Chapter 500: [Happy New Year] Red Beast Warhammer
"By the numbers, there are about a hundred enemy units. There are four of us—how about 25 each?" Lan Jing suggested.
"No problem for me. I can handle however many come my way," Liu Feng said confidently.
Li Fang laughed loudly. "Brother Feng, don't speak too soon, or you might trip over your own words. What if they're Black Star Special High-Combat Mechs?"
"No worries. There are tactics to counter Special High-Combat Mechs. We can handle it," Liu Feng replied with a smile.
Lan Jing nodded in agreement. "Liu Feng's right. Stick to the tactics. Let's move!"
The exhaust flames of the four mechs traced four smooth arcs across the dark night sky.
The blue and red mechs veered left, while the pink and green ones flew right, forming a pincer maneuver to encircle the hundred enemy units.
Generally, as a small mech squad, if the enemy deployed such tactics, it meant they had the absolute strength to annihilate them, and the squad would immediately adjust their formation for countermeasures.
But this group of Black Star mechs showed no reaction, maintaining their original formation as they charged forward at high speed.
Liu Feng's guard went up. The likelihood of a Special High-Combat mech being among the Black Star squad had just increased.
Lan Jing's Peregrine mech had already activated its cluster-energy reactor on its back. The blue flames vanished, replaced by ultra-low-temperature, ultra-high-energy transparent flames.
At the same time, all the Peregrine's searchlights shut off.
Under the cover of night, it had fully transformed into the Grim Reaper of the darkness.
A thunderous "BOOM—!" split the sky as the Peregrine shot through the enemy formation in an instant, leaving behind a trail of faint sparks in its wake.
Liu Feng's heart skipped a beat!
The Peregrine was equipped with two ultra-high-frequency vibrating beam swords at 30,000 Hz. At such speeds, only a handful of heavy defensive mechs could withstand its velocity and power—anything below medium-class would have their exteriors shredded.
So why had the Peregrine's pass only produced faint sparks, as if it had barely grazed them?
Suddenly, Lan Jing's voice came through the comms: "Heads up, their mechs are abnormal. It's too dark to see clearly. Tao Na, it's on you!"
"Copy that!" Tao Na replied calmly.
The Taoxi mech quickly ascended, surveying the battlefield from above.
Since the formation of the Soaring Eagle Team Three, the squad had increasingly needed a powerful support-output mech.
The Taoxi was a medium-class hybrid mech with ample internal space. By reducing the load capacity of its metal tentacles and refitting other functional attachments, it could be transformed into a perfect support mech, increasing mission success rates.
And Tao Na, as an experienced female mech pilot, could calmly analyze battlefield conditions, precisely grasp combat opportunities, and decisively execute the right countermeasures.
Ye Ying had long recognized Tao Na's strengths. At one point, Tao Na had even temporarily replaced Ye Ying as the acting captain of Soaring Eagle Team Three.
With Tao Na in command and support, the rest of the squad trusted her completely.
Tao Na activated the mech's short-range coherent multi-pulse radar, quickly scanning the enemy mechs' forms.
"What—?!" Even someone as composed as Tao Na couldn't help but exclaim in shock. "Everyone, retreat from the enemy mechs immediately!!"
The Taoxi mech immediately pulled up vertically, while the others flew away from the enemy.
"What's going on, Na Na?" Li Fang asked frantically.
The Green Baron chased after the Taoxi. Whether out of personal concern or tactical necessity, protecting his girlfriend—the squad's backbone—was his priority.
"Check your radars! That's not a hundred mechs—it's just one!!" Tao Na shouted in warning.
Now it was the three male pilots' turn to be stunned.
But Liu Feng quickly snapped out of it. "A super-large mech... I've heard Gu Ya mention this. It's a signature of Lai Qu·Fa Nan's forces—they favor this type of mech."
"But we've never encountered something this huge before! On radar, it looks like a massive blob, as if a hundred mechs are clustered together!" Li Fang said.
"No wonder I couldn't damage it," Lan Jing remarked coolly.
This thing was enormous—easily twenty or thirty times the size of the Red Beast. Under the night sky, it loomed like an overwhelming shadow, a sprawling black specter soaring through the air.
"With Qiao Weiwei not here, my warhammer is the only heavy firepower we have," Liu Feng said calmly.
