My Anime Girlfriends

Chapter 346 The Strange Uncle

As night fell, the Forbidden City's guesthouse was brightly lit, and beautiful music echoed in the hall. Nearly a hundred noblemen and women, dressed in various styles of magnificent attire, stood chatting. Summit, as one of the important guests, stood among the crowd, but his gaze remained fixed on Schneizel, who was sitting with the young Empress Jiang Lihua of the Chinese Federation. Schneizel was talking to several high-ranking eunuchs in yellow cheongsams, while the young Empress Jiang Lihua sat there pitifully, without anyone to talk to, for she was merely a puppet emperor. As for the loyal Li Xingke, he could only stand at a distance and watch; he was currently serving as the head of 'security'.

After confirming that nothing unexpected would happen that night, Summit turned his gaze to the dining table not far away and quickly walked over. Looking at the familiar Chinese food, Summit felt a surge of appetite; he hadn't had authentic Chinese cuisine in a long time. He eagerly picked up a bowl of clear soup and slowly savored it.

Just as Summit was enjoying his meal, Li Xingke walked up behind him and suddenly said, "I never expected that the Second Knight of the Round Table, whom the EU calls the 'Black Demon God'... Lord Summit, is actually a boy of only about 17 years old."

Upon hearing Li Xingke's voice, Summit smiled slightly, put down his chopsticks, picked up the authentic Suzhou silk napkin on the table to wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth, turned around and said with a smile, "There's nothing strange about it, Lord Li Xingke. I went to the battlefield when I was 14 years old, and it's been exactly three years since then."

"I'm very sorry, Lord Summit, I'm just an ordinary captain and cannot be addressed as 'Lord'." After Summit finished speaking, Li Xingke said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Summit shook his head, wiped the oil stains off his hands with a napkin, and said with a smile, "No... no, Lord Li Xingke. I've seen your file. You're a military officer, but three years ago you commanded a battle, and your opponent was the direct troops of Princess Cornelia, the third princess of our country. Although your country's forces were twice that of Britain at the time, the difference in weapon performance was too great. Under those circumstances, you were still able to defeat our country's only army unit with fifth-generation Knightmare weapons several times, even with some losses. Even though Britain was the ultimate victor in that war, for the Chinese Federation, that war was a glorious defeat. This also shows that you are a general with both literary and military talents."

Upon hearing Summit's words, Li Xingke frowned, his memory seemingly returning to three years ago. He said calmly, "I'm sorry, Lord Summit, I don't think this is something to boast about."

Seeing that Li Xingke was tightly locked up, Summit quickly waved his hand and said with a smile, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean to brag. I was just wondering why you would lose when you had the initiative in the war. You know, since I developed the fifth generation Knightmar 'Sunderland', the worst defeat in land warfare was three years ago."

As Summit finished speaking, Li Xingke slightly admired Summit's wisdom. He hadn't expected him to see that the victory in the war wasn't due to the British army's bravery and skill, but rather to the internal conflicts within the Chinese Federation. For Li Xingke, the battle three years ago remained a great regret. If it weren't for the desertion of the generals and the weakness and eagerness for peace among the eunuchs, the Chinese Federation, even with some losses, wouldn't have lost that war.

Seeing Li Xingke deep in thought, Summit broke the silence first, and said, trying to establish a connection, "Xingke, is it alright if I call you that? You can call me Summit too! I don't like being called 'Sir'."

“Summit?” Li Xingke asked in confusion.

"Yes!" Summit nodded with a smile. Just then, the music in the guesthouse changed, becoming soft and melodious. The nobles who had been chatting pulled their female companions to the dance floor and began to dance gracefully.

"Star Chaser, would you be interested in dancing with a woman you like?" Summit asked Star Chaser with a smile, watching the group of people dancing gracefully.

Upon hearing Samite's words, Xingke looked up at the little girl sitting next to Schneizel and said calmly, "I have official duties to attend to, and I don't have a dance partner."

