Godzilla's First Appearance
To outsiders, the battle at sea looked like a direct clash between Sakura Saber and Iron Hammer!
Just as Sakura Saber prepared to draw her thirty-meter-long blade.
Iron Hammer suddenly leaped into attack. With a single headbutt, he used the unique structure of his head to brutally smash straight through Sakura Saber's side!
Countless mechanical components and assorted parts fell from Sakura Saber's body. Sparks flew from the gash as if she were about to explode the next second!
Iron Hammer—the monster's codename alone fully described his physical characteristics.
Under the terrifying destructive power of his finishing move, the headbutt, Sakura Saber was heavily damaged in a single strike, and the battle instantly reached an incredibly brutal stage!
To the gathered news media filming from afar along the shore, this result was no different from the sky falling!
Sakura Saber, the only large-scale mech Sakurajima had built with the strength of the entire island, represented Sakurajima's last shred of dignity and was also its strongest pillar against the monsters!
Yet now, facing the monster Iron Hammer, she had been severely damaged in a single blow.
Countless Sakurajima citizens watching before their television screens instantly broke down inside.
Many clutched their heads in anguish, their eyes filled with shock and despair.
If Sakura Saber were destroyed by the monster, it would mean that Sakurajima's last shred of dignity among the nations of the world would vanish as well!
In this era, a country without a large-scale mech was no better than the late Qing dynasty. No matter how strong its national power appeared or how vast its territory was, it was merely meat on a chopping block.
A true predator could devour it however it pleased!
Of course, with monsters around now, "devour" might not be a figure of speech, but a literal noun.
"Viewers! Sakura Saber was caught off guard and successfully ambushed by the monster, but we must believe in our Guardian God, Sakura Saber! With Sakura Saber's mech performance, such minor external damage will have little effect on her. She still has the power to fight!"
Sweating profusely, the host spouted nonsense he did not even believe himself, trying to restore the public's confidence.
Meanwhile, on the distant battlefield, the situation had shifted once again!
As everyone knew!
Even if a mech's "armor" stats matched a monster's armor stats, its actual defensive power was still inferior to a monster's!
Its only advantage was that as long as its vital structure had not been destroyed, it could continue operating.
Sakura Saber raised her blade and brought it down. With her intact arm, she drew the thirty-meter Sakura greatsword and slashed directly at Iron Hammer's neck!
Sparks burst forth with a clatter. The giant blade striking the monster sounded like two pieces of steel grinding against each other, painfully shrill!
Yet that slash was fluid and smooth, countless times better than her clumsy movements from before.
Inside Sakura Saber, main pilot Nakamura had fainted from the simulated injuries and pain, and temporary command of the mech had been transferred to the copilot.
So those subsequent maneuvers had all come from Koizumi Junko. No wonder she seemed so at ease!
However, the strain of piloting a large-scale mech alone was simply too terrifying.
Koizumi Junko focused intently on controlling Sakura Saber, but blood was already streaming uncontrollably from her nose.
The pressure from being deeply linked to the large-scale mech had all fallen upon Junko. This young girl's frail body clearly could not endure it!
"No! I can hold on! The people I need to protect are behind me. I absolutely cannot fall and let the monster through!"
Koizumi Junko encouraged herself, but she was already beginning to feel weightless and dizzy.
At that moment, Iron Hammer roared and charged in once more.
That previous slash had enraged him, but it had not injured him!
Iron Hammer leaped high again. His headbutt struck like an explosive impact, and beneath it, the destructive force rapidly surged to its peak with the momentum of his body!
This was Iron Hammer's habitual killing move, and thanks to his body structure, he could use it with great ease!
Holding her sword one-handedly, Sakura Saber blocked with a backhand motion, but she could no longer withstand Iron Hammer's full-force strike.
She was sent crashing to the ground on the spot!
Sakura Saber had fallen!
Unlike the Iron Hammer that had appeared in Chile several years ago, the Iron Hammer now appearing on the North Sea battlefield of Sakurajima was an enhanced version in both Body Size and power!
Sakurajima's higher-ups had treated the Iron Hammer from Chile as their hypothetical enemy. They had compared themselves to the completely wrong opponent!
"Everyone... I'm sorry..."
"I have failed your expectations. I trained so hard for so many years, but my performance in actual combat is still so poor!"
"And... Luo Jun, after all these years since Uncle and Auntie's memorial day, we finally met again, but now..."
The instant Sakura Saber was knocked down, pilot Koizumi Junko's mind went blank as well.
Experienced pilots all knew that when a mech was knocked down by a monster in battle, the resulting chain reaction was fatal.
It could even directly declare the monster's victory. The tragic ending of the mech destroyed and its pilots dead was already in sight!
