“Thirty degrees to the left ahead, coordinates (230, 1232, 32), there’s a concealed target. Judging from the electromagnetic reflection waveform, it should be a demon clan ‘Ghoul’.”

Ghoul

Demon Clan Standard Mecha

Height: 5 meters

Weight: 5 tons

Maximum Power Output: 769

Special Ability: Corrosive Claws.

“Grace, long-range railgun, aim and attack from a distance!” Earth Guardian gave the order without hesitation.

“Got it.”

The fox demon squatted down on the spot, set up the electromagnetic railgun, and waited for it to charge. After 0.8 seconds, charging was complete. The target coordinates were entered, and 0.5 seconds later, with the help of the fox demon’s onboard system “Arrow God,” the railgun locked onto the target.

With a “click,” the fox demon pulled the trigger. There was a sharp “screech,” and a dark red beam shot out from the barrel. Half a second later, a distant “boom” explosion was heard.

“Lucky shot! Direct hit on the enemy’s energy core!” Earth Guardian was quite pleased.

“Hmph, it’s because I have good aim!” The fox demon Grace pouted, and the petite, slender fox demon mecha even twisted its waist.

“All right, all right, Grace is the best.”

The two started showing off their affection again. Brian Bolton automatically ignored them, his eyes still fixed on the scanner. His battlefield experience told him that on the battlefield, there could be no negligence!

After a few more flirtatious exchanges between Earth Guardian and the fox demon, they continued moving forward.

This time, the three had barely walked a thousand meters when Brian Bolton’s scanner suddenly emitted a rapid “beep beep beep beep~” alarm. Strangely, after two seconds, the sound abruptly disappeared.

“What’s going on?” Earth Guardian was startled.

“It’s an invisible White Phantom!” Brian Bolton’s expression turned serious. Electromagnetic waves are useless against phantom-type mechas with active cloaking; the scanner was now blind.

White Phantom

Demon Clan Mecha

Height: 4 meters

Weight: 4 tons

Maximum Power Output: 947 horsepower

Special Ability: Electromagnetic Invisibility.

The White Phantom can turn invisible and is famous for its incredible speed, excelling at assassinations. It is one of the most formidable demon clan mecha warriors in the standard ranks.

“Damn! Just our luck! We actually ran into this thing!” Earth Guardian was instantly on high alert!

But at that moment, a sudden flash of insight struck Brian Bolton’s mind: “Pandora, White Phantom—no, not a phantom, a traitor… I remember now! The fall of Pandora Planet wasn’t due to a normal defeat, but because a traitor on the Earth side leaked critical defense information about the Alliance base!”

Chapter 004: White Phantom (Part 2)

After becoming a major general, Brian Bolton unlocked many permissions and was able to access numerous classified military files, among which was a general account of the fall of Pandora Planet.

He was about to recall the details when he heard Earth Guardian suddenly shout, “Defensive tactics!”

The loud voice snapped Brian Bolton back to reality. “No time to think about it now, let’s finish this ambush first!”

Since the battle had begun, he had to give his all to achieve victory. This was the most important habit Brian Bolton had developed since joining the military.

The White Phantom mecha is a low-level demon clan assassin. Its surface is coated with a very special wave-absorbing material, and combined with its unique cloaking technology, it can almost completely evade electromagnetic waves from all bands and angles.

Therefore, the high-powered scanning radar Brian Bolton carried was rendered completely useless.

After shouting, Earth Guardian immediately gave specific instructions: “Grace, hide behind my left side and look for a chance to shoot. Always stay within 20 meters of the force field shield so I can protect you at any time. Wolf Demon, cover Grace from behind. If you really can’t hold out, use your body to shield Grace from the attack!”

In Earth Guardian’s view, Brian Bolton’s Wolf Demon mecha was purely for support. In this critical situation, its only use was to act as a meat shield.

Although this request was clearly biased toward the fox demon, it was indeed the best response for now. Brian Bolton nodded and took up a defensive stance behind the fox demon.

Seeing him comply so readily, Earth Guardian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had read the basic profile of this Wolf Demon pilot—just a 15-year-old high school student. Honestly, at such a crucial moment, he was really worried the Wolf Demon would get emotional. If the White Phantom took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, they’d be in big trouble.

“All right, let’s keep moving. Grace, Wolf Demon, stay on full alert—don’t relax for a second,” said Earth Guardian.

“Okay, Brother Mumu.” The fox demon Grace replied obediently.

The three continued deeper into the forest. Their mission wasn’t to deal with the White Phantom, but to destroy the demon clan base in Pandora Forest, so there was no need to get entangled with the phantom.

After about three minutes and another 2,000 meters in, Brian Bolton suddenly spoke: “Guardian, the White Phantom still hasn’t shown itself. It’s probably observing our route. If I’m right, there should be a carefully prepared trap ahead of us. The best plan now is to take a random detour and push forward quickly, so the enemy doesn’t have time to set up traps.”

“Is it really that bad?” Earth Guardian was taken aback, half believing, half doubting.

But the fox demon Grace didn’t believe it at all: “Hmph, there’s no such thing as a trap. We’re just up against a computer—how could it be that smart? Wolf Demon, you just love to overthink things!”

Earth Guardian said in a low voice, “Grace, don’t say that…”