The massive impact and ground tremors instantly triggered the Arasaka Manor's most sensitive intrusion alarms.
Piercing alarm bells tore through the night sky, and searchlights across the Manor suddenly illuminated, their beams sweeping like sharp swords towards the landing zone.
"Multiple weapon locks detected! Enemy defense systems activated!" Maria's voice rang out on the family's encrypted channel, tight with the tension of impending battle.
"Proceed as planned," Margaret's clear and resolute voice immediately took over, assuming command of the situation. "I'll open the breach. Maria, use your artillery to cover the right flank and suppress their heavy firepower. Attendant units, follow my advance route, clear infantry, and eliminate fixed gun emplacements along the way."
"Understood, Sister!" Maria's reply carried a hint of eager excitement.
"Lancer, advance!" Margaret declared, simultaneously making her mecha stand up with a roar.
The solid ion shield on its left arm instantly activated, forming a translucent blue barrier in front of the mecha.
The impact lance in its right hand then emitted a low hum, its tip beginning to gather a destructive, eerie blue energy.
"Punisher, begin purification!" Maria's mecha also rose with a thunderous roar. The Punisher autocannon's barrel began to spin rapidly, preheating with a chilling sound, and the Storm Blade in its other arm was already activated, an energy field hissing along its edge.
Their appearance was undoubtedly bizarre and terrifying in the eyes of the Arasaka guards.
The combination of retro knight mecha style and massive steel bodies exuded an oppressive aura that seemed out of place with the technology of this era.
The first wave of attacks came from automated defense turrets.
Several laser turrets and heavy machine gun turrets hidden within the landscape turned, and a torrent of hot projectiles and high-energy lasers instantly poured onto the newly risen mechas.
However, whether armor-piercing rounds or lasers, they only stirred violent ripples on the knight mecha's pale blue ion shields before being deflected or absorbed, unable to budge it in the slightest.
Occasional stray attacks that hit the main armor only left minor scorch marks, failing to cause effective damage.
The generational gap in technology was starkly evident at this moment.
"Counterattack!" Margaret growled, and the Lancer began to take heavy steps, charging towards the core area of the Manor.
The impact lance in her hand thrust out suddenly, not with physical contact, but with a concentrated ion beam that shot forth, instantly traversing a hundred meters to precisely hit a laser turret that was firing wildly ahead.
"Boom!" The turret exploded violently under the impact of the ion energy, turning into a burning pile of scrap metal.
At the same time, Maria's Punisher also opened fire.
The Punisher autocannon let out a muffled roar, and a volley of high-explosive rounds rained down like death, covering several defensive positions and a watchtower in the right flank area.
The continuous explosions turned that area into a sea of fire, shredding the guards inside before they could even scream.
Six attendant mechas, like agile cheetahs, closely followed the main knight mechas on either side.
They used their equipped light laser cannons and heavy autocannons to precisely target Arasaka soldiers peeking out from behind cover or to destroy teams attempting to fire anti-tank missiles.
Although their firepower was not as great as the knight mechas, it was more than enough to deal with infantry and light vehicles.
The Arasaka Manor's defenses reacted swiftly, with more and more soldiers pouring out, interspersed with elite units equipped with advanced cyberware and weapons.
Several oni power armors burst from the garages, raising their heavy weapons to try and block them.
But all of this seemed so futile in front of the knight mechas.
Margaret's Lancer charged like a true knight, its ion shield deflecting all attacks, and its impact lance either thrusting or sweeping, each attack accompanied by the explosion of an oni power armor or the collapse of a defensive fortification.
Her movements were precise and efficient, with a cool beauty.
Maria's Punisher, meanwhile, remained in the rear, providing suppressive fire with its autocannon; any enemy attempting to gather or build a defensive line would be pulverized by her artillery.
Occasionally, enemies would break through the artillery barrage and approach, only to be met with a fatal swing of the Storm Blade.
The battle was one-sided from the very beginning.
Arasaka's carefully arranged outer defenses were easily torn apart like paper in the face of the knight mechas' absolute power and defense.
The steel giants advanced with an unstoppable stride, step by step, towards the deeper parts of the Manor, towards the core building protected by layers of defenses.
Tokyo, this "royal land" that Arasaka had cultivated for over a century, was now being trampled by iron hooves from another world.
Firelight painted the night sky red, and the sounds of explosions and collapsing buildings replaced the usual tranquility.
A devastating strike against the heart of the Arasaka empire had officially begun.
Arasaka Manor core area, underground command center.
The piercing alarms and the destructive images relayed from external monitors made the atmosphere here extremely tense.
The aged Saburo Arasaka was not present at the command console; he remained in a deeper safe room, sustained by life support systems.
But his will, transmitted through encrypted communication, was clearly conveyed to the commander responsible for the Manor's defense, and to a mysterious and powerful force directly loyal to him: the Ninja Hundred.
