Teleporting everyone joining this expedition to the zone, Shiro glanced back and assigned most of the mechs to guard duty.
With just Glen and Maria following them in the mechs, Shiro instructed Yin and Attie on what they should be doing.
With Shiina staying behind to protect the zone, Maria was more confused than ever. When they were capturing the zone, she didnāt do much except for covering Shiinaās back when she was in danger.
"Pilot Maria, you seem like you have a few concerns regarding this setup." Shiro said as her hologram floated next to Maria and sat down on her shoulder.
"Ah no- I mean no I donāt your highness." Maria corrected herself as Shiro chuckled.
"No need to be so tense around me. If there is something youāre concerned about then you can just tell me. No need to hide it." Shiro smiled.
"Well... I donāt know why Iāve been chosen for this. Miss Shiina is better than me in every aspect so I donāt know why Iām being chosen for this operation. Wouldnāt the success rate increase if she participates?" Maria asked as Shiro nodded her head.
"That is true. However, you can also think of this as hiding our trump card while also nurturing a second trump card." Shiro smiled.
"Who? Glen?" Maria asked but Shiro shook her head.
"Nope. You." She pointed at Maria who blinked her eyes in surprise.
"But Iām just average."
"Yes, your gun control and mech control are āaverageā but you still succeeded as a specialised pilot, no? Plus, your support skills are very handy. What I want to nurture is your talent with the Throne World. After our little test where I forced everyone to open their throne worlds, aside from Shiina, youāre the second closest to being able to activate a throne world properly. I want you to grasp that feeling in the following fights and activate your throne world properly. Once you do that, itāll become a good weapon for you." Shiro smiled as Maria stood in silence for a bit.
"Donāt worry about it too much and take your time. Itāll activate eventually. Plus, this is a good time for you to get some EXP since your level is lower than the otherās." Shiro patted her shoulder before disappearing.
With the hologram returning to her stop, Maria thought to herself for a moment before glancing to her left.
There was the panel that showed the Throne World Module and right now everything was working properly.
"I can activate a proper Throne World like Miss Shiina?" She muttered to herself as she clenched her hands. Wanting to live up to expectations, she closed her eyes and tried to remember the sensation she had felt inside the training hall.
###
"Did something happen?" Misu asked as Shiro paused for a moment.
"Yeah, itās nothing big. Just one of the pilots following us needed a little encouragement." Shiro smiled.
"You mean the meek demon girl in the mech over there?" Misu asked, gesturing to the mech.
"Yup. She has some talent with the Throne World but is having trouble manifesting that talent. Regardless, how do you want to do this? Do you want to just watch us capture the zone or would you like to participate as well? Itāll give you some idea on how I would instruct you during battle."
"Hmm... Iāll join in. Plus, if we can capture this zone quickly, theyāll have a harder time figuring out our skills and abilities." Misu shrugged.
"Great. Iāll let you take the vanguard then, Iāll support you from behind while giving commands. Is there any weapon type that works especially well with you? Bows, swords, spears?" Shiro asked curiously.
"What do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is what type of weapon user do you work best with? As a mage, a front line is necessary unless you can defend yourself. Youāre a necromancer so you have the front line somewhat sorted. Would you rather me go with a bow, a sword, two daggers, a spear or a great sword?" Shiro explained as she waved her hand around, creating the weapons with nanobots.
"Hmm... a good one with me would be spearmen I suppose. I can summon undead monsters to act as mounts for them." Misu replied as Shiro nodded her head.
"Ok, spear it is then. I havenāt used the spear as much as I wanted, but I do enjoy this kind of weapon. Itās perfect for targeting weak points too. Lots of reach." Shiro chuckled as Misu nodded her head.
There were lots of weapons that were good at targeting the weak points and it was true that spears were one of the better ones. Though it lacked the manoeuvrability in close-ranged combat. Itās hard to line up the spear properly when theyāre too close.
Tracing her finger in the air in front of her, a pitch-black spear revealed itself.
Twisting her grip slightly, blades erupted out from the shaft of the spear.
Once impaled, all she needed to do was turn her wrist and itāll be almost impossible to pull out without ripping out a large chunk of flesh.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" Shiro asked as she glanced past Misu to see two large mechs with Yin and Attie sitting on the shoulders.
"Yup. Iām ready mum. I suppose I should stick to human form for this fight." Yin called out as Shiro nodded her head.
"Yup. If youāre in your phoenix form, youāll set fire to the forest. Though thereās still a chance right now. This is a good chance for you two to practice flame control. Yinās flame control is pretty decent so you can learn from her ok Attie dear." Shiro replied with a smile as Attie nodded his head.
"Iāll try mum."
"Good. What about you two? Glen, Maria, are you two ready?" Shiro asked as both pilots nodded their heads.
"Perfect. Want to give me a mount for the time being? I know I can fly but Iām kind of curious about how it feels to use your summons as a mount." Shiro grinned as Misu nodded her head.
āSheās a strange one.ā Misu couldnāt help but think to herself as she summoned a skeletal wyvern mount for Shiro.
One moment, she could be the grim reaper, the next a leader. And now she was acting like an excited child who had just gotten a new toy.
Seeing her eyes light up as she jumped on the wyverns back and brandished her spear, Misu couldnāt help but chuckle as she summoned a wyvern mount for herself.
"Howās the flying speed of this thing?" Shiro asked as Misu thought about it for a moment.
"Itās not as fast as it was. You can definitely fly faster than it."
"Is that so? Let me smack on a few upgrades then." Shiro grinned.
Pressing her palm on the shoulder bone of the wyvern, a nanotech saddle appeared as mechanical parts started to manifest themselves around the wyvernās body.
Covering the gaps on its body, the skeletal wyvern now looked like a mechanical dragon with boosters behind it and weapons mounted on the side.
"????" Blinking her eyes in confusion, Misu didnāt know how to react. Even though she now knew Shiroās title was the nanotech demi goddess, she still had no idea what the hell nanobots were.
But from what sheās observed so far, they seemed like they could do anything Shiro asked them to.
"Want me to upgrade yours too?" Shiro asked as Misu thought about it and nodded her head.
"Iāll even give you a seatbelt. Iāll get rid of it once youāre used to it." Shiro snickered as Misu tilted her head in confusion.
"Why would I need it?"
"Oh trust me. Youāll figure it out soon." Shiro grinned as Misuās mount was also upgraded.
Once everyone was ready, Shiro nodded her head.
"Alright, Maria, Glen, activate your camouflages and follow us. Make sure to reduce the size slightly too." Shiro reminded as she patted the wyverns back.
Flapping the wings, the wyvern hovered in the air for a moment. Leaning forward, Shiro narrowed her eyes and grinned.
*BOOM!!!
Activating the thrusters, Shiro disappeared into the distance as the mechs followed.
Blinking her eyes in surprise, Misu looked down at the seat belt before glancing back at the thrusters that were powering up.
"So thatās why." She muttered.
*BOOM!!!!!
Holding up and trying not to get her dress shredded by the wind, Misu suppressed her screams while trying to force her body to lean forward.
āThe hell???ā She shouted out in her mind as she hadnāt travelled this fast before. Her flying speed was slower than their current speed so she wasnāt used to getting hit in the face by this much wind.
Waving her finger, a barrier formed around her as she blocked the wind.
Adjusting her position on the mount, she sighed in relief.
"A little boring donāt you think? The joy of riding something this fast is to enjoy the wind." Shiroās voice rang out as Misu rolled her eyes.
However, looking forward and seeing Shiro doing flips and rolls with the wyvern, she decided to not question the strange girlās interests.