Chapter 204: One Punch Super Armor
Valerie's breathing sounded unusually clear within the sealed cockpit as she stared intently at the three rapidly approaching red dots on the tactical interface.
The auxiliary AI's voice remained steady, but the information it gave was less than optimistic: "Targets locked. Hostile Units 1 and 3 equipped with heavy rotary machine guns. Unit 2 left arm equipped with armor-piercing rocket launcher. Estimated contact time: 15 seconds. Recommendation: Prioritize evasion of Unit 2's initial volley."
Almost as the AI finished speaking, a flash of fire appeared in the distance—a rocket from the shoulder of "Onimusha" Unit 2 screamed toward her, trailing white smoke!
Valerie instinctively wanted to pilot the power armor into a tactical roll, but the machine's response was indeed half a beat slow; that feeling of sluggishness surfaced again.
"Attitude adjustment assist activated. Shield energy focused on frontal impact point." The AI's prompt was nearly synchronous with the operation.
The massive body of the red power armor didn't perform any exaggerated evasive maneuvers. Instead, its legs bent slightly, and multiple attitude control thrusters on the soles and sides of the legs suddenly burst with short, powerful blue flames, pushing the machine sideways by half a body width in a seemingly clumsy but actually incredibly precise slide.
Simultaneously, the layer of pale blue shield halo that was originally evenly distributed directly in front instantly became as dense as solid matter in the direction of the incoming rocket!
BOOM!
The rocket exploded almost grazing the edge of the shield. The shockwave shook the massive machine, causing violent ripples on the shield's surface. Energy readings instantly dropped a notch, but the structure remained intact.
"Shield efficiency dropped by 7.3%. Threat not neutralized." The AI reported calmly.
The other two "Onimusha" units had taken this opportunity to flank from the left and right. Heavy rotary machine guns began to roar frantically, pouring bullets like a metal storm onto the red power armor's shield, stirring up endless energy ripples.
"Shield overload risk increasing. Recommendation: Initiate close combat to neutralize hostile numerical advantage." The AI proposed a new tactic.
Valerie gritted her teeth and pushed the control stick forward: "Approved! Lock on right-side target!"
The red power armor once again demonstrated "efficient" maneuvering under precise AI calculation that belied its clumsy appearance.
It didn't attempt to trade fire with the enemy. instead, braving the rain of bullets from the left-side enemy, its leg thrusters burst again. The massive fuselage lunged forward violently, heading straight for the "Onimusha" on the right that was firing wildly.
The pilot of that "Onimusha" clearly hadn't expected the opponent to charge so directly, and to accelerate so quickly in such a short time!
He subconsciously stopped firing, attempting to retreat and raise his mechanical arm to block, while his slightly startled shout came through the channel: "It's charging! Cover me!"
But it was too late.
As the distance between the two sides closed rapidly to less than ten meters, the AI's prompt sounded again: "Right arm Power Fist activated. Target: Hostile Unit chest armor core zone."
Valerie felt a unique, low, and powerful vibration feedback from the control stick in her right arm, as if what her mechanical prosthetic gripped wasn't a control stick, but some living force yearning for release.
On the display, she saw a layer of spatial distortion field instantly generate on the surface of her power armor's right fist—a distortion barely perceptible to the naked eye.
Without hesitation, following the guide trajectory on the auxiliary interface, she shoved the control stick forward viciously!
The right fist of the red power armor, carrying an indomitable momentum, smashed directly into the hastily raised blocking arm of the "Onimusha" and the chest cavity behind it!
There was no deafening crash of impact, nor any metal tearing with flying sparks.
Replacing it was a stranger, teeth-aching shattering sound, as if ten million pieces of glass and metal were simultaneously ground into powder by some invisible force.
The moment the disintegration field on the Power Fist made contact, it was like a hot knife cutting into butter, or perhaps more like an eraser wiping away pencil marks.
The "Onimusha's" blocking arm, cast from high-strength alloy, had its structure disintegrate instantly from the point of contact, turning into a rapidly spreading cloud of metal dust flickering with faint electric sparks!
Followed by the chest armor behind it, the internal frame, precision wiring, and even the cockpit itself...
All matter within the coverage range of the Power Fist was thoroughly shattered and annihilated at the molecular level in an instant!
The upper torso of that "Onimusha" looked as if a giant invisible beast had taken a huge bite out of it, leaving a massive hole with edges showing an irregular melted, pulverized state.
Through the hole, one could even see the barren ground behind it.
The wreckage, having lost its core structure and power, swayed once, then crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The battlefield, which had been loud with gunfire just a moment ago, fell into a momentary dead silence.
In the channel, only the last half-cry of the destroyed "Onimusha" pilot remained, abruptly cut off, along with the crackling of short-circuiting electricity.
Valerie herself was stunned. She watched the signal of a hostile unit vanish instantly on the display, then looked through the optical sensors at the shocking, massive hole in the "Onimusha's" chest and the metal dust drifting around it that hadn't yet settled.
She unconsciously moved her mechanical right hand, feeling the gradually subsiding vibration transmitted through the control stick.
The power of this punch far exceeded her imagination, even causing her to feel a chill.
"Target 1, annihilation confirmed." The AI's voice broke the brief silence, as if it had merely completed an ordinary data recording.
Simultaneously, on the Barghest position, Colonel Hansen abruptly lowered his binoculars, his face filled with shock and excitement.
"My god... did you see that?" He turned to the adjutant beside him, his voice raised slightly with agitation. "That punch... directly evaporated most of the 'Onimusha's' chest cavity! Not penetrated, but thoroughly disassembled!"
The adjutant also couldn't hide his shock, nodding repeatedly. "Absolutely no conventional damage traces... this destruction mechanism is unheard of. The weapon Lord Sage brought out this time is completely beyond our scope of understanding."
Hansen rubbed his chin, a shrewd light flashing in his single eye. "Encrypt this combat record and transmit it back to headquarters immediately. If our 'Vargr' could also be equipped with this weapon..." He didn't finish the sentence, but his eyes said everything.
On the Lazarus squad's defensive position, "Butcher" stared at the dark red power armor in the distance through his faceplate, his fingers resting on the control sticks tightening unconsciously. Unlike the shock of others, a look of near-obsession appeared on his weathered face.
"The perfect close-quarters solution..." he whispered in the squad's encrypted channel, his voice filled with irrepressible longing. "No need for armor piercing, ignoring defense, one-hit kill. This is the power a Power Armor should have."
He stared dead at the energy residue that hadn't completely dissipated on the right arm of that red machine, as if admiring a peerless work of art.
"If our squad could be equipped with this gear..." He muttered to himself, then ordered in the channel, "All personnel, attention. Record all combat data. Especially the usage details of that Power Fist. I want the most complete analysis report."
As a battle-hardened mercenary, he knew the value of such a weapon in close combat too well. This wasn't just a new piece of equipment; it was a revolutionary weapon capable of changing the rules of the battlefield.
(End of Chapter)