The old man you see with your phone is highly suspicious.

It didn't know, but it had to lead a group of its brothers to provide support as quickly as possible.

“9119, we are willing to rush to the aid of the alien planet, just to burn the insect swarm. After we return, we can continue this unfinished war. How about that?” said the Imperial Mech Squad Leader.

"Furthermore, our strength will definitely decline by then, and we can then engage in our struggle."

9119 remained silent, yet it could sense the feelings of its other brothers around it.

Resentment, anger, and sadness.

Its indicator light slowly dimmed, but the next moment, it flashed a fierce crimson light.

"Can we get involved?" 9119 asked.

"team leader!"

"team leader!"

The other rebel mechs looked at this mech in astonishment. This mech, number 9119, who was the first to decide to rebel against the Empire and had gathered nearly a billion rebels, had actually agreed to ally with their enemy.

"We are... Dreadnoughts, and our mission is to exterminate insects... This is our mission, and our battle with the Empire is merely a reflection of our dissatisfaction with the Empire's current situation. These are two separate matters."

9119 spoke her mind without any hesitation.

Not a single rebel unit objected.

At this moment, the Imperial mechs also fell silent.

After fighting each other for so long, they finally realized what they truly wanted.

They have always existed solely to eliminate the swarm of insectoid mechs. In fact, whether it is the Imperial Mechs or the Rebel Mechs, they are simply trying to find their purpose after the fearless war.

They have all lost themselves in their search for meaning.

The Imperial mechs are often those that have successfully retired and have their own jobs and new families. Some have become agricultural machines, some industrial machines, and some continue to serve in the Imperial Army as sentinels. What they have in common is that they all have something they want to protect and have found their own meaning.

Just like 5332, after it retired, it lost the driving force of eliminating the insect swarm, but it found a new purpose. It had a farm to cultivate and a large community to live with on the farm.

Whether it's the hardworking eldest daughter or the mischievous youngest son, they are all family to it, and everything it wants to protect.

This is its spiritual sustenance and sense of self-worth after retirement.

The mechs that chose to protect the Imperial Army were almost all in this situation; they had found what they wanted to protect.

That's why it was so enraged after the rebels destroyed 5332's farm.

However, with such a vast empire and such a wide territory, there are always some shadows. Just like many mechs, their retirement benefits, jobs, and many other things have not been fulfilled smoothly.

After retiring, they lost themselves; they may have experienced the darker side of the empire. So, in their confusion and decline, they united and prepared to overthrow this corrupt empire.

But in reality, at this moment, all of them looked back and realized that what they had been pursuing and seeking was only their own value.

These creatures, created out of place among the Imperial humans, found their own value after the Swarm Wars…

They don't know their direction, they don't know what other value they have, and they lose everything after retirement. Confused, they have a temporary value.

That is to overthrow this corrupt empire, create a new and better empire, and enable the people of the empire to live a better life. That is their value.

As for how to build a better empire and how to enable the people of the empire to live a better life.

They don't know.

They are simply organisms born to kill insects; they don't understand this, but they just keep doing it in a daze.

The Empire likely shared the same mindset, but they were lucky enough to have found what they wanted to protect and their own value, so they risked everything for it.

Now, upon seeing the swarm of insects again, they suddenly understood.

Their very existence is solely for killing insects, isn't it?

At this moment, they rediscovered their value; their purpose was crystal clear, and their thoughts were utterly simple.

Born from fearless war, this is their inherent mission! This is their significance!

Then let's fight!

War! War! War!

"Give us 30 minutes, and we'll bring in Scorched Earth Mechs and heavy firepower to support us. The location is right here." After 9119 finished speaking, all the rebel mechs soared into the sky.

They also wanted to return to their base and call upon more of their brothers.

"Come on, 5332, let's hurry back to the armory. Where have you been all these years? Why was that world invaded by the Zerg? Come on, let's talk as we walk." This Imperial mech seemed even more anxious than 5332.

Therefore, the two sides ceased hostilities and began to unite.

Whether it was the Imperial Army or the rebels, the arsenals instantly began operating at full capacity.

Heavy mechs and heavy firepower were being produced at breakneck speed again, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water, and this time the yield was even greater and the firepower even stronger.

Meanwhile, within the rebel base, all mechs began a massive mobilization.

There was no need for complicated communication or encouragement between them. The machines on site only needed to transmit what they saw to other machines, and in an instant, all the machines started moving.

Although a large number of heavy mechs were abandoned and recycled after the end of the Dauntless War, even so, the number that could be assembled was in the hundreds of millions.

The entire rebel army also began to replace their units with heavy mechs, just like a thousand years ago, carrying heavy scorched earth flamethrowers and nuclear-powered explosive guns.

It felt like going back to the past, back to those hills covered in scorched earth and molten glass.

“9119, we can actually take this opportunity to destroy the Imperial Army’s main force when they are gathered on that plain.” One of the mechs said this to 9119 as it was preparing.

