“Thirteenth Star of the Tri-Star System, Sector One. In the early morning, great flocks of Birds of Paradise, their long tail feathers trailing behind them, glided lightly over the treetops, heading toward an oak grove ahead teeming with plump insects. The soft cooing of birds carried far on the morning breeze. Occasionally, a thin mist would rise from the woods, and the bird flocks would dive into it, emerging moments later trailing wisps of vapor like smoke.”

“A group of small, herbivorous creatures darted cautiously across a clearing in the forest, rushing swiftly to the edge of a vast, crystal-clear river nearly two kilometers wide. A few of the little beasts spread out as lookouts around the perimeter, while the others formed neat rows, drinking and resting contentedly by the water’s edge.”

“Accompanied by a ‘splash’ sound, the head of a white giant python, over two meters thick, slowly surfaced from the river, its body rising tens of meters high. Its cold, merciless eyes were locked onto the herd of creatures. Panic immediately erupted; hundreds of the small beasts scattered madly, some even plunging headlong into the river in their terror, struggling desperately as the turbulent current swept them downstream. One after another, the sounds of splashing water announced the emergence of more and more white pythons, until finally, thirty of the colossal serpents had slowly crawled onto the riverbank.”

“The thirty giant pythons, each nearly two hundred meters long, hissed softly. They cautiously patrolled the surrounding area for a moment before finally coiling themselves into thirty distinct serpentine formations upon a spacious clearing.”

“With constant ‘tearing’ sounds, thin slits appeared in the scales near the pythons’ vulnerable seven-inch pressure points. A crystal-clear, pale green nutrient fluid slowly seeped out of these openings. The pythons twitched their bodies uncomfortably, and a touch of fierce, wild instinct suddenly flickered in their otherwise cold and emotionless eyes.”

“‘Damn Earth Federation troops!’ Following a crisp curse, thirty naked Spirit Race warriors emerged from the fissures near the pythons’ seven-inch spots. Strands of biomass tentacles, no thicker than a pinky finger, slowly writhed away from their bodies, leaving behind dozens of faint red marks upon their skin.”

“One Spirit Race warrior cautiously surveyed the surroundings and slapped the giant python beside him forcefully. The white python flicked out its tongue, meters long, and the slit at the seven-inch mark slowly sealed itself, leaving only a faint trace of pale green nutrient fluid. The pythons raised their massive bodies, their tongues sweeping alertly through the dense foliage. The serpentine tongue was incredibly sensitive, especially for these specially bio-engineered giants; no living thing within several kilometers could escape detection by their probing tongues.”

“After peering around for a while, the Spirit Race warrior walked to the river’s edge and slapped the water hard.”

“With a loud ‘sloshing’ sound, nearly a hundred individual submersible units rose from the river. These subs, shaped like an egg with two long legs rigidly attached, were entirely a magnificent, semi-transparent blue. They swam slowly to the bank, stepping onto the shore with their two mechanical appendages, each several meters long. The rounded cockpit canopies on their twin appendages opened with faint ‘hissing’ sounds, and from each cockpit emerged three high-ranking Roman warriors clad in pale gold energy armor.”

“A Roman, clearly the commanding officer, forcefully expanded his chest, glanced with distaste at the giant pythons coiled nearby, and issued a low command: ‘Hurry up and eat something to rest, then continue patrolling. Everyone be careful; the Demon Division’s line is only thirty kilometers ahead. Not a single warrior from the Kingdoms who has fought them has ever returned alive!’”

“Ten kilometers away, Medusa, the former leader of the Ninth Combat Regiment of the Hell Angels Mercenary Group, sat languidly on the highest branch of a massive tree. While chewing on a high-calorie individual ration, she held a military-grade telescope with extreme magnification, focusing intently on the Roman officer who was performing his chest expansion exercises.”

“‘Heh heh heh, an assault reconnaissance battalion, reinforced with triple the manpower and firepower? So tender, so delicious!’ Medusa whistled softly, laughing wickedly, ‘My little darlings, you know I’m only a hair away from achieving the rank of Colonel. Heh heh, you’ve delivered yourselves right to me, and I won’t be polite!’”

“She stomped hard on the tree trunk, and Medusa roared in a low voice, ‘Brothers, time to work! Maintain radio silence, or those bone-sucking bastards will try to claim the credit again!’”

“Beneath the tree, a series of single-soldier camouflage field tents were scattered in what appeared to be a disorderly circle spanning about two hundred meters in diameter. However, on closer inspection, it was clear that this chaotic camp was expertly positioned to block off all surrounding angles; any intruder approaching from any direction would be met with overwhelming force. Parked quietly outside each tent was a matte-black mechanized suit—these sleek armors, standing about two and a half meters tall, were the brand new Hercules models, just released by Hardwar Defense Systems a month prior!”

“Hearing Medusa’s order, nearly a hundred soldiers scrambled out of the tents and swiftly donned the combat armor waiting beside them. From beneath several earthen mounds further away, twenty more sentries emerged. They ran lightly back to the camp, quickly equipping all their combat gear.”

“Chewing her individual ration with satisfaction, Medusa chuckled happily, ‘Twenty Boundary Masters, seventy innate warriors at the peak of Jupiter-level, and thirty psychics at the middle tiers of Jupiter-level! Ah, bullying a mere Roman assault reconnaissance battalion—I am truly too wicked! Damn your mother! Popov, you infuriating Siberian boar!’”

“The smiling Medusa suddenly crushed the binoculars in her hand, leaping up in a furious rage. In the dense woods immediately to her left, an army of comparable size to her own detachment was charging forward like a pack of rabid hyenas toward the Romans. These soldiers were also wearing the new Hercules armor, and leading the charge was a specialized heavy-firepower Hercules suit, standing about three and a half meters tall. This custom armor was huge and imposing, like a great silverback gorilla from the primeval forest, moving with the speed of a gale without making a sound.”

“Two 200mm heavy neutron cannons were firmly mounted on the shoulders of this suit. This was the armor’s strongest and only weapon.”

“Inside the armor, Popov, his entire body covered in black fur like a great ape, was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. He gestured wildly and roared, ‘Brothers, charge! Tear these Roman birdmen apart! Hahaha! Don’t leave a single one alive for that venomous woman! Heh heh, if we wipe out these Romans, I can finally get a golden star on my shoulder! Federal Major General! Go!'"

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