Bai E's original daring decapitation attack video on the Thunder Beast had been watched over and over again by almost every Mech Pilot in the Mech Armored Corps until it was practically etched in their minds. The Thunder Beast was an opponent that every Pilot in the Mech Armored Corps had to face in this battle, and the "successful experience" of their predecessors was undoubtedly an obligatory course for them to graduate from the corps.
Enor, as the current commander of the Mech Armored Corps, remembered every single move Bai E had made, despite viewing him as a target he must surpass. Yet, before he could surpass him, imitation was essential.
Facing the charging Thunder Beast, the team leader's mecha, almost identically, broke free from the endless horde of lower-tier Bug Race, taking with it many forcefully "hitchhiking" lower-tier bugs as the entire mecha swiftly closed in to a perilous distance.
Raising an arm, with a single slice, another artillery bug that was in the way was instantly cut in two.
Without reducing momentum, the blade continued to slice towards the lower end of the Thunder Beast's enormous body.
The Thunder Beast's back armor was as thick as a small hill and unmatched in defense. Only its lower body had a lighter Chitin Bone Armor for mobility's sake.
However, even the unenhanced lower limb armor didn't break instantly against a strike coordinated between Enor and Rose.
Without the double bombing by rocket clusters that occurred that time, the Thunder Beast's seemingly fragile lower body was not as vulnerable as imagined.
Yet, in the Mech Armored Corps' internal tactical discussions, these were all situations they had anticipated might happen.
But that was alright, the mecha's maximum output capability was more than enough to deal with a single Thunder Beast. As long as one could operate it, there was always an opportunity.
If one strike proved ineffective, the team leader's mecha rolled to one side and casually planted a cluster of explosives beneath the body of the Thunder Beast.
The effect of the previous rocket cluster bombing could be replicated by the mecha.
The bombs, placed point-blank, detonated with precision. The giant beast's body shook violently under a series of explosions. However, the biocannons on its back, belonging to symbiotic organisms, were unaffected. The two cannon rounds, already charged, were still launched fiercely, but due to the beast's own trembling body, the direction of fire was severely off.
The rounds were off-target, but it was a serendipitous misfire.
A mecha, slowed down and struggling to break free from the sea of bugs, was dealing with countless bugs climbing onto it when it looked up to see two round cannonballs heading straight for its face.
"Boom!"
The chest plate, where the cockpit was located and also the strongest part of the mecha, took the hit.
But against the Thunder Beast's Shatter Cannon, it seemed utterly powerless.
It shattered instantly.
Pieces of the mecha's body flew in all directions as the whole mecha was nearly blown apart, its upper torso teetering precariously.
Without the Mech Pilot's control, the massive body collapsed backward with a thunderous crash, swiftly submerged by countless bugs, becoming part of the terrain.
Traversing the sea of bugs to charge at the Thunder Beast was no easy feat. Not all Mech Pilots could make an instant breakthrough like Bai E.
Indeed, the mecha was powerful, but in complex situations, the Mech Pilot's control commands often conflicted with the actual situation due to a blurred perception of feedback.
The direct consequence manifested as being stuck in the relentless sea of bugs, temporarily unable to make any progress.
Although the plan was to have four or five mechas tackle a single Thunder Beast simultaneously, this ideal scenario was hard to achieve in reality.
And the fewer than ten mechas that had successfully broken through to the Thunder Beast still had to confront the three "Nest Defenders" already waiting there.
The Nest Defenders, resembling gigantic apes, swung their hammer-like arms and violently smashed down at the charging mechas.
The group of Mech Pilots that advanced had swiftly deployed the alloy shields attached to their mechas, but unfortunately, the "Nest Defender's" blows were as powerful as the Thunder Beast's massive cannon.
The alloy shield shattered in an instant, and the supporting mechanical arm behind it was completely twisted and broken amidst a grating noise.
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The hammer from another Nest Defender, smashing in from the side, landed a solid hit in the middle of the mecha, and the seemingly invincible mecha was rendered completely combat-ineffective in the blink of an eye under the coordinated attack of the two "Nest Defenders."
Such damage was beyond the Mech Servants' capability to rescue.
The mecha was certainly humanity's most powerful technological weapon, magnifying a soldier's capability, but it could not simply rely on its mechanical quality to dominate nature.
Against the Bug Race's elite behemoths, Mech Pilots who failed to fully unleash the mecha's capabilities were almost no match for them.
"Rescue! Rescue!"
The Mech Servants' comms were complete chaos.
Some mechas were trapped in the sea of bugs; others lay fallen before the Thunder Beast.
As long as the Mech Pilot was still alive, they demanded, dismissing any hardship or danger they might encounter, that the Mech Servants responsible for their mechas arrive immediately for emergency repairs.
This was, after all, the Mech Servants' duty; no one mourned their sacrifice.
Bai E's Mech Servant repair vehicle remained silent.
The W0721 he was responsible for was still fighting at the front lines, currently unharmed, so their group had no immediate tasks to undertake.
"Requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
As calls for assistance flew through the comms channel, Enor, as the commander, didn't forget to observe his teammates' situation while he focused on killing the particular Thunder Beast he had chosen.