Earth Guardian reacted instantly, quickly raising the rotating force field shield to block in the direction Brian Bolton had called out. Almost at the very moment he completed the blocking motion, a deafening “clang~~” rang out.

　　The shield was struck heavily by something, and the 20-ton Earth Guardian was actually knocked back, sliding nearly 30 meters. This slide, unfortunately, exposed the vulnerable fox demon mecha.

　　At the regular rank, Earth Guardian was not considered weak. He immediately understood what had happened: “It’s the rotary proton cannon from the demon base. Grace, return fire, blow it up!”

　　“Target coordinates (231, 2324, 23).” Brian Bolton immediately reported the exact coordinates of the proton cannon.

　　Grace picked up the long-range laser cannon and began to aim. Because the mecha was off-balance, the aiming software lagged half a beat. Anxious, she fired prematurely.

　　“Buzz~” A blue-white high-energy laser flashed through the jungle.

　　As soon as the laser appeared, Brian Bolton knew it had missed. He was now grateful for his foresight. Seeing the shot go wide, he immediately raised the long-range railgun on his arm to compensate.

　　The Wolf Demon Type-1 mecha was not specialized for shooting. Its mainframe’s built-in aiming software was crude, with low accuracy and slow speed. Its long-range attack power was far inferior to the Fox Demon mecha. However, Brian Bolton’s shooting experience far surpassed that of the Fox Demon Grace. After the software finished aiming, he made slight adjustments with his hands and feet, using his rich experience to fine-tune the mecha’s posture.

　　“Hiss~” A high-speed shell shot out almost right after the laser.

　　A second later, a violent explosion sounded in the distance—the demon’s high-energy proton cannon had been successfully destroyed!

　　“Well done!” Earth Guardian couldn’t tell who exactly destroyed the proton cannon, but eliminating this major threat was a great thing.

　　Fox Demon Grace was stunned, then immediately turned to Brian Bolton and scolded, “What are you doing? The Wolf Demon mecha doesn’t even have an aiming system. Are you wasting energy? Give me back my railgun!”

　　Brian Bolton ignored her, keeping his eyes fixed on the high-power radar scan screen, loudly reporting enemy information: “Attention, five ghouls have appeared nearby. Their coordinates have been synced to the squad display. The White Phantom hasn’t shown up yet!”

　　“Wolf Demon, hey, answer me!” The Fox Demon was still pestering him, reaching out to take back the long-range railgun from Brian Bolton’s arm.

　　Brian Bolton frowned. In the military, a soldier who put personal emotions above the mission could be shot on the spot, but in a regular game rank, encountering such a teammate was just bad luck.

　　Just as the situation was about to fall apart, Earth Guardian suddenly erupted, roaring, “Grace, stop arguing! The ghouls are coming!”

　　The Fox Demon was shocked, looking at Earth Guardian in disbelief: “Ethan, you actually yelled at me? Didn’t you see what this noob just did?”

　　After roaring, Ethan softened his tone: “Grace, now’s not the time. Let’s deal with the ghouls first, okay?”

　　Fox Demon Grace wasn’t completely unreasonable and nodded: “Fine, but this Wolf Demon can’t use my railgun anymore!”

　　Earth Guardian then looked at Brian Bolton, privately messaging, “Wolf Demon brother, help us out, will you?”

　　Brian Bolton didn’t reply, but answered with his actions. He moved to Fox Demon Grace’s side, guarding her flank, and didn’t use the railgun again.

　　Seeing the issue resolved, Earth Guardian immediately shouted, “Charge with me! Let’s take out these ghouls!”

　　He charged forward, sword in one hand and shield in the other. The Gatling cannon on his shoulder began to roar, pouring countless bullets toward the ghouls ahead.

　　Up ahead, two ghoul mechas appeared. These were low-end demon mechas: slender bodies, long legs, long arms, adept at jumping, with corrosive claws on their limbs, and a gaping maw at the head capable of biting through a two-centimeter iron bar—truly terrifying.

　　The ghoul mechas leapt out of the forest, attacking Earth Guardian from both sides.

　　Earth Guardian skillfully used his sword and shield to easily block the ghouls’ attacks, clearly holding the advantage.

　　More ghouls charged from behind. Grace used her short-range rapid-fire laser cannon to counterattack. Though her accuracy and firepower were somewhat lacking, she still managed to suppress the three ghouls trying to break through, keeping them at bay.

　　The standoff lasted barely two seconds before a loud “boom” sounded—Earth Guardian had successfully slashed the ghoul on the right to pieces with one blow.

　　The situation was looking great!

　　“Haha, see that, Grace? These ghouls are no match for me!”

　　“Big brother Ethan, you’re amazing.”

　　Even in the midst of battle, they were showing off their affection.

　　Even the demons couldn’t stand it anymore.

　　Amid the chaos of the exploding ghoul mecha, a blurry white figure followed right behind one of the ghouls, shooting out of the forest like an arrow, heading straight for Fox Demon Grace.

　　It was the White Phantom!

Chapter 005: The White Phantom (Part 2)

　　The demon mechas were fast, with movement patterns that were extremely erratic, completely unlike the usual habits of Earthlings.

　　The ghouls advanced in leaps and bounds, moving quickly and changing direction suddenly, making their movements hard to predict. The White Phantom took this trait to the extreme.

　　After it appeared, its absolute speed was at least 30% faster than the ghouls. It hugged the side of a giant tree as thick as five people could encircle, charging out at an angle.