136. A New Body
Kanou almost laughed in anger at the outcome; even from the air command center, he could see the ground fire—it clearly wasn't firepower for a battle involving a thousand soldiers.
It was obvious that Li Aozi's troops had an extremely high level of tactical discipline and combat strength, and the frontline soldiers, unable to keep up, were shouting for support.
Every army faces this scenario: when confronted by a powerful foe, soldiers feel intimidated, unwilling to advance into close combat without firepower coverage, exaggerating the enemy's strength.
But fortunately, Kanou was commanding Tianhuan soldiers.
Tianhuan soldiers had repeatedly faced "fallen enemies" that resurrected and charged at them with explosives. They coldly blew them apart and reported everything they saw amidst the splattering body parts to headquarters.
Kanou, a rational commander, was furious at Li Aozi's ambush but quickly regained composure. He listened to the Combat Analysis Division's feedback, watched the videos of "dead soldiers" reappearing, and accepted the reality:
"Li Aozi commands a tough, highly disciplined undead army. They number only 800, but when killed, they don't die immediately; they rest, receive treatment, and then return to the fight."
The good news was that the undead army wasn't large, though frontline soldiers reported that these undead were even more rabid than they were.
The bad news was that these undead had the combat skills of an elite force, reacted quickly, and communicated without issue. Even Tianhuan's electronic warfare teams couldn't disrupt them much beyond disabling some cybernetic implants.
Many of these fighters didn't even have implants, yet their marksmanship was as precise as if they had auto-aim. Some were headshotting every time, darting around narrow indoor spaces like eels. Alpha-tier warriors could dominate them in one-on-one combat but couldn't keep up.
Each undead possessed at least two Omega Energies, making their reconnaissance and damage potential far more threatening than the Green Base's beast tide.
The crucial issue was that as more Tianhuan warriors died, the undead's equipment continued to improve.
Initially, the undead wielded makeshift weapons from the external lands, with poor accuracy and firepower, but after acquiring gear from fallen Tianhuan warriors, their firepower increased, their mortality rate decreased, and they became even more formidable.
Tianhuan warriors weren't afraid of death, but they could truly die. Meanwhile, the undead treated their lives like a game.
"Commander, this won't work."
The adjutant quickly reminded him:
"We can't let our warriors waste their lives in a place like this. Sunny Garden has become a meat grinder."
"I understand."
Kanou nodded:
"Deploy a mobile armor, VH-09, let it enter the buildings to resolve the fight—or better yet, deploy two. Kill a Gamma-tier, and we'll free up another armor."
Killing prisoners was regrettable, but high-ranking captives would only complicate things internally.
He could only hope the boys would end the fight quickly and drive away the undead.
The real target here was still Li Aozi.
"Understood."
In the prisoner transport vehicle, two medics were monitoring the Gamma-tier [Biochemist] prisoner's vitals. Upon receiving the order, they unceremoniously tossed the captive into the incinerator.
Boom——————
Ash spewed out of the vehicle, scattering on the ground. The mobile armor crew nearby understood immediately.
"Let's go." VH-10's commander, Shitsubui Shingo, glanced at the ashes. "It's our turn now."
"Roger that."
As an all-Beta-tier ace crew, their operational capability was high. VH-09 soon followed. The two crews, eight members in total, piloted the "Fang" mobile armors, charging directly into the main base of Sunny Garden.
Boom!
Reinforced concrete shattered instantly as the Fang's air-cushion propulsion pushed forward. Swinging its arm, the 40mm wrist cannon obliterated a [Mutator] player maintaining a gravity barrier on the first floor.
The high-explosive incendiary rounds spread flames, consuming the crawling, dying players.
In an instant, 22 players were sent back to Triangle Town, bewildered.
"What just happened?"
"Was that a mobile armor?"
"It's a freaking Gundam!"
Players had never witnessed the power of the Four Nations' war machines. No matter how well they fought in the streets, the mobile armor, supplied by four Beta-tier soldiers, could block their attacks with its Qi shield alone.
With the appearance of the mobile armor, the battle turned completely one-sided.
Players hiding behind cover tried using anti-vehicle missiles to stop the armor, but the pilot simply swatted them, along with their cover, into chunks of concrete.
"Just a bunch of undead in flesh—fools. Ever since mobile armors, 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' has become just another festival."
The Fang's design resembled a red-horned demon. Its four electronic eyes housed carefully crafted cursed objects by [Mediums], allowing them to detect spirits, make them manifest, and physically annihilate them.
