Aside from that, she also wondered whether it was possible to apply what she learned to the Samurai Project.
"Probably not." Ketis shook her head. "The swords paired with this mech design are already filled with tech. There is no room for other features."
All kinds of other mech design ideas filled up her mind. She had to make a conscious effort to set them all aside and wait until this ordeal had passed before she picked them up again.
Her distracted state had no consequence on the rest.
By now, the bewildered human troopers had fully taken control over the floor.
Surprisingly enough, they did not ruthlessly execute the paralyzed and despairing pescan combatants that had lost all of their courage and determination to fight.
The soldiers instead stripped the aliens of their armaments and restrained them so that they could be handled later.
At worst, the alien captives could always be used as hostages!
Although it wasn't safe for the civilians to come up yet, it became clear that the human troops felt confident enough to prepare for the final assault.
Ketis dragged herself over to Ves and his surviving honor guards. He had been consulting with General Verle and pushing for everyone to attack the final floor.
Everyone stopped and stared at her approach.
This made the exhausted swordmaster feel awfully self-conscious. It wasn't every day that a woman broke out with power comparable to that of an ace mech!
"Ketis…" Ves started. "Was that you back then?"
"Not really. The Heavensword did most of the heavy lifting."
"Was that the real Heavensword, Ketis?! I thought it was a replica or a projection of sorts!"
"It is the real deal, Ves. Trust me on this. It came all the way here from the old galaxy in order to give me a hand. We should be thankful for its intervention and pay it back for saving our hides."
"How did the Heavensword fall into your hands?"
"That's a long story." She replied. "I can't tell you much as it relates to the state secrets of the Heavensword Association. I am also sure that neither of us wants to talk about this particular setting."
"...You're right. This is not the time and place for explanations. Let's discuss our next steps. Do you have any insights of what awaits us on the final floor? There are powerful transphasic energy shields blocking our attempts to scout what the aliens are up to on the floor above our heads."
"As a matter of fact, I do have a basic understanding of how many pescans are up there. I can even tell you a rough estimate of the weapons and means they have left."
She quickly gave Ves a summary of what the Heavensword managed to detect through its powerful survey. While she was a little short on details, it was better than remaining in the dark!
"Hm…"
Ves, General Verle and the other nearby officers frowned. Though they were all happy that they managed to defeat the bulk of the enemy opposition, a lot of elite alien soldiers still remained entrenched in the floor above. The human forces would inevitably suffer a fair amount of casualties if they tried to push inside.
It was at this time that Minister Shederin Purnesse came from the rear so that he could pass on his proposal.
"You don't have to launch another attack, sir. We can end this conflict without bloodshed. The reason why Great Chief Jaharon did not negotiate with us in good faith was because he thought we were trapped and helpless lambs that he could slaughter us at will. That is no longer the case anymore. We have completely reversed the disparity in strength. Now that the pescans are on the weaker side, we can definitely negotiate a favorable compromise with the survivors!"
Ves widened his eyes. "You're right, Shederin!"