"Here's the plan: you cover me while I close in. I'll find an opening to blast through its armor, and we'll attack from there!"
The moment Liu Feng proposed the tactic, everyone agreed.
Li Fang and Lan Jing charged from above and the front of the giant Black Star mech, while the Taoxi followed closely behind Li Fang, diving vertically at high speed.
The Red Beast rapidly ascended, then shut off all thrusters, searchlights, and comms, entering freefall for a silent, high-altitude ambush.
This behemoth clearly didn't see the few Xiaxian "gnats" as a threat—it didn't even adjust its course, continuing forward unabated.
A few more kilometers, and it would reach the border of the Xiaxian's Cauldron Warzone. They had to stop it before then!
The Peregrine pushed its speed to the limit, nearing escape velocity as it streaked across the night like a gray meteor, slamming straight into the enemy mech's head.
The irony was almost laughable—the Peregrine, a light combat mech, wasn't even half the size of the enemy's head!
But the Peregrine had another objective. When it pulled back, one of the enemy's high-speed tracking radar eyes had been gouged out!
"Nice one, Lan Jing! My turn!!" Li Fang roared, mustering every ounce of focus as he swung his green glaive in a downward slash from above.
Suddenly, the seams of the enemy's back armor loosened, releasing thousands of spherical interference projectiles from within.
"THUD-THUD-THUD!" A deafening barrage!
The Green Baron plunged straight into the black curtain of projectiles, disappearing without a trace.
"These things are sticky!!" Li Fang yelled, struggling to maneuver his mech, hacking at the black, viscous, gas-like substance—only to find that the more he moved, the more entangled he became, as if caught in a colossal spider's web.
The Taoxi swiftly dodged the sticky smokescreen, charging in from the side with its broad pink blades.
Dozens of metal tentacles shot out from the Taoxi's body, latching onto the enemy's head armor.
Propelled by the tentacles, the Taoxi began circling at high speed.
After three full rotations, the Taoxi had accelerated to near the Peregrine's velocity.
On the fourth pass, as it neared the enemy's head, the Taoxi severed its tentacles and lunged forward!
The twin broad blades came down in a furious slash, cleaving through the protective casing of the enemy's remaining optical sensor and slicing the mechanical eyeball beneath!
"Liu Feng! Now's your chance!" Tao Na bellowed.
But the enemy wasn't going down without a fight. It instantly activated auxiliary sensors, shoulder armor plates sliding open to unleash a barrage of hundreds of missiles straight at the Taoxi!
At this range, the Taoxi couldn't evade them all.
And the closest to the Taoxi was the Red Beast.
If Liu Feng didn't save Tao Na, she would be obliterated by the missiles.
But if he did, he'd miss this golden opportunity to strike.
As the missile storm closed in, Tao Na's gaze burned with resolve, her heart steeled against death!
Then—the Red Beast suddenly interposed itself in front of the Taoxi, twin hammers swinging forward!
Liu Feng roared: "Secret Technique! Steel-Cutting Twin Hammers!!"
The chains whipped the crimson ripple-patterned hammers into a frenzy, spinning so fast they formed two glowing red discs!
With a release, the discs shot forth, meeting the missile swarm head-on!
Every incoming missile was intercepted, detonating mid-air in a series of fiery orange explosions—"BOOM-BOOM-BOOM...!"
"Liu Feng!" Tao Na shouted angrily. "You just wasted our best shot!"
Liu Feng only grinned, unfazed. "Compared to that big guy, I care more about my teammates' lives!"
But inwardly, he was already worried.
The chains had snapped—his hammers were gone, likely destroyed in the blast. He was now unarmed!
And ahead, the colossal enemy had shifted into combat stance.
Shoulder, arm, chest, and back armor panels slid open, revealing countless ranged weapons hidden within the glowing gaps.
Faced with such dire odds, Liu Feng laughed—optimistic, determined.
"Just like my old man said: A man's gotta cheat death a few times to really learn how to live!"
Empty-handed, the Red Beast revved its thrusters to full and charged straight at the gargantuan enemy!
[Author: Wishing all readers a smooth, prosperous, and healthy New Year! May 2023 bring you good fortune, happiness, and success in all endeavors! Happy New Year!!]