Zack studied him quickly. The man’s outfit resembled something out of a neon warrior flick. Cradled in his arms was a strange der, something that looked suspiciously like the warhead of a missile. "Die!" the man shrough gritted teeth, clutg his wounded shoulder.

  Before Zack could react, the man flung the der toward the ground. As it hit, the warrior twisted his body and vanished into thin air.

  BOOM!

  The der exploded, sending a wave of eleagic microwaves rippling outward in a visible ring. The bst spread rapidly, engulfing Bear Mountain and even reag half of NY an instant, Zack’s meical dogs dropped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. All nearby eleics, from simple gadgets to advanced systems, shut down or were fried beyond repair. "Sir, it’s aromagic pulse bomb," Ego reported calmly.

  Being a system itself, Ego was immuo interference. "Dammit! I fot about that kind of on!" Zack cursed, frustrated with himself. He prided himself on being prepared, yet he hadn’t ated for this.

  "Sir, no pn is ever perfect," Ego offered, trying to be reassuring. "Even the most meticulous strategies will have fws."

  "Save it, Ego. How long until the armor’s baline?" Zack’s tone was cold, his frustration boiling over.

  "It’ll take ten mio reboot the suit, sir."

  "No time for that. Emergency escape!"

  Without a sed thought, Zack reached for the emergency handle on his armor. This was a st-resort meism, designed specifically for situations like this.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The hariggered a series of small, trolled explosions within the armor’s e points. These micro-charges transferred their kiiergy to carefully engineered pos, allowing the armor to break apart.

  Kakakaka—

  The sound of armor pieces sliding and unlog filled the air as the back panel opened, freeing Zack from the suit. He stepped out just in time to hear a voice eg from the base of the mountain.

  "You’d better not move!" Turning toward the sound, Zack saw a squad of bck-cd soldiers marg toward him. They were armed to the teeth, and at their ter was a hulking figure—a super soldier, easily four or five meters tall, stomping toward him with purpose.

  Behind them, a figure cloaked in bck stood watg. The syic, meical tone of their voice rang out mogly: "Is that all you’ve got without your armor? What are you even worth now?"

  Zack stood at the edge of the deep pit atop Bear Mountain, his brow furrowing as the words rang in his ears. They sounded oddly familiar, like something from a movie. He smirked and replied, "How about this for an answer: I’ve got super soldiers too."

  As he spoke, the ground trembled beh heavy, rhythmic footsteps. Dong. Dong. Dong. Emerging from the shadows of the hillside were eight t figures, eaearly four meters tall.

  These weren’t ordinary soldiers. Their bodies were encased in impossibly thick, fully sealed alloy armor. Unlike Zack’s power armor, theirs had achable parts—everything but the helmet was welded together. This armor wasn’t just prote; it was their perma prison. With built-in life support and ing systems, these warriors could ake off their armor. It would be their grave if they died in battle.

  Even the EMP hadn’t stopped them. Though their systems were fried, the sheer physical strength of these fearless warriors allowed them to move. Dragging hundreds of kilograms of deadweight, they marched forward, their steps unbroken by the interference.

  Boom!

  Wheopped in unison, the sound of their armored boots meeting the ground was deafening. The killing ihey radiated alpable, like a physical force pressing down ohing around them.

  On the mountainside, a dozen soldiers dressed in bck raised their guns simultaneously, aiming straight at Zack. Without hesitation, they pulled the trigger. The five super soldiers apanying them also quied their pace, charging toward the mountaintop. To guarantee a kill, the bck-cd soldiers were using armor-pierg bullets. However, these were just steel-core rounds. In the post-apocalyptic world, only someone like Zack had the resources to mass-produce tungsten-core armor-pierg bullets.

  The moment the soldiers aimed, even before the gunfire echoed across the mountain, two fearless warriors stepped forward, shielding Zack with their massive steel-pted bodies.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Gunfire erupted. Bullets rained down, smming into the warriors' heavy power armor.

  g! g! g!

  The steel-core bullets ricocheted off the alloy steel like pebbles boung off a wall, leaving nothing but faint white marks and surface scratches.

  "Kill!" With a roar, the two fearless warriors held their ground, standing firm to protect Zack. The other six warriors drew their massive swords and charged down the mountainside, heading straight for the super soldiers and the bck-cd troops.

  g, g, g! Bullets tio hit the warriors’ armor, creating a symphony of metalliotes that could stir anyone’s blood.

  "Kill!" "Flory!" The fearless warriors’ battle cries echoed. Their blood boiled with the thrill of bat. Even with the eleagic pulse disabling their systems, the nanochips in their braihem focused. Ohought burned bright in their minds: they would fight for Zack’s will, embrag glorious battle lorious death.

  Meanwhile, the super soldiers of the Vanguard anization roared back. Though uhey charged forward fearlessly, uerred by the t armored figures or the swords they wielded.

  Boom! Boom!

  The two groups collided with earth-shaking force. Flesh met steel. The impact was thunderous, like war drums signaling chaos. The oute, however, was clear within seds. Even burdened by hundreds of kilograms of armor, the fearless warriors’ brute strength proved superior. In the initial csh, three super soldiers were sent flying. One was hurled into the air, crashing into the soldiers behind him and knog them off their feet.

  “FOR OUR MASTER!!!” With their war cries ringing out, the fearless warriors raised their swords high and attacked relentlessly. Although the eleagic pulse had disabled the rotating saw teeth, the swords themselves, weighing hundreds of kilograms, still became deadly blunt ons.

  A fearless warrior swung his sword with terrifying strength, striking the neck of a super soldier. The alloy teeth of the sword bit into flesh, and with a brutal tug, the warrior turhe on into a makeshift hacksaw.

  Squelch!

  Blood sprayed from the severed neck, spttering the warrior’s armor. The sight of the fallen super soldier only drove the fearless warriors into a greater frenzy. The bck-cd soldiers, seeing even their super soldiers fall, pahey screamed orders in desperation.

  "Shoot them!" "Throw grenades! Grenades!" "No! Aghhh!" But it was no use. The fearless warriors tore through the battlefield like wolves in a flock of sheep. One swing of a sword could slice multiple soldiers in half.

  In a particurly gruesome dispy, two fearless warriors worked together to capture a soldier. One grabbed his arms, the other his legs. With a siing pull, they tore him apart. Within just ten seds, the eeam of bck-cd soldiers and the five super soldiers apanying them were obliterated.

  "How is this possible?!" At the foot of the mountain, the cloaked figure known as Bck Hand watched the se unfold, his meical voice trembling with disbelief.

  "Their armor shouldn’t even be funal! How they still fight with such overwhelming strength while dragging that much weight? Could these guys actually be strohan the anization’s super soldiers?"