“No way, I remember when you came to greet me today, you were accompanied by a beautiful female adjutant! Her name seemed to be Karin.” Summit said with a smile.

"How did you know?" Xingke asked, somewhat surprised, looking at Summit with a smile on his face.

"When I first came down from Avalon, I heard you giving instructions to Xianglin about security on the road. That's when I remembered the name of the beautiful adjutant Nina," Summit explained with a smile, seeing Xingke's surprised expression.

With his exceptional memory, Xingke recalled his reception of Schneizel and the others that afternoon. His expression shifted from surprise to shock as he looked at Summit and said, "How is this possible? Avalon was nearly 50 meters away from me and Karin at that time. At that distance, even without machine noise, it would be impossible for them to hear our voices. Why... could you be a Knightmare with the most advanced AI android?"

"A humanoid Knightmare? Star, I didn't expect you to have such a vivid imagination! Speaking of humanoid Knightmares, I've researched them before, but even if I gathered all of Britain's most advanced technology, a Knightmare wouldn't be less than 7 feet tall and would weigh 250 kilograms. As for the AI ​​that could replace the pilot, that was just a fantasy, so I had to give up on it in the end." Summit couldn't help but laugh as he spoke.

"Then how did you hear that?" Xingke asked, pressing for details.

"It's very simple, just look at the shape of your mouth!" If they continued to dwell on this topic, who knows how long it would go on? Helpless, Summit could only lie. After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the little girl Jiang Lihua.

"May I have this dance, Your Majesty?" Summit bowed with a knight's salute, extended a hand to the little girl, and said politely.

The music still echoed in the hall, but all the dancers stopped and watched the scene unfolding in the VIP section. Little Jiang Lihua looked at the hand extended towards her with some surprise, unsure what to do. At this moment, a thin, high-ranking eunuch spoke up, saying in a sarcastic voice, "Your Majesty, for the sake of friendship between our two nations, we request that Your Majesty grant Lord Summit's request."

"Okay, I understand." The little girl nodded obediently and placed her hand in Summit's. Her pitiful expression reminded Summit of a saying: 'Lolis have three good qualities: clear voice, soft body, and easy to push over.'

As Samit led Jiang Lihua slowly into the crowd, the nobles resumed their dancing, completely ignoring the little loli, Jiang Lihua.

"Your Majesty, is this your first time dancing with someone?" Summit sensed that Jiang Lihua's dance steps were quite unfamiliar, so he immediately slowed down his own pace and led her steps. Speaking of dancing, Summit had been able to dance with Cornelia since he was 7 years old, and he had danced countless times with Yuffie and Nunnally, who couldn't dance at all. This situation was easy to handle, so he said with a smile.

"Yes, although I've learned to dance, the princes won't allow me to do so." The little girl nodded, speaking softly as if afraid of being overheard.

"So what does His Majesty the Emperor usually do?" Summit asked with a smile.

"The princes bought me a lot of dolls to play with, but I really want a friend to play with."

"So... His Majesty the Emperor has never left the Forbidden City?" Summit asked, leading Jiang Lihua around in a circle.

"Yes." Jiang Lihua nodded.

“In that case, let me take His Majesty out to see the sky, under the guise of sightseeing!” Summit glanced at Xingke, who was walking through the crowd, and said with a smile.

"Really? Thank you," the little girl said happily.

“Don’t mention it, because we’re friends, aren’t we?” Summit immediately said with a smile.

"Friends? Really? We're friends?" Jiang Lihua asked happily, feeling that she had never been so happy as she was today. Not only was it her first time dancing with everyone, but she had also made a new friend.

"Hmm." Summit nodded with a smile. At this moment, Summit felt that if he were holding a lollipop in his hand, he would definitely be a creepy old man.

Chapter 347 The Treacherous Chinese Federation

Zhonghua Street is Luoyang's most famous and bustling commercial street, home to almost every industry people use in their daily lives. As a result, the people here come from all walks of life, including nobles, wealthy merchants, and commoners. At the same time, it is also a microcosm of contemporary society, only the prosperity on the surface conceals the darkness behind it.

