Chapter Four: First Battle at Starsea

Rafe abandoned it instantly. A shield blade snapped from his left arm and slashed in close. His reaction was fast, and the choice was correct. Against an ordinary training frame, the exchange would have damaged the wrist drive and forced the enemy off balance. But Astra-X was not an ordinary training frame. Leon felt the kinetic flow through the enemy's shoulder joint like a current in water. He did not crush it with strength. He stepped with the slash, drove into the line, and slammed Astra-X's shoulder beneath the shield blade. Boom. The two mechs collided head-on. Vanguard-S skidded back seventeen meters, braking rails spitting fire under its feet. Rafe's breath caught for an instant. "What kind of torque is that?"