[1] The Fall and the Counter
R-01 slipped past the gap between the Black Obsidian Head Hunter's chain blades, the Critical Battle Blade scraping out a trail of metal shards.
The particle beam exploded past his ear, burning a vacuum fissure through the air. The aftershock rattled the HUD into static snow.
Lin Yaoheng stomped on the pedal, the mech folding its wings sharply and dropping in a dive.
The Black Obsidian Head Hunter followed close behind, its chain blade drawing a lightning arc through the air, nearly slicing open R-01's left thruster housing.
Hermes: [Left wing thruster output down by 18%. Recommend switching to ground combat mode.]
Lin Yaoheng: "Just what I wanted."
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[2] Crystalline Ground
The surface was a wasteland coated in crystalline structures, like a sea of glass glowing faint blue.
Every step cracked it in fine spiderweb lines, leaking faint white mist—the main core's energy bleeding out.
Baita's voice came through the comms: "Careful, this mist will jam your sensors. It's like fighting with your eyes shut."
Lin Yaoheng: "Then I'll fight with my hands."
R-01 dropped to one knee, wings folded tight, the whole frame crouched low like a hunting leopard, Critical Battle Blade held across its chest.
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[3] The Hunter's Pressure
The Black Obsidian Head Hunter approached slowly, its ring-shaped light pupil glowing like a suspended moon in the mist.
The chain blade hung low, but each step brought a faint metallic tremor—like a heartbeat pushing the tempo.
Hermes: [Warning—opponent is using sonic interference to delay your reaction time by roughly 0.2 seconds.]
Lin Yaoheng chuckled: "Then I'll strike early."
He lunged forward, Critical Battle Blade arcing upward toward the Head Hunter's left shoulder joint.
But the enemy twisted aside, chain blade sweeping horizontally from its waist, as if it had predicted his attack in advance.
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[4] The Main Core's Fangs
In the instant the two mechs clashed, a deep crack rumbled from the ground—
The crystalline layer split into countless fissures, and dozens of long, thin metal tendrils rose from within, each tipped with a multi-faceted drill head.
Hermes: [Confirmed—Main Core defense system activated. These "tendrils" are autonomous combat units, codename: Main Core's Fangs.]
Baita: "Now there's no way out!"
The tendrils wove into a metallic forest, stabbing wildly at anything in range.
One brushed R-01's shoulder armor, leaving a spiral gouge several centimeters deep.
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[5] Three-Way Kill Zone
The Black Obsidian Head Hunter moved unhindered, weaving through the tendrils while forcing R-01 back with its chain blade.
Meanwhile, the Main Core's Fangs attacked R-01 without distinction—once on the defensive, he risked being crushed between both foes.
Hermes: [Recommendation—use the tendrils' attack trajectories to counter the Head Hunter. Target remains the knee joint or shoulder hinge; cripple its mobility.]
Lin Yaoheng: "Got it."
Shoving the control stick forward, R-01's rear thrusters roared at full burn, cutting into the densest tangle of tendrils.
One stabbed toward him—he sidestepped, letting the Critical Battle Blade hook and redirect its strike toward the Head Hunter's back—
With a shriek of metal, the drill head drove deep into the Head Hunter's right shoulder hinge, sparks and fragments bursting out.
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[6] The Head Hunter's Rampage
The Black Obsidian Head Hunter spun violently, chain blade whirling into a storm of steel, severing several tendrils in an instant.
Inside its ring-shaped light pupil, a blinding red glow flared—its berserk signal.
Hermes: [Detected core temperature spike to maximum. Entering short-term overdrive—danger level doubled!]
Baita: "Yaoheng, pull back—"
But Lin Yaoheng's gaze only grew colder: "No. It's blocking the main core—so I kill it here."
R-01's wings flared open, heat still spilling out despite the anti-heat field's suppression. Like a cornered beast, the strike to come would be deadliest.
—The next blow would decide life or death.