Monster Appears

"Understood. Updating combat orders!"

Xiangcheng - Shattered Dome Base -

Cai Tiantong stared grimly at the flashing source of the alarm on the holographic screen.

Just moments ago, the combat command center had sounded the alarm again. It was the familiar alarm for a wormhole opening, and it was located at a spot frequently frequented by monsters.

Reconnaissance indicated that this time, two monsters had appeared. Both were Class 4 monsters. Because both monsters were near the seabed, their exact appearances couldn't be observed, so codenames hadn't been assigned yet. However, after the two monsters emerged from the wormhole, they headed straight for Edo without hesitation.

"All available mechs, deploy immediately."

"Where is this monster's signal coming from?"

"Based on their flight path, their target is Edo. Sir!"

"What are the monsters' characteristics and levels?"

"Both are Class 4," Cai Tiantong replied. "But they're close to the seabed, so we can't detect their characteristics yet, sir."

"Sound the alarm immediately."

As the piercing shriek of the alarm tore through the sky, Shattered Dome Base in Xiangcheng erupted in a frenzy. The massive mechanical gates slowly opened, and humid, salty sea air surged in.

The Eureka Striker, a behemoth nearly 80 meters tall, its metal body gleaming with a cold luster. Hydraulic coolant vented from various nozzles, churning into thick clouds in the air, obscuring the mech's lower half, making it look like a giant god descending from the clouds.

Heck Hansen and Chuck Hansen exchanged glances the moment their neural link was confirmed. As father and son, they had a deep rift between them. However, when it came to defending human civilization, they still worked together with one heart.

"Neural link is perfect. Transport aircraft are attaching, please prepare."

The large transport platform beneath their feet slowly moved the Eureka Striker to its designated position.

Dozens of workers waited for the steel cable latches to be lowered from the transport aircraft above.

As the latches were secured one by one, Cai Tiantong in the center of the command room said to Stark Pentecost, "Everything is ready, sir."

"Depart."

"Yes."

"All work platforms, clear non-essential personnel within 30 seconds. Departure begins in 30 seconds, pilots, prepare yourselves."

As the massive transport helicopter slowly lifted, the colossal Eureka Striker gently detached from the transport platform and ascended into the air.

Its enormous steel feet made all the workers below look up. Even after seeing it countless times, whenever this happened, everyone would unconsciously swallow. They felt both dread and fear, yet also excitement and pride.

This was the might of human civilization's industrial power.

"Work platform is clear, Cherno Alpha, please prepare."

As one of the pinnacles of Russian industrial might, Cherno Alpha perfectly inherited the rugged style of Russian heavy industry.

The towering battery nuclear reactor on its head, like heavy hammer armor, and the steel gauntlets on its hands, like a boxer's fists, all showcased Russia's wild style.

Especially as the rough, wasteland-punk style cockpit's Alexis Kadenovsky and Sasha Kadenovsky lowered their red, single-lens helmets, this rugged close-combat mech officially activated.

The moment it activated, Russia's unique hardcore music blared inside the cockpit.

As the armor plates on the mech began to rise and fall, opening, terrifying heat was expelled from the massive turbine fans on either side of its head.

This mech was officially activated. It slowly raised its thick, massive fist and slammed its fists together. The resulting roar made some nearby staff instinctively cover their ears.

"Pilots, please prepare."

The mechanical roar intertwined with the whistling sea breeze. The giant transport aircraft, like a roc with wings spread, hovered above the base. As the hatch at the top slowly opened, thick steel cables descended to the ground like silver pythons.

Once the workers secured the steel cables on the cables, the work platform was completely cleared. An indicator light suddenly lit up. The transport aircraft's engines instantly let out a deafening roar, the steel cables slowly tightened, and Cherno Alpha was steadily hoisted up. Its heavy red and silver interwoven feet once again appeared overhead. Especially the sharp objects protruding from the opening at the bottom – Explosive Steel Needles.

These could allow Cherno Alpha to anchor itself to the ground when necessary, forming an iron fortress.

As the base detached from the transport platform, a strong wind whistled.

"Everyone, let us fight for humanity once more."

Stark Pentecost's pure British accent echoed in the cockpits of both mechs.

"For humanity."

Little Japan, the Cabinet!

"Baka!" the Prime Minister cursed angrily, his face flushed red with rage, veins bulging. This was too much for him, an old man in his seventies.

"A monster appeared in Sapporo just yesterday, and now another one today?"

"Prime Minister, this is likely the work of that demon and the Ironclad."

"Do you think I don't know that?" the Prime Minister roared at his subordinate, who was trying to show off, then pondered for a moment. "Have the base at Mount Odomo prepare themselves. If it's unavoidable, then destroy the base and transport its contents as quickly as possible."

"Hai!"

Quan Tiehua and all the Battle-Brothers had assembled. Only 43 people had survived in total.

The Chapter Master and Gers were unable to carry out combat missions due to their injuries.

Although they had all survived and gathered together, as their range of movement expanded during the regrouping process, they had been discovered by the enemy soldiers.

Tanks, armored vehicles, and soldiers armed with heavy firepower were slowly converging on their location. Attack helicopters circled overhead from time to time, marking their positions.

This forced some Astartes to waste their already scarce bolter fire, shooting down all the helicopters.

Although the standard bolters they had left were no longer sufficient to penetrate the armor of modern main battle tanks with a single shot, they could still destroy these lightly armored attack helicopters.

With the combat experience and reaction speed of the few veterans in the Chapter, they even managed to target, predict the flight paths, and consecutively destroy three or four fighter jets that streaked past them at high speed.

This incident immediately silenced the entire air force. Honestly, for technologically advanced countries, aircraft were easy to build, but pilots were difficult to train.

"Go. Go. Go. Fire!"

American soldiers shouted loudly. The turrets of the M1 Main Battle Tanks following behind them slowly rotated, their cannons aiming at the cover where the Blood Angels were hiding.

Behind them, ACV wheeled amphibious armored vehicles found cover and stopped, allowing the American soldiers to leap out from the rear.

Boom.

A shell was fired, kicking up smoke and dust, shrapnel flying everywhere. But for the Astartes, whose reaction speed surpassed that of ordinary humans, it was negligible. Apart from the shockwave and tremors from the explosion, the rest caused them no harm.

"Flank. Close combat." Quan Tiehua had already seen the soldiers pull out some single-soldier rocket launchers from the armored vehicles.

What do you all think? Should we enter a wormhole to the Pioneer's world next? I'm a bit stuck right now. Any suggestions?