Today, Chinatown was unusually quiet, a far cry from its usual hustle and bustle. The once-crowded streets were deserted; all pedestrians were blocked on either side of the road by soldiers of the Chinese Federation clad in black armor. The soldiers did this because His Highness Schneizel, the Second Prince of Britain, would be passing through in an hour, and Schneizel had expressed his desire to see the bustling street, including the presence of the Emperor of the Chinese Federation.

An hour later, dozens of Steel Skulls appeared in the crowd's sight, led by a black Knightmare and a blue Knightmare. People immediately began to discuss the matter. Many of them recognized the black Knightmare at first glance as the 'Fallen Angel,' the mount of Summit, the Second Knight of the Round Table of Britain. As for the blue Knightmare, no one recognized it.

When Summit's 'Fallen Angel' was first created, it was an experimental machine and therefore not painted in any fancy colors. However, various colored metals were too unsightly, so Lloyd, one of the developers, had it painted completely black. Summit, its sole pilot, loved black and never changed the color. Although once, without Summit's knowledge, Lloyd ordered it painted red (in a previous chapter when Summit stormed Cornelia's military camp), Summit later ordered it painted back black. Therefore, to date, only Summit's Fallen Angel is black. This is inevitable; unless you're colorblind, no one would like a pure black Knightmare—what's the point of showing it off then?

"Summit, thank you. This is the first time His Majesty has left the city." As Summit was observing the retro buildings on the street outside through the sensors, Li Xingke's image suddenly flashed on the screen in front of him and thanked him.

"No need to be so polite. This is the only way to bring the Emperor out, and I'm too embarrassed to take credit for it. Besides, I should thank His Highness Schneizel for this as well," Samit said with a slight smile, somewhat embarrassed.

“Schneizel?” Li Xingke asked, somewhat puzzled.

The scene shifts to the luxurious limousine in the convoy, where the little girl looks around excitedly through the window. Opposite her, Schneizel sits with a smile on his face.

"Your Highness, is this really a good idea? Why do you have to help Prince Summit by doing such a pointless thing?" Count Cano Maldini, sitting next to Schneizel, frowned slightly when he saw the little girl Jiang Lihua doing this, and whispered in Schneizel's ear.

“There’s nothing wrong with that…it’s about fulfilling a child’s wish,” Schneizel said with a charming smile.

"But, Your Highness..."

Kano seemed about to say something, but Schneizel interrupted him, looking at the little girl who was gazing out the window, and said meaningfully in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Kano, I know Summit better than you do. He never plays useless pieces."

"Summit, no matter what, I have to thank you. I didn't even have a way to bring the Emperor out." Li Xingke said to Summit with some sadness. His memory seemed to return to the scene many years ago when he made a promise with the Emperor.

“No need to be so polite. According to the schedule, His Highness Schneizel will be heading to your Chinese Federation’s military camp in half an hour to watch your military parade. So we can only stay here for half an hour at most. Please don’t let anything happen,” Summit said with a slight smile.

"I understand. For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor, I will never allow such a thing to happen," Li Xingke said, clenching his right hand tightly.

"How does it feel, Divine Tiger?" Summit smiled slightly as he saw Li Xingke's expression and asked slowly. He hadn't expected that Divine Tiger, which was supposed to make its official debut a year later in Lelouch's memory, would be bestowed upon Li Xingke by the Grand Eunuch to command this military parade. It seemed that the Grand Eunuchs wanted to demonstrate the strength of the Chinese Federation to Britain.

"Huh? You know about this Knightmare?" Li Xingke, piloting the Divine Tiger, asked in confusion after Summit finished speaking.

“That’s right. I’ve seen the design blueprints for the Divine Tiger. Its mother, Lacusa, showed them to me herself. I have to say, it’s amazing, but… it’s just a failure.” Summit nodded slightly, recalling the moment five years ago when Lacusa handed him the blueprints. Then, in a voice Li Xingke couldn’t hear, he whispered, “I wonder if she’s made it to Area 11 to help Lelouch?”

