Chapter 319: Domestic Violence Bureau? Undercover Bureau?
By the time the other three players had chosen their mechs and arrived at the training ground, Cheng Tian had already tested six different component configurations.
These included three melee modules: a laser sword enhanced for armor penetration, a power claw enhanced for grappling, and an Ironclad Steel Fist that could use additional weapons.
And three ranged modules: a Gatling autocannon with the largest ammunition capacity, a flamethrower capable of sustained suppression but with weaker power, and a tracking missile pod that could target and strike.
The completion count for the Holy Grail Mission immediately rose to 6 points, and Cheng Tian consequently gained a buff effect where his vehicle automatically recovered 6 durability (60 HP) per hour.
However, since Cheng Tian had not designated the other three players as "teammates," the Holy Grail Mission's bonus had not yet extended to them.
This was also a benefit only available to those in the rebel faction; here, he could openly change and use equipment under the guise of testing. If Cheng Tian had been assigned to the Earth Federation, he would likely only be able to acquire drops by destroying enemy mechs, and the efficiency of the two sides would probably be very different.
As the three players arrived, Cheng Tian's friendly radar displayed their logged-in mechs and mercenary designations.
The cyborg player chose the same Gates LB model as Cheng Tian, with the login name "Zero."
The husky player chose a Gates E armor-enhanced model, with weapon configurations identical to the standard model, but with slightly reduced mobility and enhanced armor strength. His login name was "Wolfman," seemingly emphasizing his pure bloodline.
The female Yautja, who was suspected to be a Predator, also chose a melee type, but it was a Gates D equipped with a drill arm, and her login name was "Hyena."
"You're a dog too? Good…" On the friendly radars of the other three, Cheng Tian's login name was still "Aoko," indicating he intended to continue using this alias.
Four players, three melee. The husky, who looked most like he would fight in melee, directly switched to the Gatling autocannon part upon arrival, clearly having a knack for shooting.
Of course, Cheng Tian, who outwardly chose a melee lightsaber, had already silently integrated the Heart of Jielgade with the Ironclad Steel Fist component. Now, with just a thought, an automatic magic circle would appear on his fist, using his entire arm and even the whole mech as a spellcasting tool to assist Cheng Tian.
Azrael, in the training ground control room, silently watched the players conduct various tests under the guidance of the trainers.
Cheng Tian's skill level showed a discontinuous, comprehensive lead. Movement, jumping, sudden stops, melee, ranged—almost nothing was faultable.
Next was the cyborg Zero, whose overall skill level was lower than Cheng Tian's, but his use of the lightsaber was a cut above, with the sword light even making Azrael feel threatened.
Wolfman the husky and Hyena the female Yautja were at the bottom tier, but both had unique strengths in using shoulder cannons.
Wolfman's shooting accuracy was remarkably high, even in a dual-moving state with himself and a moving target.
And Hyena's timing for explosive rounds was incredibly precise, always hitting the training robots in the most difficult spots, leaving them unable to advance or retreat.
This made Azrael, who had originally wanted to find more faults, nod in approval. At least the mech piloting skills of these individuals were indeed good, and Cheng Mouren's driving skills even made Azrael's hands itch.
However, considering the execution of that plan, Azrael still resisted the urge to pilot his exclusive mech, "Warlock," and instead directly chose to assign a mission to Cheng Tian and his group.
Simply put, it was to intercept the Earth Federation's reinforcement team, the Blood Armor Squad, who had smoothly arrived because of the cowardly Leia Principality government's request for aid, and to delay them as much as possible.
Destroying the enemy would naturally be best, but if not, there was no need to sacrifice their lives there.
"Is he really that easygoing?"
The players initially thought Azrael would be a ruthless warmonger who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, even sacrificing himself if necessary. But they didn't expect that during the mission briefing, he had already clearly stated that they could retreat if they couldn't contend, and even provided the retreat points in advance.
"War will inevitably be accompanied by sacrifice, but mindless sacrifice is not what I desire, nor is it my original intention for choosing to confront the cowardly government."
"In short, delaying the Blood Armor Squad is only the first step of the plan. I sincerely hope you all return alive to participate in subsequent missions. The ones who deserve to die are not you, but those beasts hiding on Earth, profiting wildly from the war."
Without any passionate tone, Azrael closed his mic after speaking, as if merely stating facts.
Even though they knew this was just one of countless infinitely repeating background settings in the many instance worlds, the players were more or less affected.
As for Cheng Tian, who knew all the inside details, he sighed with emotion.
He marveled that only under the instance construction of Heaven's Chosen Space could he see more facets of the BOSS units, who were adversarial to players, that could not be fully displayed in the game.
And so, Cheng Tian and his group began to move towards the target area.
The Gates' bipedal humanoid feet had a "roller mechanism" that allowed for accelerated gliding on the ground, similar to the structures found on almost all Knightmare frames in Code Geass. In a scenario where the instance entry explicitly stated that players were to engage in mech combat and thus had no energy restrictions, they could quickly move on their own without the need for troop carriers.
With shared perception, Cheng Tian felt as if he were riding on electric roller skates.
And taking advantage of the journey, the four players finally began a formal conversation… or more accurately, the talkative husky started chattering away the moment he opened his mouth, Cheng Mouren cooperatively employed his banter and support skills honed from selling sugar paintings, the female Yautja occasionally blurted out a word or two, and Zero was simply the silent type.
"I always feel that the allied players configured this time have a very subtle compatibility…"
"According to the base soldiers, this leader and even the entire army intensely dislike humans, so why were you accepted?"
The talkative Wolfman's conversation eventually veered towards Cheng Tian.
"How do you know I'm of the human race?"
Cheng Tian asked back, somewhat curiously.
"Heh? That's underestimating my nose, isn't it? I can tell what race you are with one sniff!"
"…That involves rather private matters, I can't just tell you."
"Come on, tell me~ We're teammates~"
"No!"
"Stingy!"
And just at that moment, an alarm suddenly blared inside the mech.
It was the alarm sent back when the reconnaissance drone team five kilometers ahead was destroyed.
Undoubtedly, this was the signal of the Earth Federation's reinforcements successfully landing.
Under Azrael's remote command, Cheng Tian and the others chose to use the surrounding dilapidated buildings as hidden cover, preparing for an ambush.
At the same time, the Earth Federation's supporting Blood Armor Squad had all arrived, but they were also accompanied by an additional four-person team named "Heaven's Chosen."
And within one of the green-painted Repartos mechs, wielding a modified crossbow, sat the half-elf archer, Eileen.