118: Pathfinder Mecha

"What's going on?" Zhou Yong's expression changed as he asked through the communicator.

"Report, General! A large number of 'Flesh Rippers' and 'Plague Spitters' have appeared on the western defense line! They've breached the first line of defense! Requesting fire support!" An anxious voice came through the communicator.

"Flesh Rippers? Plague Spitters?" Su Jin looked at Zhou Yong.

Zhou Yong's expression was somewhat grave: "They are new mutated monsters appearing in the Blood Tide Mist. The former are incredibly fast, with sharp claws and teeth that can easily tear through ordinary armor; the latter can spew highly corrosive venom, posing a huge threat to both equipment and personnel."

Su Jin stood at the entrance of the command center, gazing into the distance.

A cloud of smoke and dust billowed in one area, where the soldiers of Yong City were locked in fierce combat with a group of terrifying monsters.

The so-called "Flesh Rippers" resembled enlarged mantises, their scythe-like forelimbs glinting menacingly. Their speed was astonishing, leaving trails of afterimages on the battlefield, and the electromagnetic projectiles from gauss rifles often only struck their phantoms.

The "Plague Spitters," on the other hand, were like bloated toads, constantly spewing dark green viscous liquid from their mouths. This liquid was not only incredibly corrosive, sizzling and emitting white smoke as it landed on alloy bunkers, but it also possessed a strange property: soldiers' power armor, once contaminated, rapidly showed signs of dissolution, and their movements became sluggish.

This was the first time Su Jin had so directly witnessed the combat style of a purely technological lord's army when facing such bizarre creatures.

Zhou Yong's troops possessed fierce firepower and long range, but these monsters seemed to specifically counter the advantages of their conventional weapons.

The precision strikes of technological weapons were less effective against the enemy's illogical movement patterns and special resistances.

"General, the energy shield generator in Sector B7 of the western section is overloaded and damaged! The Rippers are expanding the breach!"

"Medical team! Large-scale corrosive damage in T3 Sector, requesting emergency support!"

Calls echoed one after another through the communication channel.

Zhou Yong frowned deeply and ordered: "All units, attention! Coordinates XXX, XXX, saturation bombardment in three seconds! Repeat, saturation bombardment in three seconds! Frontline units immediately seek cover, activate emergency protection!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers on the western front of the battlefield did not hesitate for a moment and immediately took action.

Some quickly dove towards nearby alloy bunkers, while others knelt on one knee, small devices deploying from the back of their power armor, rapidly unfolding translucent hexagonal energy shields around them.

Su Jin watched this scene with interest. While these individual energy shields didn't cover a large area, their deployment speed was incredibly fast, clearly an emergency measure for sudden situations.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

Almost the instant the soldiers completed their evasion maneuvers, a dull roar came from the distant sky. Immediately after, dense artillery shells rained down like hail, accurately covering the areas where the Flesh Rippers and Plague Spitters were most concentrated.

The explosions' fire and thick smoke instantly engulfed that section of the battlefield, and the powerful shockwave caused a slight tremor in the temporary command post where Su Jin was located.

Zhou Yong's heavy artillery support arrived swiftly and fiercely.

However, as the smoke cleared slightly, the situation on the battlefield made Su Jin raise an eyebrow.

The carpet bombing did indeed clear a small area, but most of the Flesh Rippers, relying on their astonishing speed and keen instincts, dodged through the gaps in the explosions. Although many were wounded, very few were completely destroyed.

As for the thick-skinned Plague Spitters, they actually endured several rounds of explosions, their viscous outer layer only thinning slightly, their movements a little sluggish, before they roared and began spewing venom again.

"These monsters are quite resilient," Su Jin commented.

Zhou Yong's expression was also grim, clearly dissatisfied with the result. "The lethality of conventional artillery against them is still a bit low."

He said in a low voice, then pressed a special channel on his communicator: "'Iron Fist', deploy! Target, western breach, eliminate all mutated entities!"

"Iron Fist received!" A slightly metallic synthetic voice responded.

Su Jin followed Zhou Yong's gaze and saw several large transport platforms slowly opening behind the military camp, from which hundreds of uniquely shaped steel creations emerged.

Those… were mechs?

A hint of surprise flashed in Su Jin's eyes.

These mechs were not as tall as he had imagined, only about seven or eight meters high, more like an enlarged version of heavy exoskeleton armor.

They were dark gray all over, with a thick alloy shield on the left arm, its edges shimmering with energy. The right arm, depending on the model, was equipped with a chainsaw sword, a high-frequency vibrating battle-axe, or a multi-barreled rotary machine gun and small rocket pods.

The chest bore a prominent Yong City emblem and the 'Iron Fist' designation.

"Those are…" Su Jin looked at Zhou Yong.

"Our Yong City Military Industry Department's latest developed Tier 6 Pathfinder combat mechs."

Zhou Yong's tone carried a hint of pride, "Specifically designed to handle high-intensity close-quarters combat and complex terrain breaches. Although they are still in the experimental deployment phase, they are enough to deal with these tough-skinned fellows."

Before he finished speaking, the Pathfinder mechs had already begun to move, rushing towards the western defense line with agility far exceeding their size.

The hydraulic assist systems in their legs emitted a low hiss, each step leaving a shallow crater in the ground, and their speed was astonishing.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The close-combat mechs leading the charge suddenly accelerated, then crashed into the monster horde.

One mech thrust its alloy shield forward, directly sending a pouncing Flesh Ripper flying. Before the monster could land, the chainsaw sword on the mech's right arm whirred down, sparks flying as its tough carapace was easily torn open, and green fluid gushed out.

Another mech, equipped with a high-frequency vibrating battle-axe, was even more ferocious. The battle-axe swung with an ear-splitting hum, each blow capable of piercing the Plague Spitter's hide, creating massive wounds.

The highly corrosive venom sprayed onto the mech's shields, and although it also emitted wisps of green smoke, it was clearly unable to cause significant damage in a short time.

The subsequent fire support mechs stopped at a slightly farther position, their shoulder-mounted rocket pods and arm-mounted rotary machine guns firing simultaneously. A dense rain of bullets and small rockets covered the monsters attempting to encircle the close-combat mechs, or targeted the Flesh Rippers trying to ambush the soldiers in the rear.

The appearance of the Pathfinder mechs was like a sharp knife plunged into the chaotic battle.

The previously precarious front line was instantly stabilized.

The Flesh Rippers, once incredibly arrogant, found their boasted speed and claws somewhat lacking against these steel behemoths, often being dismembered by chainsaw swords or battle-axes in a single encounter.

And the Plague Spitters' boasted venom and defense also lost their original deterrent power in front of these heavy mechs.