High above a stretch of scarlet land, over a dozen humanoid Mecha stood in a line, facing dozens of black monsters charging toward them.
The Mecha were all pure white, with a thick gun barrel mounted on one shoulder and axes, greatswords, and other melee weapons in their hands. A pair of silver mechanical wings spread behind each of them, making them look like white angels.
The black monsters had backs covered in dark spikes that gleamed coldly and six thick claws beneath their bellies. They curled themselves into enormous spiked balls and charged at the Mecha.
Through thick beams of light and dense barrages of bullets, the hedgehog-like monsters lost only seven or eight of their number before plunging into the Mecha formation. In an instant, the spikes covering their bodies shot out like a torrential downpour. Four or five Mecha were pierced straight through and exploded into balls of fire.
The remaining Mecha were separated and surrounded by the monsters, which bounced up as enormous spiked balls and smashed down wildly, leaving the Mecha scrambling helplessly.
In an instant, several more Mecha fell from the sky in flames.
"No good. Failed the assessment again. How is any normal person supposed to pass this full-fledged Mech Pilot assessment?"
"Exactly. Those Thorn Beasts are ridiculous. How could anyone pass an assessment like that?"
"Forget it. I heard running into Thorn Beasts in the full-fledged Mech Pilot assessment isn't the worst of it. What's even more ridiculous is encountering the legendary Undying Beasts. Supposedly, those monsters can never die or be destroyed. You can only truly kill one by completely destroying its core in a single strike."
"Ah, I have no idea how those full-fledged Mech Pilots passed their assessments."
Inside Mars Base, an arched gate shimmering with a white