Moments later, the first enormous shadow appeared as it turned the corner of the street.
It was a Heavy-Class Combat Mecha, fifty meters tall, possessing the firepower of an entire tank unit on its own. Its thick composite armor was covered with gray and green camouflage patterns, and the massive cannons mounted on its shoulders were already aimed toward the Steel Golems. A folded battle axe was secured on its back.
A more energetic voice followed behind it over the radio.
"We heard there was a fight, so we came! Who's bullying our people?"
Behind it, two Medium-Class Assault-Agility Mechas, each about thirty meters tall, entered the street with speed—and a bit of showmanship.
These more slender-looking machines specialized in agility and speed. They carried rifles in their hands and twin swords mounted on their backs, their steps leaving faint tremors in the ground as they moved.
Inside their cockpits, the pilots looked at the enormous silhouettes of the Steel Golems. None of them showed fear. But when the pilot of the Heavy-Class Mecha saw the Steel Golems, one of his eyebrows rose slightly.
For him—and his machine—this would be little more than child's play. Still, unable to resist teasing his friend, he spoke over the radio with exaggerated drama.
"GOMEZ! YOU'VE DRAGGED US INTO TROUBLE AGAIN!"
Hearing the complaint through the radio, Gomez fell silent for a moment before replying.
"This time it's not my doing, Martin. If you have complaints, take them up with Commander Amanda."
At the mention of that name, Martin visibly shuddered and nearly choked. Instantly, he gave up on teasing his friend.
Amanda Demir—the commander responsible for this sector—was not someone you joked about lightly. She was the last person in the world he would ever want to anger. If that happened, he could not even begin to imagine the kind of hell that would await him.
Well… except maybe for his mother.
His mother, after all, seemed to have received sniper training with a slipper.
Another pilot spoke up.
"Captain, focus!"
Martin responded wearily as he activated his Mecha.
"Alright! Alright!"
The pilot of the Heavy-Class Mecha moved forward. The final and strongest trump card of the city's defense had entered the battlefield.
This unit—Hammer-007—was an attack-focused Mecha equipped with two massive cannons mounted on its shoulders. In terms of raw power, it was one of the finest Mecha units produced in Nevarion.
However, their numbers were extremely limited. The materials required for their construction were rare and difficult to obtain. But when deployed, this giant machine could easily change the course of a battle.
The stabilizing clamps in Hammer-007's feet locked into the ground. Then the gigantic cannon mounted on its left shoulder fired.
The recoil alone shook nearby buildings. Windows rattled violently as the shot thundered through the street.
The armor-piercing shell struck the leading Steel Golem's left shoulder, landing just beside one of the natural cracks in its skin.
The force of the impact created a deep dent in the silver Moon Steel armor. Fragments of Moon Steel scattered into the air, and the Golem staggered backward with a roar of pain.
Its feet shattered the already ruined asphalt, sending up clouds of dust. Behind it, a damaged five-story building collapsed into a pile of concrete rubble, filling the air with thick debris that made the battlefield difficult to see.
The artillery bombardment had ceased the moment the Mechas entered the battlefield to avoid friendly fire.
Now the war zone echoed with the growl of Mecha hydraulics, the roars of Golems, and the thunder of destruction.
Hammer-007 fired the cannon on its right shoulder. The explosive shell struck the staggering Golem directly in the chest.
The detonation burst into a massive fireball. The shockwave shattered the windows of the buildings lining both sides of the street, and the cracks in the ground widened into deep fissures.
Despite the barrage, the Golems remained determined to continue their path of destruction.
The second Golem roared and swung one of its massive arms toward the Heavy Mecha.
Despite the machine's enormous bulk, its pilot performed a quick sidestep maneuver, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The Golem's claws scraped across the spot where the Mecha had been standing moments earlier and crushed the wreck of a destroyed tank in the street like paper, scattering twisted metal fragments everywhere.
Martin shouted angrily over the radio.
"What are you doing, sleeping?! Help me out here!"
Hearing this, the Medium-Class Mechas joined the battle, using their superior agility.
One began circling the Golems with enormous strides. Knowing their rifles would be useless, they secured them back onto their mechanical mounts and switched to their swords.
One of them rushed forward and attacked with a blade whose edge was composed of condensed energy. The strike left shallow cuts along the Golem's body.
