The battle raged on for a time.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Rejhi watched as a massive insect creature burst from beneath the earth, devouring many of his kind. Moments later, the beast exploded from within, destroyed by comrades who had activated their self-destruct sequences in its belly.
Rejhi paid silent tribute to their sacrifice before returning to the fray.
The war grew ever fiercer. Artillery units positioned themselves on the mountains, launching shells into the advancing swarm of insects. These weren't fragmentation blasts but shockwave strikes—each detonation unleashing a circular wave with a kilometer radius. In the span of a microsecond, the shockwave rippled outward, disintegrating organic fragments that rained down like a storm upon the field.
Rejhi heard the pattering as pieces struck his shell, realizing it was the remnants of organic life hitting him. Then, a gust of white wind swept past, clearing away the debris scattered across the ground. He took note of his surroundings and pressed onward.
Two minutes passed. Suddenly, one of his nearby companions fell into the earth. Rejhi rushed to pull him out, hearing a faint rustling sound. Within moments, his comrade was torn apart, metal limbs collapsing in pieces into the pit.
As the fragments of his comrade's metallic body rolled down the hole, Rejhi glimpsed a thin, gaunt creature. His HUD instantly marked its limbs as "Extreme Hazard." The creature charged at him.
This frail, organic lifeform seemed absurdly fragile, as though a single touch would pierce right through it, but its speed was astounding. In less than ten microseconds, it closed the five-meter gap until its face was nearly pressed to his.
Its limbs rose, poised to strike.
In that instant, Rejhi's vision filled with a trajectory—calculated by his advanced combat program, predicting the creature's muscle movement. He reached out along the path and seized its neck.
A slight squeeze, and its head separated from its body.
"Too fragile," Rejhi muttered, discarding the corpse.
Another gust of white wind swept through, reducing the body to nothing.
But the enemy was not alone.
From the depths of the pit, dozens of glowing green eyes emerged. Countless insect creatures spilled forth.
Realizing he could not eliminate them all before he fell, Rejhi felt the impulse for cooperation—a hope that swifter allies would come to his aid.
As if summoned by thought, ten slender comrades arrived, each wielding double-bladed arms. They dashed forward, slicing through the horde, leaving a trail of shattered remnants in their wake, then plunged into the pit to finish off those remaining.
"Thanks," Rejhi said, grateful.
But as before, his allies gave no response. They looked past him, wordlessly charging toward other creatures emerging from the pits.
"Fine," Rejhi sighed, shrugging, and resumed his advance.
The battle was a repetitive cadence.
Advance with the main force, use his thermal weapon to incinerate armored insects, or call in agile allies to deal with the slender ones emerging from underground. Rejhi lost track of how many enemies he had killed—only the combat program running in his background maintained an accurate count of his victories.
After pushing further, he encountered a cluster of towering insect beasts, encased in thick armor.
**Target:**
**Tyrant Beast and Guards.**
Rejhi chose not to rush in headlong. Instead, he circled around to approach from behind. As the Tyrant and its guards engaged the incoming soldiers, Rejhi struck, his powerful steel arm piercing the armor of a guard and emerging through the other side. His thermal weapon incinerated another, leaving it smoldering in his wake.
Dispatching two obstacles, Rejhi lunged at the Tyrant.
Despite summoning all his energy, his body moved slowly. But the Tyrant, encased in heavy armor, was equally burdened, its mobility hindered.
The Tyrant did not flee. Instead, it turned, spreading four limbs, each wielding a bone blade.
Those blades could slice through a shell like his in five strikes.
"A duel, is it?" Rejhi tossed aside his thermal weapon and beckoned with his fingers.
The Tyrant roared, charging with its bone blade poised to strike.
Rejhi's advanced combat program mapped out the Tyrant's attack trajectory, enabling him to make split-second decisions.
The crunch of shattering armor echoed as Rejhi's arm punched through the Tyrant's abdomen.
Even the beast seemed momentarily stunned, as though it had willingly impaled itself on Rejhi's fist.
Serrated metal grated against spine.
The Tyrant's death cry mingled with the rending of its spinal column as Rejhi tore it free.
"Organic lifeforms—fragile to the core."
Rejhi gazed down at the vanquished Tyrant, clutching its spine.
This was the taste of victory—hollow and joyless, perhaps because his sensory module was too basic to appreciate it…
But Rejhi had little time to reflect. Two winged Tyrants dove down, and though he saw them, there was no chance to evade.
In one swift motion, their segmented limbs, shrouded in corrosive fields, tore through Rejhi's shell, leaving only his head tumbling to the ground.
Believing their foe vanquished, the two Tyrants left, unaware that Rejhi still persisted.
After a moment, slender mechanical legs sprouted from beneath his neck, allowing him to scuttle swiftly toward the other units.
Rejhi could still complete his mission, albeit no longer as a warrior. Now, he was relegated to reconnaissance and infiltration.
But the Tairen battleground required no infiltration.
A Bio-Titan lumbered in from afar, crushing Rejhi's head underfoot without the slightest awareness, and moved on to clash with another colossus.
…
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
Senses shut off.
Nothing to see.
Scattered impressions surfaced within Rejhi's mind.
**Standard Combat Unit. Identifier X8312 Sub-unit.**
**Reactivation sequence initiated.**
Rejhi's senses returned, and he looked around.
The dark production chamber surrounded him, his kin suspended by hovering assembly devices, emerging in vast numbers.
"I am Rejhi. I am not a numbered unit!"
Rejhi recalled all he had just endured, realizing he had been resurrected post-destruction.
He glanced down at his new body.
This frame was different: four mechanical arms attached to his back, a small optical device mounted behind his head. His armor was lighter, more akin to plated scales. It was a slight decrease in defense, but at least it would not limit his movements as before.