Half an hour passed quickly. Led by Xingke, they finally arrived at the Chinese Federation military camp. Countless gray steel skeletons were already lined up on the vast plain outside the camp. Schneizel smiled slightly and, led by the Grand Eunuch who was already prepared, entered the massive land fortress warship—Dragon Gallant. Li Xingke, as the key figure in this parade, immediately drove his Divine Tiger to the front of the formation after bidding farewell to Summit. Subsequently, all the steel skeletons and various armored tanks quickly split into two groups, changing formations under Xingke's command. Every move exuded a chilling aura, and the two forces coordinated perfectly, attacking and defending against the illusory opponent with the agility of two arms, without the slightest sense of disharmony.

When the parade ended, Summit, sitting inside the Fallen Angel, and Schneizel, inside the Gentian, raised their hands and clapped almost simultaneously. Then, the two people in different places said at the same time, "As expected of the Chinese Federation, the military strategy passed down for thousands of years is indeed well-deserved." Then, the two of them smiled and said at the same time, "I wonder if Summit (me) can turn the tide."

"Your Highness Schneizel, do you want the Second Knight to personally experience the might of our army?" Xiang Lin, who was relaying Li Xingke's orders in the command room, immediately frowned and asked after hearing Schneizel's comments.

Before Schneizel could answer, a thin, senior eunuch immediately laughed and said, "Hehehe... Well, since Your Highness is in such a good mood..."

Another obese eunuch immediately gave an order to Karin: "Karin, inform Xingke and order him to lead one-tenth of the Knightmare to prepare for battle." Although the method was despicable, these eunuchs still wanted to give Schneizel a hard time. As long as their side defeated Samit, the Knight of the Round Table, it would definitely be in their favor in the subsequent negotiations.

Seeing that the other side had resorted to such despicable means, Kano's expression changed drastically. Even if it was only one-tenth of the force, that was still 300 Knightmare aircraft. Leaving aside 300 "Steel Skulls" comparable to the fourth-generation "Glasgow," just the "Divine Tiger" piloted by Li Xingke, supposedly a seventh-generation Knightmare, was already a formidable opponent. However, if Schneize didn't agree to this extremely unreasonable demand, he would only give the other side ammunition to criticize him.

"Riding a tiger is difficult to dismount." Schneizel smiled slightly. Under everyone's gaze, he ordered someone to contact Summit and then explained the current situation with a smile.

Samit looked at Schneizel, who was all smiles, and the smirking eunuchs through the screen, and immediately nodded with a smile, saying, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Upon hearing Summit's answer, everyone except Schneizel was stunned, because Summit had actually agreed to this extremely unreasonable request. Could this Knight of the Round Table be a mental patient? He was actually preparing to fight against 300 Steel Skulls and a seventh-generation Knightmare "God Tiger" with the power of the 'Fallen Angel' alone.

Chapter 348 Absolutely Powerful

"Don't force yourself, Your Excellency Summit." A senior eunuch, seeing Summit agree, immediately showed a hint of smugness on his face, and then asked insincerely.

"Thank you for your concern. Since I've already promised, I won't go back on my word. In the words of your Chinese Federation, this is what you call 'a promise is a promise'!" Samit thought to himself, looking down on the fat eunuch, and said with a serious expression.

“In that case, I will immediately order the live ammunition inside the ‘Steel Skull’ to be removed and replaced with training rounds,” another high-ranking eunuch said with a smile.

"No need, let's use live ammunition! If I lose to them, it's because I'm not strong enough, and Britain won't pursue your country." Summit replied calmly, while cursing inwardly, "These damned eunuchs, these childless perverts, do they think my IQ is over 200? They can even come up with such low-level and despicable methods. It's just a military parade, yet they're using live ammunition. If I don't make you suffer this time, you won't know what you should and shouldn't do."

"Is this true, Your Highness Schneizel?" A senior eunuch asked Schneizel with a smug look on his face after Samit agreed.

