AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 321: Code Matched Successfully
"Holy crap! That's incredibly accurate!"
Cheng Mouren, inside the Gates LB, quickly retreated behind cover.
Through Mech Master, Cheng Tian could synchronize his senses with the mech he was currently piloting, gaining a biological wide-angle vision. However, the mech's performance was relatively low, and his own strength and agility were at the bottom of the barrel, so his reactions weren't as fast as he'd imagined.
By the time his mind sounded the alarm, it was too late to dodge. But the Ironclad Steel Fist, which had merged with the Heart of Jielgade on his right hand, instantly displayed a small magic circle. Subsequently, a hexagonal Heart Barrier appeared out of thin air at the position where his head was about to be hit, successfully deflecting the precise attack from the enemy.
However, for some unknown reason, Cheng Tian felt that this enemy attack was a bit familiar.
After glancing at the fragments of the attack that shattered upon colliding with the barrier, Cheng Tian discovered fragments of an arrowhead and arrow shaft, which were quite rare in the current world setting.
The Blood Armor Squad in the original work clearly had no one equipped with such long-range gear, meaning this arrow was 100% from the opposing player group.
Thinking of this, Cheng Tian decisively activated the Ten Commandments again.
Under normal circumstances, the maximum detection range of Cheng Tian's Ten Commandments was his mental attribute * 10, which is 500 meters. However, when attributes reached their extreme, certain fine-tuning could be made in the practical application of the skill.
When Cheng Tian focused his detection in a specific direction, the maximum detection distance in that direction would extend, at the cost of the original circular radar becoming a super acute angle, trading a narrower range for increased detection distance.
After a quick sweep and fine-tuning, Cheng Tian detected a familiar body shape—
It was the half-elf archer Eileen, currently in her cockpit!
It's worth mentioning here that Eileen's bloodline purification led to her becoming a half-elf. But precisely because her bloodline was exactly 50% of each, Cheng Tian's human-specialized Ten Commandments radar was still effective. If her elf bloodline had accounted for 51%, he wouldn't have detected her today.
And just as Cheng Tian determined Eileen's identity through the rare long-range attack debris and the Ten Commandments radar, Eileen also deduced a high probability of Cheng Tian's presence, and likely on the opposing side, based on the hexagonal Heart Barrier that had recently given her so much trouble.
Of course, this was only a possibility. While the shape of Cheng Tian's barrier was unique, she couldn't directly conclude that it was Cheng Tian himself who cast it. So, Eileen was also preparing to find an opportunity to use a bit of her signature ability to see how the other side reacted.
As for the opposing factions, it could be considered later.
The 81st Independent Special Squad of the Earth Federation and the Leia Reform Army's Intercept Squad officially began their engagement.
Among them, the Brodia, as expected by the laboratory, became the primary target of concentrated fire due to its bright red paint scheme.
But under Jeff's control, this mech displayed the agility of a martial artist, dodging, weaving, rolling, and leaping. While successfully evading all long-range focused fire, the Ironclad Steel Fist in his hand mercilessly slammed into the face of the nearest Gates Basic Model.
At the same time, the Assault Impact Drill inside the Ironclad Steel Fist was also ready, poised to penetrate and directly kill the pilot inside as soon as it found a weak point on the Gates' fuselage!
The moniker "oversized mobile coffin" for humanoid mobile vehicles was not unfounded. Often, even if the mech itself could still move after taking external damage, the pilot inside might succumb to the impact and die first, which was the main reason why piloting a mech required high-spec strength and agility.
When damaged, the mech would lose durability and health, and the pilot inside could also suffer severe injuries. That's why close-combat modules included Ironclad Steel Fists with pile bunkers, arms that were drills themselves, laser blades that could easily tear through armor, and power claws that could lift a mech and violently smash it into the ground.
Especially with those power claws, pilots caught by them suffered the most gruesome deaths.
A light saber at least only charred a part, preserving a relatively complete shape, but power claws could turn a pilot into various forms of canned meat... or rather, minced meat inside.
Although completely unable to take any countermeasures, the soldier inside the mech showed no fear on his face.
Under the influence of deep mechanical modifications, the soldiers of the Leia Reform Army had generally lost the concept of "fear." Not only that, but upon realizing he might be in serious trouble, this soldier's hand was already gripping the self-destruct lever.
But at that moment, the hexagonal barrier reappeared, blocking the Brodia's punch for an instant.
As the pile bunker deployed, the barrier shattered, but a second barrier arrived as expected, greatly reducing the force of the Ironclad Steel Fist's pile bunker. The force that could have penetrated the front armor of the Gates' cockpit was directly weakened to only leaving two clear indentations on it, before sending the entire Gates flying backward.
And the pilot, realizing he had narrowly escaped death, released the self-destruct lever.
This situation clearly exceeded Jeff's muscle-memory understanding, causing his brain to regain dominance.
"What's going on? An electromagnetic barrier? Is this new rebel technology?"
A puzzled Jeff tried to get answers from the communicator.
Meanwhile, similar situations were occurring in every corner of the battlefield.
Although the Reform Army had greater numbers, their overall combat strength was weaker than that of the Earth Federation. Once they entered close-quarters combat, the first-generation Gates would undoubtedly fall into a comprehensive disadvantage.
However, whenever players and the Blood Armor Squad delivered a fatal blow, the hexagonal barrier would appear without warning in the right place, either completely blocking or greatly reducing the force, resulting in no actual casualties for the Reform Army so far.
The instigator of this situation was naturally Cheng Tian.
The S-rank profession, Heart Priest, perfectly displayed its group defensive capabilities under the blessing of the Heart of Jielgade, manifesting fully at this very moment.
But to oversee the entire situation and extend his perception across the battlefield, Cheng Tian also inevitably needed to ascend to a high position and rely on his eyes to catch things.
While the Blood Armor Squad was somewhat confused, the Chosen Squad determined that this might be a skill from an opposing player, and subsequently discovered Cheng Mouren hiding at the very top of a dilapidated building, precisely deploying Heart Barriers across the entire map.
Although no one knew if there was a direct connection between this Gates and the barrier, something abnormal was definitely afoot, and attacking it was surely the right move!
Thus, the sniping mission fell to Eileen, who had the longest sniping range among the two squads.
Eileen didn't hesitate, immediately activating the charge for Storm Strike. Fierce winds, carrying a sky full of yellow sand, swirled around the Elf, and then entanglement onto the crossbow bolt.
When the charge reached its peak, an arrow, enveloped in a sandstorm, shot towards Cheng Tian's Magic Gates.
And at that very moment, the Magic Gates' fuselage was suddenly covered in a layer of holy light. A semi-circular barrier directly enveloped the Magic Gates, and the arrow, carrying the sandstorm, collided fiercely with the barrier.
However, both Cheng Tian inside the Gates LB and Eileen inside the Elf raised the corners of their mouths at this moment—
The code, it matched.