Eric shouted loudly, and his voice carried across the battlefield. "Defeat all those puppets but capture a few intact!"
The attack from the Battle Droids had not caused much actual damage, but it had nevertheless made Eric feel humiliated. Those puppets had dared to launch an attack directly against him. Although the attack had failed to injure his unit seriously, the fact that he had been forced to defend himself was enough to make his anger burn even hotter.
However, even in his fury, Eric had not completely lost his reason. He realized that these puppets were fundamentally different from ordinary puppets. There were still too many mysteries surrounding them.
Where had they come from? What exactly were they made of? How were they able to move and attack with such precision? And, most importantly, what kind of power was hidden inside their bodies? There were simply too many unanswered questions.
Therefore, at least some of them had to be captured alive. Only by bringing them back for detailed research could they uncover the secrets behind these abnormal mechanical puppets.
At the same time, on the Astra Militarum side, the performance of the newly developed Electromagnetic Gun had been exactly as expected. This battle itself was merely a preliminary field trial, and the primary purpose of the test was not to destroy the Daemons, but to measure just how powerful the defensive capabilities of these terrifying creatures actually were.
The Daemon that had been struck by the Electromagnetic Gun had its body penetrated in an instant, and the entire process had been captured by the Micro-Drones hovering in the air. With the most advanced lenses available to the Astra Militarum, every detail could be observed with astonishing clarity.
The wound caused by the high-speed projectile was clearly visible. Then, before everyone's stares, the damaged flesh slowly began to recover.
The broken tissues regenerated.
The blood vessels reconnected.
The flesh closed together at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In only a short time, the Daemon had completely recovered, and its body was restored to exactly the same condition as before it had been struck. It was almost unbelievable.
"The resilience of a Level 2 Lifeform is truly incomparable to that of a Level 3 Lifeform." The white-haired old scientist was not particularly surprised by the result. Instead, he calmly analyzed the data before adding, "This regenerative ability is already far greater than that of the Golden Dragon we encountered previously."
The Golden Dragon from the Stars Competition had been a Peak Level 2 Lifeform. If it had been a Level 3 Golden Dragon, its regenerative ability would certainly not have been weaker than that of the Warp Daemon.
"As we predicted before..." Beside the white-haired old scientist, another gray-haired scientist nodded slowly. "For a Level 3 Lifeform, unless you can kill it in a single strike, any damage inflicted upon it can eventually be recovered through its extraordinarily powerful physique."
He paused for a moment before continuing with a solemn expression. "And there is another extremely important point. A creature of this level may not have a weakness at all."
For creatures encountered in the past, striking vital organs such as the heart or brain could still inflict fatal damage. Even creatures with extraordinarily strong physical bodies would usually die if their brains were completely destroyed or their hearts were shattered.
But after reaching Level 3, things became completely different. The higher a creature's evolutionary level, the more alarming its vitality became. For this reason, weapons such as the Electromagnetic Gun were rapidly losing their effectiveness.
For the Daemon on the opposite side, even after being struck by dozens of bullets, or perhaps even more, the damage caused was still almost meaningless. Its body simply recovered.
"Just like the Five-Headed Dragon we encountered before..." The white-haired scientist slowly summarized the situation, his expression becoming increasingly serious. "The most terrifying thing about a Level 3 Supernatural Being isn't merely its stronger defense."
He looked toward the battlefield. "It is its ability to recover its life force."
The gray-haired Scientist sighed. "The power of the Electromagnetic Gun is still too weak."
After seeing the results of the test, his expression became somewhat helpless. "At the present stage, the miniaturization of the Electromagnetic Gun doesn't look very promising."
This was a topic that had already been debated countless times among the scientists of the Astra Militarum. The initial Electromagnetic Gun was simply too large and bulky. Its enormous barrel and supporting structure made it unsuitable for the modern battlefield, where mobility was becoming increasingly important.
Because of this, many scientists have proposed the idea of miniaturizing the weapon. If the Electromagnetic Gun could be reduced to a smaller size while retaining most of its destructive power, it could potentially be installed on mobile platforms, Battle Droids, armored vehicles, and even individual combat units. It was a beautiful concept.
