Deep within the shadows of a primordial forest, General Leah moved with predatory grace. The air was unnervingly still, heavy with the scent of damp earth and ancient wood. With a sharp flick of her wrist, she signaled her elite squad to freeze.
The silence didn't last. A violent, crimson light suddenly bled through the emerald canopy, staining the leaves like blood. Then came a sound that didn't belong to nature—a distorted, booming roar that vibrated in the very marrow of their bones.
"APEX—" the voice glitched, a mechanical screech tearing through the air, before it bellowed again with bone-shaking force: "APEXXX PRREEEDDDDDAAAATTTTORRRRRR!"
A searing laser beam erupted from the foliage, a pillar of pure destruction that vaporized ancient trees and soldiers alike in a heartbeat. The force of the blast sent General Leah hurtling through the air. She slammed into a thick branch with a pained grunt, the impact stealing the breath from her lungs. Gasping for air, she fumbled for a vial at her belt—an Invisibility Potion. She shattered the glass against her armor, her form shimmering and vanishing into thin air just as the terrain around her turned a sickly, glowing green. The heavy, rhythmic thuds of gargantuan footsteps began to move away, fading slowly into the distance.
Back at the oil rig, the world had become a blur of black ichor and golden sparks. John was a whirlwind of steel. His Energy Axe carved through an X-Ordinal, the blade whistling through the air. Sensing a threat from behind, he caught a mechanical fist in his bare palm without even looking. In one fluid motion, he pivoted, decapitating the droid with a single, brutal stroke.
Nearby, Victoria was a storm of destruction. She swung her Thruster-Hammer in a violent 360-degree arc, the sheer momentum clearing the area of enemies. Suddenly, the jets on the back of the hammer hissed with power. She rocketed into the sky, a silhouette against the sun, before descending like a meteor. Her hammer connected with an upgraded X-Juggernaut, vaporizing the massive machine in a single, crushing blow that cracked the earth.
Despite their prowess, the GDA soldiers were buckling. Cries of agony filled the air as the upgraded X-forces pushed forward with relentless strength. John moved through the chaos with practiced agility, grabbing a nearby rope to swing between the rusted oil structures. He launched himself at a Juggernaut, wrapping the cable around its mechanical neck. With a roar of exertion, he used his momentum to slam the massive machine into the dirt before burying his axe deep into its skull.
Victoria fell back toward him, her breathing heavy but steady. "John!"
"What?" John grunted, his rifle barking as he dropped another X-Ordinal.
"These things... they're stronger, faster," Victoria shouted over the deafening gunfire. "But we've evolved too."
John glanced at her, a grim smirk tugging at his lips despite the carnage. "I can see that."
John turned to charge the next line of enemies, but the sky suddenly went dark.
"John, move!" Victoria screamed. She leaped at him, tackling him clear just as a massive X-Drop Pod slammed into the earth where he had stood a second before. The impact created a localized sandstorm, veiling the battlefield in a choking cloud of grit and dust.
The heavy hydraulic doors hissed open, the sound cutting through the wind. Emerging from the gloom was a nightmare made of metal: the Eradicator Mark 2.
The machine was a terrifying evolution of its predecessor. Its armor was a cold, militaristic green, contrasting with the jagged, light-green accents of its helmet. The bulky pauldrons were gone, replaced by streamlined, lethal weapon systems. On each arm, twin six-barreled rotary machine guns began to spin with a menacing, high-pitched whine. Shoulder-mounted rocket pods tilted forward, locking their sights onto the two Commanders.
Then, a distorted, feminine voice boomed across the battlefield, dripping with aristocratic malice:
"Well, well, well... what do we have here? Some insolent commanders trying to PROTECT their little oil field? How quaint. Too bad—I need this fuel to liberate the world from your 'order'."