VH-10's commander, Shitsubui Shingo, constantly monitored the surroundings, occasionally manning the cannons himself, blasting through load-bearing walls to trap heavily armed players underneath, leaving them immobilized.
Many players were sent back to the resurrection points at Triangle Town, stunned by their death records.
Mobile armor, as the Four Nations' doomsday weapon, was justified.
On this planet, 90% of life forms couldn't survive a direct hit from a 30mm high-explosive incendiary armor-piercing round. The remaining 10% couldn't withstand Qi-imbued, explosive-loaded laser rifles.
Its presence shattered the former glory of Gamma-tier. With just four Beta-tier youths maintaining the armor, the cost was far lower than keeping Gamma-tier alive, without loyalty concerns, and it created jobs in the private sector.
The Red Arrow Empire, during peacetime, didn't even maintain Gamma-tier, instead relying on 4,300 mobile armors to secure their dominance.
But Tianhuan's core values admired individual strength, especially elite warriors, leading them to develop highly customized, elite mobile armors that excelled in single combat.
Not only did players struggle against them, but even Red Arrows wouldn't dare claim they could win one-on-one against Tianhuan's specialized armor units.
The two Fang units appeared similar but were vastly different internally. The players tried everything, yet couldn't even scratch the paint.
With armor reinforcements, Tianhuan warriors' morale soared, and they charged at the players, throwing out electromagnetic nets, rope guns, and tridents to trap those slow to move.
"Capture them alive! Send those undead to Hojo for experimentation!"
The warriors' shouts jolted the players.
"We can't win; we have to retreat!"
Caramel Snail, his right leg shattered by cannon fire, decisively pulled out his pistol and shot himself in the head. Moments later, he respawned in Triangle Town, surrounded by other players who had also suicided back.
Today's resurrection chances were down to one. He glanced at the mission timer—three hours until launch.
"Looks like we're in for a siege." A nearby player sighed. "If only we could deal with the mobile armor, we could take down more Tianhuan soldiers."
"It's not possible; we're already at the level cap." Another replied helplessly. "If only we could unlock level 20. But the devs won't let us advance to Alpha-tier. It's going to be tough."
Caramel Snail looked around, scratching his head in confusion:
"By the way… where's Li Aozi?"
Boom!
VH-10's commander, Shitsubui Shingo, was yanked from his burning cockpit by a massive hand. The neural link at his back snapped, flooding his brain with data and causing him to scream in agony. He struggled to his feet, raised his pistol, and fired at the towering monstrosity before him.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
Seven .50-caliber high-stopping power bullets hit the creature's depleted uranium armor, not leaving a single mark. The towering biochemical monstrosity lifted its foot and calmly, firmly stepped on his face.
Pop.
It sounded like bubble wrap popping—satisfying yet oddly endearing. As the white-red paste slowly spread, the ruins of Sunny Garden were left with nothing but the howling wind.
Silence.
The wreckage of the two mobile armors lay on the ground, destroyed identically—the weakest armor on their heads had been pierced, the hatches brutally ripped open, followed by internal fires and explosions.
The deep blue bio-armor stood upright, its angular plates covering its entire body, tightly restraining the rough, wild biochemical muscles.
Its body was massive and well-proportioned, like a small mountain. Its powerful legs, reminiscent of a T-Rex, stomped the ground, and its exaggerated carnivorous dinosaur-like jaws were covered by a high-polymer fiber mask. Three pairs of deep purple compound eyes were vertically aligned, occupying nearly one-third of its face, granting it an incredibly wide field of vision.
The internal bio-dynamic tubes continuously supplied power, while the calcium-alloy hydraulic pump stabilized the terrifying force of its heart, maintaining the bioweapon's state at its peak.
"Want more?"
The bioweapon didn't speak, but a synthesized voice rang out through the radio channel. Its six compound eyes gazed mockingly at the distant Tianhuan forces and said:
"I wouldn't mind dismantling two more of your mechs."
Kanou Asahi's pupils shrank.
"Who the hell are you?!"
"Just a passing Mutator class mentor, about to hit Gamma-tier thanks to some payback. That's all."
The biochemical bioweapon raised its claws, and the six purple compound eyes were instantly covered in red and black.
"—Remember me well."
[Dominator Form Activated]
"Tianhuan scum, you must understand: even among the strong, there are differences."
[DOMINATE ALL]