Michael stared blankly at her for a few seconds.
'The old man had a granddaughter? Even more, his granddaughter is Claire, the genius mecha user?' He could only shake his head.
'It's such a small world.' He thought with a warm smile.
Seeing Claire's gaze was still locked onto him, expecting answers, he cleared his throat before answering.
"Yes, I do know him quite well actually. The last time I saw him, he was busy organizing the efforts of the Heavenly Pact. Since I didn't see him leave the energy shield we put on, I can guess that he is safe and sound for now."
Claire's face visibly relaxed. "You have my gratitude. Since we are going to the same place, do you want me to transport you there?"
Michael's eyes gleamed like a child in a candy store. One of his favorite things was riding mechas. There was no way he was going to refuse.
"It would be my pleasure!"
Back at Base #85, the hellfire the common troops descended onto the Higher aliens didn't slow them down even slightly.
The captains had all left the safety of the energy shield and entered the fray. Usually, a single Higher alien was supposed to rival a captain. However, since all of the personnel residing in Victoria's base had been trained by her, they were able to take on several foes by themselves.
The smell of gunpowder thickened, as did the smell of blood. Thousands of alien corpses now littered the ground, making it even harder for their brethren behind them to continue the assault.
"Incredible!" Skylar exclaimed before making Luis turn on the camera.
'Even if it isn't much, I want to show the world how the base will triumph over the aliens after the man's sacrifice.' She thought before beginning her report. The only thing she regretted was not knowing the man's name.
Hoping that she could get the name out of the general later, she began.
"As you can see, the situation at Base #85 has changed significantly after the Elites were baited away."
Taking the cue, Luis focused the camera on the front line, where the captains were single-handedly halting the Higher advances.
A petite woman with a giant hammer tore through them like they were nothing to her. With each strike, she exerted more force, seemingly in fury, as the corners of her eyes had begun to tear up.
'She must have been close to the one that gave his life. A pity.' Luis thought, deciding to edit her tears out later, not wanting to display her vulnerable side.
His camera was barely able to capture Victoria and her lightning-fast movements. All that was visible were her afterimages and the corpses she left behind.
There was also Amelia and her electrifying attacks that burned the aliens to a crisp.
Of course, the reporter didn't forget to show the backliners as well. The thousands of soldiers that were firing full force, as well as the Heavenly Pact faction and their invaluable help.
"Luis, look!" Still focused on capturing the battlefield, his partner's voice caught his attention. Shifting his gaze, his eyes enlarged, seeing a sight he didn't expect.
"Is that?!" He exclaimed, pointing his camera towards the white mecha that had shown itself from the horizon.
A second later, the mecha began to glow before sending numerous rockets at the aliens' rear. Catching them by surprise, they exploded, obliterating hundreds in a single strike.
"This is White Angel, one of the most proclaimed mecha users humanity has ever seen. She was at Triton this whole time?!" Skylar exclaimed in pure shock. Out of all the things she had expected, this wasn't one of them. This single report would cause her popularity to reach world-renowned fame.
"Wait… SHE ISN'T ALONE!" Luis shouted, focusing his camera even further, showing Michael riding on the mecha with a smile on his face, seemingly unconcerned about the powerful whiplash of the wind.
"The hero is alive?!" Skylar's eyes gleamed before putting her mic next to her mouth.
"To our shock, we can see that the hero we thought had perished after baiting away the Elites has returned with the help of White Angel! Could it be possible that she helped him by sheer luck and fate, or did the hero plan to bait the Elites towards her from the beginning? What could the relationship between the two be?!"
Fortunately, the two reporters were the only ones present on the base, as the others had gone to the more known and revered bases. In other words, they were about to capture the most legendary battlefield exclusive!
Back at Michael's side, he was still nonchalantly watching the destruction Claire was raining on the forces beneath. Beginning to get an itching feeling making him want to kill as well, he knocked on the mecha's surface gently, catching Claire's attention.
"Can you put me down? It feels bad watching others fighting while I am not." He reasoned.
Surrounded by the protective veil of the mecha, Claire raised an eyebrow. 'He isn't satisfied after baiting all the Elites away from the battlefield? Most would consider they have done enough and take it easy.'
Not wanting to get in his way, she quickly descended before putting Michael on the ground.
With a simple nod of appreciation, Michael's eyes shifted back to their crimson form, activating Berserker again before joining the fray with a smile, leaving Claire stunned.
'Could he be a battle maniac?' She thought inwardly before disregarding the idea.
'Whatever the case, the faster we kill the alien wave, the sooner I can confirm Bryce's safety and join the attack against the command ship.' Claire figured, putting her mecha in melee mode. A six-meter lance appeared in her grasp, its edge letting out a fearsome red color as the weapon reached thousands of degrees.
Due to their appearance, the Higher alien army found themselves surrounded. On one side, they were being shot by thousands of soldiers with their captains at the front and their general in the lead, stopping them from advancing forward.
And a terrifying mecha, along with a man that seemed to possess infinite stamina and bloodlust, stopped them from retreating backward.
Even if the aliens' intelligence wasn't as high as the Elites, they eventually realized they were trapped.
But that realization came too late. Their ranks had been broken and their kind slaughtered.
For the first time in human history. A base had obliterated the entire alien invasion that had come to their doorstep with zero casualties.