“Stop complaining. Since it’s our turn, just do your best!” Emily Harris’s voice was as cold as ever, sounding almost no different from usual, but Brian Bolton could sense a hint of uncertainty in her words—Emily Harris wasn’t confident about winning this raid mission.

The Crimson Plain, also located on Pandora, was a region with harsh climate and severe electromagnetic interference. There was a medium-sized demon base here, guarded by over 40 elite-level spider mechs with outstanding combat power. Most terrifying of all, the area was also home to a demon commander piloting a top-tier elite mech with transformation abilities—the “Bride of Ra”!

In elite-level raid missions, players would also be informed of the demon base’s location, but the demon mechs were many times stronger, making the difficulty skyrocket. For players with only lower-tier strength, entering was basically suicide.

If both teammates were upper-tier elite players, it wouldn’t be a big problem. But if you added an ordinary lower-tier fatty, then Brian Bolton would really need to prepare carefully.

Thinking of this, Brian Bolton looked at his own control panel.

Thanks to his outstanding performance last time, Brian Bolton, now promoted to ordinary upper-tier, had fully unlocked all standard mechs, including his absolute favorite—the swordsman-type mech “Azure Swordsman Mark I”!

Azure Swordsman Mark I. (Standard)

Assault warrior-type mech (equipped system: Sword Saint)

Height: 6 meters.

Weight: 8 tons.

Maximum power output: 897 horsepower.

Standard weapon: Tungsten steel longsword.

Special function: Overload Burst!

Looking at the azure mech standing silently before him like an ancient steel knight, Brian Bolton was deeply moved.

In his previous life, Brian Bolton had trained hard with every type of mech in “Heroes” to compete for the Mech Combat League championship, and he was skilled with all of them. But among all the types, the one he used best, the one that felt most alive in his hands, was the swordsman class.

He had a special bond with the sword. As long as he held a longsword, a heroic spirit to cut down all opponents would naturally arise in his heart—and he truly lived up to it.

In the Mech League, he had a nickname: “The Lone Sword Saint”!

If this were a solo raid, Brian Bolton would have chosen the Azure Swordsman without hesitation. But now that he had to cooperate with others, he had to consider his teammates’ opinions. “Emily Harris, I’m best with the Azure Swordsman. I’d like to pick it, is that okay?”

Emily Harris agreed, “Go ahead. David Carter, you pick the mech you’re best at too.”

The fatty was confused. “Aren’t we supposed to pick mechs that counter the enemy’s attributes?”

“Don’t overthink it. You two are both newbies and don’t have many mechs you’re good at. Familiarity is most important.”

“Uh, alright then.” In the end, the fatty picked an Earth Guardian. This mech had thick armor and decent attack power. In his six months playing “Heroes,” only the Earth Guardian kept him from being completely crushed by the AI.

Seeing her two “pit” teammates’ choices, Emily Harris thought for a moment and chose a specialized elite-level long-range attack mech for herself—“Hou Yi.”

Hou Yi (Elite)

Long-range attack mech (equipped system: Arrow Saint)

Height: 4 meters

Weight: 4.3 tons

Maximum power output: 1790 horsepower

Special ability 1: High-energy ion micro-blaster (mobility skill)

Special ability 2: Rapid aiming

With this, they had a tank, melee, and ranged—all bases covered, a decent setup.

“Alright, don’t feel pressured later. Once the battle starts, just focus on protecting me from enemy raids. I’ll handle the opponents.”

“Got it!” The fatty was eager to protect his goddess, no questions asked.

Brian Bolton replied simply, “Okay.”

Half a minute later, the system voice sounded: “Map scene loaded. Players have entered the Alliance base. The base defense field will deactivate in one minute. Please select your equipment as soon as possible.”

The fatty panicked immediately. “Damn, only one minute to prepare!”

Chapter 009: If Not a God, Then a Burden?

Alliance Base.

Preparation time was short, but Emily Harris began giving orders methodically.

“I’m pretty familiar with the Crimson Plain map and know how to play it. So just follow my lead when picking your equipment, alright?”

Of course, that was fine. Brian Bolton and CD Carter nodded.

“Good. David Carter, bring a force field shield, a tungsten steel greatsword with anti-corrosion coating, a close-range shotgun, two power cells, and a box of ammo!”

“Got it!” David Carter followed orders without question, willingly becoming the team’s pure support.

“Brian Bolton, the spider mechs will spit highly corrosive venom. Swap out your tungsten steel sword for a high-energy ion sword with anti-corrosion, bring two power cells, a barrel of toxin neutralizer, and a rock sonar!”

This equipment selection was very reliable. Brian Bolton found he had nothing to add, nodded, and turned to get his gear.

During this time, Emily Harris was busy too, quickly equipping herself with a rapid-fire railgun, a large rail cannon, a Gauss sniper rifle, and a pair of plasma stun guns.

Watching from the side, Brian Bolton nodded to himself. The elite-level Hou Yi was already a high-end mech, using an advanced gyroscopic force field engine with power output far beyond standard mechs, and its energy endurance was three times that of ordinary mechs. Going with pure offensive equipment was the best choice.