The Golem roared in pain as blue blood began to flow from the wound across its chest.
The other Medium Mecha charged toward the creature's legs. Increasing the sword's energy output to maximum, the sharp yellow blade began to shine intensely.
With a powerful slash, it struck the Golem's leg.
The blade carved a deep gash into the Moon Steel skin, and blue blood burst from the wound.
The Golem roared in agony and began collapsing toward the ground. As its immense body shook the earth, the cracks in the buildings on both sides of the street widened, threatening total collapse.
Meanwhile, Martin continued firing Hammer-007's cannons, pushing the Golems backward.
The roars of the Golems, the engines of the Mechas, and the sounds of destruction filled the entire street.
Far away—120 kilometers away, atop the 102-story skyscraper—Gomez continued watching the brutal battle between these colossal masses of steel through the ruins of collapsing buildings. At the same time, he maintained his sniper position, eliminating powerful monsters he spotted in the distance.
The battle raged on with relentless intensity. With every passing second, more destruction and more deaths were added to the conflict between the Mechas and the Golems.
Although the Heavy-Class Mecha's cannons could not completely stop the Golems, they slowed them down and made their advance far more difficult.
Then the moment came.
Martin switched the shoulder cannons into passive mode. The cannons folded and retracted into the mechanism on the Mecha's back.
The fifty-meter-tall giant machine suddenly burst forward with surprising acceleration.
Its target was the injured Golem—the one already staggering from previous hits, its shoulder heavily damaged.
Using the momentum of its charge, the Mecha pulled its right arm back, locking its fingers together into a massive fist.
The Golem roared and attempted to retaliate, but its injured shoulder made it slow.
The Mecha's steel fist crashed down like a sledgehammer beneath the creature's jaw—right at the joint where the Moon Steel plates connected.
BOOOOOOM!
The street was filled with a deafening, metallic crash. The force of the blow released a shockwave that rippled through the air. The Golem's head snapped violently backward from the impact, metal fragments, blue blood, and sparks spraying from its mouth.
The colossal creature lost its balance and staggered several steps to the side before swinging its intact arm in a furious counterattack at the Mecha. But Martin quickly retreated, pulling the massive axe from his back. With a swift spin, he performed a brief, almost theatrical flourish before settling into a combat stance. The blade's sharp edge flared with a bright yellow energy.
Inside the cockpit of Hammer-007, Martin gripped the control levers tightly. Channeling the full hydraulic power of the machine behind the motion, he brought the colossal axe down upon the Golem in a brutal vertical strike.
The Golem desperately raised its arms to block the devastating attack, but the sheer engine power of Hammer-007 combined with the axe's immense weight shattered that defense without mercy. The blade bit deeply into the creature's thick arm.
At that instant, dark, luminous blue blood sprayed across the battlefield.
The creature's agonized roar echoed through the street, deafening in its intensity:
"Gggrrooooooaaaarrrrr!"
Martin remained perfectly calm as he continued the maneuver. Pressing the triggers on the control panel, he forced the mechanical arms to reverse direction and yanked the axe free in a single motion.
As the blade tore loose, blue blood erupted into the air. Much of Hammer-007's metallic frame was instantly drenched in the thick, sticky liquid.
Without wasting a second, Martin stabilized the Mecha and followed with a swift horizontal strike. The edge of the axe sliced through the Golem's neck like paper.
The enormous head separated from the body, flying through the air before crashing onto the asphalt with a thunderous impact.
When the tremors subsided, Martin released a deep, relieved breath. As a veteran pilot who had devoted years of his life to operating these colossal machines, defeating a monster that relied purely on brute force and lacked any strategic intelligence was hardly difficult—especially when he was piloting one of the most advanced Mechas available.
Tilting his head slightly, he checked the side monitors to assess the status of his team. When he saw that the others had also neutralized the third Golem, the last traces of tension left his body.
Hammer-007's bloodstained axe rested heavily against its shoulder as the Mecha shifted into a waiting stance. Martin spoke through the radio.
"Good work, gentlemen! Those A-level golems went down fast. The team's still in good shape—nice job."
The other pilots guided their Mechas closer, gathering around their captain. Their machines bore minor scratches and abrasion marks from the battle, but overall their structures remained solid.
