| Battle of Velchees | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Human-Beast conflict | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Beasts | ||||||||
| Commanders | |||||||||
| Admiral Jack Norton Top Sword Milo Leonhard |
Queens E-99 & E-101 Cross Eye Alpha and Beta | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| AE Main Force Master Knights Knights 7 Heroes of the Velchees War |
2 EX-Type Zeroes Teddy Bears | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 127 army and fleet formations ~100 million civilians |
E-99 & E-101 Cross Eye Beta | ||||||||
The Battle of Velchees (CC 422.01 - CC 422.08.04) was a highly decisive campaign between Humans and Beasts that nearly annihilated humanity. The Beasts displayed a significant evolution in their strategy and behavior as it was the first time that two Beast broods had joined together as one. It showed the appearance of "twin" Queens E-99 and E-101 as well as the "twin" EX-Type Zero Cross Eye Alpha and Beta. With this revolutionary change, the Beasts wiped out the majority of AE and Knight Order's fighting strength, crumbled the Absolute Defense Line, and surpassed E-33 and Satan as the worst threat to humanity until the later appearance of E-34.
The Battle of Velchees is commonly referenced throughout the Knight Run series and it plays a major role in the backstory of both Anne Mayer and Pray Mayer. The narration of the events of the battle, especially the suppression of the Cross Eye twins, is covered by Main Episode-0 Pray Parts 25-28 (Chapters 27-30).
Background[]
In CC 420, human scientists already observed that certain Beast Queens are routinely cooperating with each other in favor of a common goal which had been previously unheard of. This demonstrates that Beasts have now evolved to craft and follow strategies, communicate and establish relations with other broods, and the possible merging of Beast colonies. AE and Knight Order simply noted the observations but made no actual response to the matter. Two years after, Queens E-99 and E-101 appeared as a twin set, sharing a single Nest, with a combined brood army as well as a jointly produced twin EX-Type Zeroes Cross Eye Alpha (red) and Beta (blue) paralleling their Queens.
E-99 and E-101 are both S-Class, Elise-Type Queens who exhibit the most destructive and aggressive behavior patterns. A single Elise-Type Queen is already more than enough to threaten the existence of humanity but this time around, there are two, cooperating Elise-Types. Due to the threat they posed and the actual damages done, E-99 and E-101 surpassed E-33, taking the title as worst threat to humanity.
Battle[]
Initial Beast invasion[]
Queens E-99 and E-101 jointly invaded when the AE and Knight Order were already tied down at the Battle of O'Connelly. The appearance of the twins forced humanity's forces to fight on two major fronts simultaneously with disastrous results. The twin Queens eroded five planets and fifteen resource asteroids with the aid of their mighty brood army, the bulk of which was composed of High Rank Beasts. The reproduction rate of the Queens was further increased by Plants that churned out Beasts as if without stopping. Besides their army, the Queens also had the EX-Type Zero Cross Eye Alpha and Beta which were also twins that acted in conjunction to the other.
A Level 5 Bio-Gate further exacerbated the threat of the twin Queens. This allowed them to warp fractions of their army to invade other human worlds without prior warning. Humanity's Absolute Defense Line was compromised severely, reaching all the way to the Level 7 Sphere. The high mobility of the Beast brood and the Cross Eyes, coupled with the Queens' reproductive abilities and strategic thinking, seriously pushed humanity to the brink of annihilation. The AE forces and Knights that were deployed to intercept them were merely wiped out in a flash. Due to the high number of casualties, Central Order, the supreme command and HQ of the Knights, lost the usual bustle around it and was turned into a hallowed, desolate place.
Humanity's Counter-attack[]
The AE-Knight Order combined forces contained the brood army, including the Cross Eyes, within Planet Velchees by exploiting their protective nature for their Queens. Despite the great risks, AE and Knight Order besieged and maintained a constant assault on E-99 & E-101's Nest on Velchees; this ensured that the Cross Eyes's movements would be limited within the surrounding areas of the Nest only. Hundreds of Knights and thousands of troops were expended simply to sustain this strategy.
The scale and intensity of the battle turned pivotal in deciding the fate of human survival. Should the Beasts defeat humanity's forces in Velchees, they would spill over and overrun every human world thereafter. A special subjugation team of Master Knights was deployed in CC 422.03 to overturn humanity's compromising defensive stance in the battle. Among this subjugation team are Pray Mayer and Anne Mayer. Pray was sent to Velchees as punishment for her murder of Knight Viola while Anne was designated as her supervisor.