However, after actually putting the theory into practice, they discovered a major problem. Miniaturization was indeed possible, but the moment they reduced the weapon's size, its power also decreased significantly.
Against ordinary targets, this reduction in power was not particularly important.
But against increasingly powerful Supernatural Creatures, however, it became a fatal weakness. The stronger the enemy became, the greater the destructive power required.
If they wanted to increase the power of the Electromagnetic Gun again, they would have no choice but to increase its size. And once its size increased, all the advantages of miniaturization would disappear. The problem was therefore caught in an endless cycle.
Reduce the size, and the power became insufficient.
Increase the power, and the weapon became too large.
It was not simply a matter of building a larger vehicle and mounting the weapon on it. A battlefield weapon needed to balance firepower, mobility, energy consumption, ammunition supply, reliability, and countless other factors.
"The issue of the Electromagnetic Gun can be put aside for now." The white-haired scientist smiled faintly and looked toward the battlefield. "Let's deal with these Daemons first."
As soon as those words were spoken, the eyes of the surrounding scientists turned toward Catherine.
There was another weapon installed within the Battle Droids. And unlike the Electromagnetic Gun, this weapon was the true trump card that the Astra Militarum intended to use against the Daemons. It was the major move that had been kept hidden until now.
However, there was one problem. For this weapon to be deployed, Catherine, the supreme commander, had to personally authorize its use. No one else was qualified to issue that order. This was not merely a matter of rank.
The destructive power of this weapon was simply too great. Once activated, there was no room for hesitation or error.
However, throughout the discussion just now, Catherine had not said a single word. She had merely stood quietly to the side, listening to the scientists analyze the results of the Electromagnetic Gun.
For high-lethality weapons, Catherine's research was among the deepest within the Astra Militarum. How could she possibly not understand the limitations of the Electromagnetic Gun? She had already known from the beginning that the weapon was unlikely to kill a Level 3 Supernatural Being, so the purpose of this test had simply been to confirm the data.
After a brief silence, Catherine finally spoke. "Then get ready to use it."
Only one sentence. Simple and calm. But the moment those words fell, the atmosphere on the battlefield changed.
Alpin, who had been waiting for the order, immediately understood. "Understood!"
He turned and issued the command to attack.
The current Battle Droids were not yet intelligent enough to independently understand complex tactical situations, as their artificial intelligence was still in its early stages. Therefore, they could only receive relatively simple commands and execute them according to predetermined combat protocols.
As soon as the command was transmitted, all the Battle Droids responded as quickly as possible. One of the Battle Droids suddenly stopped, then, deep inside its mechanical body, a special destruction program was activated. Its internal systems began operating at maximum efficiency.
At the same time, the Battle Droid reached toward its waist and pressed a button, causing a soft mechanical sound to ring out.
To activate this weapon, two separate steps were required.
The first was to activate the destruction program within the Battle Droid.
The second was to physically press the activation button.
Both steps were indispensable. If even one of them was missing, the weapon could not successfully begin its activation sequence.
"Hmm!?" This strange movement immediately attracted the attention of many people, and several nearby observers instinctively looked over.
Some even took a few extra glances at the Battle Droid, their expressions filled with confusion. What was it doing? Was it preparing another attack? But nothing about its current posture looked like an attacking stance.
The Battle Droid did not raise its weapon.
It did not charge forward.
It did not retreat.
It did not even change its position.
Instead, after pressing the button, it simply stood there motionless.
Its cold mechanical eyes remained fixed upon the enemy.
Quietly.
Calmly.
Almost eerily.
The Daemons on the opposite side were still advancing, yet the Battle Droid seemed completely unconcerned.
"Wouldn't these puppets have been frightened stupid?" Someone couldn't help making such a ridiculous guess.
Of course, everyone knew that this was obviously impossible. These mechanical puppets had already demonstrated astonishing combat capabilities. They might not possess true intelligence yet, but they certainly weren't capable of being frightened.
Still, their strange behavior was difficult to understand. Why would a puppet simply stand there without moving after receiving an attack order? What exactly was it preparing? No one knew.
But the next moment, everyone finally understood what these Battle Droids were truly intending to do.