IMC Tifon Star Air Force Base.
The Holy Chest is located here.
The Holy Chest itself is not man-made; to humanity, it seems more like a naturally occurring space-time energy discovered on an alien planet. IMC has conducted extensive research on it, and unquestionably, to transport such energy safely, they would need special sealing panels.
The Air Force base is undergoing final reinforcements on the Holy Chest, preparing to transport it to the recently constructed space-time folding weapon, loading bullets...
[General Mad: Move quickly, we need to activate the space-time folding weapon before the rebels discover the Holy Chest.]
The entire Air Force base is on alert for the arrival of the Holy Chest.
As a transit point for the Holy Chest, the base houses hundreds of Titans of different models, a large number of aerospace ships, and various military weapons. It is IMCâs greatest asset on Tifon Star, one of their stronghold frontlines against the border rebels.
However, within the core star clusters, IMC has just helped the government win a civil war, and a large number of troops cannot be temporarily mobilized to the border, especially the official Titans.
In such circumstances, IMC Commander General Mad decided to hire a renowned mercenary group led by Brisk, known as the "Top Hunters."
If only discussing combat power and battle experience, the Top Hunters actually possess considerable fighting prowess among the Titans...
Unfortunately, the average combat power of Titans has been lowered by IMCâs current Titans, especially in the border star clusters.
Boom.
Brisk watched his two subordinates as they maneuvered their Titans to transport the newly sealed Holy Chest, immediately responding:
[Brisk: You better prepare the payment. Iâve heard many mercenaries donât receive the final payment when working for you. If I donât receive mine, Iâll have to take it myself.]
Brisk is a brawny man, piloting a red Legion Titan. This Titan is equipped with the immensely powerful Destroyer Eight-Barrel Cannon, and its design is tailored to support this fearsome weapon, carrying abundant weapons and a fire control system, albeit moving at the slowest speed.
The Top Hunters are a tough mercenary organization, evident from their manner of speaking with their employerâ
And clearly, itâs enough to make someone like General Mad, who holds an official high position, very upset.
[General Mad: The IMC will transfer the payment to you once you fulfill the contract and transport the Holy Chest. Weâve discussed this many times.]
[Brisk: I donât trust cowards. Itâs never wrong to remind them a few more times.]
Coward; this is Briskâs derogatory term for General Mad, who, though extremely upset, doesnât plan to say anything since the Holy Chest hasnât been secured yet.
As for why Brisk calls General Mad this...
In front of the Legion Titan, the holographic screen representing General Mad fades away: As a general, this guy isnât even on the battlefield, nor in the operational base.
Briskâs subordinate Sloan maneuvered her Titan in front of him:
"The task went so smoothly this time, it felt dull."
Sloan is a womanâor at least judging by her voice, she sounded more feminine.
"Making money is good; as for the ease... Ash doesnât think so, donât let your guard down."
"Maybe..."
Boom!
A muffled explosion occurred within the Air Force Base, theoretically, this sound should have been almost impossible to hear with normal human ears, given the baseâs thick armor and building structure. Their neural equipment detected an anomaly, flagging this unusual noise!
[Beepâ]
[Warning! Base under invasion, intruders have breached the external defense system!]
[Intruder detected, location: X-Ray-9 hangar, all units proceed for supportâ]
[Target identified: SRS Vanguard Titan; unit: one...]
[Hangar breached, target approaching Resource Depot E7...]
[All units proceed for support!]
Brisk and Sloan exchanged glances: "Looks like itâs the Titan that took out Ash... Quite impressive, stalking here silently."
"I think maybe itâs their gray presence haunting us? Finally, I can stretch a little..."
"No, weâll have others handle them. You and I will keep an eye on the Holy Chest, focus on the mission."
After speaking, Brisk followed the Titans responsible for transporting the Holy Chest, and although Sloan was eager to move and flex, it was obvious she wasnât planning to defy orders for such a stupid reason.
"Alright."
Boom!
[Resource Depot E7 breached!]
But this Titan truly sounds impressive.
...
Air Force Base Hangar X-Ray-9, this location serves as the initial landing point for the Holy Chest recovery ship.
The Holy Chest undergoes initial sealing during recovery, and the changes upon landing release quite a bit of its energy, leaving marks on the ship and landing point.
The newly appointed research team is here studying the marks, with soldiers standing guard nearby...
Just as they thought the task was incredibly dull, a sudden shout erupted from the researchers within the ship:
"Space-time distortion! Retreat..."
Buzzzâ
The soldiers standing guard as usual suddenly saw a blinding white light flash before their eyes!
Boom!
After the explosion, a giant Titan appeared directly inside the ship!
Bang!
The soldiers didnât have time to react before bullets pierced their heads, while the researcher on the ground felt a spinning sensation. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of an incredibly "exquisite" robotâ
The long Octopus Arm was clearly a mechanical creation, yet it exhibited flexibility comparable to real octopus arms, with strength far surpassing them, extending several dimensions beyond!
From the perspective of scientific workers, this machineâs design and form beauty surpass all industrial and civilian robots theyâve manufactured thus far, the visible precision components conveying a sense of strength and flexibility far beyond biological bodies...
What is this?!
The Octopus Arm grasped the disoriented researcher, morphing into a Data Knife in hand, directly piercing into the researcherâs handheld terminal.
Jack quickly gathered weapons and ammunition from the soldiers on the ground: "What is this place?"
"IMCâs Air Force Base."
"What?"
[BT7274: Titan, according to SRSâs latest data, this Air Force Base is large enough to accommodate the IMS Draco transport shipâs arrival, it seems IMC intends to transport the Holy Chest elsewhere. We must act faster.]
[BT7274: This timeâs transmission was perfectly timed.]
"An entire Air Force Base? This time weâve really overdone it, what do we do?"
Bang!
Lilleâs two Octopus Arms suddenly emitted a hot red glow, piercing through the shipâs control panel!
"...Youâre right, indeed weâve overdone it. But hasnât the SRS always been watching here? Occupy their signal tower and summon allies."
"Will the Commander really attack a well-defended Air Force Base just because of information from an enemy signal tower?"
With Lilleâs instructions and hijacked current surging in, the control panel erupted with sparks, the engine running, and temperature risingâ
He looked up at Jack: "If they donât come... youâre right, weâll have to face the entire Air Force Baseâ
If we fail, theyâll take the sealed Holy Chest and fly away, have any confidence?"
Jackâs response was sharp: "Absolutely."
[BT7274: Enemy Titans detected approaching!]
In Lilleâs eyes, data light flickered: "The unlucky ones have arrived."
[Ironhide: Items transmitted.]
[Cross-dimensional Material Transmission: Cybertron Directional Explosive Device]
[Description: Excellent energy-guiding design, capable of direct detonation, blasting through walls even indestructible by Transformers.]
[But can also be used to guide massive energy sources, triggering a directional explosion.]
The goblin transport shipâs nuclear reactor was stripped of all control rods by Lille, instantly losing control, the engine fully unleashed, sending the ship like a giant Rocket Launcher, straight into the wall!
Boom!