"Commander Lan, if we leave, what about the Pipi Shrimp and the people aboard it?"
Commander Lan's voice came through the channel without the slightest pause:
"The Pipi Shrimp is to be abandoned immediately!"
"Everyone aboard will immediately evacuate in small lifeboats and helicopters. If Steel Mountain isn't too concerned with them... they might have a chance of surviving."
Those cold words came from Commander Lan.
Cruel, but realistic.
As the first to jump into the sea, Crimson Thunder Blade was also the first to reach shore.
After coming ashore, Luo Bing first glanced at Scylla. Seeing that she was somewhat attentive to their arrival but showed no hostility, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then Luo Bing turned toward the Pipi Shrimp and stared in that direction with a frown.
At that moment, the Pipi Shrimp had already been swallowed by the incoming tidal wave.
The maritime overlord and sea fortress of a bygone era could only tremble before the surging waves.
What was even more terrifying was what came with the waves—no, it wasn't accompanying them.
The waves themselves had been created by him!
The storm came with giant waves, and amid the rumbling, another "Steel Mountain" appeared.
This was also a six-legged monster, with a face somewhat resembling that of an ape.
But compared to Venom Steel Mountain, this Steel Mountain was far more heavily built. His two most lethal and destructive arms could outperform countless battering rams with a single light strike!
This King of Monsters, this Steel Mountain who clearly had an extraordinary connection to Venom Steel Mountain, rode the floodwaters and used his powerful arms to climb directly onto the Pipi Shrimp.
Everywhere his hands gripped was pressed full of handprints and twisted into scrap metal.
At last, he stood atop the Pipi Shrimp.
The already fragile-looking Pipi Shrimp barely managed to bear Steel Mountain's weight, but Steel Mountain showed it no gratitude.
He smashed his heavy fist down onto the Pipi Shrimp's flagship deck. The deck instantly split apart, and who knew what vital structure he hit as a thunderous explosion rang out.
Amid smoke and explosions, Steel Mountain stood unmoved, completely unharmed by the blast.
His icy gaze pierced through the splashing waves and fixed on the three mechas and Scylla on shore.
His eyes held none of Venom Steel Mountain's cowardice or intent to retreat. Instead, they were filled with destructive urges and fury.
The kind of fury of a man whose wife had died.
On the shore, Luo Bing looked at Steel Mountain's massive, muscle-bound body and knew this bastard would be hard to deal with.
If Venom Steel Mountain had been a fraud, then this one definitely wasn't.
Whether it was his Body Size or the swollen masses of muscle covering him, everything about him showed that he was not someone to provoke.
Venom Steel Mountain wasn't a combat-type monster. Luo Bing had already realized that after fighting him.
But what Luo Bing hadn't expected was that the "Steel Mountain monster clan" actually had a Steel Mountain that was clearly built for combat!
This Steel Mountain's ability to pollute the environment was extremely weak, because he no longer had a Poison Sac.
But there were gains and losses. In exchange, he possessed unmatched individual destructive power!
The three mechas lined up along the shore, staring gravely at the distant Steel Mountain. All six pilots were silent.
They had thought this trip had been for nothing.
Now it seemed they definitely hadn't come for nothing, but they might not get to keep their lives either.
Scylla kept jabbing her six spider legs into the ground, as if trying to ease the pressure in her heart.
Clearly, Steel Mountain's arrival had made even Scylla feel the threat of death.
This wasn't that useless imitation from before. This was a genuine, combat-type King of Monsters!
On the other side, Steel Mountain also realized all his enemies were on shore.
After smashing two huge holes into the side of the Pipi Shrimp with another heavy blow, he roared and charged toward the shore!
Behind him, the Pipi Shrimp slowly began taking on water.
Steel Mountain charged in like Mount Tai collapsing overhead, carrying unstoppable momentum.
He had no Poison Sac or other cumbersome parts. His entire body was forged from solid, bulging muscle; even steel and iron were not as hard as him.
As his six legs ran, his incomparably heavy hammer fists slammed the ground with booming impacts, like the nightmare prelude to an earthquake.
In the incredibly tense atmosphere, all three mechas chose to evade without prior agreement.
Fighting a brute-force monster that charged around like this was dangerous. If he caught a weakness, or even made only slight contact, the result could be destroyed mechas and dead pilots.
Ace Mecha, the true ace, stood only ninety-five meters tall. Its special alloy armor might withstand one punch from Steel Mountain, but it absolutely could not endure two fists smashing down at once.
Even the ace performed so weakly, so there was no need to mention Crimson Typhoon and Crimson Thunder Blade.
Their mecha composite materials simply weren't that durable!
Retreat, endure, and rely on speed to win!
This Steel Mountain possessed unmatched brute force, but speed had always been Steel Mountain's fatal weakness.
Venom Steel Mountain's speed stat had only been 5. This Brute Force Steel Mountain was faster than that venomous one, but not by much.
Steel Mountain used War Stomp and Brutal Charge, only to discover that all three mechas had dodged away and didn't dare confront him head-on.
Steel Mountain roared, then didn't bother distinguishing targets and directly chased after Scylla.
To Steel Mountain, everyone was an enemy. Clearing out every enemy was the best choice!
Scylla's six spider legs darted left and right with remarkable agility.
