With the devastating firepower of Maine's squad, the landing point, which was on the verge of collapse, was successfully stabilized.
With Iron Guard and Rebecca's firepower at its core, a temporary defensive perimeter was established, and the remaining UDF soldiers began to move towards this perimeter.
Just then, Maine's optical lens captured a UDF squad that was breaking up on the right flank.
One of the soldiers appeared particularly panicked; he was wearing what looked like a brand-new combat exoskeleton, and his face beneath the helmet was young and pale.
His rifle shots were haphazard, and he staggered, almost being dragged backward by his comrades.
His identification card was faintly visible as it swayed: W. Cage.
"UDF soldier detected, behavior pattern consistent with that of a new recruit with no combat experience," Maine reported calmly in the squad channel, the data stream marking Cage's location, "Identifier: W. Cage."
Rebecca glanced at it during the reload break and scoffed, "Rookie."
Dorio, however, did not react at all. Her attention was completely focused on the surging mimics, and she smashed the approaching enemy into burning fragments with another heavy punch.
Cage's squad attempted to move closer to the defensive perimeter established by Maine's squad, but a mimic suddenly emerged from a shell crater on their flank, cutting off their retreat.
Cage fired wildly at the approaching, twisted metal creatures in terror, but most of the bullets missed their mark.
Jackie, piloting the Iron Guard, turned the automatic cannon around and fired a short burst, cutting the two foremost mimics in two.
"The threat in the target area has been eliminated," he calmly reported.
Cage and several survivors scrambled into the defensive perimeter, collapsing onto the beach, panting heavily.
Cage looked up at the massive, dark red Titan in front of him, and at the strangely equipped, incredibly efficient figures around him. His face was filled with the bewilderment and shock of surviving a catastrophe.
Maine paid little attention to the recruit; he was adjusting the deployment based on real-time battlefield data: "Valerie, advance fifty meters and establish a new firing point. Rebecca, cover her left flank. Dorio, clear out the remaining enemies on the right flank. Pilar, watch the rear."
The squad, like a sophisticated war machine, began to roll forward according to orders.
Wherever they went, they left behind only the remnants of simulated burning and melting.
UDF soldiers followed behind this steel reinforcement, gradually consolidating the beachhead.
However, the number of mimics seemed endless, and further away, more dark gray figures were surging in from every corner of the coastline.
The beachhead position was temporarily stabilized thanks to the strong firepower of Maine's squad.
Burning, mimicking debris was scattered on the beach, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of ozone and molten metal.
Using the massive Iron Guardian Titans as cover, the UDF soldiers reorganized their defensive line and significantly increased their firepower.
But the advantage did not last long.
"The sensors are showing more targets approaching," Falco's voice crackled in the squad channel, heavy with concern. "The numbers are increasing, and they're coming from inland."
As if to prove his words, more dark gray figures emerged from behind the dunes, climbing and sliding, ignoring the terrain, like an endless tide of metal.
The morale of the UDF soldiers, which had just been boosted, began to waver again, and the rate of ammunition consumption increased sharply.
"Are there no end to their numbers?" Rebecca complained irritably as she replaced the coolant in the plasma bombardment's energy storage unit.
Her cannon barrel was tinged with a dark red from continuous firing.
Dorio silently shook off the mimics tissue residue clinging to her gauntlets. Her breathing became slightly heavier as the continuous high-intensity close combat began to drain her stamina.
Maine calmly assessed the situation.
His incendiary gun fired again, turning a mimic approaching from the side into a fireball.
"Maintain formation, control the firing rhythm. Valerie, Jackie, expand the firing range."
Just then, Kiwi's urgent voice cut in: "High-intensity energy signal detected! Heading 2-7-0, approaching at high speed!"
Almost simultaneously, a dark blue shadow darted out from behind the dune line at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary mimics.
Its size is similar to that of a common mimic, but its entire body shimmers with an ominous blue light, with the light spot at its core being particularly bright.
Its movement was unpredictable, skillfully avoiding the Iron Guard's fire and the UDF soldiers' interception shots, and heading straight for the position of Cage's squad, who had just recovered.
"Special entity!" Maine immediately noticed the anomalous unit. "Capture it first! Limit its movement!"
Pilar attempted to launch a non-lethal capture net, but the blue mimic easily dodged it with a bizarre change of direction.
Lucy's quadrupedal Titan turned its gun around, and the heavy machine gun bullets that hit it were deflected by an invisible energy layer, only causing a few sparks to fly.
"Its shield energy reaction is very strong!" Lucy reported quickly.
"The distance is too far, the capture device cannot lock on effectively!" Pilar shouted.
The blue mimic, Alpha, had broken through the sparse outer defenses, its metal tentacles stabbing at Cage, who was slumped on the ground like venomous snakes.
The color drained from Cage's face instantly, and his pupils dilated with fear.
He rolled backward almost instinctively, his hands groping haphazardly around him.
His fingers touched an explosive device left on the beach by a UDF soldier—a bundle of shrapnel grenades.
The instinct for survival overcame his fear. With all his might, Cage grabbed the bundle of grenades, pulled the pins, and hurled it at the blue mimic that was almost pouncing on him.
"No! We want them alive!" Maine cried out to stop them, but it was too late.
The grenade exploded with a bang in front of Alpha's chest.
The shrapnel didn't completely penetrate its energy shield, but the enormous impact sent it tumbling backward.
More importantly, a piece of shrapnel happened to pierce its relatively fragile outer shell in the core area.
A deep blue, liquid-like blood gushed from the wound, drenching Cage completely.
"Ah—!" Cage let out a shrill scream.
The moment the blue blood touched his skin and combat suit, it seemed to writhe and permeate as if it were alive, releasing astonishing energy.
He felt every cell in his body being torn apart and burned; the indescribable pain caused him to curl up and fall to the ground, convulsing violently.
The Alpha struggled on the ground for a few moments, its core light flashing rapidly before going out completely.
"Target life signal lost," Falco reported.
"Damn it!" Rebecca cursed. "The Magos wants prisoners alive!"
Maine stared at Cage, who was writhing on the ground in pain and shrouded in a faint blue light, and then looked at the lifeless remains of the Alpha.
He immediately gave the order over the channel: "David, record Cage's vital signs! Lucy, scan for residual energy in the Alpha wreckage! Sasha, focus on monitoring the spacetime readings!"
Sasha's voice was urgent and incredulous: "The spacetime readings have spiked dramatically! The energy level far exceeds anything we've seen before! The area affected... is immeasurable!"
The entire battlefield seemed to have been paused.
The next second, an invisible, massive energy wave, centered on Cage, swept across the entire beach, past Maine's squad, past countless mimics and UDF soldiers, and across the entire planet.
Maine felt a slight dizziness, similar to the discomfort he experienced during short-distance dimensional teleportation.
He shook his head, and when his vision cleared, he found himself still standing inside the swaying landing craft, the ramp still in place.
Surrounding him were other crew members who looked equally confused, and the booming sound of naval guns preparing for firing could be heard from outside the bulkhead.
Time rewinded to before the battle began.