No sooner had Endymion entered his mech than a tremendous force surged from beneath him—completely catching him off guard. The blow launched his mech into the air.
Fortunately, he had grown proficient in piloting this model. With a swift aerial spin, he regained control and landed steadily. Only then did he catch a glimpse of what had attacked him.
It was a beast—massive in scale. Though mechs were large in their own right, they looked insignificant next to this creature. Its color perfectly matched the surrounding sand, making it blend seamlessly into the desert, like a living dune.
Lin Yun had already charged forward in her mech, a radiant sword piercing the creature's side. The beast bellowed in fury and lunged at her. For all its size, it was surprisingly quick and nimble.
Endymion's heart clenched. At that speed and proximity, Lin Yun shouldn't have been able to dodge. But her mech was far superior to his—and more importantly, so was she. A Three-Star Mech Knight, Lin Yun dodged the charge with ease and struck again.
Yet her strikes had little effect. Her lightblade slashed the creature multiple times, but aside from provoking its rage, it did little to injure it.
The beast charged again—its attacks primitive but devastating. It seemed to rely solely on brute force, throwing its massive body at targets again and again.
Endymion held back. He could see Lin Yun wasn't in immediate danger, though it was also clear that slaying the monster with just a lightblade would be tough.
After a few ineffective slashes, Lin Yun grew impatient. Her mech's weapon shifted to a laser rifle.
Laser rifles were rarely useful in mech battles—too weak to damage most parts of a mech, and easy to dodge. But this monster didn't dodge. So she fired a full burst into its body.
"Damn it!" she cursed. The creature barely flinched. The lasers were useless.
With no choice, Lin Yun changed weapons again—this time to a particle beam. If that didn't work, her only option would be the highly energy-intensive particle cannon.
The particle beam hit home. The creature howled in pain, finally showing signs of true injury. Encouraged, Lin Yun fired another beam, then another—until finally, the beast collapsed, its giant body thudding into the sand.
"Run!" Endymion shouted suddenly, launching his mech skyward.
Lin Yun, just beginning to breathe easy, immediately sensed the danger as well. Without hesitation, she took to the air.
The once-quiet desert below erupted in chaos.
Sand exploded in every direction. Countless beasts—identical to the one they'd just slain—burst from beneath the surface. They came in all sizes, fast and vicious, swarming like locusts. The two mechs had barely cleared a few meters off the ground before the sand beneath them was crawling with creatures, their howls echoing into the sky.
And now, the two warriors saw the monsters' second attack method: hurling sand into the air. Waves of sand erupted toward them like angry geysers, trying to bury them in midair.
There was only one option—forward.
Though the flying sand obscured their vision, it couldn't harm their mechs. So, pushing their engines to the limit, they shot through the sky, fleeing the swarm.
The scene was surreal—two mechs darting through a sand-filled sky, pursued by a stampede of beasts roaring and stampeding across the dunes below.
At dawn, deep in the desert.
Two mechs lay side by side, half-buried in sand. Next to them, a man and a woman slumped against the hulls, exhausted.
It was Endymion and Lin Yun. Only thirty minutes ago had they finally shaken off the pursuit. But despite surviving, they felt no relief—just a bleak sense of looming doom.
"This won't work," Lin Yun said grimly. "Those monsters don't fear swords or laser rifles. If we have to keep using particle beams or cannons, our energy reserves will be drained in no time. Then it really will be over."
"Maybe they do have weak spots," Endymion suggested. "If we can find them, the sword might be enough. But what are these things? And how do they all live underground?"
Just then, Lin Yun's mech emitted a sharp alert: Beep-beep! Beep-beep!
Her expression changed at once. Leaping up, she darted into her cockpit and activated her systems.
"Xiaoya's in trouble! We have to go—now!" she shouted.
"What?" Endymion had been hoping for a moment's rest, but that hope evaporated. He pulled himself into his mech with a sigh. "Where is she?"
"Just follow me!" Lin Yun shot into the sky without waiting.
Endymion scrambled to follow, but quickly fell behind. Lin Yun's mech was much faster—and with her worry for Xiaoya, she had no time to wait. Soon, all he could see was a shrinking black dot ahead.
"Too slow… there has to be a way to move faster!" Endymion muttered, frustrated. Then it hit him.
Magic.Why hadn't he thought of that sooner?