If possible, this Iron Hammer was already qualified to have a golden stripe carved onto its shoulder.
On the beach, the gathered news media had fallen completely silent.
They were not professional pilots, but they still knew what it meant for a mech to fall to the ground.
As they watched the cherry-red mech stagger backward and collapse, its parts shattering and scattering across the ground,
and saw that monster standing atop Sakura Saber's body, throwing back its head and howling with incomparable savagery, bone-deep cold seeped through every part of their bodies.
Their hearts turned cold, their heads went numb, and chills ran from their heads to their ankles.
Under the assault of every kind of negative emotion, they temporarily lost the ability to speak.
They could not understand it. Wasn't this supposed to be a victory, a resounding win meant to pad Sakura Saber's record?
Why had it ended up like this?
"Wait! What's that?"
At that moment, a sharp-eyed cameraman noticed something strange about the distant waves.
It seemed that a terrifying monster was driving the waves, surging toward the shore.
The next instant, a towering beast rose from the seawater. Its massive body and savage appearance seized everyone's attention in an instant.
"What... is that?"
After the initial shock, panic and terror surged to their absolute peak!
Because once their brains began functioning again and their ability to think returned, did they really need to think any further about the monster before them?
"That's a monster!"
"And it's a monster larger than Iron Hammer, a monster even more terrifying than Iron Hammer!"
The cameraman threw down his camera and sprinted away.
Someone still blankly asked:
"Mr. Yamanaka, where are you going?"
"Home! I'm taking my wife and children, and we're running!"
"Two monsters! Sakurajima is finished! Finished!"
Godzilla's first appearance brought nothing but panic and bewilderment to the world—and even greater fear to Sakurajima.
Sound Reasoning, Utterly Convincing!
It was not that Mr. Yamanaka lacked professional integrity as a cameraman, abandoning the camera that put food on his table and preparing to flee.
After his warning, the others came to their senses as well.
They thought exactly as Mr. Yamanaka did. They turned and ran toward the cars parked in the distance!
Two monsters!
This was an attack involving two monsters appearing at once!
Especially when Sakura Saber, the nation-protecting mech, had already fallen.
Everything pointed to Sakurajima's doom!
Four years ago, Malaya had been destroyed by the joint attack of two monsters.
Though civilians from that island nation had survived, they were merely hanging on by a thread. There was no longer any real nation left.
Monster toxin had contaminated vast stretches of land. Even if outside assistance drove the monsters back, that land was no longer suitable for human habitation.
And Sakurajima's situation today was so similar to Malaya's four years ago!
"I absolutely can't stay in Sakurajima! I'm going to the Far East! Even if I have to spend my entire fortune, I'll get a plane ticket to the Far East!"
The fleeing people noisily voiced their thoughts. Once they received everyone else's unanimous agreement, they ran even faster!
Where there were those fleeing from battle, there were naturally those who did not run.
"Everyone, let us host this program together. Even if this may be our last broadcast, we must do our best to see it through!"
A sternly dressed middle-aged man straightened the camera and spoke to those remaining.
"Chief... Yes! Understood!"
The remaining people answered in unison. Then, as the host narrated in a trembling voice, the camera zoomed out and aimed at the monster that had just appeared in the distant sea.
While adjusting the focus, the chief muttered to himself:
"Let me take a good look. Even if it wants to destroy our nation, it must at least let us know what kind of monster destroyed this country!"
"Monster! If you want to run wild across this land, don't think you'll get away unscathed either!"
The chief muttered through gritted teeth, completely unconcerned that his self-talk was being heard by viewers across the country.
At a time like this, no one would care about such a trivial matter.
Finally, through the chief's efforts, a clear image of Godzilla, the King of Monsters, appeared in countless homes for the first time!
Massive body!
Savage appearance!
His entire form exuded power and weight!
That thick tail, which lashed the sea and raised towering waves, was clearly no weakness, but a powerful weapon.
The structures on his back, like thorned sword teeth, protected his back completely. Some monsters had blind spots or weaknesses on their backs, but this monster clearly had no such weakness!
Other than his somewhat short front claws, which could count as a flaw, the chief could not find any other weakness at first glance.
This instantly left the chief speechless and utterly despairing!
As an elite professional, he knew that there was another mech stationed on the island by the Far East—Wulei.
If the second monster were weak, there would still be a chance for one mech to fight two.
But...
The result was utterly despairing.
Especially after comparing its Body Size with Iron Hammer's, this newly appeared monster actually held the advantage.
One had to know that among monsters, Body Size generally represented their relative strength.
This newly emerged monster was only stronger than Iron Hammer, never weaker!
"It's over... This time, it's truly over."
The last trace of hope in the chief's heart completely vanished, and his eyes darkened.
Before you continue