Suppression of the Cross Eyes[]
Milo and Dry clearing the Beast army for a safe route
The twins destroy Heavy Battleship Feinmann just by zipping through it
Though unscathed, the Cross Eyes are grounded by the G-34 attack
Pray and Anne engage Cross Eye Alpha and Beta
The Knight subjugation force embarked on a counter-offensive initiative that would further exploit the Cross Eye's vulnerability. In coordination with the Knights, AE deployed all of its forces to mount an all-out last assault on the twin Queen's Nest. As expected, the Cross Eyes were lured to respond to this threat. While the Cross Eyes were kept busy, Top Sword Milo and Master Knight Dry Leonhard cleared a path against the combined high rank army of E-99 and E-101 in order for Pray and Anne to get to the designated combat zone safely. Pray and Anne were seen as the best paired counterpart who can rival the twins. The duo trained and modified their Pray Style to specifically counter the Cross Eye twins by repeatedly engaging them in the past six months. With each duel, the Knight duo steadily improved their combat efficiency and attuned their waves to counterbalance the effects of Balisarda.
Meanwhile, the Cross Eye Alpha and Beta are kept distracted by the Heavy Battleship Feinmann, a flotilla of Rammel-class Light Battleships, and other supporting fleets. Three G-34 Satellite Cannons prepared to open fire on the position of the EX-Type Zeroes while they were being kept preoccupied. Alpha and Beta were left unscathed from the attack but its true purpose was meant to ground the Cross Eyes and deny them their high mobility from leaving the designated combat zone.
Once the Cross Eyes were pushed to the surface, they were met by Pray and Anne who engaged them in the concluding, ultimate fight. Eventually, the duo managed to gain an upper hand against the Cross Eyes. Beta was slain while Alpha, though defeated, retreated from the scene - effectively abandoning its Queens. The commanders and other observers noted that they would have to revise the map of Velchees due to the immense destruction caused by the fight. With the EX-Type Zeroes neutralized, humanity was able to proceed in systematically discarding the Nest and other Plants with sustained heavy bombardment. E-99 and E-101 were then slain soon after.
Aftermath[]
Six of the 7 Heroes (L-R): Pray Mayer, Dry Leonhard, Lea Zail, Anne Mayer, Dio Dylan, and Yujin Han; Milo not in the picture
Humanity suffered serious casualties from the war against E-99 & E-101. In terms of military strength only, 127 army and fleet formations and 1/3 of the Knights were lost. 5 planets and 15 resource asteroids were abandoned while a low-end estimate of 100 million civilians were killed during the conflict. Many human worlds had been depopulated.
On the other hand, the scale and intensity of the Battle of Velchees made it into a modern myth and the Knights that greatly contributed in humanity's victory were regarded as living legends. Collectively, they soon came to be known as the 7 Heroes of the Velchees War. Their epic deeds were repeatedly told among localities and was further popularized by the media.
The Battle of Velchees was the last known major Beast conflict. With its end, humanity was able to recover afterwards with relative peace although there were still sporadic invasions from the frontiers of the Absolute Defense Line. Only two years after the end of the battle, by CC 424, AE and Knight Order already predicted that their progress in the Human-Beast conflict would soon render the danger that Beasts pose as ineffective. To commemorate the occasion, Mother Knight created AB Sword Number 1200. Key Sword and Number 1200. Human Age. Expectations for a post-Beast era intensified the already on-going arms race between the AE and Knight Order. Both of them began preparing for open conflict to ultimately consolidate power and achieve total human unification under their respective control. In CC 430, the Age of Humans was declared but it was cut short by the eruption of the War of Prayer.
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
- (Dry Leonhard narrating the Battle of Velchees from his experience)
- "One-third of the troops from the Central Order were decimated. A living hell where five planets and fifteen resource asteroids were devoured. Over half the Knights in Central were annihilated. A battle where Knights who were hailed as heroes were slaughtered like cattle. The sky was covered by the firefights in space and the ground was blanketed with fire as far as the eye can see. The surface was littered with launch pads that shot the Beasts into space. It was truly fitting of being called 'Hell'. Everyone believed that the knights would be utterly defeated within a month. I remember seeing Norton-class battlecruisers being torn to pieces in a few seconds. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself." [1]
- (Dry Leonhard describing the twin Queens E-99 & E-101)
- "A pair of twin Queens; Elise - 99, Elise - 101, they were listed at S-rank level. They invaded up to the level 7 spheres. The Plants on their planets churned out Beasts like volcanoes. The Queens that invaded and built armies with frightening speed. The overwhelming number of High Rank Beasts and more than anything, the strongest battle unit in existence - Type Zero. The difference in power was too great. Cross Eye Alpha and Beta were different, incomparable to the EX-Type Zeroes from before. It was as if the titles of Master Knight or Deputy Chief didn't exist. They slaughtered hundreds of Knights regardless of their rank. Seen as a pair of flashing lights on the battlefield, to this day, they still instill fear into the Knights" [2]
- (Comments on the desperate state of the battle)
- "If the AE cannot hold the low level Beasts back, the Knights will be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but if the Knights cannot hold against the High Level Beasts, the AE will be helplessly destroyed."
- "Forget lasting a month, I didn't think we would last until the end of the week." [3]
- (On the progress of the battle)
- Anne Mayer: "In these 6 months, the AE and Knight orders are completely exhausted."
- (On winning the battle)
- "Knights saved the World!"