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Chapter 49: Destruction 5

Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)

We’re about to head back out into the fray when we notice a problem. We need Yuki to be on the strike team to fulfill the bonus objectives, but unfortunately, she’s currently got Brain Overload.

So, instead we’re going to do our first instance of “grinding” in the LP, wherein we go back to an old wave and replay it to get some of our pilots off Brain Overload. In this case (and probably most other times), we’re just going to pick 1-1, because it’s easy enough that we can get away with only a few active pilots.

We won’t be showing that fight, though, because it’s incredibly easy and we’ve already seen it. Just skip to the aftermath!

This will be our team going forward.

Gouto unlocks Interceptors and upgrades them to +2, increasing the number of units by 1 and reducing the WT.

We get the Chip Multiplier Lv 3, increasing our chip multiplier to x1.4.

For Nenji, we upgrade Demolisher Blade to +4 and unlock his Hyper Condenser to increase the number of hits and range of Demolisher Blade. We also upgrade EMP Attractor to +2.

Yuki gets Leg Spike increased to +3.

Ryoko increases Sentry Gun to +4.

Finally, Iori increases Arm-Mounted Machine Cannons to +2 and Sentry Gun to +4.

Transform and roll out!

Video: Destruction Wave 1-8

Music: (LEUCINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)

But it’s like she said. Now we can fight without worrying about collateral damage.

They can also link up with the quadruped units. They form a kind of crane arm.

This time, the terminal’s in the dead center, and there’s already a thin smattering of enemies around the perimeter.

We start, of course, with some Sentry Guns.

Next, we have Gouto launch some Interceptors. These might not honestly be all that useful in this stage because they have low health and Workers attack pretty quickly, but most of the time they’re incredibly handy because they just fly out of attack range before they get destroyed.

The enemies are starting to drop. Let’s fire off a railgun in that general direction.

As you can see, the enemies are already closing in.

And look at that horde off to the left! Yikes!

(You should really check out the video for this one, if only because the frame rate absolutely dies trying to display all these Workers. I’m not even complaining, it honestly kind of adds something)

In an attempt to restore the standard framerate, we send Nenji directly into the thick of it with his new-and-improved Demolisher Blade.

A little stupid, perhaps, but he shreds the hell out of them. Worth noting that with his Hyper Condenser equipped, Demolisher Blade cuts in a 270-degree arc around him instead of 90 degrees in front of him. Very cool, and the reason Nenji might honestly be the most powerful pilot in the game.

Of course, now he’s a sitting duck taking constant fire from the survivors. Less cool.

Unfortunately, another massive horde spawns near the terminal to replace the one we just shredded.

Dammit… These little punks piss me off…

In an attempt to buy ourselves some time, we have Natsuno use EMP Stunner to kill their movement for a short period.

Unfortunately, some Hi-Quads spawn in now and Nenji’s out of EP for more Demolisher Blades. We’re going to have to move Yuki in to help,

We launch a Guardian…

…then move Yuki over to Leg Spike the Hi-Quad (though you’ll notice in the actual video I fuck up the targeting and hit the Twintail next to it instead, lmao).

Yuki and Nenji are in a bit of trouble here, so I use Gouto’s Shield Matrix to defend them.

And I place another Guardian to take care of the ones on the other side, too. Their ranks are thinning a bit by this point.

However, Gouto gets absolutely wrecked by some attack I didn’t spot in time, allowing us to see his critical HP message.

Apologies, Professor… but this game’s not over yet.

...And then Gouto immediately takes another attack to finish him off. Don’t worry, though, he’s not completely out of the fight.

Basically the same thing happens when you run out of HP as when you choose to “Repair” your Sentinel: you’re ejected for a time. He is still vulnerable, so we do need to be careful to keep him away from the action. He won’t be stepping back into the Sentinel for the rest of the fight, but only because we’re about to finish the enemy off.

We push the last Hi-Quad around with Heavy Knuckles and Tackle, then finish it off with one of Yuki’s Leg Spikes.

I used to talk about how I wanted to tear this whole city down. Never thought I’d actually end up destroying it in some big robot battle…

But you’re still fighting to protect it. There’s not much more we can do.

Yeah, who asked you? What the hell would you know about how I feel?

……

Who asked you!?

Yeah, I… Look, I’m sorry. All this shit’s just gettin’ to me.

Unfortunately, we only got an A rank for that wave due to all the damage Gouto took. I’ll have to go back and redo that one eventually. That was probably the first properly “hard” mission in the game, and I could have made it a lot easier by killing the massive Worker Horde with a Meta-Skill (remember those?) to clear them out, but I chose not to. Or just forgot. You decide the truth!

Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)

Ryoko’s new skill, Won’t Lose Again, isn’t very good. Her attack increases when the terminal’s HP gets much lower than you’re ever likely to see.

Iori’s To Protect Everyone is much better, though. More defense for Guardians and Sentry Guns is great.

Okay, now we need four members in the strike team, one of whom has to be Shu. All right. We don’t upgrade anyone here because… I forgot to, all right?

Video: Destruction Wave 1-9

Music: (LEUCINE) (Yoshimi Kudo)

But that requires a massive amount of energy. If you overuse it without any cooldown, you’ll find yourself out of power fast.

More Sentries, yadda yadda…

Ah, here we go. A proper horde. Multi-Lock Missile them to hell, Shu!

Eventually, two Terra Carriers will spawn.

We distract the Hunters they spawn with a Guardian.

We’re kind of limited in terms of fast ways of taking these things down, so it’s mostly up to Shu and his Multi-Lock Missile spam to wear away at their health.

With railgun assistance from Tomi, of course.

And that fight goes down without too much trouble.

Now they’re going for another terminal a ways off.

I’ll go find a motorcycle nearby and catch up.

Hey, don’t say it like that… I’m just borrowing it! Cut me some slack, man, it’s an emergency.

You’re dismounting too, Shinonome-senpai? Sure, let’s go.

Y-You’re gonna let her ride behind you?

Yeah? What’s wrong with that? *gasp* Don’t tell me you’re—

No, dumbass, I am NOT jealous!

Good, because after Ryoko inexplicably getting jealous over Shu already I can’t take another girl somehow falling for him.

Music: Voyage To Tomorrow (Hitoshi Sakimoto)

Juro’s skill Movie Addiction increases his WT recovery when he’s deployed in consecutive battles. Rad.