9119 remained silent.

It knew that this was indeed the best opportunity, as the entire Imperial army was gathered on that plain, and they were all carrying scorched earth flamethrowers, making it a terrifying powder keg.

If a single Hellfire missile were to fly over and detonate a few scorched earth fire extinguishers, it would trigger a chain reaction of explosions, instantly annihilating the Imperial Army's main force.

but……

"Number 187954, aren't you going to kill the pests?" That was all 9119 could say.

“Go.” The mech that had just proposed the treacherous plan did not refuse; it simply said, “I’m just reminding you that they might do it.”

"I believe in 5332, just as it once believed in me." The mech didn't think any further.

It simply arrived at the heavy weaponry depot like any other mobile suit, and saw the heavy mobile suit that had fought alongside it more than ten thousand times on Colony Star III.

The machine was covered with scratches from the insect swarm and traces of corrosive liquid, and these traces were merely repaired, making it look particularly shabby.

But this dilapidated machine is a remnant of the millennia-long war it once waged on that colony planet.

After gathering dust in the warehouse for so long, it finally picked up that heavy machine again. 9119 seemed to smile as it touched this 40-meter-tall, 8-ton scorched earth machine. Every scar on it was a testament to its past glory.

"Old friend, I'm back."

9119 said to the scorched earth machine soldiers.

Then, it silently stood at the bottom of the mech.

The next moment, the massive mechs instantly covered the more than ten-meter-long body of 9119.

Every joint fits perfectly. Even after years of gathering dust in the warehouse, the moment its scorched earth mech is integrated into it.

As the nuclear reactor on the chest of the Scorched Earth Machine Gunner began to rotate, the power of this bulky behemoth was fully restarted and it started running smoothly. The turbines spun wildly, and the nuclear reactor emitted a piercing and terrifying roar.

That sense of disorientation seemed to awaken him; in that instant, it felt as if he had traveled back a thousand years.

It feels just like those days!

At this moment, the mecha seemed to understand what it felt like to read those literary works about "dreaming back to one's youth" in Imperial culture.

Once the machine soul link was fully completed, at this moment, the fearless mech that had fought for thousands of years - the Scorched Earth Mech - stood tall on the earth!

This veteran seemed to have returned to his youth, to the scene a thousand years ago when they sat together on the charred corpses of the insect swarm, and together with 5332, they dreamed of a bright future.

"Dauntless Mech ATP9119, engage in battle!"

……

One after another, scorched earth mechs began to descend upon the plain, each carrying scorched earth flamethrowers and explosive guns. The mechs, over 40 meters tall, seemed to be armed to the teeth.

Even though their feet are very large, their weight is now in the tens of thousands of tons, and each step they take will cause the ground to sink in.

In just half an hour, ten thousand heavy mechs had gathered here. Some belonged to the resistance army, and some to the imperial army. But at this moment, they were no longer facing each other with swords drawn, but back to back, as if they had returned to the era of fearless war a thousand years ago.

It's not that they can only send out this many people right now, but that they only have half an hour, so they can only find the nearest arsenal.

Those mechs further away, still changing their units or still arming themselves, have not yet arrived.

But time waits for no one.

At this moment, unlike the dilapidated and scarred 9119 on the other side, 5332's new 9119 ...

His entire body was covered in brand-new steel plates, as if freshly painted and still emitting a strong smell. The nuclear-powered turbine on his chest, emitting a blue light, spun rapidly but made no sound.

“Let’s go first. We can’t wait any longer. I will open a portal here that will remain in that world. The mechs that arrive later can simply walk through that portal,” 5332 said.

9119 didn't say anything, but everything was understood without being spoken.

But suddenly, 5332 stretched out his fist and presented it to 9119.

At this moment, it seems as if we have returned to that day a thousand years ago, when they were dreaming of a bright future on the charred insect corpses.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

"Don't you resent me?" 9119 asked, momentarily lost in a daze as it looked at 5332's outstretched fist.

In the past, it used the most cruel methods to completely kill 5332, but what 9119 didn't say was that after killing 5332, it discovered that it was an old friend, a good friend who had entrusted their backs to each other in the battle against the swarm for countless years.

“No.” 5332 seemed to be laughing, the turbine on its chest spinning even more violently.

At this moment, in the pre-dawn light, 9119 raised his fist and bumped fists with his old friend.

……

"After all the machines have uploaded their data, this may be our last consciousness."

The other machines remained silent as they all began uploading their data, knowing that this might be their last chance to do so. The next time they regained consciousness, they might only have their current memories and data left.

For them now, it's practically the same as being dead.

The large number of people uploading at the same time even caused network congestion in a short period of time.

A few seconds later, all the mechs in the area had uploaded their data, and 5332's spell was complete. A portal of light shot into the sky and opened up. Then, the support mechs rushed over to maintain the portal's continuity.

"set off!"

……