"Enemy—unknown large mecha units! Outer defenses completely ineffective! Repeat, completely ineffective!" A trembling intelligence officer reported, as on the main screen, light points representing defense nodes extinguished at an alarming rate.
The commander's face was ashen; he couldn't understand why the company's databases contained no record of such terrifying weaponry.
Where did they come from? How could they so easily breach layer after layer of defense?
"Initiate 'Shadow' protocol," Saburo Arasaka's hoarse and icy voice came through the communication channel, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. "Stop them from approaching the Sanctuary at all costs."
"Hai!" The commander bowed in assent, then turned to a separate communication channel, "Ninja Hundred, deploy! Target, invading mechas! All means authorized!"
The moment the order was given, within the Manor, in the shadowy corners, under the eaves of antique buildings, and even within the artificial rockeries and water features of the landscaped gardens, ghostly figures began to emerge.
They were distinctly different from ordinary Arasaka soldiers.
Their bodies were covered in matte black armor, with streamlined designs that minimized their silhouettes and reflections.
Their movements were silent, like true shadows, yet their speed was astonishing, clearly equipped with top-tier Sandevistan cyberware.
The weapons they carried were diverse, but all were high-tech armaments designed for assassination and armor penetration: high-frequency blades, thermal katanas, monomolecular wire, specialized armor-piercing shurikens, and special devices capable of emitting EMP pulses.
These were Saburo Arasaka's personal guards, the Ninja Hundred, a product of ancient ninja techniques combined with modern top-tier cyberware technology.
Each of them was a peerless master of killing, skilled in stealth, assassination, sabotage, and electronic warfare.
Over the past decades, they had successfully foiled countless assassination attempts against Saburo Arasaka, serving as the Arasaka empire's last and most formidable barrier.
At this moment, over thirty members of the Ninja Hundred-Man Squad, like phantoms, surrounded the advancing knight mecha.
They used the complex terrain and buildings as cover, attempting to avoid the mecha's powerful frontal firepower and shields, searching for weaknesses on the flanks and rear.
"Sister, detecting high-speed moving invisible targets! Many of them, approaching from the flanks!" Maria's voice rang out in the encrypted channel, alert as if discovering prey.
"Don't be fooled by their speed." Margaret's voice was calm and decisive, making an instant judgment, "They are elite infantry units.
attendant mechs, advance to intercept, prioritize ensuring Maria's line of fire. Maria, blanket their advance route with explosive rounds, don't let them gather."
"Understood!" Maria's response was crisp and clear.
"I'll suppress the front, continue advancing," Margaret added, while the lancer (mecha name)'s left arm ion shield slightly adjusted its angle, and the right-hand impact lance's energy converged, pointing steadily towards the densest area of the defensive fortifications ahead.
"Maintain formation, roll over them!"
The six attendant mechs immediately adjusted their formation, raising their sensor sensitivity to maximum, using dense lasers and explosive rounds to blockade the paths where the ninja might break through.
A ninja, with unimaginable speed, instantly dashed to the side of an attendant mech, their thermal katana glowing dark red, slashing fiercely at the mecha's leg joint connection.
"Clang!" A jarring metallic collision sound.
The attendant mech's armor was cut with a shallow mark, sparks flew, but no serious damage was caused.
The mecha reacted quickly, immediately turning its gun, but the ninja had already retreated using the recoil, disappearing into the shadows.
Another ninja threw an EMP shuriken from above, hitting an attendant mech's shoulder.
A subtle electric arc flashed, and the attendant mech's movements paused for a moment, but its internal systems clearly possessed strong anti-interference capabilities, and it quickly returned to normal.
"Their attacks can cause low-intensity damage to the attendant mechs." Maria reported, while also controlling the Punisher's explosive cannon to conduct a round of saturation fire on the area where the ninja were gathered, the violent explosions completely leveling several ancient-style buildings, forcing several ninja to dodge frantically.
Margaret was even more direct; the lancer's left arm ion shield always maintained the optimal defensive angle, and the right-hand impact lance no longer fired long-range, but instead, like a true lance, performed swift thrusts and sweeps against the ninja attempting to approach.
The immense power and energy field meant that each attack brought a bloody storm; occasionally, ninja who failed to dodge were instantly vaporized by ion energy or crushed by the immense physical force.
However, the Ninja Hundred-Man Squad certainly lived up to its name.
Their individual combat power was extremely strong, their coordination tacit, and their ability to utilize the environment was superb. Ninja constantly advanced through a hail of bullets, attacking the relatively vulnerable parts of the knight mecha and attendant mechs, such as joints, sensors, and weapon mounts, in various ways.
Although unable to cause severe damage, it did slow down the advance and left more and more scratches on the mecha's outer armor.