"Everything is as Summit said. We Britannia will not pursue any responsibility." Schneizel looked at Summit's confident expression on the screen, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, and slowly replied.

"Then let's begin!" The chief eunuchs, as if afraid Schneizel would change his mind, hurriedly gave the order.

Upon hearing the Grand Eunuch's order, Xingke, sitting in the cockpit, frowned and cursed, "Those bastards, Grand Eunuch!" Despite his curses, he could only pilot the 'Divine Tiger' and lead 300 'Steel Skulls' into battle formation.

"I'm sorry, Summit," Xingke said to Summit through the communicator after ordering the troops to take up their positions.

"It's alright, Starsword, come back without hesitation!" Summit said with a slight smile. Then, looking at the 'Steel Skull' troops and the blue 'Divine Tiger' about 300 meters away, he quickly entered a set of data on the keyboard below the screen and issued a series of commands to the AI: "Zero, limiter released, power 40% activated, flight energy wings deployed, λ-Drive system activated." He then revealed a self-deprecating expression and said, "If Miss Cecil knew that I had already developed the flight energy wings she designed and installed them on the 'Fallen Angel,' what kind of expression would she have?"

"Yessir, limiter released, power 40% activated, λ-Drive system activated." A synthesized voice immediately sounded in the cockpit. At the same time, the 'Fallen Angel' machine began to undergo subtle transformations. After emitting a puff of steam, the joints of the machine's limbs instantly extended several inches. The seemingly decorative streamlined armor components on the back and shoulders rapidly rotated and reassembled, then extended from the shoulders of the machine like wings. With a flash of red light, a pair of super-cool red energy wings instantly appeared on the back of the Fallen Angel. The moment the wings unfolded, the energy sword at its waist was drawn and crossed in front of it.

"Oh, it's already been developed. It represents the ninth generation of Knightmare energy wings." Upon seeing the energy wings on the back of the 'Fallen Angel', Schneizel, standing inside the 'Gentian' command room, couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth and think to himself.

"Samit, let me be your opponent." Out of goodwill, Xingke immediately piloted the 'Divine Tiger' and drew the fighting blade from his waist, charging towards Samit with a speed no less than 'Lancelot' and 'Crimson Lotus Second Style'.

"Be careful, Starscar." Seeing the 'Divine Tiger' charging forward, Summit immediately went to meet it. Propelled by the energy wings, the 'Fallen Angel' moved at a terrifying speed. In just an instant, the black Fallen Angel dragged a long dragon of dust towards the Divine Tiger. If the 'Divine Tiger's' movement speed was 1, then the 'Fallen Angel's' movement speed was 2, twice that of the 'Divine Tiger'.

"Boom..." The red energy sword collided with the fighting blade made of a special alloy. Azure lightning crackled across the blade. Under the powerful impact, the Divine Tiger began to retreat uncontrollably. Its wheels spun rapidly with a loud bang, struggling violently. In an instant, mud and rocks churned, leaving two trenches in the already fragile ground. Xingke, sitting in the cockpit, felt a violent jolt, his blood surging. He exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! This speed..."

Any machine that travels on land, no matter how good its performance, needs a certain distance to run up before it can reach its top speed. But for Summit's 'Fallen Angel' to reach that speed in an instant is simply unbelievable. Li Xingke vaguely guessed that this was entirely due to the pair of dazzling 'wings' behind the 'Fallen Angel'—the energy wings of the ninth-generation Knightmare.

“Starcraft, the current ‘Divine Tiger’ is no match for my Fallen Angel.” Seeing the Divine Tiger forced to retreat, Summit immediately said with a smile. He then piloted the Fallen Angel backward, giving Starcraft time to react.

"Summit, are you serious?" Xingke frowned and asked, sensing Summit's serious attitude.

“Of course, didn’t I say that when we’re on the battlefield, we’re enemies? When dealing with enemies, we must go all out, or we’ll have many regrets. Make your move, use all your power.” Samit immediately controlled the fallen angel to fly into the sky and said coldly under Xingke’s surprised gaze.

