The morning on the "Radiant Plains" of the Holy State should have been filled with the chants of choirs and gentle mist. Today, however, the horizon surged with an oppressive tide of gold—the three great knight orders of the Holy State: the Templars, the Arbitrators, and the Guardians. Three thousand transcendent warriors advanced with the momentum of a mountain collapsing.
The news of High Inquisitor Morian's death had struck the dignity of the Papal Court like a sledgehammer.
"The sinner, Su Zhe, is just ahead." Roland, Grand Master of the Templars, unsheathed a longsword burning with sacred fire. His voice boomed across the plains like a great bell. "The iron monster in his hands is a product of the Abyss. Only purification can appease the wrath of God!"
Five kilometers away, on an unnamed ridge, Su Zhe sat atop a grease-stained ammo crate, nonchalantly adjusting a hydraulic seal on his right leg exoskeleton. Behind him stood twelve BM-21 "Katyusha" Multiple Rocket Launchers, their cold metallic surfaces glinting in the light.
[System Snark: Host, the enemy's psionic energy levels are skyrocketing. According to the scan, the energy reserves within that Knight Commander are equivalent to a small nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, you currently look like a shady contractor about to illegally occupy farmland.]
"A contractor?" Su Zhe spat out a blade of grass and snapped his visor shut. His eyes glowed with a cold blue light reflected from the HUD. "I'm just performing some 'deep-core plowing' for this land. System, is the target lock complete?"
[System Snark: Coordinates imported. 3,000 targets—that's an average of two 122mm High-Explosive rockets per person. It's a horribly unfair distribution, but I love the generosity. A friendly reminder: your point balance is currently weeping at the cost of this 'shopping spree.']
"Points can be earned back. If I lose my life, I won't be around to hear your nagging." Su Zhe stood up and swung his right hand down sharply. "Fire!"
BOOM—!
With a roar that tore through the atmosphere, the twelve rocket trucks erupted simultaneously. Crimson tail-flames instantly carbonized the vegetation on the ridge. Over two hundred rockets trailed long plumes of white smoke, slicing through the dawn and diving toward the golden tide in the distance.
In that moment, Grand Master Roland's pupils contracted. He felt a violent vibration in the air—it wasn't magic; it was pure, mindless physical devastation.
"All units, defend!—Holy Light Guardian Matrix!"
Three thousand knights raised their shields in unison. Pure psionic energy converged into a golden semi-spherical barrier spanning hundreds of meters, resembling a giant bowl overturned upon the plains.
A second later, the curtain of steel fell.
The thunderous explosions formed a rhythmic beat of death across the plains. Every 122mm rocket that landed kicked up a plume of earth and fire over ten meters high. The Holy Light barrier trembled violently under the continuous impact, golden ripples diffusing frantically across its surface.
"Hold! This is but a devil's—" Roland's words were cut short as the second and third waves of rockets arrived.
[System Snark: Look at them, playing a game of 'Who Blinks First.' Physics dictates that the energy consumption of a shield is proportional to the frequency of hits. My magazine depth, however, is only limited by how cold-hearted you are. Host, want to spice things up?]
"Interleave the salvos with white phosphorus rounds," Su Zhe commanded impassively, tapping the terminal on his wrist.
"No! You madman!" Roland let out a desperate roar as he saw green, eerie flickers amidst the falling meteors.
The moment the white phosphorus made contact with oxygen, the plains turned into a literal hell. The chemical fire, which could not be easily extinguished by holy arts, seeped through the cracks in the barrier, clinging to the knights' ornate armor and capes. Screams of agony instantly drowned out the prayers.
Section 2: Close Quarters Combat, A Debate of Science and Divinity
After the artillery baptism, the plains were a scorched wasteland.
Su Zhe activated the exoskeleton's overload mode and dove from the ridge. His silhouette blurred through the smoke like a steel-clad leopard.
Grand Master Roland staggered to his feet. His cape was half-burned away, and his golden hair was a mess of ash. He stared at the approaching iron monster and swung his flaming sword in a frenzy. "Blasphemer! Your soul has no weight!"
Su Zhe pivoted, the exoskeleton's computer precisely highlighting the temperature distribution of the fire sword on his retina.
"A soul has no weight, but this iron fist does."
Su Zhe's left mechanical claw gripped the sword's hilt with pinpoint accuracy. The micro-servo motors within the power suit shrieked as they forcibly locked the enemy's movement. The high-frequency vibration blade on his right wrist hummed at thirty thousand cycles per second, tracing a lethal arc.
"Morian said I was a sinner too when he died," Su Zhe whispered as he closed in, his voice cold as ice. "But as it turns out, no amount of pious prayer can stop the three tons of grip force generated by a high-pressure hydraulic system."
CRACK!
Roland's wrist bones shattered under the mechanical claw. Su Zhe snatched the burning fire sword mid-air and drove it through Roland's shoulder, pinning the arrogant Grand Master into the charred earth.
[System Snark: Host, executing the enemy with their own holy weapon... that's worth at least a sentence of 'eternal spiritual torture' in a religious court. From an aesthetic standpoint, however, I give you a perfect ten.]
"Shut up and scan the perimeter. I feel a much stronger energy descending." Su Zhe looked around. The surviving knights were recoiling in terror, the divine light in their eyes replaced by pure horror.
[Ding! 842 elite units of the Holy State killed/heavily injured. Points gained: 45,000.]
[Warning: Atmospheric ionization anomaly detected. An 'Oracle-class' unit is locking onto these coordinates.]
"Oracle-class?" Su Zhe wiped a smear of blood from his visor. "Is it the Pope himself, or the 'God' they worship?"
[System Snark: Whichever it is, it's not something you can solve with a Katyusha right now. Much as I'd love to see you shell a divine throne, the logical move is to grab the loot and retreat. Your exoskeleton's heat sinks have turned bright orange. If you don't leave now, you're going to become a mobile oven.]
Su Zhe looked at the wreckage-strewn battlefield and turned toward the depths of the forest. His silhouette looked solitary yet formidable amidst the swirling ash, his mechanical footsteps leaving heavy thuds on the scorched earth.
"System, do I have enough points to exchange for that 'Electromagnetic Railgun' prototype?"
[System Snark: Tsk, acting like a nouveau riche already? You have enough, but the recoil might turn your spine into powder. I suggest you swap for a 'Carbon Fiber Reinforced Skeleton' first—unless you plan on continuing your scientific revolution from a wheelchair.]
"Exchange it," Su Zhe replied coldly. "If the world refuses to listen to reason, I'll just make my 'reason' louder."
At the edge of the plains, divine golden light began to pierce through the clouds, attempting to illuminate the land ravaged by steel. But in the shadows, the storm of iron had only just taken its first breath.