The battle entered a more brutal and intense phase.
The steel giants used brute force against skill, while the shadow-like ninja clung like parasites, searching for any possible opportunity.
The core area of Arasaka Manor transformed into a stage of slaughter interwoven with steel, fire, and shadows.
The Ninja Hundred-Man Squad's fearlessness and exquisite tactics indeed caused some trouble for the Astoria Family's advance.
But that was all.
In the face of an absolute power disparity, the advantages that skill and speed could bring were extremely limited.
The knight mecha's shield strength and armor thickness were far from something these ninja, relying on individual weapons and cybernetic enhancements, could easily break through.
Their attacks were more like scratching a giant, occasionally causing some superficial damage, but unable to reach the core.
Margaret scanned the battlefield through her sensors; those phantom-like enemies were constantly harassing them using the complex terrain. Although they posed no substantial threat, they severely delayed the advance. Her eyes sharpened, and she decisively issued new orders in the channel.
"We can't be delayed any longer! Change tactics, initiate area purification protocol." Her voice was clear and resolute, "Maria, cooperate with me, clear all terrain and buildings that could provide cover, force them out!"
"Understood!" Maria responded immediately.
Margaret took the lead.
The lancer (mecha name) no longer attempted to precisely target and kill the elusive ninja; she slammed the massive impact lance to the ground, its tip converging with an even more dazzling blue light than before.
"Purification begins!"
Following her declaration, an immensely thick ion energy beam, like a plow wielded by a god, swept across the frontal fan-shaped area with devastating force!
Wherever the energy beam passed, whether it was exquisite ancient-style buildings, lush garden landscapes, or the ninja hiding within, all were instantly ionized, melted, and vaporized by the extreme high temperature!
A complex area that could have served as cover instantly turned into scorched earth, emitting thick blue smoke and with a glassy surface.
"My turn!" Maria's Punisher followed closely.
The Punisher's explosive cannon let out an even more ferocious roar, turning the right-flank area into a sea of continuous explosions.
Her multi-launcher rocket pod also unleashed its power for the first time, multiple rockets with fiery trails streaking out, conducting a saturation strike on several buildings suspected of harboring a large number of ninja.
The violent explosions completely tore apart the building structures, and shockwaves and shrapnel swept through every corner, forcing out ninja who had miraculously survived the first sweep, or directly burying them along with their cover.
The six attendant mechs, meanwhile, formed a net of fire on the periphery, clearing out scattered targets escaping from the destruction zone with precise shooting.
In the face of absolute power, any skill seemed pale.
The Astoria Family's steel giants were, in the most direct way, turning the core area of Arasaka Manor into ruins, inch by inch.
The six attendant mechs also changed tactics, no longer attempting precise kills, but instead forming a crossfire net, continuously covering all space around the knight mecha with lasers and explosive rounds, creating a barrier of death.
This indiscriminate, covering firepower strike immediately rendered the Ninja Hundred-Man Squad's tactics ineffective. Stealth and agility became meaningless in the face of a destructive storm with nowhere to hide.
A ninja leader, seeing his comrades fall one after another under the furious firepower, a hint of desperation flashed in his eyes.
He activated an overload program within his body, his speed instantly reaching its limit, transforming into a shadow almost imperceptible to the naked eye, dashing through the dense barrage of bullets straight towards Maria's Punisher mecha cockpit!
The monomolecular wire in his hand gleamed dangerously, aiming to pierce the cockpit's observation window.
However, just as he was about to succeed, the Punisher's left arm storm blade, with a shriek that tore through the air, descended swiftly from above with a speed unbefitting its massive size!
"Swoosh!"
The ninja leader, along with the monomolecular wire in his hand, was cleaved in two by the storm blade, which contained immense kinetic energy and an energy field. His mangled remains, propelled by inertia, struck the mecha's chest armor and then slid weakly to the ground.
This was the Ninja Hundred-Man Squad's last organized attempt at a counterattack.
As cover continuously disappeared and comrades rapidly dwindled, the remaining ninja lost their tactical support, becoming isolated fighters, and were soon eliminated one by one under the coordinated firepower of the knight mecha and attendant mechs.
The Arasaka Empire's most proud and once fearsome Ninja Hundred-Man Squad, in front of the steel giants from another world, were crushed mercilessly, like mantises trying to stop a chariot.
The last substantial barrier to the core building where Saburo Arasaka was located was completely shattered.
Margaret and Maria controlled their mechs, stepping over the remains of ninja and guards, stepping through burning ruins, walking towards the iconic main residence building, which blended traditional Japanese and futuristic styles, as if strolling through their own garden.
Tokyo's night sky was lit up like day by the firelight, and the air was filled with a mixed scent of gunpowder, ozone, and charred flesh.
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Yooooooo we're leaving Cyberpunk world in 40+ chapters