Heroic Spirit: I, Shinji, have tried my best.

“…The God War has begun!”

“…As expected, but this seems to be earlier than planned, right?”

"Oh, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, who could have thought that guy would actually take the initiative to attack? I was clearly preparing to drag him down, but in the end, he was the first to attack."

Riku shrugged helplessly. How could an ordinary human like him understand the thoughts of the gods?

Shinji frowned upon hearing what the other party said... He didn't expect it to come so soon. At this rate, he wouldn't have enough time to recover from his injuries, and he wouldn't have enough time to prepare...

"…So what news did you bring back this time?"

"There are two, one good news and one bad news. It depends on which one you want to hear first."

"…Are you going to make this choice again? In that case, let me tell you the bad news first."

"Sure enough, I chose the bad one first..."

"Is there a problem?"

“No, no problem… The bad news is that Miss Ashe studied the battle status of the Flügel by linking all the Ex-Machinas, and the final result was that the energy of [Air Strike] could not be focused, and the damage it caused was also difficult to concentrate.”

"As creations of the God of War, their powers are all weakened versions of the God of War, so a new answer was calculated..."

"...That is the power we plan to use in the end. It is not yet strong enough to penetrate the planet... This means that we don't even have a way to manifest the Star Grail yet."

“So, what’s the solution?”

“Not at all! After all, what we are conducting is a grand gamble… We must not let others know about our plan, otherwise we will be facing more than just one [Old God]…”

"I see. This is really terrible news. But you don't seem disappointed at all... Is it because of the good news?"

"…snort!"

Shinji listened to Riku's explanation and immediately realized the direness of the current situation... If they were carrying out a plan with an extremely small probability before, now they were told that this plan would not work from the beginning.

This was undoubtedly despairing news, but just as Shinji said, Riku didn't look desperate at all, which made Shinji curious about what the good news was...

Facing Shinji's raised gaze, Riku curled his lips and looked at Ashe next to him:

"The good news is that Shuvi and the others have obtained the highest management authority granted by the Ex-Machinas, and they are willing to send troops to help us!"

"Ex-Machina... As expected, I still have to trouble you in the end..."

Shinji looked at Shuvi and Ashe, a complicated expression flashed across his face... It was clearly a battle for the liberation of humanity, but the ones who contributed the most were the Ex-Machinas.

"But... is that all? It doesn't seem to make up for the negative impact of the bad news."

"This... You'll know when you come out and take a look!"

"Hmm? Still going out?"

Shinji became more and more confused. Why did they ask him to go out? Couldn't they talk about it here?

Although he didn't understand what Riku meant, Shinji still followed the three people opposite him and walked outside...

After exiting the cave, it was pitch black outside. Thick black clouds in the sky covered the stars, resulting in low visibility for Shinji and the others.

Shinji looked around and saw that there was no one around, then immediately turned his questioning gaze towards Riku.

Riku didn't speak after receiving the look, but looked at Ashe in front of him. She passed Shinji and Riku and came to the middle of the open space. Her body slowly floated up, and a projection that looked like a virtual headset was connected to her ear:

"The receiver has arrived. I order all commanders to lift the covert order... Accelerator..."

"[Command received], all personnel shall lift concealment..."

“…That’s it!”

A strange male voice came from above his head. Shinji looked up at the sky in confusion, but was instantly stunned...

In the dark night sky, countless faintly glowing space cracks opened up, and quadrilateral geometric space wormholes filled the sky. From each hole, a fully armed Mecha floated out!

The densely packed area plus the mechanical lights that are particularly obvious in the dark night give people a sense of déjà vu of Star Wars...

“What…is going on!?”

Shinji was so shocked that he stood there in a daze. He thought that if the Ex-Machina could mobilize an entire [Linked Body], it would be a big profit, but he didn't expect so many to come at once!

Among the Ex-Machinas in the sky, a male-faced Ex-Machina slowly landed in front of Shinji and explained to him calmly:

"…I am the former [General Commander] of the Ex-Machina. Due to entering emergency combat readiness mode, the position has been temporarily transferred to the individual [Ashe (Original Body)]…"

"Ex-Machinas currently have 13,984 units, excluding the main unit that is analyzing the command. In addition to the single unit, the Shubi, who is the deputy commander of the battle, a total of 13,985 units will be your support. We will do our best to help you seize the Star Cup."

"..."

Shinji looked at the sky full of mechanical lights, his mouth wide open in surprise...

Riku, who was standing by, saw Shinji's expression and immediately laughed out loud. It seemed that this arrogant guy could also be shocked... although his reaction to this scene was no less than Shinji's.

"How about it? These tens of thousands of Ex-Machinas will all serve as our reinforcements, and together we will complete the plan that can change the world... At least in my opinion, this extremely powerful help will be much more powerful than the bad news!"

"And... this isn't an alliance like the Werebeasts and Dwarves who have different intentions... this is a real relationship with us!"

Riku saw this amazing scene again and still felt his blood boiling... This lineup can even be used to kill gods!

To grow from the weakest force to a force capable of killing gods in an instant, this was something Riku wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Not to mention that the loyalty of this powerful team is comparable to that of the "Ghosts" he leads. As long as Shinji is on their side, they will never betray...

Then Riku punched Shinji on the chest with his fist and glanced at him with some envy. He was such a damn winner in life to be able to get such a strong helper.

Shinji was still in a daze... He clearly didn't do anything, so how come such a good thing suddenly happened?

Then he stared at the Ex-Machina in front of him suspiciously and said:

"So... [Former Commander], may I know why you are willing to help us to this extent, or what we need to pay?"

“It’s not necessary…”

"…Why?"

"... Mr. Shinji, you can actually go back and ask the two people around you... As for the name just now, I actually prefer you to call me [Ashe]."

"...Ashe!? Wait..."

At this moment, Shinji seemed to suddenly understand, and turned back in shock to look for the girl. The girl just happened to float down from the sky at this time, looking at Shinji with a normal expression.

But this look is no longer the empty look without any emotion. This time, there is also a glow in that look...

Although he is not like Hubie and does not show that kind of strong love, he makes people feel gentle for some reason.

"…It's you who did it, I almost forgot that you are connected to the memory of the entire Ex-Machina."

"Ashe... wants to help Shinji..."

"I understand... I don't know what to say to you..."

There was a hint of helplessness in Shinji's tone... I didn't expect that over the past few days, the girl has unconsciously taken on some of her human personality.

Although he didn't know why the other party believed him so much, there was no doubt that this influence had been perfectly reflected on every Ex-Machina individual...

It's obvious that he has never deliberately put effort into this aspect.

“I feel a little unworthy…”

"It's fine!"

Ashe raised her hand and held the seal on her head, and said seriously:

"Ashe wants to help Shinji. This is Ashe's own choice... or, this is Ashe's choice!"