Counterfeit Hero

Those who get close to vermilion are red, those who get close to ink are black.

A well-known adage.

The two newly formed bandit army SM series regiments were like a large group of ragged and disabled beggars, moving through the jungle with the actions of weasels stealing chickens. Each soldier's actions were transforming from mere imitation to capturing the essence, as if they had suddenly grasped the essence of sleaziness.

This change began when that sleazy and shameless Fatty openly assigned the SM mark to these two Leray Federation's mecha regiments most affected by it.

Previously, these two mecha regiments, though fond of bullying the weak and ganging up on the few, fond of playing tricks and sneak attacks, fond of "Monkey Stealing Peach" and "Double Dragon Probes the Pearl," had after all been warriors educated by the Leray Federation military for years, so doing these things inevitably lacked the necessary audacity.

Perhaps, in this world, many things are just a layer of fig leaf.

Once uncovered, a qualitative leap occurs immediately.

Just like streaking, originally dignified and well-dressed, but once all clothes are shed and you start running wildly, that shameless audacity indeed seems commendable.

In the presence of a crowd, stripped naked, running while "shaking heads and wagging tails," the more you run the more you love to run, running with feelings, running with addiction, once stripped you don't want to dress again.

So-called beasts in clothes, once you strip away the clothes, naturally nothing is left but the beasts.

For these warriors, they are already damn SM regiments, so why play coy and reserved? Rashid and Stewart sighed inwardly, never expecting an SM mark could have such a significant effect, and this mislabeling, was no different from getting drunk or taking the wrong medicine.

A group of mechas excitedly ready to SM anyone, in an extremely exuberant state like streaking, roared down from the Hengduan Mountain Range, rushing ahead of the Mythical Army to seize the ambush positions on the right side of the canyon.

Osullivan was naturally unaware of all this. He was leading his troops swiftly to the location where the reconnaissance unit had discovered Bonnie. He understood very well what Bonnie meant to Reinhardt, and for himself, currently not favored, no blockade task was more important than this woman before him.

Ten minutes after the SM First and Second Regiments reached the designated location, the Mythical Second Group entered the canyon in single file.

The towering peaks on both sides, like two majestic gatekeepers, silently overlooking this mecha unit that naturally contracted into a defensive formation under strict military discipline.

As a military unit with exceptionally rich war experience, the scattered surveillance mechas of the Mythical Second Group began choosing paths under their respective commanders.

Especially the reconnaissance mechas on both sides, as the most crucial part of marching in this type of canyon terrain, moved ahead of the main force, like ants' antennae, probing any suspicious signs step by step.

A [Vajra] at the outermost edge climbed onto a small peak on the side. At the top of the peak was a narrow flat area, where the gigantic pine trees and low bushes, due to the ample sunshine, appeared particularly lush and green.

The [Vajra] stopped, turned its body back and forth, the limbs of the mecha producing the distinctive "zzz-woosh" sound of the hydraulic system, cautiously observing all around.

The mecha radar did not indicate anything abnormal. Then, a small vibration-collecting radar rose from the head of the [Vajra], as if using the mecha's sound collector to listen for something. After a while, it walked slowly with some confusion to the edge of the forest, standing at the steep cliff and looking down.

Two [Warrior Leaders] and an Antenna, almost blending into the bushes a hundred meters behind this [Vajra], quietly lurked there, watching the movements of the [Vajra]. The warriors' hearts were in their throats, hands gripping the control sticks were sweaty, every nerve in their bodies was tense. At the slightest abnormality from this [Vajra], they would leap out and kill without hesitation.

In the dense forest beneath the cliff, over a thousand mechas of the SM Second Regiment were lurking quietly, using the thick foliage for cover, with the SM First Regiment positioned in the valley between two small peaks behind them. All the mechas had shut off their engines, only the [Antenna] was relying on stored power to support the operation of the anti-metal detectors.

Just as the [Vajra] activated its long-range viewer to carefully inspect the forest below, suddenly, several explosions sounded from the southeast direction. In this mountain area, the sound rolled up from the valley below and down from the cloud layers, distant yet clear.

The [Vajra] was startled and abruptly raised its head. Immediately, a rally signal appeared on its mechanical computer. After a moment's hesitation, it scanned hastily with the long-range viewer once more, finally unable to resist the urgent rally signal's "beep beep beep," turned back through the mountain top forest and walked down the mountain.

Over two thousand Federation mechas lay silently in place, completely motionless. Every warrior understood that the distant explosion sounds were caused by that Fatty, who was doing the same thing captured in the battlefield recorder by the Hunter Corps Commander. With a small force, he was attracting the enemy's attention to cover the main force.

Learning that the enemy's reconnaissance mechas were moving away, Rashid and Stewart couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They knew well that they were facing a monstrous entity like the Mythical Army. In the past, not to mention two regiments, even a division, facing a Mythical Mecha Group completely composed of [Vajra], had no certainty of victory.