavy impact smashed directly into Tyler’s mech head.

The mechanical head tore off completely and rolled across the ruined road below before crashing into an overturned transport vehicle.

For a moment, Tyler’s giant mech remained standing there headless, sparks bursting out from the damaged neck section while smoke poured into the streets. while nearby Capital soldiers began cheering loudly in excitement.