The sky was gloomy and dark.
Dark clouds hung low, a sign of an impending storm.
Loud alarms blared along the coastline, their piercing sound dissipating into the distance. Many people living and playing near the coastline had received information alerts on their smart devices. Those who hadn't seen the alerts understood what was about to happen from the ear-splitting alarms!
Over the past ten years, various countries had implemented certain preventive measures against Kaiju attacks. However, the effectiveness of these measures was often delayed and uncertain when faced with sudden Kaiju assaults.
People in the alarm zone immediately scrambled to escape. Those with vehicles sped towards them, while those without were pushed and shoved by Official personnel shouting through loudspeakers, urging them towards the designated shelters, running for their lives.
The distant sea churned with surging waves, as if some colossal creature was about to emerge from beneath the Water. The next moment, amidst the terrified cries of people stumbling and crawling, a monstrous beast with a hideous head and a lean, ape-like upright posture, raised its massive head from the sea, creating a huge splash. Its heavy, mountain-like body parted the waves, stomping the ground with thunderous thuds, rapidly approaching the coastline like an earthquake.
A large amount of seawater splashed around like rain as the colossal beast emerged. The black clouds in the sky hung even lower; from a distance, the height of this Kaiju seemed to almost touch the black clouds.
True to the typical entrance style of a giant beast, this Kaiju naturally began by violently destroying nearby buildings, showcasing its destructive power to everyone and incidentally contributing a small amount to the business of construction companies specializing in post-disaster reconstruction in the new era.
Even with the fastest possible response, the military forces specially stationed in the surrounding area could only attack the Kaiju that had already landed, trying to attract its attention with their weapons, while simultaneously arranging for personnel to cover the panicked civilians' swift retreat and clear the battlefield. However, this newly appeared, Category IV Kaiju, named Hatchet by the PPDC, possessed extremely powerful defensive capabilities. Even the specialized anti-Kaiju weapons they were equipped with only enraged it, causing it to roar twice in pain and become even more violent.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The rumbling sound of engines approached from afar, blending into the roar of the Kaiju Hatchet.
Beneath the black clouds, sixteen heavy-lift transport helicopters, carrying two massive metal giants, made a spectacular entrance with their own engine-roaring BGM.
Upon reaching the combat zone, the ropes hanging from the sixteen helicopters attached to the two Jaegers snapped. One red and one black colossal humanoid Jaeger crashed to the ground, splashing Water dozens of meters high in the shallow sea.
The red one was Crimson Typhoon, a fourth-generation Jaeger with three mechanical arms.
The black one, with its sharp-edged metal blocks all over, especially the two large, protruding metal plates on its chest resembling pectoral muscles, looked like a powerful combat expert—the third-generation Shaolin Rogue. Its construction style and accompanying operating system were entirely geared towards close-quarters combat.
The Kaiju Hatchet sensed the threat, turned its body, and roared at Crimson Typhoon, which had taken a stance and charged towards it. Its gaping maw glowed, and its strong, powerful arm heavily pounded the ground. Instead of retreating, it charged towards Crimson Typhoon as well.
Buzz!
Hiss!
Crimson Typhoon's three arms swung flexibly with the twisting of its body, and three high-speed rotating circular saw blades, in the nick of time, sliced across the Kaiju Hatchet's chest and back.
Hot, highly toxic blue blood sprayed from the wounds.
"Did you feel that?"
"Its armor is so strong."
"Be careful. Don't rush in before we find its weakness."
Crimson Typhoon's three pilots, triplets, tacitly sensed each other's thoughts through the Drift system, and the next moment, they became more agile.
PPDC Headquarters.
Shatterdome.
"The situation isn't looking good. This Kaiju's armor is too powerful; it's very difficult to inflict a fatal wound on it. It's unlikely that Shaolin Rogue and Crimson Typhoon will be able to resolve the battle smoothly in a short amount of time." Receiving the data transmitted back from Crimson Typhoon's system, Cai Tiantong, the PPDC's chief Jaeger technical officer, gave a rather grim answer within a mere two or three seconds.
Upon hearing this, PPDC Marshal Stacker Pentecost, who was watching the battlefield projected on the virtual screen beside him, his already dark complexion grew even darker, and his expression became more severe.
The battle continued.
Shaolin Rogue, with its combat master system, delivered almost berserk heavy punches to the Kaiju Hatchet. The two colossal beings seemed to be in a frenzy, exchanging blows and damaging each other. However, the Kaiju Hatchet's armor was clearly extremely tough; although Shaolin Rogue's punches made it roar in pain multiple times, it never fell. What frustrated Shaolin Rogue's pilots even more was that the Kaiju Hatchet's strength was as outrageous as its armor! Even if they dodged five times, if they were hit just once, the feeling of being almost knocked flying and the shock, even with their feet fixed by steel spikes, was truly terrible! If it weren't for Shaolin Rogue's armor strength also being up to par, and if Crimson Typhoon hadn't repeatedly rescued them in critical moments and inflicted multiple damages and threats on the Kaiju Hatchet, they would have almost thought they were going to die in the nearly minute-long perilous battle before.
Yet, even now, despite the opposing Kaiju Hatchet appearing to have multiple gruesome wounds, the pilots of both Jaegers felt no relief, but rather an immense heaviness.
From the PPDC, Cai Tiantong explicitly reminded them again that the Kaiju Hatchet's Life signs had not weakened, meaning that the seemingly gruesome damage they had inflicted with all their might had not truly hit the opponent's weakness. In other words, while they appeared to be gaining the upper hand, they were actually at a disadvantage. If they couldn't defeat the opponent quickly, no one could be sure what unexpected events might occur next.
After all, facing each new Kaiju was a huge unknown risk. Especially when they didn't even know if the opponent had any unique abilities! Based on limited past experience, a Category IV Kaiju was highly likely to possess some unique ability!
...
"Commander, the Maritime Government has sent a communication, requesting permission for a new Jaeger to connect to the PPDC's Jaeger combat system and participate in the battle."
At PPDC Headquarters, Cai Tiantong, whose gaze was constantly scanning various virtual displays, was rapidly processing and organizing all sorts of incoming data. Suddenly, his pupils widened, and he exclaimed with some surprise and disbelief.
"A new Jaeger? Didn't the Jaeger project stop receiving funding for new constructions four years ago?" Stacker Pentecost was startled by the news and quickly asked, "I've never received any project applications or notifications from them regarding the construction of a new Jaeger!"
"It's Shao Industries!" Cai Tiantong quickly opened the information and projected the text into the air.
[Sixth-Generation Jaeger: Kurtulu]
[Builder: Shao Industries]
[Technology Provider: Dr. Luke Field]