When You Yin brought the Red Beast back to the satellite mech cluster, the remaining enemy mechs on the battlefield had already been cleared by the others.
This small-scale surprise attack was a failure for both the defending and attacking sides.
The defending side had not expected the enemy to dispatch seven ultra-high-tier mechs and a host of high-tier mechs for the assault.
Conversely, the attacking side had not anticipated encountering elite mech masters like Gu Ya.
The only beneficiary of this battle was Ao Ying Squad Three.
The squad had successfully destroyed five ultra-high-tier enemy mechs and many high-tier enemy mechs, with only the Red Beast mech being destroyed.
This could be considered achieving the goal of victory in the first battle.
However, this was far from meeting Gu Ya's standards.
According to Xian Xia's War Gods, in a major campaign, one must balance the battlefield by destroying 11.11 high-tier enemy mechs.
But looking at the current situation, in a one-on-one scenario, Tai Hu might be able to defeat an enemy, yet it struggled significantly in group combat.
It wasn't just Tai Hu; even Gu Ya couldn't guarantee defeating enemy ultra-high-tier mechs if surrounded, nor could he ensure his escape from such encirclement.
Furthermore, it wasn't that the enemy lacked strength; they were unfamiliar with Ao Ying Squad Three and held a degree of underestimation, which allowed Gu Ya and his team to win.
Following this battle, Black Star would undoubtedly take note of Ao Ying Squad Three's capabilities.
There was a high probability of future engagements designed to annihilate Ao Ying Squad Three.
Liu Feng's mech was scrap, and the other teammates' mechs had sustained various damages. While Feng Wu 1 and 2 had ample ammunition, their defensive capabilities were insufficient to withstand an enemy assault.
"Let's return," Gu Ya stated calmly.
He had to ensure his teammates were in good condition for future offensives, as he was the leader of the squad.
Let alone Liu Feng, Gu Ya didn't want even the somewhat annoying Li Fang to get injured.
As the captain, he had to bear this responsibility.
Moreover, after repeatedly activating all skills, You Yin's operational capability had dropped to 72%. While Gu Ya had a backup mech, Yue Ying, it couldn't withstand such strain.
Additionally, as Gu Ya's mech piloting skills improved, the system no longer issued missions when facing multiple enemy ultra-high-tier mechs.
The system only issued missions when Gu Ya encountered danger.
Without system missions, Gu Ya couldn't earn system coins, and thus couldn't freely purchase mechs and spare parts.
When he first transmigrated, he had to be frugal with system coins, reluctant to use them unless it was absolutely necessary.
Now, with his improving skills, he ironically earned fewer system coins.
After bidding farewell to Sha Xin and the satellite mech detachment, Gu Ya led Ao Ying Squad Three back to the Wu He City Mech Guard.
The captain briefly congratulated Gu Ya on his initial victory before attending to his duties.
Gu Ya's reaction was subdued, even somewhat disappointed.
To him, having two War God-level mech masters and several elite-level mech masters destroy seven ultra-high-tier enemy mechs was not something to celebrate.
After settling everyone down, Gu Ya took Li Fang to the periphery of the main battlefield for front-line observation.
Li Fang's mech was in better condition than most of the others, which surprised Gu Ya.
He hadn't expected the garrulous man to be such a skilled pilot, slightly stronger than Tao Na, which explained why he was chosen.
Li Fang piloted a medium-sized close-combat mech, colored green and white, which vaguely resembled "Guan Erye." His primary weapon was a long-handled saber, akin to Guan Yu's dao. The blade appeared to be made of a highly pure meta-material, similar to ancient mech armor.
While it lacked the monstrous destructive power of the Red Beast's war hammer, its sharp internal edge, coupled with a rare green beam ripple, made its destructive capability comparable to the Red Beast's war hammer.
Among melee energy weapons, the color of the beam ripple indicated the weapon's destructive power and its special functions.
The most common were extreme white beam weapons.
Extreme white beam ripples possessed characteristics of ultra-high temperature, high frequency, and high destructive power, making them popular among close-combat mech masters.
You Yin's two primary beam swords had an internal edge length of 8.7 meters and a width of 2.87 meters. When the beam ripple deployed, the sword's edge could reach a maximum output of 12.3 meters in length and 4.5 meters in width.
Furthermore, You Yin's beam swords could change the color of their beam ripples.
Gu Ya most frequently used extreme white and sea blue.
Sea blue was a result of frequency modulation of the blue beam ripple.
The destructive power of the blue beam ripple was inferior to extreme white, but its stable wave frequency output effectively protected the internal edge, thus enhancing its durability. For sustained combat, blue beam ripples were the optimal choice.
