I! Cleaner!

"Suspicious target spotted! Quick! Sound the whistle!"

After vaguely spotting a flash of silver light racing quickly across the plains, the soldier on the lookout tower tensed up, first blowing the warning whistle, then immediately waved a flag toward the distance.

At the seven o'clock direction, a target, possibly with a special weapon?

Squinting to decode the flag signals from the lookout tower, a commander leading a squad of over twenty powered armor units was heading at full speed toward the Boarding Tower. He first maneuvered his powered armor's arm to gesture at a team member behind him, then pointed in the nine o'clock direction, making a grabbing gesture to indicate that they should go confirm the target.

Amidst the dull warning sounds, the team member's powered armor replied with a gesture of understanding, then promptly slowed down to detach from the team. He then changed direction, heading toward the designated target location.

*Hopefully, everything would go smoothly this time...*

Not giving too much attention to this small incident, the powered armor squad's commander sighed as he looked at the still-burning airship gasbag draped over the top of the Boarding Tower. He then adjusted the pressure gauge of his powered armor, increasing the already fast speed by a small margin.

Even though he wasn't directly a guard of the Boarding Tower, merely dispatched by the military for emergency duty to assist in its defense only if a large number of enemy targets appeared.

But this time, such a big commotion had erupted that even a Sky Clipper from the Crolock Kingdom had been burned down. He reckoned that even though he merely had a supportive defense role, he would inevitably face repercussions.

*Those damned attackers... They had to choose to stir things up exactly when I was reassigned for auxiliary defense!*

At the moment, he only hoped he could arrive in time to intercept the attackers on the Boarding Tower and possibly even eliminate them, allowing him to lessen some of his liability.

Otherwise, even if he wasn't the main person responsible, needing to only carry some ancillary responsibility, he feared he wouldn't get promoted soon, perhaps having to stick around his current position for another three, five, or seven years...

"Toot... Toot-toot!"

Just as the powered armor squad's commander was on his way, lost in his anxious thoughts, the warning whistle sounded again, even more urgently than before.

Upon hearing the signal, he astonishedly opened his sight-glass, glancing toward the lookout tower, where the flag's color changed from beige to a more alert deep orange.

Nine o'clock direction, still the previous target, the person I dispatched was defeated?

Estimating the time since his team member left, the powered armor squad's commander suddenly looked solemn.

According to the flag signals from the lookout tower, the suspicious target wasn't in powered armor, just a person on foot with an unknown weapon.

And the team member he sent out, piloting a powered armor over four meters tall, was defeated in such a short time? What on Earth did that person possess?

"You go!"

Slightly reducing his speed, he gestured a window-open sign to his rear before opening the air vent of his armor's exterior. He then directly shouted to the deputy's powered armor behind him,

"There's a dangerous target in the nine o'clock direction. Take two people with you and find out what's going on!"

"Got it."

Hearing this, the deputy nodded and selected two people from the powered armor squad. The three towering powered armors then successively slowed down to detach from the group, heading toward nine o'clock.

Theoretically speaking, a squad composed of three powered armors was sufficient to easily capture a fortified position held by hundreds of soldiers, making it somewhat excessive to capture a walking target carrying an unknown weapon.

However, given how quickly the prior team member was knocked down, the powered armor squad's commander was uncertain of the situation, choosing to proceed cautiously. Not only did he allocate excessive manpower to find the target, but he also ordered the entire squad to reduce speed, prepared to turn back and provide support at any moment.

This time, though the wait for a response was longer than before, it wasn't much later that even more urgent warning signals suddenly blared, and the lookout tower's flag changed color once more.

*A red flag representing high alert, second only to a black flag?*

Seeing the flag's color, the commander's heart tightened, and he promptly moved his eyes to the sight-glass, seeking to decipher the flag signals from the lookout tower.

Eleven o'clock direction, same target, all defeated?!

"Turn back!"

Perceiving something was amiss, the commander directly lifted the air vent, calling to the powered armor squad behind him,

"The rear ten powered armors continue forward; everyone else, move your pressure gauges to the yellow zone! Eleven o'clock direction, full-speed retreat support!"

...

*Indeed, running with two legs was still too slow.*

In his soul vision, Leon saw several souls rapidly approaching him at speeds of sixty to seventy kilometers per hour. He couldn't help but frown, then controlled the cursed silver to form a crowbar, lodging it forcefully onto the secret door behind the powered armor.

"Squeak!"

With the immense power gifted by a contamination value of 5, combined with the strength boost from the silver crowbar, the solid secret door, as thick as a pneumatic shield, emitted a metallic cry of deformation, begrudgingly bouncing open to reveal the complex gear set inside. At the center lay a large power storage block encased in purplish-red copper.

*Still alright, there's quite a bit left.*

Leon, viewing the amount of deep purple liquid in the power storage block through a transparent resin gauge, nodded in satisfaction. He then used the cursed silver crowbar to push aside copper wires and deform the gears, prying up the rear section of the power storage block which was held fast by a thick spring clamp, exerting extreme force with a squeaky barrage.