Humanoid Defense Mecha (equipped with the "Iron Bastion" system)

　　Height: 8 meters

　　Weight: 20 tons

　　Maximum power output: 1300 horsepower

　　Special skill: high-strength alloy heavy armor.

　　He was just about to communicate with the Earth Guardian pilot when the other party spoke first: "Wolf Demon, just play support this round, try not to engage the enemy, or you'll get wiped out first thing in the morning."

　　There were only three of them—if one died, the mission difficulty would immediately skyrocket.

　　"Yeah, yeah, and he calls himself the Demon-Slaying Swordsman? Look at his record, he's probably the one being slain by demons, right?" This was a girl's voice; she was piloting the Fox Demon Type-1. There was a hint of resentment in her tone. It was understandable—anyone would be upset to have such a useless teammate.

　　Fox Demon Type-1 (Standard)

　　Long-range attack mecha. (equipped with the Arrow God system)

　　Height: 4 meters

　　Weight: 4 tons

　　Maximum output: 439 horsepower

　　Special ability: rapid aiming

　　"Alright, Grace, don't say that. Everyone was a newbie once." The Earth Guardian spoke again; it seemed he knew the Fox Demon pilot.

　　Fine, this was the legacy left by 15-year-old Brian Bolton for the future Brian Bolton—an ancient, massive pitfall, and he could only accept it as it was. Facing his teammates' doubts, he could only say, "Don't worry, I'll do my best."

　　In the game "Hero," individual skill was very important, but teamwork was also highly valued. Those players who liked to act recklessly and play the hero—even if their mecha piloting skills were truly amazing, and they could complete the mission alone—their final mission rating would not be very high.

　　Hearing his words, the Earth Guardian became anxious: "Don't even think about it, Wolf Demon. Don't try to show off, just support us properly and I'll guarantee you an easy win!"

　　Brian Bolton fell silent. With such a terrible record, explanations were useless.

　　"Beep~ Game start, destroy the enemy base!"

　　As the system voice fell, a map appeared on the three mechas' screens, with the location of the target demon base marked by a blinking red dot.

　　Two seconds later, the map shrank to a corner of the screen. Brian Bolton's vision brightened slightly as the panoramic screen of the mecha's virtual cockpit displayed a lifelike environment. He was now in the Earth military's barracks, which was the allied base in the game.

　　This was the planet "Pandora," located in the "Stellar Sea Corridor." The planet's surface crust was rich in natural palladium isotopes, which were the core material for the cyclotron force field engines of elite-class and above mechas—a strategic resource.

　　To seize control of Pandora, humans and demons had fought back and forth on the planet, with extremely fierce battles.

　　Seeing this map, Brian Bolton's heart skipped a beat: "Didn't Pandora fall completely... Oh, wait! It's still July 2174, Pandora is still here!"

　　After joining the army, Brian Bolton spent his spare time not only honing his mecha piloting skills, but also reading battle reports of past engagements between Earth and the demons, analyzing details and summarizing lessons learned. This was one of the main reasons he became a major general in the Guard Corps at such a young age.

　　He remembered clearly that Pandora fell in January 2175, just half a year from now. After that, Earth lost its natural source of palladium isotopes and had to rely on energy-intensive artificial synthesis to obtain them, which severely impacted the production capacity of advanced mechas.

　　It was also in 2175 that the tide of war began to shift dramatically in favor of the demons. The rate at which Earth's occupied star domains fell increased sharply, and in the end, they had to withdraw from the Stellar Sea Corridor and retreat to the First Star Chain, with the Hangu Star Gate serving as the gateway fortress of the First Star Chain.

　　In other words, the fall of Pandora was a key turning point in the war between the two races!

　　"If Pandora doesn't fall, Earth's disadvantage won't be so obvious, and the Hangu Star Gate my father guarded wouldn't have to face the demons directly—he wouldn't have died in battle... How can I prevent this strategic planet from falling?"

　　Vaguely, there seemed to be a crucial clue in his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Having just traveled back, his mind was still a bit muddled; many memories were clearly there, but he just couldn't recall them.

　　He racked his brains, nearly obsessed, and didn't even pay attention to the imminent assault mission.

　　Looking out through the barracks' defensive force field, he could see a vast sea of lush blue trees ahead, shrouded in patches of white mist. The foliage was so dense that the forest was extremely dim.

　　The simulated weather in the game was calm and windless, making the forest ahead seem especially quiet.

　　"Gua~ gua~"

　　Suddenly, a few strange bird calls came from the forest, the sharp sound waves abruptly piercing the silence. Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and Brian Bolton was startled, snapping out of his previous thoughts.

　　He felt an even stronger urge to obtain a real combat mecha.

　　"My memories are too fuzzy. I need to unlock Dark Exploration Mode as soon as possible so I can go to Pandora myself."

　　But a real combat mecha cost at least a million—a huge sum. An ordinary high school student couldn't possibly come up with that kind of money without help from their parents, and the former Brian Bolton certainly couldn't.

　　But now, Brian Bolton had his own plans.