Liu Feng's red beam ripple, however, disregarded the durability of the beam emission system and weapons, focusing solely on destructive power, and was known as an ultra-destructive beam ripple. Red ripples were commonly seen on heavy hammers, bludgeons, and other blunt weapons, as these weapons were robust, contained high meta-material content, and could withstand the ultra-high heat and destructiveness of the red ripple.
Of course, there was also a purple beam ripple, found only in laboratories, possessing the highest destructive power.
To date, no weapon had been able to harness the purple energy ripple.
The Black Star Walker's black beam sword had a destructive power and frequency similar to extreme white, with the addition of a light effect.
Green beam ripples, while having the lowest inherent destructive power, prioritized the toughness of the internal weapon, with the energy beam serving only as an auxiliary destructive effect. Thus, it was considered rare because it required the internal weapon to inflict damage. Just like Li Fang's mech's saber, it used an extremely durable, high-purity meta-material.
In today's global military arena,
conventional thermal nuclear weapons had become inefficient, thankless, and highly polluting. The already fragile ecological balance could not withstand the impact of thermal nuclear weapons.
Another significant reason was that high-purity meta-materials could withstand the power of almost all thermal nuclear weapons.
A thermal nuclear weapon with a yield of one million tons of TNT could only create a fine fissure on the armor made of high-purity meta-material.
What could truly damage meta-material was the energy emitted by the meta-material itself.
Therefore, meta-energy beam cannons, beam swords, beam bullets, and various types of meta-energy missiles and bombs were the primary offensive weapons in the world today.
The bomb used by Ma Zhen to destroy Saint City Naiti was equipped with meta-energy.
Meta-energy was known as the purest, pollution-free, and extremely destructive "humanized weapon."
In areas with intact ecosystems and lush vegetation, plant life would begin to sprout anew on the very day of a meta-energy explosion.
Unlike after a thermal nuclear explosion, where only a very, very small number of plants could regrow amidst the radiation.
There are many other discussions regarding meta-materials and why meta-materials can emit extremely destructive power, which will be deferred for later...
In short, this substance, called "universal material" and "gift from the gods" by humanity, had brought both convenience and destruction.
At this moment, Gu Ya and Li Fang stood on the beach, gazing at the front-line battlefield over a hundred kilometers away.
Large-scale group army battles were often fought without regard for cost, with continuous reinforcements until the enemy was defeated.
There was almost no instance of pausing midway to rest for a couple of days.
The Lou Hai battle a few months ago, a small engagement where both sides deployed only over ten thousand mechs, lasted for about a month.
Not to mention the current hundreds of thousands of mechs.
"If they don't want to engage in a war of attrition or prolonged conflict, then both Xian Xia and Black Star commanders must consider other tactics," Gu Ya said nonchalantly.
Li Fang was unusually quiet today, having wanted to speak to Gu Ya several times but restraining himself.
"Why aren't you talking?" Gu Ya turned to Li Fang and asked coldly.
Li Fang smiled awkwardly and said, "Captain, have you forgotten? You told me not to engage in idle chatter with you. This statement of mine is not idle chatter; it's an answer to your question. Of course, if you find my speaking unpleasant, I will shut up immediately!"
Gu Ya smiled faintly and said, "From now on, answering my questions will not be considered idle chatter. Also, the restriction of ten sentences per day is lifted. But you still can't engage in idle chatter!"
Li Fang nodded gratefully. For someone who loved to talk, being silenced was more painful than being killed.
"Tell me, what are the Black Star Alliance commanders thinking right now?" Gu Ya gazed at the battlefield and asked indifferently.
Li Fang shrugged, curled his lip, and said, "Who knows? Perhaps they are feasting and prematurely celebrating their victory? Hmph, I heard those Black Star commanders have peculiar habits, things I wouldn't dare to imagine. Oh, I just want to ask, do they ever think of themselves as the evil side?"
Gu Ya chuckled and scoffed, "Glorifying war and aggression is the specialty of every invader. No matter how beautifully they boast, it's just to deceive the common people. The true higher-ups undoubtedly know they are wrong but are resolutely doing so for profit, resources, and money."
"If my strength were sufficient, I would march to their doorstep right now and escort them back to Xian Xia for trial. Of course, I wouldn't mind severing their heads on the spot."
As Gu Ya spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist and pointed towards the direction of the Black Star Empire, slashing downwards diagonally.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps sensing the threat from tens of thousands of kilometers away, at that moment, someone within the Black Star Alliance touched their neck.