First Blood

Keiko ran faster and faster, only to feel that, with the assistance of the exosuit, her speed had reached an unprecedented height.

She had never felt this way before. The feeling of being in 100% control over her body was truly exhilarating, whether it was the explosive power of muscles, or endurance, stamina, or balance, agility, all the feelings she had never imagined she would ever have a chance to experience.

'Is this the body of a neo-human after evolution?'

It was mentioned in the general knowledge of the Earth Federation that the physical fitness of even an untrained ordinary person is comparable to that of a former Olympic all-around champion in the era before the apocalypse, let alone a soldier who had undergone severe and rigorous training.

The adrenaline in her blood surged rapidly; she only felt that she was as light as a swallow and even the pain from her injured ankle and arm suddenly seemed not to be there anymore.

She had never run so fast in her life, so fast that she almost left behind an afterimage. The sense of dread she felt previously disappeared inexplicably, and her whole body was full of blood and energy. Only thoughts on how to kill this monster were occupying her mind right now.

Seol-Hyun Ae was already driving her mecha, holding the high-vibration electromagnetic mech blade in her hand and dealing with the monster.

The edge of the blade beamed a blue light, with a crackling sound due to the violent electric charge. It was a novel weapon that Keiko had never seen before. The blade gave the impression that it would be able to even cut a diamond with ease.

Hydraulic pressure on the mecha's legs was propelling her forward with unprecedented power, galloping toward the monster like a raging bull.

However, seemingly due to her inexperience in battle, Seon-Hyun Ae was always at a disadvantage in front of the monster. Her movements were a little stiff and slow, her slashing was ineffective, and the damage to the monster was extremely limited.

'Slow, slow, slow…. How come she is so slow!'

It may be that Keiko's own fighting sense was overwhelmingly strong, but when she saw how the mecha dealt with monsters so clumsily, she became very anxious.

Without hesitation, she dashed, running directly below the Ferocious Earth Dragon and Seol-Hyun Ae's Sieg Mk.2. The spikes on the side of the violent earth dragon and Seol-Hyun Ae's blade clashed above her head, making a huge metallic noise.

Suddenly, she hopped on the trunk of the collapsed tree in front of her, ran a few steps to a higher place along the tree trunk, and then, while running, she made a big leap towards Seol-Hyun Ae's mecha.

Her actions were minutely calculated. With this jump, she directly slammed into Sieg Mk.2's arm, and then landed with both of her legs crouching down. The impact startled Seol-Hyun Ae, who was still engaging the enemy.

"Keiko, what the hell are you doing?"

"You build a bridge for me and send me to the violent dragon."

Seol-Hyun Ae blurted out in a moment, "You crazy! Do you want to die?!"

"Don't talk nonsense! Just do as I say!"

Keiko's tone was unprecedentedly tyrannical, she was completely different from the somewhat awkward and taciturn person she was before. Even Keiko herself did not notice this obvious change. If anyone could peek at the expression on her face through the helmet mask, they would be surprised to find her excited expression.

Her pupils narrowed into a slit and turned bloody red, gleaming with the cunning of a hungry cheetah, ready to prey on the unsuspecting antelope, and her gaze was full of killing intent.

Seol-Hyun Ae was taken back by her strong tone. Her habit after joining the army for many years made her subconsciously obey Keiko's judgment and move accordingly.

Keiko took advantage of this opportunity to rush forward and jump directly onto the Ferocious Earth Dragon along the right arm of Seol-Hyun Ae's mecha.

While on the move, she had already taken out the army dagger inside the leggings slot, and after getting really close to her target, she raised the dagger high, with a roar aimed at its joint, stabbing it fiercely.

The sharp army dagger pierced precisely at the Furious Earth Dragon's wound, which was inflicted by the armored vehicle's assault.

The hard shell cracked, crumbling apart, and the thick green blood flowed out along the blood groove of the dagger.

ROAARRR!!!

The earth dragon, who was in pain, struggled fiercely. The lower half of its body that was buried underground emerged. The beast curled its body and smashed it towards Seol-Hyun Ae.

Seol-Hyun Ae gripped the furious earth dragon by its head tightly and nimbly dodged its attack.

During this process, the monster's body swayed wildly, nearly thrashing Keiko's body in the air.

Keiko held onto the army dagger tightly, relying only on the powerful arm and grip of her right hand to clutch onto the titanic earthworm Zerg's body stubbornly.

When she finally landed on the ground, her right arm was completely numb.

But she didn't care at all. On the contrary, she was even more excited and shouted at Seol-Hyun Ae.

"Pin it on the ground with your blade!"

Seol-Hyun Ae complied. The electromagnetic blade plunged down fiercely, pinning the head of the monster to the ground.

At the same time, Keiko communicated with Lieutenant Lu Diyun, who was rushing quickly from a distance and said it loudly.

"Lieutenant Lu! The other end!"

Lu Diyun's movements were much quicker and neater than Seol-Hyun Ae's. Hearing this, he immediately understood what Keiko meant. Holding the other end of the violent earth dragon that finally lifted out of the ground, he tried to straighten its body, pulled out the mecha's blade, stabbed it fiercely, and stuck the other end into the ground as well.

Realizing that its entire body was restrained, the Ferocious Earth Dragon struggled frantically, but no matter how hard it struggled, its body didn't budge an inch.

The electromagnetic mecha knife has a strong high-voltage current, and the dragon's body consisted mainly of a liquid substance, which made it an excellent medium for conducting electricity. It was a foregone conclusion that the monster would be paralyzed for a moment and its body would stiffen.

At this time, Keiko had already made a huge hole vertically in the beast's trembling body, and the disgusting green liquid had already dyed her body.

Fortunately, her military combat suit was made of many insulating layers, which prevented the blood from seeping into her skin.

She wanted to finish it right away, but this guy's body was too massive and it was still too difficult to cut it open with a military dagger, depending on Keiko's current strength.

She simply pulled out the army thorn, jumped off the monster's body, and gave Lu Diyun and Seol-Hyun Ae a message.

"Cut it lengthwise!"

Lu Diyun and Seol-Hyun Ae pulled out the second mecha knife at the same time, plunged into the body of the Ferocious Earth Dragon, and then rushed towards each other.

Their blades met, and the monster's body split into two symmetrical parts.

The green blood spilled all over the ground, and the corpse of the terrifying Ferocious Earth Dragon squirmed on the ground for more than five minutes before it finally perished.

Keiko, who was covered in blood, stood quietly beside the corpse, carrying her army thorns. Her rapid breathing gradually stabilized, and for a moment, she only felt that her body was empty. Her mind was blank and empty.

After a full ten seconds, she realized that she had just killed an extremely dangerous giant insect with the assistance of two mechas.

At this moment, Seol-Hyun Ae, who was still in shock, had already come out of the mecha and came over to Keiko.

Looking at Keiko, whose whole body was covered in the blood of the earth dragon, she felt her heart trembling.

At this moment, the person in front of her was like a goddess of war born for fire and blood.

"Keiko, are you okay?" She ran to Keiko and asked cautiously, and immediately, she heard Keiko's chuckle coming from the intercom, which still contained a thick bloodlust in it.

"Hahaha… It's okay, I'm good, I'm fine!"

Instantly, Seol-Hyun Ae's body shuddered involuntarily.