The portable grandfathers that appear are all problematic.

"I've spotted the Zerg swarm! The Zerg swarm is right on the other side of the portal!"

In an instant, both the rebels and the Imperial mechs froze in their movements.

Chapter 313 Old Friend, I'm Back

The two sides, who had been engaged in a fierce battle to the point of tearing each other apart, fell into an eerie silence.

The two separated, and the indicator light on the lens, which was originally green, turned blood red in an instant, flashing an extremely terrifying and intimidating red light.

At this moment, both the Imperial Army's mechs and the Resistance Army's mechs emitted explosive sounds from within their bodies.

"There are bugs in the WC! Ha! Haaah!!!"

"Damn it, there are bugs! Ouch, hah!!!"

In this respect, both parties simultaneously entered a state of stress and PTSD-like exhalation.

Each of them is a veteran who survived the Zerg battlefield. In fact, each mech's body has been sacrificed more than once in the fearless war against the Zerg. They are all the same model, with the same origin and the same kind of brethren.

On Colony Star III, the corpses of mechs and swarms could cover the entire surface of Colony Star III. In fact, due to the mechs' scorched earth tactics, the surface of Colony Star III is still covered with a thin layer of glassy soil.

Therefore, even now, the ecological environment of Colony Star III has not yet recovered, and it may take hundreds of years to slowly recover before the mechs can finally sweep through it one last time before people can migrate there.

For these mechs, who were born to wipe out the insectoids, their underlying code, consciousness, and even the millennium war in which they fought together on Colony Star III had long since given rise to this kind of stress response and PTSD towards the insectoid swarm.

So when 5332 announced that he had discovered the swarm, all the mechs reacted and immediately abandoned their flashy weapons like the molten steel blades and electromagnetic axes, instantly wanting to switch to flamethrowers that could unleash temperatures of nearly 10,000 degrees Celsius to carry out scorched earth warfare.

However, they soon realized something was wrong. At this point, 5332 was a truck model they did not recognize. In fact, 5332 had been missing for nearly a year, and no machine knew where it was. Meanwhile, the Empire had placed a large number of outposts within its territory after the Zerg War.

No insects were found at any outpost!

"5332, where did you get this information about the Zerg swarm?!" the Imperial mech roared first.

Although they hold the idea of ​​absolute annihilation and extermination of insect swarms, their claims are baseless.

Without further ado, 5332 used a large transport truck equipped with a projector and computer to project the battle he was watching on the giant planet onto the field.

……

One minute later...

"ha!!!"

"ha!!!"

Both bodies began to emit scorching gases due to overheating, as if they had undergone red-temperature stress.

Centuries after the end of the Dauntless War, if these veterans encountered any native arthropods on the planet, even if it was just an insect the size of a cockroach, they would be so stressed that they would immediately launch a scorched earth campaign.

I wish I could blast every place where cockroaches crawled with a bomb gun.

And then suddenly seeing this overwhelming swarm of insects, even the insect warriors among them, and the insect queen.

The shock was no less than when a failed art student discovered a loaf of bread worth 50 marks.

“9119, let’s talk about our hatred and conflicts later. I’ve discovered an invasion of the Zerg on another civilization’s planet, and I want to go help them…” 5332 said firmly.

"Just like helping us back then."

After those words were spoken, the battlefield fell silent instantly. The molten blade and electromagnetic axe were thrown to the ground, as these weapons were useless against the swarm.

They needed to return to the arsenal to replace their old scorched earth flamethrowers with explosive guns that could flatten a hilltop with a single shot.

Even this light armor isn't enough; let's replace it with heavy armor! Let's replace it with a 10-ton-class Scorched Earth Heavy Machine!

"What do you want to do, 5332?" The squad leader of the Imperial Mech immediately asked his brother who had returned from another world.

They were completely unaware of the situation in the other world. Even though the sight of the insects triggered the underlying code, they still didn't know the situation on the other side, the battle's progress, or whether the opposing civilization feared these magically created machine spirits...

In short, all eyes were now on this man.

“9119, the resistance and the empire shall temporarily cease hostilities. I will take a group of brothers who are willing to fight the insects with me and leave. We need to help the other brothers. Let’s have a one-year truce. After one year, we will start our war again. How about it?” 5332 stated his conditions.

All the mechs on 9119's and the rebels' side fell silent.

The Empire, however, held its head high, ready to once again embark on the battle against the insect swarm.

For some reason, they felt trembling. Their bodies didn't have this function, but just thinking about killing insects again gave them this complex emotion.

Is it excitement? Or fear? Or anger?

They don't know that they are organisms born solely to kill insects.

Therefore, all they need to do is burn all the insect swarms they see to ashes; this is their inherent mission and meaning.

Instead of continuing the protracted infighting within the empire, engaging in laughable melee combat with molten steel blades and electromagnetic axes.

At that moment, they seemed to have found the meaning of life.

"Take me with you! I want to go!" one of the mechs immediately said.

"And I!"

"And I!"

"I am coming too."

"I can no longer bear the feeling of insects hovering in front of my eyes, and I can't burn them!"

"When I see insects, I feel like cockroaches are crawling on me."

The Imperial mechs instantly became excited. Without any encouragement, their morale had already reached a red-hot level, and their CPUs and temperature control systems seemed to be overloaded.

"Quiet! Our current Scout Ranger light mechs are not suitable for the Zerg battlefield. Everyone return to the armory and be replaced with Scorched Earth Mechs!" the squad leader said immediately, while sending intelligence to the armory at the rear.

The entire crew was refitted from Ranger units to heavy units, and all the heavy firepower that had been thrown into storage was brought out.

“There’s also 5332. Your current temporary mech needs to be replaced immediately. Come back to the armory with us right now. We need to switch to the Scorched Earth Mech.”

"it is good!"

5332 didn't hesitate at all. It knew how difficult the battlefield on the Beast Star was at this moment. With Xue Lude's combat power having to face the Ninth Apostle, relying solely on those behemoths and the wandering Iron Curtain of Freedom to hold back the swarm of insects...

How long can it hold out? 3 hours? Or 5 hours?

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!

Fight, fight, fight!

"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 was 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.