Page 2783 -- CCXLVIII.

Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Eight: 'The Battle at the Border...'
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Hector had to admit, Lord Abbas wasn't looking too good. His suit of mechanized armor was cracked and crumbling in a dozen different places, and tendrils of both smoke and steam were leaking out everywhere.

Not to mention the blood all over him.

Still, though, it wasn't as bad as it had been after that encounter with the Salesman of Death. Large chunks might've been missing, and yeah, it kinda looked like a giant shark had taken a bite out of his shoulder or something; but at least Abbas was able to stand up.

That was good. Because thinking about who could've done something like this to the freaking Sunsmith, of all people...

Well, it wasn't comforting.

That inbound missile had been a real problem-and-a-half to deal with, too. They probably wouldn't have even known about it if Worwal hadn't warned Levinox. And without Dimas Sebolt's help flying and Garovel's help aiming, Hector doubted he would've been of any use in that situation.

In fact, he was certain he wouldn't have.

The thing had been so damn fast. Dimas, flying at his max speed while also carrying Hector, had only been able to provide the two of them with a window of a couple seconds to attack.

But somehow, they'd managed it, via a combined barrage of gravitic bullets and iron slugs launched via Hector's orbital technique.

It was a pretty fucking intense experience, actually. Hector had never flown that fast through open air before. The Scarf had been going nuts with the howling air currents all around him. So much information pouring into his brain at once. Too overwhelming to be very useful.

But a part of him wanted to give it another try. Maybe he could get the hang of it.

And he had a feeling that in this fight, he might just get that chance.