The massive, invisible Refractor Field surrounding Nolan was completely engulfed by the furious explosions of the high-explosive, armor-piercing projectiles. The power backpack emitted a subtle, high-pitched humming sound, indicating the rapid consumption of stored energy.
The violent shockwave only caused the long series of purity seals to rustle and whip around the armor's edges. The entire Terminator armor stood like an ancient war fortress, utterly immovable, like a mountain that was impossible to shake.
Nolan, inside the diamond-shaped helmet, showed no fear whatsoever.
He casually hung the masterwork bolter, which he had not had time to reload, back onto the armor's waist mount. His two huge metal palms, covered with the deep black shell, tightened their grip on the hilt of the colossal C'tan Phase Sword. Beneath the heavy outer shell, countless electro-fiber bundles contracted in synchronous response to his body's movements and neural commands, bracing for the next action.
The next second, the unbreakable Refractor Field forcibly pushed and dispersed the explosion's fire and smoke before they had completely dissipated.
The Terminator armor's huge, metal feet slammed heavily against the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of smoke and dust. He launched an unstoppable, terrifying charge directly toward the cluster of Hydra mini-tanks that were attempting to surround him.
A speeding mini-tank, its engine roaring, collided head-on with the charging Terminator armor. For a brief, screeching moment, the two metal titans were locked in a stalemate. The frantic roar of the tank's engine and the deep hum of Nolan's power backpack filled the air, along with the painful, grinding friction of the tank's narrow gun barrel scraping against the heavy pauldron of the shoulder armor.
The balance of power immediately began to tilt. The Hydra mini-tank, although nearly three meters high itself, was no match for the overwhelming, augmented power of the Terminator armor.
Nolan, inside his diamond-shaped helmet, let out a sudden roar of effort. His palms briefly released the C'tan Phase Sword—which he had instinctively plunged into the tank's cockpit for leverage—and quickly reached under the mini-tank's chassis.
Then, relying on the sheer, terrifying hydraulic power of the Terminator armor, Nolan overturned the five-ton machine!
The Hydra mini-tank crashed onto the ground with a deafening bang, its engine dying instantly.
Nolan had no time to savor the victory.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
More high-explosive, armor-piercing shells screamed through the air, fired from the narrow barrels of the other mini-tanks. Storms of armor-piercing bullets from the vehicle-mounted machine guns also continued to sweep toward him, attempting to halt his advance.
Nolan, whose excitement was steadily rising, use the Terminator armor to slightly lower his huge body. He quickly pulled out the C'tan Phase Sword, which had been trapped beneath the overturned turret, and began to evade the intense bombardment.
He weaved back and forth, moving in and out of the tanks' narrow fields of fire. One by one, the high-explosive shells either hit the invisible Refractor Field and exploded violently in blinding flashes, or they narrowly brushed past the shield's edge and were randomly deflected by its energetic distortion.
Bursts of explosions and subsequent flames tore up the surrounding concrete and even struck unlucky, friendly tanks. Even the continuous large-caliber bullets from the vehicle-mounted machine guns had zero effect on his armor.
At the same time, Nolan swung the huge C'tan Phase Sword again and again. The terrifying, green-glowing blade sliced into the mini-tanks without any resistance, instantly carving through roaring engines and the fragile bodies of the drivers.
As time passed, the dozens of Hydra mini-tanks, which possessed enough firepower to flatten a city block, were visibly diminishing.
The remaining mini-tanks hardly dared to approach the Terminator armor's melee range. They could only desperately try to maintain their distance, driving marginally faster than Nolan, turning their turrets sharply to fire a shot, attempting to block his terrifying advance.
Not long after, a strange and almost comical scene unfolded in the Hydra base square. More than twenty mini-tanks sped frantically around the vast square. Some, in their sheer panic, even crashed into the intact flying vehicles parked along the walls. A three-meter-high Terminator armor carried its huge C'tan Phase Sword, following behind them at a deceptively leisurely pace.
Whenever Nolan seized a clear opportunity, he would launch a terrifying, short-burst charge. The remaining mini-tanks would instantly scatter, leaving behind one unlucky straggler, firmly targeted by the diamond-shaped helmet's lock-on system, to endure the inevitable slashing and ravaging of the C'tan Phase Sword.
About ten minutes later, the distinct, spitting roar of a hellgun echoed through the base, finally reaching Nolan's keen auditory sensors.
He glanced at the remaining mini-tanks, which had clearly exhausted their primary high-explosive ammunition, and surveyed the wreckage scattered across the ground. He simply stood there, exposed and unmoving.
He slowly and deliberately loaded a fresh magazine into his masterwork bolter.
Then, Nolan slowly raised the bolter. He selected the triple-shot mode without hesitation.
Boom, boom, boom...
The roaring explosive bolts poured onto the remaining ten mini-tanks. The light armor of the Hydra mini-tanks could not withstand the continuous, high-impact bombardment. On average, three bolts were enough to instantly obliterate a mini-tank that had no time to execute an evasive maneuver.
By the time the bolter's ammunition was exhausted once again, there were only dozens of blazing, smoking tank wrecks left in the entire base square, and a large number of severely damaged aircraft.
"Aha, Reditus would absolutely love this place. There is unknown technological knowledge everywhere," Nolan's deep voice, now tinged with satisfied amusement, came through the diamond-shaped helmet.
He held the reloaded bolter tightly in one hand. His other hand easily carried the C'tan Phase Sword, its green blade humming faintly.
Nolan then move forward. He randomly chose a metal passage, ignoring the alarms, and plunged deeper into the complex. There were still countless Hydra fighters waiting for his eventual slaughter.
Twenty minutes ago.
In a remote forest park at the foot of Mount Fuji.
The roaring Valkyrie, its vector engines crushing countless young trees, landed heavily on the wet grass.
Not long after, David, with blue light flashing consistently in its eye sockets, walked out of the slowly opening cabin door. It carried two large, unwieldy fuel tanks full of promethium. Its immediate plan was to manually refuel the Valkyrie transport. By doing this, whether he needed to provide emergency fire support to Nolan or prepare for an early return, it would significantly reduce unnecessary logistical complications.
David, its massive metal back slightly hunched, opened the fuel tank hatch on the belly of the Valkyrie with ease. It raised its metal palm and carefully began pouring the precious promethium, a fuel that Terra's engineers could not yet imitate, into the tank.
After one tank was completely filled, David did not continue. He gently put down the remaining large fuel tank and shook his metal head slightly.
The two-meter-tall metal body suddenly spun around. It rushed silently toward a thick tree not far away.
David's five metal fingers, gleaming with a dark, cold light, snapped shut. With just a single, sharp stroke, he instantly chopped down the thick, meter-diameter tree trunk. As countless fallen leaves and broken branches flew into the air, his other metal palm shot out. With terrifying speed and precision, it snatched a petite figure who had no time to dodge.
David's eyes flashed blue as he quickly scanned the person's facial features. His mechanical voice, devoid of any discernible emotion, transmitted slowly to the ears of the human, who was caught by the throat and struggling desperately.
"Yukio, the adopted daughter of Shingen Yashida?"
"Can you tell me why a weak human like you would appear here?" David inquired, tilting its head slightly. "I am really curious... Are you also a little believer of Hydra?"
At this moment, the petite woman's face quickly turned a dangerous shade of red and purple. Her eyes kept rolling upward in distress, and saliva she could not swallow flowed onto the motionless, powerful metal palm gripping her throat.
Yukio, was about to suffocate to death.