One of the pilots checked the data in his cockpit and then reported over the radio.
"Captain, twenty-four percent of our Mecha energy was consumed during that short but intense fight. We still have a long road ahead—we should move more carefully."
Inside the Medium-Class Mecha, the pilot performed a final systems analysis while examining the digital displays. The data on his screen glowed green:
System Status Report
• Remaining Energy: 76%
• Mecha Status: Stable
• Pilot Status: Stable
Weapon Status Report:
• Ammunition Status: Full
• Sword One Durability: 82%
• Sword One Energy Level: 89%
• Sword Two Durability: 78%
• Sword Two Energy Level: 81%
Seeing these figures on the screen, the pilot let out a deep sigh. Together with his partner, they had only taken down two monsters, yet the energy expenditure was far higher than he had expected.
Worse still, reports were coming in from many parts of the city indicating that Titan-class monsters were emerging.
Some of them, like these Steel Golems, were low-intelligence creatures that focused purely on destruction. But others were far more agile and intelligent—making them significantly more dangerous.
As the intensity of the war increased, logistical problems began appearing one after another: repairing damaged Mechas, replenishing ammunition, and the rapidly draining energy reserves.
Hearing his subordinate's warning, Martin checked his own energy levels.
All of Hammer-007's systems were still above 90%, though he noticed that the cannon ammunition count had dropped to 92 shells.
Ever since the first appearance of miniaturization technology, Soren had worked tirelessly to refine the system. By combining rune magic with scientific knowledge, he had created nearly perfect compression fields.
Thanks to this, the military had gained enormous relief in ammunition transportation. However, the Mechas' massive ammunition chambers still had to be replaced manually, which required specialized giant platforms that were difficult to deploy in the field.
Mobile supply units had been created for Mechas, but in intense battles like the current one, those units could sometimes prove insufficient. Supply vehicles tried to reach every location, but once their materials ran out they had to return to the main base to reload—causing delays that ranged from one to three hours.
During that time, some Mechas could be left without ammunition, becoming dangerously vulnerable.
Energy remained the greatest weakness of the Mechas.
Although Soren had focused heavily on solving this problem in recent years, the man conducted research across nearly every scientific discipline imaginable, meaning some projects inevitably progressed slowly.
Under normal circumstances, the chance of a Titan-class monster emerging from a rift was relatively low. Out of every hundred rifts, only four or five produced such giants—and very few of those exceeded A-level.
Until the Awakened arrived on the battlefield, Mechas would either destroy the monster or keep it occupied.
And when monsters emerged from rifts, they had to contend not only with Mechas but also with numerous surprise defense systems developed by Soren and his students.
Just as Martin was about to say something, another subordinate interrupted with a nervous, trembling voice.
"Uhh… Captain…"
Martin turned his Mecha toward the speaking subordinate with a heavy mechanical creak.
"What's the problem?"
The massive metal hand of the Mecha he was looking at rose into the air. The pilot bent the wrist slightly and pointed forward with the index finger.
His voice over the radio sounded distinctly uneasy.
"…What are we supposed to do about those guys?"
Martin frowned and rotated his Mecha toward the indicated direction.
"What guys—"
The sentence died in his throat the moment he saw the scene.
More and more creatures were pouring out of the rift from which the Steel Golems had emerged. The monsters rampaged violently, demolishing everything around them. Already more than twenty enormous silhouettes had emerged from the rift—and they were still coming.
At that sight, Martin's eyebrow began twitching uncontrollably with irritation.
At that exact moment, Gomez—who had just shot another creature clean through the temple from kilometers away—spoke through the radio in a mocking tone.
"Celebrated a little too early again, Martin?"
For a moment, Martin said nothing.
With a sharp tug on the controls, he maneuvered the Mecha. The massive axe folded with a mechanical motion and slid back into its slot on his back.
Immediately afterward, the heavy shoulder cannons activated.
The folded barrels on his back extended outward with metallic clicks, locking into position at shoulder height. As the Mecha's hands aimed toward the approaching horde, hidden weapons along the arms slid open.
The missile batteries mounted on the back also unlocked, ready to fire.
Just before pulling the trigger, Martin hissed through clenched teeth at Gomez:
"Shut up, Gomez!"