"How does it feel?"
Roland looked at Maine and asked.
Maine glanced at his hands, now transformed into sharp claws, and replied, "It feels great. My body feels like it's overflowing with strength."
Roland nodded. "Want to test it?"
Maine froze for a moment, then asked, "Can I?"
"Of course. Use those robots."
As he spoke, Roland pointed toward the Imperial Guard Robots advancing slowly across the field.
The moment his words left his mouth, a powerful gust rushed past him. The Maine who had been standing beside him vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing right next to the Imperial Guard Robots.
The robots had only just begun to raise their weapons.
A flash of claws followed—smooth and effortless, like a hot knife cutting through butter. In an instant, two Imperial Guard Robots were sliced into multiple pieces.
The sight filled Roland with delight. As expected of PROJECT's most outstanding creation.
Maine opened and closed his claws, showing no reaction at all to the attack.
Roland then turned to look at the other PROJECT members he had summoned.
When his gaze fell on them, both Vilet and Kiwi twitched their lips. They weren't opposed to fighting—but fighting that thing…
Fortunately, Roland abandoned the idea. Rather than wasting their own strength and resources, it was better to take a more direct approach. Maine was eager for revenge anyway, so he might as well be thrown straight onto the front lines.
After all, Apocalypse wasn't created for assassination missions.
"Maine, interested in getting your revenge?"
Roland asked, watching Maine already start wagging his tail, his own lips twitching slightly.
Hearing this, Maine stopped wagging for a moment—then started wagging even harder.
"Of course!"
...
"You're saying PROJECT Corporation will support this operation?"
Baru stared at his adjutant in surprise. This genuinely caught him off guard. PROJECT was already the victor—there was no reason for them to get involved in this mess. If anything, they could have used the opportunity to expand their own influence.
He couldn't understand why they would intervene in a war the Free State was almost guaranteed to lose.
"Yes."
Baru's adjutant nodded stiffly. After all, the support PROJECT was offering…
"How much support are we talking about?"
Baru tilted his head curiously.
The adjutant slowly raised one finger.
"One armed unit? That's not bad…"
Baru nodded.
"It's one armed AV…"
"What?!"
Baru instantly flew into a rage. This was outright humiliation!
He quickly took a deep breath to calm himself down, though his expression remained ugly.
As for retaliating against PROJECT… Baru had no intention of doing so. It was only one armed AV, and they hadn't suffered any losses. There was no need to start a conflict with PROJECT over this.
"Forget it. Ignore them. Tell the front to continue according to the original plan."
"Understood."
Soon, the New United States forces clashed with the Free State Alliance. This battlefield was located in Colorado.
Roland had committed his forces to one of the state's key transportation cities.
"PROJECT Corporation joined the fight? With only one armed AV?"
Anke laughed twice after hearing the report and shook their head. "Ignore it. Proceed as planned."
Orders were issued, and the attack began.
Before long, the Colorado forces in the city were steadily pushed back under the New United States' fierce offensive.
Just as everyone thought the outcome was already decided, an armed AV bearing the PROJECT insignia appeared above the battlefield. Troops on both sides froze in shock.
Anke immediately frowned. "Shoot it down!"
They didn't believe a single armed AV could change the course of the battle, but it was still better to eliminate any uncertainty.
Before the order could be fully relayed, the AV's doors opened, and a figure leapt straight down from the sky.
Boom!
The massive impact sent a huge cloud of dust billowing across the battlefield, overturning several New United States military jeeps. Sensing danger, the armed AV immediately turned and fled.
As everyone stood stunned, a roar that shook the entire battlefield burst out from the dust.
"ROAR!!!"
A terrifying shockwave followed the sound, instantly blowing the dust away and revealing a beast-like figure within, blue arcs of electricity dancing across its claws.
"Lissandra, activate the carnage program inside him."
Roland watched Maine on the battlefield and issued the order.
In an instant, a program flooded into Maine's mind. His thoughts became sharply focused as his original consciousness faded rapidly.
At this moment, he was the true Apocalypse.
Boom!
With a powerful push from his beast-like legs, the ground shattered instantly. Apocalypse's figure vanished in a flash, leaving only a blue arc in the air before slamming straight into the New United States forces.
Even without Anke issuing orders, the New United States troops immediately launched a counterattack.
The overwhelming pressure and threat radiating from Apocalypse made it almost unbearable.
Boom!
A blue, semicircular energy wave exploded across the battlefield. Under the horrified gazes of everyone present, a brand-new New United States "Raging Dragon" tank was sent flying more than ten meters through the air.
Whoosh—
Before anyone could react, a terrifying whistling sound tore through the air, and crimson blood filled their vision.
Clang!
Apocalypse slowly straightened up, gripping a tank's cannon barrel in his hand.
Boom!
The tank shell slammed directly into Apocalypse, but only caused ripples across the surface of his blue Energy Shield.
"AAARGH!!!"
With a monstrous roar, a tidal wave of blue energy swept outward. The surge instantly disabled all nearby electronic devices, while the accompanying shockwave hurled everything around it into the air.
Crash!
Watching the scene via satellite while returning, Jamil spilled his drink, his face filled with panic.