You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 146 Withstanding a Nuclear Explosion
"too slow!"

Li Zhe's mecha performed a nimble roll in the air, easily avoiding an attack powerful enough to shatter a mountain.

Using his agile body, he constantly maneuvered between the Titan's massive form and the surrounding complex pipes, like a top assassin searching for a fatal weakness.

The battle devolved into a grueling tug-of-war.

Each of Li Zhe's attacks left a deep, bone-revealing wound on the cooling pipes, but Titan's self-repairing ability was equally astonishing.

Those severed pipes will soon be repaired by the intense heat of energy.

While the Titans' counterattacks were clumsy, each one was filled with devastating power.

Even if it is just grazed by that violent attack, the machine's energy shield will ripple violently.

“Commander, this can’t go on.” Zero’s voice was tinged with anxiety. “We’re consuming too much energy. We must find a way to destroy its core cooling system in one go.”

Li Zhe also understood this principle.

He glanced at the duration of the Ultimate Demon God form; there were only two minutes left.

must……

Take a gamble!

The ultimate form of the Demon God Mech reached unprecedented hypersynchrony at this moment.

A dazzling light burst forth from the machine!
His speed and power broke through the limits once again in that instant!

"Break it!!!"

Li Zhe poured all his power into the huge nodachi in his hand.

The entire mech transformed into a blazing meteor, crashing violently into the thickest main cooling pipe connecting the Titan and the furnace!

"boom--!!!!!"

With a deafening roar, the main cooling pipe snapped in two under Li Zhe's all-out attack!

"Pfft—sizzle—"

A massive amount of coolant, like a flood bursting its banks, gushed out from the broken pipes.

The entire furnace area was enveloped in a white steam.

Without core cooling, the fusion core within the Molten Core Titan began to heat up and expand wildly at an out-of-control rate!

"Roar--!!!!"

It let out a roar filled with pain and resentment, and its massive body began to tremble violently.

The core in his chest, which resembled the sun, grew increasingly dazzling, as if it were about to explode at any moment!
"Commander! Its core has been exposed; the attack window is only three seconds!"

The sound of zero echoed in Li Zhe's mind.

"enough!"

Despite the excruciating pain from the mecha's overload, Li Zhe deactivated the mecha's armor mode.

Ultimate Demon God form, forcibly deactivated due to massive energy consumption.

He stood tall on the steam-filled battlefield with his purest, armored body, his eyes flashing with cold and ruthless killing intent.

He carried the final trump card, which had been ready to be unleashed, from the maintenance hangar.

"YJ-21, specially designed armor-piercing warhead, fire!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

A missile, gleaming with a chilling light and trailing a long plume of flame, pierced through layers of steam and struck with unparalleled precision the pulsating fusion core that had expanded to its limit!
at the same time……

At the distant entrance to the core area, several mechs belonging to the United Government had just passed through the portal.

They were the first exploration force to arrive in the core area.

Before they could even get a clear look at their surroundings, they were startled to their feet by the earth-shattering energy fluctuations in the distance.

"Holy crap? What... what is that?!" All they saw was a light, even brighter than the sun, suddenly appearing on the distant horizon.

Immediately afterwards, an enormous mushroom cloud slowly rose into the air...

…………

As the mushroom cloud, filled with an aura of destruction, finally dissipated slowly beneath the dim sky of the Steel Empire.

The entire D-7 area's giant energy furnace, along with everything around it, has been completely reduced to a scorched, glassy wasteland.

All that remains is a massive crater, over five kilometers in diameter, bottomless, with terrifyingly high temperatures still lingering on its edges.

It's as if a miniature meteorite has just kissed the earth here.

"Cough cough..."

Li Zhe struggled to crawl out from a pile of twisted metal wreckage.

The explosion that had just occurred so close to him was far more powerful than he had imagined.

Fortunately, at the last moment, he reactivated the Ultimate Mech Armor Mode to defend and evade.

Only by pushing his defensive power to the limit and creating multiple energy shields in front of him could he safely pass through this ordeal.

It seems that I am far from having the combat power to withstand a nuclear attack...

"Commander, are you alright?" Zero's tone was full of concern.

"It's okay, I'm not going to die yet."

Li Zhe shook his head and let out a long sigh of relief.

Although the process was extremely dangerous, it was finally...

Won.

[Ding! Your base combat power has been increased to 12.0!]

[Ding! Warning! Your body has reached its current limit and cannot be further improved through conventional methods!]

[Ding! Congratulations! You have met the prerequisites for "Foundation Building". Please collect the required "Faith Anchor Points" as soon as possible to break through!]

With a series of system notifications, Li Zhe felt the energy in his body, which had been slightly depleted due to the battle, instantly being filled by a more powerful and purer force.

After experiencing the baptism of this life-or-death battle, his basic combat strength finally reached its peak of 12.0.

This is the absolute limit he can achieve during the "Qi Refining" stage.

“Commander, according to my latest analysis…” Zero’s voice echoed in Li Zhe’s mind, “Your physical structure and energy circulation system have reached a perfect balance. Conventional ‘nutritional supplements’ can no longer provide you with any improvement. If you wish to advance further, the only way is through ‘Foundation Building’.”

She paused, then projected a brand new data model.

"Furthermore, after you reach a combat power of 12.0, the number of 'Faith Anchors' required for 'Foundation Building' has also been finalized."

"You will need a total of... twelve 'mythical' quality faith anchors to construct a perfect foundation capable of bearing planetary-level energy."

"Twelve items..."

Li Zhe looked at the number and understood.

He took stock of his current inventory.

The "Heart of Edo Tensei Amaterasu" is currently being refined by Hoshino and Kazuko within the hull of the "Yamato," and it is estimated that it will take nearly three more years to be fully completed.

In other words, he still needs... eleven more items.

“There’s still a long way to go.”

Li Zhe shook his head and turned his gaze to the center of the crater.

There, amidst the churning lava and twisted metal, an object emitting a soft blue light floats silently.

(End of this chapter)