Counterfeit Hero

Shells, like a storm of hail, rained down from the sky.

The violent explosions covered Puluo First Avenue in patches, devastating the solid ground into a trembling surface rippling with countless waves.

The fierce shock waves propelled dust and thick smoke along the street, crashing into the buildings on both sides, shattering glass and destroying everything, and then spewing out from windows in other directions. Fiery blazes mingled with thick smoke shot into the sky, blocking out the sun, with bright flashes reverberating in the rolling smoke, like the muffled roar of a thousand thunderclaps.

For those not present, it is hard to imagine this apocalyptic scene.

Not speaking of seeing it, just the seemingly endless sound of explosions alone can drive a person to madness.

The bombardment lasted for a full half-hour.

This was not a large-scale group battle on a field battlefield; it was merely the struggle for a single street in urban combat! Such an intensity of artillery bombardment was more than just a waste. To be precise, it was Kodell’s deliberate demonstration!

People did not know how they endured it. This half-hour seemed longer than a lifetime. They prayed constantly, hoping the maddening sound of the artillery would stop the next second.

Many of the Mech Knights from the Puluo Branch had pale lips. It was a sign of oxygen deprivation. During that terrifying bombardment, they felt like fish out of water.

However, they did not feel fear.

Especially when their eyes fell upon the relaxed Fatty, and the 120 Mechanical Warriors beside him, brimming only with boundless admiration and boiling blood.

From the Puluo Branch position, Fatty could be clearly seen.

At this moment, Fatty was with the Bandit Army Mecha Soldiers, hiding behind the large buildings of various Sect Mecha Halls on both sides of First Avenue.

Fatty was closest to the intersection, his Mecha cockpit open, squatting on the seat and smoking while squinting. The fierce explosions seemed like nothing more than a string of firecrackers thrown before him. The other bandit soldiers were the same. Some smoked, some played handheld games, and others stretched lazily. A few had their heads drooping, almost falling asleep.

A whole day of fighting seemed to only tire these heartless fellows.

In the Tai Sect Branch, Old Smith, Geoffrey, and several elders silently watched everything happening before them. They were waiting for the outcome of this battle.

Unlike the worried elders, the young warriors like Cosmo, Baz, and Weiseler clenched their fists, unable to conceal their excitement. Beside them, the cockpit covers of their Private Mechas were always open. They would jump in and join the fight without hesitation if needed.

For now, they could only wait.

Fatty had said, it was a grand and spectacular performance. They were just the audience.

*******

Kodell stared at the screen of the long-range viewer.

Buildings on Puluo First Avenue were riddled with holes from the bombings. The classical small building of the Black Dragon Sect Mecha Hall next to the bank had completely collapsed. Bricks and wood fragments flew in all directions in the continuous explosions, with dust billowing up continuously.

The sandbags piled by the roadside had long since been smashed, lifted into the air in clouds of dust with every direct hit. The ripped sandbag fragments rolled in the air, spinning like windmills and scattering sand. The machine guns, rocket launchers, and metal bulletproof walls in the trenches had turned into twisted scrap metal, with ammunition explosions continuously rising from the infantry trenches.

The seven or eight Mecha trenches traversing the avenue had been cut down to half their height, exposing the dirt beneath the roadbed. Blackened Mecha wrecks burned fiercely, their explosions showering Mecha fragments onto the walls of the buildings on either side.

In the rolling waves of fire and smoke, pulverized body parts flew into the sky, chunks of flesh and bone plummeting back to the ground with a loud splat, landing amidst the gravel and dust. Blood mixed with soil splattered in a radial pattern on the walls, the ground, and the sandbags, the dark red stains making for a ghastly sight.

Kodell watched the scene before him in a trance.

The burning flames, shooting smoke, flying body parts, blazing wreckage... This brilliant scene made him feel like he was back in the days of serving in the Binart Empire, watching every enemy being crushed before the unstoppable Imperial Army! To recreate this day, he had waited many years in the desolate Northern Alliance Base!

He waved his hand once more. The Command Mecha sent out a light signal.

As the final wave of artillery bombardment ended, the Second Battalion began to advance.

Nearly four hundred Mechas took off running. Their heavy steps echoed densely, shaking the ground like a thundering herd.

Give the enemy no chance! This was Kodell’s consistent strategy: overwhelming firepower followed by a decisive ground assault. The enemy would have no chance to exploit their superior Mechanical Knight levels! And though their electronic interference disrupted command communications and affected Mecha control, in a battle fought this quickly, that interference’s impact would be greatly diminished.

If the Second Battalion could break through, the battle would be a crushing victory.

In an instant, the two forward companies of the Second Battalion had already charged into the enemy positions shrouded in thick smoke.