After turning and sidestepping, she took advantage of Steel Mountain's sluggishness before he could turn around and viciously drove two long spider legs into his back.
But although Steel Mountain's back no longer had venomous lumps, it had grown a layer of hard carapace.
Scylla's spider legs pierced in, but their force was heavily impeded and could not penetrate further.
Seeing Steel Mountain turn and smash a hammer fist toward her, Scylla hurriedly opened her mouth and blasted him with a breath attack carrying icy properties.
Taking advantage of the instant Steel Mountain's body stiffened, Scylla nimbly used her spider legs to spring away from his attack range.
This infuriated Steel Mountain, and he roared repeatedly.
Then he walked toward a nearby hill, smashed apart a large swath of rocks with three punches and two kicks, and lifted a massive boulder to throw at Scylla.
After discovering that it was useless against the extremely agile Scylla, Steel Mountain did not give up. Instead, he shifted targets and hurled the boulder directly at the three mechas.
Ace Mecha and Crimson Typhoon desperately dodged.
Meanwhile, Luo Bing had already controlled Crimson Thunder Blade to quietly approach Steel Mountain from behind.
After activating the lightning infusion function, Luo Bing controlled Crimson Thunder Blade to grip the hilt of the Cherry Blossom Blade with both hands, then took one step and launched forward to strike!
The sharp Cherry Blossom Blade, infused with lightning, sliced toward Steel Mountain's neck.
Let me cut the meat on the back of your neck!
Luo Bing had learned this move from a one-meter-sixty practical fighter, whose specialty was using the small to defeat the large.
Luo Bing had remembered this move for more than ten years. Today was the first time he had used it in real combat, but as for the result...
It was similar to what Scylla had encountered. The Cherry Blossom Blade got stuck halfway through and could not advance any farther.
This made Luo Bing seriously wonder whether Brute Force Steel Mountain had another layer of steel plating inside his body.
Before he had time to think further, Steel Mountain's counterattack arrived in an instant.
The two middle arms rapidly clapped toward him, intending to smash Crimson Thunder Blade into pieces.
If Luo Bing dodged, he could barely avoid it by sacrificing one leg.
But sacrificing mobility against a monster like this would be true suicide.
At the critical moment, Luo Bing twisted his body. He didn't twist far enough and still took Steel Mountain's slap head-on.
But the leg that would have been sacrificed became his left arm and half his body, all smashed into a complete mess by that twist.
The remaining half of his body was then sent flying, tracing a graceful arc through the air before landing on the ground with a clang.
There was no doubt about it. After only two deployments, Crimson Thunder Blade had to return to the factory for major repairs again.
Steel Mountain gave Crimson Thunder Blade a cold glance. Seeing that it could no longer rise and that its shattered body had clearly lost all combat capability, he stopped paying attention to it.
He then continued chasing the others.
If he could learn the truth after his death, he would surely hate his actions and regret beyond measure that there was no medicine for regret.
"Luo Bing! Junko! Are you two okay?"
Brother Li and Sister Jing's anxious voices came through the communication channel. They were a married couple and the current pilots of Ace Mecha.
Whether they were the strongest pilots in the country was hard to say, but if there was a top three, the husband-and-wife team of Brother Li and Sister Jing would definitely be on it.
After reassuring them that they were safe, Luo Bing saw that Steel Mountain was not coming after them and let out a sigh of relief.
If he had continued the pursuit, Luo Bing would have had no choice but to flee for his life in the crippled Crimson Thunder Blade.
Crimson Thunder Blade looked miserable now, but thanks to Luo Bing's deliberate twist, its mobility systems remained intact.
It had merely lost half its body and its combat capabilities. Its movement capability was still fine.
"Sorry, Crimson Thunder Blade. I made you crash with me again."
"Next... it's my turn!"
"First, let's add one Little Star to Action Duration!"
"Then, let's add one Little Star to the skill... Hm? After adding one Little Star, an advanced option appeared after Breath?"
"Should I choose Atomic Attribute Enhancement or Charged Particle Enhancement?"
"Do I even need to choose?!"
Steel Mountain was having a great time with his pursuit.
Under his unmatched brute force, the two mechas and Scylla could only flee all the way. Their occasional counterattacks were all blocked by his endoskeleton.
Once Scylla's attacks could not penetrate Steel Mountain's endoskeleton, it became Steel Mountain's time to do whatever he wanted.
The way he chased the three across Malaysian soil was like his lost youth.
It was not until a low boom blasted in from the distance that Steel Mountain came back to his senses.
The blue beam carried traces of particle effects. The instant Steel Mountain turned around, it had already locked precisely onto his body!
Dodging was impossible. What Steel Mountain could do was exactly what Luo Bing had done earlier—twist his body with all his might and try to turn less important parts toward the attack!
The breath attack burning with faint particle afterimages instantly swept across Steel Mountain's body. Through Steel Mountain's efforts, the point of impact at the very center was finally shifted to half his body and one of his middle arms.
After the smoke dispersed, an oval hole still billowing blue smoke had appeared in Steel Mountain's abdomen, while one arm had been blasted off completely.
However, no blue venomous blood flowed out.
The Charged Breath carrying traces of particle effects shot from the sea toward land, blasting Steel Mountain solidly!
Before you continue