"Boom..." Although surprised that the Fallen Angel could fly into the air, the 300 'Steel Skull' drones, for the sake of victory, all pilots simultaneously aimed their red cannons at Summit in the sky and unleashed a frenzied barrage. The Steel Skull was designed with firepower over agility, its armament consisting of two cannons and two machine guns. The fire only gradually ceased when the sky was obscured by the smoke from the exploding bombs. Even so, the barrage had consumed at least a dozen tons of ammunition.

Seeing this, Xingke in the cockpit slammed his fist against the solid bulkhead. Clearly, he believed Summit was most likely dead from the volley of fire. Meanwhile, the high-ranking eunuchs inside the Dragon's Gall wore smug expressions, casting mocking glances at Schneizel, as if waiting for him to show remorse. But Schneizel merely smiled slightly, continuing to watch the large screen without uttering a word.

"What? Impossible!" a Steel Skull pilot exclaimed in surprise as soon as the smoke cleared in the sky.

"How is this possible? It wasn't destroyed under that kind of attack; it must be a coincidence." A high-ranking eunuch exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the unscathed fallen angel on the screen.

"It was blocked!" Seeing this, Schneizel showed no surprise and said in a calm tone.

"What are you doing? Open fire! Kill him!" the obese chief eunuch shouted immediately.

"Fire! Fire!" The 300 'Steel Skull' pilots didn't even need Xingke's command; they shouted and pressed the fire button simultaneously. This time, everyone finally saw how Summit dodged the previous attacks. The Fallen Angel stretched out one arm, and a pale blue light screen appeared, enveloping the entire machine. Not a single bullet could penetrate this seemingly powerless light screen; they all exploded.

"Sorry, Starsword." Summit said, his words carrying a double meaning, as he watched the Steel Skull relentlessly firing at him. With that, the Fallen Angel transformed into a streak of black and red light and vanished from the screen.

"Disappeared?" Upon seeing this, the pilots exclaimed in surprise. But as soon as they finished speaking, they felt a jolt in their aircraft. The screen immediately displayed the extent of the damage to the aircraft. The pilots also felt a sudden tightness in their chests, their bodies became unresponsive, and large amounts of blood flowed from their noses, followed by their ears and eyes. Then, they all felt dizzy and fainted in the cockpit, without even having time to understand what had happened.

It turned out that after activating the speed advantage of his energy wings, Summit immediately circled behind the Steel Skull troops. Before they could even notice him, he used the λ-Drive system to generate an air resonance wave, intending to knock all the pilots unconscious. However, he hadn't anticipated the resonance's power; the 300 soldiers were actually blasted, bleeding from all seven orifices. Even after treatment, they would likely suffer significant long-term effects. Furthermore, even some small internal parts of the Steel Skulls were damaged, paralyzing the Steel Skulls in that area.

Seeing all their identification signals replaced by the red word 'destroyed' on the screen, everyone in the Chinese Federation was shocked. It wasn't until Xingke and Summit's faces appeared on the screen that they reacted. Summit's expression was neither surprised nor pleased, while Xingke's face was full of disappointment.

“Gentlemen, I think I have won this time.” Through the sensor, Summit saw the Grand Eunuch, who was staring in astonishment, and a smile flashed in his eyes as he spoke first.

Note: My personal opinion is that the reason the ninth-generation Knightmare 'Lancelot' and 'Crimson Heaven Eight Extremes Style' possessed such insane speeds in the later stages was mainly due to their energy wings. On land, they wouldn't have much of an advantage, since later battles were all aerial combat. Otherwise, how could the 'Divine Tiger,' which only had 40% power activated in the early stages, have so easily defeated the 'Crimson Heaven Flying Style'? Although Kallen's insufficient energy was a factor, previous battles showed that their strengths were evenly matched! The protagonist's 'Fallen Angel' also possesses an absolute advantage on land. Therefore, the 'Fallen Angel' is an extremely powerful machine, both on land and in the sky.