After the first batch of troops completed their qualification tests and briefly reorganized, they set off for City No. 18, several dozen kilometers away, without a moment’s rest.

If it were only for the Gold from the City of Dreams, the Salvation Army command would never have taken such a huge risk to alter its strategy. But as luck would have it, the City of Dreams had appeared in City No. 19. This city was located behind the Government Army’s northern front lines. Capturing it would allow the Salvation Army’s vanguard to use it as a springboard—a dagger to be plunged into the heart of the northern front, enabling a pincer attack with the main force on the primary battlefield.

Since they had to fight sooner or later, they might as well take the city while the City of Dreams was still there and kill several birds with one stone.

With the arrival of the second and third batches of troops, another twenty-five people gained the qualifications to enter the "City of Dreams." So far, a total of thirty-four people had entered the City of Dreams, obtaining thirty-four kilograms of Gold, worth approximately 2.04 million US Dollars. In a war, this amount of money wasn’t much—better than nothing, perhaps. The real reason the Salvation Army changed its strategy was the strategic location of City No. 19.

After the second and third batches of troops completed their tests, they immediately set off for City No. 18. However, not long after they left City No. 19, terrible news arrived—a large contingent of the Government Army was reinforcing City No. 18. The vanguard had suffered heavy losses and was in full retreat.

Command immediately ordered two legions to reinforce them. An hour later, in the wilderness of Fang Mountain, the Salvation Army reinforcements clashed with the pursuing Government Army.

And just like that, the war erupted.

Countless scorching flames tore through the night sky as a deluge of artillery shells rained down upon the earth. In that instant, the profound Darkness was ripped apart by the light of explosions. The entire World lit up, revealing the desolate silhouettes of the mountains and the soldiers swarming across them.

Amidst the trembling and screaming of the mountains, modern weapons of war unleashed terrifying light and heat, bringing indiscriminate destruction. The roaring thunder seemed to shake eardrums to their breaking point. With each successive explosion, parts of the mountainside slowly collapsed, burying soldiers who couldn’t escape in time under the rubble.

Roars, shrieks, wails, and screams... every sound uttered by the insignificant humans was drowned out by the thunder of cannons.

In the sky, the Salvation Army’s "Hunting Falcon" jets roared past, dropping aerial bombs on the Government Army’s positions. Just as a fighter was turning in the air, its radar suddenly blared a warning, detecting the appearance of the Government Army’s "Vulture" jets.

A full four of them!

"Fuck! Are they completely ignoring the main front?!" the pilot of Hawk One cursed, rapidly pulling the jet up to raise the aerial battlefield.

Hawk Two immediately followed suit. The four enemy "Vultures" accepted the invitation to battle, climbing in altitude while simultaneously launching eight air-to-air missiles at the two Hunting Falcons. The long, narrow missiles were like unsheathed swords, streaking through the night toward the jets.

"They’re auto-locking Alchemy Missiles! Raise the defense field!" The pilot of Hawk One entered combat mode. His expression became as still as a tranquil well, and even his heartbeat stabilized within a normal range—the basic quality of an excellent pilot.

A massive, grid-like defensive field appeared in front of the two jets. The eight air-to-air missiles arrived in an instant, triggering a massive explosion that briefly illuminated the night sky. But in the next moment, the two jets shot out from the dense smoke and Fiery Fire, completely unscathed.

Now it was the "Vulture" pilots’ turn to curse. "Shit! Their fighters have a defense field!"

’Are you fucking kidding me!?’

’With that thing, the entire North Carolina Government air force might not be able to break through the field’s defense! That stuff is usually reserved for the war against the Abyss!’

’Without a doubt, this had to be Havier’s legacy. Even if the Americans coveted North Carolina’s oil resources, they would never provide the Salvation Army with such high-end equipment.’

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The lock-on warning alarm blared inside the two jets. The pilots’ faces changed drastically.

The underbellies of the two "Hunting Falcon" jets slowly opened, and a cannon-like Laser Emitter extended from within. After a brief moment of aiming and pre-heating, they gave the enemy jets no chance to react and fired.

WHOOSH— Terrifying high heat converged into a piercing line of blinding light. Like a crimson meteor, it instantly crossed hundreds of kilometers of night sky, easily piercing a distant jet and exiting out the other side, continuing its unrestrained path to the edge of the firmament.

In a fiery explosion, two expensive fighter jets turned into massive, burning Fireballs. They fell helplessly from the sky, crashing several kilometers away from the battlefield.

"Charge!"

Meanwhile, on the ground, following the commanders’ orders, the elite troops of both armies clashed on the artillery-blasted plains.

The most eye-catching among them were the mobile armored units of both sides.

The Steel Titan 00R.

This was the Power Armor equipped by the Salvation Army, a counterpart to the Government Army’s Dashing Pegasus Mark 4. While slightly inferior in speed, it excelled in Power and defense, and possessed superior adaptability for combat in various environments.

Each Steel Titan armor stood around 2.3 meters tall or even higher. Their design was rugged, like a huge lump of iron. The thick, pitch-black outer shell was cold and resolute, and the visors glowed with a crimson light, exuding a sense of Power and oppression—brutal and heavy.

Compared to it, the Dashing Pegasus Mark 4 looked like a scrawny mutt.

Hulking figures charged out from the flames like Giants from Hell, trampling the shattered earth. Once they were close enough, they raised their absurdly oversized shotguns and took aim at the oncoming white, scrawny mutts.