Counterfeit Hero

Following Tian Xingjian into the live combat training ground, the dozens of Mech Knights from the Four Great Schools grew increasingly shocked as they walked.

Leading the way before them, apart from Fatty, Old Smith, and Geoffrey, there was no one else. The mech warriors in the training room resumed their training, and the bandit soldiers standing guard at their posts remained as still as statues. Along the way, other members of the bandit army, including the recruits on the other side of the training ground, all buried themselves in their training, not even casting a glance at the dozens of men passing by.

The entire training ground was filled with a silent fervor. It seemed that nothing else could capture the interest of these bandit warriors who were engrossed in their training. Their level of concentration suddenly evoked a heart-pounding sense of awe.

Entering the spacious training ground, not far away, dozens of bandit soldiers were rapidly crawling through the mud. They crawled through the swamp, grabbed a rope to climb up a high platform, then leaped off without blinking, rolled on the ground, sprinted forward, crossed obstacles, passed a log bridge, climbed a rope net, and flew across between two pillars dozens of meters high.

In the center of the training ground, some bandit soldiers were engaged in hand-to-hand combat training. The warriors paired off, choking and grappling, falling continuously and getting back up, as dust flew and shouts echoed. The training had clearly been going on for a long time; some soldiers were visibly exhausted but still persisted, their bodies emanating a murderous aura even as they struggled to stand.

The Mech Knights of the Four Great Schools no longer exuded the arrogance they had shown at the door of the training room. They watched the bandit army’s training silently, their gazes flickering. Among the bandit soldiers were many Phantom Stream and Tai Sect knights whom they recognized. Regardless of their mechanical control skills, it was now clear that these people were entirely different from their former selves.

No one could pinpoint exactly how they were different. This kind of training, typical for infantry, was previously deemed insignificant by the sect knights. They always believed that only mecha techniques were worth practicing diligently. But now, they saw in their former opponents a fierce valor that was deeply captivating.

The physical training of the Mechanical Sects could never produce such an effect! The Phantom Stream and New Tai Sect had completely integrated into the bandit army; those civilian Mech Knights had become disciplined bandit soldiers! Reflecting on the combat power of the 120 Black bandit mechas they had seen, and looking at these men now, every member of the Four Great Schools felt a sense of suffocation.

If faced with such opponents on the battlefield, how much confidence would they have in achieving victory?

Reaching the mecha hangar, Fatty stopped in front of a [Heng Dao], lightly patting the cold armor of the mecha, turning to Sade and Bridge Man as he said, ”This type of mecha is called [Heng Dao], a top-tier Eighth Generation combat mecha of the Fei Alliance. It is equipped with a 300mm caliber armor-piercing Energy Cannon, two 150mm high-speed machine cannons, four anti-aircraft missiles, eight surface-to-surface missiles, a fully enclosed energy shield, a semi-enclosed energy shield, a maximum road speed of 520 km/h, an off-road top speed of 360 km/h, and it can change direction at a speed of 80 meters per second! Its directed short-range burst speed is 190 meters per second!”

Observing the neatly arranged Black mechas in front of them and listening to Fatty’s calm introduction, the Mech Knights from the Four Great Schools maintained a facade of composure but were internally overwhelmed by turbulent emotions.

These types of military mechas, aside from pictures in military magazines, had never been seen by anyone present. Before the war broke out, such mechas were absolutely forbidden to exist in the Free World under the blockade of the Human Supreme Joint Council.

However, after the outbreak of the war, though they knew the blockade was effectively non-existent, and that these war machines would eventually enter the Free World, the reality of seeing them right before their eyes brought a shock far greater than they had anticipated!

Mars was no longer a planet that could be ruled by private or modified old metal projectile weaponry mechas. Just looking at the menacing barrels of these Black mechas and hearing their performance parameters—who could resist the torrent of steel formed by thousands of such mechas?

This was war, not the old power struggles of the Free World!

The Absolute Kill Stream, the Mountain Breaker Sect, and the Tai Sect had long been flirting with the Western Alliance, yet in the end, the Fei Alliance got there first before the Western Alliance’s military mechas could set foot on Mars! The Northern Commerce Alliance had endured for so many years, but how much did that quasi-military armored group suddenly appearing in Puluo Town cost? Everyone present had an idea. But so what? They were completely annihilated in the face of these 120 Black mechas.

Thinking back on the strength of their sects, considering their private mechas and a few modified mechas, how could they not be anxious?

When the warships deliver their cargo to Mars, when military mechas reach the hands of other sects through various channels, when fire and smoke engulf Mars, where would they go?

Don’t joke about opposing such military mechas with private mechas!