Ultraman: It turns out this is the easy mode.

"boom--!"

As Golza stepped into the valley pass, a series of explosions suddenly erupted from the mountain walls on both sides. Horii's anti-monster minefield was the first to strike, dozens of mines coated with depleted uranium warheads were launched from beneath the rock strata, forming a ring of bullets in mid-air, precisely striking Golza's limb joints. The mines exploded the moment they touched the scales, and the high-temperature molten liquid seeped into the joint folds through the gaps, bursting out blinding sparks.

"It works! Its movement has slowed down!" Horii roared excitedly, staring at the fluctuating parameters on the radar screen.

Before he could rejoice for long, Golza suddenly raised its head, its diamond-shaped armor on its abdomen glowing crimson—it was siphoning in some of the explosive energy! It roared and swung its claws, covered in bone spikes, snapping pine trees on either side and smashing them into the minefield. Amidst the flying debris, the second wave of mines was crushed into scrap metal before it could even trigger. This "monster that tears the earth apart" now fully revealed its ferocity, its heavy feet stomping the ground, causing rocks to crumble on either side of the pass; clearly, it had no intention of sitting idly by and waiting to be killed.

"Flying Swallow, attack! Avoid the front, aim at its side armor!" As soon as Megumi Kijima gave the order, Shinjo piloted the Flying Swallow No. 1 and swooped down. The anti-air missiles under its wings streaked across the sky with white smoke, but when they approached Golza, they were deflected by the absorption organ on its chest and blasted into the mountain wall, creating a huge crater.

"Damn it! Energy weapons are useless!" Xincheng gritted his teeth and switched weapons. "Laser cannon ready! Single shot mode!" Two blue laser beams struck Golza's side alternately. This time, they were not absorbed—although the scales were not pierced, they made it curl up in pain and let out a deafening roar.

Just then, the heavy sound of metal joints turning echoed from the ground. EDF's Nix mech force had finally arrived on the battlefield: eight "Assault" bipedal mechs moved forward with heavy steps, their silver-gray power armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight, each step stirring up small waves of dust. The six-barreled Vulcan cannons at the ends of the mechs' arms immediately spun, their muzzles spitting out tongues of fire that left red trails in the air, and a barrage of armor-piercing rounds rained down on Golza's abdomen, sending fragments of its scale armor flying everywhere.

"Shoulder missile salvo! Suppress its movement!" The mech captain's roar came through the communicator. The launch bays on the shoulders of the eight mechs opened simultaneously, and high-explosive anti-monster missiles, trailing plumes of flame, rose into the air in rapid succession, exploding around Golza. The shockwaves from the explosions forced it to retreat repeatedly, and it looked as if it was about to be forced into an encirclement deep in the valley.

Further up the mountain ridge, four more robust Nix artillery-type mechs were slowly raising their cannons. These specialized assault mechs had been stripped of unnecessary armaments; the triple 200mm cannons mounted on their backs were slowly rising, the muzzle brakes gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "Calculate the trajectory! Target: left abdominal joint!" The artillery captain stared through the scope; the hydraulic stabilizers on the mech's feet were deeply embedded in the rock, and the cannons, driven by servo motors, were finely adjusting their angles. Just one final salvo was needed to completely seal off Golza's escape route.

Just as the artillery-type mech was about to fire, Golza suddenly made an unexpected move—it turned around sharply, using its thick back to withstand the laser cannon of the Flying Swallow and the Vulcan cannon of the mech. At the same time, the absorption organs in its abdomen worked at full capacity, converting some of the attack energy into thrust. Its thick hind legs kicked out two deep grooves in the ground, and it charged towards the weakest part of the encirclement, the eastern mountain wall!
"No! It's trying to escape!" Cui Ming's pupils contracted in the cockpit of the Xuefeng, and he immediately ordered, "Feiyan, intercept! Mech units, move to the left and block its route!"

But Golza was now fighting with all its might. It slammed its head against the mountain wall, and the hard rock crumbled under its impact, carving out a path. The missiles from the Nix mechs and the cannons from the artillery mechs followed closely behind, but they only hit its tail, blowing off a few scales, and failed to stop its advance.

"Roar—!" Golza let out a defiant roar, and using the dust and smoke from the collapsing mountainside as cover, its massive body quickly disappeared into the dense forest on the eastern side of the valley, leaving behind only a mess of debris and still-hot shell casings. On the radar screen, Golza's signal was rapidly moving away from the battlefield. The mech captain reported helplessly into the communicator: "Target has broken through the encirclement and is fleeing northeast! Pursuit is proving difficult; requesting instructions on whether to continue the pursuit!"

Cui Ming frowned as he watched the light gradually disappear, but did not immediately order a pursuit: "No need to chase it. It's injured and won't be able to cause any trouble in the short term. Notify all units to clean up the battlefield and strengthen the surrounding vigilance—if we let it get away this time, it won't be so easy to encounter it again next time."

Horii looked at the empty valley and stamped his foot in frustration: "Just a little bit more! If the shelling had been a second faster, we could have stopped it!" Daigo patted him on the shoulder: "At least we severely damaged it and figured out its weakness. The next operation will definitely be smoother." In the distance, Cui Ming stroked his combat device, a sharp glint in his eyes—he might run away, but he couldn't hide forever. Golza, they would meet again sooner or later.

Cui Ming looked at the completely disappeared dot on the radar screen, slowly shook his head, and said to the people in the communicator: "Don't underestimate the abilities of any monster, especially this kind of ancient being that has lived for 30 million years - they have been able to live from ancient times to the present, and the ability to 'survive' has long been engraved into their bones."

The Yukikaze slowly descended, its fuselage skimming over the still-smoking battlefield. Cui Ming's gaze swept over the fragments of armor and the collapsed mountain walls, his tone revealing a hint of understanding: "Just now, it bravely withstood the attack and broke through the passage. It seemed reckless, but it actually calculated the gaps in our artillery fire and the speed of the mechs, knowing where the weakest point of the encirclement was."

The operator next to him couldn't help but ask, "Instructor, shouldn't we chase after it? What if it recovers and causes more damage?"

“Ancient monsters are running away so fast that it's hard for us to intercept them.” Cui Ming leaned back in his seat, his fingers lightly tapping the control panel. “It’s injured now, so it will definitely find a place to hide and recover. Forcing a chase will only alert it and make it easier for it to use the terrain to launch a counterattack.” He paused and continued, “Let’s take it slow. At least we’ve figured out its weaknesses this time—there’s a limit to the energy it can absorb in its abdomen, and its joint armor isn’t indestructible. Next time we encounter it, we can devise targeted tactics.”

Megumi's voice came through the communicator: "You're right. The most important thing now is to strengthen the vigilance of the surrounding area to prevent it from making a comeback. The GUTS team and EDF forces should clean up the battlefield first. I will arrange the subsequent search missions."

"Hmm," Cui Ming responded, turning off the communicator and looking out the window at the valley that was gradually returning to calm. He knew that Golza's escape was only temporary.

It doesn't matter.
Take your time. (End of Chapter)