The live-fire military exercise targeting Arctic mineral resources, jointly staged by the Bear Country and the Western Alliance, officially commenced a few days prior.
For this kind of live-fire exercise for Arctic mineral resources, which occurs every few years, most ordinary citizens, apart from military enthusiasts worldwide, showed little interest.
However.
This time, it inexplicably caught fire across the Great Xia nation and even globally.
The reason was.
The official Bear Country media released several videos of the exercise.
Initially, only a considerable number of veteran, hardcore military fans were watching.
The video began with the Bear Country in a dire combat situation.
Judging from the shaky footage, it appeared to be from a portable camera mounted on the helmet of a soldier participating in the live-fire exercise.
September had not yet fully arrived.
The Great Xia nation was still experiencing the lingering heat of late summer.
In the permafrost of the Bear Country's Far East, close to the Arctic Circle, the ground was already covered in pristine white snow, with thick accumulations deep enough to reach the knees.
Under such harsh snowy conditions.
For humans to traverse on foot was simply the most foolish course of action.
Moreover, this was a live-fire exercise simulating actual combat.
The fact that over ten Bear Country soldiers in the footage could only proceed on foot proved only one thing.
In this live-fire exercise, nominally a free-for-all among nations, the Bear Country had once again become the target of a gang-up by Western countries.
Almost all of the Bear Country's mobile equipment had been destroyed.
Indeed.
In this soldier's camera view.
Viewers saw over a dozen destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, and tracked troop carriers in the distance.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Bear Country's performance in this exercise was destined to be at the bottom.
It was even possible for casualties to occur under the final assault of manned vehicles and unmanned military robots from various nations.
It must be known that such live-fire exercises, held every few years, allowed for a 5%-10% casualty rate.
While called an exercise, it was not significantly different from actual warfare.
Babbling sounds.
A stream of Bear Country language emanated from the video feed.
Even though very few people in the Great Xia nation could understand this Bear Country language without subtitles, the panicked expressions of other soldiers in the frame, and the approaching various armored vehicles and unmanned robots, indicated.
He was likely making a final distress call to headquarters.
In the blink of an eye.
Dozens of unmanned military robots had arrived within a kilometer of this final Bear Country military squad.
These tracked military robots from Gaul, similar in size to ordinary civilian cars.
On their roofs, two machine guns and a small-caliber howitzer were mounted.
These all-terrain, tracked military robots were formidable anti-infantry weapons on the battlefield.
The battlefield situation was already exceptionally clear.
If this final Bear Country squad did not surrender, casualties were likely.
Netizens from the Great Xia nation, watching the video from various social platforms, flooded the comments with messages—
"They're going to lose already?"
"No way, if they lost, the video wouldn't have been released, right!"
"This squad should be waiting for reinforcements. As the last Bear Country squad on the battlefield, if they surrender, even if reinforcements arrive, this exercise would be immediately declared a loss for the Bear Country!"
"Shameless! They said it was a free-for-all, but as soon as it started, they ganged up on the Bear Country."
"..."
As countless comments scrolled by.
The video footage changed again.
Rumble.
A sonic boom of immense power approached.
In the soldier's camera perspective, ten fighter jets appeared!
"Huh?"
"Is this Bear Country's reinforcement?"
"They don't look like it. Judging by their appearance, they look like the US's top fighter jet, the F-35."
"Damn, are they still not ashamed? ... For a remaining squad of over a dozen people, do they need to deploy top-tier fighter jets like the F-35 to deal with them?"
"Something's wrong. Look closely, there seems to be something attached under the aircraft, its size even exceeding the F-35."
"That can't be right... The F-35 is a fifth-generation heavy fighter, not a transport plane, nor a bomber!"
"..."
As opinions varied and speculation ran wild.
The ten aircraft, apparently F-35s, were now fully visible on screen.
Subsequently.
A series of "boom boom boom" sounds were heard.
Ten humanoid mechs were dropped.
"Holy crap."
"What the hell is this?"
"Judging by the impact of the humanoid mechs dropped onto the snow, they must weigh thirty to forty tons... If I recall correctly, the F-35's maximum takeoff weight is only 28 tons... What's going on?"
"Could it be that there's a modified version of the F-35? Why haven't major military websites reported any news about it!"
"Let's not worry about why the F-35s became modified transport planes for now... What are those things being dropped?!"
"..."
On screen.
Ten humanoid mechs, each weighing thirty to forty tons, trembled slightly and then stood up.
"Holy crap."
"Mommy."
"What am I seeing?"
"Mechs, my heavens, it's mechs... If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time mechs have been deployed in warfare in human history."
"Ten meters tall, weighing thirty to forty tons... Are we sure this is a real-life video, not a CG rendering from a game?"
"Buddy, this is a video released by the official Bear Country! What game company is so awesome that they could get the Bear Country's official endorsement to release a video!"
"To be fair, this mech video is way more impressive than any game CG video I've ever seen!"
"Uh, isn't it said that humanoid bionic mechs are vastly inferior to beast-type mechs in terms of combat effectiveness and practicality?"
"Come on, man. Humans have evolved for so many years, and becoming the dominant species on Earth proves that the human form is the most versatile in various complex environments... Why do some people always think beast-type mechs are stronger than humanoid mechs?"
Seeing that the mechanical gurus were about to start arguing in the video's comment section.
Immediately, viewers who didn't want the video footage to be polluted by argumentative comments began to protest.
"If you want to argue, add each other on WeChat and argue slowly!"
"Who is stronger, humanoid mechs or beast-type mechs, there is no consensus yet, you can all shut up."
"Shouldn't the focus now be on the battlefield... The modified F-35s are already astonishing enough, and what are these humanoid mechs, these ultimate weapons... Is this reinforcement from the US and Western Alliance, or from the Bear Country?"
The answer was soon apparent.
As the indicator lights in the eyes of the ten large mechs turned to a steady green.
They moved with remarkable uniformity and no delay, dispersing in a circular formation in front of the last Bear Country squad.
"Holy crap, they're that awesome?!"
"These mechs are from the Bear Country?"
"When did Bear Country's military industry become so formidable, to the point of developing such powerful military robots and combat mechs?!"