When the Lionheart flew towards the plasma sword-wielding lesser phase lord, its ace pilot continued to receive epiphanies.
He reflected on his past and felt ashamed for his many failings and shortcomings.
It was wrong for Ark to demand attention for attention's sake.
It became especially bad in the last few years. Everytime a younger and more talented Larkinson expert pilot became a saint, Ark felt more and more jealous at their fortune. Despite having received an amazing modern high-tier expert mech himself, Ark still failed to break through with the ease that he initially envisioned.
This caused him to doubt himself at times. What was wrong with him? Why was he unable to get past his bottleneck like Saint Tusa and Saint Commander Casella Ingvar? As much as he hated to admit it, the fact that those other Larkinson ace pilots managed to reach their current ranks under similar or significantly worse conditions meant that his willpower was ultimately not up to standard!
He hated this conclusion!
The thought that he was inferior to them on this critical aspect ate into his heart like a persistent worm.
Ark tried his best not to think about it or affect his mood, but there were times when he could not help himself.
What was he missing that would allow him to close the gap with the ace pilots?
He had been wondering about this question for a long time.
Ark had been afraid that he would never be able to find the answer until he was beginning to age and fall from his prime condition.
Fortunately for him, he finally managed to find the correct answer.
The answer was duty.
Just as it was the duty of the soldiers of the 77th Warborn Mech Division to follow the orders of their superiors, it was also the duty of General Ark to lead them to victory and keep them alive as much as possible.
Ark recognized that it was impossible in most serious battles to reduce his losses to zero, but he should at least do whatever he could to minimize this figure.
This became especially important for the high-ranking mech pilots under his command. The other expert pilots had placed their trust in his leadership.
By taking pilots such as Venerable Rosa Orfan and Venerable Imon Ingvar under his
wing, he had a duty to supervise their development and prevent them from meeting fatal endings on the battlefield!
It was a pity that he had overlooked this responsibility as of late.
The more frustrated he became at his inability to break through, the more he focused on himself rather than his mech division.
That was a mistake.
He was a mech commander, not a mech pilot.
The two may share a lot of similarities, but they were ultimately different!
It was only now that he realized that a deep relationship existed between him and his subordinates.
General Ark needed the 77th Warborn to provide him with a strong base of admiration and worship.
The 77th Warborn needed his protection to fend off enemies that were far too powerful for them to defeat with their meager power.
In other words, there was a purpose for his strength.
Wanting to become stronger for the sake of puffing up his chest was a vain reason to pursue power!
It was no wonder that Ark repeatedly failed to break through in the past.
Only now did he set aside his vanity and understood his true purpose and intention for becoming the brightest champion on the battlefield.
Why did he yearn to become a saint?
It was because he could do a far better job at leading and preserving the lives of his subordinates and everyone else he felt responsible towards!
All of the soldiers that were currently participating in the fight against the alien armada were doing their duty despite the fact that they were outnumbered and outgunned.
One of the reasons why they still risked their lives to defend this doomed star system was because they looked up to the champions that possessed the capacity and willingness to bear the greatest burdens on the battlefield.
General Ark had previously been one of them, though he did not realize it at the time.
His lack of strength meant that he had little choice but to rely on the protection of the few ace pilots left in the star system to shield him from greater danger.
Before, General Ark felt worthless because his valiant attempt in challenging the Lower Herdmaster ended in utter failure!
If not for the fact that Saint Dise and Saint Commander Casella Ingvar occupied most
of the attention of the greater phase lord, his Lionheart would have been impaled by the Saint Piercer within a couple of minutes at most!
This was not the role that Ark envisioned for himself.
Now that he recognized his true calling, he finally had a chance to transition from a soldier that needed saving to a champion that became powerful enough to save
others!
The first people that he sought to save after he made these realizations were Rosa Orfan and Jannzi Larkinson.
One of them was his direct subordinate. The other was his trueblood niece.
No matter what, General Ark had to save them at all cost!
Only by doing so would he be able to redeem himself for letting Venerable Imon Ingvar
die on his watch!
As the Lionheart to charged towards the offending lesser phase lord, his bright and shiny expert mech rapidly built up more momentum!
As General Ark grew more desperate and committed to saving the two expert pilots, his willpower continued to condense up to a hard limit that he had never managed to surpass in the past.
It was not until his Lionheart finally pierced through its target's weakened spatial barrier and slammed the lesser phase lord's body away that his willpower had finally